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[Disco]

Ben Stokes you animal! Great stuff.

Quality from Cook too, never any doubt for me that he'd find form again, some absolute nonsense spouted from people who should know better though.

[procricket]

Out of the darkness into the light

Great sportsmanship as well from New Zealand.

Great test match so far...

Where the doom mongers even if the worst happens and we are defeated(if your English) a few issues put to bed here.

[InternalTraining]

No Benji, no!

[tim2000s]

Been a fabulous game so far this one.


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[Disco]

Root, Stokes, Buttler and Ali makes a very potent counter attacking middle order.

[Buzz]

Tremendous so far.

Just remember those talking about run rates and declarations, average of almost 4.5 an over so far. 350 is chaseable in 2.5 sessions.

[TBONTB]

Was there today and thoroughly good cricket all round. Good from Root and great from Stokes. Cook batted solidly but he was very slow to score once past 100. Was a good days cricket to watch, just enough in it for the bowlers and flat enough to have a good smack around.

[ProCricketer1982]

awesome test match. Stokes playing the sort of innings no england player has been able too since KP, Flintoff and Botham. Gillyesque. Cook batted very well and saved the test for England and then Stokes putting the team in a position to potentially keep the win alive. Very Enjoyable test match so far

NZ bowling I did think was poor though, spinner especially. The spirit the game has been played in has been a fantastic advert too, zero 'sledging'! Take note Sledgers. Still don't think Cook should be captain though, but he is at least answering the batting question with runs.

[potzy248]

Yip, well batted England. Makes a huge difference to a side when a middle order batsman can come out and do that.
I think Ali will be quite difficult on day 5. NZ under McCullum will go for anything.

[Mattsky]

Fantastic match so far, it's had everything. Real swings and roundabouts stuff. An advert for Test cricket.
Really impressed with the way the Kiwis go about their business. Great attitude, talent, and sportsmanship.
Thought England were down and out - very refreshing to see some tremendous counterpunching to put England right back in the fight when they were on the ropes.

And care to enlighten us on this one, @Buzz?

"Seeing them square up to an odious member in the pavilion yesterday has got me thinking."

[InternalTraining]

The spirit the game has been played in has been a fantastic advert too, zero 'sledging'! Take note Sledgers.

NZ are very good side in this regard - they play hard and they play nice. Good on them!

[TBONTB]

Many of them went to shake Cook's hand at the end of play. Spirit of cricket!

[Buzz]

And care to enlighten us on this one, @Buzz?

"Seeing them square up to an odious member in the pavilion yesterday has got me thinking."

The thing about the pavilion at Lord's is that to walk out to play you have to fight your way through the members. Typically the players are left in peace and just applauded down the stairs, through the long room and out into the playing area.

At tea on Friday, a member suggested to Cook he was making a fist of bowling out NZ. My suggestion is that he wasn't watching the game or he would have seen how well Taylor and Williamson were batting. At the time I felt he hadn't done a lot wrong, but the bowlers weren't doing that well.

Cook reacted like a man under huge pressure, but the whole team backing him and made the member look a fool. not much else to say.

I was pretty much the next closest witness to the incident.

Cook isn't a natural captain, but his players have more respect for him than I had previously realised.

[InternalTraining]

^ I want to see a test match at Lords. Someday. 

[ppccopener]

Great story to end a great day.Who said test cricket is dead!