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Surprised England left Rashid out. The attack is very samey.

This is going to be a tough chase for England.

lots of left handers is the thinking but yes, odd

these pitches are so good (after good weather, drainage systems) that 350 isn't going to be safe for much of this competiton

with tamim,mushfiqure, babar, mendis etc even the outsiders in this compettion have match winners which is why i was reluctant to just assume eng,aus,ind,south africa got through

think there will be a surprise semi finalist somewhere. a high variance short format

Poor decision. It looks after-timey now we've gone round the park but 5 right-arm fast-medium bowlers and a offie isn't enough variety. When we had Willey we had right and left arm seamers, then a leggie and a offie, different challenges for batsman. One theory was with Woakes and Stokes playing injured we needed an extra seamer, when in reality if thats the case you just rest Woakes for a seamer, not take Rashid out.

Think Rashid has played something like 41/44 ODI's since the World cup (?) and is our leading wicket-taker. Yet on the day of the tournament we change plans? Even worse when they made a big deal out of keeping Roy due to "consistency in selection".

I've backed both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at fancy prices.

Short format, these guys are no mugs and like you said cracking pitches. They have some excellent death bowlers too.

It's gonna be fun though

Pulled it back well at the death.

I feel Bangladesh are 20 short

England will chase these comfortably I think. Looks a lovely wicket to bat on. Surely the plan is see off Shakib and should be enough rubbish at other end to get home?

Can't see off Shakib AND the Fizz  8)

Should be an easy chase for England really.

Tamim Iqbal though! Perhaps criminally underrated because he plays for a side which doesn't win their games very often? Such a good knock today!

Fizz couldn't even get a game in the IPL

stat alert

Since ICC CWC 2015, England have made 22 scores of 300+ in 45 ODIs. Before that, 34 such totals in 644 ODIs

part regulations of course,part talent/conditioning/fitness, part new approach

What a lovely innings from Root. Paced it perfectly despite being in obvious discomfort. Roy is a little bit of a worry but the rest of the batting looks in great touch!

Fancy England to chase just about anything at the moment.

Anyone else think the Kiwis are a big price for today's game?

Woakes is out of the Champions Trophy because of his side strain. News of his replacement to follow.

yes but they will probably lose. thats logic for you

That's a blow. He impressed me a lot in the IPL. His improved a lot over the last 18 months or so

Thoughts on replacement?

Broad out the picture too long or experience worth the punt?

Toby Roland-Jones impressed on debut last week.

Surely not Finn?

Can't help feeling it's a crying shame Tymal Mills isn't able to play this format. Might provide the X-Factor our attack needs.

i would pick Broad,his flat pitch white balls kills really came on with the hurricanes

they will pick TRJ, with Tom Curran next behind him

Champions Trophy so far:

Batsmen: 756 for 10 off 119 overs.
Bowlers: harrowing recurring nightmares for the foreseeable future

these regulations have swung too far the other way.discuss.

I thought it was nailed on that Finn comes in? he was the contentious one to not make the squad.

It's not really a contest between bat and ball anymore, but administrators think (rightly or wrongly) this is what the fans want. I don't mind roads in T20 where it's all about entertainment, but want a bit more variety in ODI cricket. If it's to find a niche in today's market it can't be this predictable IMO.

Wasn't there a time when playing in England was a huge challenge for batsmen with lots of movement in the air and off the seam? I crave a return to that era.

can still get the air movement if the weather is right, but not so much with the white ball

movement off the pitch is much tougher because of new drainage systems that dry things out far quicker ,especially on the test grounds.

paid for by the ECB to protect revenue lost when they had to refund if no play in the day

which all makes it ridiculous that we play our 4 day cricket in april may and september when spinners are too cold to grip it, or might not even get picked....as the pitches are much more spin friendly late in games because they start drier

Ice Cream question - apologies in advance.

I have had a bit of interest in the SkyBet offer today of Warner or Williamson top run scorer.

Am I still going to get paid full price with reduced overs and therefore less likely for an Aussie to beat Williamson's score?

yes thats luck of the draw. rain affected matches/duckworth lewis etc as long as there is a completed result then it pays out or doesn't at full odds

Lovely, looks a great bet now then with Williamson's ton very hard to beat with the reduced overs. Just need the rain to hold off long enough for a completed result!

off for rain.  need 20 overs by 7.34pm for a result.

Given the lack of wickets in the middle overs so far and seamers picking up cheap wickets at the death I was surprised to see Rabada at 7/2 for tomorrows game. Had expected a bookies over reaction to Sundays performance.

http://www.bettingkingdom.co.uk/betting-tips/cricket/ODI/Rabada-top-South-Africa-bowler-vs-Sri-Lanka/81372

They aren't often top price but a couple of decent bookie offers for CT. Betfred double the odds for a top team batsman if they make a ton (so Tamim, Root, Williamson so far). Think it's paid as cash. Betfair treble the odds for top bat if they make a ton, with the extra as free bets

Hazelwood into evens with his 6 wickets can't work out if that's value or not

Top tourney bowler? If so that's tight imo. With the draw today they're no lock to get out of the group so others could have 2 extra games.

Yea for the tourney.

What do we think wins it 10/11 wickets?

I just expected to see him around the 8/11 mark, so put it up for discussion.

Had 12 as a line where I think I'd be in with a chance, 10 for a place. Bit early to be getting involved at short prices imo. I'm still just bitter my Starc top aussie bowler is dead within a game though haha

Finn called into the England squad for Woakes

Looking a bit better now

Yeh, a bit more life in it now.

Is it time for Roy to be dropped?

I'd stick with him tbh I know there's all this clamour for bairstow to open which he hasn't ever done apart from a couple of times for Yorkshire this season,also Roy helps hales as he usually takes a bit of time to get in.

Unselfish team player.... Better than the stats suggest?

They keep him for the foreseeable future, but he's not for me. Even when in good touch he gets in and out far too often, Farbrace saying "all he needs to do is get to 30 and he'll get a ton" goes against everything we've seen (reached 30 19 times in ODI's, out 7 times in the 30's and 40's, only made 3 tons). I admire their faith in him though, giving guys one too many games rather than one too few etc.

Group B has suddenly came to life, with 2 winner-goes-through games, India vs South Africa the eye-catcher. England would love to get either Pakistan or Sri Lanka in the semi's.

It's suddenly livened up hasn't it. Sudden death at every match. Just shows that if you're switched onn on any given day, anyone can be beaten.

I'm hoping Sri Lanka continue their temporary resurgence.

Fantastic counter attack from England's middle order today. What a player Stokes is growing into.


Thought Morgan's captaincy in the field was excellent as well. Smelt blood and was flexible in his thinking, keeping Wood on and trying to finish them off rather than the traditional saving overs from your best bowler.

We've looked by far an away the best side so far, just hope we keep it up. Should fear no side at the moment.

Bairstow in for Roy. I think its the right decision.

Not great today, but stick with the team. Everyone can have an off day and unfortunately England ran into a functioning Pakistan.

Come on Bangladesh!

Definitely no need to panic we've come on leaps and bounds the bowling worries me a bit without wood in it especially with his injury record

No one would have guessed these 4 teams would be in the semis.

Phenomenal performance from Pakistan. Amir back to where he was 7 years ago. What a little Fakhar Zaman is (sorry nicked from Twitter)

pretty much foot perfect performance from Pakistan today, Aggression from Fakhar with the platform from Azhar Ali. Then obviously Amir with the ball ripping out the top 3 finished the contest. Hassan Ali was a standout bowler throughout the tournament, considering he bowled a lot through the middle overs.

Even more amazing that don't have any home internationals or play in IPL.

Thought it was strange hearing Imad Wasims interview and his Welsh accent! 

On the whole.... a super tournament. Unpredictable and most matches were meaningful in the context of the competition.

Other than the rain.... it was a great advert for 50 over cricket.

Amazing game, how do Pakistan keep living up to their unpredictable tag generation after generation?! Loved it. The LOI game might have gotten too batsman friendly but cricket as a whole is still in a good shape when teams like West Indies and Pakistan are able to hold 2 of the 3 world titles!

Kumble's resigned....

*Pushed out by Kolhi. Sehwag next in line, could be a recipe for disaster. 2 big ego's could clash at some stage. I remember from the IPL Sehwag digging out all the KXIP international batsman for losing a game, when he's responsible for compiling the most lop-sided squad around! Sometimes the best players make the worst coaches ...

There was only going to be one winner there. Can't imagine Kohli being easy to work with

Kind of makes you wonder what the role of the modern international cricket coach is.

It's hard to work with a guy like Kohli who has the "my way or the highway" attitude. In one game in the CT (i can't remember which) Jadhav made a misfield which went for 4. Kohli went mental and a couple of balls later he sent him to the pavilion and asked for a sub fielder. Now he can do that to a guy like Jadhav who isn't a "superstar" but do it to someone like Rohit Sharma or Dhawan and he will have a full-blown revolt on your hands. You cannot be a leader of men by abusing them, especially when you are a scared little kitten whenever the going gets tough and handover the reigns to Papa Dhoni.

Still Kumble could have handled this better. Why not resign quietly and pretend he wanted to spend time with family? He might have given Kohli a little parting blow but made himself look very unprofessional in the process.

Might be trying to surface the deeper problems within the team and therefore made it public.