leicsmac

And naturally what you'd expect a military man in his position to say, especially when in his viewpoint the military has been underfunded and he needs to fight his corner for government resources.

You could well be right, I hope you're wrong, because down that road there will likely be no one with the time, ability and inclination to record history and what happened at all.

I think there's a misunderstanding here - of course no one is threatening the Russian state, it's just a possibility that should NATO and Russian forces actually clash in the field, the time may come when Putin thinks (italicised for emphasis) that is the case. It's a reasonable thing to say the nuclear threats are empty for now, but the thing about such threats is you only need to be wrong once. The point I'm making is the comments made today by the Estonian PM and possible courses of action directly resulting from it have absolutely zero effect on the strategic situation and so I'm not sure what the practical point of them was. Perhaps there doesn't need to be a practical point, though.

I agree about the short work, but then that is really gambling with the idea that Putin, facing conventional defeat and a horrific loss of face, wouldn't then decide to take things to the next level and extend the Russian "survival of the state is threatened" condition for release of nuclear weapons to that particular situation. It may be that he chooses the side of sanity and accepts defeat, but would anyone really want to gamble the future of human civilisation on it? I hope that you're wrong about the "something worse", because that is something very, very bad indeed. TBH I think that's being done enough (or any more wouldn't really change much given the current strategic situation) by those that need to do it anyway, so it all sounds just a bit redundantly jingoistic to me.

I do think, as per above, that actually attacking a NATO member is crossing a line that leads to awful places for everyone, and Putin knows this. However, Trump is the wildcard, as you say. That's another fair point. NATO conventional forces, in all likelihood, defeat Russian ones in the field reasonably handily. That being said, conventional victory in the field is far from the only big element in this equation.

Bit disappointing, really. England have been competitive, but nowhere near clinical enough at critical times throughout this series.

Yeah, astute. Personally, I think the temptation for either side to respond to a losing conventional war with the use of tactical nuclear weapons as per Cold War doctrine that then escalates from there is too strong, but that's me.

If that's the case and it turns out that Trump wouldn't lift a finger (and that is entirely possible) then I'm not entirely sure how much the rest of NATO could do conventionally anyway, so IMO the point being made by the Estonian PM is still a little redundant. Don't get me wrong, I think Putin should be challenged by any means necessary and I long for the day he's no longer in charge, I just don't see how what was said adds anything constructive to the overall picture.

Oh, no doubt, especially now Foakes is gone and we might not make the 200 lead. 250 would have made it about 50/50, now it's about 75/25 in India's favour IMO. But there is a chance if the bowlers get on an early roll. Getting Jaiswal and Gill early will be critical.

And as long as NATO have nuclear weapons in their arsenal, they will always have that deterrent at their disposal regardless of what Putin decides to do. Everyone, including they, knows what happens if Russia decides to attack a NATO country and that results in Article 5 and NATO and Russian forces meet in the field. Everyone loses. Unless they think that it's a bluff and Article 5 is not worth the paper it's printed on and/or they won't use nuclear weaponry if it comes to it and so let Putin do what he likes, which is possible, I guess.

The Estonian Prime Minister on breakfast TV giving the "once Putin has finished with Ukraine, NATO will be next" line. .... is there any consideration of nuclear weapons and what such a shooting match would inevitably escalate to in there at all? So much rhetorical bluster.

Given the way this pitch has misbehaved, we're not out of it yet. Get the lead above 200 and who knows? Spinners will have to excel, though.

On a more serious note, England have no one in the backs that can make things happen in the way van der Merwe can, or someone like Jason Robinson could in the past. Just seem to be a lot of huff and puff but not much genuine talent.

Yeah, never thought Scotland would have to airlift in Saffers to win matches for them...

Edit: rong fred.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-68388695 The Odysseus Moon lander is likely lying on its side with its head resting against a rock. The US spacecraft, which made history on Thursday by becoming the first ever privately built and operated robot to complete a soft lunar touchdown, is otherwise in good condition. Its owner, Texan firm Intuitive Machines, says Odysseus has plenty of power and is communicating with Earth. Controllers are trying to retrieve pictures from the robot. Steve Altemus, the CEO and co-founder of IM, said it wasn't totally clear what had happened but the data suggested the robot caught a foot on the surface and then fell because it still had some lateral motion at the moment of landing. Looks like 3am after a night out at the pub moments happen to us all - even Moon landers.

Lot of that going round, really.

Vaughan has a point about the toss being absolutely critical in this Test. As long as England can set 250+ as a fourth innings target that really should be enough on this deck.

Have to make the advantage count now.

... cup of tea anyone?

One of those truly rare instances of a person giving everything for a cause and actually being rewarded in full for it. There from the bottom to the very top - and no one more deserving of a goal in front of the home fans on PL trophy lifting day. Thank you, Kingy.

Good supporting work from Foakes and Robinson too.

Well done Joe. Form is temporary, class is permanent.

Does seem like the pitch is going to be an utter minefield. Bat first because batting fourth will be toughest, I guess?