leicsmac

Possibly the best English single Test win overseas ever, this. Giving away 190 to India in India after the first innings and then winning just doesn't happen.

Just need to keep the scoring slow, given this pitch there will be three balls unplayable at some point, just needs to be before they hit 231.

*insert picture of Ben Stokes head photoshopped onto the body of Mr Incredible here*

Don't worry, he's good on the economy, foreign policy and "border control", and that's all that matters, apparently.

Well, very happy to have been proven totally wrong with that prediction on day 2. Grandstand finish for both Tests today!

I think Cook and KP in 2012, among a few others, have it beat for now, but if he manages to keep building on it tomorrow...

This team has shown time and again it's capable of taking on the very best in conditions past England teams have found difficult. Folks are often too quick to stick the knife in.

Defending anything below 150 would be futile, anything below 200 most unlikely, 250 is the 50/50 point for me. If Pope and the tail can just hang around until lunch tomorrow, who knows?

That was an utterly horrible shooter that got Foakes there.

Splendid effort from Pope.

Rather annoyed at being called up for what would be an inevitably futile cause because a serious conventional fight between Russia and any NATO power only ends one way, with everyone losing. Not if it was an any way humanly possible to avoid it, though it wouldn't make much difference long term. In a situation where it's not possible to win? Absolutely not. See second answer. To live as long as possible and then when the shit really hits the fan, to die as quickly and painlessly as possible because the dead would be the lucky ones in such a situation.

I'm thinking 1996-2001 was the zenith tbh. Who knew Agent Smith was right about it being the "peak of civilisation"?

https://phys.org/news/2024-01-climate-planet-largest-reserves.html An international study of temperature variations in 12 caves around the world shows that a large part of the Earth's freshwater reserves available for immediate consumption can be at risk due to climate change. Caves allow scientists to observe the underground systems that are distributed throughout the planet—systems that—in their vast majority—are inaccessible to human beings. These ecosystems are home to the largest reserves of freshwater available for immediate human consumption and are inhabited by unique and highly adapted organisms, which guarantee the quality of these strategic reserves for the future of humanity by recycling organic matter and contaminants. Couple this with drought and suddenly you may well have a need right at the very bottom of Maslow's Hierarchy kicked away for a great many people. The results of that could be....interesting.

Well, shit.

A technical point that a lot of people appear to be putting a lot of unnecessary value on and a distinction withouta difference, it would seem to me. As people above have said, for me the much bigger issue is that numerous government entities failed to deal with this man before he committed these terrible acts.

Fair to say - a little more empathy all round would be a good thing. I made the point about visits because it's reasonably obvious that people mistakenly make a big distinction between secure mental units and jails and that's not accurate. Perhaps some more time looking it up online, instead. I was confusing opinions and justice system because I thought they were being confused on here already - absolutely agree that no such opinions have any place in the justice system.

Then perhaps those that think this should visit such a secure mental unit, perhaps even stay there a few days to see how it really works, in order to disabuse themselves of that notion - because IMO they are mistaken. WRT the above discussion on opinions that matter, if the only ones that mattered were that of the bereaved families, then we would have a legal system based mostly on Old Testament-style vengeance - and there's a reason that most civilisations decided to back away from that idea shortly before or after they became civilisations. Justice requires to be dispassionate.

Speaking personally, as horrific an event as this is, I'm not entirely sure why so many people want to put a distinction between someone being confined to jail for the rest of their lives and being confined to a secure mental hospital for the rest of their lives. Is the mere idea of jail somehow more "just", even though the guy is going to be under lock and key for the rest of his life either way? I don't get it.

Sadly can't take full credit for that one; borrowing from the magnificent Jackson Lamb (Gary Oldman) on Slow Horses.

Well, this is going one of two ways: - they make 500+ by lunchtime on day 3, we're bowled out before close on that day, innings defeat - we get off to a flier tomorrow, somehow bowl them out for around parity, one innings shootout I'll let everyone else decide which they think is more likely.

Shades of Simon Kerrigan about Hartley here. Baptism of fire.

It's darkly hilarious that by the end of this year, when need for global cooperation is bigger than ever, it's a strong chance that we'll have the four most powerful nations on the planet all being run by self-interested nationalist fridge magnets. Two (China and Russia) in perpetuity, two (India and USA) by those who would very much like perpetuity and intend to bend the rules as much as they can get away with in that regard. Einstein had it right about such sentiments a century ago. He knew where it would lead.

215-8 at tea, Stokes counterpunching. No idea what a good score is on this pitch tbh.

Shows what I know

I think that depends on how big a factor second hand smoke is tbh.