Posted by nimesh patel [ Mediaking2000 ] on 19 May 2000
shame on bbc, that they can not afford to webcast Audio cricket commentry for internate listener world wide, oz-southafrica-india- gave commentry why not poor england ?

Posted by Ed Green on 19 May 2000
Probably wise to go off - Its just started raining quite heavily a little further south

Posted by Graham on 19 May 2000
I'm sorry about channel 4's commentary, I know that Murphy is a right handed wrist spinner, even if they don't!!!?

Posted by Freddie Davey on 19 May 2000
Where is Alex Tudor? This time last year he was our top wicket taker, and hitting 99 runs not out to win the match. Bring him back!!!

Posted by Ameya on 20 May 2000
Many countries like pakistan,Australia,Sri lanka and to a certain degree West Indies have gambled by dropping main players(Aravinda in Lankha's case)and selecting youngsters.It has really been successful for them and the youngsters have proven their mettle.In South Africa England selected young players,but Gavin Hamilton who got a pair in one of the tests was dropped since then.It must be remembered that Attapattu the Sri Lankan batsmen got six ducks in a row when he started playing test cricket.By not picking a talented player like Hamilton England is sending all the wrong signals to youngsters and this will put tremendous pressure on them to perform when selected to play for their country.So england why dosent England pick Hamilton?

Posted by Al on 20 May 2000
Good luck Zimbabwe in the tests against Endland and the ODIs. It is good to see former school Colleague Brian Murphy at Lords, good luck with your career Brian Saints lives on at Lords with reps in both sides!

Posted by Phil on 20 May 2000
What a great display by the England bowlers( especially Gough) at the end of play today! Gough and Caddick swung the ball round well and deserved there wickets. The only doubtfull wicket was the catch by Knight which dismissed Gripper, but still a great display.

Posted by James Drever on 20 May 2000
I feel rather sorry for John Ward. His contributions (particularly the biographies and newsletter) for the outstanding ZCU website are excellent, but at the moment with Zimbabwe on 83 & 39/5 the material for his pithy, readable and well-argued reports appears to be most unpromising. I feel very strongly that Zimbabwe are being asked to do too much on the international stage. People in Britain seem to forget that the player base in Zimbabwe is drawn predominantly from a very small section of the community - the whites and those middle class blacks who can afford to send their children to private schools. This means that they have a base of about 70,000 people (and falling - in the age of Huggins, Welensky and Whitehead there were well over 200,000 whites). It is as though Exeter, Canterbury or Bermuda were being asked to compete as test nations against countries of gigantic proportions. That Zimbabwe have come so far against such odds is a remarkable achievement - and has ensured them of my support (though I am English I have less sympathy for England cricket which has much money and a vast pool of players - and still manages to squander a good deal of its talent). I think it was right that Zimbabwe was accorded test status (the obstructionism of the English was shameful), and much is being done through the auspices of CricInfo and the ZCU to bring a wider section of the population into the game, but Zimbabwe are going to discredit their cricket and emasculate its growth if their players are going to make a ritual out of humiliation. The base is not yet large enough to satisfy the demands that are being made. I don't agree with Mr Ward when he says that the talent is there at the top of Zimbabwe's cricket. There is, of course, much talent, but it amounts to that of a county, state or provincial side - not a test side. What has carried the Zimbabwe side so far since the award of test status is the zest and enthusiasm of the players. This enthusiasm was let rip because the years of isolation and relative obscurity had pent it up. What we are seeing now is the inevitable implosion. When I saw the Zimbabwean batsmen face Caddick, Gough and Giddens I was struck by how defeated they seemed - they have become inured to disappointment and mediocrity since the World Cup and their unfortunate series in Singapore. Exposure to a very heavy international programme has robbed them of the zest that made them so successful in the past. It has deprived them of the principal factor that elevated them to a test standard. I certainly do not think that they should be stripped of their test status, or that it should be put in abeyance (as some people are probably suggesting), but I do think that their international burden should be very much lightened, and that compensation should be made for this by allowing individual players to get more experience at a first class level in county or state sides. This may perhaps help to build a more robust and confident test side. It is a great pity that fine individual talents and an excellent captain should be subject to repeated humiliations. At the moment - and not for the first time - it is all up to Neil Johnson. I wish I could remind him of the words of the Allied commander in the Great War, Marshal Ferdinand Foch, who on reflecting that his bloodied troops were in retreat and disarray on all fronts remarked 'Excellent, I am attacking'. I hope that he and the tail-enders advance down the pitch and pay these fast bowlers back in kind. It may be risky, but they are not going to win this test - not by a nautical mile - and they might as well come out of it with some of their self-respect in tact.

Posted by Rob on 21 May 2000
- Anyone know whether anyone is webcasting the match?

Posted by Liam Francis on 21 May 2000
This is certainly great stuff for england. better luck to zimbabwe in the second test. Athers, PLEASE score a century in this series and maybe three more against west indies!!!!

Posted by alex on 21 May 2000
I have 3 points! 1. Jeff Thompson must be a little embarressed about his comments at the start of the tour. I know they have trouble at home, but the performance theyve given at lords is nothing short of woeful. For Jeff to say Zimbabwe neednt worry about playing England has backfired nastily! 2. What happened to Channel 4 on Thursday? That coverage was disastrous! 3. Also, does anyone know why Nasser didnt declare yesterday? It all seemed a bit of a waste of time after Flintoff was out, especially with the dodgy weather forecast

Posted by michael sayner on 21 May 2000
I watched a bit of the cricket programme this morning. There was a discussion regarding the 2 disputed catches yesterday. I do not profess to know a lot about the matter but it seems to me that one of the values which test cricket has always displayed is that the authority of the umpire is final. I watched some teenagers playing football recently, the sad thing is they were using severe language at the referee & nothing was done. You realise when you see this that Cricket has managed to keep a high level of player respect for the umpire (Who let`s face it has a hard job). If players are going to come on tv & undermine the umpires position & authority, the game will ultimately lose one of the values which it shouls guard very closely indeed- Integrity of the game is at stake. People who are going to publicly call into question the work of the umpire should really look at the ultimate consequences of their action. Perhaps things were easier when there was no 3rd umpire. I would rather see a few errors than see the standard of the game degenerate to that of ill discipline.