Stan

Was always the plan for the final to be aired on free-to-air TV if England made it I think. Good luck to both. Think England will win it. If NZ get a decent total will be an interesting chase as England are used to winning by batting first...

Halep was ridiculously good as much as Williams just didn't seem at the races today. Halep was making some unreal shots. Not often Williams gets dominated for all of the match but today was one of those occasions. Very happy for Halep. A much-deserved win.

Take the halo away?

Brilliant.

Nope but would also like to. Definitely going in the ballot for next year. My mum and dad went on the Monday and Tuesday just gone so got to see quite a few big players and decent matches in general.

Federer wins! Class tennis by him and Rafa. More so Federer though. The way he plays is literally so calm and collected. Never shows any pressure or nerves. Some of the shots towards the end were superb. Could tell Federer was on top especially on the 3rd set though and that he'd eventually win.

Nadal looks a little tired here. Wouldn't surprise me if Federer runs away with this set and wins the match. Nadal needs a second wind.

First set just about even. Second set Nadal's by far. Third set Federer's by far. They're rolling back the years with some of the rallies though. Not too many spectacular match winners but Federer appears to have the edge. He's restricting Nadal and his power with some calm and measured shots. Took control of that 3rd set like he was playing an amateur.

Very even game so far.

When is the ground going to be built by?

I'm hoping that too. Don't finish work til 4.30pm so would be perfect for the match to start then.

For what it's worth, I'm still a big advocate of test cricket and it's still my favourite form of the game. That's not to say I won't pay attention to shorter formats of the game because it is more instant and the excitement factor is there. With test cricket though it's so much more strategic and you have to be good in the mind for that format as well as physically. It's more of a thinking man's game and tactics have to be more focused. I can't wait for the Ashes. I'd love India to have something equivalent to that but for various reasons it never will (and not just because shorter format is where money is and what the focus is on these days).

I agree with the advantage for the batsmen but there's been several games in the IPL recently where it's not just throwing the bat at every ball or second ball. It's an explosive format but it's not always like that - that's where teams and batsmen value their wickets. Maybe that's the misconception that just because there's a lot of big-hitting they think it's constantly like that. It's not. You even said you've not even watched it that much in 10 years!?

Games could be done within about an hour and it wouldn't be viable as a sport to watch.

Can't believe it's first time they've played since 11 years ago. Madness. Watched the re-run and final stages of that final in 2008 on BBC 2 earlier. What a game. They looked so young!

England winning this at a canter now. Roy will tear NZ a new one at this rate. Unfortunate dismissal as well.

I disagree with the destroying comment but each to their own.

Means you go on about stuff a lot when it's not always necessary. You've mentioned your distaste about India's cricket and joy about India failing about 2-3 times in quick succession. Makes you look obsessed. Hence my comment. Sorry if that displeases you.

Far too obsessed.

Someone seems to care enough to still talk about it though

What a start for England.

Australia to bat first. Finch & Warner can't get out cheaply like in the last match. With England's batting to come, they have to set the tone for the innings.

Insects but okay. Always find the work of ants as a colony pretty surreal.

Nice open plan office.

That fan who pushed the guy in to the fountain in Barcelona banned from attending football games for 3 years. Also banned from entering any town where Liverpool play away fixtures on the day. https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/coward-liverpool-fan-who-pushed-16561430