Stan

Still can't get over the Neesham catch and Guptill run-out throw. Superb bits of fielding. Starc is superb. If he sees what Boult did today then that'll give him some encouragement if it was ever needed.

It's the hope that kills you Jadeja & Dhoni had to go for it and as they edged closer the faint glimmers of hope that we could chase it down, against all odds having been 24-4, slowly became brighter. But not to be. Well done NZ and good luck to them in the final. Defending that total is commendable especially with how they obliterated our top order. Boult in these overcast, cloudy conditions always spells trouble for opposition.

Thought the same. Then he'll have a go at obliterating NZ in the later overs but get out. Don't blame Pant for going for it either. He's the only one (and Pandya) to get runs and stop the NZ onslaught. Pant will be a great cricketer in future, you can tell. He's got the same aggression that Dhoni/Kohli had early on and over time it'll be tempered but hopefully won't lose the quality.

I can't imagine he'll be looked at favourably after his reaction to his omission from the side either. Agree that he'd be ideal for this kind of situation. Run-rate creeping up to 6 an over now. Getting more difficult but it's important to keep what wickets we have left. Simply have to bat til the end.

Karthik's performances so far are exactly the reasons for me not wanting him to be included in the squad. Yes it's only been a small part to play but he's not taken his chances. Even against Bangladesh he got out very cheaply when he could have put a few runs on the board. Just very disappointing from him and I expected so much more.

Doesn't mean they'll never lose games

5 for 3 off 3 overs. Strong start by India.

Mindset will be nothing like the fans for sure in terms of being bothered about returning for another day! They'll be professionals as you say and they're all experienced enough to know the job at hand.

This is the thing - he was one of the form players in the league before his unfortunate injury. My gut instinct is that due to his injury he may not become that same level of form. On the other hand, I want to include him in my Fantasy League team and he's a cheap option so I really want him to regain that form and play like he never missed a minute

Exactly the same in terms of the bold bits! It's more out of awe than anything. Maybe other doubles games in the past have flattered to deceive; Williams is just demolishing these with her return. Apparently Martin's one of the best servers in the doubles game aswell. She's taking the piss Some decent rallies though when they get going.

Would be good if this ended up having the desired effect on the day or in the long term of getting Ashley out. Would be a big statement to see an empty SJP on opening day of the season (and matches thereafter).

@Teso dos Bichos if you ever want to live in Northern Ireland mate

Play to carry on tomorrow as this game has been pretty much washed out since 2pm. A shame really and the British weather wins again. Bit of a farce, as well, having semi-finals in northern cities (where it usually rains more I dare say). As a comparison, Wimbledon has been totally unaffected today...

Wait til the end (not that long to wait)

Nah it can still be used! Just for transfers that don't already have a thread I guess.

@CaaC (John) there's threads for most of these transfers already.

NZ 128-2 off 34 overs. Very slow going from them but our bowling has been so good and disciplined. Pressure consistently put on the batsman so far. Williamson has been resilient for NZ.

What's the deal with Oxlade-Chamberlain, lads? Reckon he'll play from the start of the season regularly?

Bhuvi is much better under these kind of cloudy conditions. Should hopefully get a little bit of swing. First ball review and it's wasted. Just me that thought it was so obvious it was going down leg?!

Regarding today, I'm hoping we can bat first and build a big total. There could be some rain later which means DLS may come in to play. I have faith in our bowling that if Boult can do anything, then Bumrah/Kumar/Shami can do so too.

Where is he? Can't see him.