BUMBLE AT THE TEST
SHANNON’S A THROWBACK
SHANNON GABRIEL is a big strapping West Indian fast bowler of the old school. He reminds me of Charlie Griffith of Hall and Griffith fame. Charlie was the scourge of the Lancashire League and in 1964 took 144 wickets at 5.2 apiece for Burnley! Chester Watson took 117 wickets at sevens two years before, which made our pro at Accrington Wes Hall a bit of a slouch. His 123 were at 10 apiece!
MUGS FOR MUGGINS
DELIGHTED to see that the doyen of Yorkshire cafes Ugly Mugs is operational again outside Headingley. This splendid establishment is back to its full glory and there’s no better place for a full English served on a bap with a bucket of builder’s tea. I’ll
be there today.
I’D SWEAR BEN’S CURSED
AS West Indies wilted Ben Stokes sensed a chance to push on and England’s run rate increased. Certainly Stokes fancied Roston Chase (right) but was caught right on the boundary and he’ll be cursing the bat that broke on him in his innings. I only hope he cursed under his breath!
JASON HOLDS BACK
WEST INDIES have been effectively playing with 10 men with Jason Holder’s reluctance to use Devendra Bishoo until all else seemed lost. Holder said he wanted off-spinner Roston Chase to bowl into the rough to the left-handers and to be fair he came up with three big wickets. But the leg-spinner was badly under-used.
STUDENTS ARE MAD-FERRET
BANK HOLIDAY MONDAY and a terrific effort from Yorkshire to charge just £15 a ticket and a fiver for kids and students. I’ll bet there were a lot of mature students showing their ageing student cards in courses as varied as ferret breeding, whippet training and a degree unique to these parts, the study of pie consumption.
IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE
THERE has to be a better way of dealing with no balls. There have been plenty missed in this Test and that’s because the bowler’s body is obscuring his front foot. We can put a man on the moon but at cricket matches we’re still messing about with a bucket of whitewash and a brush. There must be a way, using sensors like in tennis, for there to be a clear sound if there’s a no ball.
LET’S TALK CRYSTAL BALLS...
I’M going to take on the role of Mystic Meg (left) and say England are out of sight here. They’ve got plenty enough to win this Test. And Moeen Ali is sure to follow up his runs with a stack of wickets today because it’s spinning and bouncing. I fancy Jimmy Anderson to rattle past 500 wickets too. You heard it here first.