Didn't actually think that it "sucked" initially, but the first 30-45 mins of 'Memories of Murder' are so silly (and that's on purpose). I was like "wth, this is all so ridiculous lmao". But what follows after that is sheer cinematic brilliance. It's one of my Top 5 favourite films of all time. This is the only movie that comes to mind wrt your post right now. 'Parasite' is dirt compared to 'Memories of Murder' (both are directed by Bong Joon-ho)

u/CapsElevatorScene

Haha I know this joke lol. Good reference lmao

Haha true

Yeah I get what you're saying. But ultimately these are just "what-ifs" and if go into those, this will become a never-ending conversation lmao

Yeah he could've hit more boundaries early on in those overs, but to be fair, he was trying to do exactly that. Many of the balls he hit went deep into the field near the boundary, but were cut-off by the fielders or ended up reaching right near them. Also, he did start hitting more boundaries later on in his innings. I wouldn't blame Foakes here.

Haha yeah these "what-ifs" always remain in cricket (and in sport in general). So usually it's better to side with common sense tactics. And here, the common sense was that it's better shield the guy who can't bat much haha.

I'm glad that you're getting into this beautiful game, especially Test cricket! Welcome the community! :D

No problem! :D

Yeah so the thing is, ideally, you would want to "keep rotating the strike" (i.e., giving the strike to the other batter. It's a common cricketing phrase), because it "keeps the scoreboard ticking" as they say in cricket parlance. And when you're chasing, it's obviously helpful since 1 run regularly would keep getting deducted from your target. But it's only advisable to do this if the person at the other end is a specialist batter or an all-rounder (cricketers who can both bat and bowl), or atleast a tailender who can bat a bit decently. Anyone who comes after the 8th wicket falls is usually not any of those things, and you would obviously not want to lose 10 wickets in a chase coz that means losing the match. So you "farm the strike" (another common cricket phrase) in order to protect the tailenders at the other end.

Cricket is a game of permanent cost-benefit analysis for both teams on the field, in all aspects of the game.

Yeah it is wild haha. But that's the beauty of it. Because of its duration, it challenges both teams to do well over a sustained period. It's truly a very challenging format. The winner is almost always be the better team of the two over 5 days, because you simply remove the possibility of a team winning "because it was their day" haha. Plus, for quick entertainment you got the two limited-overs formats, especially T20Is (the shortest format of international cricket).

Cricket is like a buffet that way. You can pick and choose what you like, and watch that. But I've never ever seen a hardcore cricket fan not love Test cricket (the 5-day format), because the more you get into cricket, the more you understand why Test cricket is so revered.

I replied to another comment on this comment thread and the same answer applies here so I'm just pasting that comment of mine here:

Foakes was trying to protect the tailender at the other end because tailenders obviously can't bat nearly as well and England couldn't afford to lose easy wickets. That's why he was taking singles only towards the end of the over, to minimise the balls that the tailenders faced so as to minimise their exposure to the NZ bowling.

It made total sense what Foakes was doing. In fact, it would've been stupid to not do that.

Foakes was trying to protect the tailender at the other end because tailenders obviously can't bat nearly as well and England couldn't afford to lose easy wickets. That's why he was taking singles only towards the end of the over, to minimise the balls that the tailenders faced so as to minimise their exposure to the NZ bowling.

It made total sense what Foakes was doing. In fact, it would've been stupid to not do that.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

International cricket has 3 formats of matches: T20Is/IT20s (T20 Internationals/International T20s; last ~3-4 hrs), ODIs (One-Day Internationals; last a day), and Test cricket (last a maximum of 5 days). The former two have a sort of a "pitch limit" per innings. Test matches don't have that.

And an innings in cricket ("innings" is both singular and plural in cricket) is if all the players of a team are out and/or the pitch limit is reached or if the batting captain feels that their team has scored enough runs, and so declares the end of their batting innings (this is called a "declaration", and only happens in Test cricket). So the concept of a "half-Inning" doesn't exist in cricket.

Test cricket has 2 batting innings (and hence two bowling innings) per side, while the other two formats have one each and thus last for a shorter period of time (which is also because of the pitch limit which is built-in as part of those formats).

And plus, it's just the 4th ever instance of a team winning a Test match after being asked to follow-on.

I fucking love Test cricket!!!!!

I've already said this in reply to a couple of comments about this match (and about Test cricket) on r/cricket, but I'll say it again here coz idgaf, it fucking deserves it:

Word.

One of the best Test matches in the history of the sport!!!!!

Just the 4th ever instance in the history of the sport, that a team has a won after being asked to follow-on. And they've done so by a margin of 1 run. Literally the barest of margins for victory in a Test match. It's the joint-closest margin of victory in a Test match ever. And that too in a match that went well into Day 5. This is historic stuff!!!!!

I. Fucking. Love. Test. Cricket.

Anyone who mocks this format without understanding it, is a fucking fool

Yeah coz the thumbnail image didn't make it obvious that they were women.

Anyway, you're a sexist asshole lmao.

Yes, idiot :)

This is actually the joint 7th-lowest total in all of professional cricket (if you count the domestic tournaments of each country in all formats since the beginning of professional cricket). All the other lower scores (or equally low scores) were before WW I or something like that. I read this somewhere, so idk how true it is but assuming it is true, this is actually the lowest score in entire professional cricket in the last 100+ years, which is bad enough. Absolutely shit performance lmao.

Lmao absolute shambles

Then why did you respond? Could've just shut up and moved on :)

The next T20 World Cup*. And they're co-hosts with the West Indies.

I really hope I'm wrong, but this venture seems doomed from the start. They just haven't done enough at the grassroots level to attract mainstream attention. Just catering to South Asian and Caribbean immigrants isn't enough. They would've joined anyway lol. And they're a very slim minority in the US. Plus, MLC's and USA Cricket's marketing sucks as well. Also, 2 seasons of Minor League Cricket (MiLC) have already taken place and even at that time, they didn't do enough to attract white/black/latinx Americans (and their kids) even at the grassroots level, nor did they do a good job advertising any of this.

I'm saying all this as a hardcore cricket fan. Realistically speaking, this seems doomed from the beginning. I hope I'm wrong, but that's just how it's looking right now.

Yeah, seconded. I'm also a purist and Test cricket is my favourite format, but I love the other two formats too. Plus, idk what delusional world many cricket purists live in when they expect Test/FC cricket to be as popular as T20 cricket (or even more popular lol). Plus many of them have a condescending attitude. Test cricket should flourish and grow, but T20 cricket is definitely the format that'll bring in newer fans and countries into the mix. To think that Test cricket can do that, is delusional.

Yeah I mean I'm mad about it too lol, but it doesn't make England less of a WC winner (and I'm saying this as someone who hates the English and Aussie cricket teams lol). England were genuine WC winners because unfortunately that's how the rule was at that time, so no team should be blamed or undermined coz of it.

Ben Stokes, what a player!

2019 WC

2019 Ashes

2022 T20 WC

He's been England's main man in big games with his temperament and impact. One of the biggest high impact players of this sport! England probably wouldn't have won those matches if it weren't for him. Also, what a redemption for him after the 2016 T20 WC debacle. He'd already become a legend of English cricket in 2019 itself, but he's further cemented his place there now! Players would yearn to be a hero for their team in such crunch situations, but Stokes has now done it thrice, and across all formats that too. Incredible mentality monster!