BUMBLE ON THE TEST: Saqib Mahmood should have opened and Jos Buttler will be cursing his luck

Victim of the Barmy Army!

I am under threat of being barred from the Fauconberg Arms, my local pub, thanks to the Barmy Army!

Annelies, the landlady, has just been out to Barbados and her slumbers were disturbed each night by a rowdy and thirsty crew of cricket fans. I’ve been told if I have anything to do with this lot, not to come in for a drink again!

The Barmy Army have been disrupting the sleep of the landlady of David Lloyd’s local pub

A fine way to bring up 75

It was my 75th birthday on Friday and Betty’s of Harrogate was to the fore. There was birthday cake, fruit cake and Yorkshire Tea, of course.

It all went down a treat and was finished off with a fish and chip evening.

In a connection to this Test match, the fish shop we go to is in Huby, which is where England debutant Matt Fisher is from.

Jos must be cursing his luck

After seeing England score 500 and declare, Jos Buttler would have been excused for thinking: ‘What a time to miss out.’

He always seemed to go in at 50 for five and was expected to shut things up. He could have caused mayhem here. Jack Leach was brought in after eight overs. It made me wonder if there is a case for two spinners on this pitch? Enter Matt Parkinson.

31-year-old Jos Buttler was dropped from the England squad as part of the post-Ashes cull

Saqib should have opened

Chris Woakes is a terrific cricketer but he is not an opening bowler for England overseas. Before this match, Woakes took his Test wickets away from home at 54.

This was a chance for Saqib Mahmood to open the bowling as the fastest of the England bowlers. That would have given England two fresh lads spearheading a new-look attack and handed Mahmood a chance to show his full potential.

How not to pop the question…

There was a bloke in the crowd with a scruffy piece of cardboard, with the words ‘marry me’ scrawled in very poor handwriting to his other half.

Let’s think about this. He is in Barbados, which is not too shabby. The significant other is at home in the cold and the wet. If I was his intended and that was the best he could come up with, I would analyse his preparation and technique and ask the third umpire for a review before deciding!

This was a chance for Saqib Mahmood to open the bowling as the fastest of England’s attack

IPL is disrupting test game

Jarrod Kimber and Neil Manthorp had a chat on talkSPORT on Friday about the prospect of the Indian Premier League being extended.

The alarm balls should be ringing. Already, South Africa’s full attack is not available for upcoming Tests against Bangladesh, and New Zealand have 12 men ruled out of selection versus Afghanistan. Make no mistake, the IPL is disrupting the traditional international programme.