England floored by India planning
India worked really hard for their success today, executing well prepared plans and bowling with great heart and aggression on a pitch that continues to give them little help.
England fell for a couple of sucker punches which made their task increasingly difficult.
The first was Michael Vaughan’s dismissal in the last over before lunch when Anil Kumble tossed up a half-volley, and successfully tempted Vaughan to drive back a return catch. The other was the wicket of Kevin Pietersen for 41.
Dravid threw the ball to Sachin Tendulkar, who ambled in and, first ball, tossed up a speculative, wide leg-spinner. Pietersen threw the bat at it and gave a surprised but delighted Dravid a simple catch at slip. It will not go down as one of Pietersen’s finest moments.
Once again, Zaheer Khan comfortably out-bowled every other paceman in the game. His gentle approach disguises a hostile bouncer, and because the batsmen are now aware of this and are looking for it, they are reluctant to come forward to his slower, stock ball as they should. This means Zaheer can pitch the ball up a little further, allowing it to swing. It all sounds very simple, but helps to explain his success in this series.
Ian Bell batted positively despite the difficult circumstances. After such a brilliant summer last year, he has found runs rather more elusive since the Leeds Test against West Indies, scoring just 73 runs in his last six innings.
Until he fell to a loose stroke outside the off-stump, he showed the resilience and determined shot selection that the situation demanded, but few of his colleagues applied. What on earth Ryan Sidebottom was doing trying to hook Zaheer Khan, for example?
Paul Collingwood can consider himself unlucky to have become umpire Ian Howell’s latest victim, but only he, James Anderson and, possibly, Matt Prior – who edged a decent delivery before he had scored – can honestly claim not to have played some part in their dismissals.
What we won’t know, until tomorrow, is what Dravid will do: will he enforce the follow-on, or not?
come on India!!!!!!!!!
Complain about this postYour comments seem to suggest that England still has a chance! You have to eat your pie for commenting on Dravid not declaring...dont worry..Dravid will enforce followon and England would have lost the game by tomorrow...
Guess who is the better team.. and admit that England team is over rated non performers.
Complain about this postA long boring day's cricket comes to an end.
And barring a miracle the last wicket should be taken pretty early and then the follow on is on.
I cannot see India batting again though the temptation to give Ganguly and Tendulkar a final chance to bat in England will possibly be on Dravid's mind...kind of bat till the target reaches 550 and then declare and watch Kumble possibly make a mess of England's second innings!
Complain about this postengland have to over come the pressure of facing pressure rather than facing 600+ indian total, i hope the pitch is still good for battiing, have to c how england defends tommorow.
Complain about this postWILL MONTY BE ABLE TO GET THE TRIPLE TON TOMMORROW?
Complain about this postI think its amazing that Zaheer bowled so economically...wish India had wrapped up England today itself. My bet is Dravid will enforce the follow on but who knows India may come in and bat for 30 overs and smash 200 runs.
Complain about this postFrankly, if anyone is having a horrible time in middle is Ian Howell. Collingwood should have no reason to feel unlucky - he was out to the Kumble delivery as soon as he came out to bat; and Howell was the umpire.
I do not understand why Matt Prior is not to blame. He had no business offering the bat to the ball not even pitched in the line of stumps. Check out the replays to see the gap between his bat and pads.
Complain about this postThanks Jonathan for not focusing on the vagaries that I expect some English commentators to focus on - Collingwood's controversial LBW, India winning the toss, the relentlessly nice weather (which then leads into a discussion of the First Test). Hard for an impartial observer to say anything other than that India has batted and bowled better in the last two Tests.
England can really use a keeper and at least one bowler who can handle a bat the way Dhoni, Kumble, and even Sreesanth have.
Complain about this postI have been a real cricket fan all these years than just supporting one team blindly. To be honest its been really a very sad state of affairs watching the match live and listening to the analysis given by the English commentators. Its been a growing trend veering towards being very biased. Except for crisp, emotionless and very logical explanations by Sir ian Botham and to an extent Nasser Hussain, rest of them tread on the borders of mockery.
These commentators are so English pro (thats not too bad considering they have to comment staying on home soil) and so narrow minded, they completely loose the plot that there are two sides playing in a match!
For instance, Paul Collingwood's dismissal today was reviewed under microscope and the elite panel came to conclusion that it was not out when hawk-eye clearly suggested that the ball was hitting the leg stump. Fair enough. But when Alistar Cook was plumb leg before this morning to RP Singh and was not given out, there was just a small mention that it was a good ball and credited the umpire saying its too fast to make a decision in split second!! there have been other incidences, especially during last Ashes wherein some of the LBW decisions given against Aussies were analysed at great length but clear LBWs of Fiintoff when turned down by the umpires were hardly shown on the replays or with hawk eye.
I guess its time to grow up and be counted as men than whinging on tosses, luck and everything else apart from cricket. I wonder whether it ever happens on this land.
Complain about this postcheers
Agree 100% with Geoff Boycott. England's batsmen are incapable of reigning themselves in and play to the situation. Arrogance, pure arrogance from England. If you listened to Peter Moores this morning and Paul Collingwood this evening, they're not willing to admit what everyone can see. They haven't got the bottle, (even with all the dodgy decisions Houll has given them.)
Three cheers to the series winners, jelly beans to the losers.
Complain about this postMe thinks England need to go back to the drawing board and take the approach taken by the Australians in the 70s / 80s. Open a few "Centers Of Excellence In Cricket" and groom a LOT of young talent; and perhaps a little less emphasis on soccer :-).
This is just dismal...
Jimmy "born in India but now owned and operated by the Angl0-American Empire" Mohsin
Complain about this postIt seems that all of our wicket keepers can go and score some runs when there's no pressure. The last decent innings i can remember by an english keeper under pressure was chris read at headingley 2006 v Pakistan when he turned the balance back in our favour and we went on to win. Isn't he the best gloveman?
I don't want to sound like I'm pointing the finger at just one man for the (batting) performances of a team that seems like its starting to believe their own press but I am beginning to wonder.
Come on lads, prove me wrong.
Complain about this postIndia have done well but could have done better. Had they bowled with a little discipline earlier they could have had egland wrapped up early.
Zaheer has been brilliant in this tour and I think this he has really stepped up and led this attack with aggression, skill, maturity and pride.
England need a reality check and realise that their batsman at the moment arent as good as india.
The indians whole team has performed on this tour and i think once of the reasons is we dont have a Coach so the senior guys are trying to set more of an example.
Come on India!
Complain about this post2 days left already won the series might as well just have a bit of fun and bat possibly let one of the old guard hit a century in their last test or open with kumble lol. Who's going to remember whether this series was won 1-0 or 2-0. Dravid and co probably can't be bothered to stand about in the field all day again anyway.
Complain about this postat least aggers isn't banging on about the weather and the toss like some of the 'learned' folk on these boards..as far i'm aware, both teams expereince the same weather and deal with it to the best of their ability, i.e. India considerably better, although even blaming, ahem, the sun, smacks of diversion tactics...
i'm a two decade england follower (at only 24!!) who loves the sport and the team more than almost anything, but it seems very obvious to me - we simply aren't playing well enough!!!..ok so Anderson bowled quite well, although still too inconsistently, and Bell and Collingwood ground out some decent runs, but can we stop blaming the toss, decisions, etc - these are part of any sport people, and the longer we hide behind such excuses the longer it will take for us fans to see the team for what they are - average to slightly above...
Let's give India their due; for most of the series they have outplayed us and thoroughly deserve to win..more of their performers have stood up to be counted, even their rather average bowling attack, whilst we cannot hope that Pieterson rescues us time after time...
anyway, that's the end of my rant, i've never posted before but it just really frustrates me to read all these idiotic excuses that are trotted out every time England are in the process of getting beaten- we are being schooled by a team that, whilst maybe not completely superior, has performed a damn sight better than us..
Remember, acceptance is the first step....
Complain about this postAside from the commendable drawn series away in India a year or so ago, too many of the England players are living off thumping weak opposition on flat tracks or reputations from 2005 and before. There have been injuries to critical players - few teams could live with the number we have had. However, England seem to have resigned themselves to sinking back to mediocrity following their commendable performance in the first part of the decade. English sport has seen this before. Time to stand up and be counted as this is real test cricket - not beating WI and Pakistan at home. Those who emerge with credit from the next to days should have confirmed their place. You know Graham Thorpe wouldn't give his wicket away in such circumstances as many of the players did today.
As for the wicketkeeping debate, Jack Russell was never a great talent with the bat as I recall but used to have a knack of hanging around - mainly because he was great at leaving the ball. He also seemed to improve as he played (I don't know if the stats will back that up, but he seemed to get even cannier). We don't have an Alec Stewart or Adam Gilchrist (or Alan Knott for that matter) knocking on the door. So I think Read should play and I'm sure his batting will improve (it wasn't that bad already). Prior's drops and byes were more costly than simply 100 odd runs. They took momentum and confidence from England: with only 4 bowlers, every chance must be taken.
Complain about this postSuprisingly the situation offers England their best chance to win the game since the start of the match. A long shot - If England are asked to follow on, they could bat for 4 sessions, get past the Indian score. Then ask India to score 180 ish off the last two sessions of the match. Then attack and hope to bowl them out on a turning pitch with Panesar.
Complain about this postA very unlikely situation, asking England to score around 500 in 122 overs. However India did something simliar against Australia with Laxman scoring 281!
Come on Monty. Like someone else said previously. He's a shoe in for a triple figure score.
Complain about this postChak de India,
Complain about this postI think India should not enforce the follow on. Dravid should give a chance to his batsmen to give another round for proper hammering and declare before lunch. A score of 200-250 would surely put additional pressure on england.
In all likelihood england is very likely to buckle under pressure and lose the game
India will make England follow on....u only have to remember Sidney when India scored 700+ and did not make Australia follow, the same mistake will not be repeated again.
Complain about this postIn cricket there is no knowing when and how the batsman will get out. One has to give credit to Sachin for bowling that leg break out side the off stump which tempted Pietersen to drive which ended up in a catch to Rahul.I do not think the LBW decision to Collingwood was wrong. Sreesanth's delivery was an outseinger which pitched on the leg stump and deviated to the off(being outswinger)It would have certainly hit the leg stump. The teams are giving off their best. England batted really well today. Ian Bell seems to me to be their best batsman. India bowlers toiled hard to get the wickets and were rewarded for their hard work. The inevitability of defeat for England is lurking round the corner but they should not give up and if they lose fighting there is no disgrace or shame, instead that will prapare them for greater glory when they take on the Australia for the next ashes series in England.There is no point sulking in the corner for unpiring errors and ifs and buts because that will not save anybody from the reality.
Complain about this postpaul collingwood should consider himself lucky he got to score 63 runs, he was plumb lbw to kumble, with the ball hitting the base of middle stump!!
Complain about this postand it was pretty pathetic on the part of all the "experts" to keep saying the ball which got collingwood would have missed leg stump by a distance when hawkeye showed it would have clipped leg stump.
englands batting performance shows why tendulkars innings was so important, england badly needed somebody to do what tendulkar did. instead we saw three pretty fifties and some senseless shot selection.
If India win 2-0, they will be joint World no 2 along with England. If the game is drawn, India will be joint no 3 with Sri Lanka.
That should be enough encouragement for India, not to enforce follow on and try finishing England off on 4th day itself.
Complain about this postMichael Vaughan & England have to learn how to accept defeat; They were vastly overrated following their home ashes victory & even believed the hype themselves. Defeat is something they will taste on a regular basis when they're not facing the whipping boys.
Complain about this postThe simple truth is that India are a far better cricket team than England.
England are probably the worst cricket team of all nations. I can't see England beating anyone other than West Indies at home. And England would probably lose to all cricket teams away from home.
Complain about this postYou're all wrong! Monty will hit a double ton tomorrow...
... then Reading will win 3-0 at Old Trafford
... and then nurse will be round with my medication.
Lovely.
Complain about this postIndia should win this match with ease. They would be happy with 1-0, but 2-0 would be very convincing.
They are definitely the second best team in the world!!!!
Complain about this postIf only England won the toss and decided to bat first, things could've been a lot different. I am sure batting first gave India a good feel of the pitch and used the surface to its advantage.
I am sure England would've posted a similar total had they batted first and India would've been under pressure from the start.
I wonder what anyone can do about toss-unfairness factor in the future ?
Complain about this postHmmm.
Aggers, why don't you mention that Collingwood should have been out for 0, Cook was LBW yesterday & there were another 3 obvious LBWs not given by Howell, who has been awful.
Several batsmen played really stupid shots (Strauss, Vaughan, Pieterson, Sidebottom).
Complain about this postI’m not sure what the ICC’s strategy about Test Umpire selection is, but Ian Howell would not be on my umpiring A-list. He has not looked the part in terms of LBW decision making. Paul Collingwood’s ‘LBW’ was one of Umpire Howell’s many LBW decisions that did not look anywhere near correct. Ian Howell has given players out when they were clearly not out (e.g., Ganguly’s inside edge onto his pads) and he has not given decisions that look absolutely plumb. Once players start thinking that umpire decision making is a lottery then that can’t be good for the match. They might start ‘over appealing’, thinking that it is just a matter of time before the umpire raises his digit, rather than limiting their appeals for genuine looking LBWs.
Complain about this postI hate to bang on about injuries, but England have played the whole series without Flintoff, Hoggard and Harmison. That being said, India have conclusively outplayed England. And the main reason is England's batting. I have said on here before but at the moment its just to flakey. KP can be brilliant, when he is batting on his own terms, but in almost any situation that takes him out of his comfort zone, he fails. Collingwood is fine and can be great, but somehow I just feel he is a bit too inconsistent to be batting behind KP. And Bell doesn't cut the mustard right now. I'd like to see Owais Shah batting at 5 for a series, and I'd like Ravi Bopara to be looked at closely.
As for the keeping spot, the problem is that the tail isn't strong enough to cope with a oure gloveman. I kind of think maybe Tim Ambrose is worth a look at. Seems to have batted reasonably well this year, and apparently his glovework is ok.
Complain about this postIt would be a mercy if England were put out of their misery as quickly as possible so that they can all go home and get on with whatever it is they're best at.
Complain about this postZaheer Khan has been a revelation. It is clear to see that he has separated himself from the pack. It is in his body language and his attitude.
Of course, the hardest part is repeating himself and that will make the Pakistan and Australia tour extremely interesting.
Complain about this postI had to laugh at an earlier comment at giving Tendulkar the credit for KP's dismissal - he'd hardly warmed up, he'd thrown a leg-break wide of off-stump which turned a little out of the rough, and Pietersen did not have the presence of mind to let it go and get through to tea. Crap ball, crap shot - it happens to everyone. Except in this case, Pietersen should not have fallen for it.
India fully deserve the upper hand in this Test series - their seamers have been both accurate and penetrative, their batting decisive and consistent, and have more than matched England in every department. England's top order have struggled - what a good player Trescothick has shown himself to be in his absence. The other real issue for me is that there doesn't appear to be anyone leading the seam attack, no-one standing up and trying something new for a break-through. With no Flintoff or Hoggard, there's no leadership in the bowling ranks, and that is why Anderson should never be considered as a senior bowler in the side.`
Complain about this postI'm not sure Dravid will enforce the follow on. His bowlers will be tired and assuming India can bat for most of the day, he can put England 500+ behind and demoralised. India can then bowl at England on the last day with nothing to lose. I think that's likely to end with a 2-0 series win.
Complain about this postIf England follow on, they'll obviously play aggresively. Say they post 450 by lunch on Monday, at least they'll have something to aim at.
If I was Dravid I'd bat England out of the game.
your a strange bowler
Complain about this postI am suprised that no one has made more of the fact that due to good old fair play, when we need a result to level a series, we produce a belter of a pitch to ensure a draw . Is it too controversial to suggest that certain other countries would have ensured a more sporting wicket to ensure a result.
Complain about this postLets face it there is no reason why England cannot still bat out time to save the game. Some of teh critisism is harsh. Faced with a 650 plus score and having to win there are going to be more indudicious shots. It stands to reason. That is the beauty of the game . It revolves around risk. Who wants to watch two days of Boycott batting to save a game that needs to be won ! If england needed a draw or had won teh toss, they would bat differently . Oh and can some one please concede that picking prior was a mistake and that they should go with Read or Foster
Very good point about the reasons behind Zaheer Khan's success in this series. India should enforce follow-on and go from there.
Complain about this postIndia have had the better of the conditions in the last two test matches but they have in those matches also out batted and bowled England. England's current bowling line up is weak due to injuries but there is less excuse for the batsmen. Straus has technical and judgement problems, Cook a technical problem, Bell- notwithstanding his reasonable but ultimately inadequate innings today - does not have the character to be a good test cricketer, and Prior is just not of test standard, nor is Collingwood totally convincing. Others must be tried in place of some of the current team or England will drift further and further down the test rankings. This team is cerainly not the second best in the world at the moment.
Complain about this postHowever, the view that the commentators are biased towards England is absurd and this daft idea is exposed by the embarrasingly biased opinions of those who say they are.
good sides don't lose home series because of bad luck. India would have beaten england even if they had flintoff, harmison and hoggard.
Complain about this postHow about the next toss that England face is on a best out of three basis....or out of five...or out of.....Or Vaughany and the opposing captain could play rock, paper, scissors to decide who bats first...
Complain about this postBeen at the Oval today. Strange day, given that England can't win, and India don;t need to. India shouldn't enforce a follow on anyway. they'll lead by 280+ and then, given their lead in the series, they should/ wil bat for....ever! Game over. They can't lose.
Complain about this postIts amazing how many people are just so ignorant about cricket. Every Indian supporter seem to believe that Dravid will enforce follow-on.
I am England supporter but have started to very much like this Indian team. If it is important for India to win this series then they WILL NOT enforce follow on. they will come, score another 200 odd runs and kill any change england may have to force things..and then come bowling firing all cylinders...
I hope it is a better day of cricket tomorrow,
Complain about this postGav
How about the next toss that England face is on a best out of three basis....or out of five...or out of.....Or maybe Vaughany and the opposing captain could play rock, paper, scissors to decide who bats first...
Complain about this postCollingwood was out to Kumble when he came in, so DON'T SAY HE WAS LUCKY. Collingwood got what he deserved though a little late, remember Tendulkar not LBW in 2nd test on 91 and Ganguly given BBW (Bat before wicket)...the bowler in both cases was Collingwood.
Complain about this postIt is just another game, just try to enjoy it, take it easy guys.
Complain about this postI am tired of listening India were "lucky" in winning the toss, got better conditions, Collingwood was unlucky etc etc,..Jesus wake up!
Complain about this postBottom line is - India played well than England & Collingwood was out much earlier to Kumble but was not given. This is the same Collingwood who cheekily appealed for Sachin's atrocious LBW on 91 at Trent Bridge and Ganguly's Bat Before Wicket when Saurav was on 37.
PLEASE ADMIT INDIA ARE BETTER THAN ENGLAND
How about Howell giving Collingwood not out earlier today when he was PLUMB?
Complain about this postHere's the hard cold facts without spite or attitude:
England's current bowling squad have potential talent, it shines now and again but can't stand up to solid but cautious batting. We don't have a naturally aggressive bowler like McGrath or Brett Lee, a genuine pace bowler who scares a batsman. We had them in 2005, Flintoff, Hoggard and Jones at their best were fearsome, and attacking wicket takers. Unfortunately all three are off form or suffering from a string of injuries and we have no one with similar ability to replace them.
A public announcement should be made allowing the following lines:
"We'll pick the best bowlers to play for England. If you're performing consistently well in the county leagues you will have a shot."
If this puts pressure on the current bowling squad, good, they can either handle pressure and as such be good performers or they'll be replaced by better bowlers. The England training camp should not be there to turn okay bowlers into good bowlers. It should be taking great bowlers and turning them into amazing ones.
Age should not be an issue if the player can still perform as required.
Batting
When not batting first, England's batsman are scared and too cautious. If the thoughts going through your head are "God, I best not get out or we're over" your slot selection is going to suffer. England's batsman DO have the ability but they're too scared to honestly go at the bowlers, when they do we tend to come out top (ashes 2005, first test V's India). Pietersen is top class batsman that occasionally lets his emotions rule. It's rare for him to get out unfortunately, it's usually going for a big slog that wasn't needed.
Cook is a first class batsman that needs only to work on his foot work to avoid the lbw that so often takes him out. He's young and has plenty of time to tweak his style, something a quality batting coach could fix quickly.
I am not one to jump on the dropping people band wagon but it really is time for Strauss to go. Give him one season playing county cricket and let him build up his confidence again. We know he can perform but a spell back in the counties will do him the world of good.
In general I think the batsman should take it to them and let them know why we should be feared. Attack when it's right too and be cautious when required, it's better to score 50 over two hours than it a quick 20 then give your wicket away.
Opening batsman spending 5-10 overs playing themselves in is fine, scoring two or three off an over as average but when the bowlers are tiring and you've got the hang of the pitch you can step up a gear for an over or two then settle down again. I'd rather see the openers take 20 overs to hit 100 - 0 and building a platform for the middle order to build on.
If we find ourselves in a situation such as in this test, far behind with little chance of recovery we should go down fighting. It's better to die a lion than fade away as a mouse.
Wicket Keeper
Prior should bee kept for the one day series and given an intelligent and inspiring pep talk, thats all it needs. He's made some serious mistakes this test, and it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to say he has largely contributed to the loss of it, however every one makes mistakes and they should be given the chance to rectify it. I know everyone thinks their counties keeper deserves a shot but the fat is Prior has done well over all.
Building for the Future
It's in the interest of the ECB to offer a certain amount of games to the ´óÏó´«Ã½ for a resonable price to tempt the young into taking up the sport.
As far as I know the ECB receives around £10 million per test match from TV coverage and I acknowledge this is very important for the survival of the game in it's current form but it's a small minority of people that subscribe to Sky Sports and fewer still that watch cricket.
Lets see one series a year shown on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ as well as some county Twenty20 games, shorter 3-4 hour programs that people can sit down and watch fully without losing the whole day. Give reports on other county games during the programming to spark interest and make it a weekly event.
Air a top Twenty20 evening game initially once a week on the ´óÏó´«Ã½ and you'll see how many people find an interest in the game.
I've gone off topic a bit so to give you the gist of this I'll say this:
Airing a game is like putting an advert on a billboard, it costs money (reduced fee paid to the ECB to allow ´óÏó´«Ã½ airing) but in the long term it provides benefits. The ECB WILL see more ticket sales and kids taking up the sport.
Airing a game on Sky is like being paid to set up a billboard in the woods. It's good in the short term but less than 1% of the UK population will see it.
Put your billboard by the motorway and you'll see a growing interest in what you offer.
=========================
If I have sometimes made no sense and wandered off into irrelevant trains of thought I apologise, I have been building up the dutch courage.
Complain about this postSimple solution. Wrap up Eng innings first thing tomorrow (with the lead still over 300). Bat again, in a one-day mode. Pile up 300 runs by tea time. Declare the innings. Series victory is assured. Why not rub it in for fun?
Complain about this postA moderated blog!! Either you are open for comments or you are not. Once a blog [comment] has been posted and found offensive then you can retain the right to delete the comment. Are you writing this blog as a public service or are you getting paid for the same by ´óÏó´«Ã½ which is a publicly funded organisation. Will I be surprised if my blog gets deleted...!!
Complain about this postTo all England fans, including so called experts:
Complain about this postMost of you need to stop crying about injuries to your bowlers etc. Injuries are part of any and all sports. You play with the hand you were dealt with, not with the hand you dreamt should have been dealt to you! Same way you should stop whining about the toss and conditions etc. Conditions are same for both teams and only one team can win a toss in a given match. It all evens out at the end. So grow-up and stop acting like little kids for your team's poor performance.
Paul Collingwood was lucky to consider himself unlucky. He was clearly out LBW much earlier in the innings.
Complain about this post@ Manish Narayan
I assume that this blog is moderated to delete instances of partisan supporters firing insults at each other, something that is all too common elsewhere.
This is a place for reasoned discussion.
Cricket Fans can disagree while loving the game, ok?
That being said, my opinion is - Enforce follow-on Rahul. No one really broke a sweat bowling Saturday. Win series 2-0 don't go for the soft option.
Complain about this postThere are two more days to this test and anything can happen and it is wrong on part of Ind supporters to treat as if this test is won. Eng has some fine batsman who could bat out the next six sessions. If Kumble can get a 100, why not these guys. Good luck Eng.
Complain about this postI think a lot of the Indian commenters on here need to re-read the first sentence of Aggers post:
'India worked really hard for their success today, executing well prepared plans and bowling with great heart and aggression on a pitch that continues to give them little help'
I think you can safely say, India have given England a proper tonking. Comprehensively outplayed. Bit less sour grapes from the Indian supporters here - you WERE lucky to draw the first test, and the second test DID hinge on winning the toss.
However, that IS cricket. Nuances and luck can determine the outcome of 5 days of play, IF you take advantage of the opportunities. Good teams (like India) do do this. Poor teams (like the Windies) cant manage it.
England had a chance for a draw in this test, but it required two things: batting all day, and not throwing away your wickets. We managed to bat all day, but far too many players threw away their wickets, playing foolish shots.
India bowled supremely well - I'm still amazed at how much swing Khan was getting on the ball compared to Sidebottom, who is an excellent swing bowler - but a team with character should find a way to counter that. England seem to have no character at the moment, and seem completely lost without a genuine fast bowling attack.
Complain about this postevery 1 says that engalnd bowing without flintoff, hoggard , harmison & jones i looking weak. but dont u guys think that part frm zaher & kumble the indian bowlers 2 is in learing curve & in alien condition. but they applied themselves and chip in with wickets. so give credit to indian what it acheive
Complain about this postMy comment to all folks whinging about injuries to England players is that, yes, the series would have produced perhaps a higher quality of cricket with Flintoff and Hoggard fit, and Jones in good form, but I doubt the result would have been any different. You have to remember that India too are missing Irfan Pathan and Munaf Patel, who had they been fit/in good form, would have been more potent than Sreesanth and Singh. I think the Indian batting has looked very determined and competent. The English batting has unfortunately, looked over-confident and lacking in that very English quality, grit. Except Vaughan at Trentbridge, and Pietersen at Lords, the English batting has looked ordinary and totally lacking in application. India has been the superior team. Except for the first day at Lords, when they almost lost the match with poor bowling, they have looked the more likely team to win. It will be an exciting winter's cricket down under when India go there in December.
Complain about this postAs usual the England batters seem to be unable to adapt their game to real pressure situations in test cricket and too many off them tossed their wickets away "playing their natural game" - which seems to be a bye-word for having a lash at every delivery. When you're chasing 600 + the run are important, but so is occupying the crease!
Prior has surely been found wanting against test class bowling with the bat and his keeping is poor. I wonder if Moores, who seems to pay attention to county cricket, has noticed that Read is averaging 63 this season for Notts, 10 points ahead of Ambose who seems to be top of other people's wish list. It really has to be time for England to pick Read and give him a proper run in the team.
As to the rest of England's tail, I don't have an answer except that they should not be giving away 600+ for the batters to chase! Flintoff would be welcome back with the ball but must improve his batting again to bat anywhere higher than 8.
The real issue for me is not enough people taking responsibility at the top of the order. Strauss has lost the plot and woshes at every thing he gets, and I'm afraid I have not yet seen Cook take a game by the scruff of the neck and make a big, innings defining hundred when we are under the cosh. Pietersen too needs to adapt his game to this kind of pressure. We know that Vaughan has the bottle, we saw that last test, as does Colly, but we need more big scores from the top 6 when we are on the ropes....
Complain about this postSo much for the great post Ashes inquest, same England, same sorry performance, no application, poor technique. I t will be a long time before England are anywhere close to be the #1 test side, maybe a long time before they are even #2 again.
Complain about this postI t goes back to the system, Australia Pura Cup is played over four days, so batsmen have to be able to construct an innings, bowlers have to be able to bowl all day. There is only one 50 over a side competition.
During test matches during the lunch breaks the local kids are all out there for the Milo school cricket, both boys and girls, what kind of encouragement do English schoolkids have to play cricket?
The whole English Cricket needs a shake up and soon, and as for the Aussies having no reserves, the guys that went to Winter training at the Australian acadamy are more than capable of replacing the old timers. Hilfenhaus the Tassie bowler, bowled something like 600 overs during the Pura series with an average of around 20. He's next in line to join the test team and will be a real threat.
England Ashes wake up call has not been heeded!!!!
i don't think u will find many indian supporters feeling sorry for collingwood. his only 2 wkts of the series have been umpiring mistakes & the 2nd one, a massive inside edge onto his pad by ganguly, was so embarrassing it should only be right if the match ref was to interview collingwood himself.
with regards to the match why enforce the f/o? there is always the chance that 2 english players could get themselves in & get 100s & even get ahead of india. why not just bat on until say lunchtime on day 5 & set england over 700 to win in 2 sessions? then they will have absolutely nothing to aim for & india can relax knowing the series is won.
Complain about this postIt seems to me that everyone is forgetting that England are without their three front-line bowlers and their star all-rounder. I am sure that it would have been a very different outcome if they had been fit.
Well played India however and good luck against those Aussies.
Complain about this postI think India have played better cricket than expected. After a long time India have played up to their capability. There have been many instances where the team has looked awesome on paper and have been shattered against a less fancied opposition. It's really heartening to see that every member of the team has performed.
As for the this test, I'm not so sure about India's chances of winning. Bowling England out once more will be a tedious task on such a flat wicket. It will be interesting to see how much it turns today for Kumble and Tendulkar. It will be a huge blunder if England are not asked to follow on. To quote Mr Ian Chappell:" A team should do what the opposition team would like least."
If India manages to win, it will be a spectacular feat. England have been outplayed and the commentators should be less biased. Ok, Collingwood got a wrong decision from Howell but they shouldn't keep whining on that issue. Indians had their share of bad decisions as well. Ganguly's dismissal in both the tests was not correct.
Complain about this postWell im a neutral cricket lover from Nepal. ive been keenly following this series and simply think that India has outplayed
England in the last two test but luck has also played a part in it. I cannot think what might had happened to the series
outcome had eng taken one more wicket at Lords. Or had the rain come 15 minutes later. Either way....india escaped with
series level at 0-0 not 0-1.
I also think india has beaten eng in their own game. SWING bowling. Indian swing bowling has simply been better than their
more experienced counterpart. Zak being the leader of the pack.
I also request eng supporter to stop whining about their inexperienced bowlers. Can someone explain me whcih bowlers have
more experience bowling in english conditions- Shresanth,RP & Zak or Anderson,Sidebottom & tremlett???
I value tendulkars this inning, in the context of the match and series very high but having seen him bat last 10-12 years, i
was bit dissapointed to see him grind so much. Will i ever see a more flamboyant sachin....i may never know.
My prediction for one day series....5-2 in favour of india.
Complain about this postIf India could wrap up England's 1st innings in the first few overs tomorrow, Dravid should enforce follow-on and set aggressive fields to win the series 2-0. This will also boost their morale immensely and will be mentally ready when they face mighty aussies down under. Well played India....
Complain about this postTis funny, England have been so arrogant approaching this test series- or even after the 'famous' Ashes win. I think this has brought them back down to earth with a bang. They will follow- on and lose the test. They approached this series with little respect for India and have paid the ultimate price. England think they're better than they really are. Yes Pietersen is a world class batsman and there are one or two others that are pretty good too, but the team act as uf they are all world class. I hope the guys see this series as a reality check and finish off their humble pie. This is not a defence but only the Aussies are good enough to be that arrogant.
We wildly underestimated India( a team with I think the best batting line-up in world cricket).
Lessons must be learnt or this trend will continue.
Complain about this postTo those who are dismissing the injured bowlers angle;
Stop it. If the England football team played Brazil without Beckham, Gerrard, John Terry and Joe Cole would you expect them to even come close to winning?
The current bowling squad has been dragged up and told to get world class and quickly. You can't argue with the following because it's fact;
MOST (not all) english bowlers rely on conditions to make them dangerous. Few can consistently swing the ball despite the conditions and have no ability to turn on the pressure.
Lets see a few more yorkers and good length deliveries. Lets see more unplayable balls and we might see opposing batsman flash at one. Consistency is the key/
Hoggard and Flintoff SCARE batsman when on form, they go in with aggression and the bowl an aggressive ball.
Panesar is a great spinner and Anderson can produce some magic balls but hand on heart can you honestly say any of them have the ability to turn up the pressure?
It all stems from a lack on interest in the public eye. Make it part of the PE curriculum again and get more games on terrestrial. English cricket needs more internal competition, lets see 10 world class bowlers fighting for spots in the team instead of having to put out a squad you'd never pick if all were well.
Complain about this posthi all,
Complain about this posti find it fascinating that certain england fans come to the rescue of england when england loses. when india loses, the fans criticise the team and expect better! is that just symbolic of the society i ask? as a first generation british indian,i find myself working hard and establishing my life and business..ignoring the setbacks..and having no excuses for them..just getting on with it!
england is a great country..i'm proud to be british aswell as indian..but the excuses and only ifs do not represent the forward thinking individual! india have shown excellent skills and will beat england..thats life..best man wins..so stop moaning..it doesnt reflect england.
England have again shown that they have no depth in the pace/seam bowling department. Anderson and Tremlett both bowl a similar line/length, Collingwood/Pieterson do not have the ability to provide 2nd change bowling potential in the same mould as Steve Waugh or Mark Waugh. Today and Tomorrow a lot of questions will be asked of the England batsmen in regard to building an innings, then extending that innings towards centuries. Will they have the answers?
Complain about this postI have watched England playing cricket for over 40 years, and what strikes me more than anything else, is that our "appetite" for the game seems to have diminished, whilst those of our competitors has increased.
For the life of me, I cannot understand, with the obvious talent that India have, why they are only currently the third best Test Team in the world today. They have proved convincingly they have put their "archilles heel" to bed. Always berated by their own fans, when they fail to perform overseas, they have taken their chances, and made England look very ordinary. I was absolutely delighted for Anil Kumble, one of the great gentlemen of world cricket, to finally get his maiden century, and the backup he received from his whole team was truly inspirational.
For me, I believe this is probably the best Indian Team to have visited this country for over 30 years; they truly deserve their current position, they have outplayed, outperformed, and more importantly outwitted England in every department. The fact they have done this "without a coach" is even more impressive.
Whilst Allan Donald has brought some fire into the depleted England bowling attack, Andy Flower (England batting coach) seems to have taken a prolonged holiday.
Lets spend the next two days watching and enjoying the Indians and their stars, for whom perhaps two will not be returning to our shores.
We have seen too many "stellar" stars disappear from our lovely game over the last eighteen months or so, let us enjoy Tendulkar and Ganguly for what they are, truly great players, who only come around once in a lifetime.
Thank you India for being outstanding opponents and thank you for the great entertainment you have provided for us over this summer. I hope we can provide you a better challenge in the one day series to come.
Complain about this postHi Aggers,
Complain about this postIf Rahul bats instead of enforcing the follow-on, they will probably loose their chance of winning by an innings (was on the cards).
This won't affect their standings after will it?
All for a bit of entertainment(?).. I didn't think Rahul was so emotional.
Thanks,
-Amit.
No excuses. This Indian team has outplayed us. Umpiring decisions have cost both sides; let's not use that as an excuse.
It'll be a miracle if we somehow manage to draw this test. However, looking at the future, with the Aussies losing McGrath and Warne and India soon to lose the famed middle-order, there's a good chance for England to reassert itself. Who else is better? South Africa? Pakistan? Sri Lanka?
So hope for a draw, appreciate the better team in this series and look forward to the future. Cheers!
Complain about this postdefinitely raghu will enforce the follow on and India will close the play before lunchonthe final day and won the series convincingly by 2-0 margin
Complain about this postdefinitely raghu will enforce the follow on and India will close the play before lunchonthe final day and won the series convincingly by 2-0 margin
Complain about this postThe honeymoon period is well and truly over (well, until England win again and then the criticism will be forgotten). The beer swilling buffoons who suddenly realised their love of the game when England emerged from the doldrums of the 90s must be thanking their lucky stars that the Premiership has started and will actively embrace their drunken imbecility. So many points have been made recently, mostly spot on, so I won't say too much about how England managed to denigrate a team with two of the six highest run scorers and the fourth highest wicket taker in the history of Test cricket. Okay so India have a reputation of struggling away from the subcontinent and the recent opening partnerships for India are hardly going to grace the hall of fame like Greenidge/Haynes or Hobbs/Sutcliffe etc. However, the dismissive and mind crushingly arrogant sound bites prior to this series painted the England team in such a negative light that it made Tony Greig's grovel comments seem like a minor blooper (and, unlike the current England team, at least Greig had the decency to literally grovel and admit he had dropped the mother of all humdingers).
Here is the overriding feeling that I will take away from this Test series other than marvelling at the calibre of the cricket shown by India and, in glimpses, by their less than impeccable hosts:
"Thrashing West Indies means that the Indians will be a doddle. After all, their middle order is just a load of ancient has beens and is that a leg spin bowler or a mild mannered accountant I see before me?" This summed up much of the pre-series jingoism from the England camp. Yet, the fact is that when England duelled with the Windies only player of world class repute, Chanderpaul, they struggled – in fact, England’s batsmen could do with imitating the obdurate anchoring that Chanderpaul showcases so effectively. So crushing weak minnows in a series that almost discredits the very philosophy of Test cricket is the perfect preparation for taking on world beaters? I seem to recall that the laughable Test series with Bangladesh in 2005 was held up as proof that the Ashes will be comprehensively reclaimed from the Aussies. Er, no. The England team of 2005 reached the acme of their achievements under Duncan Fletcher and capped it off with the Ashes. It was just one of those things. Now the Ashes zeitgeist has well and truly passed. The phrase of 2005 seemed to be 'four pronged pace attack' as if Hoggard, Harmison, Jones and Potato Head were the successors to Roberts, Holding, Croft, Garner, Marshall, Walsh and Ambrose. They were great against Australia but even before the spurious merchandise and tedious, ghost written memoirs were hitting the shelves, one got the impression that the only way England could go from their open top bus parade was down. What has made the last two years so contentious is that the only people who are oblivious to the shortcomings of the English team are they themselves. Excuses, excuses. Double standards and arrogance. Served steaming on plates piled high and gobbled fast. Collingwood’s leg before dismissal in the first innings was almost poetic justice considering the ridiculous appeals and shocking umpiring approvals that Collingwood has benefited from. Yet, a bad umpiring decision for England and the petulance is as vocal as it is childish. I’m almost expecting one of these days for an England batsman to take Sunil Gavaskar as inspiration and just walk off the field, taking the batting partner with them as if to declare the inning in protest, when given out controversially. Yet, unlike the Indian batting deity, you know that such taking ball home behaviour isn’t some inexplicable action. I’m sure that it would soon be part of the coaching manual given to all budding England stars. In fact it’s there, on page 12, just after the step by step guide on how to projectile Haribo effectively.
Complain about this postWas hoping to become a cricket fan, However, when one team,already 1 up in the series,sets out to score as slowly as possible and the other has no pace attack worth having then you will get 30 hours of boredom. I think I'll stick to Rounders instead at least you get a result and I suspect that watching paint dry is no better. Mind you the Aussies know how to play!
Complain about this postwhat a stupid decision to bat again,
they should have enforced the follow on
what are/were they thinking
Complain about this postHold on. If India's planning is so great then what is behind the idea not to enforce the follow on? It has opened the door for England to at least draw this test and how easily we forget that England outplayed India in the first test and would have won if the rain had not come. The other thing is that we have our second string bowling attack out. Looking at the scoreline at lunch, England have a small chance of doing the impossible and winning this test, though its unlikely. COME ON ENGLAND!
Complain about this postDravid is wrong not to enforce follow on as evident by India down three wickets.He should humiliated England and demoralised them but he wanted to play safe.Anything is possible by MV,s and co since Englishman Do NOT take defeat Graciously.Best of luck India.ma-USA
Complain about this postIs it right to tolerate umpiring errors these days when we have the technolgy to help minimise the mistakes?
Complain about this postDravid has used Z.Khan very well, not to forget sree santh, who created the pressure on Eng Batsman, It was one of the days where every thing went well for India, with today rain, Eng batters will have hard time from Indian seamers,
Complain about this postif India can put 150runs quickly and can declare, Eng will find difficult to handle indian pack attack, when India take the field, 11 players will compliment each other to have last burst at England, with sree santh out of One day team , he has a point to prove and Anil kumble would like to End his last Eng tour on High,
What will Dravid do? Unfortunately, he will do what he has done for the latter part of his career - play not to lose instead of playing to win. England should have followed on. What was the Indian camp thinking??? Instead of winning the match and the series comprehensively, they will likely end of with a draw. Would you rather win 2 out of 3 or 1 out of three and throw the other one away? The Indian braintrust needs some....brains?
Complain about this postCan someone please shed light on what it means by 'follow-on'?
Thanks in advance.
Complain about this postDear Jonathan
Thank you for reading out our email yesterday morning on TMS about our sponsored climb of Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon. We have just finished the 24 hour marathon in 23 hours and 53 minutes - with just 7 minutes to spare we feel shattered but quite exhilarated !
Best wishes Nick Davies
Complain about this postI think England should be sensible and try their best to retain a higher position in the ICC test rankings. Loosing 2-0 would mean India would leap frog England into second place!
Complain about this postEnglish Delight you asked the question "What does it mean to follow on"?. I will try and answer it as simply as I can.
When a team batting first, scores a large total of runs, as did India in their first Innings 664; the team batting second must get to within 201 runs of the first team's total (therefore England needed at least 463 runs to avoid the follow on). The captain of the team with the most runs can "enforce the follow on" if he and his team feel it would be an advantage to them.
Raoul Dravid however decided not to "enforce the follow on" which is his right, and India batted again to build up yet another lead, leaving England to score 500 runs in their second innings to win the Test.
England now have a total of 110 overs (20 on Sunday and 90 on Monday) to try and win the Test and thereby draw the series. It should make for a fascinating final day.
Complain about this posti think tomorrow we will see a good days cricket. I think Dravid should have got another 50 or so runs and then declared to truly bat england out of the game. I still think we are in the driving seat but for some reason i just have a weird worried like feeling, it might be tht tomorrow england get closer than what is assumed. Kumble and Sreesanth major factors for england 2nd innings !!!!!!!!!!,
Complain about this post