Cricket: England in India

[Archibald&Crooks]

Oh dear............

After India had piled on the runs I wondered what the odds were on an innings defeat, then forgot to look them up and have a tickle. Can't say i'm surprised at the current score of 97-7

 

[bern]

Ist Innings Eng 191 what a load of crap its that spin again will they ever learn?

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

Much better start second time around. The trouble is, one bad session and it's all over and once the first wicket goes down, they tend to fall in batches.............

 

[alfie103]

I still think we should arrange a first class competition for our counties to go out and play in India against indian state teams. We need experience playing in these conditions and it will help players to become more accomplished and better players.

 

[nidge]

England really are an embarrassment in sub-continent conditions.

It doesn't help when they went into the game with only one spinner. They should have at least dropped Bresnan and brought in Panesar not that it would have made any difference but at least they would have had a better chance of taking 10 wickets.

 

[leonspurs]

Letting them play in the IPL would help for a start.

 

[bern]

What outstanding batting by Cook. Its a pity he didnt do it in the first innings, Pieterson needs a kick up the backside getting out in the fashion he did. He just cant play against left hand bowlers for some reason.

 

[mpickard2087]

Brilliant from Cook, well backed up by Prior.

Some of them really do need to take a good long look at themselves. Pietersen needs to rein it in and play properly whilst Bell has never looked comfortable against spin. Trott got a pretty good delivery and Patel has been unlucky.

It was also a major blunder not to pick Panesar we need another frontline spinner for sure. I'm not sure who you drop though because they apparently picked Bresnan for reverse swing. I think you need economical seamers who can keep the pressure on when the spinners need a rest. I know he bowled quite well (compared to the other seamers) in the first innings but I would be tempted to leave Anderson out because I dont think the conditions will help him that much (not sure what the pitches/conditions are traditionally like at the grounds coming up will be). You then pick Bresnan so bases are covered incase its start reversing, plus he is usually very economical, and Broad who has a bit more variety and can mix it up a bit.

So a team of: Cook, Compton, Trott, Pietersen, Bell, Prior, Patel, Broad, Swann, Panesar, Bresnan/Anderson

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

Prior out for 91 England lead by 26

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

Cook out for 176, lead of 35

Game over, back to bed

 

[Spurs_Bear]

It's a very disappointing finish to get cleaned up for 60 odd today, but to be fair nobody thought we would even make them bat again after the first innings shambles.

We have suffered due to the selectors picking a ridiculous starting Xl with the inclusion of 3 seamers.

 

[ShelfSide18]

So I wake up this morning and find that we've been cleaned up for barely anything, brilliant. Like a classic English 1990s batting collapse.

Also realised that Compton is somehow even more boring to watch than Alistair Cook, which I didn't think was possible.

 

[mark87]

2nd Test is going a bit better, Pujara still killing us though, but Captain Cook is still standing tall and Pietersen is batting well, Trott ought to be ashamed of himself in this series thus far.

 

[Welshiespursboyo]

Stayed up to watch the full day this morning - going to stay up and watch the next one starting at 4am I think. It's set up quite nicely to be an intriguing contest!

 

[mpickard2087]

Yep this match is nicely set up and this next day is going to be crucial I feel. There is a lot riding on this Cook/Pietersen partnership because barring Prior we have inexperienced batsmen to come (well, at test level and in these conditions). Hopefully can bat out the majority, if not all, of the day and build a nice lead.

 

[alfie103]

A very good performance from england. Cook and Pietersen batted wonderfully to give england a very good score. Cook is world class and could walk into any team in the world at this moment and we all know what Pietersen can do. Swann and Panesar though we the ones who won england the match. Panesar bowled brilliantly to get 11 wickets and I think Graeme Swann did very well to support panesar to take a lot of wickets as well.

Broad needs to be rested as he seemed exhausted so I hope Finn can come in place of Broad and add some pace to this attack. I think Anderson is a great bowler and bowled pretty well and kept it tight. Bell will come in for Bairstow as Patel adds another bowler to the attack and is a good player of spin. I liked how compton batted and he seemed to get more confident as the match went on and he seems like a very good fielder, which is always a bonus.

 

[Welshiespursboyo]

A very good performance from england. Cook and Pietersen batted wonderfully to give england a very good score. Cook is world class and could walk into any team in the world at this moment and we all know what Pietersen can do. Swann and Panesar though we the ones who won england the match. Panesar bowled brilliantly to get 11 wickets and I think Graeme Swann did very well to support panesar to take a lot of wickets as well.

Broad needs to be rested as he seemed exhausted so I hope Finn can come in place of Broad and add some pace to this attack. I think Anderson is a great bowler and bowled pretty well and kept it tight. Bell will come in for Bairstow as Patel adds another bowler to the attack and is a good player of spin. I liked how compton batted and he seemed to get more confident as the match went on and he seems like a very good fielder, which is always a bonus.

You are spot on.

 

[mpickard2087]

Broad was ill before the test match, and clearly wasn't 100% and yes did look exhausted. Plus he has been injured already on tour. Probably best to take him out of the firing line. Who comes in? It will almost certainly be Finn, though in India your seamers need to really just do nothing special and do a containing job. Onions may not be a bad shout as he will bowl wicket to wicket and be very tidy.

Interesting news today as well that Flower is concentrating on the Test team from now on, with Giles assuming control of ODI and T20 squads. Haven't seen this set-up before but as its been said numerous times there are concerns with Flower's workload then it may get the best out of him by giving him less to do day-to-day, and in the meantime slowly introduce Giles (who is clearly seen as the successor) to coaching in the international environment. Bold decision taken, but could work well.

 

[Archibald&Crooks]

I think I read somewhere that Giles and KP don't get along. Hopefully a shithouse rumour.

I still chuckle when I see the name Ashley Giles and always think of the 'King of Spain' story

 

[bern]

Another good bash from Cook 190 and run out in a farsicle style. If we can get about 200/250 ahead we stand a good chance of winning this.