england v/s india

heykevin

anyone watching england tour to india

heykevin

india is very close to victory....

djimi

Good fight back from England the past couple of days but no matter how much face they manage to save it doesnt cover up the fact that they have been an utter shambles in this test. Batsmen who cannot play spin and a bowling lineup that is completely lacking the proper players for these conditions. Patel is not a test cricketer; England need to find a proper second spinner to work with Swann or they are going to really struggle in these tests.

Rascasse

Well stumps on day 4 and England are ahead by 10. In addition to Cook and Prior, England have Broad, Bresnan and Swann that can all bat fairly well and Anderson who can't. Very little hope for a draw, but enough of a chance to make me tune in tomorrow.

In fairness to Patel he was absolutely mugged today. Given LBW but he hit it. Even it he hadn't it looked like it was going down leg side (though hawk eye suggested it would have nicked it). Panesar is travelling with the side so one wonders why he isn't playing. A commentator said he must either be injured or badly out of form not to get a nod. Next test I'd keep Patel but swap Bresnan for Panesar.

Talking of Patel's LBW, the standard of umpiring has been awful. LBW's given when not and not given when the should. BCCI need to use DRS.

djimi

BCCI need to have the decision to use DRS taken out of their hands. The idea that one nation can pick and choose what rules they wish to follow is absolutely laughable. If the ICC had any balls whatsoever the BCCI would be told to comply or bugger off; noone should be bigger than the overall game but apparently that is not the case in cricket.

Bondie

Have to agree, same rules should be used for all tests. Massive innings from Cpt Cook , think he may run out of partners sooner rather than later though. If the pitch in mumbai is similar Panaesar needs to be brought in but the top order batsman need to have a long look at themselves

Giggsy11

Great innings by Cook but rest were all were very poor except Prior.

KP just can't play left are spinners. Not sure what's wrong with him, he even struggled against Yuvraj singh previously.

Just need 20 more runs, great performance but should have avoided batting again.

manafana

had quick look at 2nd test here

Should be interesting pitch should have more for seamers opening the first two days

Dozen Wicked Words

Looks like the pitch started to deteriorate badly very early. Fair enough to prepare a pitch to home advantage but this one looks farcical. All over in 3 and a half days or less, and if a team gets 300 they will be doing well.

(I will probably be wrong on all counts! )

Washout

time for Dhoni to really stand up and put on a good fight

156/5 at the moment

Giggsy11

Pujara with a gem of an innings. Great 100.

Rascasse

A collapse pending? After laboring away at 2 an over to get to 66 they've lost Compton and Trott in quick succession. And now FIGJAM is at the crease.

manafana

think monty made thsi pitch look worse than it is, still another day before it becoems test, top class from cook and kp is dangerous now hes settled

booth70

My respect for Cook continues to grow by the day.....He may not be the most attractive batsman to watch but what a player...even as a die-hard Indian supporter, I hope for his sake England nail India in the match and make the series more exciting:)

Rascasse

Great innings from KP, brilliant to watch. Pitch looks like it could fall off a cliff so Prior, Broad and Swann need to try to get at least 100 ahead. Any more than that is a bonus.

booth70

Super innings from KP

Harbhajan looks in even worse form than when he was dropped from the team last year and Ashwin's taken two wickets in his last 90 overs in this series

England favorites to win this ......they have the better spinners in Monty and Swanny and Pujara excluded none of the top seven in India's line-up inspire any confidence

Rascasse

I need to stop making predictions. Prior run out, Broad caught, Anderson LBW. Only 81 ahead. Not sure England are favorites just yet.

Edit: Monty 4-W, shouldn't have taken the single at the start of the previous over. 86 ahead, 30 odd overs remaining, want to keep watching but need some sleep.

Dozen Wicked Words

Well I know feck all as usual. Clearly clueless about the game, still enjoy watching it though.

Going for India win with England having to bat last but my previous predictions show why I don't bet on cricket.

booth70

Match set up nicely by England's lower order collapse

India start 86 behind......need to set England at least 175-200 to be in with any chance

Here's my prediction......England to win by 7 wickets;)

booth70

Mind you.....India have defended 107 on this ground before!:o:o

http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/64102.html

Remember that pitch being an absolute minefield and the match was over in 2 days!!!

mike65

Tremendous day for England, KP eh? Can't live with him, can't live without him! Monty the difference though 5 wickets and England should have this wrapped up by mid afternoon.

Rjd2

mike65 wrote: »

Tremendous day for England, KP eh? Can't live with him, can't live without him! Monty the difference though 5 wickets and England should have this wrapped up by mid afternoon.

Yep, maybe even earlier, India have after this partnership zero to follow as Ooja and Khan are useless with the bat. Knock either Gambhir or Singh over early and it is over.

Best hope for India and it is slim with the way the pitch is and how good the spinners are doing is to try and get a 100+ partnership and pray that England mess up a simple chase.

Apart from Gambhir, Pujara and Oojha, the rest have been rubbish this test.

Rascasse

Rjd2 wrote: »

Apart from Gambhir, Pujara and Oojha, the rest have been rubbish this test.

You could say the same about England too. Cook, KP, Monty & Swann really have carried the rest of the team so far this test.

Giggsy11

Superb performance from England. Cook, KP, Monty were just awesome in this match. Well deserved winners.

manafana

3rd test just under way i have covered off on it in full on my blog

england once again cant call a toss and so india are in to bat which is a big edge, hard to see a draw here this has been a results pitch and india have ensured it remains as such

Beasty

Well Cook has certainly taken to this captaining lark...

... 23rd Test century to set a new record for England, and has just nudged his average over 50 (although that may drop back again depending on when/if they get him out!)

Only 27 and he's already turned himself into one of the all-time English greats

mike65

So many matches these days, its hard to draw comparisons with previous generations (still impressive enough of course).

Rjd2

Cook is a machine, but this Indian bowling line up is really poor, Zaheer is done, Ashwin has no patience while the selection of Sharma who this year has taken a splendid 3 test wickets in 4 test matches at a miserly average of 125 is disgraceful and a complete **** you to those on the domestic circuit.

England can put up whatever score they want here and unleash Swann and Monty and bowl them out.

manafana

mike65 wrote: »

So many matches these days, its hard to draw comparisons with previous generations (still impressive enough of course).

alot more test matches played back in the day, althou careers were not as long.

Beasty

Well, if you want more to back up Cook's "greatness", he's become the youngest player ever to reach 7,000 Test runs (ie faster than the likes of Sachin), and he's got to 23 centuries in one more test (86) than Hammond took to get his 22. Pietersen is the only other English player to get to 22 in under 100 tests.

manafana

Beasty wrote: »

Well, if you want more to back up Cook's "greatness", he's become the youngest player ever to reach 7,000 Test runs (ie faster than the likes of Sachin), and he's got to 23 centuries in one more test (86) than Hammond took to get his 22. Pietersen is the only other English player to get to 22 in under 100 tests.

hes brilliant, the one day game has helped him as well, its given him gears he can change his tempo depending on how he is needed to play, hes probably the most verstile of the english batters.

Hes now taken on a captains role, and while still learning his batting has only improved for the pressure.

Dozen Wicked Words

Shame Cook got out in such a silly way on 190, all he had to do was ground the bat. Still, fantastic innings again, if he could just learn how to win a toss now he would be the complete package!!!!

booth70

England have been brilliant since the first day in Mumbai while India have been utterly hopeless

Ashwin has been India's best batsman in this series:(.....such is the sorry mess Indian Test cricket is in at present

Kohli did all the hard yards against Australia last winter but has gone backwards since but still needs to be persevered with....Yuvraj Singh is a good one day player at best.....Dhoni can't continue to live on past glories and he is NOT a test player by any stretch of the imagination.....and Tendulkar....looks like he will not go and has to be pushed.....less said about the bowling the better:mad:

The future of Indian cricket looks very bleak.....The selectors need to get their heads out and make radical changes and build a team for the future around a few core young players like Kohli and Pujara and others coming thro the national ranks.....if it means India continue to be battered during the rebuilding process over the next few years so be it.

booth70

Just saw this......nice , timely article in the context of my previous post!

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-england-2012/content/current/story/596086.html

manafana

booth70 wrote: »

Just saw this......nice , timely article in the context of my previous post!

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-england-2012/content/current/story/596086.html

india are unlike any of other major test nations, purely interested in results at home and creating celebrities, so many young lads who could be getting a go instead they strick with an old guard struggling at the best of times.

England still have serious issues on the sub con its just india arn't good enough to exploit them, they could do with hitting the gym. Anderson has bowled the most overs in test cricket this season, he has looked one of the freshest despite this. Khan looks like he could collapse at times. Their warm ups are far from intense too

Football Gambler

booth70 wrote: »

Just saw this......nice , timely article in the context of my previous post!

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-england-2012/content/current/story/596086.html

Good call with that link Booth, agree with most of your previous post, also......

Football Gambler

I never thought I'd ever think, say or write this, but I actually feel sorry for Duncan Fletcher..... he is residing over a team that has lost Dravid and Laxman, he also inherited Zaheer and Harbhajan on the way down..... and to top it all, he has the problem of Sachin to deal with.

Dozen Wicked Words

Great win for England, looked a bit iffy at 8 for 3 but fantastic team performance. Times of India calling for big changes before play today, end of Dhoni as captain and end of Tendulkars international career looming?

Football Gambler

dooferoaks wrote: »

Great win for England, looked a bit iffy at 8 for 3 but fantastic team performance. Times of India calling for big changes before play today, end of Dhoni as captain and end of Tendulkars international career looming?

Where they on about getting rid of Dhoni and bringing in a new captain for the 4th Test, or just in the long run?

booth70

Calcutta 2001 ....Indian Test cricket was reborn on the back of that famous come from behind win against Australia thanks to VVS's 281:)

Calcutta 2012 ....Indian Test cricket which was already dying a slow death officially died:mad:

Football Gambler

Due to being ill all weekend, I was up watching it and I was actually getting a bit worried after Pietersen got out, which in hindsight was ridiculous.... but I suppose that having followed England for as long as I have, there is always a part of me that thinks they can blow it from any situation.... I must be too mentally scarred from previous experiences...

grimbergen

Can anybody explain the empty stadiums for these tests? We all know how popular cricket is over there yet attendances at this test were dire - are the locals priced out of it?

Football Gambler

grimbergen wrote: »

Can anybody explain the empty stadiums for these tests? We all know how popular cricket is over there yet attendances at this test were dire - are the locals priced out of it?

Not sure about the pricing, what I do know is that ODI's and T20's seem more popular in India, and it has also been the case over the years that the fans only seem interested in watching certain players.... I've seen it on TV, where grounds have emptied out after Tendulkar has got out, even when there are still hours of play left in the day.

manafana

its a bit of myth that india is cricket mad, they actually prefer football, they do love bollywood culture thou, and cricket players are seen as celebs, so like above they idolise certain players only

Dozen Wicked Words

manafana wrote: »

its a bit of myth that india is cricket mad, they actually prefer football, they do love bollywood culture thou, and cricket players are seen as celebs, so like above they idolise certain players only

There was over 100,000 football fans for the Kolkata derby. Game was abandoned due to crowd trouble.

Inquitus

manafana wrote: »

its a bit of myth that india is cricket mad, they actually prefer football, they do love bollywood culture thou, and cricket players are seen as celebs, so like above they idolise certain players only

I spent a year travelling round India in the late 90's and all I saw was young kids playing cricket everywhere, can't recall seeing much soccer at all, obv a decade has passed since so it may have changed.

Rjd2

The attendances for recent India test standards have been ok, Mumbai was very well attended. The harsh truth is the days of grounds in India been packed are gone.:(

Anyways looking forward to seeing how India's replacements do, I understand dropping Zaheer, but no matter how finished and old he is, he is still a etter alternative to Ishant bloody Sharma.

Football Gambler

manafana wrote: »

its a bit of myth that india is cricket mad, they actually prefer football, they do love bollywood culture thou, and cricket players are seen as celebs, so like above they idolise certain players only

Some of the more popular cricketers have starred in Bollywood films over the years, whether they would be more well known in India for Cricket or Bollywood, I'm not sure...

Football Gambler

Rjd2 wrote: »

The attendances for recent India test standards have been ok, Mumbai was very well attended. The harsh truth is the days of grounds in India been packed are gone.:(

Anyways looking forward to seeing how India's replacements do, I understand dropping Zaheer, but no matter how finished and old he is, he is still a etter alternative to Ishant bloody Sharma.

Get the feeling it could be a selection made on the basis of fitness or fielding, or bit of both.... Duncan Fletcher was well known for not wanting passengers in the field during his time as England coach, could see him tolerating Zaheer while he was taking wickets, but as soon as the wickets started drying up.....

Rjd2

Football Gambler wrote: »

Get the feeling it could be a selection made on the basis of fitness or fielding, or bit of both.... Duncan Fletcher was well known for not wanting passengers in the field during his time as England coach, could see him tolerating Zaheer while he was taking wickets, but as soon as the wickets started drying up.....

Oh yeah Zaheer's fitness is awful, again I admit he is finished, but retaining Sharma doesn't inspire at all. Ideally they give Awana a go in the next test, his domestic stats look impressive at least. Not to excited about the other seamer Dinda in the squad either.

manafana

Right test no 4 is nearly upon us with all excitement i have previewed the match here.

England not favourites when really they should be, cook is seeking to be just the 3rd test captain to win a series India