The Cricket Thread

[Captainron]

India would have batted again in the 3rd innings in any event. Get the deck really tired and taking big turn with the new ball.

 

[Mudball]

Rishab Pant has gone from the bad boy of Indian cricket to super hero.. great example of what confidence can do to your game... very mercurial

This can’t last more than 4 days ..

All done... How will India come out and play the day.

 

[Captainron]

If I was batting well and a tail ender attempted a mow like that and left me stranded, I would wrap my bat around his head

 

[Imurg]

Rishab Pant has gone from the bad boy of Indian cricket to super hero.. great example of what confidence can do to your game... very mercurial

This can’t last more than 4 days ..

They only need to bat until lunch tomorrow, 3 hours, knock on 150 runs..no way England are getting 350 on that wicket.
They rolled us over inside 60 overs, no reason they could not do that again...
Might stagger into the 4th day morning...

 

[Junior]

but not on the first morning, you would have thought with India now having one of the best pace attacks in the world a bit of pace a bounce on the first two days and at least make for a game that lasted 5 days.

I liked the wicket in the first test. Pace and bounce and a little turn. Then it turned more as the test went on. From the morning of the first day this has ragged square and the ball has gone through the top.

Doesn't help when your opener misses a straight one and another batter gets strangled down the leg side.

 

[Lord Tyrion]

If I was batting well and a tail ender attempted a mow like that and left me stranded, I would wrap my bat around his head

Senior pro's get away with a shrug of the shoulders though. It was poor from Broad but that is where he is at now. If a younger no 11 did that he would get ripped apart.

 

[patricks148]

I liked the wicket in the first test. Pace and bounce and a little turn. Then it turned more as the test went on. From the morning of the first day this has ragged square and the ball has gone through the top.

Doesn't help when your opener misses a straight one and another batter gets strangled down the leg side.

yes i would have said that was a good cricket wicket, i'm wondering with this track if Koli had lost the toss would he have reviewed it

 

[Imurg]

I get the feeling India want Tuesday and Wednesday off.....

 

[Deleted member 15717]

No way a shot has been offered.
absolute shocker

 

[Wilson]

No way a shot has been offered.
absolute shocker

Yep, another shocking decision.

 

[patricks148]

No way a shot has been offered.
absolute shocker

some shocking Umpiring on show...

 

[Captainron]

Shakoor Rana in the the booth?

 

[Mudball]

i thought i would never see the day that the guy in the booth is worse than the onfield ones... whatever happened to technology ruling over all of us..

 

[Tongo]

India have shown today why their record at home in the last 6/7 years is so good. Ashwin looked like he could take a wicket with every ball and the Indian spinners looked much more threatening. However, Ben Foakes showed what could be achieved but i don't blame the England batsmen; how are they supposed to prepare for these sort of conditions when English domestic cricket basically discourages spinning tracks? It's hardly surprising that the batsmen have struggled. That isnt their fault, that is the fault of how the game works in this country. But this has been highlighted before (probably after the last tour of India) and nothing has been done. Rather spinning wickets have been discouraged even further.

The umpiring was once again poor but India would still be in the driving seat anyway. And i dont agree with the carping about the pitch from the likes of Air Horn Vaughan and the supposed analyst Simon Hughes. It's home advantage and, as George Dobell has pointed out, it's no different to the seam friendly tracks that are prepared in England.

One moment that irked me was Ashwin's delaying tactics to Lawrence the last ball before lunch. This sort of tomfoolery is now a staple of the T20 game and now seems to be unnecessarily creeping into the test game. Let's call it what it is: gamesmanship. Added to the obnoxious Pant constantly yammering on behind the stumps and one has taken the same opinion of the current India team as with past Australian teams: admiration at their skills and abilities but firmly dislikeable when one considers some of their behaviour, which is not needed. Hardly surprising after Kohli's petulance yesterday. Maybe if Rahane was skipper the team would be a little less obnoxious. Probably not as this seems to be some sort of badge of honour in too many forms of cricket.

 

[Tongo]

I see that Bangladesh and the Windies produced another cracking finish. Tis a shame that this series hasnt got the same sort of coverage as the India-England one as it has produced two close, gripping tests.

 

[fundy]

India have shown today why their record at home in the last 6/7 years is so good. Ashwin looked like he could take a wicket with every ball and the Indian spinners looked much more threatening. However, Ben Foakes showed what could be achieved but i don't blame the England batsmen; how are they supposed to prepare for these sort of conditions when English domestic cricket basically discourages spinning tracks? It's hardly surprising that the batsmen have struggled. That isnt their fault, that is the fault of how the game works in this country. But this has been highlighted before (probably after the last tour of India) and nothing has been done. Rather spinning wickets have been discouraged even further.

The umpiring was once again poor but India would still be in the driving seat anyway. And i dont agree with the carping about the pitch from the likes of Air Horn Vaughan and the supposed analyst Simon Hughes. It's home advantage and, as George Dobell has pointed out, it's no different to the seam friendly tracks that are prepared in England.

One moment that irked me was Ashwin's delaying tactics to Lawrence the last ball before lunch. This sort of tomfoolery is now a staple of the T20 game and now seems to be unnecessarily creeping into the test game. Let's call it what it is: gamesmanship. Added to the obnoxious Pant constantly yammering on behind the stumps and one has taken the same opinion of the current India team as with past Australian teams: admiration at their skills and abilities but firmly dislikeable when one considers some of their behaviour, which is not needed. Hardly surprising after Kohli's petulance yesterday. Maybe if Rahane was skipper the team would be a little less obnoxious. Probably not as this seems to be some sort of badge of honour in too many forms of cricket.

I agree with everything apart form the seam friendly tracks in England. When did we last prepare a green top for a test to favour us as a result rather than a dead featherbed to suit getting 5 days play and more money in the coffers?

 

[sunshine]

Weird thing is that India have a good bunch of quicks, one excellent spinner and a raft of okay to decent ones. They can’t bowl a team out consistently with their spinners and it actually becomes more reliant on winning the toss when they prepare decks like this. If they were more balanced decks I think they would actually give themselves more chances to win test matches

It’s a good point, but I think this wicket has been prepared to exploit England’s weaknesses rather than India’s strengths.

England have quality seamers but I’m sure India are going to back their spinners over England’s every time.

 

[Imurg]

Shows how much pace is in the wicket when Foakes stands up to Broad.
Need India to declare otherwise I'll fall asleep.....

 

[Captainron]

Ashwin looks like a batsman here. That lofted on drive off Broad was superb.

 

[Mudball]

Ashwin looks like a batsman here. That lofted on drive off Broad was superb.

was about to write something after that shot.. how demoralising is to England to see tailender scoring a half. Respect to Ashwin... he will havr to come out and open the bowling as soon as he gets off.