ArmchairCritic
You got pets me too mines are dead
- Joined
- Jan 4, 2011
- Messages
- 16,307
"There was a time when England used to mistrust anyone who could reverse-swing the ball or bowl a doosra. Over time, as they have learned such skills, the scepticism has diminished. It's time to embark on a similar journey with turning pitches."
This is pretty much I said in a post above. They need to respect aspects of skills other teams possess required to win matches and not always scream foul when you cannot compete.
To be fair to this England side, they have just won 6 tests in a row on the sub-continent (yes, I know 5 of them were against Sri Lanka). There's been some bad experiences in Abu Dhabi, Dhaka and against, erm, Roston Chase but I think on the whole England are probably the best equipped team to take on India in India. The big issue is of course the lack of a top quality spinner but until England stop prioritising shorter format cricket for the peak of the summer, I don't think there will be too much development on the spin bowling front. I also don't think England have necessarily chosen their absolute best team for these conditions but I understand why they are rotating and I think Crawley, Sibley, Lawrence, Pope and Bess will be a heck of a lot better for these experiences.
The general reception of this test within the English media and the excellent point made by yourself, Dobell and Kimber about the English distrust of anything against the norms of the game that 'they' gave the world has been very thought provoking.