Southampton has one of the best batting pitch in the country, doesn't it?
India's tour of England
- Thread starter KM
- Start date
This is shit.
Good timing from me
Unlucky.
What utterly boring these two teams are! Do you guys actually watch whole match? These 2 play out a 5 test series borefest and SA-Australia is usually 2 or 3 test series. So unfortunate. Only test series worth watching is South Africa-Australia.
Try again..
No seriously. The 2nd test was absorbing and good contest in general but both of these captains are two negative in their approaches. Fair the pitch is not offering much but bowling team need to keep finding ways than being negative and batting team too generally show more inclination to score. It is not as bad a pitch as Trent bridge.
After that, if people still find this interesting, then either they love game or one team too much. No matter how one loved United, there were fair few games last season when many of us must have fell asleep. This is no different.
And then...
But it's fine, whatever floats your boat and all.
I really like Ballance. Big future.
The pitch played most of the part in it and that is the whole point. I wouldn't have expected a SA-Australia match to have played out how these two play out when there is not expected assistance on the pitch. Seems you love it this way. Whatever floats your boat and all.
It's not so much the teams faults if the pitch caries through at ankle height. Even Steyn and Johnson would have extracted nothing form that Trent Bridge pitch.
I'm not sure why you assume I love it this way, I've just watched two of England's opening batsmen have a cracking day, scoring runs so I can't complain too much.
I just think your statement that the only game worth watching is SA-AUS is frankly ridiculous. I suppose every game between them is an absolute ripper, or, perhaps more likely, they ebb and flow just like every other test match series..
I just think your statement that the only game worth watching is SA-AUS is frankly ridiculous. I suppose every game between them is an absolute ripper, or, perhaps more likely, they ebb and flow just like every other test match series..
I reckon Bell will get out before close.
I think him and Root will be regulars for England for a long time.
Ballance is the left handed Trott, wily accumulator. England need to sort out the opening spots though, don't think Carberry should have gotten dropped.
Cook, Carberry, Ballance opening three?
Hmm, I suppose that's against the Left-Right combination you're supposed to do but Carberry offers some flair that's missing in that top 3 IMO.
Carberry hasn't shown any flair an England shirt though.
England have never replaced Trescothick with a similarly positive opener. One of my favorite players.
Agreed.
Carberry was never really a long term option though and it seems that's what the selectors were after. Both Carberry and Compton got their chance but neither convinced and I can't see either getting their places back. Robson hasn't been great either but he could potentially get a lot better. It's a tough one but all the shuffling does us no favours so I wouldn't be surprised if we stuck with Robson for a while.
Ballance is similar to Mark Butcher. Good technique, compactful when the opposition is on top bowling but can play his way through sessions.
Robson is a batsman who I feel has a future but the bowling at this level has caught him off guard. More wily decision making as opposed to the Championship where games can become one sided easily.
Robson is a batsman who I feel has a future but the bowling at this level has caught him off guard. More wily decision making as opposed to the Championship where games can become one sided easily.
England haven't helped by dropping players after 5-6 tests, Carberry deserved more of a chance.
Indian bowling has always been like this.
In fact, Indian bowling was worse than this in 2011 when we toured England.
The game comes to life when India are batting. We have the better(and definitely more aesthetic) batsmen and they have much better bowlers.
There have been about 3-4 instances of Indian bowling sessions being exciting in last 8 years.
The Durban match in which India won. The 2nd test in England in 2011 when India had England 150-7 or so(and downhill from there).
And one innings in the last tour of Australia when Yadav, Zaheer and Ishant bowled well.
Trent Bridge was awful, true and I didn't say same thing about teams then as it would have been very unfair but there is something rather un-inspirational with these two teams.
See, I am not trying to take anything away from both teams in series so far if it sounds that way. India did great in 2nd test against odds and Cook did very well to fight it out and get back among runs today. Ballance switched gear little bit after 50. Fair. My statement might sound exaggerated but that's the feeling I get with most of the teams outside those 2 and hence the statement. If you view from neutral fan point of view, very few series between other countries are worth watching for whole day for 5 days. Sri Lanka have been notoriously negative recently. WI are not worth talking. Pakistan hardly get to play tests. NZ team seems interesting but work in progress.
Again, not stopping anybody from watching and admiring good work during match
, just that during game I was wondering "had it been Ganguly, what he would have done to take Jadeja out of equation" and "what Warne would have done to force issue more from bowling side." Kind of thoughts which don't pop in mind during a game when teams look to find initiative.For all we know, this rant of mine will probably turn this game very interesting on day 4-5
It is just that after long time I caught almost whole day of a test match and the middle patch of negative bowling irritated me too much.Will be watching India bat. The middle order is due runs. Batting line up should be stronger now with another specialist batsman.
I think Adzzz thought I was trying to downplay good work of Cook and Ballance which I was not. I think you will agree that Dhoni could have attacked them more instead of that negative line. It was bit lucky India got that wicket.
Ya Indian bowling is better than 2011 but I don't think it was good today. Also I didn't understand why Bhuvi was bowled in big spells earlier and then almost stopped after 45 overs. Dhoni gave the impression that he has already assessed this to be a non-conducive pitch so he doesn't want England to run away with game and take it slow and just want to block runs. Overall not a great spectacle and Indian bowling more at fault.
Anyway...moving away. Ballance is great prospect for England and so is Root. They will hope the guys like Finn, Plunkett etc do much better to bring England back to winning ways.
Glad to be wrong about Bell, hopefully he can cash in tomorrow England need him in the runs.
Reminds me of Ken Barrington, not very elegant or pleasing to watch but very hard to get out and ratchets away the runs.
Waayyyy before my time pete, I'll take your word for it.
Batting looks good, need to find some bowlers now, like Jordan instead of Plunkett.
Should've been out on 4. Terrific delivery from Pankaj Singh.
Why? Plunkett's better.
Jordan's got something about him, Plunkett's a better bowler but England are going to ruin him with that short ball bollocks.
Plunkett may be a little better, but Jordan has the potential to become the better of the two. Given that Plunkett isn't all that anyway, I'd rather we pressed on with Jordan.
Indeed.
I don't really mind the tactic as a tactic, but they need to be more selective with him. Yes short ball theory can work, but there's a time and a place.
The problems Cook, really, rather than Plunkett, but the fact he can't captain to save his life apparently is now forgotten because he got some runs on a flat deck.
Anyway, I assumed Jordan would come in for Stokes anyway, so I see Woakes as his replacement more, and unless Woakes has put on more pace over the last year he's still not an international bowler.
Yeah Cook is the elephant in the room at the moment but surely there's a point where Plunkett goes to his captain, 'Let's pitch it up,' etc. It seems more like something Moores and the selectors have Plunkett in the side for than anything, they want him to be England's Mitchell Johnson but he's not.
The thing is though, Mitchell Johnson was given the environment he was given by Clarke's good use of him, at the start of the summer I thought that was what Cook was doing and giving him shorter spells but now its more asking Plunkett to bang it in short for 7 overs on the bounce and then wondering why he looks tired and leggy.
I agree the bowler's should say to Cook that they want to bowl fuller and that doesn't seem to be happening, but I'd probably be a bit meak about suggestions if I was a new name in that dressing room given the treatment of KP for being honest.
Bowling short is such a typically English problem at the minute, and I don't really know where its come from. I want to blame David Saker, so I will, but if he's not telling them to bowl those lengths then something inexplicable is happening from concept to execution.
Not really sure with the England bowling department, they very nearly ruined the shit out of Finn who has gone back to Middlesex and seems much happier.
That's the problem I have with Jordan as well. It's such a waste of talent having someone that naturally capable of bowling quick bowling in the low 80s in test cricket because he doesn't run in properly but as soon as you start mucking around with stuff like that you're running the risk of ruining what made the player good.
Finn's the best example, his run up was shortened before NZ because he couldn't help but kick the stumps over (I actually thought he bowled really nicely off that run up) but he then didn't feel comfortable and lengthened it again and then turned to utter shit.
That's the worry, I think they tinker too much and play it too safe with bowlers.
Just pessimistically checked the BBC Sport page, to see if play is expected today and they seem to fancy the chances of getting a full day in. I ain't far from Southampton and it's been pouring it down for an hour here, so I did fear the worst.
Good stuff. Completely missed yesterday as no one told me that we now start test matches on Sundays.
Good stuff. Completely missed yesterday as no one told me that we now start test matches on Sundays.