England Tour of India

Skills

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The more I look at it, the less I think there’s anything England can do about it.

In the first innings it comes down to Root dropping Sharma and then his shot selection vs Bumrah. If England took their chances in the field and played the situation smarter they should have at least had parity.

The problem for me is the differential in the 2nd innings. The Indian attack looked far more dangerous than the the English one on the same pitch. That’s not an approach issue, that’s a fundamental skill deficit. This is something that England cannot overcome if the pitches remain like this. The only way England can get into these tests is with big first innings runs and hoping India get tight with their inexperienced batting lineup.
Yup. Literally the 3 best bowlers on the pitch are Indian, and often it's 4 in these conditions. England would kill to have any of Ashwin, Jadeja or Yadav as their spinners and India have all 3. Then there's Bumrah on top of that who's the best pace bowler playing.
 

Fts 74

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Everything went wrong the last 2 days for England. India were excellent with bat and ball. England need to regroup and go again,they've been very competitive except for the last 2 days although Root and Bairstow remain a concern form wise.No need to throw the baby out with the bath water though, application at certain times needs to be better all this talk of bazball(hate that phrase) being to blame is ridiculous, Stokes and McCullum brought in a mindset change allowing players to express themselves after the negative approach we've had for years,the way media talk about it is really annoying and completely overblown.
Bring on the next test.
 

Skills

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How long are England going to give Anderson to get his 700?

He averaged 39 last year and he's average 35 now. They should just put together a fair well test against Ireland on a green track in the summer and be finished with him there and then. He's not offering anything here
 

TheGame

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The more I look at it, the less I think there’s anything England can do about it.

In the first innings it comes down to Root dropping Sharma and then his shot selection vs Bumrah. If England took their chances in the field and played the situation smarter they should have at least had parity.

The problem for me is the differential in the 2nd innings. The Indian attack looked far more dangerous than the the English one on the same pitch. That’s not an approach issue, that’s a fundamental skill deficit. This is something that England cannot overcome if the pitches remain like this. Both with the bat and the ball, the plan to sweep got shown up and the spin attack looked every bit as inexperienced as they are. The can use their feet better in the next test but the spin attack is what it is.

The only way England can get into these tests is with big first innings runs and hoping India get tight with their inexperienced batting lineup.
I disagree to an extent. You are right about the skill set and talent of the bowlers but the dropped catches were on England and being in a sold position at around 200-2 and being all out shortly after is inexcusable and wasn’t down to good bowling at all. That is something they could do about. Batting on a 4th innings pitch against top quality bowling was always going to be difficult but if they achieved parity with the bat, it would have taken some time out of the game and it probably would have led to a draw.
 

TheGame

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Barstow is finished in the test form.

Crawley
Duckett
Pope
Root
Brook
Stokes
Foakes

Is actually a good line up. Root needs to get his shit together as well, or his time might be up as well. 137 tests with a huge number of them as captain might mean he's Cook'd early too.
Crawley needs to do a lot more to cement his place in that team. His average is low and he is probably in due to a lack of talented backup openers.
 

ArmchairCritic

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Everything went wrong the last 2 days for England. India were excellent with bat and ball. England need to regroup and go again,they've been very competitive except for the last 2 days although Root and Bairstow remain a concern form wise.No need to throw the baby out with the bath water though, application at certain times needs to be better all this talk of bazball(hate that phrase) being to blame is ridiculous, Stokes and McCullum brought in a mindset change allowing players to express themselves after the negative approach we've had for years,the way media talk about it is really annoying and completely overblown.
Bring on the next test.
It’s way too hyperbolic isn’t it. I think it speaks to conservative culture that still permeates English cricket.

They’ve let a few tests slide recently but if they developed a ruthless edge they’d essentially be the best team in the world. I don’t think that’s a normal expectation of a side that won 1 of 17 tests prior to the change of captain.

Learning how to temper their urges and adjust is a part of the growth of this team. But that’s the key, they have to learn from it. I think that’s why every gets so aggravated, they think Stokes and McCullum are idealists who will never change. All the soundbites from the players don’t help that feeling too but I think a lot of that is misdirection. Stokes is one of the smartest players this country has ever had. He’ll figure out, he always does.
 

Ayush_reddevil

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Some perspective. Unfortunately Stokes has some tough decisions to take and interesting to see if he does it. Bairstow has to be dropped here and Stokes needs to bat 5. Stokes is playing as a pure batter and needs to take more responsibility for that. Root being out of form means that Root wicket is inevitably followed by Bairstow getting out and so a lot of pressure. He also needs to end the Rehan experiment, he can only play as a 5th bowler and not as a 4th one. It’s very difficult to balance the current squad but I think they need to pick Lawrence for 6 and then pick the best 4 bowlers available
 

ArmchairCritic

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I disagree to an extent. You are right about the skill set and talent of the bowlers but the dropped catches were on England and being in a sold position at around 200-2 and being all out shortly after is inexcusable and wasn’t down to good bowling at all. That is something they could do about. Batting on a 4th innings pitch against top quality bowling was always going to be difficult but if they achieved parity with the bat, it would have taken some time out of the game and it probably would have led to a draw.
The gift and curse of Bazball. You get there so quick so you don’t get to bat on a Day 5 pitch but at the same time you get there so quickly your bowlers don’t rest and you don’t wear the pitch enough to make it advantageous for when you bowl. In the subcontinent things go very slowly and then very quickly, playing the long game means more here.

Say if England got parity and India batted all day today, I don’t think England would have batted out 90 overs on Day 5 even if they tried. They batted sensibly today anyway and it showed their plans were not right for where the pitch was (sweeping didn’t work!).
 

AshRK

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It’s way too hyperbolic isn’t it. I think it speaks to conservative culture that still permeates English cricket.

They’ve let a few tests slide recently but if they developed a ruthless edge they’d essentially be the best team in the world. I don’t think that’s a normal expectation of a side that won 1 of 17 tests prior to the change of captain.

Learning how to temper their urges and adjust is a part of the growth of this team. But that’s the key, they have to learn from it. I think that’s why every gets so aggravated, they think Stokes and McCullum are idealists who will never change. All the soundbites from the players don’t help that feeling too but I think a lot of that is misdirection. Stokes is one of the smartest players this country has ever had. He’ll figure out, he always does.
This defenitely doesn't help as the players may themselves be saying to play mind games or banter but the media takes it to the different level and when they lose all those come back to bite them.

The approach is absolutely fine just needs tweaking. Be fearless and not brainless aka root's first innings dismissal. I feel when things start going south it just goes pretty bad and that's the thing stokes and co have to fix. You could see they just gave up and started playing silly shots.
 

JohnnyKills

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Everything went wrong the last 2 days for England. India were excellent with bat and ball. England need to regroup and go again,they've been very competitive except for the last 2 days although Root and Bairstow remain a concern form wise.No need to throw the baby out with the bath water though, application at certain times needs to be better all this talk of bazball(hate that phrase) being to blame is ridiculous, Stokes and McCullum brought in a mindset change allowing players to express themselves after the negative approach we've had for years,the way media talk about it is really annoying and completely overblown.
Bring on the next test.
Agree. Can't come soon enough.
 

ArmchairCritic

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Some perspective. Unfortunately Stokes has some tough decisions to take and interesting to see if he does it. Bairstow has to be dropped here and Stokes needs to bat 5. Stokes is playing as a pure batter and needs to take more responsibility for that. Root being out of form means that Root wicket is inevitably followed by Bairstow getting out and so a lot of pressure. He also needs to end the Rehan experiment, he can only play as a 5th bowler and not as a 4th one. It’s very difficult to balance the current squad but I think they need to pick Lawrence for 6 and then pick the best 4 bowlers available
It feels like they need to make a lot of tough decisions in one go. I don’t think Bairstow, Rehan and Jimmy drop out in one go, it’s now how they react usually.

Rehan will drop out, just to take him out of the firing line. This tour is more developmental for him. If Leach was available I think he wouldn’t have been playing anyway.
 

TheGame

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It feels like they need to make a lot of tough decisions in one go. I don’t think Bairstow, Rehan and Jimmy drop out in one go, it’s now how they react usually.

Rehan will drop out, just to take him out of the firing line. This tour is more developmental for him. If Leach was available I think he wouldn’t have been playing anyway.
I can see Lawrence coming in as well as he bowls spin which may help. But it depends if they take the plunge to drop Bairstow. I think Anderson will remain in the team.
 

Ayush_reddevil

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It feels like they need to make a lot of tough decisions in one go. I don’t think Bairstow, Rehan and Jimmy drop out in one go, it’s now how they react usually.

Rehan will drop out, just to take him out of the firing line. This tour is more developmental for him. If Leach was available I think he wouldn’t have been playing anyway.
Yeah people underestimate Leach as a loss for England. Unlike India the bench is very poor. They showed graphic today about bad balls bowled by spinners and all of the England spinners were at the top while Leach in the small amount he bowled in the first test was very solid . I think they have to play Bashir. Anderson will anyways not play the next test, I can see England picking just Robinson even .
 

mav_9me

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I think too many people are giving Root an opportunity to hide here. Stokes & McCullum do not tell any of their batters to do specific things, they will tell them to be positive and back their plans/instincts, Root is a naturally positive player he does not need to change his normal approach. Bad shot selection is all on him.
That reverse sweep shot to Bumrah is one of the dumbest ways I have seen someone get out in cricket in my life. Doesn't make any fecking sense. And it has nothing to do with Bazball.
 

Fts 74

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It’s way too hyperbolic isn’t it. I think it speaks to conservative culture that still permeates English cricket.

They’ve let a few tests slide recently but if they developed a ruthless edge they’d essentially be the best team in the world. I don’t think that’s a normal expectation of a side that won 1 of 17 tests prior to the change of captain.

Learning how to temper their urges and adjust is a part of the growth of this team. But that’s the key, they have to learn from it. I think that’s why every gets so aggravated, they think Stokes and McCullum are idealists who will never change. All the soundbites from the players don’t help that feeling too but I think a lot of that is misdirection. Stokes is one of the smartest players this country has ever had. He’ll figure out, he always does.
Yes, definitely some silly quotes from the players at times doesn't help, but just reading the situation and understanding the state of the game is where they are failing. 207/2 after Ducketts brilliance got them there, new day India wary of an onslaught bat the day at 3/4 runs an over then punish the bowlers when they are tired. I don't believe they go out there wanting to smack everyball to the boundary, as Stokes has said many times its having the clarity to play your way without fear of criticism or losing your place, it fits in with trying to make test cricket more exciting and watchable ,Stokes quite often plays himself in before he unleashes.

Give me this way of playing any day, those of us who remember the 90s with negative tactics trying not to lose, Stokes has totally transformed it, he's a brilliant captain and leader,the next game is huge, it's how you bounce back that's important.
 

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That reverse sweep shot to Bumrah is one of the dumbest ways I have seen someone get out in cricket in my life. Doesn't make any fecking sense. And it has nothing to do with Bazball.
It's the third time he's got out like that.
 

Skills

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Jaiswal has hit 25 sixes in 7 test matches.

Ben Stokes has the record for most test 6s with 128 in 100 matches. This is ridiculous.
 

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How long are England going to give Anderson to get his 700?

He averaged 39 last year and he's average 35 now. They should just put together a fair well test against Ireland on a green track in the summer and be finished with him there and then. He's not offering anything here
Not just him but all the bowlers could do with more rest between innings
 

iKnowNothing

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I didn’t watch today, but did anyone notice what the Indian bowlers did to beat the English sweep? Did they change the line/length/pace/field setting something else?
 

ArmchairCritic

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I didn’t watch today, but did anyone notice what the Indian bowlers did to beat the English sweep? Did they change the line/length/pace/field setting something else?
Not as far my (relatively untrained) eye could pick. Each of the spinners were bowling their normal pace, Jadeja fast, Kuldeep slow, Ashwin in between. It was more the natural variation of bounce on a wearing pitch. There was one half tracker from Kuldeep that ended up nutmegging Root on the pull. When the bounce gets variable, you’re more prone to missing/top edging sweeps. Leg spinners are really good at extracting that variation in bounce too. That’s why using your feet is the more consistent option in the sub continent.
 

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Ben Stokes said, "umpire’s call, personally should just get rid of it. If it's hitting the stumps, it's hitting the stumps, then it's a level playing field". (Telegraph).

It's still a level playing field because the rules are the same for both teams?

Zak Crawley's dismissal - I am guessing the trajectory had it hitting the stumps very marginally - and you couldn't see it in the visuals.
 

Ayush_reddevil

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Embarrassed for anyone who watches that Stokes video and thinks it’s him throwing toys out of his pram. The reporter literally asks him about if they are frustrated with decisions not going their way and he refuses to give it a biased angle. It’s a completely reasonable answer apart from the fact that he is wrong about umpires call
 

FlawlessThaw

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Ben Stokes said, "umpire’s call, personally should just get rid of it. If it's hitting the stumps, it's hitting the stumps, then it's a level playing field". (Telegraph).

It's still a level playing field because the rules are the same for both teams?

Zak Crawley's dismissal - I am guessing the trajectory had it hitting the stumps very marginally - and you couldn't see it in the visuals.
Probably means level playing field between batters and bowlers. I think he is completely wrong but it seems like a lot is being made over a few innocuous comments that Virat Kohli was also making back in 2021.
 

Ayush_reddevil

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Probably means level playing field between batters and bowlers. I think he is completely wrong but it seems like a lot is being made over a few innocuous comments that Virat Kohli was also making back in 2021.
I think cricketers in general don’t understand how it works and this get rid of umpires call view is mentioned every week by some cricketer or commentator
 

SmallCaine

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Embarrassed for anyone who watches that Stokes video and thinks it’s him throwing toys out of his pram. The reporter literally asks him about if they are frustrated with decisions not going their way and he refuses to give it a biased angle. It’s a completely reasonable answer apart from the fact that he is wrong about umpires call
Just last game he straight up called Hawkeye wrong for giving crawley out, this time he has just managed to obfuscate his criticism better. Benefit of doubt goes to people who don't consistently complain about something or the other when they lose. Last series it was fair play this series it's technology.
 

Ayush_reddevil

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Just last gane he straight up called Hawkeye wrong for giving crawley out, this time he has just managed to obfuscate his criticism better. Benefit of doubt goes to people who don't consistently complain about technology when they lose.
Well honestly both of the decisions were dodgy and I am all for DRS. Anyways the point was that if you actually watched the video that you decided to comment on you would realise that it wasn’t said in a malicious way at all
 

zing

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Just last game he straight up called Hawkeye wrong for giving crawley out, this time he has just managed to obfuscate his criticism better. Benefit of doubt goes to people who don't consistently complain about something or the other when they lose. Last series it was fair play this series it's technology.
I agree with this. I find Stokes likeable but he sounds like a sore loser right now. You lost by 440 runs and it wasn't because Zak Crawley's DRS swung on millimetres.
 

KM

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I agree with this. I find Stokes likeable but he sounds like a sore loser right now. You lost by 440 runs and it wasn't because Zak Crawley's DRS swung on millimetres.
Yeah it's a actually embarrassing in this thread people are him saying it with a smile that he isn't complaining about it.

Second test consecutively he has complained about DRS in both of the tests that he has lost.
If it was some other captain then the same posters would have been posting about how the other captains are rattled or something else.
 

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Yeah it's a actually embarrassing in this thread people are him saying it with a smile that he isn't complaining about it.

Second test consecutively he has complained about DRS in both of the tests that he has lost.
If it was some other captain then the same posters would have been posting about how the other captains are rattled or something else.
About to listen.
 

Ayush_reddevil

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Stokes is doing an interview and he is asked continuously about this. He clearly says that it’s not the reason we lost and denies any bias. He is 100% right about the Crawley dismissal. There are people in this thread who want to look for a fight but this is a nothing interview. Not once has he said that we lost because of the decisions or blamed the umpiring.
 

Ayush_reddevil

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Hmm. I spent the first half of the interview thinking he was 100% talking shit then the second half he seemed to agree it has feck all to do with anything.
I also thought the stuff about Crawley seemed silly but then you see the decision and can clearly see what he is talking about. The image clearly shows the ball not hitting but then says umpires call