England in India

First topic message reminder :

England main side is in India from Nov 2012 thru end of Jan 2013.
The schedule below....and interestingly Eng Performance Side ( meaning A side?) will also be in India overlapping with the senior sides tour.....
I believe Netherland will also be playing the Eng Performance side in 3 games at Poona club.......why at Poona club ?

Tue Oct 30 - Thu Nov 1
09:30 local | 04:00 GMT
05:00 CET TBC v England XI
Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai

Sat Nov 3 - Mon Nov 5
09:30 local | 04:00 GMT
05:00 CET TBC v England XI
Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai

Thu Nov 8 - Sun Nov 11
09:30 local | 04:00 GMT
05:00 CET TBC v England XI
Sardar Patel Stadium B Ground, Motera, Ahmedabad

Thu Nov 15 - Mon Nov 19
09:30 local | 04:00 GMT
05:00 CET 1st Test - India v England
Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera, Ahmedabad

Fri Nov 23 - Tue Nov 27
09:30 local | 04:00 GMT
05:00 CET 2nd Test - India v England
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Wed Dec 5 - Sun Dec 9
09:00 local | 03:30 GMT
04:30 CET 3rd Test - India v England
Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Thu Dec 13 - Mon Dec 17
09:30 local | 04:00 GMT
05:00 CET 4th Test - India v England
Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium, Jamtha, Nagpur

Thu Dec 20
20:00 local | 14:30 GMT
15:30 CET 1st T20I - India v England
Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium, Pune

Sat Dec 22
20:00 local | 14:30 GMT
15:30 CET 2nd T20I - India v England
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Sun Jan 6 TBC v England XI
Feroz Shah Kotla, DelhiDelhi

Tue Jan 8 TBC v England XI
Harbax Singh Stadium, DelhiDelhi

Fri Jan 11
14:30 local | 09:00 GMT
10:00 CET 1st ODI - India v England
Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot

Tue Jan 15
14:30 local | 09:00 GMT
10:00 CET 2nd ODI - India v England
Nehru Stadium, Kochi

Sat Jan 19
14:30 local | 09:00 GMT
10:00 CET 3rd ODI - India v England
HEC International Cricket Stadium Complex, Ranchi

Wed Jan 23
14:30 local | 09:00 GMT
10:00 CET 4th ODI - India v England
Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala

Sun Jan 27
14:30 local | 09:00 GMT
10:00 CET 5th ODI - India v England
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali, Chandigarh

shah only played 6 tests.

Owais Shah is already 34 (couple of years older than Carberry whose time is often said to have come and gone). Someone in that position would need to be showing prolonged stellar form to get back into the frame

shah played a match winning knock in Mar 2006 in India and didn't paly his remaining 5 tests until 3 years later against WI

now unless he was injured he should have played 5 to 6 tests immediately after that match against India

i know corporal i just wanna know how 6 tests can be called 'fair run'.

CF - agree that six tests is not a great deal. But maybe the dodgy running between wickets and fielding below average for the top level have been a couple of handicaps too far.

its ok corporal im sure the response will be, ' i will post a blog about it'

Shah may have been a decent batsman, but was mentally too fragile, and a poor cricketer IMO.

He was a bit unlucky. Played brilliantly in his first test, then dropped, then back for one test, then dropped again. Often shuffled around the batting order in ODIs. Rarely picked when at the peak of his game and in the right position.

However he had serious issues with the other aspects of his game, often came accross as arrogant, and was apparently fairly work-shy.

Talk of a comeback now is surely accademic, he has scarcely been setting the county scene alight at Essex...

I did say he was unlucky at times not to get another chance... the main reason being that on that tour a lot of regulars were out (Tres, Vaughan) and not all that came in (Cook, Shah, Colly) could obviously keep their places. The top 6 in the '06 summer was Strauss, Tres, Cook, KP, Colly, Bell - its difficult to see who Shah should have played instead of. Colly had the bowling and fielding, and I think I'm right in saying Bell hit 3 or 4 100s in the '06 summer (innings which were often conveniently ignored because he came in at 6 after other had hit 100s).

But 6 Tests amounts to enough innings to say that he had a chance, and should only be given another chance if we reasonably believe that he would do better as a result of his FC performances.

And in ODIs he played 80-odd games from memory - as I say he was neither particularly good or bat, but the negative aspects to his game weren't made up for with the bat enough to justify persisting with him.

ECB has arranged VIP pick-up for KP
as he arrives separate from the rest of the team...

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/msd-unavailable/1023314/

KP’s pick up

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are ensuring that Kevin Pietersen’s return to the team is a smooth affair. On the ECB’s request, the star batsman will get a special airport pick-up as he is scheduled to land three hours before the England team. Pietersen, was to arrive in Mumbai from Johannesburg at 11 pm on Sunday after completing his Champions League commitments, while the England team was to travel from their training base in Dubai. Initially, Pietersen would have had to kill time at the arrival terminal because security reasons make it mandatory for him to travel only in the team bus.

Oh dear. Looking round the Internet on Twitter, ICF and Youtube, Indian fans are giving it the big I am for the upcoming series. I can feel a patriotic stirring in my heart, maybe I shouldn't let it get to me.

Graeme Fowler reminsces the last series England won in India in Italics below...and unbelievably inspite of averaging 55 in that series...Fowler never played again for England.

I have my memories too as a 11 year old....on black and white TV....doordarshan's hazy and distant camer images.

That was the series where Laxman sivaramakrisnan bamboozled England to a defeat in T1 ( I think in Mumbai).....picking 18 english wickets in his first 3 innings of the tour.....and did little of note thereafter in his career........and banking still on the goodwill of those 3 innings with BCCI he is a commentator......probably the most pathetic one in serving cliches.

India threw away T2 in delhi to an irrepsonsible post luch afternoon on final day.....and in those dark ages when Indian cricket.......was at it's worst zonal quota politics....there was a Kapil / North Indian camp and Gavaskar / West camp.

Kapil was "scapegoated"....for playing an irresponsible shot to lose the test.....his only break in his 131 long test career......and to balance it Sandeep Patil from Gavaskar's camp was also dropped....never to play a test match for India again.
Because the man who replaced Patil was called Azharuddin....and with 3 centuries in first 3 tests......he became an instant star and Patil forgotten.

Then Neil Foster delivered the performance of his life in T4 Madras to win England the series......and Mike Gatting finally delivered in that series the promise that English cricket had seen in him for long....with tons of runs and tons and double tons.

England's bolwing comprising of Richard Alison, Norman Cowanns, Edmonds, Pat Pocock....and Junior Cowdrey...was quite ordinary is what I can say from memory....yet they won.....largely because of a poltically divided Indian team...
And on the back of tons of runs from Fowler and Gatting and some good shows from another opener "some" Robinson who in his stance held the bat so high that it was parallell to the ground , scored heavily I think averaging also above 55....
And above all that one display of brilliant seam bowling from Foster in Madras.

India tried hard to lure England with a chase of 250odd in 2 sessions of D5 of 5th test...which in those times was too much.....but with a rare series win in the bag.....Captain Gower had decided to shut shop and depart safely with England's most successfull trip to India till date.


http://www.dnaindia.com/sport/interview_we-won-in-india-without-a-coach-graeme-fowler_1757080

We won in India without a coach: Graeme Fowler

Published: Sunday, Oct 28, 2012, 15:36 IST
Agency: Daily Telegraph
It was a tightly knit England team that last won a Test series in India.

They had no stars, in the absence of Ian Botham and Graham Gooch, and relied on their own resources.

David Gower's England team of 1984-85 had no coach, no analyst, no doctor, no security officer, no masseur. There was a physiotherapist, but he refused to massage anybody, even the fast bowlers after a long day.

So they had to work things out for themselves, and did, winning the Test series 2-1 after everything had seemed stacked against them, from the pitches to politics to the all-day journeys by train, plane and bus that used to constitute a tour of India.

What were the preparations? "Absolutely nothing," according to Graeme Fowler, England's opening batsman and now the coach at Durham University, where Andrew Strauss among others have passed under his wing. "The day before the tour we went to Lord's and you were given a blazer, and either it fitted or it didn't."

The fitness training for Fowler's first tour in 1982-83 to Australia had consisted of running a mile in less than six or seven minutes soon after arrival. For the 1984-85 tour of India, the training was less intensive: zero.

What about the coaching and technical preparations? "Norman Gifford, our assistant coach, was a lovely man and he would throw a few balls at you in the nets. But be was never proactive or intrusive, saying do this or that. If you had some trouble with your technique, he'd just come up and say: 'It'll come good in the end.' A large part of his responsibility was to organise the luggage."

Any long days in Loughborough during which the players pooled their ideas? "I asked Lamby [Allan Lamb] about how he set himself up to bat against West Indies, and he just looked at me and said: 'I rely on instinct.'?"

The India tour comprised five Tests, two assassinations, and a one-day international series which England won as well, 4-1. Distant days indeed.

The first assassination, of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, happened a few hours after England had landed in Delhi. "We played cards in the galley of the plane on the way over, and some of us went into the cockpit for the landing, and we got to our hotel about 3am. When we woke up we found Indira Gandhi had been shot four miles down the road by her Sikh bodyguard."

Sectarian riots ensued. England could not play cricket, so they waited in their Delhi hotel until after the funeral, then flew in the private plane of the Sri Lankan president to Colombo, where they stayed for more than a week. "They welcomed us with open arms and were very hospitable, and we did some fielding practice in the High Commission compound."

The second assassination occurred the day before the first Test in Mumbai. The England party had attended a reception given the previous evening by the British Deputy High Commissioner Percy Norris. Less than a mile from their Mumbai hotel next morning he was shot.

Now there is always a senior ECB official on tour to deal with emergencies. In 1984 Tony Brown, on his first tour as manager, had to decide whether to abort it. "He decided we should go to practice on the same day - 'What, target practice?' I said," Fowler recalled.

The first Test went ahead, but England were not mentally prepared, and lost on a Mumbai turner. What England did have, in addition to their unity, was a fine pair of spinners. In the second Test at Delhi, Phil Edmonds bowled 88.2 overs and took six wickets for only 143 runs; Pat Pocock, more inventive but less economical, took seven, leaving England 125 to chase on the last afternoon.

Fowler was sick in bed in the team hotel that afternoon - until the phone rang with the message: "They are eight down, you'd better get down here." Nowadays one of England's security officers would have escorted him by car; Fowler jumped in a tuk-tuk, scored 29 as England won by eight wickets, then went back to bed for three days.

A bit more time and freedom could also be turned to advantage by the England tourists of a generation ago. England went for a mid-series practice game in Gauhati in the north-east, and stayed in a hilltop guesthouse overlooking the mighty sweep of the Brahmaputra river.

"I fell in love with the place," Fowler said. "It was not only beautiful scenically but the people were so relaxed and friendly. I spent a lot of time walking with my camera on the riverbank in the evenings while kids played with hoops, like I did when I was a kid." Starting in Guwahati, his first-class scores were 114, 49, 201, two and 69. And while England became harmonious, India became acrimonious.

The home captain Sunil Gavaskar continued India's first innings into the fourth day at Calcutta, but was booed and jeered for the go-slow bore-draw as India scored 437 from 200 overs. "I can remember Edmonds reading a newspaper in the gully while Gower was waiting to bowl."

Fowler's double-hundred came in the same first innings of the Madras Test that Mike Gatting, the vice-captain, scored 207: the only time two England batsmen have scored double-centuries in the same innings. "The ball turned and really bounced so we decided to score mainly off the back foot and drive only when the ball was full. I never swept and I didn't use my feet but eventually I decided their off-spinner had to go and I hit a couple over long-on."

Essex's Neil Foster then bowled superbly to take 11 wickets and put England 2-1 up. The manager of the team hotel sent a bottle of champagne and an enormous cake to Gatting and Fowler each, but not to Foster, who went searching in everyone else's room for his rightful gifts - having forgotten that bowlers are always underrated. "Fancy a piece of cake, Fossie?" he was asked for the rest of the tour.

England players had to share rooms, except for the captain and vice-captain ('volunteers to room with Kevin Pietersen please step forward!'). Fowler found rooming with Edmonds a particular challenge: "He wanted to read with the lights and the radio on and the curtains open, while I wanted to sleep."

Of all the differences between then and now, perhaps the greatest are consistent selection and medical back-up. In 1983 Fowler had scored a century in the first Test against New Zealand, nine and 19 in the second, and been dropped for the third. "It was only on tour that you felt part of an England team. At home the fear of being dropped made you play for your place."

Medically, Fowler had made an unpleasant discovery by the end of the 1984-85 tour: "I couldn't turn my neck because of two crushed vertebrae as the result of a car accident and I had constant pins and needles. It was a routine op but I didn't have it till the following winter and by then it was too late." After scoring 201 in his penultimate Test, and 69 in his last, he had already been dropped by England forever.

India 113-3 against England. Mukund made 73. Poor outings so far for Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay. Yuvraj is not out on 27.
A wicket each for Bresnan and Swann and a runout as well.
Stuart Broad isn't playing for England in this match, but both Tim Bresnan and Steven Finn are in along with Anderson and Swann. Nick Compton is getting a game, but no root. Samit Patel is also playing and his first over went for 14.

Vijay was R.O
Rahane blew another greate opportunity to impress. Rahane's continued failures in WI and now...and at the same time Mukund....much as I see flaws in his techqniue has delievred runs in WI, in NZ, Irani / duleep and now here.

If Rahane fails in 2nd inning.........Mukund would be ahead of him for an openers slot.

raina made 20 and fell to Patel........and has effectively surrendered the No.6 slot to yuvraj who is batting on 59 here.

Yuvraj is in the test match squad for me now.......let0s see if he can get a hundred today

Inpite of a reported greentop.....swann and patel picking wicketes here...as Yuv falls to Swann

Yuvraj 59 of 80 balls with 7 4s and 4 6s.
He's the main spinner of this India A side, a couple of wickets, and if he gets a chance in the 2nd innings and scores a few more, he would have done enough for that number 6 place. Anyways he's better than Raina for that slot, even without this particular contribution.

Thanks for the updates guys.

Exciting times. The Saffas have arrived here too.

Enjoyed reading that article KP_F.

Amazing to think how far touring side preparations have come since the 80s.

I know some people go on and on about the actual pitches but we also know that India is a very, very tough place to visit for a Test series. Especially in those days (compared to the money available nowadays for touring sides) it was a credit to the discipline of the England team that they fought hard and won that series (with a little luck) when it seemed a near impossible task... and when the likes of Australia would still have to wait the best part of 15 years or so to do the same.

Hello there LB.
Since you are here, let me put a suggestion across. The domestic cricket thread has developed quite a bit since KPF put up the thread on Indian domestic cricket. Now we have started discussions on South Africa and New Zealand domestic cricket besides India and the discussions on county cricket. It would be good if we have more updates from the domestic seen in Australia, and I think you could be the best person to keep it going.

India A 224-6 at tea. Manoj Tiwary and Irfan Pathan at the crease

Steven Finn has apparently hurt himself and is off for a scan. Fortunately, England's depth of fast bowling is unrivalled in the World so a decent replacement will be called up IF he's injured for the first Test. Looks like a decent start by England today, but it's not the bowlers that worry me - it's the batsmen!

Finn's pace is something that England would really need in the test matches. If he is injured then that will be a setback for England. But that first test is some way away, so he could recover in time if the injury isn't serious.

Finn has looked like the ONLY potent pace bowler for England....in recent times.
If he has injured himsefl it's bad news for England.

On the flat pitched served during the tests........Broad, Bresnan will be fodder.

I don't know how is anderson bowling.......in terms of speed...only if he is 85mph+ he is more likely to be effective

The opening hand revealed by Englnad suggests that Monty is not in the scheme of things for T1

Tiwari has delievred when it counted.

But for Dhoni's lack of confidence in him he should be palying more regularly...this guy comes in from the cold bench and delivers most times.

and with his handy legspin......he should be in contention for a slot in the squad of 15 now.

Pathan closing in on a half century reaffirms his credentials as a bolwing allrounder.

with ashwin and Pathan in the side as useful batsmen...occasionally India can afford 5 bowlers

India 286-6. Tiwary on 66 and Pathan on 35. 71 overs bowled so far, and the advantage of 6 wickets that England had is almost gone. India A has consistently maintained that run rate over 4.

Finn will be a huge loss if he is out for the first test. I hope that this is not the case for him and England.

India A 317-7. Irfan Pathan the last man out for 46, Graeme Swann with his 3rd wicket.
Good knock from Pathan, I hope he does well with the ball as well.

Tiwari closes in on a hundred....I hope he gets there and seals a place.

337 runs so far with 10 overs left in a day.....implies a 360ish finish..... against a "world class " attack reportedly on a green-top....already made it an India-A's day.

When the pitch is not a green-top and a spinner's paradise.....this might be an innings margin winning score

Swann's 3 wkts the only silver lining for England so far

Tiwary unfortunately didn't go on to his ton, out for 93. But a good day's work for India A, 369-9 at the end of the day.

I think England can be reasonably satisfied with that. They kept a good top-order fairly quiet, and it was only the Tiwary-Pathan partnership which put India A on top.

Finn's injury could be a problem, but Anderson, Bresnan and Swann all got good work-outs, as did Patel, although he proved expensive. However from a warm-up perspective I'd rather that than rolling the other team over for 150. Interesting selection that BTW, suggests England are considering him at no 6 - could be an interesting move but not one I agree with, I thought Bairstow did enough in his last test to guarantee selection for this one. Compton above Root is another interesting one, and he'll have a good chance to stake a claim. Will be interesting to see how England go with the bat.

Think England would give Bairstow/Morgan, Broad and Root chances in the next warm up match.

msp83 wrote:Tiwary unfortunately didn't go on to his ton, out for 93. But a good day's work for India A, 369-9 at the end of the day.

a lot to ponder for England...on a pitch that suited their bowling.....the 2nd eleven from India score what in a single day what could be a match winning total on a spinning pitch.

Finn's injury must be a huge concern......as would be anderson going at 4RPO for a solitary wicket.

Swann....much as his personality can border on obnoxious... he delivers yet again on the field...whihc is all that matters.

I would highly encourage England to look at playing monty in T1 especially if Finn is not fit...England need to play the most likely to take wicket bowlers.

Compton offers them a bit more of options, he can open or bat in the middle order, and Ian Bell is slated to be unavailable for one of the tests. They do have Morgan and Bairstow as cover, but no harm in seeing how Compton would go about.

Don't see England risking Finn in the next warm up game even if the injury concerns aren't major. Would like to see Onions given an opportunity. And Panesar as well.

I would have thought that England's selection for this game indicates that they are considering Compton as the best candidate for the opening birth (I am not sure that picking Patel does likewise for the number 6 slot). Should he go well here, I'm not sure in the value of trying Root in game two - I would rather the likely test openers get more time in the middle under their belts.

KP_fan wrote:Tiwari closes in on a hundred....I hope he gets there and seals a place.

337 runs so far with 10 overs left in a day.....implies a 360ish finish..... against a "world class " attack reportedly on a green-top....already made it an India-A's day.

When the pitch is not a green-top and a spinner's paradise.....this might be an innings margin winning score

Swann's 3 wkts the only silver lining for England so far

Hardly anything to worry about for England, a low intensity 3 day game where the only obligation is to get match practice in. The result doesn't matter, finding form does. Swann and Bresnan have started well.

msp83 wrote:Hello there LB.
Since you are here, let me put a suggestion across. The domestic cricket thread has developed quite a bit since KPF put up the thread on Indian domestic cricket. Now we have started discussions on South Africa and New Zealand domestic cricket besides India and the discussions on county cricket. It would be good if we have more updates from the domestic seen in Australia, and I think you could be the best person to keep it going.

Hi msp. Good idea.
I've been a bit busy of late but I'll start an Australian Domestic Thread for Sheffield Shield, Ryobi Cup and Big Bash discussions.

The key to match practice is for the players to find their rythm - for batsmen this means they need to score runs and/or spend time in the middle, for bowlers this just means putting in the overs. In that respect England will be relatively satisfied - of course they would have liked the run-rate to not be so high, but this is a better warm-up for the bowlers than if they'd rolled India over within 30 overs. It's not as if any of the main bowlers went all over the park (which would be worrying).

From India's perspective the form of Yuvraj is promising - a good show with the ball will surely put him right in the mix for the no 6 slot.

Decent day, although perhaps shades of SL last year with lower order runs turning an opposition first innings from 'well below par' to 'below par' and eventually to 'respectable'.

I agree with the 11 a side policy but am a bit surprised that England didn't get Broad or Onions to come in (with permission, of course), once Finn went down - seems pointless getting Trott/ Patel to put down some overs in a warm-up.

Bresnan really likes playing against India - certainly shouldn't be dismissed, particularly as he looks to have rediscovered some form.

massive blow with finn possibly injured

A duck for Compton on England debut. 50's for Cook and Trott. Bell fails, Pietersen looks good for 23 before falling to his nemesis Yuvraj.

Not great from England, but as a first tour match not too drastic.

Bell is a worry, again falling to spin on the subcontinent.

Pietersen falls to SLA again - this is bound to draw attention, although I'm not sure it's as significant as some will say.

Good to see Cook and Trott in the runs. Compton will be disappointed, and Root may well get a chance in the next match as a result.

Absolutely stupid of India A to not declare overnight, I think that's despicable (although only lasted one ball this morning) frankly.

The main worry for England is of course that Yuvraj has 2 top-order wickets. Trial by spin then... He's probably put himself in pole position for the number 6 slot with that.

OMG...they can't play Yuvraj singh and Raina's spin

227/4, nice so far from England. Bell and Compton disappointed, KP failed to build on a good start but Cook, Trott and Patel have all made 50s. This will boost Patel's chances of starting the First Test.

Patel has probably made hsi way into tje playing 11.
makes it eeasy for Flower to check the box of 2nd spinner also

Patel could well play. I still don't think it would be right - he's not batted very well in the last year (for Notts), and in my opinion his spin isn't that good...

Shame for Compton, good to see Cook in the runs, and Trott too.

Yuvraj shouldn't be underestimated as a bowler. I think he's better than the part-timer he's often branded as (for me, he's a level above Patel, for instance).

And who do you think should play ahead of Patel? Morgan, who has an inferior FC record despite playing mostly in Div 2 and against Associate sides?

Bairstow against spin is well...

Against spin in the SC, I rate Samit over Bell too.

If I was England coach.....I would have mixed thoughts.......the day progressed highlighting the same strengths and weaknesses.

1) Cook and Trott have scored all the time....even in the debacle in UAE
2) Rest have failed against spin.....yet again....even when there were no spinners.

3) And Patel...if they play him.......one of the specialsit batsmen would have to sit out

ShankyCricket wrote:And who do you think should play ahead of Patel? Morgan, who has an inferior FC record despite playing mostly in Div 2 and against Associate sides?

Bairstow against spin is well...

Against spin in the SC, I rate Samit over Bell too.

None of Morgan's matches against associate sides count as first class... To be honest I saw Morgan's selection as a bit of a punt in the absence of KP. With the latter back in the fray, the selectors will be far more willing to pick less experienced players.

I think it's obvious that England would ideally pick Patel, and he plays spin pretty well. I don't however see his bowling as much of a bonus, India will take him apart mostly.

Bairstow can feel hard done by though, in his last test he scored 90odd and 50odd, and it's only poor performances in another format which have brought his struggles against spin to light.

My gut feeling is Patel will probably score more runs on this tour than Bairstow, but there are also some question marks over his fitness in the Indian heat surely?

Mixed day for england TBH - good to see some amongst the runs, but Compton getting out early (can happen to openers I guess) and in particular Bell's continuing struggles are a worry.

For India A... not much, seamers not up to much, Yuvraj doing well with his "part-timers" (I agree with Shelsey that I think he's a better bowler than that), Raina could be a useful 3rd spinner also. Straight fight between those 2 for the number 6 slot.

Meanwhile what do England do? declare and give their bowlers some more practice, with the thought that they'd like Compton and Bell to have another knock? Or bat on, give Prior a bat, and then bowl 50 or so overs. It's hard to see them rolling India A over in the 2nd innings, and given the way things have gone I wouldn't bank on a declaration, so given that batting on seems the sensible option.

Not sure much should be made of KP getting out to SLA - he absolutely battered the ball back at Yuvraj and it happened to stick - a very sharp take after a KP failed to get enough loft on the ball.

Good stuff from Patel, he is a much better player of spin than Bairstow so should probably bat at 6 in this series, despite him not being entirely fit for purpose. It just highlights England's lack of strength in depth in the batting department.

The way people have constantly built up Bairstow then knocked him back down is baffling.

On here in the course of the last year he's been:

- A good talent, but one whom we were mostly ambivalent too.
- Totally out of his depth.
- England's saviour, who should now play every game, in all formats.
- A disaster against spin.

My personal conclusion is that he is talented but with issues which still need to be sorted. He should probably play at Ahmedabad for me - after all, he did score good runs in the last Test England played... (and at the time was wrongly built up as suddenly the new KP). However, his capacity to score consistently against spin is in doubt. If the problems re-assert themselves in the Test series he should quickly be replaced...

Patel was worth a punt as a number six last year... but on the basis of this year's Championship form (and his rather average efforts in SL) its hugely difficult to justify picking him as a batsman. And I personally just don't think he's fit for purpose as anything more than a fill-in spinner...