England v India 3rd Test, Ageas Bowl

First topic message reminder :

Lets get in the thread early enough.
India 1-0 up and now is the time to keep up the leel of intensity.
For England a few careers might depend on a quick turnaround in fortune here.
The pitch is reported to have some green on it and is expected to be in between the ugly pathetic track for the Trent Bridge and a lively track for the 2nd test at the HQ.
Not many reports on the England xi, but there are indications that Stuart Binny will be out for India, and by reports coming in now, its Rohit Sharma who might come in.

An article written for the telegraph (hardly the most pro-Palestine paper in the UK) which agrees pretty much with exactly what I was saying about Moeen Ali's armbands.

Worth a read, although there is a factual error regarding the black power salute - it was not a case of raising one arm to symbolise anything, more that one of the two athletes (John Carlos) had forgotten his pair of gloves, so they only had one pair between the two of them; it was in fact the Australian athlete Peter Norman who came 2nd who suggested they use one glove each.

http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/allanmassie/100075813/the-moeen-ali-affair-if-sport-is-international-so-is-human-rights/

People say sportsmen shouldn't get involved with politics, but politicians have no issue sticking there noses into sport

I've got no issues with Ali expressing his views, its pretty laughable the ICC have banned him from doing so. The ICC more worried about what Moeen Ali's wristband says rather than the corrupt chairman they appointed a month or so ago. Obviously Moeen Ali wristbands are the biggest threat facing cricket today

As I've already said, there's a difference between making a political statement and one about human rights.

Moeen Ali's was most definitely the former, and it certainly is a contentious one. It has absolutely no place on a cricket field, and it was utterly abhorrent that the ECB defended him. He should have been suspended for at least a test, I believe.

"One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter" Gerald Seymour

is a very apt quote.

If you let these things to be discussed on a sports ground...where do you draw the line ??

Abbas, Asad, Gaddafi, Saddam, Hosni Mubarak, newest kid on the block-Baghdadi......and the organizations behind them have their supporters with their arguments.

This is a can of worms if allowed to be opened on a sports ground will infest and infect sports very quickly....hence the right action from ICC and a bad precedence from ECB

Anyway onto cricket.

England won't want to be in the field any longer than the first hour.

I want India to be bowled out for 342 or under, just so I win some money.

Very, very achievable.

GSC wrote:Anyway onto cricket.

England won't want to be in the field any longer than the first hour.

India will take it if we can last one hour....i.e 15 overs and 2 overs for a changeover...means 17 overs gone from the day

and Eng lead will be 200 only by that time.

so to get 175 runs...they will bat about 50 overs.....and another 2 overs for a changeover.....means India will be left with about 20 overs today

well how long can the last pair hang-on

Dhoni gone for 50, Anderson with 4 wickets

Anderson gets fifer, India all out for 330, England will bat again

Eng's 20 minutes this morning....and task harder for India....for once they could not eek out anotehr 15 overs from the last 2 wickets.

Well bowled Jimmy!!!

Lead 239. Probably as good a morning as England could've hoped for so far.

Now they'll look to get above 300 this morning and put the hammer down after lunch

Clubman James Anderson takes another 5 wicket bag at home. 

Will he be proclaimed as an all time great now? 

Only took him 13 matches to take 5 wickets in an innings again after Trent Bridge 2013.

yawn

Put them in

Give it a rest mr anti englishman!

Great start for England - knocked the last 2 over quickly and preserved a few more runs of their lead. 239 is a lot more use in this situation than 180ish with another hour out of the game.

Lead of 300+ by lunch and push on over 400 well before tea. Declare early enough to have a dart before the break.

As good as England could have wished for, taking the last 2 Indian wickets for pretty much nothing.

Stick India in just before or just after tea IMO, setting 400-450 to win.

Duty281 wrote:I want India to be bowled out for 342 or under, just so I win some money.

Very, very achievable.

It's a bullseye! That's my uncle's birthday sorted.

Cook is rather conservative and won't declare until the lead is about 450 - not until the evening session, then - and England will then require a collapse or magical spell of bowling.

Hmmm...England to win...just.

Good decision from Cook to not enforce the follow on. So far, by and large he has a good Test as captain.

India will prefer fielding again. What's that old adage. Do what the opposition would least like you to do.

Remember when people slated Carberry for being the 2nd highest runscorer against Australia   

Robson gone. Hasn't really put his stamp on the openers job yet.

Pankaj looks so much more potent with new ball...compared to shami....this is India's new ball pair for the rest of the series

Carberry isn't really good enough for test cricket and has no long term benefit.

Good sign that there's still a little nip and bounce in the pitch

Ah the old carberry debate, I've already said my being the least crap thing ain't I

Broad made it very clear on last nights highlights programme that he had no wish for England to enforce the follow on.

What could Cook do, force his bowlers to bowl when they clearly didn't want too?

Compton should have been given longer imo.

Anyways Robson isn't doing too badly, think people forget that making the step up to opener in tests isn't particularly easy and he's already got a hundred and a fifty

Scrumpy wrote:Broad made it very clear on last nights highlights programme that he had no wish for England to enforce the follow on.

What could Cook do, force his bowlers to bowl when they clearly didn't want too?

Yes!

Ind has to keep an eye on runs also and should have a 3rd man.

From an Indian POV...good that Cook bats as along as he can...he is playing for himsefl and like first inning would keep the RR in check

Pankaj at 88.1mph....wow we didn't know he could go so fast   

Stella wrote:

Scrumpy wrote:Broad made it very clear on last nights highlights programme that he had no wish for England to enforce the follow on.

What could Cook do, force his bowlers to bowl when they clearly didn't want too?

Yes!

But Broad made it clear he didn't want to bowl today in an interview, so I'd imagine he would have made his feelings clear in the dressing room.

Cook isn't a forceful enough character hence why the egos are ruling the roost.

Scrumpy wrote:

Stella wrote:

Scrumpy wrote:Broad made it very clear on last nights highlights programme that he had no wish for England to enforce the follow on.

What could Cook do, force his bowlers to bowl when they clearly didn't want too?

Yes!

But Broad made it clear he didn't want to bowl today in an interview, so I'd imagine he would have made his feelings clear in the dressing room.

Cook isn't a forceful enough character hence why the egos are ruling the roost.

I'd tell Broad to bowl, and like it or lump it. If he's injured, then he shouldn't be playing.

Can't argue with that, I would do the same.

I'd imagine if Woakes or Jordan had chipped in with a few wickets England might've considered it.

But they'll be wary of overbowling Anderson and Broad in test 3 of 5, after heavy workloads in 1 and 2.

Strauss: ''Cook into one day mode''


16 from 35 deliveries....

GSC wrote:I'd imagine if Woakes or Jordan had chipped in with a few wickets England might've considered it.

But they'll be wary of overbowling Anderson and Broad in test 3 of 5, after heavy workloads in 1 and 2.

Indeed. I would rest Broad and bring back Tremlett, and Stokes for Jordan for the next game. Watch Jordan take 8 - 20 tomorrow.

shami releases the pressure......he's a problem for India
Indis has played him one test too many.......Pandey should have come in from him here.

now Ishant will rpelace him next game

What exactly does Robson add to this England side?

Bring in Taylor/Vince at 6 with Moeen opening, guarantee more runs and better fielders...

Resilience I suppose.

Ali needs to make sure this short ball weakness doesn't become a trend before I'd consider moving him to open.

Ballance beginning to rev up here, lead over 300

England will be looking at 450+ I think.

Memories of Sri Lanka still fresh, Cook will want an unassailable target

Moeen's far too loose with his drives to open in a Test Match. Never mind his potential weakness against the short ball.

It does amuse me when people suggest replacing Robson as opener with someone who's been just as (un?)successful at Test level with the bat in Moeen.

Ballance fancies his 50 before lunch.

Wouldn't surprise me if Buttler is next in line. Would be a logical and enterprising move.

Englands morning.  Great batting from Cook and Ballance.  England can and should have the lead over 400 well before tea and should then stick the Indians for a half an hour or so before the tea break and really have a go at them.

GSC wrote:England will be looking at 450+ I think.

Memories of Sri Lanka still fresh, Cook will want an unassailable target

Woud that be enough on this wicket with 2 days to go?

Just turned it on. Very good,

Great to see cook putting balance in early. He has batted very well again and again not out when given !

But no dramas. Just smash it for half the next session and get India back in.

Ballance goes before lunch for an enterprising 32 as England close on 80-2, a lead of 319

Probably be a discussion at lunch, but makes sense to put Englands most explosive player in now. Imagine Buttler will join Cook post lunch