England's Winter of Cricket 2020/21

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Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Wake up to hear Swann doing an Aussie impression. Can this be over in two days again?

Is that what it was? Couldn't fool me...

p.s. it was a 'nowhere in particular' accent.

Stokes continues - after a couple of full tosses last over he's been much better this one ; has bowled some testing short deliveries. But no breakthrough yet...Pujara is as patient as ever. And Rohit more restrained than usual ; at least so far.

Leach looking dangerous. Drawn an edge already...unfortunately Foakes got just enough glove on it to drop it short of slip.(would have been a miracle catch for the keeper.

Now : has he got Pujara ? Yes !

So : drinks at 40/2 off 24. Has been England's hour ...some good bowling , and the breakthrough coming shortly after a string of maidens. Just 16 runs off 12 overs today. Tight game .

Reward for Stokes ! After some good short stuff , he's produced a fierce lifter and removed Kohli for a duck...41/3 and game well and truly on...

Any fears Stokes wouldn't be able to do an adequate job with the ball seem misplaced as he's in his seventh over for the day.

Quite first hour on day 2 but England takes it with the Pujara strike. Fine call from umpire Nitin Menon to give him out LBW, spotting it to be pad first. Think the BCCI training module for home umpires need to focus a lot more on the technological side of things, that's where they haven't always been up to mark in this series.
Coming back to Pujara, it was the overseas version of Pujara who was out there unlike earlier in the series and unlike him yesterday even. Not the right approach here to let the spinner bowl whereever he wanted.

England now owning the first session with that big wicket, Stokes it is, gets Virat Kohli!

alfie wrote:Reward for Stokes ! After some good short stuff , he's produced a fierce lifter and removed Kohli for a duck...41/3 and game well and truly on...

Any fears Stokes wouldn't be able to do an adequate job with the ball seem misplaced as he's in his seventh over for the day.

Good to see Stokes back to his best with the ball...I believe one poster pointed out that if England were to get something from the series that would be needed

Rohit and Rahane turned the 2nd test around with a match defining partnership. They need to rreproduce something like that here yet again.
Kohli did get a couple of half-centuries in the series and Pujara got a 72 in the first test, but they both haven't contributed anywhere near their best in this series. Even Rahane had that 1 knock. So India's top 3 batsmen have had a very ordinary series so far, they have been riding on Rohit for much of the series...

It is indeed , Olly. I've been slightly surprised he's done so little bowling in the first three games : OK the pitches haven't really suited him ; but he's the sort of fellow who can produce unexpected magic and I'd have thought he could have been used more at Chennai (less so last week where they were totally overloaded with unnecessary seam options !)

Hi msp

Yes , Rohit really has been the standout for India this series. The other major bats have been a bit up and down (particularly surprised me that Pujara has had such a lean trot as I'd have thought he'd be one who would cope better with difficult conditions than most. He's been Jack Leach's bunny lately)
Might be helpful to Rohit that he's been able to get started against the pace attacks before spinners and ever trickier surfaces have come into the picture- but no other opener has done much at all so his efforts have really been outstanding. I really credit him more than anyone else with setting India up to win that vital Second Test .

And he's holding the innings together today

Stokes marathon spell continuing : hour and a half in humid conditions !  One way to shake off a reputed minor bug he's apparently been suffering

Might be getting a bit weary now though. Rahane taking a few runs this over. Still troubled the batman with a couple of balls. Top quality spell but probably time for a rest...

Bess on now. Rohit not wishing to let him settle...got a boundary with a lofted shot but it wasn't far away from a fielder so I don't think England will mind that.
Anderson back for a couple of overs leading up to lunch. Would love another wicket before the break...

Rahane has started quite brightly - 20 off 33 balls. Contrast with an unusually patient Rohit 31 from 105.

Methuselah strikes again, was all over Rahane in those two overs.

Magnificent from Anderson, and a top session from England.

But, huge hour or so coming after lunch...Pant and Rohit could turn this game with an hour of attacking batting...finely poised

Anderson gets the perfect finish to the session for England ! Draws the edge from Rahane , fine catch by Ben Stokes and India are 80/4 at the lunch break...

Good for England . Albeit not so good for my Tipping Competition chances as KP_fan will now be edging me out this morning

tense terrific, test match cricket
Eng bowled well and have made this a tense contest

What makes it difficult for India.....No. 3 and 4, big guns Kohli and Puajra are not in form...its gone under the radar...but in this tight contest this crack is evident

Rahane even when in form at best scores big 50s...and doesn't get even that 50 today
So India's run scoring is in the hands of Rohit, Ashwin, Pant, sundar
Gill has looked good but not gone on.

The pitch is more like a traditional wankhede Mumbai or Chinnaswamy Bangalore pitch There will be Big spin and good bounce ...but won't crumble....
And there will be swing, which surprisingly is still conventional swing...ball going in the direction of scruffed side.
My own theory is when humidity is high, swing is conventional.

Bess....well I repeat I can bowl better than him....and surely Root gets more zip
Eng a seamer short and I think it could prove decisive.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Magnificent from Anderson, and a top session from England.

But, huge hour or so coming after lunch...Pant and Rohit could turn this game with an hour of attacking batting...finely poised

Will be vital , indeed. Ball now 39 overs old so you'd think batting might get easier...but then again a bit of reverse might kick in at some point.

Imagine Pant will be looking to attack. Rohit seems to be playing very sensibly today , not overdoing the aggressive stuff. This is a good pitch I think - you can certainly bat on it , but there is sufficient help for bowlers of all types that it is far from easy. As is shown by the fact that Rohit is the only one of India's first five to get past thirty...

Root has handled his attack really well today. Will need to stay on the ball on resumption. As you say , finely poised.

Anderson resuming with the remarkable figures of 2/7 from 12 overs. And now it is 13 overs - ten maidens !

Bess at the other end struggling to settle - important he does so to ensure the pressure is maintained...but it's hardly a surprise that his confidence might be a bit shaky after the somewhat insensitive treatment he had after the First Test.

England continuing to attack with Anderson. Pant's approach here will be interesting. Good on England that they haven't put Leach on against him at the start. Pant needs to handle this sensibly. And equally important for England, that Bess would cut down on those full-tosses.
Think Root should actually bring himself on here and bowl a tight spell...

Jimmy might bowl a bad ball eventually.

This has been lovely to wake up to.

A very finely poised Test. India do bat deep and these two are very dangerous. England don't have the same bowling depth as India though and it's showing just now with Bess relieving the pressure by bowling poorly. It's not just the 4 ball every over (which is a big issue) but also the protection he has out that's allowing easy runs to be milked.

I'd get Leach back on or give Root a bowl. This partnership is vital and England just want to keep tying them down in my opinion.

Soul Requiem wrote:Jimmy might bowl a bad ball eventually.

When it comes to 'fitness' referring to injuries and niggles Jimmy has definitely had more struggles the last few years.

But in terms of 'fitness' referring to conditioning and being able to bowl long spells like this without tiring he genuinely seems to have improved despite his age. Incredible.

Bess is leaking too many runs here. He has a real problem here ...short of confidence ,but knows he needs to toss the ball up and try to take wickets - but with every over pitched delivery that is punished by Rohit that confidence is tested further...

Root has a problem too in that he has to strike a balance : he can haul Bess off (I think he will for now) but doesn't want to marginalise him to the point that he's useless for the rest of the match. They will need something from him if they've ambitions of winning this match.

Think I'd bring Leach back at this point...unless Root wants to try his own golden arm ?

112/4 off 48 and these two are wrestling back the advantage for India. 32 runs at three per over since the resumption , Bess a bit too expensive. Anderson has probably finished his spell ...and it is indeed Joe Root time at the other end. He'd like another 5/8 now

Long way to go yet ; but England need to break this up soon or it could get ugly: Pant going for Root and whacks him for a straight six to announce his intentions...

Pant is box office. Such an exciting player to watch.

England really need to break this partnership.

Stokes time again...

Can he work some magic ? Must confess I'm a little surprised Leach has been out of the attack for so long , but I don't mind a bit of Stokes when you need a wicket.

I also like Stokes coming on but think I'd prefer Leach from the other end for control.

I do enjoy Root's golden arm but to me the key against this pair is drying up the runs.

That looked out live.

A brilliant ball by Stokes with the ball this old.

Review...

Huge wicket. Big in dipper from Stokes and Rohit is gone for 49! Two oranges but stays with England!

Ohhh that looks high on replay.

C'mon you beauty.

Seeing the replay I think that's a borderline one that Rohit's got. Only just in line and it looked high on the replay but hawkeye has it clipping the bails. Most umpires call decisions in the last Test fell the other way, that's a huge one for England to get back.

Rohit has been by a distance the best batsman across this series.

And Stokes magic it is ! Pins Rohit lbw with a nip backer...

Out for a fine 49 ...took a good ball to get him (and it was umpire's call so just as well for England it was given on field - though it did look very out live )

121/5. Innings actually mirroring the England one quite closely...

Still a tight game .

For me it's now got to be Leach from the other end. Maximise the pressure.

king_carlos wrote:Ohhh that looks high on replay.

C'mon you beauty.

Seeing the replay I think that's a borderline one that Rohit's got. Only just in line and it looked high on the replay but hawkeye has it clipping the bails. Most umpires call decisions in the last Test fell the other way, that's a huge one for England to get back.

Rohit has been by a distance the best batsman across this series.

Yeah closer on height than it looked live. But really not much different to the one Bairstow got yesterday so I don't think India can complain they've had a bad run with umpire's call decisions...actually think the umpires have been very good in this match : for two rather inexperienced chaps they've got pretty well everything right

And drs has mopped up any errors nicely so this match remains mercifully controversy free...


Root continues . Still no Leach ? Is this because Pant is in ?

Bess unfortunately proving why they dropped him so far today, but Stokes has been superb.

Still a long way to go, Indian lower order bats deep. I’d like to see Leach back on, even if risky for Leach against Pant

Massive strike for England, Stokes again making things happen. Rohit falling short of a half-century.
Interestingly, a very umpire's call decision on Rohit. Not all umpire's call decisions going India's way?

Leach doing his job well starting with a maiden to Ashwin. The battle with Pant will be the fascinating one.

Root experiment shelved...Leach back now. Will be interesting to see what happens when Pant gets on strike.

Maiden to start.

And now Ashwin has been given out to Stokes but that is a rare mistake from the umpire and quickly reversed on review. Plenty of action today ...

My issue with the umpiring has never been the onfield decisions which have been good on the whole, I actually quite like that they err on the side of out rather than not out knowing a review will overturn a bad decision.

England getting their selections all over the place in the 2nd game in succession. On a track that needed spinning options, they went in with 3 quicks and Stokes. Where they needed a 2nd seamer, they went in with the one, and Stokes, who was hardly used in earlier games, and giving him long spells even if he is carrying some health concerns.
Probably, KPF's theory, that someone like Woakes would have been more handy, in comparison to the batters they packed their side with. At least he could have contributed with the ball...

Woakes is back in England now msp83.

With the squad available and Archer injured I don't mind the extra batsman being selected. Usually I really dislike bolstering the batting like that but the runs Lawrence got are looking vital right now.

Pant v Leach again...always fun to watch.

Pant taking the points so far ; though it looks as if any ball might just take a wicket. Could have been out then if that had stuck in Pope's hand at short leg though he'd have been most unlucky !
145/5 . India edging ahead again on my running advantage calculator...but a couple of wickets would change that.

Plenty happening. Nearly a run out then - excellent work from Bairstow but Pant saved by his dive...

Yes, Leachy. That's what England need here. Nothing fancy just keep putting the pressure on and chipping away.

A really poor dismissal for Ashwin though it must be said.

And after all that pressure from good balls etc Ashwin actually rather donates his wicket to Leach...chips it straight to the fielder for no apparent reason. 146/6.

A lot on Pant now.

msp83 wrote:England getting their selections all over the place in the 2nd game in succession. On a track that needed spinning options, they went in with 3 quicks and Stokes. Where they needed a 2nd seamer, they went in with the one, and Stokes, who was hardly used in earlier games, and giving him long spells even if he is carrying some health concerns.
Probably, KPF's theory, that someone like Woakes would have been more handy, in comparison to the batters they packed their side with. At least he could have contributed with the ball...

I don't really mind this selection , msp. The batting desperately needed reinforcement ; and although Anderson and Stokes have done a lot if work here so far I reckon this pitch will give the spinners a lot of work in the second innings.
Be nice to have another fast man on hand but you can't have everything...

Right big moment for Bess now with the two left handers in, and Axar to come...England need him to be on the money

Unlucky for Bess there.

A lot of that ball was hitting the stumps.

Weird, I actually thought that was going well down in real time...Pant survives just

England review for lbw but I think it will be umpire's call and Pant will survive by millimetres...yes.

He can count himself fortunate ...that could easily have been given on field...looked pretty good live. Bess may think you just don't get any luck when you need it... But this over will have made him feel a lot better.

Tea. 153/6. Still poised.

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:Unlucky for Bess there.

A lot of that ball was hitting the stumps.

Are we sure enough wasn't hitting there?

alfie wrote:

msp83 wrote:England getting their selections all over the place in the 2nd game in succession. On a track that needed spinning options, they went in with 3 quicks and Stokes. Where they needed a 2nd seamer, they went in with the one, and Stokes, who was hardly used in earlier games, and giving him long spells even if he is carrying some health concerns.
Probably, KPF's theory, that someone like Woakes would have been more handy, in comparison to the batters they packed their side with. At least he could have contributed with the ball...

I don't really mind this selection , msp.  The batting desperately needed reinforcement ; and although Anderson and Stokes have done a lot if work here so far I reckon this pitch will give the spinners a lot of work in the second innings.
Be nice to have another fast man on hand but you can't have everything...

Alfie, it surely is not the most disastrous selection call by any means. What aggravates the issue though, is that Bess is not really doing his job, his confidence seem to have been shot. In a low-scoring game, runs, and containing runs is equally important. Bess is not chipping in with wickets, and he has gone for plenty under the circumstances.
And the larger point is about the processes by which the England team management read a pitch. They just don't seem to have much clue.