England's Summer of Cricket 2021

First topic message reminder :

Jacks, Crawley, Hain, Stokes, Salt (WK), Lawrence, Gregory, Overton, Saqib, Ball, Parkinson?

Will MacPherson suggests Hales won’t be picked, which is a bit odd given they hinted he would get a chance this summer.

You also have Vince, Duckett and keep an eye out for Harry Brook.

India clearly don't think the pitch will spin loads if they're not playing Ashwin...?

No Ashwin for India . Weather choice , I gather. How will that play out , I wonder ?

If it goes wrong , msp and KP_fan will be on hand with the rotten fruit...

Yeah, not sure why England have opted for any spinner. Should have kept Lawrence in ahead of Moeen.

Kohli has now lost 9 tosses in a row in England and is 10-1 down in H2H tosses v Root. Witchcraft?

king_carlos wrote:Looking overcast. Opting to bowl first on a pitch you think will take spin requires early inroads though. Hopefully England can make them.

A big morning for Sam Curran if it's hooping around. These are the conditions where he needs to make contributions.

Just queueing up. Can confirm very overcast and there has been more than a little rain overnight and this morning looking at the roads. Perfect chance for Robinson to stake his claim for the new ball.

JDizzle wrote:

king_carlos wrote:Looking overcast. Opting to bowl first on a pitch you think will take spin requires early inroads though. Hopefully England can make them.

A big morning for Sam Curran if it's hooping around. These are the conditions where he needs to make contributions.

Just queueing up. Can confirm very overcast and there has been more than a little rain overnight and this morning looking at the roads. Perfect chance for Robinson to stake his claim for the new ball.

I hope you get the chance to let Robinson know how long you've been championing his case

Duty281 wrote:Indeed! Sharma in for Thakur as India's only change meaning no Ashwin (perhaps a late call? yes, confirmed by Kohli as a last minute decision based on conditions) and a super-long tail.

Think England can bowl India out today for under 250, maybe under 200. Got a very good feeling about this test.

England: 1 Rory Burns, 2 Dom Sibley, 3 Haseeb Hameed, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Jonny Bairstow, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Sam Curran, 9 Ollie Robinson, 10 Mark Wood, 11 James Anderson

India: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 KL Rahul, 3 Cheteshwar Pujuara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Rishabh Pant (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Jasprit Bumrah, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Mohammed Siraj

Bumrah at 8.

Given England's recent batting form , 250 for India would arguably be a winning score

If India get root cheaply it might bring the follow on into play

KP_fan wrote:If shardul has a hamstring strain, then playing ashwin is a no brainer
given that no other bowler has any batting abilities & pitch seemingly have something for the spinner
BUT
with Kohli you cannot be sure
he grossly screws up selection in one test per series....generally the first test...but it could be here, this one...and he could end up playing 4 tailenders

No shardul, no ashwin, and 4 tailenders...Kohli shafted us again

And we're off

And we're off the pitch

So Kohli continues to be rubbish at toss! lost his millionth toss in England, and cricinfo reports that he's down 10/1 to Joe Root! And to add to that, he has gone ahead and did it, the not unexpected selection call! Ishant Sharma is brought in to bolster the batting at number 8!.
After all this, hope Kohli will at least walk the walk with the bat. I will be particularly annoyed if he fails with the bat here!

I love cricket so very much.

I also love how fast the umpires evacuate the pitch for a few spots, as though it's acid rain or a bombing raid.

As bad as that Indian tail is, it's a good bowling unit. I can see the sense in it as India will be thinking most of the England lineup are there for the taking. Its not really comparable to the awesome foursome that England once fielded, as its a far better set of bowlers

That's an interesting tail for India.

Toss, Kohli and the bloody weather!. What wretched start to the test match.
India were bowled out for 107 or something last time round didn't they? And Chris Woakes got a hundred... Unlike in the first test, this has all the makings of an Indian melt down as Kohli has already got everything that he could have got wrong exactly wrong! All that remains is a waft at a 4th stumper and a nick off!

VTR wrote:As bad as that Indian tail is, it's a good bowling unit. I can see the sense in it as India will be thinking most of the England lineup are there for the taking. Its not really comparable to the awesome foursome that England once fielded, as its a far better set of bowlers

How dare you slander Ed Giddins !

msp83 wrote:Toss, Kohli and the bloody weather!. What wretched start to the test match.
India were bowled out for 107 or something last time round didn't they? And Chris Woakes got a hundred... Unlike in the first test, this has all the makings of an Indian melt down as Kohli has already got everything that he could have got wrong exactly wrong! All that remains is a waft at a 4th stumper and a nick off!

gear yourself to go 1-0 down in the series....

I wouldn't get too angry yet. Us England fans are wondering where 200 runs might come from, faced with a quality pace onslaught plus Jadeja. It's not like India have gone with this lineup against the Australian team from the early 2000s!

VTR wrote:I wouldn't get too angry yet. Us England fans are wondering where 200 runs might come from

I'm optimistic, we do get two innings

Anderson and Robinson getting first shot. Fair enough ; but I'd have Sam Curran on pretty early if things aren't happening quickly. He might fancy these conditions.

Careful start from everyone. Did Hameed have all that hair when he first appeared ?

Alfie - not sure if you are getting Bumble's Sky commentary. He's just emphasised how it was drilled into him at Lancs in the '60s and '70s to keep thinking about it until deciding to bat upon winning the toss. Proper old school view as espoused by Mikey earlier.

guildfordbat wrote:Alfie - not sure if you are getting Bumble's Sky commentary. He's just emphasised how it was drilled into him at Lancs in the '60s and '70s to keep thinking about it until deciding to bat upon winning the toss. Proper old school view as espoused by Mikey earlier.

Must be a bit of a generational thing

JDizzle wrote:On my way to Lords, and it’s very overcast. I wonder if anyone is getting a bit twitchy about what to do winning the toss…

JD - enjoy your day but spare a thought for your old coach, the late great South African all rounder Eddie Barlow who would have been 81 today. His innings ended too soon at just 65.

A little too short early on from Anderson (again as he started out in the first test) and Robinson, but the line is good.

Slightly disturbed by Bumble's Pete Doherty look.

Have to say this pair of Indian openers seem to have adapted their game rather well to English conditions. Very sound last week ; and so far leaving well today. No silly shots.

7 overs without alarm. A promising start after being sent in.

The bowlers thankfully, aren't making them play enough. Probably because of that, don't quite feel the bowl first pitch as yet at least.

Robinson maybe just getting some nerves with the new ball but he's not been quite as accurate as usual. Some beauties with some dross.

That said Anderson hasn't really been on the money yet either.

I'd be looking at Curran soon. He bowls those more aggressive lines and lengths that I think we need in these conditions having put them in.

I am a bit gutted for Crawley, I rate him very highly. If a change had to be made then for me it was Sibley with Hameed opening.

Its great to see Ali back though, I really think he brings that extra bit of stability.

Sibley did his job to an extent, Crawley didn't so an easy decision.

Pressure is building now for the Indian batsmen, feels like a wicket may be imminent.

Bit of movement but nothing much off the pitch so far. Robinson probably didn't make them play quite enough though he produced a couple of good 'uns.
Ball should be in prime state for swing at this time - and that first over from Jimmy since he's changed ends looked more menacing.

Still nothing to get excited about yet (though a short leg early on might have had a result!)

In the first innings when conditions were tough I thought Sibley did his job.

In the second innings when he had the pick of the batting conditions whilst partnering Root we saw how limited his game is once again. Batting conditions that good in England have been rare in recent years and Sibley largely wasted a lot of deliveries in that time. In a period when Tests in England have usually been low scoring that's an issue.

Crawley to me looks very talented but just needs time in FC cricket. He's only got 5 FC centuries with 1 of those the 267 against Pakistan. He needs time to develop his game.

Rohit and Rahul being very watchful. While they've been very disciplined, can't say the bowling has been as challenging as it was expected to be, when they were put in. The challenge now for the Indian openers is not to feel any pressure about runs not coming. More worried about Rahul on that count, as Rohit tends to lose it only when he is scoring well and looking in complete control!

As we are into the 14th over of the match, that call to not to play Ashwin, is beginning to look more and more foolish. This doesn't look like a green track where spinners won't be required...

I would definitely agree with that King Carlos.

I do like Sibley but he does not seem able to adjust to the conditions or the game situation. He simply is negative and bats the same conservative way no matter what the situation. It will pay off every now and then but largely his innings' will be carbon copies of his second innings last test.

Crawley, i feel he has massive potential. I feel he should be persisted with. He has the style to be a great for England.

I don't really see it with Crawley, he's got a good range of shots but his footwork is very poor, ends up being too upright which results in him flashing outside off and then getting trapped in the crease. He's got the technique to score quickly in white ball cricket but will always struggle in tests for me, too much is made of that 267 after which he's done very little. Sibley is negative and in an ideal world would be nowhere near the England team but he does at least do his role well on occassion.

Bit early to call it "should have batted" . But England will be a bit disappointed they've had nothing from the first 15 overs. Couple of edges but nothing to hands ; few sliding past the edge : but by and large the bats have been fine.
Drinks 38/0. India's hour.

What's going on with Rohit? He has suddenly exploded into T-20 mode? Easy Rohit, easy!

I think Crawley has a lot of potential but Test cricket isn't a place for him to be finding his game, billy. I think he needs time with Kent. He's only 23 so has all the time in the world to improve his game and come back. I don't think he has a clue where his off stump is a present which is a big issue for a top order batsman.

Rohit has really impressed me so far in this series. He was magnificent in the series in India this winter but seems to have simplified his game coming to England. In contrast to Crawley he seems to know exactly where his off stump is and is playing with the full face of the bat.

That's a lovely punch drive off Curran, followed by a clip through mid wicket. Lovely stuff from the hit man.

Drinks. Perhaps some pace from Wood the next port of call after the break. England need a wicket soon to justify that bowl first decision.

Good hour for India. It's nice to see two openers take a properly classic approach to building an innings, especially from Rohit who is more associated with destruction.

Don't think England have bowled full enough, too much has been easy to leave on length. And we saw the best and worst of Curran in that last over, his angle is causing issues but it's undermined with too many poor deliveries.

Time for Wood?

Not been good enough from England so far. Robinson and Anderson were too wide early on and SCurran has looked a bit popgun. Sure England would have been targeting three down at lunch at the minimum… looking a long way away!

Re the Sibley/Crawley thing : certainly Crawley has a far better range of shots - and , I'd argue , more potential. But Sibley for all his obvious limitations does have a stubborn tendency to dig in - even if this can turn into a bit of a liability when it degenerates into eating up balls to no serious effect when some positivity is required.

I'd suggest that at the moment , given the fragility of the England batting line-up , Sibley is probably the better selection. And frankly , Crawley looks as if he'd benefit from some batting in a slightly less pressurised situation than a Test Match. Pity there's no CC on at the moment ...

JDizzle wrote:Not been good enough from England so far. Robinson and Anderson were too wide early on and SCurran has looked a bit popgun. Sure England would have been targeting three down at lunch at the minimum… looking a long way away!

Inclined to credit the batsmen there . They've risked nothing , been very watchful. Bowling has been OK so far I think if nothing special. But one brings two , etc...

Now that Rohit is in the mood to play his shots, England can do worse than given Wood the ball and bowl a few short. Rohit plays the shot well usually, but it has been his undoing not just in the last test, but previously also.

This is the danger time for Rohit. He's in, looking in control, has got pass 30. These are the situations in why he can throw it away.

Anderson has been pretty poor so far today

James Anderson bowling his 8th of the morning. He hasn't been at his best, and considering he had an injury concern on the eve of the match, is this the smartest thing from Root?

Robinson back for his 2nd spell. No Wood yet, perhaps he'll take over from Anderson.

Will Root give Moeen an early look? Won't be a bad option just before lunch... Remember in 2014, Rohit had undone all the hardwork of a start by trying to launch Moeen out of England.

What the! Where has that come from? Another stupid spell of rain?

Would that be lunch? You never know, with the strange timing and rain rules of the game!