England's Summer of Cricket 2021

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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.

Root getting beaten a few more times than he'd like. India desperate for his dismissal and binning reviews in the process. Siraj fired up.

On the Ashes - absolute no contest. Even with a full strength team England would lose by a handsome margin. With the reduced numbers that will go it's a hammering. England just don't do well in Australia.

Kohli challenging Joe Root for the title of Worst Caller of Reviews ...

That is if Tim Paine hasn't already taken the Cup home to his pool room

India have bowled better as a unit than England, but I think most of us expected that. No Curran-esque bowler spraying it around and releasing the pressure valve. Also some good field placings, especially to Root, cutting off potential avenues of scoring.

Down by 322 and still around 90 minutes left.

Haha, just as I say that, Burns takes Siraj for three boundaries in an over, driving and pulling. Puts a bit of cheer into the crowd.

Good recovery from Burns and the skipper for England. Root bedding in for another big one here. And Captain Brat hasn't even tried an over from Jasprit Bumrah to the England skipper as yet! Root like Rohit in the India innings, is getting a move on after taking his time early on. Ishant has been unimpressive on his come back, Bumrah unlucky not to get a couple of wickets. Shami inconsistent. Siraj making sure we are not missing Stuart Broad, with all those reviews. India chucking away whatever advantage they had.

Bumrah is back on, and he bowls a no-ball. Hope that's not repeated. It was a poor ball that didn't go for additional runs this time, but it could have been a wicket missed out on another day, and Bumrah has had a taste of it in the past...

Root and Burns on top now, a fairly breezy fifty partnership halting India's momentum, but they need to both make it through to stumps for England to be in a good position.

Really enjoying this knock from Burns, doing a proper openers job

Getting to see, again, what a good batting wicket this is. Bounce is nice and true and the outfield has zip. However the conditions are visibly deteriorating, with dark clouds looming overhead, which will bring India's seamers back into it.

Burns out, that's a surprise. Looked high in real-time and on replay...but three reds.

Tilts it back to India late on.

Siraj is an antagonistic moron, constantly 'shushing' players when he gets them out.

Only this time he didn't get Bairstow out.

Comfortably England's day. 88/7 with the ball, then 119/3 with the bat. Not a great day because of Burns' late dismissal,  but enough to get back into contention and setting things up nicely over the weekend. Root and Anderson in a class of their own, again.

Need to find at least another 200 runs to have a realistic chance of winning - very doable, but only if Root can set himself again tomorrow morning and also going to need a meaningful contribution from one or more of Bairstow/Buttler/Moeen.

About seven overs lost today because of slow over-rates.

Pity Burns got out ...he had been looking a little wobbly there but it was a bit of a surprise when he got pinned. He seemed sure he'd be saved by review but it wasn't as high as it looked live.
Rough time for YJB to come in with the light getting rather dim but he and the skipper made it through to the close so England haven't lost the game in a session at least.
Going to need some solid batting tomorrow- still a long way behind. Pitch seems fine still but obviously batting gets a lot tougher when the clouds roll in. How's the forecast for Saturday ?

India on top due to day one but England have made a fight of it today. Though what they'd do without Root and Anderson I do not know...

So 119-3 at stumps. Match even at the moment. England will have another 35 overs to the new ball, Root's motoring along, and they bat deep.
But if India get through Root Early, the fragility of the batting and the pressure of the scoreboard can open up possibilities for India. Looking like Duty's one-innings shootout is the most possible scenario.

Forecast to be dry for all three remaining days, with enough cloud to keep the seamers interested.

India's ahead in the game so far.
Many would say( me included) by not picking a bowling allrounder i.e Ashwin Ind potentially left 30 to 50 runs on the table

Kohli's argument would by picking 4 pacers I gain ammunition worth more than 40 odd runs.

His argument will appear right this time because 5 of his top 7 batters delivered...and gave him enuf runs to rip loose the 4 pacers all in 85-90mph range
And the pacers bowled with fire.......I think though after Siraj's double strike in an adrenalin rush Kohli went too aggressive, letting an easy 40 odd run in boundaries......and blowing up 2 reviews

However Kohli's aggression does not have a plan-B...what if the specialist batters had collapsed.?
There wasn't enuf depth to scrape to a fighting total.

BUT...as it stands India remains ahead in the game...will bowl tight tomm ( controlled aggression as opposed to outrigth one).... and eek out something between a 50 to 100 runs lead.
There is undoubtedly more sustained fire-power in Indian bowling line-up...and 365 runs on board is a big first inning total.

Question arises why India did not bring two more seamers who can bat in Bhuvi and Pandya if they wanted this template of 4 seamers?

I think both of them have been wool-wrapped and preserved for the T20 world cup......Ind's T20 balance gets severely distorted if either of them broke down in the grind of this test series.
I believe selectors talked to Yhuvi about his test future as he expressed desire to want to be in Eng and most likely explained him.....he will be in consideration for tests after world cup.

KP_fan wrote:India's ahead in the game so far.
Many would say( me included) by not picking a bowling allrounder i.e Ashwin Ind potentially left 30 to 50 runs on  the table

Kohli's argument would by picking 4 pacers I gain ammunition worth more than 40 odd runs.

His argument will appear right this time because 5 of his top 7 batters delivered...and gave him enuf runs to rip loose the 4 pacers all in 85-90mph range
And the pacers bowled with fire.......I think though after Siraj's double strike in an adrenalin rush Kohli went too aggressive, letting an easy 40 odd run in boundaries......and blowing up 2 reviews

However Kohli's aggression does not have a plan-B...what if the specialist batters had collapsed.?
There wasn't enuf depth to scrape to a fighting total.

BUT...as it stands India remains ahead in the game...will bowl tight tomm ( controlled aggression as opposed to outrigth one).... and eek out something between a 50 to 100 runs lead.
There is undoubtedly more sustained fire-power in Indian bowling line-up...and 365 runs on board is a big first inning total.

Question arises why India did not bring two more seamers who can bat in Bhuvi and Pandya if they wanted this template of 4 seamers?

I think both of them have been wool-wrapped and preserved for the T20 world cup......Ind's T20 balance gets severely distorted if either of them broke down in the grind of this test series.
I believe selectors talked to Yhuvi about his test future as he expressed desire to want to be in Eng  and most likely explained him.....he will be in consideration for tests after world cup.

Bhuvneshwar when fit, should be an automatic pick for SENA countries. He's the best test swing bowler we have. Ishant can swing the ball at times, and Bumrah is adding a bit of swing too to his kitty but not predominently a swing bowler. Bhuvi is a fine fit for English conditions and he can bat. More number 9 than 8, but can do a job at 8 too. He had mentioned he was even practicing with the red ball at times during the IPL, then suddenly, there were these speculations that he has given up on test cricket and that he wants to focus on limited overs alone and all that, though Bhuvi has repeatedly denied any such suggestion. He should have been here in the original squad. He should at the very least, should have been flown in Washington Sundar got injured and when SKY and Shaw were send in.
Kohli and his templet talk is just rubbish. They ended up with because of circumstances. At least in Australia, there was a plan, Jadeja would have played the first test had it not been for his injury, Ashwin got the opportunity and made full use, though Jadeja later returned. But that was Jadeja as part of a 4 man attack with Vihari batting 6 and Pant 7. Even they were not sure about Pant, Saha was the man in possession, and that's why they needed batting cover, so Jadeja over Ashwin.
Getting back to the 5 bowler formula happened after they reached England, and was originally driven by the need to bolster the batting. Jadeja by now, was capable of making it based on his batting alone, so it was easy to have him among the first names as the all-rounder. The possibility of the 4th fast bowler came up only because Thakur could bat a bit. And now The Brat is going around as if he had it all very well planned out for years.
And KPF, it can still go wrong. Couldn't see Joe Burns getting to 49, had Ashwin been there I must say...

Same as yesterday, then, cliched important first hour. England need to bat most of the day to achieve parity, so it's crucial that Root settles back in.

50 for Root. Good start to the series, carries on his brilliant year.

In his four five previous 50+ scores for England in tests in 2021, he has gone on to make 186 or more on three occasions.

Very rapid start from England, going along close to 6 an over! That's the last thing India would want. Their Bowling Dry skills didn show up on day 4 of the first test, and that played a major part in England being able to avoide defeat.
Kohli, continuing his pathetic game as captain, doesn't start with Bumrah, not putting enough pressure on Root and Bairstow. He'll bring him back after well set at the crease, and they'll be able to play him out then. Virat's losing it!

Easy msp - India still way ahead, England very easily can be 170-6 here!

Duty281 wrote:Same as yesterday, then, cliched important first hour. England need to bat most of the day to achieve parity, so it's crucial that Root settles back in.

The rate at which they are going along, they should be into the lead an hour into the last session!

Really like the look of Bairstow with this technical adjustment. Runs coming fast - as expected with these two fluent players, the early looseness of India's bowling, and on early impression it is such a good batting day.

If a batsmen gets 'in' today he should be looking to score big. Kohli may rue not having Ashwin available.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Easy msp - India still way ahead, England very easily can be 170-6 here!

This pitch is not one where you rush through batting lineups regardless of India's meltdown yesterday that was partly down to the kind of lineup they have. But England with Robinson at 9, and a proper number 10 batting in position, are unlikely to fold that way. All the more important you put early pressure, you need to bring your best bowler on straight away for that. Would England have waited 20 overs to introduce Anderson into the attack on day 2?

Strong first hour for England in excellent batting conditions. Root in complete control, Bairstow not quite the same and perhaps a little lucky to still be there - Bumrah gave him a real good going over in that last set of six.

Overall, India haven't been able to bowl enough dots and create a semblance of pressure. There's always one or two loose balls an over. Still a sizable deficit, however, at 191 runs.

Bumrah bowled well in that spell without success, and Jadeja has kept things quiet. Ishant on for Bumrah, and starts with a damn no-ball.

100 partnership and a fifty for Bairstow.

Perfect morning for England. That's three of the last four sessions won by England (yesterday evening probably a tie). Only Bumrah bowled a testing spell, the rest have gifted runs and not applied any pressure, with the minor exception of Jadeja who did bowl some tight overs.

Root and Bairstow complement each other so well with their exceptional running, clear communication and consistent strike rotation. Good to watch.

Big hurdle coming up 7 overs into the afternoon with the introduction of the second new ball. Vital that Root and Bairstow are still there when that time comes. If they're still there around the 90 over point of the innings then England may dream of a small lead and still be batting tomorrow morning. For now, though, the home side will probably be happy with parity which is 148 runs away.

Excellent session for Yorkshire and England

97 largely untroubled runs added at a decent rate has put the home team into a much more promising position than might have been (I was apprehensive at the start as we all know 119/3 can easily become 180 all out : yeah I've become a little edgy watching England bat lately !)

Lot of work to do yet but couldn't have asked for much more from the first two hours. YJB was clearly happy to have got to his fifty : has been a while. But he's played very well ; and he and Root seem to bat well together: I think I'm correct in that this is their third century stand in their last six matches ? They certainly run very well which keeps the score ticking over.

Root is on a fine run of form , is he not ? If the pressures of captaining a side that's struggling are telling on him it's not really showing up in his batting. Just as well for said team !

New ball in seven. Next big hurdle.

Yes, Root's in magnificent form. Averaging 64 with the bat this calendar year, his first year of averaging better than 42 since 2017, and his current total of four* centuries is the best he's ever recorded in a calendar year (he's been really hampered in the past by poor conversion rates).

*Soon to be five, we hope!

India alive again. Bairstow hampered by a new short-ball plan, never looked comfortable against it, and it ends in a tame dismissal.

Gives India a new batsman to go at when the new ball arrives.

Rats. Not what England needed ...Bairstow gloves Siraj - change of angle got the result. Top innings but bad time to get out with new ball coming...

Worst thing was Siraj got to do that extremely tiresome "shush" gesture of his. Really think it is getting stale...

Testing time for Buttler who hasn't been in great form. If he gets set he could do damage ...but the early new ball period will be tough.

He might be in luck today...survives a very close lbw shout ! Feared for that one...

About time Siraj got a fine now, doing it once is amusing, doing it every time is tw*tish.

Siraj's 'shush' is as tedious as Cottrell's 'salute'.

New ball time. A couple of strikes will put India well on top again with only Moeen/Curran/Robinson to come in the way of halfway-competent batsmen. Those three can hopefully combine for 50+ runs, but I'd rather they weren't required for at least another hour. Buttler may not be looking forward to renewing his battle with Bumrah.

Century for Root. Another one! Level with Boycott, Bell, Cowdrey and Hammond. Just Pietersen and Cook ahead of him now.

Century for Root

Really fine innings - again. Now to settle in and make it a big one... I hope. Still bats to support him : want to make the most of this good platform.

This is probably the best form Root's been in for England in tests and his conversion rate, unlike previous good years, has been phenomenal. Certainly kept England afloat in this series and the one v Sri Lanka earlier this year.

117 behind, with Buttler nearly chipping out, means there's still a lot more to do in this test.

Nice to see Ishant Sharma getting into the spirit of the new Premier League season with a sliding tackle in the deep.

9000 runs for Root. Second youngest to get it in test history.

266/4 at the half day point. Nice and sunny ; bowers have a few overs in their legs now ( Siraj got his wicket : but at the cost of rather a lot of effort banging it in short repeatedly ) so if England can get through the new ball period there ought to be some runs on offer...

Another important period coming up.

Re the Siraj shush, that gesture is usually seen in sport when silencing critics. In cricket it might be used when a bowler gets out a batsman he's been having verbal with. I don't recall him having too many critics to answer, and any verbal going on won't be anything out of the ordinary. So it really does look completely stupid

Have liked the improvements to Buttler's game. I'm far from a fan of his in tests, but he's clearly worked on his game and knowing where his off-stump is...mind you, he did just get a little lucky with an edge through the slips! Another no-ball anyway - a silly number of no-balls have been bowled by India today, including Jadeja. And another no-ball!

Very disappointing for India. The first ten overs with the new ball has done nothing for them in the wickets column and another partnership for England has blossomed. Good platform for the lower-order to add runs later on.

From here England should be looking for a lead of at least fifty, that would require another 132 runs. Such a lead should end realistic hopes of India going 1-0 up in the series in this test.

Sorry, Jos. That's a loose drive from Buttler, poor on this pitch.

Time for Moeen.

Indian bowling looking a little ragged at the moment. Ishant hasn't quite got it right in this game (short of match time) and Bumrah is having a bit of a fit of no balls.

Fifty stand up in twelve overs. But now Buttler is knocked over - Ishant got that one right !

283/5. Moeen in with a job to do...

Duty281 wrote:Sorry, Jos. That's a loose drive from Buttler, poor on this pitch.

Time for Moeen.

You shouldn't have made that remark about his knowing where his off stump is

Wasn't quite in control today , Jos. Hit a couple of nice fours, and a couple a bit streaky : but he did well to get through a number of overs against a new ball. Looked better than at Trent Bridge.

Testing time for Moeen. Reckon he will get some short stuff if he's in for a while...

Watching Moeen is a nervy business. Keeps fencing at them outside off...fortunately he's not got an edge yet. And at last a drive down the ground so he might feel a bit better...

Comms are going on about whether the likes of Jos and Moeen should consider playing in one day mode : bad idea. OK when you've made fifty or so and the team is bouncing along : right now I want Moeen supporting Root. Pick the bad ball ; but no silly dismissals please.

300/5

That's a beautiful 4 from Mo. He strikes the ball so beautifully. He just needs to stay out there long enough to do it a few times.

India's issue is Bumrah and Ishant having just bowled spells as ideally they'd be the two to give Mo some short stuff that he's really struggled with. Vaughan is saying it's time for Jadeja but given that Root and Mo are probably the best two players of spin in the XI that would be odd!

Root is just playing superbly. Not much else to say. His Test average is creeping back up to that magic 50 mark.

Another good session from England with a high run-rate. Has been a lot of nervy fences from Moeen, but India have generously served him some hit-me balls which Moeen has duly dispatched to the boundary. And Kohli still can't prevent Root from ticking along at the other end.

Trail by 50. Should be looking, at least, for a small lead of around fifty from this position. India will probably be feeling the effects of fatigue this evening, too. Would expect Anderson to be bowling at some point tonight, though there's still an outside chance that England will still be at the crease come 11:00 on Sunday morning.

36 overs left so we'll need the full 150 minutes this evening.

Tea at 314/5. Another 98 from that session at a good clip. Two wickets , yes : but the bowlers have had to really work hard ; and Moeen seems to have got over some early nerves to be a very useful 20 at the interval.
Root : what more can you say ? Terrific knock

And hopefully more to come...

Root and Mo are a really good partnership if they can stay together. Mo likes the strike as most players who play aggressively do and Root is one of the best batsman at rotating the strike I've ever seen.

These two just need to not fall into the trap of thinking the bowlers are tired and playing a touch too aggressively after tea. Root and Mo will naturally score quickly without trying to and the bowlers with naturally tire as the day goes on, giving more scoring opportunities.

With Surran's stroke play to come next they are well set to take advantage of this platform in the final session so long as they don't throw any wickets away.

There are not enough superlatives to describe Root sometimes. He just bats so naturally that I cannot recall any specific great shots he's made.

There's the fatigue. Lazy effort from Siraj in the field costs a couple of extra runs.

Duty281 wrote:There's the fatigue. Lazy effort from Siraj in the field costs a couple of extra runs.

Yeah. To be fair to Siraj he's put in a very solid shift with the ball and it's understandable he mightn't be at his most agile in the field late in the day. But frustrating for Bumrah to see extra runs conceded.

Been a few overthrows too - though the latest one , with the throw hitting the stumps and rebounding , was just bad luck.

Once a team is in the field significantly more than 100 overs the errors tend to creep in. Especially when wickets have been scarce for a fair while...

Ramps on BBC praising Moeen and questioning why he didn't bat ahead of Jos Buttler.
I think if you watched the first fifteen or twenty balls Mo faced you'd know why , Mark. Happy to see him at seven , no higher thanks.

Root to 150

One of his looser shots but they all count... And another fifty stand , the fourth in a row...good team work , this.