England's Summer of Cricket 2021

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That's the important wicket. Deserved for Robinson and England.

Now into that brittle middle order.

And Kohli is determined to ensure the collapse would utterly continue, poor old Ravindra Jadeja, what has he done to deserve this? Did he make the skipper unhappy by scoring more runs than him? Jadeja doesn't stand a chance against the new ball! He would have been the best bet at 7.

Kohli is a clown!

England have given themselves a glimmer of hope with those two quick wickets but I'd still rather be in India's position than England's.

And Shastri is a big-mouthed idiot!

And damn Kohli is still playing at everything, other than the one that actually came in!

Jadeja flashing hard and getting a boundary. Perhaps that's what he can do. Just flash hard when he does, that the edge might elude the fielders.

Soul Requiem wrote:Now then, game on. The umpiring this series hasn't been the best.

Yeah they've got a few wrong in this game , have they not ? Not just the slip fielders having trouble sighting the ball

Still reckon India are in the better spot . England need to seriously enlarge this breach in the wall to really be back in contention.

Jadeja at five again ? May be the new order : anything to keep Pant for "finishing" ?

msp83 wrote:Kohli is a clown!

sometime back Duty281 was talking in same vein of Root

KP_fan wrote:

msp83 wrote:Kohli is a clown!

sometime back Duty281 was talking in same vein of Root

If by our name-calling here, Kohli can score the kind of runs that Root is scoring, I'd be all too happy to oblige!

Anderson troubling both batsmen. Tense patch of play : I'm sure Rahane is praying these two hang in there !

Won't get easier for a while with Woakes queuing up for his turn. But if they can get through this new ball I think the game is at their feet again. Not too much to say the next hour will decide the match ?

Lead goes pass 150.

msp83 wrote:And Shastri is a big-mouthed idiot!

chill msp relax....we have this game already 60-40 in the bag if we were to be bowled out for next 5 runs
even a collapse for 50 odd more would put us in a 75-25

alfie wrote:Anderson troubling both batsmen. Tense patch of play : I'm sure Rahane is praying these two hang in there !

Won't get easier for a while with Woakes queuing up for his turn. But if they can get through this new ball I think the game is at their feet again. Not too much to say the next hour will decide the match ?

The new ball starts to really do things after 7-8 overs. Such a pity Rohit and Pujara couldn't see it through at least until then.

alfie wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:Now then, game on. The umpiring this series hasn't been the best.

Yeah they've got a few wrong in this game , have they not ? Not just the slip fielders having trouble sighting the ball

Still reckon India are in the better spot .  England need to seriously enlarge this breach in the wall to really be back in contention.

Jadeja at five again ?  May be the new order : anything to keep Pant for "finishing" ?

DRS playing up in the last match (my opinion) seems to have affected their confidence in this match.

KP_fan wrote:

msp83 wrote:And Shastri is a big-mouthed idiot!

chill msp relax....we have this game already 60-40 in the bag if we were to be bowled out for next 5 runs
even a collapse for 50 odd more would put us in a 75-25

I have more trust in you than I have in Kohli-Shastri, or the rest of Indian batting. The only hope was Jadeja after the openers, and Kohli is doing everything to snuff that out. The skipper better play an innings worth it!

Kohli by the way, has aggregated the most runs in a test in this series for him. Made 62 each in the last 2 tests. has 68* currently.

England should take themselves off rather than bowl spin.

Jadeja has soaked up 22 balls so far. Still think it is an odd choice to bat him so high but what he's doing may well be just what India need after the shock of those two wickets.

Of course the important wicket is that of Kohli. He hasn't looked totally secure but just unfurled a couple of nice drives which will make him feel a bit confident. England need to get him soon or he might be away...

Light meter coming out ?? Really ? Crowd won't be happy if they go off now...

Root going to bowl some spin ?

Ind should follow Boycotts theory...milk this bowling for 3 or 4 runs per over for next 8 to 10 overs
If you whack them for 8 and 10 runs ...then they will be taken off

Why are England bowling spin here, go off ffs

England stop being stupid

Cricket itself just continues being ridiculous - off for “bad light”

This format needs an overhaul ASAP if it’s gonna survive

KP_fan wrote:Ind should follow Boycotts theory...milk this bowling for 3 or 4 runs per over for next 8  to 10 overs
If you whack them for 8 and 10 runs ...then they will be taken off

8 off the over and Boycotts theory kicks in
Ind has Kohli, Jadeja, rahane, Pant and Shardul....5 batters in hand.....seen off 12 overs with new ball

Hmm. Root must be fancying his chances of snapping up one with the slow stuff.

But if Moeen gets whacked around it won't do the ball much good. I don't think this will last long...

And so it comes to pass. Not been Moeen's day.

171/3 but at least the bowlers get a night's rest and a still new ball in the morning. They did take the last seven pretty cheaply at Leeds...

But India deservedly favourite after a very good day's batting.

That should be stumps. Disappointing day for England.

Bowling conditions weren't as favourable as I thought, plus the pitch shows no sign of deterioration. Reckon England would be favourites or evens up as high as 275, anything higher would rely on a Root special.

Rohit and Pujara managed the situation well. Woakes, Anderson and Robinson were decent to good as they plugged, Overton very poor and ineffectual. Moeen no real use with the ball, continuing an unsurprisingly poor series for him.

Think this works better for England. Though not entirely secure, Kohli and Jadeja were were kind of settling down. English bowlers have had a long day, miles in the legs... Now in the morning freshness, Anderson and co can get back on with renewed vigor.
How many more can India add?

msp83 wrote:Think this works better for England. Though not entirely secure, Kohli and Jadeja were were kind of settling down. English bowlers have had a long day, miles in the legs... Now in the morning freshness, Anderson and co can get back on with renewed vigor.
How many more can India add?

I agree it is probably better for England. The two bats have to start again in the morning and with Rahane and Pant both a bit iffy lately four out could become six out pretty quickly , were one of these to go early. In which case the lead might well be kept under 300.

I'm sure Jimmy won't mind a break to put his feet up this evening.

India can add plenty if they don't lose early wickets though. We say this every day but ...big first hour tomorrow

This is a very good Test Series.

I think, given the state of the England batting, that 250 will be enough for India.

But they won't declare on a total like that, so the bad light tonight and perhaps wickets and caution tomorrow could help England.

Those happiest will be people with tickets for Sunday. They probably weren't too optimistic when half the match, in terms of wickets gone, was over with a chunk of the second day left.

But there's every likelihood of a full day tomorrow and probably some play on Monday as well.

Duty - Did try to warn you on Wednesday about the threat of bad light in London.

Although disappointing for spectators like me at the ground, agree Root should have gone off straightaway rather than bowl some spin. He gave Kohli what Kohli hoped for at the time.

2-1 to India almost certain then. Working on the basis that's the case, I am actually backing England to win the final match and share the series. I'd be happy with that as the final result given how patchy England are at the moment

There's a Test and series to be won and lost here first, of course, but today gives me a lot of trepidation for the upcoming Ashes series. I just don't see where wickets will possibly come from.

- Robinson I think could do well with his high release and accuracy
- Anderson has bowled well in those conditions but it needs to be as part of the orchestra rather than conducting when overseas
- Who knows where Broad's fitness will be for December, if fit he would presumably rotate with Jimmy
- Wood won't play all 5 Tests with his injury issues
- Archer and Stone are already ruled out
- Woakes averages 52 away from home, though I do think he's bowling as well as ever now, still an English conditions bowler
- I just don't see it with Overton when the ball isn't swinging
- Curran surely won't play in Oz

I'd guess that Mahmood will play at some point but it will be a debut in an away Ashes series.

George Garton has a lot of potential and pace but he's also had injury issues which has in turn limited his FC experience.

It just looks painful for those conditions.

India's middle order batting doesn't inspire one with any confidence. And other than today, they never resumed from a reasonable position that well. Not even at the HQ where they lost Pant and Ishant rather quickly before Bumrah and Shami turned into Tendulkar and Sehwag. All down to the skipper. He has scored a couple of 50s, but Kohli is yet to play an innings of real authority in this tour. This is as good a time as any for Virat to really turn up, and end his patchy run...
Rishabh Pant scored his first test ton on this ground didn't he? He hasn't really looked like scoring much in the last couple of tests though he had started out reasonably well with a few unconverted starts. Which version will turn up tomorrow? Hope it is the 2018 one.
Does Ajinkya Rahane have some more left in the tank? Failure here, could have serious implications for his test career. A good innings from Rahane, would go a long way in consolidating the team position, and give him space too.
The match, nicely set-up...

msp83 wrote:India's middle order batting doesn't inspire one with any confidence. And other than today, they never resumed from a reasonable position that well. Not even at the HQ where they lost Pant and Ishant rather quickly before Bumrah and Shami turned into Tendulkar and Sehwag. All down to the skipper. He has scored a couple of 50s, but Kohli is yet to play an innings of real authority in this tour. This is as good a time as any for Virat to really turn up, and end his patchy run...
Rishabh Pant scored his first test ton on this ground didn't he? He hasn't really looked like scoring much in the last couple of tests though he had started out reasonably well with a few unconverted starts. Which version will turn up tomorrow? Hope it is the 2018 one.
Does Ajinkya Rahane have some more left in the tank? Failure here, could have serious implications for his test career. A good innings from Rahane, would go a long way in consolidating the team position, and give him space too.
The match, nicely set-up...

We have 5 batters in hand in Kohli, Jadeja, Rahane, Pant and Thakur......even in a collapse you can expect a 100 from them from here...that's the worst case
The pitch has never been as nice as this all series......and you can expect 40s to low 50s from two of the above 5 and a cumulative of 130 odd....in the most likely case
You can expect a hundred or 2 big 50s ( like 70+ type) and another 180/200........is the upside case

that puts the game between :

A 270 chase in a day and Half ( Eng has a chance...about 20% to pull it off, but only if Root gets a 100)
to 350-370 chase in just over a day or in one day ( Only one team can lose scenario)

If Ind does bowl mostly of D5 pitch.....one spinner of the quality of Jadeja, with skiddy 87 mph cutters from Yadav will be more than handful

VTR wrote:2-1 to India almost certain then. Working on the basis that's the case, I am actually backing England to win the final match and share the series. I'd be happy with that as the final result given how patchy England are at the moment

Not quite ready to concede this one though obviously India are strong favourites. If the lead can be kept below 300 England have a chance as the pitch looks like remaining good for batting. I think we all tend to assume England will collapse facing any sort of a chase based on recent efforts : but if you are chasing anywhere in the fourth innings The Oval might just be the best choice...

Got to get India out first of course. So in all likelihood it will be 2-1 India.

As to the last match I fear England may have already cooked their own goose by exhausting their fast bowlers. Anderson and Robinson may both struggle to back up from this week , while India can bring back Shami and will surely pick Ashwin at last. If it looks spin friendly we may well see Leach back for England but not sure he - and Wood - will be enough unless the bats really stand up. But that is a long way off.

If England can secure a drawn series it would indeed be an achievement ; as the team does look fairly ordinary in the absence of Stokes. Grateful at present that the results remain open after 3 and a half games...

KC not the only one concerned about the Ashes !

Injuries have really reduced the bowling options , and if Stokes remains a no show balancing the team is impossible. Could probably manage a reasonable attack based on some combination of Anderson Broad Woakes Wood Robinson (Mahmood ?) + a spinner (not Moeen I think) but the batting would be ending at seven...
If they could somehow muster enough runs I reckon bowling Australia out might not be out of the question as Smith and Labuschagne are rather carrying the load for the hosts. But not sure who apart from Root could make the big runs required.

Again , a fair way off. I just hope Stokes reappears for the sake of a contest.

I'm not worried at The Ashes as the expectations I have are close to zero. I won't be disappointed with a heavy defeat as I don't see any other outcome. I've seen England win once over there in my lifetime, based on a very strong top 7 and a bowling attack that peaked at the right time. We will be heading there with neither this time before we even get it into those who won't travel, of which there will be a few. Could easily be another whitewash

Yes, I'm far from conceding this one as well. I see no reason why England can't chase up to 300 on this, essentially replicating their first innings effort, because there's little trickery in the pitch, no Ashwin, and we are set to see far more sunshine over the next two days. And Root's due a score after a shocking one innings without a century.

But to keep India below a 300 lead they'll have to bowl them out within three hours today, which will require a more intense effort. Root may take heart from the fact that India have been prone to a collapse after a decent overnight position - 215/2 becoming 278 all out in the last test; 267/2 to 364 all out in the second test.

king_carlos wrote:Yeah, Jarvo has rather overdone the joke now.

Just returning to this briefly - this Jarvo is a selfish pillock of the highest order and I hope the authorities throw the kitchen sink at him. Most spectators like me had paid £95 for a day's ticket. That's more than a quid for every one of the planned 90 overs in the day. We lost one, if not two, overs to his antics. That's around 28,000 people in the packed Oval crowd he owes money to.

Moving on from that whinge and not starting another about over rates in general, this has been an absolutely enthralling Test with one side getting on top but never totally and then the team in ascendancy continuing to change.

Where does it go from here? As Olly knows - show me a poor bookie and I'll start betting. I really feel the only sensible answer is - anywhere is possible. Although it has to remain the outsider, I wouldn't even rule out the draw (and not because that's what I've picked in Joey's comp).

The pitch yesterday was continuing to play well with no variation in bounce and gave no hint that was going to change. I therefore don't consider a 300 target to be beyond us, particularly as this particular England team bats very deep. Kohli, being conscious of that and the track together with some respect / fear for Root, will probably want a 350 lead. Maybe even 400. Will India get that or close to it? Who knows? Probably not. England too often bowled poorly yesterday and seemed flat until Robinson's double wicket over in the final session geed everyone - players and crowd - up. However, if Robinson and Anderson start this morning as they finished yesterday, India might end up all out soon after lunch with a far less imposing lead. The suspicion lingers that two or three wickets will soon lead to the final ones.

If, however, we don't get India all out by the time tea approaches, Kohli is going to have a tricky decision over a declaration. Leave it too late and that's where the draw just might come in. With our line up, we should be able to bat four sessions on this Oval track, even on day five.

Anyway, enthralling as I say. Home today and watching on tv.

Looks fantastic batting conditions. The wicket has perished and the sun is beating down.

As Nasser says, probably the best batting conditions of the series.

Looks a nice bright day for batting...

Jadeja has fenced at the odd ball and avoided edging it - as he does again in Anderson's first over . And again nearly nibbles one from Robinson... Frustrating for England !
Unorthodox move to number five but you'd have to say it has worked for India in this innings , whatever happens from here.

I hope the Covid issue in the Indian camp doesn't embrace any of the players. A reminder that - despite the grounds full of spectators - the pandemic hasn't gone away...

Duty281 wrote:Looks fantastic batting conditions. The wicket has perished and the sun is beating down.

As Nasser says, probably the best batting conditions of the series.

Yep. Mikey is sure that 250 won't be enough for India to defend. It certainly shouldn't be imo.

Jadeja and Kohli again, haven't looked entirely secure, but the ball isn't doing a great deal. There is still a little bit of life in the track, and the Duke's is the best ball to play test cricket. But if the batters apply themselves, they should be able to get runs here.

Yes no great movement in the air - as long as the batsmen remain patient they should thrive today.

The lack of movement has given the England bowlers a real headache. When they've bowled outside off they've at least kept good control : but as they've been almost forced to try and target the pads to make something happen , runs have been collected fairly regularly.
It occurred to me yesterday they may have been better advised to go to the old South African tactic of very "dry" bowling in hopes of getting a break through batsman frustration : but I can see why they felt obliged to be a little more attacking after so many overs had gone by without success.

Half hour and nothing yet . Ominous for the home team...

Kohli is continuing with annoying habit of playing at balls well outside off. At least so far, he has left more than he played at, and actually have tried to score of those, rather than playing his nothing defensive. I just wish he cuts down on that completely, at least well into his innings.

The pitch seem to be losing that zip and carry as well. Bairstow collected a few pretty low. One or 2 did kick up a touch at Jadeja. No real uneven bounce as such, but if India bat long enough, they might emerge at some point...

Kohli and Jadeja bringing up their half-century for the partnership. Needed that after Robinson's double strike.

Jadeja has survived more than 50 deliveries. He's trying hard to live up to the challenge the team has thrown at him. Still not quite middling his shots, but doing everything possible to ensure the edges do not pop-up in the air... Don't like this idea of him batted at least a position too high, but can't fault the man for his effort.

Thank heaven for Chris Woakes. 197/4. Jadeja still not suited at 5, I think that's a silly idea.

Robinson's bowled decently this morning, but no reward.

Woakes with a welcome strike ! Umpire got that one right...

Jadeja did a good job for India , I think. Kohli looks in century scoring mode. Can Rahane make the most of the conditions?

So woakes provides the opening for England, gets Jadeja, who on his way back, took a review with him.