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.

Double change from Root, Robinson back on from the other end.

Thanks for the posts about the Kohli drop. Just after I posted the query, I saw a replay and Nasser commented about the difficulties being caused for Bairstow and the slips by the ball moving in the air. Hard for me to make a judgement on that one viewing but, similar to Alfie's earlier comments, a good and established slip cordon would have instinctively known who was going for it. The immediate body language of both Burns and Root seemed to be saying, ''After you, Claude!''.

Rahane still looks iffy ; but Kohli has got that off drive going nicely. Gone to 45 in pretty good time and that drop might just have been all he needs to break his dry spell...

Still have a feeling that there is enough happening with the ball that a wicket could come at either end any moment. England need to stay patient.

Kohli is looking good but he's still defending balls that he should very well leave alone. Just not able to overcome that debilitating tendency...
Rahane not looking assured yet.

The overrate from England has been acceptable in the first hour after lunch. Perhaps, if these 2 manage to stay on a while, we might see Moeen on in some time.

guildfordbat wrote:Thanks for the posts about the Kohli drop. Just after I posted the query, I saw a replay and Nasser commented about the difficulties being caused for Bairstow and the slips by the ball moving in the air. Hard for me to make a judgement on that one viewing but, similar to Alfie's earlier comments, a good and established slip cordon would have instinctively known who was going for it. The immediate body language of both Burns and Root seemed to be saying, ''After you, Claude!''.

That drop...might be series defining...Kohli rattles to 50, and looking ominous

alfie wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:Jadeja is a decent number seven but nothing more than that.

Indeed : rather unfair to him to ask him to bat at five.  But if protecting Rahane and Pant results in one of them scoring heavily I guess they'll count it a plus ?

An odd move in a Test Match.  Probably goes to show they are more than a little anxious about the fragility of their batting order. I'm sure they particularly didn't want Pant exposed to a ball that is still moving. Of course the flip side is Jadeja won't be there when they're six down...

Rahane survives an lbw with a shrewd review. Thought that might have been a bit high. A little bit of luck going India's way just lately...and they certainly need it. Woakes on song at present.

Hi Alfie and all - this all ties in with my usually being so unkeen on night watchmen. Rather than use a night watchman, the captain should show confidence in each batsman and his established place in the order. The batsman should in turn seek to show that the captain's faith was justified.

If the batting order is considered fragile, the necessary confidence isn't there and you need to be looking who to bring in rather than simply swapping around numbers 5, 6 and 7.

Fifty for Kohli

Hasn't been easy today but he's looked a class above all the other bats on display. Good proportion of boundaries as England have bowled pretty full to him and he's managed to put a few away nicely.

India need him to go big though. If one or two were to fall quickly they could be bowled out well ahead of par.

Kohli on to his half-century. Kohli v Anderson hasn't been that exciting as yet, Anderson is a touch off today though he managed to get Pujara out in his sleep.

guildfordbat wrote:

alfie wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:Jadeja is a decent number seven but nothing more than that.

Indeed : rather unfair to him to ask him to bat at five.  But if protecting Rahane and Pant results in one of them scoring heavily I guess they'll count it a plus ?

An odd move in a Test Match.  Probably goes to show they are more than a little anxious about the fragility of their batting order. I'm sure they particularly didn't want Pant exposed to a ball that is still moving. Of course the flip side is Jadeja won't be there when they're six down...

Rahane survives an lbw with a shrewd review. Thought that might have been a bit high. A little bit of luck going India's way just lately...and they certainly need it. Woakes on song at present.

Hi Alfie and all - this all ties in with my usually being so unkeen on night watchmen. Rather than use a night watchman, the captain should show confidence in each batsman and his established place in the order. The batsman should in turn seek to show that the captain's faith was justified.

If the batting order is considered fragile, the necessary confidence isn't there and you need to be looking who to bring in rather than simply swapping around numbers 5, 6 and 7.

To be fair, Jadeja has been the 3rd best batter for India in the series, behind the openers. And he hasn't been able to play a proper innings even when he got going in 3 out of 5 innings, running out of partners or forced to bat with the lower order. Rishabh and Jinks both have been struggling.
But 5 is one position too high for Jadeja. Perhaps they should have swapped Pant and Jadeja... This was the worst that Jadeja looked with the bat in this series so far. Now that they've done it, I hope Kohli will give him a good run at 6 for some time...

guildfordbat wrote:

alfie wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:Jadeja is a decent number seven but nothing more than that.

Indeed : rather unfair to him to ask him to bat at five.  But if protecting Rahane and Pant results in one of them scoring heavily I guess they'll count it a plus ?

An odd move in a Test Match.  Probably goes to show they are more than a little anxious about the fragility of their batting order. I'm sure they particularly didn't want Pant exposed to a ball that is still moving. Of course the flip side is Jadeja won't be there when they're six down...

Rahane survives an lbw with a shrewd review. Thought that might have been a bit high. A little bit of luck going India's way just lately...and they certainly need it. Woakes on song at present.

Hi Alfie and all - this all ties in with my usually being so unkeen on night watchmen. Rather than use a night watchman, the captain should show confidence in each batsman and his established place in the order. The batsman should in turn seek to show that the captain's faith was justified.

If the batting order is considered fragile, the necessary confidence isn't there and you need to be looking who to bring in rather than simply swapping around numbers 5, 6 and 7.

I agree with you ,guildford . But as Kohli has now had partnerships of 30 and 36 (unfinished) since , I suppose the move might be seen as potentially justified ? A lot depends on how Pant performs when he gets in , of course. Had he been exposed before lunch I wouldn't have given him a hope in Hades of surviving ; but now he will come in with ...

well , with 105 on the board Robinson gets Kohli ! Huge wicket ...

Ollie Robinson is magnificent, truly magnificent.

A fighting 50 from Kohli, but India needed him to make a Root-esque contribution and end his century drought.

That's it, Kohli goes, after a little runless point. Robinson it is, relief for his skipper.

How much more now? Another 50 wouldn't be too bad! 200 would be a great turnaround from here.

Robinson becoming as big a menace to Kohli as Jimmy. And now his bunny , Pant , is up next.

At least India have a better number eight today in the person of Thakur. But they'll still be hoping for serious runs from these two...

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:Thanks for the posts about the Kohli drop. Just after I posted the query, I saw a replay and Nasser commented about the difficulties being caused for Bairstow and the slips by the ball moving in the air. Hard for me to make a judgement on that one viewing but, similar to Alfie's earlier comments, a good and established slip cordon would have instinctively known who was going for it. The immediate body language of both Burns and Root seemed to be saying, ''After you, Claude!''.

That drop...might be series defining...Kohli rattles to 50, and looking ominous

Trebell took over my account for a moment there

Duty281 wrote:Ollie Robinson is magnificent, truly magnificent.

A fighting 50 from Kohli, but India needed him to make a Root-esque contribution and end his century drought.

He sure is! No one's probably been so consistently effective in his first few Tests since Toby Roland-Jones ... oh no, what have I said?!

Been in meetings for the last few hours. England's bowlers doing ok then?

It's a very good sign for Robinson that he's been a bit off today compared to previous games but still has 2-17 off 12.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:What an opening spell from Robinson - JDizzle, you can take your victory lap on your campaign to get him in the side

I’m just saying I told you so everyone.

Pant playing the Pujara now, how long before he loses it???

May have been mentioned earlier by someone, but I am not sure Broad gets back into the team if there's no injuries amongst this four plus Wood and Archer. If he does, I wouldn't give him the new ball over Robinson

Top grab by Moeen. Lovely to get another wicket just before the interval. Don't know why the 3rd umpire took so long.

A mercy, really, for Rahane who looked woeful in the middle.

Close to tea : but both Rahane and Pant are playing some shots...

Looks as if Moeen is going to have a go ...or maybe not now...

Rahane gone - fine catch by Moeen and Overton has a wicket : 117/6 and Thakur will have to face a few balls before tea.

Moeen's good fielding has deprived him of a chance to bowl

Lovely catch by Ali, stunning.

What does Pant do now, does he go for it Pant style or does he try to eat up more time?

VTR wrote:May have been mentioned earlier by someone, but I am not sure Broad gets back into the team if there's no injuries amongst this four plus Wood and Archer. If he does, I wouldn't give him the new ball over Robinson

You'd be a brave man to keep Broad out of the team , especially in England ! I wouldn't worry too much : with the amount of cricket being played and injuries sustained there should be plenty of chances for all of them.

VTR wrote:May have been mentioned earlier by someone, but I am not sure Broad gets back into the team if there's no injuries amongst this four plus Wood and Archer. If he does, I wouldn't give him the new ball over Robinson

In English conditions this is still a top drawer seam attack yet it's missing Archer, Stone, Stokes and Broad. Woakes and Wood have been injured too, at home the retirement of Anderson and Broad doesn't bother me, overseas the control of Jimmy will be a huge miss.

msp83 wrote:So that is a session survived with significant damage. But unlike in the last test, they haven't already lost the test in that first session itself. They aren't too far away though, they can lose this test in the next session...

Two sessions down now and India still haven't lost this Test but do seem be heading in that direction.

Another good session with the four seamers operating as a unit and rarely letting the pressure abate. Time to be clinical, clean India up before they reach 175 and start batting tonight.

This match feels like a death knell for Sam Curran in the foreseeable future. There's a noticeable drop off in control and intensity when he comes on to bowl whereas today that simply hasn't happened, all four have been metronomic in their line and lengths after the first eight overs.

Soul Requiem wrote:This match feels like a death knell for Sam Curran in the foreseeable future. There's a noticeable drop off in control and intensity when he comes on to bowl whereas today that simply hasn't happened, all four have been metronomic in their line and lengths after the first eight overs.

The big question is will they remember this is what was successful when Jofra, and to a lesser extent Wood, are playing.

Just be metronomic at 87-92mph. It works for Pat Cummins, don’t get carried away with bumpers.

Overton takes one away from Burns in the slips and Pant gets a life

... but it doesn't matter because Pant skies one to Mo anyway

Not Woakes' lucky day...Pant dropped now. Overton diving in front of Burns and spilling it. Think he could have let that go to Rory...

No matter ...Pant holes out to Moeen at deep mid off : England delight

Pant continues to be rubbish, he's had a horror series with the bat. India should get their replacement keeper in for the final test.

Very grim reading for the Indian fans now.

Pant only plays one way but it cost him that time

Time to wrap this up without too much damage

Feels like Pant and Rahane should've hidden a little further down the lineup...maybe on the team coach

JDizzle wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:This match feels like a death knell for Sam Curran in the foreseeable future. There's a noticeable drop off in control and intensity when he comes on to bowl whereas today that simply hasn't happened, all four have been metronomic in their line and lengths after the first eight overs.

The big question is will they remember this is what was successful when Jofra, and to a lesser extent Wood, are playing.

Just be metronomic at 87-92mph. It works for Pat Cummins, don’t get carried away with bumpers.

This pitch in particular looks perfect for Archer, take a little bit of pace of and concentrate on bowling in the channel around the 86-88mph mark. Wood should not be playing in England when everyone is available, his pace makes people think he's a better bowler than he is, it's not fashionable but Overton looks like a better bowler in these conditions.

In other news, it's wonderful to see Pant fail AGAIN.

Dunno if Pant downed a pint of red bull or something over tea

JDizzle wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:This match feels like a death knell for Sam Curran in the foreseeable future. There's a noticeable drop off in control and intensity when he comes on to bowl whereas today that simply hasn't happened, all four have been metronomic in their line and lengths after the first eight overs.

The big question is will they remember this is what was successful when Jofra, and to a lesser extent Wood, are playing.

Just be metronomic at 87-92mph. It works for Pat Cummins, don’t get carried away with bumpers.

I guess in these conditions you wouldn't be picking Archer or Wood. These four and Broad are all well suited to these "English" circumstances. Might be a different story on a warm sunny day in Adelaide...

Thakur has started quite well...hope a few boundaries don't cause England to lose their discipline now.

Rahane and Pant are going to come in after Thakur second inning

alfie wrote:

JDizzle wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:This match feels like a death knell for Sam Curran in the foreseeable future. There's a noticeable drop off in control and intensity when he comes on to bowl whereas today that simply hasn't happened, all four have been metronomic in their line and lengths after the first eight overs.

The big question is will they remember this is what was successful when Jofra, and to a lesser extent Wood, are playing.

Just be metronomic at 87-92mph. It works for Pat Cummins, don’t get carried away with bumpers.

I guess in these conditions you wouldn't be picking Archer or Wood. These four and Broad are all well suited to these "English" circumstances. Might be a different story on a warm sunny day in Adelaide...

I think a fully fit and used correctly Jofra would still be lethal in these conditions. And even in Aus, England’s best bowling unit I have seen down there in 10/11 was built around bowling dry. Finn was dropped despite being the top wicket taker because he couldn’t tie up an end like Bresnan/Tremlett! Anything else should be a last resort and they shouldn’t lose patience too easily.

Thakur smashing this to all parts. Might be worth giving Mo an over or two and seeing if he takes the bait

JDizzle wrote:

alfie wrote:

JDizzle wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:This match feels like a death knell for Sam Curran in the foreseeable future. There's a noticeable drop off in control and intensity when he comes on to bowl whereas today that simply hasn't happened, all four have been metronomic in their line and lengths after the first eight overs.

The big question is will they remember this is what was successful when Jofra, and to a lesser extent Wood, are playing.

Just be metronomic at 87-92mph. It works for Pat Cummins, don’t get carried away with bumpers.

I guess in these conditions you wouldn't be picking Archer or Wood. These four and Broad are all well suited to these "English" circumstances. Might be a different story on a warm sunny day in Adelaide...

I think a fully fit and used correctly Jofra would still be lethal in these conditions. And even in Aus, England’s best bowling unit I have seen down there in 10/11 was built around bowling dry. Finn was dropped despite being the top wicket taker because he couldn’t tie up an end like Bresnan/Tremlett! Anything else should be a last resort and they shouldn’t lose patience too easily.

Yes that 2010/11 was a masterclass in disciplined bowling...of course you need to be making big runs too ! As they were then...

Thakur adding useful runs for India with some rather old fashioned swinging. Up to 31 in quick time in the best batting conditions of the day. And even Yadav joining in ! Stand worth 33.


Bowlers might be getting a little tired ? Maybe an over or two from Moeen worth a try ? Though I don't think Woakes will be too keen to give up the ball...

Frustrating partnership but not much England can do when the wild swings are landing safe.

This is very frustrating for England. Thakur middling some shots, others are horrific edges or mistimed efforts which are currently eluding the fielders.

It's all happening

Another drop