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.

A decent opening hour for England - 32/1 - but nothing more than that. Only one ball from the seamers has done anything of note. Malan's looking incredibly unsure v Jadeja, should possibly try to be more proactive and get off strike. Hameed looking good enough.

Jadeja is the main threat with that rough, but Malan/Moeen/Anderson are the only remaining left-handers.

First hour, balanced. England would be happy they lost only one, and they managed a very healthy 32 runs on the board. Barring that 1 delivery from Shardul, the ball hasn't done anything whatsoever for the quicks, including Jasprit Bumrah. Jadeja got a couple to turn big, but he hasn't been consistent enough to provide a very sustained threat.

I think England would be in the driving seat if Ashwin was playing, the runs that Thakur has scored look like being the difference.

No, Hameed, that's not what we want to see in the morning!

Siraj drops a sitter and pretends to be injured to cover up his embarrassment.

That's one drop England get back, at least.

Hameed gets a life. Siraj drops a sitter... and his groin couldn't hold onto it either.

Very poor stuff from India. Running mix-up because Jadeja shunted Hameed to the ground, but India still attempted the run-out.

Target under 250.

Warne is absolutely gagging for India to win this

I thought that looked out live. So tight on review but Malan survives. He does not look convincing at all against Jadeja.

A run out - embarrassing in a test match in usual circumstances, utterly unforgivable in this situation.

An incredibly dumb dismissal...not that it looked like Malan was in for a long vigil at any point.

India have their two poorest fielders off the ground yes?

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:A run out - embarrassing in a test match in usual circumstances, utterly unforgivable in this situation.

Add “risky singles” to the “fast bowler diving to save one run on the boundary” as another ridiculous thing test teams do. It’s a test match, it’s 5 days…it’s one run, the reward nowhere near is worth the risk.

I guess it's the pressure of the scoreboard going nowhere that brought that about. This is why I was never backing a draw, the players just don't have the mindset to survive for long periods without scoring runs

India are well on track here, whenever a team has a day to take 10 wickets, I always think 2 or 3 in the first session is good, then same again in the next session, that can be 5 or 6 down. You're then effectively into the tail with a session left

Soul Requiem wrote:India have their two poorest fielders off the ground yes?

Nah. Siraj (evidenced today) and Thakur aren't the slickest.

Rohit is a very good slip fielder. He wouldn't be at slip to Jadeja as Rahane is possibly the best slip fielder to spinners in cricket. Rohit would be at first to the seamers with Kohli at cover or midwicket where he is absolute lightning. Rohit being off, moving Kohli to the slips with only 2 catchers in make India a worse fielding side in my opinion. They also lose Rohit's tactical nous with him off. Rohit is frequently the guy chatting to the bowlers in tight situations in this India side whilst Kohli's gees up the fielders and crowd.

Pujara isn't the best fielder but certainly no weaker than Siraj, Thakur and possibly Yadav. Pujara is similar to Malan as a fielder in that he has decent hands but is quite simply a slow runner and doesn't have the best arm so won't cover much ground.

msp83 wrote:First hour, balanced. England would be happy they lost only one, and they managed a very healthy 32 runs on the board. Barring that 1 delivery from Shardul, the ball hasn't done anything whatsoever for the quicks, including Jasprit Bumrah. Jadeja got a couple to turn big, but he hasn't been consistent enough to provide a very sustained threat.

Msp - I wonder if Jadeja might be better and more consistent if he was bowling in tandem, albeit as the supporting spinner, with Ashwin.

Going back a decade or two, legspinner Ian Salisbury flopped as England's sole spinner which was no surprise to Surrey regulars. Whilst Salisbury had done well in the County Championship that season, he owed much to his Surrey bowling partner Saqlain Mushtaq, the far superior spinner, who gave him greater confidence and wickets. Saqlain regularly bamboozled and tied batsmen down allowing Solly to cash in at the other end with them so relieved to be facing the lesser bowler and losing concentration.

That said, it'll make little difference if we spare Jadeja the task of getting wickets by any more run outs.

king_carlos wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:India have their two poorest fielders off the ground yes?

Nah. Siraj (evidenced today) and Thakur aren't the slickest.

Rohit is a very good slip fielder. He wouldn't be at slip to Jadeja as Rahane is possibly the best slip fielder to spinners in cricket. Rohit would be at first to the seamers with Kohli at cover or midwicket where he is absolute lightning. Rohit being off, moving Kohli to the slips with only 2 catchers in make India a worse fielding side in my opinion. They also lose Rohit's tactical nous with him off. Rohit is frequently the guy chatting to the bowlers in tight situations in this India side whilst Kohli's gees up the fielders and crowd.

Pujara isn't the best fielder but certainly no weaker than Siraj, Thakur and possibly Yadav. Pujara is similar to Malan as a fielder in that he has decent hands but is quite simply a slow runner and doesn't have the best arm so won't cover much ground.

Based on the fact Siraj, Yadav and Thakur are required to bowl it doesn't feel like coincidence that Pujara and Rohit haven't been fielding, presume both will be fine to play on Friday. I'm intrigued by what injuries the pair have?

Ball is beginning to do things and many things such as spin, reverse and showing signs of up and down
3 wickets in 2nd session and 5 in the last


Winviz & commentators notwithstanding Anyone who thinks Eng had any chance of winning was living on another planet

Pujara got injured in this match and was struggling with that ankle for the remainder of his innings so hardly surprising that he's off.

Rohit has a knee injury according to reports. As said having Rohit's slip catching and tactical nous off the pitch make this India side a worse fielding outfit not a better one anyway.

All sides use substitute fielders. Didn't England have 3 on at certain points yesterday? Pretty sure Dan Lawrence fielded practically the whole day.

2 wickets for 54 runs from 27 overs. India's session but by no means a decisive one.

Lots rest on Root of course. Given I'm tired of typing that I can't imagine how exhausted Root must be from carrying the batting.

VTR wrote:I guess it's the pressure of the scoreboard going nowhere that brought that about. This is why I was never backing a draw, the players just don't have the mindset to survive for long periods without scoring runs

But I had already told them not to worry about the scoreboard in the morning and just get to lunch playing sensibly!

More seriously, it was a dreadful run out. I've watched again a couple of times and I'm sure Malan is turning his head to look at the fielder as he gathers the ball rather than simply going like a bat out of hell to get to the other end.

So 131-2 at lunch. Think India would take that. They kept the runs in check, and got 2 wickets. Malan never looked convincing, before that run-out. Hameed is playing well, and India might regret that drop as the day goes on. He's keeping one end safe. Ball just about started to do just that little bit more in the last few minutes. The 2nd session, is going to be most crucial for me. India would hope to get Root early, or get 3 or 4 around him otherwise. Though he got beaten by a couple, the England skipper has a usual busy start to his innings. Losing 2 in that session for only 54, means England wouldn't be thinking about trying to go for the win anytime before tea.
India shouldn't give Root easy runs behind the wickets. Should always have a fielder down at Third-Man for him.

guildfordbat wrote:

VTR wrote:I guess it's the pressure of the scoreboard going nowhere that brought that about. This is why I was never backing a draw, the players just don't have the mindset to survive for long periods without scoring runs

But I had already told them not to worry about the scoreboard in the morning and just get to lunch playing sensibly!  

More seriously, it was a dreadful run out. I've watched again a couple of times and I'm sure Malan is turning his head to look at the fielder as he gathers the ball rather than simply going like a bat out of hell to get to the other end.

It wasn’t even a good throw - I think either end they were struggling, it was a horrible call by Hameed. Malan’s dive attempt wasn’t exactly superb either…but he was gone anyways. A ridiculous run attempt

See people are also criticising Hameed for “going too slow, not showing enough intent” and want to poke my eyes out. England’s #1 priority has to be not losing, to which he is crucial. If they get into a position in the final session where they can have “a dart” then fantastic, but at the moment I’m more worried about not losing 10 wickets than another 250 odd runs.
Hameed is doing absolutely fine

A decent, balanced session then.

Some occasional reverse for the Indian seamers, but nothing major. Jadeja's influence will be dimmed by the presence of right-handers, could be tough going for the quicks in the afternoon. Hameed has looked assured, bar one crazy shot (the drop being the key moment of the session, not the run-out of a player who never looked comfortable at the crease). England's best batting trio now entering the equation with Root at the crease, followed by Pope who looked in good touch in the first innings, then Bairstow who has continually got starts this series...even if he hasn't kicked on.

Would say the run-out was Malan's fault as he responded slowly and was too deep in the crease. Surprisingly poor running for a predominantly limited-overs player.

The required rate is 3.76 with 63 overs remaining. Going at only 2.5 an over in the afternoon will keep the required rate below 4.75 for the evening session (with a RR of 3 in the afternoon putting the required rate below 4.5), so if England get through the upcoming session with one or no wickets lost, they should be on course for a win. Two wickets it's a maybe. Three wickets or more they'll be playing for survival!

My internal WinViz is fairly unmoved since the start of the day.

Soul Requiem wrote:

king_carlos wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:India have their two poorest fielders off the ground yes?

Nah. Siraj (evidenced today) and Thakur aren't the slickest.

Rohit is a very good slip fielder. He wouldn't be at slip to Jadeja as Rahane is possibly the best slip fielder to spinners in cricket. Rohit would be at first to the seamers with Kohli at cover or midwicket where he is absolute lightning. Rohit being off, moving Kohli to the slips with only 2 catchers in make India a worse fielding side in my opinion. They also lose Rohit's tactical nous with him off. Rohit is frequently the guy chatting to the bowlers in tight situations in this India side whilst Kohli's gees up the fielders and crowd.

Pujara isn't the best fielder but certainly no weaker than Siraj, Thakur and possibly Yadav. Pujara is similar to Malan as a fielder in that he has decent hands but is quite simply a slow runner and doesn't have the best arm so won't cover much ground.

Based on the fact Siraj, Yadav and Thakur are required to bowl it doesn't feel like coincidence that Pujara and Rohit haven't been fielding, presume both will be fine to play on Friday. I'm intrigued by what injuries the pair have?

Silly little moan about nothing!
Anyways, wasn't it England under Michael Vaughan who made using sub fielders into a strategic art form? Ask Ricky Ponting!

The draw is more of a possibility now than at 11am but I'm still thinking England will be bowled out.

Even if England lose, one of the positives from this match and series is that Eng have had a couple of 100 opening partnerships.

I was very concerned about Hameed being brought back too early but he's had a couple of good knocks. Burns and his style are not to everyone's taste but his record is a lot better than some who've been tried and this does look like an opening partnership worth persevering with.

guildfordbat wrote:

msp83 wrote:First hour, balanced. England would be happy they lost only one, and they managed a very healthy 32 runs on the board. Barring that 1 delivery from Shardul, the ball hasn't done anything whatsoever for the quicks, including Jasprit Bumrah. Jadeja got a couple to turn big, but he hasn't been consistent enough to provide a very sustained threat.

Msp - I wonder if Jadeja might be better and more consistent if he was bowling in tandem, albeit as the supporting spinner, with Ashwin.

Going back a decade or two, legspinner Ian Salisbury flopped as England's sole spinner which was no surprise to Surrey regulars. Whilst Salisbury had done well in the County Championship that season, he owed much to his Surrey bowling partner Saqlain Mushtaq, the far superior spinner, who gave him greater confidence and wickets. Saqlain regularly bamboozled and tied batsmen down allowing Solly to cash in at the other end with them so relieved to be facing the lesser bowler and losing concentration.

That said, it'll make little difference if we spare Jadeja the task of getting wickets by any more run outs.

Guildford, like good spin partnerships, think Jadeja and Ashwin feed off each other. Think it works both ways usually as Jadeja very much is a spinner who can hold his own by himself. He hasn't been on top of his game though, and that can happen. Probably, he has been in that defensive mindset that left-arm spinners of his kind would be best suited to English conditions, and haven't quickly been able to adapt to a more attacking requirement. That's where Ashwin, who also used to have the same issue early on in his career, has become so much better of late.

Duty281 wrote:Would say the run-out was Malan's fault as he responded slowly and was too deep in the crease. Surprisingly poor running for a predominantly limited-overs player.

Malan is definitely a poor runner for such a good white ball player. A simple case of him just not being a fast runner rather than being abysmal at actually calling a run such as Mark Butcher back in the day. It's certainly a weak aspect in his game along with his average fielding though.

It's a legitimate question to ask, both will be playing on Friday but both are too injured to take to the field at all today. This isn't about England in 2005 but rather about the here and now.

Good first session for India I reckon. Still on course for a win ; though they might have to work for it.

They'd have liked one more wicket , of course. But getting two with an old ball , albeit with a bit of luck with the silly run out (not that Malan looked especially secure) was a decent start. And importantly they strangled the scoring rate and have probably taken an England win off the table. Which will mean the England bats will be the ones with all the pressure on them as the day wears on.

Hameed has played very well - apart from the poor shot that ought to have seen him on his way. If England are to achieve a draw they'll be hoping he can do the job for another session like that.

63 overs to go... if Jadeja keeps bowling we will get them all in for once

msp83 wrote:

guildfordbat wrote:

msp83 wrote:First hour, balanced. England would be happy they lost only one, and they managed a very healthy 32 runs on the board. Barring that 1 delivery from Shardul, the ball hasn't done anything whatsoever for the quicks, including Jasprit Bumrah. Jadeja got a couple to turn big, but he hasn't been consistent enough to provide a very sustained threat.

Msp - I wonder if Jadeja might be better and more consistent if he was bowling in tandem, albeit as the supporting spinner, with Ashwin.

Going back a decade or two, legspinner Ian Salisbury flopped as England's sole spinner which was no surprise to Surrey regulars. Whilst Salisbury had done well in the County Championship that season, he owed much to his Surrey bowling partner Saqlain Mushtaq, the far superior spinner, who gave him greater confidence and wickets. Saqlain regularly bamboozled and tied batsmen down allowing Solly to cash in at the other end with them so relieved to be facing the lesser bowler and losing concentration.

That said, it'll make little difference if we spare Jadeja the task of getting wickets by any more run outs.

Guildford, like good spin partnerships, think Jadeja and Ashwin feed off each other. Think it works both ways usually as Jadeja very much is a spinner who can hold his own by himself. He hasn't been on top of his game though, and that can happen. Probably, he has been in that defensive mindset that left-arm spinners of his kind would be best suited to English conditions, and haven't quickly been able to adapt to a more attacking requirement. That's where Ashwin, who also used to have the same issue early on in his career, has become so much better of late.

Jadeja has struggled to find his pace. When there has been turn it's been from bowling slower on this wicket rather than from driving it into the pitch more, which Jadeja can sometimes revert to doing when things aren't quite working for him.

Ashwin is absolutely fantastic at reading a pitch, finding the right pace and flight which would undoubtedly help Jadeja. Ashwin has played a decent amount of cricket in England though to get that experience. His natural pace is also slower than Jadeja's of course which would be suited to this particular track.

Soul Requiem wrote:It's a legitimate question to ask, both will be playing on Friday but both are too injured to take to the field at all today. This isn't about England in 2005 but rather about the here and now.

Is that not why we allow fielding subs in these situations though? So that players don't have to play on with minor injuries, unable to field properly and exacerbating the minor injury so it becomes a more serious injury and they miss more cricket.

England had plenty of players off the field at points yesterday that presumably wont have any issue batting today.

Root playing with early intent against Jadeja. Like it.

But Hameed is defeated by the turn of Jadeja.

Huge partnership now between Root and Pope.

Hameed goes to Jadeja.

18 overs to the new ball and Jadeja settling into some rhythm.

Hameed looks to be an improvement on Sibley but is getting into a terrible habit of letting himself get tied down. He was 43 off 85 overnight and pretty much dropped anchor from ball one today, he invited the pressure and got out as a result of it, should have just kicked the ball away. 20 off 108 today.

What a ball from Bumrah.

Root and Bairstow need another strong partnership.

Yeah England are definitely losing this

Normal services seen on Day 5 restored
6 more to go

The power of having a world class spinner and touching 90 mph pacers who can extract reverse standing out

All over now. Kind of going down with a whimper to be fair.

In big moments you need great players and Bumrah looks like one in the making. Fair play to him getting some movement from 60+ overs old ball on this pudding of a pitch.

if it pitched in line Root was toast...DRS worth gambling

This is some spell from Bumrah, a joy to watch.

Bairstow back to the old ways of being bowled.

Bumrah bowling a match and potentially series winning spell with the old ball. Brilliant stuff.

90mph reverse ...too hot to handle....The fire power and ammunition that Kohli has on glorious display and standing out

Game's reached a point where every over looks like producing wicket
And when this point arrives...End is Nigh

king_carlos wrote:Bumrah bowling a match and potentially series winning spell with the old ball. Brilliant stuff.

Carlos - yep, for sure. Nasser just said ''take the pitch out of the equation'' which is exactly what Michael Holding did to win the Oval Test for the West Indies in the drought year of '76. Your dad will remember.

Moeen goes to Jadeja. Collapsing in a heap.

4 more to go

Very poor from Moeen. Not at test level with the bat and should never have been re-selected.

Pathetic again from England but Hameed has to shoulder a lot of the blame for this.