England's Winter of Cricket 2023/24

First topic message reminder :

After the disappointment of the World Cup, can England be the first away team in 11 years to win a test series in India?

Three ODIs v West Indies (3rd December-9th December)
Five T20s v West Indies (12th December-21st December)
Five Tests v India (25th January-11th March)

Yes double centuries tend to lead to wins quite often This one was all the more remarkable because no one else passed 35 in the innings...quite a performance !

Bashir gives Mukesh a wicket at last with a little edge... 281/9 and the presentations are imminent...

Marky wrote:Ultimately that first innings double hundred was the difference, otherwise we'd probably be looking at 2-0 England.

Yep, and that gets him my MOTM.

Unless Mukesh gets a twofer of course!

Ah the highlight of the day....a perfect Jimmy Anderson on drive is a thing of beauty indeed

MoTM...PoTM these enlightened days , of course. . Has to be Jaiswal , of course. But Bumrah has been exceptional and on almost any other day he'd be taking the accolades ...

Hartley on to 36 . Looks like an asset in the tail for England , as it doesn't seem at all flukey. As long as his bowling continues to impress, he might be the find of the tour

But that's all for him and England .... Congrats India

I'd probably say this was a 7/10 type performance from England - nothing special, but not disgraced themselves either...of course to win in India it's going to need to be a 9-10/10 performance each time!

Hopefully Leach is back for the next test - none of the spinners have disgraced themselves in his absence, but think we need his experience and guile in the sub continent to lead the attack. I'd probably have him in for Bashir at this point.

Think the bats all get another game too - especially with no Brook on the sidelines waiting in the wings.

Also maybe not the worst time for the little mini break in this 5 test series to happen - gives Leach a few more days of recovery, and hopefully Root is just a minor knock that will recover with a little rest.

Also gives Stokes more time to heal the knee and work on his bowling...Dobell reported he's been doing bowling in the morning warm ups this test...

106 runs. Reckon that was about the number England failed to make on day two ; because this was a pitch on which 350 or so looked about right for first innings. India - principally Bumrah - too good that day. Does have a superficial similarity to Lord's Ashes match but the difference was this time England's batsmen were got out by great bowling rather than throwing wickets away.

A good pitch (think India would be mad to dish up spin-silly tracks now as they've shown how well they can play on pitches like this ) and another good match to watch

Agree , Olly ...the break is well timed for both sides. Hope Root's finger fixes as I agree with you Bashir probably won't play the next one - promise shown here but more one for the future I think. Though if the pitches remain similar there must be a case for two pace bowlers , no ? Do wonder if England might have been better served here with Robinson or Wood to assist Anderson up front...

The series nicely poised really . India with players to come back , sure . But a couple of their less experienced lads did the business this time so who's to say it will be a game changer ? As for England : level ; and far from disgraced here in defeat. Not awful , given Root of all people has hardly scored a run this time ! Surely that won't continue...

Looking forward to the next game after a little break.

Think the big difference was Indias match winners, 2 centurions (incl a double) to England's 0. Bumrah 9 for 90 odd in the match. Crawley's done well, Popes delivered a game changing innings but need the rest to come to the party

Overall it's been more competitive than I expected

Inspite of the target being an impossible 399, not one serious Indian fan took victory for granted
And I believe every English follower harbored some expectation of the unexpected.

India win by a reasonable margin, but a messy win..
How would Dravid explain Eng easily getting to 292 in 4th inning and Ind struggling, scratching to 250 in 3rd, when Eng did not have either a mystery spinner or a Bumrah.

The answer lies in the crap team selection...and timid/ formulaic approach of Dravid& Rohit against a very clever duo of Stokes & Baz stretching to get max out of their resources.
Washington for Mukesh would have given India atleast 60 runs across 2 innings & a reasonable batsman WK another 60 odd.
India was atleast 120 runs light.

For next game....I think getting KL to keep wickets is one solution and bringing Jurel in for sure the min required, if KL does not have the fitenss required.
There is room for a reverse swinging pace bowler as Bumrah showed.....but Mukesh is not the answer
The only answers were Umesh Yadav who has fallen out of favors for some prickly, touch reasons or Shami, who is injured.
Akashdeep might be called in and he can bat a bit, which is essential to have a bowler who can give you 20 odd runs with bat....I would still prefer Washington as the 11th player.


Eng...let's applaud the fight & fear they drilled in heart of Indians...no one dares take Stokes' side for granted even if one day 600 would be set to chase.
Bazballing to me comes in ( or should come in) 2 shades
The medicare batter who is capable of 25 to 33 type test averages playing "proper cricket"
benefits when injected with the steroid of Bazball....stands besides the line of ball and with intelligent predetermination, hits thru line, slogs, hacks / hoiks, slogs and this props him to scoring at 40+ average and fantastic SR for some years while his hand eye coordination will last.
This is how Jayasuriya and Kaluwithrana used to bat.

The technically good players like Root / Stokes should not ( or need not) slog with pre-determination.
Bazballing to them should mean positive intent only.

Root's 4 failures in a row are unusual.....it could be owing to lack of focus because he is bowling too much.
I don't mind him bowling...and would move him down to No. 6...where genuine all-rounder bat.

Marky wrote:Ultimately that first innings double hundred was the difference, otherwise we'd probably be looking at 2-0 England.

But for Pope's freak hacking 196, Ind would have won T1 8 or 9 wickets
But for dropped catches of of Pope juts after his hundred, Ind might have won by 2 or 3 wickets.
But for all the crap selections...India would have won by 250, the T2

BUT that's not the point......IFFs and BUTs don't matter..in my view
It is what it is...Eng need to keep coming at India.....and Ind need to get their team selection optimized

KP_fan wrote:

Marky wrote:Ultimately that first innings double hundred was the difference, otherwise we'd probably be looking at 2-0 England.

But for Pope's freak hacking 196, Ind would have won T1 8 or 9  wickets
But for dropped catches of of Pope juts after his hundred, Ind might have won by 2 or 3 wickets.
But for all the crap selections...India would have won by 250, the T2

BUT that's not the point......IFFs and BUTs don't matter..in my view
It is what it is...Eng need to keep coming at India.....and Ind need to get their team selection optimized

Wasn't even saying it negatively

It was more that there wasn't a lot between the teams in this test, and a lot of positives to take into the third test (albeit Kohli will be back soon enough)

Guy makes 196 but it's only because of freak hacking!

Back in the real world, if India can bring in Kohli, Jadeja and Shami for the next Test then that's a big improvement to the team. England did not embarrass themselves in defeat, and have played well in both games. But I feel it's about to get a whole lot more difficult!

106 run defeat suggests heavy defeat, however given England scored nearly 300 in 4th innings of a test in India! I would say its not the end of the world for england, and to be honest i think India have more worries at this point of time than England do

Marky wrote:

KP_fan wrote:

Marky wrote:Ultimately that first innings double hundred was the difference, otherwise we'd probably be looking at 2-0 England.

But for Pope's freak hacking 196, Ind would have won T1 8 or 9  wickets
But for dropped catches of of Pope juts after his hundred, Ind might have won by 2 or 3 wickets.
But for all the crap selections...India would have won by 250, the T2

BUT that's not the point......IFFs and BUTs don't matter..in my view
It is what it is...Eng need to keep coming at India.....and Ind need to get their team selection optimized

Wasn't even saying it negatively

It was more that there wasn't a lot between the teams in this test, and a lot of positives to take into the third test (albeit Kohli will be back soon enough)

and I am not responding offensively:)
The Indian view is quite opposite to the underlined....
that Inspite of India playing effectively two dead-dud players...and the with newbies & out of form batter and playing timid cricket...
and Eng playing clever , intentful cricket ...Indians still won....such is the difference between sides

An optimally selected , positive Intent India should have secured first test by 8 wickets and second one by 250+ runs
BUT
I also add there are no IFFs and BUTs
It is what it is

KP_fan wrote:

Marky wrote:

KP_fan wrote:

Marky wrote:Ultimately that first innings double hundred was the difference, otherwise we'd probably be looking at 2-0 England.

But for Pope's freak hacking 196, Ind would have won T1 8 or 9  wickets
But for dropped catches of of Pope juts after his hundred, Ind might have won by 2 or 3 wickets.
But for all the crap selections...India would have won by 250, the T2

BUT that's not the point......IFFs and BUTs don't matter..in my view
It is what it is...Eng need to keep coming at India.....and Ind need to get their team selection optimized

Wasn't even saying it negatively

It was more that there wasn't a lot between the teams in this test, and a lot of positives to take into the third test (albeit Kohli will be back soon enough)

and I am not responding offensively:)
The Indian view is quite opposite to the underlined....
that Inspite of India playing effectively two dead-dud players...and the with newbies & out of form batter and playing timid cricket...
and Eng playing clever , intentful cricket ...Indians still won....such is the difference between sides

An optimally selected , positive Intent India should have secured first test by 8 wickets and second one by 250+ runs
BUT
I also add there are no IFFs and BUTs
It is what it is

The difference between sides is made bigger by winning the toss and having home advantage, to be fair.

Very comfortable win for India. Should have been a 200+ run win for India, but for their error-strewn batting.

Not that they'll mind. With all their absences, and having to come back from a rare home defeat, just getting the win was enough.

Man of the match was Bumrah and justifiably so. His first innings spell won the game, and nine wickets in total for a quick on that wicket shows his world-class nature.

Jaiswal was also brilliant, obviously, and he covered up the rest of the Indian batting's inadequacies in the first innings. Those inadequacies must not be ignored by India for the next test. They were quite careless with the bat throughout. Mukesh Kumar needs to be dropped.

England got the balance wrong again. Three spinners and Root made even less sense this time than it did before. Of course, in the first test, Pope's once in a lifetime knock covered up England's error. No shielding this time. Root was overused as a bowling option, and Rehan was underused in the first innings. Anderson was fantastic and needs to play the third test. 35-5-76-5 were his match figures. Superb. 695 wickets now...

Root's dismissal today was really frustrating. He can be the best batsman in the world on his day, and there's no need for him to play reckless hack and slash. Root has gone 12 innings without a test ton (he averages a test ton once per every 8.36 innings), so the pressure is quietly building in that department, and his four innings on this tour so far haven't been great. His form has been poor for a little while, if we include the World Cup.

Duckett has turned into Denly, meanwhile. Six consecutive innings where he's reached 20, and in none of those six has he made a half-century.

Stokes' dismissal was an embarrassment, especially for a captain. Yes, the game was gone at that stage anyway, but no cricketer, let alone a test captain, should be run out because of casualness.

Ultimately, a big opportunity missed for England in this test. India should be stronger for the next test, with Kohli and Rahul coming back, although I hear Jadeja is likely to miss the rest of the series. England need to get Robinson or Wood in for Bashir for the next test.

What about this team for the next Test?

l Crawley
2 Duckett
3 Pope
4 Root - spin
5 Lawrence - spin
6 Stokes
7 Foakes
8 Hartley - spin
9 Ahmed- spin
10 Robinson
11 Anderson

I'm fine with keeping Bairstow ahead of Lawrence, although Bairstow's record in India is pretty poor. I don't think England need another part-time spin option, and I can't see Lawrence doing much better with the bat.

Agree that Bairstow doesn't need dropping yet - so far, as with several of England's batsmen, he's made starts and looked in half decent form until got out by decent bowling.
I'd be tempted to go with Wood rather than Robinson, as the extra pace is a point of difference, even on a relatively slow Indian wicket.

Leach for Ahmed, if fit? Obviously takes a bit away from the batting but gives us a more reliable bowler...

Indian commentators are not allowed to openly question / criticize the action or selections of BCCI's captain , coach ( means Indian captain or coach )

Nor
are they allowed to ask tough questions during post match presentations.

BUT
SM is super strong and the public sentiment is monitored by the govt
Cricket loving masses are bashing & ridiculing the selections of Bharat and Mukesh..

Therefore under pressure( I believe) Dravid made a statement " That "Ishan needs to play any format to be considered for selection"
Hope Ishan plays a Ranji game and gets picked

So India did it comfortably in the end. Win by 106 runs. But as KPF put it, no Indian fan took this win for granted. Not 1 bit. And that's serious credit to Stokes and McCullum.
Jas Bumrah was absolutely outstanding, Ravichandran Ashwin is adapting better to the Broomstick tactics. Kuldeep Yadav has bowled well on test comeback. Yashasvi Jaiswal played a fabulous hand, Shubman Gill's back among the runs.

Axar Patel remained only a poor man's Jadeja. Neither the bowling, nor the batting is up to Jadeja levels particularly in the longest format, and not many in the world are up to Jadeja levels in terms of fielding in any case. Kuldeep Yadav has to be India's 2nd spinner if Jadeja or Ashwin aren't available.
Rohit hasn't delivered with the bat, and he needs to be more sensible with team selections.
Rajat Patidar does deserve another opportunity, but he has to make them count, at 30, in a crowded field, he's not going to get many more chances.
KL Rahul is likely to return for the next test, it has to be spin hitting specialist Shreyas Iyer, who has very much failed in that task, who has to give way...
Does Boycott's nanny still keep wickets?! Might be a better option than KS Bharat who can't bat at test level. KL with his dodgy fitness and inexperience of keeping to spin in these conditions, can't be a realistic option. Has to be Jurel in for Bharat. Think Ishan Kishan is going through some significant personal issues. His perceived treatment by the Indian management may or may not have contributed to it. But he's not available and that's that. As for Sanju Samson, the guy first needs to invest more in his keeping, doesn't keep regularly for Kerala even now! Would have been a great call otherwise, particularly with the bat, though his FC record, for a player of his talent, is distinctly ordinary. Upendra Yadav played quite a lot for India A, has a decent FC record. Can't be worse than Bharat...
Mukesh Kumar can be a 2nd reserve an can be played in seeming conditions when Bumrah/Shami/Siraj aren't available. His bowling is nothing special, doesn't bring anything else to the table. Perhaps Shardul Thakur with his hitting capabilities could have been a better option, bowling 5 expensive overs certainly not beyond him, but he has that happy thing of picking up a wicket from nowhere, and can chip in with important runs at least.

From the list of injured/unavailable, there is no clarity on Kohli yet, seemingly he's out of the country on some family emergency. Mohammed Shami is reportedly in England for continued treatment and may not be able to play a part in the series contrary to earlier expectations. Ravindra Jadeja in all likelihood, might end up missing his home test, and is not certain for the rest of the series either. KL Rahul though, seems is closest to a return and should be available for the next test.
If both Kohli and Rahul are available, Iyer and Patidar should go. Jadeja if he's ready, can come back in for Mukesh.
There are reports that the management/selectors are considering giving Bumrah a rest for the next test. I do understand why they wouldn't want to take too many chances with a once in a generation player with not the greatest fitness record. The way he has been carrying the bowling unit in the series, with no Shami and no Jadeja, I don't know... Would have been absolutely fine had Shami been available. Siraj isn't quite in the same league yet... But its a real chance Bumrah may be rested for the next game...

I'd be stunned if Bumrah were to be rested after a ten day break ! Surely it would make more sense to have him sit out one of the back-to-back games if it were felt he couldn't play all five ?

Unless the intention is to produce some sort of desert landscape pitch for game three

It is difficult to know quite what to make of the prospects for the remaining three matches , after what we have seen so far. English doomsayers' advance predictions that their side would be hopelessly outclassed look to be wide of the mark ; but on the other hand this last result may not unreasonably be viewed as something of a "missed chance" with India forced to replace a number of senior players.

Both games have gone with the toss - ultimately. Though hardly in the usual such progression. Both have arguably swung on particular moments - or short bursts of action - rather than either side ever dominating for long. As KP_fan says , IFs and BUTs.  A dropped catch that allowed Pope to add another 80 odd in game one the difference between India chasing 230 or less than 100 ; Gill surviving a tight lbw review on umpire's call at a time when India were already two down for practically nothing on day three - who knows what would have happened had Erasmus raised his finger ? Don't think anyone would deny that both wins were deserved on the balance of play : but this is like most sports a game of very small margins , unless there is a clear and large difference in strength between the teams - which does not seem to be the case at present.

India did seem to make one strange call in selecting the ineffective Mukesh for this game - though I feel our Indian posters are just a little harsh on Bharat , who has been fine behind the stumps and not totally rubbish with the bat- has made as many runs as Rohit I'm sensing that Jadeja won't be back just yet so beyond bringing back Rahul (for Iyer I suppose ?) and picking Some Other Pace Bowler not called Shami they won't be making massive changes. I do think England might also have got selection a little sub-optimum (despite the first-game promise shown by Bashir) by not picking a second pace man : but again one cannot know what would have happened - IF... Will Leach be fit next game ? Will they pick Wood or Robinson ? Your guess is as good as mine ; but I don't think the key to this series is perfect selection so much as which of the many very fine players on both sides perform to their capacity. India probably need Rohit to fire with the bat ; England definitely need runs and solidity from Root - who is defying all cricketing logic by having a worse batting record so far than Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed !

The other big consideration is the two sides' approach : India at times have looked cautious to the point of timidity with the bat and a bit defensive with the ball ; while England have as expected largely stuck with their mantra of attack at all cost. Hardly surprising : an echo of the latest Ashes ; and once again we see it can cut both ways . (Though it also seems to me that India's best batting efforts have come when someone has taken the attack to the England bowlers. The "grinding" periods have been rather less productive. Striking a balance isn't just an issue for England's Bazballers , perhaps?)
I don't mind the England aggressive batting : most of them will , overall , do better that way than trying to play too cautiously. Haven't really been many wickets lost through over-ambitious swings - though Duckett always looks as if the next ball could end up anywhere. Their two rather under-par first innings have come from (I think) mainly under-preparedness in the first game ; and a Bumrah spell of sheer brilliance on Saturday. They won't change their style.

Again , I hope we don't see a flip towards massively spin-friendly pitches now. Not because as an England fan I fear them - actually fancy they'd make the game into a bit of a raffle ; but because these two fairly typical sub-continental pitches have produced two rather entertaining and well contested Test Matches - and I want to see more like that.

Oh I hadn't noticed in the wash up that Bumrah got PoTM ... had assumed it would go to Jaiswal !

Either would have been fair but I am delighted to see the bowler get the nod this time (they often seem to miss out to a batsman's Big Score ). That spell of his on Saturday was the defining moment of the match for me so I salute the judge

msp83 wrote:Axar Patel remained only a poor man's Jadeja. Neither the bowling, nor the batting is up to Jadeja levels particularly in the longest format, and not many in the world are up to Jadeja levels in terms of fielding in any case. Kuldeep Yadav has to be India's 2nd spinner if Jadeja or Ashwin aren't available.
Rohit hasn't delivered with the bat, and he needs to be more sensible with team selections.
Rajat Patidar does deserve another opportunity, but he has to make them count, at 30, in a crowded field, he's not going to get many more chances.
KL Rahul is likely to return for the next test, it has to be spin hitting specialist Shreyas Iyer, who has very much failed in that task, who has to give way...
Does Boycott's nanny still keep wickets?! Might be a better option than KS Bharat who can't bat at test level. KL with his dodgy fitness and inexperience of keeping to spin in these conditions, can't be a realistic option. Has to be Jurel in for Bharat. Think Ishan Kishan is going through some significant personal issues. His perceived treatment by the Indian management may or may not have contributed to it. But he's not available and that's that. As for Sanju Samson, the guy first needs to invest more in his keeping, doesn't keep regularly for Kerala even now! Would have been a great call otherwise, particularly with the bat, though his FC record, for a player of his talent, is distinctly ordinary. Upendra Yadav played quite a lot for India A, has a decent FC record. Can't be worse than Bharat...
Mukesh Kumar can be a 2nd reserve an can be played in seeming conditions when Bumrah/Shami/Siraj aren't available. His bowling is nothing special, doesn't bring anything else to the table. Perhaps Shardul Thakur with his hitting capabilities could have been a better option, bowling 5 expensive overs certainly not beyond him, but he has that happy thing of picking up a wicket from nowhere, and can chip in with important runs at least.

Commentators are hesitant to speak openly  on bad selections but social media explodes & there is an eco system of proud ex-players who reach out to selectors & BCCI & ensure a prompt fix.
Remember how social media & eco-system exploded and Prasiddh was replaced after one horrible  game & now out of the squad and not even in the Ind-A squad.
Bharat's fate might be same.
The fans & eco-system all have realized with a huge sigh of relief that we got away this test match with a C-grade team. 2-0 down was a realistic possibility & bouncing back would have been very very difficult.
And that team has to be beefed up as was evident in the standing meeting between chief selector Agarkar with Dravid & Rohit and the animated discussions further between Agarkar & Rohit....even before dust has settled on the sidelines of the ground.
Most people are seeing Dravid's prickly sensitive ego, leaving downside exposed & stubbornness to justify mistake instead of fixing them.


The first issue is to include a WK who can bat...Bharat should be out of 15 and in the best case eco-system will engineer a recall if Ishan or Samson or Jitesh could be added....in the worst case Jurel might debut.
Samson may be a short term fix 3 tests only....to bring batting skills desperately needed in the 11.....and not all decisions are long term...there is a test series to be won and WTC place at stake to be served thru next 3 tests

I also heard murmurs of Bumrah being rested.....I think with that mega effort, he might have pulled or cramped up something  non serious. There is enough recovery time but they will not take a chance with Bumrah if he is less than 100%...but he should be fine.
Rajkot will be the most benign pitch where even in 2016-17 there was a drawn game....so spinners will be less effective and reverse will have a role
And Bumrah has shown there is role for a seamer who can get reverse...and Mukesh ain't that guy and that guy aught to be able to bat a bit also.
Siraj has mysteriously been "released" some say to rest other to play Ranji other to treat injury and Avesh added and Avesh is no better than Mukesh 132 kph seaming conditions bowler.
I suspect Siraj pricked thin skinned Dravid's ego and released on disciplinary grounds.
So the second seamer  could be back to shardul....who knows how to extract reverse and can bat....or selectors look at Bhuvi who is running thru Ranji sides and can bat a bit.....or Umesh who is also having a good Ranji season and can reverse, but I am not sure if he has retained his pace....or my gut feeling is Akashdeep of Bengal who had a good series against Lions and can bat a bit also and operates in 135-140kph range.

If KL is fit, Patidar will be out...Iyer with his 27 and 29 and good fielding will hold on...but if Kohli is also available then Iyer sits out.

Axar was good as a batter at No. 8 & 9...but ain't a No.6...another Dravidian mistake that we got away this game.
No. 6 aught to be a batsman WK like Ishan or Samson
No.7 Ashwin
No.8 Axar
No. 9  Shardul / Akashdeep
No.10 Bumrah
No. 11 Kuldeep

If somehow KL is fit enuf to keep wkts...then Patidar can be in the 11.

alfie wrote:It is difficult to know quite what to make of the prospects for the remaining three matches , after what we have seen so far. English doomsayers' advance predictions that their side would be hopelessly outclassed look to be wide of the mark ; but on the other hand this last result may not unreasonably be viewed as something of a "missed chance" with India forced to replace a number of senior players.

Both games have gone with the toss - ultimately. Though hardly in the usual such progression. Both have arguably swung on particular moments - or short bursts of action - rather than either side ever dominating for long. As KP_fan says , IFs and BUTs.  A dropped catch that allowed Pope to add another 80 odd in game one the difference between India chasing 230 or less than 100 ; Gill surviving a tight lbw review on umpire's call at a time when India were already two down for practically nothing on day three - who knows what would have happened had Erasmus raised his finger ? Don't think anyone would deny that both wins were deserved on the balance of play : but this is like most sports a game of very small margins , unless there is a clear and large difference in strength between the teams - which does not seem to be the case at present.

India did seem to make one strange call in selecting the ineffective Mukesh for this game - though I feel our Indian posters are just a little harsh on Bharat , who has been fine behind the stumps and not totally rubbish with the bat- has made as many runs as Rohit   I'm sensing that Jadeja won't be back just yet so beyond bringing back Rahul (for Iyer I suppose ?) and picking Some Other Pace Bowler not called Shami they won't be making massive changes. I do think England might also have got selection a little sub-optimum (despite the first-game promise shown by Bashir) by not picking a second pace man : but again one cannot know what would have happened - IF... Will Leach be fit next game ? Will they pick Wood or Robinson ? Your guess is as good as mine ; but I don't think the key to this series is perfect selection so much as which of the many very fine players on both sides perform to their capacity. India probably need Rohit to fire with the bat ; England definitely need runs and solidity from Root - who is defying all cricketing logic by having a worse batting record so far than Tom Hartley and Rehan Ahmed !

The other big consideration is the two sides' approach : India at times have looked cautious to the point of timidity with the bat and a bit defensive with the ball ; while England have as expected largely stuck with their mantra of attack at all cost. Hardly surprising : an echo of the latest Ashes ; and once again we see it can cut both ways . (Though it also seems to me that India's best batting efforts have come when someone has taken the attack to the England bowlers. The "grinding" periods have been rather less productive. Striking a balance isn't just an issue for England's Bazballers , perhaps?)
I don't mind the England aggressive batting : most of them will , overall , do better that way than trying to play too cautiously. Haven't really been many wickets lost through over-ambitious swings  - though Duckett always looks as if the next ball could end up anywhere. Their two rather under-par first innings have come from (I think) mainly under-preparedness in the first game ; and a Bumrah spell of sheer brilliance on Saturday. They won't change their style.

Again , I hope we don't see a flip towards massively spin-friendly pitches now. Not because as an England fan I fear them - actually fancy they'd make the game into a bit of a raffle ; but because these two fairly typical sub-continental pitches have produced two rather entertaining and well contested Test Matches - and I want to see more like that.

India are huge favourites. That's the prospect for the last three matches.

England have faced first innings deficits of 190 and 143 in the first two tests, which are massive gaps and indicative of the way the wind is blowing. Now, yes, England got out of the first test with a win, thanks to a once in a lifetime knock from Pope, and once in a lifetime test figures from Hartley. Arguably the greatest comeback in English test history. But having to make great comebacks to scrape narrow wins isn't a continued recipe for success.

KP_fan wrote:

msp83 wrote:Axar Patel remained only a poor man's Jadeja. Neither the bowling, nor the batting is up to Jadeja levels particularly in the longest format, and not many in the world are up to Jadeja levels in terms of fielding in any case. Kuldeep Yadav has to be India's 2nd spinner if Jadeja or Ashwin aren't available.
Rohit hasn't delivered with the bat, and he needs to be more sensible with team selections.
Rajat Patidar does deserve another opportunity, but he has to make them count, at 30, in a crowded field, he's not going to get many more chances.
KL Rahul is likely to return for the next test, it has to be spin hitting specialist Shreyas Iyer, who has very much failed in that task, who has to give way...
Does Boycott's nanny still keep wickets?! Might be a better option than KS Bharat who can't bat at test level. KL with his dodgy fitness and inexperience of keeping to spin in these conditions, can't be a realistic option. Has to be Jurel in for Bharat. Think Ishan Kishan is going through some significant personal issues. His perceived treatment by the Indian management may or may not have contributed to it. But he's not available and that's that. As for Sanju Samson, the guy first needs to invest more in his keeping, doesn't keep regularly for Kerala even now! Would have been a great call otherwise, particularly with the bat, though his FC record, for a player of his talent, is distinctly ordinary. Upendra Yadav played quite a lot for India A, has a decent FC record. Can't be worse than Bharat...
Mukesh Kumar can be a 2nd reserve an can be played in seeming conditions when Bumrah/Shami/Siraj aren't available. His bowling is nothing special, doesn't bring anything else to the table. Perhaps Shardul Thakur with his hitting capabilities could have been a better option, bowling 5 expensive overs certainly not beyond him, but he has that happy thing of picking up a wicket from nowhere, and can chip in with important runs at least.

Commentators are hesitant to speak openly  on bad selections but social media explodes & there is an eco system of proud ex-players who reach out to selectors & BCCI & ensure a prompt fix.
Remember how social media & eco-system exploded and Prasiddh was replaced after one horrible  game & now out of the squad and not even in the Ind-A squad.
Bharat's fate might be same.
The fans & eco-system all have realized with a huge sigh of relief that we got away this test match with a C-grade team. 2-0 down was a realistic possibility & bouncing back would have been very very difficult.
And that team has to be beefed up as was evident in the standing meeting between chief selector Agarkar with Dravid & Rohit and the animated discussions further between Agarkar & Rohit....even before dust has settled on the sidelines of the ground.
Most people are seeing Dravid's prickly sensitive ego, leaving downside exposed & stubbornness to justify mistake instead of fixing them.


The first issue is to include a WK who can bat...Bharat should be out of 15 and in the best case eco-system will engineer a recall if Ishan or Samson or Jitesh could be added....in the worst case Jurel might debut.
Samson may be a short term fix 3 tests only....to bring batting skills desperately needed in the 11.....and not all decisions are long term...there is a test series to be won and WTC place at stake to be served thru next 3 tests

I also heard murmurs of Bumrah being rested.....I think with that mega effort, he might have pulled or cramped up something  non serious. There is enough recovery time but they will not take a chance with Bumrah if he is less than 100%...but he should be fine.
Rajkot will be the most benign pitch where even in 2016-17 there was a drawn game....so spinners will be less effective and reverse will have a role
And Bumrah has shown there is role for a seamer who can get reverse...and Mukesh ain't that guy and that guy aught to be able to bat a bit also.
Siraj has mysteriously been "released" some say to rest other to play Ranji other to treat injury and Avesh added and Avesh is no better than Mukesh 132 kph seaming conditions bowler.
I suspect Siraj pricked thin skinned Dravid's ego and released on disciplinary grounds.
So the second seamer  could be back to shardul....who knows how to extract reverse and can bat....or selectors look at Bhuvi who is running thru Ranji sides and can bat a bit.....or Umesh who is also having a good Ranji season and can reverse, but I am not sure if he has retained his pace....or my gut feeling is Akashdeep of Bengal who had a good series against Lions and can bat a bit also and operates in 135-140kph range.

If KL is fit, Patidar will be out...Iyer with his 27 and 29 and good fielding will hold on...but if Kohli is also available then Iyer sits out.

Axar was good as a batter at No. 8 & 9...but ain't a No.6...another Dravidian mistake that we got away this game.
No. 6 aught to be a batsman WK like Ishan or Samson
No.7 Ashwin
No.8 Axar
No. 9  Shardul / Akashdeep
No.10 Bumrah
No. 11 Kuldeep

If somehow KL is fit enuf to keep wkts...then Patidar can be in the 11.

Between Mukesh and Awesh, I'd prefer the latter. He's a yard quicker, and at least can hold his bat properly and give it a swing. A touch surprised Unadkat hasn't been even in the frame. Knows the Indian conditions as well as anyone, offers a left-arm option, can certainly bat a bit, is a real leader... Wish he had a great start to the Ranji season...
As for the wicketkeeper, has to be Jurel, the guy showed he can handle international level bowlers even though it was at the IPL level. As for Jitesh, he can certainly handle top level bowling at least with the white ball, but at 30, he has only played 18 FC matches and averages 24, and has played only 1 Ranji game this season without doing anything special. Once Rishabh recovers fully, they should just go with Jurel or Kishan as his deputies with the latter clearly told to fully commit to his wicketkeeping duties if he wants to be considered for all formats. Rishabh has been total box office and his absence has really been felt throughout, but the full magnitude is realized only now. Also shows poor old Wriddhi Saha wasn't the worst option. Limited batter yes, but would put some value on his wicket and scored useful runs in home tests at least. And was a far superior keeper to KS Bharat. This feels like the pre-MSD era...

Kohli likely to miss the 3rd and 4th tests too - seems fairly unlikely he's going to play at all in this series.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Kohli likely to miss the 3rd and 4th tests too - seems fairly unlikely he's going to play at all in this series.

India win the next two Tests, then play T5 on the absurdist of roads and try to let Virat beat Lara's record with the series dead...? In fairness, that's sort of what happened with Lara. Series won by England, the worst of cricket pitches imaginable in Antigua, responding to Hayden taking the record that was held by Sobers from '58, then Lara, so it'd been in Windies hands for decades. It feels like a BCCI move!

I actually think the pitch in the first two Tests have been excellent to be fair. Enough there for spin, seam and batters to thrive if they play well but will see all three punished if they play poorly. Ideal wickets.

Reports that Jadeja and Shami are out for the series as well. Huge blows if so. Jadeja as he balances the side beautifully in these conditions. Shami as it opens up the option of pairing him with Bumrah or, vitally, potentially resting Bumrah without as big a fall off. Playing Bumrah for 5 Tests on the bounce feels unlikely when there's a World T20 that India will be desperate to win before Rohit and Kohli phase out.

Kohli is unlikely to play any part in the series by the look of things. Same seems the case for Shami and Jadeja. India have their task cut out.
I don't know if resting Bumrah will be a smart move for the next test. Perhaps the 4th test... So it has to be Sarfaraz for Iyer, Washington for Mukesh, and Jurel for Bharat for India.

Or if KL is available for the next game, then he comes in for Iyer.

Cricinfo speculates that Kohli may be out for the entire series, surely for the next 2 tests. Jadeja and Rahul though, may be available for the next test. Siraj will be back and Bumrah may play the next test... So then Jadeja and KL in for Iyer and Patidar. Now when I think about it, Rajkot can be either really flat or a bit of a minefield. If its the former, then Siraj for Mukesh. Else, Patidar in, Mukesh out for Jadeja. And of course, Jurel for Bharat.
Ishan Kishan is reported to be training in Kiran More's academy along with the Pandya brothers.
A leftfield selection for India would be Shivam Dube. Destroyer of spin he really can be. His bowling isn't test class, but has been regularly for Mumbai and doing well this Ranji season, can chip in with some overs to just change things around for Rohit. Siraj, while being a very fine bowler, hasn't been able to be as impactful in home tests. Certainly nowhere near the Shami levels, to partner Bumrah. Wouldn't need him to bowl 10 obligatory overs. Dube would be an aggressive counter to the English slow bowlers.
Will be very surprised though, if the selectors go down that path...

Jadeja is apparently fine. He might come back for the third test, if not the fourth. Resting Bumrah in the third test strikes me as bizarre, but I suppose they think he can play two of the final three tests, and they want him to play tests four and five, not three and five. Bumrah's also up to number one in the world, the first Indian quick to get there. Richly deserved.

It's still over a week away, but the early reports are indicating that Siraj will be played as the sole seamer. So India might finally prepare the spinning bunsen that we've all been awaiting, for the third test.

Kohli's absence is unfortunate.

McCullum has described Leach's knee as 'pretty bad', so I think it's unlikely Leach will be returning for the third test.

msp83 wrote:Cricinfo speculates that Kohli may be out for the entire series, surely for the next 2 tests. Jadeja and Rahul though, may be available for the next test. Siraj will be back and Bumrah may play the next test... So then Jadeja and KL in for Iyer and Patidar. Now when I think about it, Rajkot can be either really flat or a bit of a minefield. If its the former, then Siraj for Mukesh. Else, Patidar in, Mukesh out for Jadeja. And of course, Jurel for Bharat.
Ishan Kishan is reported to be training in Kiran More's academy along with the Pandya brothers.
A leftfield selection for India would be Shivam Dube. Destroyer of spin he really can be. His bowling isn't test class, but has been regularly for Mumbai and doing well this Ranji season, can chip in with some overs to just change things around for Rohit. Siraj, while being a very fine bowler, hasn't been able to be as impactful in home tests. Certainly nowhere near the Shami levels, to partner Bumrah. Wouldn't need him to bowl 10 obligatory overs. Dube would be an aggressive counter to the English slow bowlers.
Will be very surprised though, if the selectors go down that path...

KL is fit and back surely and Kohli is surely not.
Jadeja is looking alright and given there are 8 more days, likely to regain full fitness at NCA.
Bumrah plays in Rajkot.

I thought of Shivan Dubey too....he's scoring runs and picking 3 or 4 wickets every game.
Let's look at permutations.

KL in for Patidar
Jadeja in for Kuldeep....but after a decent show can we drop Kuldeep?
Axar is the most certain to get runs at no.8 and picking 2 or 3 wickets so he too canot be touched.
I would not drop Kuldeep and if he stays then Jadeja is in for Mukesh.

4 spinners + bumrah .

If they really want a 2nd seamer they could bring Dubey for Axar
BHARAT should not even be in the squad...they should bring Ishan and at the very least Jurel should play
So Ishan or Jurel.
In all cases Iyer gets one more game.


The jackass that drvaid is following could happen
Siraj instead of kuldeep
And Bharat in the squad snd thrown in the 11

king_carlos wrote:

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Kohli likely to miss the 3rd and 4th tests too - seems fairly unlikely he's going to play at all in this series.

India win the next two Tests, then play T5 on the absurdist of roads and try to let Virat beat Lara's record with the series dead...? In fairness, that's sort of what happened with Lara. Series won by England, the worst of cricket pitches imaginable in Antigua, responding to Hayden taking the record that was held by Sobers from '58, then Lara, so it'd been in Windies hands for decades. It feels like a BCCI move!

I actually think the pitch in the first two Tests have been excellent to be fair. Enough there for spin, seam and batters to thrive if they play well but will see all three punished if they play poorly. Ideal wickets.

Reports that Jadeja and Shami are out for the series as well. Huge blows if so. Jadeja as he balances the side beautifully in these conditions. Shami as it opens up the option of pairing him with Bumrah or, vitally, potentially resting Bumrah without as big a fall off. Playing Bumrah for 5 Tests on the bounce feels unlikely when there's a World T20 that India will be desperate to win before Rohit and Kohli phase out.

If India goes up 3-1 then timid chicken that Dravid is will drop shutters, shut shop and get Dharamsala turned into a flat Patta....with teams scoring 500 and 600 in first innings respectively.

Dharamshala is traditionally seam friendly and cool. Ideally bcci should leave a little bit of grass and play 3 seamers .....and make it a Sporting contest.
Dharamsala a few days back before Ranji game....yeah  that's a thin snow cover with heavy snow and sub zero in the mountains that we see in backdrop

KP_fan wrote:

msp83 wrote:Cricinfo speculates that Kohli may be out for the entire series, surely for the next 2 tests. Jadeja and Rahul though, may be available for the next test. Siraj will be back and Bumrah may play the next test... So then Jadeja and KL in for Iyer and Patidar. Now when I think about it, Rajkot can be either really flat or a bit of a minefield. If its the former, then Siraj for Mukesh. Else, Patidar in, Mukesh out for Jadeja. And of course, Jurel for Bharat.
Ishan Kishan is reported to be training in Kiran More's academy along with the Pandya brothers.
A leftfield selection for India would be Shivam Dube. Destroyer of spin he really can be. His bowling isn't test class, but has been regularly for Mumbai and doing well this Ranji season, can chip in with some overs to just change things around for Rohit. Siraj, while being a very fine bowler, hasn't been able to be as impactful in home tests. Certainly nowhere near the Shami levels, to partner Bumrah. Wouldn't need him to bowl 10 obligatory overs. Dube would be an aggressive counter to the English slow bowlers.
Will be very surprised though, if the selectors go down that path...

KL is fit and back surely and Kohli is surely not.
Jadeja is looking alright and given there are 8 more days, likely to regain full fitness at NCA.
Bumrah plays in  Rajkot.

I thought of Shivan Dubey too....he's scoring runs and picking 3 or 4 wickets every game.
Let's look at permutations.

KL in for Patidar
Jadeja in for Kuldeep....but after a decent show can we drop Kuldeep?
Axar is the most certain to get runs at no.8 and picking 2 or 3 wickets so he too canot be touched.
I would not drop Kuldeep and if he stays then Jadeja is in for Mukesh.

4 spinners + bumrah .

If they really want a 2nd seamer they could bring Dubey for Axar
BHARAT should not even be in the squad...they should bring Ishan and at the very least Jurel should play
So Ishan or Jurel.
In all cases Iyer gets one more game.


The jackass that drvaid is following could happen
Siraj instead of kuldeep
And Bharat in the squad snd thrown in the 11

Think Shivam Dube is unfortunately tagged as limited overs player and is unlikely to be considered for the long format. Yes, he really can come in for Axar, if all of Ashwin, Jadeja and Kuldeep are playing alongside Bumrah. Dube may have to have a 1000 run Ranji season with 20 odd wickets to perhaps flip the discourse.
Axar hasn't been the same bowler after that breakthrough first season. He doesn't seem to evolve as a bowler, and batting sides are getting better at dealing with him, particularly on tracks that do not offer as much. He was awful on proper spin pits last season against the Australians. Axar and Jadeja on first look might seem bowlers more or less similar. But the latter has a much better understanding of his craft, keeps trying different things without being very obvious about it. Bowling at different speeds, changing release points. Axar can do even more with the physique he's got, but doesn't seem to apply as much mind as Jadeja does. Not all can be the R Ashwin like bowling scientist, but Axar needs to think a bit more about his bowling. At the moment, its his batting that is giving him the edge over Kuldeep. But that may not last too long...

Dubey is doing the right thing by playing Ranji .....averages 48 with bat an 21 with the ball...and has played half a doze games this season...already has a century, couple of 50s and 13 wickets...and has played all the Elite B games so far and a couple left and Mumbai looks like making it to Q.F and while Rahane was injured & Mulani playing for Ind-A, it was Dubey captaining Mumbai.
For a 30 years old, he has played only 20 FC games 6 of which have come this year.....means he is a late bloomer.

Further he has to have a good T20 WorldCup and if he does that we will get the visibility needed to be on the tour of Aus
IMO his bowling is more or less like Mitch Marsh....and I think India will do well to move away from Shardul to Dubey as the batting all-rounder.

Shreyas Iyer incurs an injury of convenience 

India have named their 17 man squad for the final three tests.

No Iyer and no Kohli, but Jadeja and Rahul are both included. Iyer did suffer an injury, however he was completely fine to play further tests; he's just been dropped. Deep has also been included in the squad. He's a seamer yet to make his test debut, and he did well for India A against the Lions with 11 wickets @ just under 19.

After delays, drama and dozens of previews by experts Ind finally declare their squad for next 3 tests.
As expected Akashdeep gets a call on the back of his good show vs Lions.....he has been consistent in ranji, compatriot of Mukesh Kumar in Bengal side but a yard and half faster
He appears to be in 135-140kph range.......and is deemed a useful lower order batter.
4 seamers in the squad.....for two reasons
a. Bumrah will play at most 2 out of next 3 games
b. T5 in Dharmshala isi expected to be seam friendly and Ind will play 3 seamers.

Dravid got his stubborn way to retain Bharat in the squad.....I hope Jurel debuts in this test match

Squad for last three Tests vs England:
Rohit Sharma (C), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul*, Rajat Patidar, Sarfaraz Khan, Dhruv Jurel (WK), KS Bharat (WK), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja*, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep

Good to see Shreyas being dropped and not unavailable. Akash Deep is again, one of those 135 KPH seamer... After a bit of riches with bowlers capable of bowling 140 plus, we seem to be regressing. Unlike Buvi Kumar of Praveen Kumar before him, these 130 plus lot aren't great at swinging the ball either. Both Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti failed to kick on from their U-19 promis though the former did play some white ball stuff for India last year. Young Rajwardhan Hangargekar also isn't yet top level ready... Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Siraj... who will step up now from the next gen?

msp83 wrote:Good to see Shreyas being dropped and not unavailable. Akash Deep is again, one of those 135 KPH seamer... After a bit of riches with bowlers capable of bowling 140 plus, we seem to be regressing. Unlike Buvi Kumar of Praveen Kumar before him, these 130 plus lot aren't great at swinging the ball either. Both Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti failed to kick on from their U-19 promis though the former did play some white ball stuff for India last year. Young Rajwardhan Hangargekar also isn't yet top level ready... Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Siraj... who will step up now from the next gen?

The focus of Kohli and shastri was on pace......in an interview Ishant  narrated the directives from team management  on the 2018 tour of Aus.
The 3 Indian pacers Bumrah, Shami & Ishant were asked to compete with each other on who will be the fastest with control during that series.....and they were also incentives ( with praises and little team celebrations) to keep bowling a few 90mph+ deliveries until the last over of the day......and the Indian trio kept glancing at the scoreboard to check their speeds.
Ishant proudly said that in each test all 3 Indian pacers were faster than the Aussie trio of Hazelwood, Cummins & Starc where the latter two were still young and at their peak.

That was then when a mercurial seam and swing bowler like Bhuvi who could bat well too did not find a place in the squad, leave aside the 11....as Umesh would be the first reserve.

It's now in Dravid era, where Rohit's view / vision is non existent  we feel happy that Akashdeep is 135-140kph ....a yard or yard n half faster than 126-132kph Mukesh
Moral is when the establishment / management wants.......the system pushes itself a bit harder to produce that skill.


Now
It's not about winning or losing but following processes and procedures and the perpetual evolution of the soul towards karmik Nirvana.

5 batters and one allrounder are expected to score runs.....4 bowlers are there to bowl, not expected to score runs.....even asking for batting depth is a sign of weakness

And WK should be unassuming, diminutive stature, poor batter to create a perception of he has made it so far, so must be a super brilliant WK & if he fumbles a "doable" catch or stumping per game, it's pre-emptivelly pardoned because he is  unassuming, diminutive stature, poor batter and therefore a brilliant WK so the fumble must have been a mortally impossible take
& Demanding batting from the WK is also a sign of weak souls.

KP_fan wrote:

msp83 wrote:Good to see Shreyas being dropped and not unavailable. Akash Deep is again, one of those 135 KPH seamer... After a bit of riches with bowlers capable of bowling 140 plus, we seem to be regressing. Unlike Buvi Kumar of Praveen Kumar before him, these 130 plus lot aren't great at swinging the ball either. Both Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti failed to kick on from their U-19 promis though the former did play some white ball stuff for India last year. Young Rajwardhan Hangargekar also isn't yet top level ready... Ishant, Shami, Umesh, Bumrah, Siraj... who will step up now from the next gen?

The focus of Kohli and shastri was on pace......in an interview Ishant  narrated the directives from team management  on the 2018 tour of Aus.
The 3 Indian pacers Bumrah, Shami & Ishant were asked to compete with each other on who will be the fastest with control during that series.....and they were also incentives ( with praises and little team celebrations) to keep bowling a few 90mph+ deliveries until the last over of the day......and the Indian trio kept glancing at the scoreboard to check their speeds.
Ishant proudly said that in each test all 3 Indian pacers were faster than the Aussie trio of Hazelwood, Cummins & Starc where the latter two were still young and at their peak.

That was then when a mercurial seam and swing bowler like Bhuvi who could bat well too did not find a place in the squad, leave aside the 11....as Umesh would be the first reserve.

It's now in Dravid era, where Rohit's view / vision is non existent  we feel happy that Akashdeep is 135-140kph ....a yard or yard n half faster than 126-132kph Mukesh
Moral is when the establishment / management wants.......the system pushes itself a bit harder to produce that skill.


Now
It's not about winning or losing but following processes and procedures and the perpetual evolution of the soul towards karmik Nirvana.

5 batters and one allrounder are expected to score runs.....4 bowlers are there to bowl, not expected to score runs.....even asking for batting depth is a sign of weakness

And WK should be unassuming, diminutive stature, poor batter to create a perception of he has made it so far, so must be a super brilliant WK & if he fumbles a "doable" catch or stumping per game, it's pre-emptivelly pardoned because he is  unassuming, diminutive stature, poor batter and therefore a brilliant WK so the fumble must have been a mortally  impossible take
& Demanding batting from the WK is also a sign of weak souls.

Don't know how much it is about Dravid, but certainly Kohli was big on proper speeds, and Shastri backed him like he invariably did always. Earlier, our 130 KPH bowlers could do other things. Swing big like the kumars or bowl those sharp cutters like Venkatesh Prasad.
Of the next set, it is Prasidh Krishna who has pace. But he needs to step up on many other counts to make it as a test bowler. Another Karnataka lad, Vidhwath Kaverappa is getting some opportunities with the A team, has to see how he goes, seems more like one of those 135 KPH operator. Kamlesh Nagarkoti, the limited exposure he has had with the IPL, seemed proper quick, but let down by his body, he seems to be out of the reckoning even for his state now. Mavi is toiling hard at the domestic level, without seeming to make that step up for the next level.

Talking about players really not kicking on after showing great U-19 promis, another one is Raj Bawa. 2 years after a decisive set of performances in the U-19 WC, the lad is struggling to get going at the FC level even for a mediocre side Chandigarh. Not a regular pick for them... Rajwardhan Hangargekar, his U-19 batchmate and a next gen hope for India, too is struggling. Don't know if he's injured, but he has not featured in any games this season for Maharashtra in Ranji this season.
If these lads don't do the step up, we might be back to the Pre-Zaheer Khan days, where there could be one bowler who could bowl quick and well, for an entire generation like Srinath was, and Kapil before him. The latter wasn't the fastest, could up his pace though, and could do so many other things with the ball. Zak also lost his speeds in his 2nd coming, but he was closeto a complete bowler by then, and could summon some serious heat in the middle of a spell when he senses some fragility from the batter.
Not very excited by the upcoming lot...

Jack Leach out of the rest of the tour - knee injury isn't getting any better.

Unfortunately turned into a bit of a sicknote the last 12-18 months...have to wonder if he gets usurped by Ahmed or Hartley full time for the home summer now.

Seems to be a lot of different things I think, more bad luck than something chronic you'd hope. But as you say, the missed tests are starting to pile up