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)

How often does the winning team make four unforced changes ? India arguably stronger with Jadeja and Siraj back ; but on the other hand they have a fairly inexperienced looking batting list now with Sarfaraz and Jurel bringing two more debuts ...

Good toss for them to win . And I am sure KP_fan and msp will be delighted to see the back of KS Bharat

Will be interesting to see how this pitch plays. Both sides with two seamers so it may be OK for batting for the first few days before getting really spin friendly - an old fashioned indian pitch ?

Jaiswal starting nicely with a four back past the bowler...and shock horror : a rare event ...Jimmy Anderson bowls a no ball

Acar averaging 53 in last 11 tests dropped
But thank God there is no bharat
India win a crucial toss

Pitch is perfect for batting so far, even good bounce,no movement for Eng seamers in their first overs
2 seamers is OK, but I feel wood will be better when ball turns older

Hi KP _fan...

Yes already looks a good toss to have won. Both batsmen able to drive down the ground comfortably , can trust the bounce , no lateral movement seen yet. Might be hard work for the bowlers.

alfie wrote:Hi KP _fan...

Yes already looks a good toss to have won. Both batsmen able to drive down the ground comfortably , can trust the bounce , no lateral movement seen yet. Might be hard work for the bowlers.

Wood gets a bonus wicket

Good work Mark Wood ! Jaiswal rather tamely edging to the safe hands of Joe Root...will feel he's missed out here , gone for just ten. England delighted with that breakthrough.

22/1

Jaiswal guided to slip catching practice
Meanwhile I read Jadeja saying
"Won't dive,.to protect my body:

Wood proving a good selection ...snares Gill (who didn't look comfortable at all) for a nine ball duck as he edges behind.

Great start for England : India 24/2 and a few very new batsmen lined up next...

Magic bowling change by Stokes

Bit of bounce with this new ball for the tall Hartley and Patidar wafts it to cover ...33/3 !

Not sending the new boy in yet...It's Jadeja coming in at five . Probably rather earlier than he'd have expected

Eventful first nine overs !

Wood generating pace and bounce...cracks Rohit on the grille as he can't get quite out of the way then. Have to dodge quickly at 143kph...

Gill continues to show he can't handle any late deviation however tiny.
And I can't understand how Patidar managed to lob an easy catch to that innocuous delivery.
Ind at risk of being.bowled out for 200
Jadeja and Rohit have to.standup.

In fairness to Patidar , the ball did seem to "stop" and bounce. Wasn't a good shot though , even if he was somewhat taken by surprise.

Hartley has started well . Wood on his sixth over now , which will probably be his last in this spell.

Ball was coming on to the bat with seamers
Hartle's deliveries are stopping a bit in the.wicket

I would say that's a dropped catch of rohit by Root.
Very catchable
Pitch has slowed in an hour's play and gripping a bit now

Rohit gets an overturn on DRS
Lucky . He needs to make it count

Rohit got away with one then ! Root knows he should have caught that. I do think he possibly stands a little too wide to Hartley.

Rohit now given lbw to Anderson but has he hit this ? It's close...but yes , inside edge and he's reprieved.

All happening here ...Anderson keeps threatening the stumps bringing it in off the seam. Think this one has tapped Rohit in an "uncomfortable " place . A short delay ensues...

Rohit looking impatient but his intent is needed...Ind need runs on board
And this pitch will grip more and more and break

Some good counterattacking from Rohit here...partnership up to 38 from eleven overs now after a hesitant start. That dropped catch might prove a big moment. Here is Root now to try and make amends with the ball...
At least he will boost the over rate , which hasn't been great. 71/3 off twenty.

Think India got the team selection right, though they perhaps could have had Axar in as a batter who can bowl too, going by what is going on out there! Good they've batted Jadeja at 5, splitting Patidar and Sarfaraz.
Great opening act from Mark Wood, bowled fast as always, got a couple of nasty short balls in, the ball that got Gill was a very nice set up, though Gill again played with hard hands and edged behind. He really needs to work on a few technical things to flourish in test cricket. Poor shot from Jaiswal, a poorer one from Patidar.
At 33-3, India seemed to be sinking. Rohit and Jadeja putting up a bit of resistance now. Rohit particularly, has been struggling out there, haven't looked his usual confident self. Got hit a few times, had a catch dropped by Root, an LBW overturned on review as he got a bit of an inside edge. Chipped one just over the fielder... But the skipper is still there, and he really needs to weather the storm and emerge on the other side today...

With just under 10 minutes to go for Lunch, think Wood should have a crack... I know he has had a long spell, but an over or 2 before lunch should be doable...

Really fascinating session this. All skills on display ; early advantage shifting a couple of times. Rohit might feel he's been a bit fortunate to reach his current 49 ; but he's playing a vital role for his side here after those early wickets.
England will be fairly happy with the session anyway but they'd kill for one more before lunch...nearly got it then but that's hit Rohit just a bit too high. Mind you , he'd have been out on umpires call if It had been given on field ! His luck is in today...and there's his fifty

Morning all. Good 50 for Rohit but he has not looked amazingly comfortable out there. England slightly ahead right now but these two are capable of putting on a big partnership.

A half century for the skipper, his first of the series. Been a real struggle out there for Rohit, but he has got a start...

Looks like Eng's session .....it is Eng's session but they would have so dearly loved to take Rohit out.
For the pitch is going slower, ball sticking in the wicket and beginning to grip and won't be easy Bazballing here.
You have to get set and select balls to hit like jadeja showed in 10 min before lunch.
The second hour belonged to India and if either of Rohit or Jadeja bats one more session india will get to a workable total.

At 93-3, India managed to get close to parity for the session, though I'd still call it England's. Hope Rohit will gain confidence with his time in the middle, and the runs under his belt. Sarfaraz and young Jurel will be hoping they won't be called on duty any time soon.

Agree it was England's session ; but I reckon they missed a good chance (yes , looking at you , Joe ) to maybe having India 5 or 6 down at lunch. Could have been forty odd for four with Jadeja yet to settle and two first gamers lining up...as it was , Rohit and the home town hero have turned it around well.

And still going well on resuming. 74 partnership now : Wood trying hard but not looking as dangerous as in the opening spell ; and the spinners not that threatening.

A wicket might well change things again . But for now , India look just about back on track.

Anderson bowling some canny stuff here... Testing Jadeja by mixing fifth stump deliveries with others darting back in. Has hit pads a couple of times but not in the crucial spot...

Hartley steady enough but meeting the solid face of Rohit's bat now. A feeling that he is preying on an error. But that's a big one from Rohit ! Initially wondered if he'd got too much under it - but sailed over long on ropes

Its all India now, these two have done an amazing job in getting them back on track. There have been some dodgy moments for both but they look very settled. If they can add another 50 or 100 then then India will be well on top.

Well played 50 for Jadeja, especially given the circumstances he came in under.

Fifty for Jadeja

What a valuable player he is ! Team in real trouble when he came in ; but he's played eminently sensible cricket and along with the skipper has taken them back in the sort of position they'd have hoped for on winning the toss.

England keeping a measure of control over the run rate but really needing to grab a wicket from somewhere ... and hard to see how that's going to happen at the moment.

Bit surprised Rehan hasn't come back into the attack yet. Ah : here he is now...

So tea at 185/3. Rohit closing in on a hundred ; which would be a fair reward for his efforts to survive a lot of early pressure. While Jadeja showed his experience and an intelligent approach to back him up to great effect.
If England edged the first session , India have dominated that one. England need to find some magic after tea or they are likely to be looking at a fairly imposing first innings target.

I'm going to call this early, England had a chance to create an opening, but I feel the game is already running away from them. If India end the day on something like 300-5 then I think they control the game from there, as would be the case for most teams in that position

92 runs in the session and no wickets......Ind's session they are going at a very consistent rate and it's actually last 3 hours to India.

Pitch has something but the English spin bowling is quite ordinary, without a X factor and giving plenty of loose deliveries that have not allowed pressure on these two.
These spinners need a bit more from the pitch to be effective.

On the other hand being declared T20i world cup captain  , his nagging wife is relieved and it shows in the relaxed more focused batting effort of Rohit.
Jadeja has turned himself into India's most consistent test batsman in the last 3 or 4 years along with Pant and at the cost of their white ball shows, inspite of both being naturally suited for white ball format.

It was expected of Iyer to play an inning like these two, he had plenty of opportunities, but his boat might have sailed.

Patidar has one inning to deliver a near 50 score and be in the squad or crack a 100 and be frontrunner for the next test.
If KL is back there will be a 3 corner contest between Patidar, Gill and Sarfarz for 2 slots in next test

Didn't take Rohit long after tea to bring up his hundred ... Had a generous share of luck early but has dominated the bowling since...well played

This is a waste of a review...will be impact outside . Getting desperate. Good bowling by Anderson but not worth a review...was always umpires call at best , and as it is they've lost a referall.

They've not been great at drs in this series.

Going to have to leave the broadcast for a while...hope they can do something in my absence : all looking a bit flat at present. Anderson keeping it tight but the batsmen are content to wait for the ball they want and just collect singles in the meantime... 204/3 after 58 is decent enough anyway. Plenty of time...

you can only go so far with funky captaincy, and fuzzy fields if your bowlers are medicore
Bowling really exposed on a pitch where kuldeep, ashwin and Jadeja will find a far more

VTR wrote:I'm going to call this early, England had a chance to create an opening, but I feel the game is already running away from them. If India end the day on something like 300-5 then I think they control the game from there, as would be the case for most teams in that position

So maybe it's Plan B and we're going to lull India into a false sense of security with them ending the day on something like 320-3.

Sarfaraz in with his passionate committed father and his anxious mother watching him.
He's a Pujara like hungry run scorer and has to walk the walk
And if does he will be a walking (or rolling) endorsement for Bruger King

Jadeja is such a cheat code cricketer for India - imagine having a world class spinner who can come in and bat at 5 (!!!), at 30-3...and is likely going to make a fairly chanceless hundred here. The impact of his return cannot be overstated

Debutant Sarfaraz not looking overawed. The comms were saying how anxious he must have felt being padded up for over four hours. Maybe so, but still preferable to walk to the Test crease for the first time with the scoreboard showing 237-4 rather than 33-3.

KP_fan wrote:Sarfaraz in with his passionate committed father and his anxious mother watching him.
He's a Pujara like hungry run scorer and has to walk the walk
And if does he will be a walking (or rolling) endorsement for Burger King

lol.

I saw Rehan earlier chasing a ball to the ropes... he had no chance of getting it.
Perhaps he saw it as a doughnut about to roll off the edge of a table and made a desperate and clumsy lunge at it.

Pretty sure Dunkin' Donuts will want to review their potential endorsement of him after witnessing such an ungainly effort.

First Impressions of Sarfaraz..
Good back-foot player, plays late and with soft hands and will handle late spin and seam movement well.
Ain't afraid of going over the top to spinners but there is neither a lot of spin nor quality in spinners, nor pressure so can't read much into that skill yet.

Because he is short and not so nimble.....he might struggle with fast short ones into his rib cage.

Will await to see his front foot play against seamers.....when for eg Anderson puts it in the corridor or over pitches and if he sits on the Blackfoot Anderson type will slip in an inswinger to catch him lbw

Always have a lot of time for Jadeja. He's really been set on making a big one today and seems to be enjoying himself now. England appear to have now failed to review a plumb lbw ...I couldn't understand why there was so little interest in that one ?. Seems they missed one before tea too - although that one was hard to pick as it hit the batsman's forearm. As I said earlier - their drs judgement is not getting any better.

The new ball better bring something or this is getting away from them rather too quickly.

Kid is worth the hype so far
Judgement reserved until we see him against quality seam bowling

But
Heartening to see that he is dismissing the mediocre spin bowling by even Ranji standards with contempt and disdain that it deserves....instead of plodding from the crease.

And his confidence of belonging there

Long way to go young man ...Anderson in and should be interesting

Sarfaraz having fun on debut. As was pointed out above he has profited from coming in after a two hundred stand ...but he's taken full advantage of the situation and really boosted the run rate...fifty on debut at run a ball not a bad start !

I don't know about there being " something in the pitch" : reckon it's been dead flat since the first hour or so. Not to say it won't be doing a bit by the time England get to bat of course ! At 301/4 India well on course to maximise the benefit of winning this toss...

alfie wrote:Always have a lot of time for Jadeja. He's really been set on making a big one today and seems to be enjoying himself now.  England appear to have now failed to review a plumb lbw ...I couldn't understand why there was so little interest in that one ?.  Seems they missed one before tea too - although that one was hard to pick as it hit the batsman's forearm. As I said earlier - their drs judgement is not getting any better.

The new ball better bring something or this is getting away from them rather too quickly.

Foakes did seem very keen on that last one but was ignored as he's almost zero credibility when it comes to reviews and even less forcefulness,

guildfordbat wrote:

alfie wrote:Always have a lot of time for Jadeja. He's really been set on making a big one today and seems to be enjoying himself now.  England appear to have now failed to review a plumb lbw ...I couldn't understand why there was so little interest in that one ?.  Seems they missed one before tea too - although that one was hard to pick as it hit the batsman's forearm. As I said earlier - their drs judgement is not getting any better.

The new ball better bring something or this is getting away from them rather too quickly.

Foakes did seem very keen but was ignored as he's almost zero credibility when it comes to reviews and even less forcefulness,

Guildford - was just about to post, maybe the best example to date of Foakes not imposing himself enough when it comes to reviews.