England's Winter of Cricket 2020/21

[Pal Joey]

Wake up to hear Swann doing an Aussie impression. Can this be over in two days again?

Is that what it was? Couldn't fool me...

p.s. it was a 'nowhere in particular' accent.

[KP_fan]

Sibley caught in cobwebs of his mind......not knowing whether its coming in or leaving him....not knowing whether to play or leave
Ohh Boy....not a frame of mind are English side

[Pal Joey]

Thought they were going to concentrate on the straight ball? Obviously not.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

That was crap from Sibley

[alfie]

Axar has hypnotised them...

[alfie]

I like the Crawley approach...using his feet to Axar.  Hope it will pay off for him...

Oh rats ...

My bad. Not posting any more until lunch

[KP_fan]

Crawley' pre-determined proativeness did not last long

[KP_fan]

Its 270 pitch in my view

[KP_fan]

compared to the last test....ball is bouncing more, skidding less...and there will be lesser LBWs and bowled.....more bat pad catches likely

[KP_fan]

Siraj was setting him up last over with a bunch of outswingers and a short boucner
Bowls the first one after drinks break, full fast indipper and root caught plumb.

when it's that full...even the high bounce doesn't help

[KP_fan]

Stokes counterattack...and eng has a 42 run partnership
India giving seamers an extended run...and the seam and swing has encouraged them to do so
nevertheless it might become a different ball game when 2 spinners bowl in tandem

[KP_fan]

Pitch is turning a bit , not a lot, but bouncing unusually much for an Indian pitch
Root's was the earned wicket by India...the other two were donated by Eng

[alfie]

Really good work from India in that first session

Thought Kohli was excellent with his bowling changes . No terrors (so far) in the pitch like last week but he's still reduced England to 74/3. Only one wicket less than the previous game ...

England clearly still rattled by those last few innings disasters. Axar still working his magic. There is a bit of bounce , indeed.

[msp83]

Decent partnership between Stokes and Bairstow after that early disaster of an hour from England. Stokes has remained positive, had a bit of luck early on a few edges going to ground rather than finding the fielders. But he's battling this out with his temperament than technique. Pitch not as challenging as the last couple, but a lively enough track with a bit of everything for spin and seam alike. And some good bounce too.
Kohli though, didn't challenge Stokes early in his innings, R Ashwin's got the wood over him for a while, should have brought him early on when Stokes came in. By the time Ashwin came on, Stokes was up and running. Other than that, Virat has been good on the field...

[msp83]

Just as I finished typing that, Siraj gets Bairstow!

[alfie]

India being a little careless with their reviews...that was always unlikely ; and now they've wasted two in just 28 overs.

But their luck has changed as Siraj has now won a very marginal lbw to see off Bairstow ! Thought that was going over - indeed I initially thought they appealed for caught behind...

Pope in to the bull pit now. Might be glad to be facing pace at least for his start.

78/4 . Really need a stand now.

[msp83]

That was a really quick delivery by Siraj's standards. He's more late 130s to early 140s, but that was above the mid 140s... Poor technique again from Bairstow though Siraj again set him up well.

[alfie]

Impressed by Siraj today , not for the first time. Has mixed it up nicely and got his two lbw victims when he's moved the ball in.

This pitch has certainly offered a bit more encouragement for the pace bowlers than the pink ball strip : plenty of bounce , though I'm not sure how long that will last.

England have at least passed the hundred with "only" four down
And Sundar hasn't had to wait until the end of the second innings to get a bowl... But after seeing the collapses in these last couple of matches I'm still watching this from behind the sofa...

[alfie]

Stokes goes to fifty

Has done a good job today. Had a few "conversations " with Siraj and Kohli but generally stayed pretty calm ; and picked the right ball to hit. 114/4. So already better than last week

[Soul Requiem]

Stokes goes to fifty

Has done a good job today. Had a few "conversations " with Siraj and Kohli but generally stayed pretty calm ; and picked the right ball to hit. 114/4. So already better than last week

He seems to play better when he's on the edge.

[JDizzle]

Stokes out LBW to the one that doesn’t spin. Felt that was poor game awareness not to review. Looked absolutely stone dead, but with three reviews left and 5 down - who are you saving them for?!

[alfie]

Gone now , alas

Wicket for Washington...and Stokes doesn't try a review ; knows he was pinned. Despite the bounce being quite high for these pitches that is 3 lbw and one bowled already...

121/5 and Lawrence (who can't be exactly brimming with confidence) joins Pope. They look to be on for a slightly better score than their recent efforts ; but given this pitch doesn't look like such a desert yet I'm afraid it won't be up to a par total.

[msp83]

Washington hasn't got much to bowl in the series, but he has taken the big wicket of Ben Stokes today. The lad has been chipping in in different ways in his test career, very useful cricketer to have in your side.

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Gone now , alas

Wicket for Washington...and Stokes doesn't try a review ; knows he was pinned. Despite the bounce being quite high for these pitches that is 3 lbw and one bowled already...

121/5 and Lawrence (who can't be exactly brimming with confidence) joins Pope. They look to be on for a slightly better score than their recent efforts ; but given this pitch doesn't look like such a desert yet I'm afraid it won't be up to a par total.

Pope and Lawrence putting on a decent battle so far, but England still a fair way off anything resembling a par score indeed Alfie...need 250 at absolute minimum you'd think, ideally 300+

[msp83]

The ball is old and soft. There are another 24 overs to the new ball. Pope and Lawrence should remain positive and push things along and put the bowlers under some pressure.
The track has had some spin, it offered a bit to the seamers. Lets see if the old ball would also produce some significant reverse as well...

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

That is incredibly unlucky for Pope

[king_carlos]

Such an unfortunate dismissal for Pope. He was just starting to find his rhythm as well. A classic case of when you're out of form you never seem to get any luck.

The pitch is doing a bit. There is turn and bounce there for the spinners, also some variable bounce and swing early on for the seamers. It's the best batting conditions we've seen since day 1 and 2 of T1 though.

England really need a partnership that kicks on. Once again that has been the issue. I don't think England have had a fifty partnership since the first innings of T1!

I really like Siraj as a bowler. I reckon he could do quite well in England this summer.

[king_carlos]

Ashwin is so so good.

[alfie]

Hmm. Been away since tea and I see the collapse has resumed

Thought at 145/5 they might have been on for at least 200 but not looking so good now... Though I don't think Lawrence is really out this time : no. Good third umpiring for a change

174/7

[guildfordbat]

Hi Alfie and all - I wasn't convinced there was enough evidence to overturn the onfield ''out'' decision.

Anyway, backs up my/our view for some time that there hasn't been ''cheating'' by the homers.

[alfie]

Such an unfortunate dismissal for Pope. He was just starting to find his rhythm as well. A classic case of when you're out of form you never seem to get any luck.

The pitch is doing a bit. There is turn and bounce there for the spinners, also some variable bounce and swing early on for the seamers. It's the best batting conditions we've seen since day 1 and 2 of T1 though.

England really need a partnership that kicks on. Once again that has been the issue. I don't think England have had a fifty partnership since the first innings of T1!

I really like Siraj as a bowler. I reckon he could do quite well in England this summer.

Not a high bar to clear

But yes : they really needed at least one real partnership...instead we've seen thirties and forties. That 250 a long way off I'm afraid.

Good to see Lawrence getting some runs though . Much happier batting down the order...

[Gooseberry]

Just as well England absolutely stacked their batting isnt it! Bit of a shambles all the same.

KPF no doubt will feel his call for only all rounders justified by the failures of the top order

[guildfordbat]

If luck did go Lawrence's way then, he's probably deserved it. Been pleased and impressed by his positive approach. Loved the way he drove the final ball of the afternoon session from Ishant for four.

[alfie]

Hi Alfie and all - I wasn't convinced there was enough evidence to overturn the onfield ''out'' decision.

Anyway, backs up my/our view for some time that there hasn't been ''cheating'' by the homers.

I thought that too , at first. But that last angle was pretty conclusive. I never thought there was cheating either , by the way - just a lack of competence with the technology by some inexperienced umpires. Though I'm not sure Soul would agree

Nice dive by the bowler's end umpire then : an 8.5 ?

[alfie]

If luck did go Lawrence's way then, he's probably deserved it. Been pleased and impressed by his positive approach. Loved the way he drove the final ball of the afternoon session from Ishant for four.

I'm blaming you for that

Pant won't get many easier stumpings. 188/8

[king_carlos]

The on-field umpiring as a whole has been really good in this series I feel. Gough was brilliant in the English summer but other than Gough there were a few poor on-field decisions overturned on review. As a whole the on-field stuff has been very good indeed for inexperienced umpires.

Ah Lawrence gone. He was playing well and positively but that's such a high risk shot to the left-arm ortho spinner as Strauss has just remarked.

[king_carlos]

That doesn't get any better on second viewing in slow mo does it. It's just a bit of a slog really.

[guildfordbat]

If luck did go Lawrence's way then, he's probably deserved it. Been pleased and impressed by his positive approach. Loved the way he drove the final ball of the afternoon session from Ishant for four.

I'm blaming you for that

Pant won't get many easier stumpings.  188/8

Mea culpa - for sure, you got me guv, guilty as charged, etc. Making an early claim for jinx of the test.

[king_carlos]

Here comes the Burnley Lara...

[alfie]

Disappointed that Lawrence would throw it away like that after doing all the hard work. He will be even more so , I'd imagine.

Bess following quickly so this is unlikely to even reach 200 now...which will be six innings in a row !

Axar can do no wrong...

[Mind the windows Tino.]

The on-field umpiring as a whole has been really good in this series I feel. Gough was brilliant in the English summer but other than Gough there were a few poor on-field decisions overturned on review. As a whole the on-field stuff has been very good indeed for inexperienced umpires.

Ah Lawrence gone. He was playing well and positively but that's such a high risk shot to the left-arm ortho spinner as Strauss has just remarked.

Gough is another level entirely to every other umpire out there. Not a criticism of any others, just a recognition of how brilliant he is.

[king_carlos]

Agree Tino. Gough will have a long career as a top quality Test umpire. Simon Taufel vibes about him.

[Soul Requiem]

I don't buy into the idea that Pope was unlucky, he was caught because he edged it, if he middles it there's not a problem.

[king_carlos]

I know England are in a bad spot here but I absolutely love seeing Jimmy Anderson reverse sweeping like a left-handed Jos Buttler.

[Soul Requiem]

Hi Alfie and all - I wasn't convinced there was enough evidence to overturn the onfield ''out'' decision.

Anyway, backs up my/our view for some time that there hasn't been ''cheating'' by the homers.

It doesn't somehow erase the hometown decisions that have occured.

[alfie]

Burnley Lara showing how it's done...and : wait for it : England have Passed The 200

[Good Golly I'm Olly]

Not a fantastic sign that Jimmy has now outscored 4 of our 8 batsmen

[alfie]

Think Leach is gone though...umpire's call at best ...no , stone dead.

205. Not what they wanted on winning the toss. Three forty odd partnerships ; four players getting starts and batting quite nicely but none going on : guess it is what you expect when your lineup consists of one truly class bat and a host of others who all average thirty odd ?

Axar and Ashwin do it again - with some useful help from Siraj.

Now we will see how India bat against England's three man attack (plus extras).

[Afro]

T
Axar and Ashwin do it again - with some useful help from Siraj.

Imagine having Jadeja on the sidelines waiting to come back in too

[KP_fan]

Eng looked better...and good in patches...but when you look at the final score card it's well short of the par.
The par being 270-300 in my view for first inning.....and the pitch is not as flat as T1 but still a lot more favorable for batting than T2 and T3.
There was something for seamers at start and a little all day...no alarming turn and bounce

I guess such low was the expectation that little 20s and 30s and 40s looked good.

One thing I must say...Dan Lawrence against spin looks better than Foakes, Sibly, Crawley and Poe....he is nimble footed...he started showing shades of it in the second inning of T2 dancing down to spinners

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