England vs India Test Series

Records mean fuc k all. All about your next ball. You can bat or you can't. It's easier if you can but if you can't protect your stumps.

 

I'm not sure what that means. We make mistakes at critical times when batting and as much as it makes a great watch.. The fact is this series should've been a comfortable win but in key moments we keep making mistakes like Crawley did there. An average yorker two balls from close should be a gift to an opener facing the new ball. India did nothing to deserve that wicket but a brain fade from Crawley gave them all the momentum going into today.

Although we have a couple of bowling injuries its actually been overblown as our top 4 are Woakes, Atkinson, Archer & Carse who have all played in this series. This is an India side without Rohit, Kohli, Shami & Ashwin. Plus a partly fit Bumrah. We are extremely lucky to be ahead. Doen under we cant just offer gifts to the Aussies and expect to win

 

it means sometimes (most of the time on here) people are quick to knock the team and pick the holes. It’s not scientific, there’s 2 sides and the other one will play well at times, as we will.., that’s the ebb and flow of cricket.

id love for us to be better, id love for us to have even better cricketers but what we are is a team looking to do the right thing as often as they can, I’ll take that.

we might not win today but at the moment we stand toe to toe with a really good team… enjoy it!

 

If duckett can't knock siraj off his length, he'll get him.

 

This is not the thread for reasoned discussion like that.

 

Siraj is terrific by the way.

 

Poor shot Duckett.

 

But what I am saying is that they have made us work for almost every single wicket and we have handed them at least a dozen on a plate for no effort this series. The statistics tell us we are very very lucky to be ahead in this series against a relatively weak Indian side. We produce moments of magic that we then nullify with completely avoidable moments of utter ineptitude

 

Has Siraj bowled an unbroken spell today?

Been watching on and off and every time I switch on he is bowling.

 

Pope to my knowledge has not done much in this series hope brook can cause he’s been mediocre

 

I dont think this a weak India team, the stats tell us they’ve got (as of yesterday) 4 of the 5 top batters and bowlers, we’d take at least 5 of them if we could to add them to our team

they way we play is always going to look bad (I think there’s probably a better word than bad) at times, someone above said duckett played a bad shot…anytime you get out it could be said but that’s not fair, he just played his shot, again the stats tell us he’s better for it too

 

Missed the afternoon's play to watch the F1. Switched back at the chequered flag, just in time to see Siraj take the catch. If we go on to lose this, I'm never going to watch a test match again.

 

Me too not just my fault then.

 

Hard to understand what Bethell is doing in this team. He very nearly gave his wicket away with a reckless swish of the bat and that would have been in keeping with the usual story of lose one man from a long partnership and another quickly follows. He’s got the tea break to reset himself and, hopefully he will come out offering sensible support to Joe Root who is on 98 not out.

If they lose this now it will be a big shame but I don’t think they will.

 

India will think Siraj inexplicably stepping backwards on an easy catch for Brook has cost them.

But our six dropped catches yesterday means we have had to chase far more than we should be.

 

I'm not talking about falling on their swords playing attacking shots..i'm talking about full on brain fades. There's attacking shots and there is preemptive daft shots. And in the case of Crawley yesterday. Being half asleep for the penultimate ball of the day and getting done by a yorker without playing an attacking shot.

Are you saying these India players would get in ahead of those I mentioned above? India has millions of people playing cricket and will always have good players.. But the India side that we beat at home a few years ago would've won this series at a canter with England playing as they have.

I love the fact that we still find a way to win and almost every match is close.. but we've had all this talk of this side being more ruthless, and thus far we just aren't. We lack killer instinct through the test then pull it out of the bag at the last minute. Great cinema back it holds them back from ever becoming a 'great' side.

 

you are very harsh on Crawley, it was a great piece of Bowling. You’ve written another long post bemoaning our own team with no credit to the opposition.

Of course sone of the Indian team would get in our team, you’d surely aren’t suggesting our 11 are man for man better? Whilst also having a go at them!