***Official*** India in England

[Pup Clarke]

hbh, it is really likely that RP Singh will take the 3rd seamer's slot or do Bose and Powar have a chance?.

 

[Manee]

RP Singh will most likely get the 3rd seamer role. Bose did not impress enough in the warm up match and his first class record is not better than RP Singh's. Powar also did not impress too much in the warm up game. India team management really seam () happy with RP Singh, they feel he has been a revelation in the team and could be the future of the bowling line up.

 

[silentstriker]

Especially without Harmy!

Well, I do think Harmy's style of bowling (when its not at second slip) would trouble the Indian batsman.

At home, I'd give England the edge in the batting actually, if only marginally, due to India's uproven opening pair (hell, we don't even know which two will get picked). Gambhir will get murdered in English conditions if he plays IMO, while Jaffer's form on tour has been poor and Karthick is a manufactured opener.

Yup.

England also have a better catching unit, for what its worth. So really, India have no tangible advantages. It depends on how much Flintoff and Harmy hurts them.

 

[Dasa]

England also have a better catching unit, for what its worth.

Doubt that. They dropped a fair few catches WI series (including Chanderpaul more than once).

 

[Poker Boy]

Just can't fathom out why Tremlett has been grought in instead of Harmison while we had Broad and Anderson to fight over Harmison's place anyway. One hopes they are not going to drop a batsman and play Prior at 6 but considering Harmison's injry has been a **** up from the start (the op should have happened during the ODI break and I felt that at the time) you don't know. PS - if India get a big score against us I wonder who'll be the first to say "We miss Harmison" considering the stick he has been getting in the last year. It often happens - people become better players when they aren't there....

 

[Prince EWS]

"The choice for the final pace bowling position will be between James Anderson and Stuart Broad," said Graveney. "They are different types of bowlers and the final decision will depend on our assessment of the pitch and the weather conditions at Lord's.

"It may mean that we have to go into this series with a relatively inexperienced attack, but I am sure all of the bowlers concerned will relish the opportunity to test themselves against a side which has one of the strongest batting line-ups in world cricket.''

So I wouldn't worry about five specialist bowlers playing, or even Tremlett playing at all, tbh.

 

[TT Boy]

For what is worth, coach Peter Moores today refuted Graveney’s claims by saying he would not have ‘called’ up Chris if all he was going to do is make up the numbers and that his chances of playing against the Indians is the same as either Broad or Anderson's.

Considering Moores probably wants to keep Chris onside, his probably just saying what Tremlett wants to hear. When in reality as Prince's quotes suggest his chances of playing are extremely slim.

 

[silentstriker]

Harmison ruled out of the entire series now....

I better not be forced to watch Mahmood vs. Zaheer Khan slop fest. I'll kill myself.

 

[TT Boy]

Fingers crossed Wasim Jaffer gets a game on Thursday, I missed the opportunity to win free money on him last year and I really fancy a holiday. Although, I must take some caution for I still remember Cape Town and his penchant for all things flat.

 

[Matteh]

'She was only a fishmonger's daughter, but she certainly knew her place, said Parsley drily'

 

[Stapel]

Could anyone explain to me why Tendulkar seems to be regarded as the greatest Indian batsman ever, while Dravid has a better average? Of course, we could debate for years who is better, but that's not my point. I wonder why the favours appear to go to Tendulkar so easily, while the statistics rate Rahul and Sachin very similar.

 

[Fiery]

Could anyone explain to me why Tendulkar seems to be regarded as the greatest Indian batsman ever, while Dravid has a better average? Of course, we could debate for years who is better, but that's not my point. I wonder why the favours appear to go to Tendulkar so easily, while the statistics rate Rahul and Sachin very similar.

You've chosen to ignore number of runs, number of tons?

 

[Pup Clarke]

Rahul Dravid - 9366 runs @ 57.46 with 24 hundreds


Sachin Tendulkar - 10,922 runs @ 55.44 with 37 hundreds

 

[Stapel]

You've chosen to ignore number of runs, number of tons?

No. Dravid has fewer runs, because he has fewer innings, not? And 9000-odd or 10000-odd....; both are similar great totals.

And are tons so important? If the average is lower, Tendulkar, appearently, must have relatively many poor innings, not?

What does count, a lot imho, is when an innings is decisive! TBH, I really don't have a clue who stood up when it mattered against Australia, and who had a 200+ knock in what appeared to be a innings win over Bangladesh.

@Pup Clarke
If someone shows me this stats:
-Player A - 9366 runs @ 57.46 with 24 hundreds
-Player B - 10,922 runs @ 55.44 with 37 hundreds

I would not easily pick one over the other. However, when it comes to the greatest Indian batsman election, Player B seems to win it hands down. I find that a bit odd.

 

[sohummisra]

Could anyone explain to me why Tendulkar seems to be regarded as the greatest Indian batsman ever, while Dravid has a better average? Of course, we could debate for years who is better, but that's not my point. I wonder why the favours appear to go to Tendulkar so easily, while the statistics rate Rahul and Sachin very similar.

That's primarily because he made his debut at a very young age and for much of the 90's, India's performance almost depended completely on Tendulkar. Secondly, there's the fact that ODI cricket is easily the preferred form of cricket for the Indian public, and Tendulkar is quite a bit ahead of Dravid in that form of the game. Thirdly, Tendulkar has been marketed remarkably well. Brand Tendulkar is extremely popular, something that "Jammy" is not too familiar with.

I believe Dravid is recognized as the best Indian batsman in the current line-up, currently, by most. Tendulkar is regarded as better overall just because he was the one that Indian cricket depended on for most of the last decade.

 

[Perm]

That's primarily because he made his debut at a very young age and for much of the 90's, India's performance almost depended completely on Tendulkar. Secondly, there's the fact that ODI cricket is easily the preferred form of cricket for the Indian public, and Tendulkar is quite a bit ahead of Dravid in that form of the game. Thirdly, Tendulkar has been marketed remarkably well. Brand Tendulkar is extremely popular, something that "Jammy" is not too familiar with.

I believe Dravid is recognized as the best Indian batsman in the current line-up, currently, by most. Tendulkar is regarded as better overall just because he was the one that Indian cricket depended on for most of the last decade.

Well said.

 

[sohummisra]

The match starts in 25 hours (depending on the weather, of course). I would predict this lineup for the first test, one that I don't agree with on all counts:

1. Dinesh Karthik
2. Wasim Jaffer
3. Rahul Dravid*
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Sourav Ganguly
6. Vangipurapu Venkat Sai Laxman
7. Mahinder Singh Dhoni+
8. Anil Kumble
9. Rudra Pratap Singh
10. Zaheer Khan
11. Santhakumaran Sreesanth

I'm iffy about our middle order, but I think we have to pick this bowling line-up given the resources we brought with us to England.

 

[Perm]

The match starts in 25 hours (depending on the weather, of course). I would predict this lineup for the first test, one that I don't agree with on all counts:

1. Dinesh Karthik
2. Wasim Jaffer
3. Rahul Dravid*
4. Sachin Tendulkar
5. Sourav Ganguly
6. Vangipurapu Venkat Sai Laxman
7. Mahinder Singh Dhoni+
8. Anil Kumble
9. Rudra Pratap Singh
10. Zaheer Khan
11. Santhakumaran Sreesanth

I'm iffy about our middle order, but I think we have to pick this bowling line-up given the resources we brought with us to England.

The middle order should be the least of your worries really.

 

[Fiery]

The middle order should be the least of your worries really.

I assume he meant lower-middle order

 

[sohummisra]

The middle order should be the least of your worries really.

Not so sure about our lower-middle order. I don't think we have high expectations of our openers or our pace bowlers, so we won't feel ashamed by their performances when they come. However, I think Ganguly, Laxman and Dhoni aren't the ideal three for 5-6-7.