***Official England in India***

[Richard]

Meanwhile the Indian team for the next two ODIs has been announced.

Irfan Pathan IN, RP Singh OUT
Tendulkar IN, Vijay OUT

Good to see Irfan back in the hang of things.

Squad rather than team, surely? Rudra Pratap and Vijay didn't play in this just-concluded game.

Never rated Pathan or Rudra Pratap much as bowlers, but Pathan is obviously a far better batsman so given the choice of the two left-armers, I'd have him.

 

[krkode]

Squad rather than team, surely? Rudra Pratap and Vijay didn't play in this just-concluded game.

Never rated Pathan or Rudra Pratap much as bowlers, but Pathan is obviously a far better batsman so given the choice of the two left-armers, I'd have him.

Yeah, it's squad. But I can't see Tendulkar being in the squad but not in the team so he's as good as in. Probably in place of Rohit Sharma?

 

[Precambrian]

Squad rather than team, surely? Rudra Pratap and Vijay didn't play in this just-concluded game.

Never rated Pathan or Rudra Pratap much as bowlers, but Pathan is obviously a far better batsman so given the choice of the two left-armers, I'd have him.

Doesnt squad mean team? Playing XI is what we usually refer to what you probably mean by team. (Also see usages "team meeting" rather than "squad meeting") (Nitpicking)

Pathan is decent enough ODI bowler-bat combo. And he is fresh off good performances in the domestic circuit.

 

[Precambrian]

Yeah, it's squad. But I can't see Tendulkar being in the squad but not in the team so he's as good as in. Probably in place of Rohit Sharma?

Or Raina. Raina has solid backing from Dhoni, so I see Rohit sitting out. Also preserves the fine LHB-RHB combination.

 

[weldone]

Meanwhile the Indian team for the next two ODIs has been announced.

Irfan Pathan IN, RP Singh OUT
Tendulkar IN, Vijay OUT

Good to see Irfan back in the hang of things.

I was waiting to see Irfan back, and to see Sachin back in the ODIs after a rest...I was waiting for these two changes, selection committee is spot on...

 

[Precambrian]

Haha WTF?

Indian Officials responsible for Kanpur Farce

For all that, questions need to be asked over why the game was allowed to end before time. Anybody who has been in Kanpur this week knew that the light starts to fade around four o'clock in the afternoon. A starting time of 9am was cutting it fine for a 4.45 scheduled finish but, in reality, tight chases always put back the end. Remember those moonlit endings to old Gillette Cup matches in the 70s?

This time, fog (or it may have been smog) delayed the first ball until 9.45, but play could have started at least 15 minutes earlier without England being handicapped. The second mistake of the officials was to dock just a single over from each innings instead of reducing the break between innings. Those two decisions created a farce that was waiting to happen.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article5197336.ece?Submitted=true

The funny part is that despite the misnomer of a heading, there is nothing in the article that implicates "Indian officials" in particular. What a jerk to attract eyeballs.

 

[Richard]

As I understand it, the agreement not to use the floodlights in day games (which to me completely baffles logic) was made between boards. As I know it, the silly regulations about interval length are set by I$C$C, this impacted on an England ODI not so long ago again. The Umpires don't deserve any blame for that, they've to follow the directions in place.

I'm also a bit biased on the docking of overs as frankly I prefer to see a game where 50 overs are complete in the first-innings and the second- ends after 30. I detest games where the overs-per-side is reduced below 45 or so - if I wanted games like that I'd watch Twenty20 (and I don't, so I don't). So I wasn't sorry at all about that part.

But yeah, ideally we'd have had a situation where the floodlights were used early doors, the game started on time, and the floodlights were used later, and the game was played to a finish.

 

[Richard]

Doesnt squad mean team? Playing XI is what we usually refer to what you probably mean by team. (Also see usages "team meeting" rather than "squad meeting") (Nitpicking)

Meh, I tend to use "squad" to mean 13 or 16 picked pre-match and "team" to mean playing XI.

Either way, yeah, Tendulkar will obviously come back into the XI else there'd be no point him being in the squad.

 

[four_or_six]

Haha WTF?

Indian Officials responsible for Kanpur Farce



http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/cricket/article5197336.ece?Submitted=true

The funny part is that despite the misnomer of a heading, there is nothing in the article that implicates "Indian officials" in particular. What a jerk to attract eyeballs.

Haven't we been here before with an England ODI where the break between innings wasn't shorterned? I thought it had been sorted out so they could cut the break down if necessary.

 

[Richard]

I think you're mistaking everyone and his\her cat realising the regulation needed to be altered and I$C$C actually altering it.

UIMM, still nothing's been done.

That NZ game last summer, which I mentioned in my post above yours, should have been the catalyst for I$C$C to change the ridiculous regulation, and I hope it will be done eventually, but as we all know I$C$C is usually slow on the uptake.

 

[aussie]

Can't find much fault in England's play. India where just too good again.

Anderson really looking gun barrel straight in these conditions without any swing though. Harmo or Sidebottom should replace him for the remainder of the series.

 

[Richard]

Don't think Sidebottom will be replacing anyone, he appears to be unfit again. This is starting to become a worry. And he's not getting any younger either.

Harmison should clearly play ahead of Anderson for the rest of the series, though, I suppose it's a bit surprising given Pietersen's clear faith in Harmison and his clear lack (in ODIs at least - we wait to see whether it's shared in Tests) of faith in Anderson that that didn't happen this game.

I can only see both Harmison and Anderson being belted if things carry-on as they've been so far though - ie, pitches that don't seam, are true in bounce (at least, in Indore's case after the opening 20 overs or so) and Indian batting that is of excellence.

 

[Uppercut]

India are far better than England at ODIs in every department. It's only confirmed what we all thought when we looked at the respective team sheets.

Frankly though, who cares? Can't wait for the tests.

 

[Richard]

Frankly though, who cares?

Several million people in India, for starters.

 

[Manee]

And me.

 

[GIMH]

Pretty sure there was a rule-change RE interval length you know. Will have a look.

We woz robbed

 

[silentstriker]

Frankly though, who cares? Can't wait for the tests.

No real cricket fans, that's for sure.

Several million people in India, for starters.

And me.

As I said...

 

[Manee]

Oh no you di'n't.

 

[Uppercut]

No real cricket fans, that's for sure.





As I said...

My contempt for ODIs has peaked of late. How can they gift a game to India because they "probably would've won, we suppose" had the match been able to finish? Is there any remote equivalent in any other sport? D/L is one of those things that's been around long enough that noone questions how absurd it really is.

 

[Richard]

The choice is between use a system like D\L or declare any match that doesn't reach its conclusion a n\r.

Don't particularly like the latter idea myself TBH.