*Official* First Test at Lord's

[oitoitoi]

This is so tense. I can't feel my legs.

Um... maybe that's a stroke?

 

[Furball]

This is so tense. I can't feel my legs.

Scrubs?

 

[Cevno]

Why not bowl Sharma from the start? Strange decision.

 

[Athlai]

This is so tense. I can't feel my legs.

You should probably go see a doctor about that.

 

[Uppercut]

I disagreed with the declaration for the reasons mentioned, i.e. it's just as attacking to be scoring quickly in the first innings.

However, it clearly wouldn't have made that much of a difference compared to other things. For one, if we'd held our catches - catches ffs - we'd not even be batting. We can gripe at all these things if we like.

Yeah, but that's boring to talk about. We get to have an opinion when it comes to tactics .

 

[NUFAN]

Err no, because if you bat longer in the first innings, you can just declare earlier in the second should it come to that. In fact, if they'd managed to put on another partnership of any substance they might not have needed to bat a second time at all. All the declaration did was expose them to the possibility of this happening; it didn't actually give them any more time to win at all, because they hadn't begun to approach the point where India could bat out the rest of the game without making England bat again. It was just psychological bull**** that always had no real upside at all.

I'm pretty sure that team England figured that an early wicket or two that night would put India into huge trouble and they figured that was the best way to get India all out cheaply. Of course they ended up bowling well and India didn't make too many after surviving those 6 overs.

If England were 2/110 from 34 overs no one would be bringing up this argument. This is the same English team that has been producing big scores on such a regular basis that the last thing Strauss and co. expected was a dour 5/80 from 34 overs.

 

[Agent Nationaux]

As a neutral this is a great contest to watch. I am also hoping that India bowls out England...so I don't have to wait for Strauss to declare on the 5th day.

 

[Rush]

What would be the point of that? Just go Mukund, Gambhir, Dravid (WAG), Laxman, Raina, Dhoni, Tendulkar.

I fear if Eng dismiss our batsmen quickly he might be forced to play most of his innings with the tail

 

[Spark]

This is where we all sprout some tired (but highly appropriate) cliches about Test cricket being awesome and how we would marry it if we could.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Changing the subject, where have you been these last few months?

Nothing exciting. Lots of studying, promoting WESPA, swimming, walking with my Canon 7D/400mm lens. Won the Masters 3 weeks ago and got the Worlds in under 3 months. Don't have time for much else.

 

[G.I.Joe]

This is so tense. I can't feel my legs.

It's your forearm you're supposed to lie on...

 

[Top_Cat]

England still well ahead, tbh. Wouldn't back Anderson and Swann to bowl meh two knocks in a row, especially if the former picks the right end and hits a groove. Couple that with a viral Sachin and, well......

Why Ishant hasn't started after lunch, NFI. Young bloke tearing in hot, who wouldn't want to keep the music playing there? Mystified by Dhoni at the moment. India's fielding in disarray too, the team seems frazzled.

 

[Spark]

England still well ahead, tbh. Wouldn't back Anderson to bowl meh two knocks in a row, especially if he picks the right end and hits a groove.

Why Ishant hasn't started after lunch, NFI. Young bloke tearing in hot, who wouldn't want to keep the music playing there? Mystified by Dhoni at the moment.

I thought at first he was doing a Ponting and trying to get a few in quickly, tbh. Not really sure what he's playing at now.

Fielding has been shoddy, which isn't a good sign.

 

[sreeku7]

Considering the way the two teams are playing in this Test neither of them look fit for the No.1 position.Dropped catches,wayward throws,poor shots , wooden feet and what else?.Is this Test cricket?I think even now Australia and South Africa are better teams than England or India

 

[Spark]

Considering the way the two teams are playing in this Test neither of them look fit for the No.1 position.Dropped catches,wayward throws,poor shots , wooden feet and what else?.Is this Test cricket?I think even now Australia and South Africa are better teams than England or India

Oh dear god no

 

[benchmark00]

India can be so shabby. Can't help but feel that the quality of cricket coming from the #1 sides in the early 2000's and 90's was 20 times as clean and impressive.

 

[Top_Cat]

Perfectly set up for Eoin 'Ice' Morgan to cream a few here.

 

[Uppercut]

England still well ahead, tbh. Wouldn't back Anderson and Swann to bowl meh two knocks in a row, especially if the former picks the right end and hits a groove. Couple that with a viral Sachin and, well......

Why Ishant hasn't started after lunch, NFI. Young bloke tearing in hot, who wouldn't want to keep the music playing there? Mystified by Dhoni at the moment. India's fielding in disarray too, the team seems frazzled.

It's because he bowled for almost all of the morning session. India only get one shot because England are only one partnership away from regaining total control, so they should be trying to get him on anyway, somehow, even if it's only for three or four overs. But then we don't know what Ishant's physical condition is.

 

[benchmark00]

What I'd give to smack Prior in the chops just once.

 

[tooextracool]

This whole philosophy of lets get them in to bat for a few overs at the end of the day is a rather absurd one and possibly the worst piece of psychological insight that anyone came up with.
If you have the chance to bat someone out of the game in the first innings of a test match, you always take it.