*Official* Third Test at Edgbaston

[Top_Cat]

Don't think you can go too hard at the Indian top-6, the English bowling was really good in the morning session. The dismissals aside, generally good balls following up good bowling (except for Dravid's which was just a jaffa), they made the Indians look tentative and sluggish.

Personally the only issue with Anderson's bowling has been that he's struggling a bit to deal with the amount of movement he's getting. He generally gets plenty because he's always looking for it but when the conditions do much of the work for you, reckon he sometimes struggles to just let it happen. That there is where Broad and Bresnan have him beat right now right.

 

[Woodster]

Don't think you can go too hard at the Indian top-6, the English bowling was really good in the morning session. The dismissals aside, generally good balls following up good bowling (except for Dravid's which was a jaffa), they made the Indians look tentative and sluggish.

Personally the only issue with Anderson's bowling has been that he's struggling a bit to deal with the amount of movement he's getting. He generally gets plenty because he's always looking for it but when the conditions do much of the work for you, reckon he sometimes struggles to just let it happen. That there is where Broad and Bresnan have him beat right now right.

Absolutely, credit to the English bowlers they are an exceptionally disciplined unit. I would expect more from such a batting line-up though. VVS Laxman's dismissal was lame, Gambhir was loose, Dravid couldn't much about his and it looked as though it needed to be a delivery like that to remove him. Raina looks well off the pace at the moment, even the great man was pushing at a wide one. Not saying we didn't bowl excellently in that morning session, but if the Indians applied themselves, as the England attack did, then maybe they could have restricted their collapse somewhat.

 

[Jacknife]

So, awesomesauce, no? Stuff I saw today:

The good:

Our B & B. Neither owned it for any real length of time. Just consistently high-standard bowling - with the minor exception of that period in the afternoon, where lengths went a bit haywire. So when the Indians put in a half-decent looking but bizarrely impatient effort with the bat, they didn't get away with it. Half a dozen times in a row. And that's the batting order gone.

Strauss. Keep out the good, tonk the bad. Back to basics, eh skip? Ftr I didn't have a problem with not attacking Dhoni and giving the single. Maybe not what I'd have done, but I see the point. And what exactly do you lose by given a single to a man who doesn't want one? We were let down by a mishap in the bowling for an hour there.

Dhoni. An innings that reminded me of Colly - not the match-saving nail-chewers, though Dhoni did drag his team out of the mire, but for the versatility, shepherding of the tail, and pure scrappiness. And he backed himself to clear the ropes when he needed to, because he can. Good to see. And of course, it was only a 70-odd, so no one'll care in a few years.

The bad:

India's top six. There were really no demons in this wicket or anything to worry about. Strauss just felt like another go at your batting, and you proved him right. Muppets. Oh and especially Suresh Raina. Evidence is piling up.

Indian fielding. The bowling on the whole wasn't actually that bad, there were a few chances, several maidens, bits of pressure. Sreesanth was probably the only one to have had a genuine bad day. What really struck me was the fielding. I'd describe it as effortless, in a bad way.

The ugly:

That utterly ridiculous period in the afternoon when Dhoni and Praveen were batting. Ugly looking batsmen playing ugly looking shots to ugly short pitched bowling. All while certain (usually somewhat ugly) members of one's society are trying to get past with an ugly beer snake because there's a lack of intensity in the match and their attention span is smaller than the average gnat's winkle.

What did you think of the ground Jake, got to say it looks mighty impressive on the TV.

 

[Top_Cat]

Yeah but what I'm saying is that the bowling which led to the dismissals was good, Laxman's the only exception for mine. And having watched Sachin's dismissal again, I'd the ball was full and swinging away but he had to play at it. Even in top form, don't think the Indians would have gotten many more but that's neither here nor there. They're out, England are in and looking good for 400+. India in deep ****, for mine.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Third time VVS has been out on the hook this series, isn't it?

Don't want to single one of the two top order players who's actually showed something so far, but he's doing that irksome early-mid period Bell thing of not making the best of his good form. There will be times when the timing isn't quite there (like Sachin just now), so to not cash in makes him almost as culpable as his confreres.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Doesn't change the fact that he didn't have to play at the ball. Could have easily let it go.

How he had been playing, and how he has played in most places.

Holding talking complete gash on the placement of the front foot and injuries.

Yeah, especially regarding Flintoff. Didn't he say that Freddie's foot went down the pitch? Always thought it pointed towards fine leg, and he had to bowl across it?

Has there been anything so far to suggest that this isn't a very typical sluggish, feather bed pitch that Edgbaston is known for?

I remember Durham beating Warwickshire here a year or two back and it was their first 4-day home defeat for umpteen games, largely because most of the games had been drawn.

The deck wasn't too bad, just one of those ones where you have to get through the first session. There were a few of those in the Ashes, and just like Australian then, India didn't get through it.

Mishra is going to get tonked so badly when he comes on. He has been in dreadful form.

He looked awful today. The way that he rolled out that slider/nothing ball first up was just awful.

The way Ishant is bowling is the same as he bowled against West Indies. He is just bowling to better batsmen here.

Couldn't agree more.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Yeah but what I'm saying is that the bowling which led to the dismissals was good, Laxman's the only exception for mine. And having watched Sachin's dismissal again, I'd the ball was full and swinging away but he had to play at it. Even in top form, don't think the Indians would have gotten many more but that's neither here nor there. They're out, England are in and looking good for 400+. India in deep ****, for mine.

He had to go towards it, didn't have to push so hard at it; if you were being fussy. Probably the difference between playing that delivery on 1* or 15*.

 

[Top_Cat]

Fussy, maybe, but that's the difference between out and not, isn't it?

 

[vic_orthdox]

Fussy, maybe, but that's the difference between out and not, isn't it?

Yes, I agree.

Very fussy.

 

[Contra]

How he had been playing, and how he has played in most places.

I'm not sure I get your point?

 

[Isura]

Has India won a session this series?

 

[smash84]

yes......the first 2 sessions of the second test. They had England under real pressure but then came along Lady Broad

 

[HeathDavisSpeed]

How does Suresh Raina keep his place in this team? I've watched him against various opponents, and he just doesn't look to have the goods at this stage. It's as if there's no other option available, when as far as I can tell, there's plenty.

Good stuff from England again.

By the way, I've been watching this in HD and the picture is continually breaking up - like, every twenty seconds or so. Is anyone else having this issue?

 

[Cevno]

How does Suresh Raina keep his place in this team? I've watched him against various opponents, and he just doesn't look to have the goods at this stage. It's as if there's no other option available, when as far as I can tell, there's plenty.

Predicted before the West Indies tour that my main worry was that he would get into the team in West Indies do well there on slow low and breaking down surfaces and then get selected for the England tour and repeat what he did in South Africa there.

And that is exactly what he is doing. What also didn't help was Kohli failing in West Indies and Pujara getting injured for 6/7 months in the IPL. Pujara was the obvious choice for this tour for me.

And they have grandly shafted poor Badrinath :sad: because apparently he didn't do well or look good in some stupid ODI's which isn't by any means his favorite format in any case.

Both Yuvraj and Raina are cases of selections made based on ODI's.

 

[TT Boy]

Has India won a session this series?

Yeah, quite a few.

 

[hang on]

managed to catch a bit of the match. marvellous performance by england yet again. still think that this match has some ways to go before one can decide about the outcome. a lot of it will depend on how the indian bowlers use the cloudy conditions this morning. of they can restrict england to a lead of no more than 120ish, then we could have a real cracker on our hands!

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Lets just bat for the next 2 days and rattle up 600 then win by an innings. About time we won by one again, these piddly wins by 200 runs or so are so boring.

 

[GIMH]

Yeah, I think if we're still batting at the end of the day then India have a long climb back

 

[hang on]

Yeah, I think if we're still batting at the end of the day then India have a long climb back

nope. no climb back. game over. unless it is a curtailed day and the score is 200 for 5 or thereabouts.

 

[keeper]

It's a beautiful morning in the West Midlands with lots of blue sky. If the forecast is wrong India may have big problems.

With Bopara and Morgan at 5 and 6 it must have been particularly demoralising for the Indians that Cook and Strauss both found some form yesterday evening.