*Official* Fourth Test at The Oval

[Fusion]

What. A. Hammering. Count me as thoroughly impressed (and **** scarred of facing this team in UAE). England dominated from the start and never let up. This is one of the most impressive start to finish performance I have ever seen by any team. They truly deserve the number one tag.

 

[The Sean]

lolindia

Absolutely magnificent stuff from England though - one of the most complete team performances you're ever likely to see. Different class.

Happy.

 

[hazsa19]

Great stuff, but I was rather looking forward to a tastey 75 run chase in 15 overs or something like that.

 

[Jarquis]

Haha, jesus. We really did that?

 

[Jayzamann]

gg England, kinda thought it would be a draw for a moment there.

 

[Neil Pickup]

Mishra finishes second in the series averages for India...

 

[flibbertyjibber]

All too easy. Well done by the undisputed world number 1.

 

[smash84]

Ganguly and Akram are spot on...It wouldn't have taken much for England to relax after they went 3-0 up in the third test. The fact that they have brought that intensity into this test speaks volumes about their discipline and professionalism.

Ganguly is a very good commentator. They might make a fine pair in the commentary box in later years.

 

[Outswinger@Pace]

Sreesanth's dismissal sums up India's performance ** in this series - indisciplined and lacking the gut for a fight.

Superb victory for the champion side. A 4-0 drubbing is as convincing as they come. On a personal note, I'd say this English side is as complete as any I've seen since I started watching cricket ('98-'99).

Yes, the Australians of the glory era were better, but for discipline, doing their homework well and application on the cricket field, this English side could match them.

Congrats England! I foresee plenty of conquests ahead for this side!



** (when I mention India's toothtless performance, the great man Rahul Dravid is an obvious exception)

 

[smash84]

congratulations to England for the taking the number 1 position and doing it in emphatic style.

4-0. Is it the first time that a number one ranked team has been whitewashed?

 

[SpaceMonkey]

Was that 7 wickets for just 21 runs at the end?

 

[Neil Pickup]

Haha, jesus. We really did that?

It's good isn't it? It really is starting to remind me of the great Australian side in that you just knew that if you gave them the slightest of look-ins, you'd pay for it. There's a team spirit, total self-belief, incessant pressure and intensity and - hopefully - the beginnings of a dynasty.

 

[Themer]

Still stunned England have become this good. All I can ever remember is mediocrity, thankfully I'm not old enough to remember nearly any cricket from the 90s, so I'm still pretty astounded.

Love it, love the £105 its netted me as well.

 

[GotSpin]

Oh dear.

 

[marc71178]

Love it, love the £105 its netted me as well.

£375 back for me.

I had £200 on the 2nd and £150 on each of the 3rd and 4th Tests.

 

[smash84]

Still stunned England have become this good. All I can ever remember is mediocrity,)

This

 

[shivfan]

India batting averages

R Dravid 461 runs ave 76.83
A Mishra 153 runs ave 38.25
Yuvraj Singh 70 runs ave 35.00
SR Tendulkar 273 runs ave 34.12
MS Dhoni 220 runs ave 31.42
VVS Laxman 182 runs ave 22.75
P Kumar 110 runs ave 18.33
G Gambhir 102 runs ave 17.00
A Mukund 64 runs ave 16.00
Harbhajan Singh 58 runs ave 14.50
SK Raina 105 runs ave 13.12
RP Singh 25 runs ave 12.50
V Sehwag 41 runs ave 10.25
S Sreesanth18 runs ave 6.00
I Sharma 24 runs ave 4.00
Z Khan 0 runs ave 0.00

You know things are bad when Mishra has the second best batting average after a four-Test series!

Lessons for India....

1) When key batsmen like Sehwag and Gambhir choose to risk an injury playing IPL, it can have repercussions for subsequent Test and ODI series.

2) When star players like Tendulkar choose to "rest" after playing in the IPL, and skip a Test and ODI tour of the Caribbean, their form might plummet during a Test tour of England.

3) If players like Yuvraj and Zaheer are not "fit" enough for a Test and ODI tour of the Caribbean, despite playing in the IPL, chances are they won't be fit enough to play Test cricket in England.

In short, if you give priority to IPL over Test and ODI cricket, even against the lowly West Indies, chances are it's going to come back to bite you in the you-know-where....

 

[The Sean]

congratulations to England for the taking the number 1 position and doing it in emphatic style.

4-0. Is it the first time that a number one ranked team has been whitewashed?

You could probably say that it happened in 1920/21.

EDIT - and more recently too, as wpdavid says.

 

[jan]

Hats off to England, great performance

 

[Ikki]

What a shellacking.