amanuensis
U19 12th Man
Machines can impart various types of spin on a ball, but they can't simulate someone's action - they're basically useless. Bell has never been good at reading "odd" spin, hence shouldn't have been coming in at five.Absolutely. Something has gone horribly wrong with the batting this time, which is why we're asking what the hell is going on. Given that every ball bowled by Ajmal in test cricket has been filmed from about six different angles, why haven't they worked out beforehand what his doosra, teesra and whatever else he's got look like? It's absolutely unforgivable that Bell and others have no clue on that front. It wasn't as if we didn't know that he'd be the main therat before a ball was bowled. And given that our bowling machines can replicate anything you want nowadays, why haven't they spent the last few months experiencing the sort of deliveries that they were always going to face in this series? It's the absolute lack of a game plan that's so galling. hence the accusations of complacency. Not now - that would have disappeared after the first innings of the first test. But there is no evidence whatsoever that the batsmen have been prepared adequately for this series.