***Official*** England in India 2016/17

[Tom Flint]

That root/yadav catch...if India would have had a fielder positioned at a short mid-off position near the umpire and he would have caught the ball after yadav had flicked it over his head...who's catch would it have gone down as??

 

[flibbertyjibber]

Good start, pity Root couldn't make it to the close unbeaten and hit a big one tomorrow.

Well he wasn't out anyway.

 

[honestbharani]

For a country that is fanatical about cricket, such a sparse crowd surprised me aswell. It shouldn't matter necessarily who's batting, etc.

It does matter how far the stadium is from the city and what the bigger issues of the day are.

 

[Compton]

There really aren't 20 umpires calls a day, doubt there is in a match. that's just hyperbolic.

The howler thing is becoming redundant, as it should be, get the decisions right, you have the technology.

I don't think that's an unreasonable amount to suggest for a 90 over day of play. Ball hits pad, fielding side go up, if it's relatively close it will probably end up umpire's call. Whilst it's probably a little high, it being hyperbolic doesn't change the fact that the principle is true. Reviews would increase exponentially, which is bad for the viewer. Anything that's bad for the viewer is bad for the game.

If the emphasis is on getting the decision right at any cost then why have umpires make lbw decisions at all? Have balltracker run automatically when the fielding side appeal an lbw shout.

 

[Woodster]

It does matter how far the stadium is from the city and what the bigger issues of the day are.

Yes I understand that, just thought in such a fanatical country that the stadium would be full, almost regardless....it's not a criticism, just what I thought would be the case.

 

[Woodster]

One test innings is in deed too early to get carried away. Perhaps scoring 1500 first class runs as a teenager is not?

Still early days despite a fantastic first season in county cricket, naturally it's a big step up but he didn't look phased or out of his depth in any way. He has the look of a player you expect to be around for many years on the Test scene.

 

[Stapel]

Still early days despite a fantastic first season in county cricket, naturally it's a big step up but he didn't look phased or out of his depth in any way. He has the look of a player you expect to be around for many years on the Test scene.

Defenitely more promising than any of the dozen openers England have tried since strauss' retirement.

 

[grecian]

Defenitely more promising than any of the dozen openers England have tried since strauss' retirement.

Well TBH, someone like Lyth had a decent record, Couldn't begrudge him being picked, easy to be wise after the event.

 

[fredfertang]

Hameed was impressive in making his 31, I've not seen a lot of him and while reluctant to get carried away by one innings, he does appear to have the temperament and technique to make a real case for this position on a permanent basis, but of course this is still very early days.

He's certainly developing fast - I saw him bat for most of the first day of the Middlesex/Lancashire Championship match at Lord's in June, and beautifully though he batted I only noticed him play one delivery off the back foot (it was a cracking hook for six mind)

There's already more to his game five months on, as although I didn't get up in time to see much of his innings today according to the always interesting @CricProf he played a quarter of the deliveries he faced off the back foot

 

[grecian]

I don't think that's an unreasonable amount to suggest for a 90 over day of play. Ball hits pad, fielding side go up, if it's relatively close it will probably end up umpire's call. Whilst it's probably a little high, it being hyperbolic doesn't change the fact that the principle is true. Reviews would increase exponentially, which is bad for the viewer. Anything that's bad for the viewer is bad for the game.

If the emphasis is on getting the decision right at any cost then why have umpires make lbw decisions at all? Have balltracker run automatically when the fielding side appeal an lbw shout.

It's not true, there's just not that many that is umpires call. You still risk losing them, you've only got two, so you won't be throwing it around like confetti.I don't particularly see reviews as bad for the viewer, in fact it gets much excitement in the crowd.

In the end as I say the fact is the tech isn't perfect, if it was I would happily see them do every call, but ATM let the imps make the decision first.

Anyway not really a discussion for this thread.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

There was something in it for the seamers in the first hour but we ****ed it up with our slip catching. After that, i's been an absolute belter 450 par imo.

Its going to hold for maybe another one and a half session for batting. The first session was so so crucial for India as they lost the toss but could not cash in. This might cost them the match. England in real chance of now batting India out of the game (thanks tubbs). If India bats well, they can draw the match still but winning is now uphill task. Also is this is the first test match ever in rajkot(?) India should have gone for a different pitch altogether and crush England's confidence for the rest of the series. Strategical mistake.

 

[Woodster]

He's certainly developing fast - I saw him bat for most of the first day of the Middlesex/Lancashire Championship match at Lord's in June, and beautifully though he batted I only noticed him play one delivery off the back foot (it was a cracking hook for six mind)

There's already more to his game five months on, as although I didn't get up in time to see much of his innings today according to the always interesting @CricProf he played a quarter of the deliveries he faced off the back foot

Today was the first time I've seen live, albeit live on tv, but much better than a highlight package. He did look as adept off the back foot as he does on the front, solely on today's evidence. Much has been discussed about his temperament and unflappabilty (if that's even a word), but you can see why, he appeared so calm and uncluttered in his mind and knew what he wanted to achieve and trusted his style of play in order to do so.

What did surprise me was a couple of flashes early on, which to be fair were calculated, one resulting in a top edge over slips which he certainly went at. With so much being talked about his dogged style and sound defensive technique, it was nice to see him look to pounce on anything loose despite this being his Test debut and the opening shots of a big Test series.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

Cant wait for Root to be no#1 in rankings. Hes already no#1 in my mind though followed by Azhar Ali

 

[Burner]

I'll be surprised if India also not go big here after England. After playing on bowling friendly conditions these past few months, the batsmen are going to love this pitch. Maybe a Pujara special.

 

[TheJediBrah]

Then it would be called Limited Overs cricket wouldnt it?

No

 

[smash84]

Cant wait for Root to be no#1 in rankings. Hes already no#1 in my mind though followed by Azhar Ali

Azhar Ali needs to be dropped

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

Today was the first time I've seen live, albeit live on tv, but much better than a highlight package. He did look as adept off the back foot as he does on the front, solely on today's evidence. Much has been discussed about his temperament and unflappabilty (if that's even a word), but you can see why, he appeared so calm and uncluttered in his mind and knew what he wanted to achieve and trusted his style of play in order to do so.

What did surprise me was a couple of flashes early on, which to be fair were calculated, one resulting in a top edge over slips which he certainly went at. With so much being talked about his dogged style and sound defensive technique, it was nice to see him look to pounce on anything loose despite this being his Test debut and the opening shots of a big Test series.

The two slashes he played were probably coming from a heart pumping a bit. As he gets more matured, pretty sure he's going to leave those alone because it's not his natural game right. Two high percentage shots which could get him into trouble. Hope England now sticks with him and give him extended run. Before he got that lbw decision, I genuinely thought he's going to make a century.

 

[Woodster]

The two slashes he played were probably coming from a heart pumping a bit. As he gets more matured, pretty sure he's going to leave those alone because it's not his natural game right. Two high percentage shots which could get him into trouble. Hope England now sticks with him and give him extended run. Before he got that lbw decision, I genuinely thought he's going to make a century.

Quite possibly heart-pumping shots and who can blame him, as I've not seen massive amounts of him I did think it was somewhat out of character according to all reports. But I thought he handled the emotion side of it really well, and I agree, he looked well set for a long stay in the middle.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

Azhar Ali needs to be dropped

Azhar Ali has connections with the poet Dawood Ibrahim. He's never going to get dropped.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

I'll be surprised if India also not go big here after England. After playing on bowling friendly conditions these past few months, the batsmen are going to love this pitch. Maybe a Pujara special.

If the pitch crumbles halfway through tea session (likely), I'd back Pujara otherwise Rahana is going to go big here