***Official*** India vs England 2021 General Discussion thread

[GoodAreasShane]

I don't know whether it's a shame for Bracey or a relief that he was ruled out of playing here.

County XI batting looks alright for a warm up but that's not much of a bowling attack. @GoodAreasShane will be delighted to note that Zak Chappell couldn't even make this team.

He's bloody useless, all the Stuart Broad style carry on counts for naught if you aren't taking wickets

 

[Starfighter]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1417552388781613059

Rumour is the ECB is trying to ruin both series at once.

 

[Starfighter]

England squad up:

Joe Root (capt), James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Mark Wood

The batting's just yuck on current form, bowling's as good as it's going to get without Archer and Woakes.

England pretty desperate putting Hameed in when he's had about half a good season since going to pieces, but they're not replete with options. Hard to believe the guy's still only 24.

 

[Starfighter]

Avesh Khan all but out of England tour

Bowler has suffered a fractured left thumb in the Indians' warm-up match against County Select XI

www.espncricinfo.com

Avesh Khan has broken his thumb. Must say watching him bowl he looked barely first-class, let alone like a guy who averages 23.

 

[Red_Ink_Squid]

I don't mind Hameed being around the squad since he's not missing any first class cricket at the moment by being there. (Whereas I'd rather SCurran was left free to star in the Hundred rather than running drinks for the Test XI. But perhaps the sight of him will unsettle the Indian players still scarred from their last tour here.)

Hard to say if Bairstow is there to play as a specialist batsman or is just there as wicketkeeping cover with Foakes out (and Bracey's audition falling a little short of perfect). The worst thing is we haven't got anyone clearly better for either role.

Nice to see Robinson brought back straight away. With Woakes out of the first Test hopefully he gets picked as the 3rd seamer.

 

[Daemon]

Avesh Khan all but out of England tour

Bowler has suffered a fractured left thumb in the Indians' warm-up match against County Select XI

www.espncricinfo.com

Avesh Khan has broken his thumb. Must say watching him bowl he looked barely first-class, let alone like a guy who averages 23.

He looked club standard at best. Must have been a really off day for him.

 

[wpdavid]

Big squad for the start of a home series. I've seen smaller touring parties actually. But I suppose that's due to the ongoing need for a bubble.

Robinson should play ahead of Wood, and thereafter I suppose it's down to rotation of the oldies. It's hard to see Curran getting a game unless we lose a couple and Silverwood panics. No idea what Bess is doing in the squad. And I don't know if and when we'll see Stokes judging by his comments after the recent ODIs. If everyone is fit, I guess we're looking at Burns, Sibley, Crawley, Root, Stokes, Pope/Lawrence, Buttler, Robinson, Broad, Leach and Anderson at the start of the series.

 

[Red_Ink_Squid]

If everyone is fit, I guess we're looking at Burns, Sibley, Crawley, Root, Stokes, Pope/Lawrence, Buttler, Robinson, Broad, Leach and Anderson at the start of the series.

That looks about right to me, with Crawley the biggest question mark. No idea on the middle order hierarchy between Crawley/Pope/Lawrence/Bairstow right now.

I suppose if Stokes isn't fit to bowl then they might play SCurran as the 4th seamer and bat him at 7 behind Buttler.

 

[honestbharani]

Avesh Khan all but out of England tour

Bowler has suffered a fractured left thumb in the Indians' warm-up match against County Select XI

www.espncricinfo.com

Avesh Khan has broken his thumb. Must say watching him bowl he looked barely first-class, let alone like a guy who averages 23.

Probably his first time in England though. Most Indian bowlers struggle to come to grips with these conditions.

 

[honestbharani]

Hard to say if Bairstow is there to play as a specialist batsman or is just there as wicketkeeping cover with Foakes out (and Bracey's audition falling a little short of perfect). The worst thing is we haven't got anyone clearly better for either role.

How do you go from an entire line up of wicket keepers and Root and Stokes to this?

 

[M0rphin3]

I legit think India has a good shot at a series win here. That batting looks super meh.

 

[wpdavid]

That looks about right to me, with Crawley the biggest question mark. No idea on the middle order hierarchy between Crawley/Pope/Lawrence/Bairstow right now.

I suppose if Stokes isn't fit to bowl then they might play SCurran as the 4th seamer and bat him at 7 behind Buttler.

Crawley's a bit lucky, isn't he. I wonder whether Malan's recent one-day performances damaged his chances of coming in after his impressive FC form a few weeks ago. It shouldn't work like that, of course, but it wouldn't be the first time.

 

[superkingdave]

Hameed having a decent enough audition in the warm up game

 

[theegyptian]

The size of that England squad certainly seems excessive. Certainly gives off vibes that they are unsure what is their best side/13.

Don't think it's surprising Bairstow is there given what happened to Bracey (and Foakes) last time around. Wouldn't want to leave themselves open to criticism by picking a random understudy in case of injury to Buttler.

 

[BoyBrumby]

Is Woakes broken?

Is what about to do my "disgusted of Ely" bit when I thought he somehow not considered amongst the 17 best test players in English conditions.

 

[harsh.ag]

Do England have a handle on their XI?

 

[wpdavid]

That looks about right to me, with Crawley the biggest question mark. No idea on the middle order hierarchy between Crawley/Pope/Lawrence/Bairstow right now.

I suppose if Stokes isn't fit to bowl then they might play SCurran as the 4th seamer and bat him at 7 behind Buttler.

Perhaps Crawley vs Bairstow at number 3 comes down to how Silverwood feels about the former nicking off vs the latter being bowled through the gate, in both cases for not many. Maybe Hameed's ton today has altered that one. I have no idea about Pope vs Lawrence beyond Pope shouldn't be considered if he isn't 100% fit.

Curran at 7 seems like a leap of faith to me, but I can see the logic. Bess ahead of Moeen just seems odd after the captain clearly lost faith in him a few months ago, and given Moeen's record at home to India. And I'm old enough to remember when Moeen's batting at 7 or 8 would have been an attractive thought if Buttler's batting at 6.

 

[wpdavid]

Is Woakes broken?

Is what about to do my "disgusted of Ely" bit when I thought he somehow not considered amongst the 17 best test players in English conditions.

Yeah, bruised heel, which must be worse than it sounds.

 

[wpdavid]

Do England have a handle on their XI?

Sorry mate, you've lost me there.

 

[Salamuddin]

India's seamers looked pretty sharp in the tour game. India's chances in this series boil down purely to how well they bat.

Be interested to see what combination they use
Six batsmen plus keeper plus ashwin plus 3 seamers or
5 batsmen plus keeper plus jaddu plus ashwin plus 3 seamers or
5 batsmen plus keeper plus jaddu plus 4 seamers