Are England The Real Deal?

[Bun]

I am not too sure about the much stronger part. Granted Steyn is an ATG bowler as he showed in that series, bowling magnificently. Morkel bowled very well in the first test, but he's a bit of a one-dimensional bowler. If the batsmen get used to his steepling bounce and pace, he doesn't really strike me as a bloke who has a plan B to blast them out.

They did not have a third seamer of note. Tsotosobe, IMHO, is not a test-class bowler and Tendulkar, Laxman and co. were never expected to be fazed by him. And as for the South African "spinner", the less said the better.

This English attack of Anderson-Tremlett-Swann-(Shehzad/Finn/Broad) would be much more challenging. Not to mention the batting line-up is significantly stronger than the one India encountered in their previous tour.

If India can win/draw this series, that would be their biggest achievement in a while. A brownwash or a whitewash is out of the question, given that there isn't too much to choose between the sides.

I'd predict: English win - 40%, Indian win - 30%, Shared honours - 30%.

i'd rate morkel over tremlett and every other english fast bowler except anderson.

and andy for all his class and recent exploits is a touch below steyn.

and agreed swanneh is light years better than harris, but not as good enough to do a walk through this indian batting.

and yes, if we manage to retain the trophy for the 16th year running, it'll be our greatest achievement since we managed to secure our first drawn series in SA.

 

[Spark]

Yep. You are right.
Point still stands though.

It's obviously much more challenging to get him out LBW as a left-armer though. Plus Zaheer doesn't like bowling to right-handers nearly as much.

 

[Xuhaib]

hahah...loving this thread don't think anyside will dominate my bet is on a drawn 1-1 though a crazy session by either team can decide the series.

 

[vcs]

It's obviously much more challenging to get him out LBW as a left-armer though. Plus Zaheer doesn't like bowling to right-handers nearly as much.

That's a good point. He gets his outswinger going to the left-hander when he starts at or slightly outside off-stump. That's how he torments Graeme Smith, by moving it both ways from that line. When he comes over the wicket and pitches it on the right-hander's off-stump, he usually tends to angle it away.

A guy like Irfan Pathan, when he was bowling well, would have been a tough challenge for Trott, because he used to come over the wicket, start at around the right-handers off-stump, and swing it late back into his pads (like Johnson did at Perth). Got a lot of LBWs that way. Zaheer is more dangerous to right-handers when he comes around the wicket with the old ball when it's reversing, because he can angle it towards them and get it to move away slightly.

 

[Top_Cat]

It's obviously much more challenging to get him out LBW as a left-armer though. Plus Zaheer doesn't like bowling to right-handers nearly as much.

Yeah and I think Zaheer does his best work with the older ball where he'll be running into Cook or Trott well on the way to a ton or Bell who plays the reversing ball quite well, is in good touch and probably overdue to really dominate an opponent. Says a lot about the strength of the English batting right now that KP's and Strauss's form problems have been getting lots of press but not only is the team still winning, they're utterly dominating some opponents.

To win in England, teams generally have at least one bowler who takes wickets with the new nurry and I don't think Zaheer is it on this tour. Sreesanth simply must step up. He has it in him and if he does, could be a career-defining series for him.

 

[vcs]

If we're depending on Sreesanth to step up consistently and take the lead, it's fair to say we're ****ed.

I think Zaheer will do well with the new ball, but will need support and pressure to be built from the other end as well. It helps that he'll be bowling to two left-handed openers, which theoretically opens up more modes of dismissals for him from over the wicket, as I pointed out in my previous post.

 

[Top_Cat]

If we're depending on Sreesanth to step up consistently and take the lead, it's fair to say we're ****ed.

Showed some good signs in SA, though.

I think Zaheer will do well with the new ball, but will need support and pressure to be built from the other end as well. It helps that he'll be bowling to two left-handed openers, which theoretically opens up more modes of dismissals for him from over the wicket, as I pointed out in my previous post.

Theoretically, yes. But he's one of those bowlers who, his burst at Trent Bridge aside on the last tour, won't rip out blokes in good form like you need your new-ball leader to do. Srinath was good at that, Sreesanth has that aura about him, Zaheer has developed into more of a patient type. If Sree gets it right, they'll be a fairly menacing combination.

 

[Xuhaib]

Sree will bowl one awesome spell one good spell and then he will be rubbish thats his pattern of bowling every series.India should hope the good spell comes at the right moment.

 

[vcs]

Sree will bowl one awesome spell one good spell and then he will be rubbish thats his pattern of bowling every series.India should hope the good spell comes at the right moment.

Yeah. He averaged over 40 in SA which is pretty dire for a pace bowler there. Luckily his good spell was instrumental in winning the 2nd Test, and bowling SA out for a reasonable first innings score in the 3rd Test.

 

[Top_Cat]

Yeah. He averaged over 40 in SA which is pretty dire for a pace bowler there. Luckily his good spell was instrumental in winning the 2nd Test, and bowling SA out for a reasonable first innings score in the 3rd Test.

Indeed. If you're a pace bowler, averaging over 30 in SA is ordinary.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

The arrogance of the Indian fans thinking their one man attack will destroy England is hilarious.

Going to be a tight series with England just edging it in home conditions.

Ghambir and Sehwag will both struggle, Tendulkar and Dravid will both score heavily, Laxman will be average like on previous tours. England's batting will score heavily and Harby will spit the dummy out.Wouldn't be at all surprised if England win 2-1 with one of the wins coming in the game Zaheer misses as he generally is unfit for one match a series.

 

[vcs]

Indeed. If you're a pace bowler, averaging over 30 in SA is ordinary.

Haha, Donald and Sreesanth might as well be playing different sports, they're that far apart.

 

[Dasa]

The arrogance of the Indian fans thinking their one man attack will destroy England is hilarious.

Care to point those arrogant Indian fans out?

 

[Shri]

Sehwag will make one quick fire 70 odd and make a couple of 40+ scores. Gambhir will continue to surprise everyone and average 50+ in the series by making a lot of gritty 50s and one match deciding 100. Sachin will be well, Sachin. Dravid could struggle and retire at the end of the series. Yuvraj will get dropped after 2 tests and the new no.6 will do something brilliant. No one can guess what Dhoni will do. Zaheer will bowl us to victory once and England will once again be owned once or twice by a random Indian swing bowler who will pique everyone's interest and disappear from international cricket a year later. Ishant will surely be consistent. Could be "I am a 6"4 pile of crap 50+ bowling average" consistent or "I have got a load of world class batsmen out and can average 25-30" consistent. Sreesanth- refer to sig(one great spell where he is unplayable is guaranteed).

India can easily win the series if Mishra does something special and its a real possibility since he is in such good form. Should be a cracker of a series. Can't split the two sides. I will say India will win the series 2-1 since its my team and we have history on our side.

 

[Shri]

Why do I keep posting this **** here instead of in the tour thread ffs.

Some mod to merge the threads imo since its become Tour thread #2 now anyway.

 

[Bun]

Care to point those arrogant Indian fans out?

heh indeed!

]

 

[Howe_zat]

Won't dominate him like he can potentially with Strauss ,but can see Trott getting LBW to Zaheer on a couple of occasions.

Some balls going straight with the angle accross and then one coming back in.
Like Welegedera did last match.

Trott getting out LBW to the seamer is something of a rarity, he's very, very strong off his pads. Zaheer can bother him with the one that comes back in, but only if he can get it through the gate.

 

[BoyBrumby]

I think it'll be a close series, but the fact is India are second favourites. oddschecker.

Best prices quoted:

England 137/100 (2.37)
India 9/4 (3.25)
Draw 11/4 (3.75)

That's the opinion of the men who're putting their money were their mouths are.

 

[Bun]

want to see whom prince ews would back here.

 

[centurymaker]

The arrogance of the Indian fans thinking their one man attack will destroy England is hilarious.

Going to be a tight series with England just edging it in home conditions.

Ghambir and Sehwag will both struggle, Tendulkar and Dravid will both score heavily, Laxman will be average like on previous tours. England's batting will score heavily and Harby will spit the dummy out.Wouldn't be at all surprised if England win 2-1 with one of the wins coming in the game Zaheer misses as he generally is unfit for one match a series.

No way in hell Dravid's going to score heavily!!
Gambhir may struggle but will get the runs!
Sehwag - unpredictable

Cook and Struass may struggle against Zaheer.