***Official*** England in India

[DanielFullard]

Irfan's pathan's bowling was rubbish to say the least

You can say that again!, 0-53 from 11 overs. Sreesanth had a pretty mixed day but in the end 2-51 from 17 overs isnt that bad

 

[honestbharani]

A good opening day, in fact a great opening day for England. I had worte thier chances off prior to the match but Im starting to believe that maybe we can win this one. Then again, if this is what we do to the Indian attack imagine what they will do to our much weakened bowling line up

I really don't see why you guys have to be so pessimistic. I think Anderson is a better bet to run through an Indian line up than Harmison, because swing and reverse swing has always been the key to get this Indian batting line up out quickly. See if Lee and Akhtar have had that great a sucess against us as they have against some other sides. Pace is only an accessory, the main weapon is swing and reverse swing and I think it might be a blessing in disguise for England that Anderson is now playing.

 

[social]

A great tactical blunder by dravid on opting to field after winning the toss. The decision was mind blowing to say the least.India as usual again has gone in with 5 bowlers and one batsman short and mind you they have to bat last on this crumbling pitch with a batsman short.
England put up a good display at 272/3 and in a good position to wrap up this match, unless the indians play out of their skin to conjure a win.
Lets see what tendulkar does under this extreme pressure.Dravid's decision
Irfan's pathan's bowling was rubbish to say the least. he bowled like zaheer khan today.No pace and no venom.All in all a poor day for india .

99% of the time when you win the toss in India you bat without hesitation.

The other 1%, you bat after thinking about it briefly.

Without having seen the conditions, today's decision smacks of a lack of confidence in your batsmen.

 

[Barney Rubble]

I really don't see why you guys have to be so pessimistic. I think Anderson is a better bet to run through an Indian line up than Harmison, because swing and reverse swing has always been the key to get this Indian batting line up out quickly. See if Lee and Akhtar have had that great a sucess against us as they have against some other sides. Pace is only an accessory, the main weapon is swing and reverse swing and I think it might be a blessing in disguise for England that Anderson is now playing.

That's assuming that Jimmy A can find some swing, of course. Let's not count our Lancastrians just yet.

 

[steds]

Considering Udal's playing, I'd say England have to get atleast 700 here.

 

[Scaly piscine]

You can say that again!, 0-53 from 11 overs. Sreesanth had a pretty mixed day but in the end 2-51 from 17 overs isnt that bad

Nice to see England not handing Pathan 2-3 wickets as they'd done in previous innings. I also think Bell should be moving down the pecking order in terms of selection, Collingwood must surely be ahead of him and possibly Cook as well.

 

[GIMH]

Considering Udal's playing, I'd say England have to get atleast 700 here.

LOL, harsh, I think we should be looking to score at least 500 mind, and I'm glad we are batting first, as it means we won't get to choke on a target in the 4th innings, then again we are going to have to try and remove Dravid for victory. Hmm. Maybe I should stop getting ahead of myself, but I am looking forwards to 4 more fascinating days of Cricket, and I truly believe we can end this winter on a high, which isn't bad considering our batting is third class

 

[open365]

Nice to see England not handing Pathan 2-3 wickets as they'd done in previous innings. I also think Bell should be moving down the pecking order in terms of selection, Collingwood must surely be ahead of him and possibly Cook as well.

You also think Collingwood is better than Strauss....

That said, Bell looks pathetic, nice technique and all, but how long will it be before he learns to stay in longer than 10 overs?

I don't think i've ever seen him dismissed by a good delivery.

 

[aussie]

Being a bit too harsh on Bell i feel. Obviously he hasn't batted that well in India but he did play well in Pakistan probably England's best batsman in the test series. Collingwood, Cook & Shah now with their performances will be putting pressure on him, but not sure if its enough to drop him as yet.

 

[open365]

Being a bit too harsh on Bell i feel. Obviously he hasn't batted that well in India but he did play well in Pakistan probably England's best batsman in the test series. Collingwood, Cook & Shah now with their performances will be putting pressure on him, but not sure if its enough to drop him as yet.

Probably, but only because i think he's too good a player to keep getting out like he does.

 

[Scaly piscine]

You also think Collingwood is better than Strauss....

That said, Bell looks pathetic, nice technique and all, but how long will it be before he learns to stay in longer than 10 overs?

I don't think i've ever seen him dismissed by a good delivery.

Where did I say that?

Anyway... Collingwood is a better fielder and batsman than Bell and Collingwood has had a particularly difficult introduction to Test cricket and yet he still at present averages slightly more than Bell who has 200+ runs for no wicket against Bangladesh to pad his average.

When the other players come back Collingwood should keep his spot ahead of Bell, there should be no doubt whatsoever about this.

 

[greg]

Where did I say that?

Anyway... Collingwood is a better fielder and batsman than Bell and Collingwood has had a particularly difficult introduction to Test cricket and yet he still at present averages slightly more than Bell who has 200+ runs for no wicket against Bangladesh to pad his average.

When the other players come back Collingwood should keep his spot ahead of Bell, there should be no doubt whatsoever about this.

In a test match i don't think there's anything in it as regards fielding.

 

[Scaly piscine]

In a test match i don't think there's anything in it as regards fielding.

How does it being a Test match reduce the gulf in quality?

 

[open365]

Where did I say that?

Anyway... Collingwood is a better fielder and batsman than Bell and Collingwood has had a particularly difficult introduction to Test cricket and yet he still at present averages slightly more than Bell who has 200+ runs for no wicket against Bangladesh to pad his average.

When the other players come back Collingwood should keep his spot ahead of Bell, there should be no doubt whatsoever about this.

sorry my bad,di was thinking of TEC.

 

[SpeedKing]

Could you guys be any more fickle.

Two tests ago, Bell was the leading run scorer against Pakistan, now he is everyone's scapegoat, for a series, where England have been hampered by injuries. C'mon guys, give the guy a break.

 

[Scaly piscine]

Could you guys be any more fickle.

Two tests ago, Bell was the leading run scorer against Pakistan, now he is everyone's scapegoat, for a series, where England have been hampered by injuries. C'mon guys, give the guy a break.

He was leading run scorer because except for him, Tresco and Collingwood the batting was awful. Even those three weren't particularly good - they averaged 52.16, 49.33 and 47.25, given how flat the pitches were those were just average performances really. Bell is averaging 24.60 in this series and 17.10 against Australia, if the injuries persist he'll get another opportunity to show that he's good enough, if everyone is fit he'll be back to county cricket.

 

[SpeedKing]

Having said that, When Tres and Vaughan get back, it will be a straight fight between Bell and Collingwood. If the two can't handle the heat, Shah and Joyce sould be given a try. For some reason or another, Shah reminds me alot of Rampakash, I am just not confident about him, but he will probably prove me wrong. I like the look of Joyce much better, but wot does my opinion matter.

 

[SpeedKing]

He was leading run scorer because except for him, Tresco and Collingwood the batting was awful. Even those three weren't particularly good - they averaged 52.16, 49.33 and 47.25, given how flat the pitches were those were just average performances really. Bell is averaging 24.60 in this series and 17.10 against Australia, if the injuries persist he'll get another opportunity to show that he's good enough, if everyone is fit he'll be back to county cricket.

Probably True, but he is just one of my favourite players, so i am obviously going to always support him.

 

[SpeedKing]

S


Is what I'm now betting on. Seeing as Udal's not a Test number eight, and neither's Plunkett, Fletch'll play them both at the expense of Anderson. Neither Plunkett or Anderson were ever gonna run through India anyway, given that they've got a total of two subcontinent Tests between them. .

I am not much of a betting man, but i sort of poromise that you will eat your words. No real justification for this, [and the last time Anderson played a winter test in South Africa we all know wot happendd ], but i just have a good feeling about this. I am willing to put my credibilty on the line here, but i am sorry, he is my favourite cricketer and if we cannot get Simon Fones, we might as well use his pace and swing clone [maybe without the control ]

 

[JustTool]

I am sorry that living in bad weather has put you in a perpetual sour mood. My apoligies.

Shut up, Yank