***Official*** England in India

[wpdavid]

Shaun Udal to start the test series against Sri Lanka?

Unlikely, as we'll only play one spinner. Then again, if Giles is unfit, we'll be looking for one who can bat at 8, so maybe it's not such a daft idea. That being said, how long would England continue with a 37 year old?

 

[wpdavid]

You just had to bring that up didn't you. I still maintain that England wasted too much time yesterday, especially after Flintoff got out. Panesar, Anderson and Hoggard were never going to do accomplish anything besides taking up overs.

You're just lucky the Indian lineup capitulated like a bunch of idiots.

Didn't Hoggard go before Fred, or is my memory failing me?
To be fair, I agree that they should have declared when Fred was out, but that only made a difference of a couple of overs.

 

[SJS]

Do you guys think that India should continue to play with 5 bowlers?? or do you think they should play with 4 bowlers and 6 specialist batsmen?

I think neither Pathan nor Dhoni is good enough to bat at sixth slot, and that seriously weaken the Indian batting lineup.

Irfunk interestingly was a passenger in the game, wasn't required to bowl much, got one wkt in the match and scored few runs.

India should play with four bowlers only and resort to five bowlers only on solid batting tracks.

This was a bowler friendly wicket THATS WHY four bowlers should have been played.

 

[TT Boy]

Unlikely, as we'll only play one spinner. Then again, if Giles is unfit, we'll be looking for one who can bat at 8, so maybe it's not such a daft idea. That being said, how long would England continue with a 37 year old?

I can’t see the guy playing for England again. His done great today but early summer on wickets that are not doing to much (for the spinners) and against a team who play spin pretty comfortably, can’t see it happening even if Giles is still injured.

 

[Pedro Delgado]

Here they are.....




But on the other hand....

I'm not one to say "I told you so", clearly you are

Great win, an amazing achievement really. Special thanks to Dravid for his insertion , I'm pleased for Udal, a lovely chap and he'll have some good memories of this match, and big up to Superman too.

 

[Barney Rubble]

IIRC you're being modest Barney.

Well, now you mention it......

Am I the only one who spots an attempted masterstroke from Fred here with the declaration? Bat slow all day, tiring the Indian bowlers in the heat, wait until he's played himself in properly and he's batting with the tail, smash us to a lead of 350, and rip out both openers in a five-over burst at the end of the day.

That's the plan, anyway. Mental disintegration, you see. Ask Steve Waugh. He knows.

The strategy is to give India a target that they'll go for, but which is still tough. 320 in 100 overs will tempt them, but will be difficult. 350-370 in 120 would probably have resulted in them shutting up shop, and 270 in 80 would be too gettable.

We've played it exactly how we mean to, IMO.

 

[Pedro Delgado]

Well, now you mention it......

 

[Barney Rubble]

Well, the second one wasn't strictly right, given that they didn't go for the the target - but meh.

EDIT: Now I look at it again, the first one wasn't exactly spot-on either.

 

[wpdavid]

I can’t see the guy (Udal) playing for England again. He done great today but early summer on wickets that are not doing to much (for the spinners) and against a team who play spin pretty comfortably, can’t see it happening even if Giles is still injured.

Totally agree with your analysis of the conditions, but I think we'll play one spinner even so. If Giles isn't fit, it won't be Panesar for all the previously stated reasons. Maybe Udal's selection will be viewed as a oneoff given his age, and perhaps Swann or Batty would play.

 

[Pedro Delgado]

I love Hoggard's interviews but my he does put his foot in it sometimes: "hopefully I can continue the hex over Virender in the one-dayers"

Apparantly the team did a rousing rendition of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire during lunch which seemed to get the boys going.

 

[Pedro Delgado]

Well, the second one wasn't strictly right, given that they didn't go for the the target - but meh.

EDIT: Now I look at it again, the first one wasn't exactly spot-on either.

Double meh.

 

[Dasa]

Well done to England. Clearly the number 2 team now IMO, considering how much they've learnt from the tour of Pakistan. Flintoff has certainly lived up to his Ashes reputation - most valuable player in world cricket these days.

India have a lot to think about...unusually, on the batting front moreso than the bowling. I think the Indian bowling is fairly solid now (though still very inexperienced), but the batting is relying far too much on Dravid these days.

 

[honestbharani]

Unfortunately, you're right about those rankings. India doesn't deserve #2 at the moment, not at all.

India don't deserve #3 either. They are only #3 because of past performances. Stricly speaking on the basis of the past two years, India are at RSA's level with both teams likely to beat each other on their home turf. The day the Indians forgot to attack the spinners bowling at them was the day the Indian batting (and its test match stocks) went down the drain. Right now, we are dependent on our bowlers doing the job for us. And they can't do much with fielding such as ours.

 

[honestbharani]

Where are all the guys who were crucifying England's tactics yesterday?

I still don't think they played it right. The bowlers bowled well, but the batting was so pathetic that you could have had four of us bowling and we would have had India 4 or 5 down........

 

[Pedro Delgado]

Well done to England. Clearly the number 2 team now IMO, considering how much they've learnt from the tour of Pakistan. Flintoff has certainly lived up to his Ashes reputation - most valuable player in world cricket these days.

India have a lot to think about...unusually, on the batting front moreso than the bowling. I think the Indian bowling is fairly solid now (though still very inexperienced), but the batting is relying far too much on Dravid these days.

Sreesanth and Munaf look the real deal, the best pairing since Javi and Venkatesh (hopefully better though). On the batting front Kaif will come back, looked decent. Tendy made a few runs at last but oh dear another injury will set him back again.

 

[wpdavid]

I still don't think they played it right. The bowlers bowled well, but the batting was so pathetic that you could have had four of us bowling and we would have had India 4 or 5 down........

.... even Pickup?

 

[adharcric]

Now I'm thinking Tendulkar's injury might be a subtle blessing in disguise so we can do some deep introspection and figure out what the hell is wrong with our team. Time for some changes perhaps, not sure what though.

 

[wpdavid]

Sreesanth and Munaf look the real deal, the best pairing since Javi and Venkatesh (hopefully better though). On the batting front Kaif will come back, looked decent. Tendy made a few runs at last but oh dear another injury will set him back again.

Kaif's dropping looks an even worse decison now than it did at the time. I can't claim to have followed Indian cricket too closely, but he's always looked good on the few occasions I've seen him.

 

[SJS]

I still don't think they played it right. The bowlers bowled well, but the batting was so pathetic that you could have had four of us bowling and we would have had India 4 or 5 down........

Yes thats true but thats been the case throughout this series, not just in this match. We had it coming. Dravid , aftr 40, 71, 95, 42no and 52, was due for a failure and none of the others barring Jaffer have shown any intention of playing a test class innings throughout the series.

Dhoni exemplifies whats wrong with Indian cricket at least in the longer version and on wickets other than flat tracks.

The Indian fans, some on this forum, who measure batting class by run rates, deserve the disappointment in a way.

I am terribly disappointed, heart broken in fact but not the least bit surprised. I didnt go to the match last two days only because I didnt see how it is going to result in anything but disappointment for India.

Batting as well as fielding, India have been at a very low ebb. The youngsters and Kumble have saved us from a white wash.

 

[age_master]

Well done England, Flintoff showing some character in that game.


Udal taking 4 wicket is worrying for any indian fans though