***Official*** England in India

[Jono]

Load of tosh. What if Cook comes in and does as good a job as Tresco would have, are you saying that if the rest are fit that they couldn't have beaten India anyway? Or if Tresco has a bad game England have automatically lost (I'm sure you're aware of Tresco's ability to score 100s in losing causes)? 3-0 is a long shot. This series is no more difficult than winning the Ashes was (look at how Australia trounced India in India).

Yes but the Australian batsman showed application and have proven they know how to bat in India (and Asia overall). They showed glimpses of it in 2001 and came awfully close, and with more careful planning and tactics on when to attack with the bat and when to defend/graft, they toppled India in 2004. England have shown nothing of the sort. I mean how many times will Geraint Jones play a stupid sweep shot and get out?

I didn't think England would win a test before the injuries but I did think 2-0 was the likely outcome, with a flat pitch resulting in a draw in one test (similar to the South African tour of India in 2004). Now however I'd say 3-0 is a strong possibility. If I'm wrong come the end of the series, feel free to mock me.

 

[Jono]

The Indian selectors have had to make two close calls.

Pace Bowler --- Vikram Singh or Munaf Patel? Selectors choose Vikram Singh.
warm-up match ~ singh 1-108, patel 10-91

Opening Batsman --- Gautam Gambhir or Wasim Jaffer? Selectors chose Wasim Jaffer.
warm-up match ~ gambhir 108 & 22*, jaffer 48 & 4

I know that figures don't indicate everything and that this was just a warm-up match, but the selectors really need to wait until the end of the warm-up matches to announce the team. They look rather stupid at the moment.

Jaffer has 3 matches to make an impact, otherwise I think Gambhir will be back for good. His exclusion might have been a good wake-up call for him to make big scores.

VR Singh and Munaf Patel both deserved a call-up but so did Sreesanth, and RP Singh couldn't be dropped. Still, seeing Munaf run through the side and knowing that he's not in the test team stings a little.

Lol, I was fine after the first innings when Patel picked up 5 and VR Singh went wicketless, because from all reports VR Singh's first spell was superb and that aided Patel in taking his 5-for.

But with Patel taking another 5-for, and VR Singh only taking 1 wicket for the match, it is starting to looking quite odd. Particularly with the fact that Patel has an outstanding FC record anyway. I mean statistics and the scorecards rarely tell the full story, but 10 wickets to 1, well..

Hopefully VR Singh does well if he's picked. But gee, if Patel's our bench strength things are looking a little better compared to the days of Ashish Nehra (No I will never stop mocking him in my life).

 

[honestbharani]

I think Patel will get in sooner than later.


Apparently, Tresco took off because of some family emergency. I hope it is nothing serious and that everyone in his family are ok, but things don't look good, because he reportedly "broke down" in the dressing room at some point. I would like to wish him the best.


As far as the series is concerned, things look rather bleak for England, but IF their pace battery are all fit and raring to go, I think it will be a rather close series. Sheer speed can do funny things in cricket.

 

[honestbharani]

BTW, Sahara One have won the satellite broadcasting rights for this series. It is a Free to Air channel in India, therefore it will most probably be available all over the country. And for those areas without cable, DD will be telecasting the matches through DD National, since it has the terrestial rights. I fear the worst as far as the commentary team is concerned. Braze up for more Arun Lal, Sivaramakrishnan, Srinath etc... I wonder if they will atleast get ONE English commentator for the series.



I hope it is Nasser Hussain. *dreams on*

 

[adharcric]

But gee, if Patel's our bench strength things are looking a little better compared to the days of Ashish Nehra (No I will never stop mocking him in my life).

Come on, Nehra wasn't that bad, he was actually bowling well at the beginning of Chappell's stint before he got injured. He's far more threatening than Zaheer or Agarkar.

 

[Jono]

Come on, Nehra wasn't that bad, he was actually bowling well at the beginning of Chappell's stint before he got injured. He's far more threatening than Zaheer or Agarkar.

In test cricket? No way. AA and Zaheer at least had a stint of being decent. Nehra had a few good ODI games in 2005 but that's it.

 

[adharcric]

In test cricket? No way. AA and Zaheer at least had a stint of being decent. AA had a few good ODI games in 2005 but that's it.

Zaheer and Agarkar have always either been underachieving or underpowered. If Nehra didn't have fitness issues, he'd be a pretty good bowler. He was cranking up the speed to the high 130s earlier this year and keeping the accuracy. Just the fitness ruined his career.

 

[Jono]

Zaheer and AA underpowered? So Nehra was a muscle machine now?

Nehra was a horrible batsman and fielder, and so to be able to be in the team one must be a very good bowler, otherwise he's not worth carrying. He had potential in the limited overs game but I don't reckon he ever had a chance at test level. Agarkar is a good fielder and isn't woeful with the bat like Nehra, and Zaheer showed a lot of promise from 2001-2003.

I wouldn't want any of those 3 to be in the test team anymore probably with their consistent failures, and I'll give you that Zaheer and AA had more opportunities than Nehra, but really, he was far from anything special and when you suck at everything else, you HAVE to be a good bowler otherwise you've got no chance at the top level.

 

[Anil]

leave aa out of the comparisons please.....he is so beyond all that...

 

[kvemuri]

leave aa out of the comparisons please.....he is so beyond all that...

Couldn't agree more....one of the most worthless players who got chances more than anyone else, except maybe Shastri who at least played 1 good innnings in a 100.

 

[adharcric]

Couldn't agree more....one of the most worthless players who got chances more than anyone else, except maybe Shastri who at least played 1 good innnings in a 100.

worthless indeed. yet he continues to pull off a mid-20s average on a consistent basis in one-dayers. even if it's luck, that's good enough to keep him in the one-day side for a few more months at least. once vr singh and munaf patel develop in the longer format, they can be brought in to the odi side so that for once, we have an attack comprising of no worthless bowlers (pathan, rp singh, sreesanth, munaf, vrv ... add on kumble(tests), harbhajan, powar/chawla). good days are ahead.

 

[adharcric]

Zaheer and AA underpowered? So Nehra was a muscle machine now?

Nehra was a horrible batsman and fielder, and so to be able to be in the team one must be a very good bowler, otherwise he's not worth carrying. He had potential in the limited overs game but I don't reckon he ever had a chance at test level. Agarkar is a good fielder and isn't woeful with the bat like Nehra, and Zaheer showed a lot of promise from 2001-2003.

I wouldn't want any of those 3 to be in the test team anymore probably with their consistent failures, and I'll give you that Zaheer and AA had more opportunities than Nehra, but really, he was far from anything special and when you suck at everything else, you HAVE to be a good bowler otherwise you've got no chance at the top level.

He was definitely a disfigured stick-figure, the epitomy of anti-grace. But he could still produce more dangerous deliveries than the other two guys. I'm talking about the one-day format only, Nehra wasn't really ever in the reckoning for the test format and he really didn't mind it either. The trashy batting and fielding is an issue, but at least he has the ability to do his main trade well, unlike AA and ZK lately.

 

[PY]

I woke up with the phrase 'innings and 170 runs' in my head.....now I'm worried.

 

[marc71178]

yes sherlock i'm sure you have so much proof of that

The likes of Jono, Masterblaster and all don't have Indian roots then?

And coincidentally they're also able to accpet and discuss the weaknesses in their sides performances...

 

[marc71178]

I've just stumbled across this. Is aussie not an aussie?

No, he's English but thinks he can support Australia in the Ashes and now be 100% behind England in this series...

 

[marc71178]

Why don't you guys create a new thread arguing about Flintoff's all-time great all-rounder status instead of clogging up a England-India series thread?

Except nobody has yet called him an all time great.

 

[Langeveldt]

No, he's English but thinks he can support Australia in the Ashes and now be 100% behind England in this series...

Its bad enough being a traitor, without being a glory hunting double standarded one!

 

[Arjun]

Here questions are still being raised about picking VR singh over Munaf (on that other board, they're tearing the BCCI down, that's no place for sensible cricket discussions) but you can't tell much from ONE match. Imagine, if the third bowler was an India regular, would you drop him for Munaf? Moreover, VR Singh is an aggressive bowler looking to blast the batsmen (Munaf tried to hold on a line and length) and the bowling attack needs such a bowler. Most importantly, this combination bowled the visiting Englishmen out for not too many, so all bowlers (there were only four against England's six) did well. That said, the advantage of picking Munaf Patel is that you can play a fifth bowler.

 

[superkingdave]

Graveney saying they'll call another from the Caribbean but they're not going to rush it because they would only get there the night before the first test so they wouldn't be ready. Freddie to captian if vaughan isn't fit. News on Collingwood, Pietersen and Jones is better. Vaughan to open if fit - guess that means Collingwood comes in.

Latest heads up on the Trescothick situation is that it could be 'marital problems'

 

[superkingdave]

and LOL at the Graveney - Key interchange