Today marks the 1st August and England are only playing their 3rd Test match of the summer, which not only feels wrong but also feels insanely weird. One could almost say that the ECB are not prioritising Test Cricket anymore, but of course only a money grabbing, incompetent and quite frankly insane administrator would do that surely? Answers on a postcard please..
As Dmitri pointed out yesterday in his piece, this Test series has hardly caught the eye of the fans despite India’s large following in the UK. It could be indifference, it could be that the ECB has tried to milk the magic cow too often or it could well be the people are bored of shelling out top dollar to see an ordinary team that has had the same issues for the past few years playing the same brand of cricket that has hardly led to sustained success. This of course augurs badly for the rest of the series and potentially for series to come, with only Lords potentially guaranteed to sell out, and we all know that most of the individuals who do choose to go Lords are not that fussed about what happens on the cricket pitch as long as the Chablis is chilled and the lamb is pink! The ECB are already committed to holding 50% of all Test Matches in London over the coming years and certainly with the lack of advance ticket sales for Edgbaston for a series against one of the big 3 in an area that has a large Indian population, then we might be seeing that percentage increase in the coming years. After all, I would suggest many of the members of the ECB haven’t yet made it past the Watford Star.
There of course could be another reason why Joe Public has stayed away and the blame can be squarely aimed at Mr Graves and Mr Harrison, who have handled this T100 catastrophe with all the PR elegance of a drunken rhino. Those with a vested interest know that this is going to be a catastrophic balls up and have done from Day 1, but interestingly I feel that this has filtered through to the more occasional fan who might switch the cricket on at the weekend or might turn up to a game if they are invited. The absolute classless arrogance combined with the total incompetence that the ECB has displayed in trying to push through the 100 has not only alienated the loyal cricket fan but also those who might not have realized what a shit pit of self-serving incompetence that the ECB is. The alienation of those fans who love cricket but don’t quite fit the fancy ‘mothers and children demographic’ which some overpaid and under talented PR company has sold to the ECB, have been insulted with ’10 ball overs’, ’15 mans squads’ and ‘it’s not for you’ since day 1 and quite frankly they are f*cking sick of it. Naturally not everybody is in the same position, as Sky having paid massive overly the odds for the TV rights, keep sending out their resident clown to drum up support:
Anyone believe this village idiot? Nope thought not. Even the most one-eyed ECB supporter will be able to tell you that this has nothing about safeguarding red ball cricket, but a ruse to try to exploit their last big TV deal whilst cricket has some kind of an audience and for those at the ECB to rake in the cash whilst informing the players that they will not be eligible for a price rise. Sorry Bumble, you’ve shown your true colours to the world as an overpaid ECB stooge. Would the village that has lost their idiot kindly reclaim him please?
So after all this idiocy and counter-idiocy, we then get to the first Test against India and guess what, it’s the ex-pro and journo’s that decide to buy a big gun and promptly shot themselves in both feet. Both Chris and Dmitri have spoken about the treatment of Adil Rashid in more depth than I will, but I not only find the comments against him distasteful but quite frankly I find it pretty disgusting. I know Rashid ‘has had his card marked’ by some members of the written press, but some of the vile diatribe that has been spouted at him for the ‘heinous crime’ of accepting a call up to the England team, should have the perpetrators writhing in embarrassment. Of course these ‘broadcasters’ and I use that term extremely loosely will no doubt state that they should be allowed to publish their opinions; however I am certainly of the opinion that this should not be allowed to be printed in any of the national press. Leave them to the snake pit that is Twitter. In fact as normal, it was left to Michael Atherton to act as the only adult in town when speaking about the Rashid situation:
I certainly know from experience that there is nothing like unfair criticism and alienation to make a player ready and confident for their next game. Personally I hope Rashid stuffs their opinions down their throats but in reality, he can never win. The moment he bowls poorly, drops a catch or does anything else that the written press don’t approve of, then there will be howls of derision and the words ‘mentally weak’ bounded around for anyone that will care. Once the press have decided that you are not an ‘Alastair Cook type’, then your fair game for flack. Just ask Nick Compton.
Anyway, apologies about the slight rant and now onto the actual play today. England won what looked like it could be an important toss and chose to bat first on a pitch that doesn’t look like it will have any demons in it for the first 3 days. Indeed looking at England’s slightly makeshift bowling attack, I absolutely felt that England needed to make hay whilst the sun shines and put some serious runs on the board, which with hindsight looks again like hope over reality. Naturally England’s openers had a bit of trouble with the new ball swinging around and Jennings was lucky to dropped by Rahane from a decent ball from Ishant; however after England looked to have seen off the new ball, then Cook got a good nut from Ashwin, who perhaps unfairly has been cast as a home track bully, that beat him all ends up. I know it has been mentioned around a million times before, but it now more than ever seems to be feast or famine with Cook, with his last few scores of 13, 46, 1, 70, 14, 2, 2, 5, 10, 39, 244*, 14, 7, 16, 37, 2, 17, 10, 23, 11, 243 highlighting this fact that his game has been wildly inconsistent over the past few years (though one could argue that he has been very consistent and that the big scores are getting fewer and fewer). Dmitri also pointed out that Cook is now 11 days older than Ian Bell was when he was jettisoned from the England team after months of whispers that his eyes and hunger had gone and after a period of diminishing returns, despite there being no obvious candidate to replace him. Now I’m not suggesting England jettison Cook at this point in time, but it always amuses me how certain individuals are totally immune from criticism even when presented with hard facts.
England batted well for the rest of the session and went to lunch with relatively few scares and with Root and Jennings settled it did look like for a brief moment that England might be able to put a score on the board. Unfortunately that hope soon disappeared after lunch with the dismissals of Jennings, who can count himself mightily unlucky and then Malan who is looking less and less as the batsman that scored that century in Perth. I have been happy that the England team have given Malan a longer leash than some of his predecessors but we are now getting to the time where Malan now has to get a score in the next couple of innings or it’s likely he will playing county cricket before the end of the season. With England now 3 down with not much more than a 100 on the board, it was once again left to Messer’s Root and Bairstow to do their wine from water trick and again for a while, it looked like these 2 might have saved England’s bacon again. All was going well until both got out to completely needless dismissals with Root unnecessarily run out going for a 2nd run that was never there and then Bairstow chopping onto his stumps from a delivery that was never there to cut. I could easily mention the failure to once again convert a 50 into a match winning 100, but quite frankly it’s beginning to get a little boring now and something that the management needs to effect a change of mindset and quickly! Once Buttler and then Stokes were quickly dismissed by the Indian bowlers and despite a battling red inker for Curran, at 285-9, England are in the mire and well short of the 400 they needed to be competitive on what will remain a decent batting pitch for the next couple of days.
A word too for the Indian bowlers, who were all effective in different parts of the innings but also more importantly didn’t let England get away at any part of the innings. I felt before the series began that on paper the Indian bowling attack looked more potent than the English attack, especially with the dry weather neutering England’s normal tactic against India of producing green seamers. Ravi Ashwin in my opinion was the most threatening of all of the Indian bowlers today, using his guile and changes of pace and angle to befuddle many of the English batting attack. As I mentioned above, many have potentially seen Ashwin as a home-track bully, but based on his performances today, he is going to be a massive handful for the English batsmen for the rest of the series.
Day 1 has not been a good day for England and they desperately need a better Day 2 from the bowling attack; otherwise India could be out of sight by the time England bat again. Oh and just as a side point the paying public lost another 2 overs of action today. I wonder how many we’ll manage to lose over the whole series!
As ever thoughts are welcome on the game below:
Being Outside Cricket 
Advantage India.
Not a lot to add, other than it’s mildly amusing how Jos ‘face fits’ Buttler got a duck shortly after he was ludicrously prematurely named vice captain. And I do like him, for what it is worth.
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Nothing less than a Laker-esque bowling performance from Adil Rashid to spin England to victory will secure him even grudging forgiveness for having the temerity to accept an invitation to represent his country.
If today hasn’t quite been an unmitigated disaster, it’s hard to envisage India not getting a very useful, and quite possibly decisive, first innings lead.
Funny isn’t it that the nation that has embraced T20 like no other still knows how to play Test match cricket. Apparently it is possible. The BCCI may not be a model of ethical governance but they are at least effective – while the ECB is neither.
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Michael Atherton is like a flickering light…. twinkling from a distant light house across a deep, dark sea of doom. His reasoned views against the self satisfied freeloaders are like some great philosopher going up against Love Island.
As to Bumble, I’m sure he said exactly the same sort of stuff 15 years ago about 20/20. He was at the front of promoting that circus as well with his mascot derby, and sing along impersonations of Country musics finest. Then, as now we were told it will be a bit of fun…… that it will be played in a small block and the money will pour in, and a new audience will take its place before migrating to Test cricket. How did that work out?
20/20 grew like triffids to an enormous size, and took over the whole world. One can only imagine what this lates test tube creation will be like. Probably It’s a knockout on steroids.
As for today’s play? Same as it ever was. England are a 250/340 batting outfit no matter what the conditions are. At one point it looked like they might make 450, and then Rashid might have had the last laugh. My guess is he will get all the blame for the failing of our batsman. Not like England to drop a bowler after another batting disaster.
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Ah yes, the standard England selection ploy. Find a scapegoat to take the heat off another rubbish batting display…
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You know it is coming, esp. b/c while Ashwin bowled well, in fact he also got some soft dismissals. Rashid may well not get those (India tends to give it away more against seam than spin) so if we lose, they’ll compare Rashid & Ashwin figures and blame Rashid.
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All nicely set up for the press to have a field day. How dare Rashid accept a Test place when he isn’t the second coming of Shane Warne!!
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The scapegoat for England’s expected failure already identified before a ball had been bowled – a new low for the fourth estate’s cricket coverage? Sadly it’s hardly even that (just ask Compton, KP et al). Makes you proud to be British…
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Anyone care to guess how many overs we’ll lose this series (aside from rain) because the bowling side have no actual incentive to bowl 90 overs in a day.
I’m going for over 50 overs lost due to the fact that the ICC won’t enforce the rules and they don’t give a monkeys that the paying fans get it in the shorts…
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How many did we lose today?
(Although tbf, I’m less concerned with the over rate when enough wickets fall, as that tends to be the real motor of a match…)
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Only 2, but India were bowling. Here’s a guess that we lose 5 tomorrow whilst England are in the field..
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We’ll lose at least 10 across the series to Broad tying his shoelaces.
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And remember this is with the extra half an hour. 6.5 hours to bowl 90 overs and they still can’t do it. But as Metatone has said, with nine wickets going down in a day it won’t matter.
Still shocking that the ICC can’t do anything about it. But they don’t want to because they put players ahead of fans.
And talking about putting fans secondary…. have you seen the prices for the World Cup? You will need to to take out a mortgage. They can go f themselves.
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Oh yes, that’s why the only tickets I have is SA v Bang at the Oval, which cost £25. Refused to pay stupid premiums to watch England or any other stupidly overpriced ticket.
There must be some cash rich idiot willing to pay that amount of money and in my book they’re welcome to it..
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In years to come sports historians will look back on how an entire sport committed suicide.
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Careful Mark. Perilously close to Brexit there…
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Not a lot to add:
1) As a long term Ashwin fan, good to see him doing it away from home. It was always a tiresome jibe – but he has learned and improved and power to him for that.
2) That said, felt like he got a couple of soft ones, England still in the habit of giving wickets away.
3) Felt Root was genuinely unlucky, Bairstow misjudged the running room & Kohli brought off a direct hit that was far from a given.
4) The way we collapsed after losing Root tho… very flaky. Whisper it, but maybe Stoke and Buttler isn’t a good combo down that part of the order…
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Stokes has looked out of form since his injury. I seem to remember him looking solid in the first Pakistan game, even if I don’t think he got a lot of runs.
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Ashwin is one of the best thinking bowlers of the game. I like the way he bowls. If England had to bowl then maybe Rashid would have been brought in a few overs before lunch.
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Hello.
So you’re telling me that, in a Test match, England made a pretty promising start to their first innings before collapsing for no obvious reason on a fairly blameless surface?
This England team?
Well bless my cotton socks. I certainly didn’t see /that/ coming.
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I know, shocking isn’t it?
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Assuming our last wicket doesn’t add another 100 runs, by this time tomorrow India will be close to parity. This game could be done and dusted by Saturday lunchtime. Good luck if you have a ticket for the weekend.
Weather forecast is good,and the test may be over by then.
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Nice to hear TMS (I think Agnew) making a point of the ‘warm applause’ that greeted Rashid as he came out to bat.
Kohli has obviously decided that the narrative of the series will be The Duel of the Captains, which he intends to win. Great stuff.
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Sean this is probably one of the best articles on cricket I have read. I truly fear for English cricket. This apathy was clearly visible when Charles Colvile would not believe Ravi Bopara when he said
1) A good number of county players do not want to play for England.
2) The only players who probably were bothered about Rashid being picked were those like Leach, Bess and Virdi who want to make it into the side.
Rashid and Curran who were the “controversial” picks of the team scored more than Buttler, Stokes and Cook who are the stable stars of the game. At this stage a handful of more runs will not make a difference. I think England should declare so that Jimmy and Broad are fresh.
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Thank you sir, much appreciated.
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Can I add – the mic drop send off – is funny. Making into a ‘thing’ is pointless.
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I think it is the “eff off” afterwards which has upset the pearl clutchers.
Hey. I like Kohli. Sue me. He certainly cares for tests unlike his predecessor.
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As well as a brilliant player, Kohli’s a showman – and we know how the English cricket establishment feels about those.
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It’s the press wanting an angle and Kohli giving it to them.
I’ve seen “he’s got away with worse” and “arrogant” already. Hell, a good mate who I have a ton of time for in the media game, has just given me a piece of his mind on it.
I like Kohli, but he can be a tit. I wonder who else comes into that category. Where are my peanuts?
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Have to say I agree, although you’d think Kohli might wait until he’s actually scored some runs in this country before giving it large.
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He bets the hand his money’s on, that’s for sure.
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I see in the Mail they have this bit about the ECB putting in £40 million for the new 16.4 or whatever they are calling it these days. Apparently they have decided to give 20% for players wages. That seems low to me. Do top players want to play for just 20% of The total pot?
I can’t help thinking that this whole thing is about the elite at the ECB who are miffed they lost out on the expansion of 20/20 so they now want to invent a new format which this time they have the rights to. If it takes off globally they will own the intellectual property and so they hope to make millions for themselves.
That is not the role of the governing body to use their position to dream up get rich quick schemes for themselves that if it goes pear shape the game will pick up the tab. They should gamble with their own money. And if it’s flop they should lose their own houses.
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Let’s just say, this was not the first hour of day 2 that England hoped for. Looks like it could be a long, long innings.
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The second hour much better, but you have to wonder what Rahul was doing there.
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I’m a big fan so Sam Curran, but also confess I am a little surprised he’s been the man so far. I’ve seen the three wickets as well – imagine if England had rashly reviewed another and not been able to look at the Vijay one again – and while Rahul gifted us his, that’s still decent stuff. Those watching the lot will have their own views.
Kohli early and we could be in for some fun and games.
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Why bowl Rashid for an over before lunch, a hiding to nothing and would have been better off giving him 3 before lunch and having some rhythm or none at all.
Hollies stand is half empty and it is the quietest I have seen Edgbaston in years
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I wonder if this is partly the down-side of having the ODIs and T20s first? Especially with the Indian fans who tend to like the short forms – they’ve been, watched and cheered already.
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Maybe that’s why. Not that many Indians here compared to last time I was here and we played India which was probably 8 years ago.
It is quiet though and normally the Hollies provides a rowdy enough atmosphere for the whole of the ground.
52 runs for 5 wickets after the openers made an ominous start
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Mid-week. Height of summer holidays. If you’re not at work, you’re probably away somewhere.
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I’ve always been midweek for 2 days and the difference is noticeable getting and and out of the ground. There just isn’t the number of people there once was. Or maybe I’m getting older and it was better when I was younger 😂
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Well. A single over before lunch for the spinner is hardly that unusual a tactic is it?
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No, but given the previous controversy it’s a hiding to nothing.
3 full tosses and a couple of decent deliveries and then nothing. Kohli even took the piss and removed his helmet (which was a waste of time and a bit of showmanship which I kind of admire)
Stokes bowled well after lunch, Anderson and Broad have been somewhat innocuous, lots of oohs and ahs and one dropped catch. You could have a spinner on now from one end (if it doesn’t work you can remove them after a few overs) and rotate the bowlers from the other end.
Instead he’ll have another over before tea.
Maybe if no wickets fall post tea he’ll have a chance to bowl, but he could have been used a lot sooner as our two main strike bowlers haven’t looked like getting a wicket.
And as I write this Curran comes back on and makes the batsman play again.
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We are now nearly 60 overs in and it is still that single over. One would think that trying a leggie against the tail might be a tactic worthy of consideration. Instead, it seems that Anderson gets bowled into the ground.
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Still trying to get my head round the fact that Sam Curran was 4 years old when Anderson started bowling for England.
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True horror is when you realise that ‘Don’t You Want Me’ is closer in time to VE Day than it is to today.
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Oh stop it Ian Ward you sound like a pillock.
Malan drops Kohli off Anderson, and Ward says what is going on. Next ball Cook drops Kohli and Ward says “ in favour of Cook there the ball did wobble.” Yes, it wobbled straight into his hands and out of them.
Cook only gets out to good balls, and only drops very difficult catches according to the peanut gallery. You are making him and yourself look like idiots. Nothing new there then!
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Well it did wobble. That’s a fact. Still should have caught it though.
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Just the usual special treatment for Cook. It gets tiring listening to the constant excuses for just one player.
Malan just dropped another one, which was difficult. I’m sure there will be no special rules for him.
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Well, well… India 182/8. Proof of the old dictum that you shouldn’t judge who has the upper hand in a Test match until both sides have batted. Cleaning up the tail hasn’t been one of England’s strengths lately though, so hopefully Kohli won’t manage to farm the strike and put on another hundred for the last two wickets.
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Me and my big mouth…
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The mentally fragile spoilt brat who should never have had a Test recall has only bowled one over so far, in which he went for five whole runs. #vanityselection #luxurywecantafford…
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Sitting watching in the stands it is odd that he hasn’t bowled at all after lunch or tea. Stokes and Curran bowled well, Broad was innocuous and Anderson has bowled too many overs in one day (his latter spells much more penetrating than his morning spell)
It is odd that he hasn’t been given a spell particularly at the tail.
He has also been hidden at fine leg all day and barely touched the ball
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Just run out on to the field and remind Root that it is 5 tests in 6 weeks – that’s asking a lot of a man of Jimmy’s age.
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I think Jimmy is trying to prove he take still get Kohli.
All the evidence I’ve seen today suggest not unless it’s early in his innings
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Kohli has fought really hard but he has had his share of luck. Mind you, good players make their own luck.
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Rashid comes on, gets a wicket.
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It might be worth giving him another one
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Glad you guys at least are talking about it. I’ve been screaming at the TV to “Get Rash on!”. But listening to Sky, you wouldn’t know he was playing.
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And he’s on. Was the plan to stick with the quicks while the bowl was moving around a bit or does his captain not rate him? (Sorry if that makes no sense but it is nearly 0230)
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Despite their being Yorkshire team mates I don’t really pick up much enthusiasm for Adil from Root. Before the match it was Cook (of all people inside the England camp) who publicly made positive comments about him – although I’m not sure I buy Cook’s line that Adil has suddenly matured and is now finally ready for Test cricket – but by implication wasn’t two years ago when Cook was captaining him. A convenient tweaking of the narrative, perhaps, to conceal the fact that on the last India tour Cook exhibited about as much ability to use his spin bowlers effectively as I would if I was invited to design a replacement for the Large Hadron Collider.
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At last!
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How weird a leg spinner takes a tail Enders wicket
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Did he wave to the press box? Really should have reviewed that.
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The crowd round me is reporting down the legside
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Missing leg according to “ball tracking.”
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Malan must be feeling a bit sick – can’t buy a run and he dropped Kohli on 21.
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So did Cook.
Kohli is now on 118 so he has added 97 more. England’s haven’t been very ruthless in this match. Still, India have to bat last so it will depend how England do in their second innings. Lead is down to 44 now.
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I’d forgotten Cook’s drop was Kohli as well. Both catches should have been taken. I hate last wicket partnerships!
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Cook dropped Pandya, not Kohli.
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Kohli has managed it really well, Yadav has faced 9 deliveries in 54 for the partnership
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He might be arrogant but he has a lot to be arrogant about. He is a very special cricketer.
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Ten years ago I would have been spitting feathers and throwing things at my TV after England letting that advantage slip away. They could have had a 100+ lead. But after the ECBs last four years of idiocy I just watch on with rye amusement. You can watch without it damaging your health now because that bond has been broken.
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On commentary yet another unplayable delivery for Cook. Amazing how often that’s happening.
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What you must understand is that his reputation as the very finest Englishman who ever drew breath brings out a fierce competitiveness in the opposition. They always relish the challenge posed by his flawless defensive technique – which is even better than it was early in his career, since being reinforced by special journalistic PPE. Those opposition bowlers are motivated in their jealousy to put 110% into trying to dismiss him. That’s the burden you carry when blessed with preternatural greatness and that’s why he cops so many unplayable balls.
For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory…
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At the risk of bringing ire on the blog from the true believers, I must say that excellent day’s cricket ended excellently.
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I’d loved Sam to get 5. Really like the guy. Adil has Kohli three times now in eight or nine innings? 🙂 . I think my long term worry is massively overbowling Anderson. That may have ramifications. It’s a good game.
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I do have a grump, but I’ll save it for the day’s report.
Overall though, excellent advert for Test cricket.
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10 overs straight before lunch, got visibly slower
6 straight after lunch, from behind it looked like his action started to go awry (due to tiredness)
Then 5 or 6 more when he took the wickets after tea.
20+overs in a day of test cricket seems to be quite high especially for a guy his age.
I reckon he won’t make the 4th and 5th tests.
Broad looks shot, lots of delivery’s to make the slips go ooh, but barely making the batsman play and didn’t appear as quick as Curran.
First time watching Curran and I said to my mate that he reminds me of Mark Ealham (a compliment), bustling style and quicker than he should be with a nice skiddy action. He made the batsmen play with 90% of his deliveries
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A traumatised Kohli will be Adil’s bunny by the end of this series – mark my words 😉
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Cooked. Can’t fail, can only be failed. Etc.
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If people can’t see the issue I can’t make them see. Sean pointed it out. Have to get used to it.
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