It seemed inevitable. Inexorable. Virat Kohli had removed his helmet, put on his India cap and settled down for the Adil Rashid over. He was on 95. He was preparing to celebrate his hundred, and he’d very much like to do it in that over.
First ball. He blasted a ball through the covers for 2 to take him to 97. Second ball played defensively. Ultra aggressive, he under edged a drive third ball. Robert Key in the commentary box exhorted Adil to bowl it at his pace, not to push it through. Fourth ball, pushed forward. No run. Nothing from ball five. Last ball of the over. A floated delivery, a flash as Kohli clearly wanted to bring three figures up with a cap on and with an expansive drive, an edge, and Stokes pouches a catch at first slip. For the first time in quite a while I jumped up and punched the air. That, Adil, is a first innings scalp, bowled your way, and on a wicket not taking spin at all.
While this was an important moment in the day’s play it was the two hours or so that preceded it that set the tempo of the game. When Kohli and Rahane were going strong in their partnership India took a vulnerable lunchtime position and converted it into a position of ascendancy. Rahane showed a decent return to form, while Virat was just Virat. India showed some resiliency, a willingness to fight and to compete with England. That we are not taking this for granted might be a signal of the problems facing test cricket, but it is welcome nonetheless. Rahane’s 81 might signal more runs in the next few games.
India finished the day on a duff note with Pandya falling to Anderson at the end of the 87th over, where, despite it being 6:26, the umpires decided enough was enough and wandered off, whereupon we will fondly remember the three overs not bowled today. 307 for 6 is a delicate position on a wicket that gave plenty of help in the morning but does lack pace. It could bring spin into the game as it goes on, but then the experts tell us that Nottingham doesn’t take spin. What it looks like is England have a lot of work to do. We don’t react well to first innings scores over 250, and this is a chance to rectify that.
Those early exchanges after England won the toss and inserted India were ominous. While Dhawan and Rahul accumulated runs, and certainly showed ample commitment and desire, the element of danger was there with swing and movement. One of those smug little stats twitter feeds was telling us that there was more swing than when Broad was bowling out Australia in 2015. That’s nice. How can we know if that’s true or not, sitting at home? I digress. Anderson and Broad got a lot of movement but couldn’t make the breakthrough. Root, no doubt trying to get Stokes into the game, took Broad off, and the batting became easier as the pugilistic all-rounder wasn’t on his game. Woakes came on, removed Dhawan who nicked off to slip, Rahul with an LBW that survived a review, and on the stroke of lunch, Pujara who hooked the ball right down Adil Rashid’s throat, which put an end to the tireless “he didn’t do anything for his money” at Lord’s cobblers.
I must confess I did not see much of the afternoon session, as last night’s post-work session took hold and there was a hangover to get shot of! But while I was sleeping wondering why I’d had that extra pint, India accumulated. There were copious mentions of “Chief Executive’s Pitches” and England not providing a total green-top (and then we’ll wonder why our spin bowlers will struggle), and some mentioning that why England losing is good for test cricket is nonsense. The 159 partnership put them past the 200 mark for just the second time in 10 test innings in England (or something like that). Rahane was more fluent, but Kohli more ominous. When the breakthough came, I was hanging on to Sky Sports Saturday and Millwall leading 2-1, when I saw Lawrence Booth’s tweet about a “staggering catch”. I switched over to see a very decent left hand grab to a ball Bairstow should have nabbed. Very good catch, excellent reactions, but it was probably only staggering for Cook. I’m seriously not trying to be a curmudgeon here, but it’s one of those you stick your hand out and go “eff me” when it sticks. I think all of us who have played the game even at our crap levels might have had the same feeling. We had “greatest ever Cook catch” competitions, and the game rolled on. Hardik Pandya came out to bat, and the vendetta Holding seems to have against him continued. It’s almost Selfey/Rashid levels.
At time of writing, Mike Selvey has not commented on the Rashid dismissal of Kohli. His attention was drawn to Cook’s catch, but evidently Rashid’s dismissal has not got through. We await the tablets of stone.
Once Kohli was dismissed, Risabh Pant decided that test cricket needed a bit of livening up and smashed his second ball in tests into the stands. Rashid laughed, and that’s all you can do. Pant has been a talent, no doubt, with a first class triple under his belt, but you have to admire his cheek! He’s still there at close of play.
Woakes took three wickets, the first three, with Rashid, Broad and Anderson one apiece. They will bowl worse and take more, bowl better and take fewer. It was that kind of day. A decent day’s test cricket. The game is very nicely poised.
Some comments, finally, on the commentary today. Put TMS on for the chippie run tonight, and switched it off after two minutes of Swann. He’s just bloody insufferable. Dagnall didn’t help either. While on the shopping run I heard Prakash Wakankar commentate. Absolutely magnificent. He commentated on the game, added some insight and appeared to show his love of the game and passion for it. Not as a vehicle for self-promotion or a comedy routine. How welcome.
Meanwhile on Sky, I’m sorry, but David Lloyd is not a national treasure, and it was very funny to see when he was doing that tired old conversation with two members of the public who were listening to the feed, the director could not end it quickly enough. There was also a very odd moment when a young lad came into the commentary box for no apparent reason other than it was his birthday tomorrow. Bizarre. Then in the afternoon we had fishing stories. It’s all very well trying to mimic TMS, but you are on TV, not radio and sometimes silence or commentating on the game works so much better. David Gower spent his first commentary slot, on with the superb Sangakkara (I love writing the name just for the double k – does that make me a white supremacist?), prattling on and on and on, like a rambling old man. It was atrocious and he crowded out probably Sky’s trump card. Robert Key was also on, and was excellent, because (a) he put the bantz stuff away and (b) he provided insight and perceptive comment, especially leading up to Kohli’s wicket.
OK, enough from me. I’m handing the duties over to Chris for tomorrow, when I am out and about, and on Monday too, I think, as I’ll be at Surrey v Lancashire. This has the potential to be another good game, and that, after all, is what we should really want. Isn’t it?
Day 2 comments below…..
And at 19:03, the sound of silence from Selvey.
Being Outside Cricket 
I texted my cricket buddies Whatsapp group today with “Looks like a bowl first and waste the conditions day” which didnt actually tell the whole story. Anderson and Broad did actually bowl a lot of very good swinging balls first up, bit didnt seem to be quite into a rhythm, not quite being consistent (they were better this evening).
Woakes bowled very well, but looked to tire towards the end of his nine-over spell around tea.
Jennings with the dropsies. Hmmm.
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I missed that drop catch. I’ll catch up with that on the highlights, but ultimately didn’t cost England a lot.
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Why can’t Gower ever shut up? He asks a question, and as the other guy is talking you can hear this muttering of “Ur, ur, um er ar er um” in the background. It’s very irritating.It makes you think the other guy has to hurry up and get his point across before the mumbling will start up again.
Sky seems to have lost the plot lately. It’s become like Butlins. They should all be wearing red coats.
He also looked very upset when it was revealed that Rashid has now got Kohli out four times in Test cricket. This was not part of the narrative. But the so called experts have missed the point about Rashid, You don’t pick him for economy, but for wickets.
No wonder Selvey doesn’t rate him, because he only managed three test wickets, These geniuses are drenched in the blood of bowling dry. For them it’s only seamers who should be allowed to take wickets.
Rashid must be allowed to bowl at the speed he believes is right. England backroom are always interfering in bowling things they know bugger all about. I was hoping India would get 450 because I want to see England bat under some pressure. But if they find themselves at their usual 100/4 or so they could be in trouble.
At least if you have ticket for Monday you can rest easy.
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I know it’s impossible to tell if he would have bowled better, but there must be some discussion on the omission of Curran for Stokes. Curran has been contributing with wickets and Stokes today looked like a blunt instrument. Surely Trent Bridge is a venue that would have suited Scurran, with the ball moving most of the day and I’m not sure Stokes’ batting form will make up for a lack of wickets.
I didn’t see the first session, but thought Broad bowled well without luck later on. Much, much better from India though, and a bad call from Root at the toss. Surely this one had the old adage of ‘win the toss, think about bowing, and bat’ all over it.
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Valid point to make, especially when the Esteemed Pundits And Guardians Of The Game at Sky were banging on four tests ago about how they should never have four RFM seamers in the team all together again.
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There was a stat today showing SCurran as the 4th highest run scorer of the series to date.
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Curren certainly is not afraid to pitch the ball up, and let it swing. But then Lovejoy says it doesn’t swing at Nottingham. The ball was jagging off the seam from Anderson late in the day with the new ball.
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Glad it’s not just me thinks Swann is unlistenable on TMS.
God help the SCD fans when he does his “hilarious” West Indian impression.
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I should have thought it was obvious long ago that it wasn’t just you. ;
I for one believe him to be the only sports broadcaster in the entire world to make me think “hey, you know what, that Robbie Savage isn’t too bad.”
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The bit I caught was after Andrew Samson had sorted out those who had their first test scoring stroke as a 6. Wakankar, I think, just as he was handing over to Dagnall said something like “is there no question he cannot answer” and Swann then blathered on about how Samson couldn’t name a redhead XI, and included himself because his mum was a redhead. Once again acting like the funniest, wittiest man in the room. Samson, a man who puts a ton of work into his game, was asked a question akin to asking a weatherman “what’s the prettiest rainbow you’ve seen?”
He then went on about a play-area for Dagnall, and I switched off. I just can’t abide that shit. Oh, he also said Pant was a better version of Raina on the strength of about 10 balls faced.
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On the subject of TMS, on the last thread someone mentioned Mike Selvey and TMS. I vaguely remember him on there and did a search, and he was on it for 23 years leaving in 2008! He must have made a big impression on me! I searched Mike Selvey TMS on Google, and there are a number of articles about his sacking from TMS in 2008 with Selvey and others moaning that TMS had been dumbed down with people such as Simon Mann and Phil Tufnell joining.
I do turn off sometimes when Graeme Swann is in his “comedy” mode as he is a bit too much.
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Ah yes. The Guardian hatchet job just a few days later…
https://www.theguardian.com/media/organgrinder/2008/aug/19/bbcradio4stestmatchspecia1
Memorable line…
Yes, so good was Selvey at his job that it takes three people to replace him. Not that they are direct replacements, of course, rather an attempt to broaden the roster of presenters on TMS, which has also grown to include former cricketer Phil Tufnell and Matthew Hoggard, who is still playing, if not for England.
Swann is never funny. Ever.
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Initially, when Swann first joined TMS I found him bearable. As time has gone on he has ground me down/irritated me so much that I can no longer stomach him. I do have to switch off when he is commentating.
I guess we all know how his early captains in county cricket felt. Didn’t one of them once have to wrestle him to try and take a tennis ball off of him because he would not stop bouncing it in a team talk/meeting.
KP wasn’t even in Flintoff’s top ten most difficult players he has played with, if I was Flintoff, Swann definitely would be. He and the clique, eughhh……
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Also just to add, it’s not just his comedy mode. There have been times when the way he has spoken to Simon Mann and Daynall to name just 2, has been bullying in my opinion. I can remember one time where he went on and on at Mann, in a very negative way about him, so much so that someone must have had a word with Swann as he then started to apologise. In a team environment I could imagine he can be a bully.
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I still think my single greatest contribution to HDLWIA* and BOC is giving him the name “Lovejoy” and invoking the peerless takedown of said Lovejoy by Taylor Parkes, just to underline what a tedious self-obsessed prick he is, about as far from a genuine “man of the people” as it is possible to be. Got £20 to spare, Swanny?
Yes, it was me. I don’t make false claims.
*apart from being the guy who put the link BTL one night at the Guardian in February 2014.
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Was that you, never knew that, wow. The guardian is where I found HDWLIA, must have been you! Or have I got that wrong?
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Brought me here too…
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and me. nonoxcol recruiter in chief.
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I can’t remember how the hell I got here? Must have been a good night!!
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There’s being irritating a la Savage… but to actually make me turn off the radio was reserved for Chris Evans. This guy is now so full on he’s killing the programme. Like LCL pointed out yesterday he’s 90% “bantz” a child would think twice about saying and 10% comments.
I know the old days were non PC with half a dozen old white guys plus guest broadcaster from visiting nation but at least it was civilised.
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About Cook’s catch: just my thoughts, but it’s a bit over simplistic to say you reach out a hand and if it sticks, it sticks. Top level sportspeople have, by definition, better reflexes and hand eye coordination than most people and that means the ball is far more likely to stick. It’s not luck. It’s ability.
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Yes. Maybe not conveyed in the right way, but I think you know what I mean. At our level, or my level, your reactions aren’t as sharp and I wouldn’t have seen it. But scaled down, with bowling 10-15mph slower, then you still have those “I don’t believe I caught that”. Cook is much, much better than that. Different league, of course. That’s the test equivalent. There’s a ton of skill involved.
I write too much as it is, don’t want to add more. As a very useless first slip when I played, I respect anyone who clings on to anything there!
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Q you know better than that. This was the Hand of God!
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This is, of course, a very good point. Silly me.
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I disagree Q…..I m not a top level sportsman, but I took a similar catch many decades ago. I was fielding at Point, and the batsman square cut a ball, and it went like a tracer bullet just to the left of me, and about a foot of the ground. I hardly saw it. I just stuck out a left hand diving to my left and amazingly it just stuck. The batsman trooped off shaking his head in disbelief.
Everybody was congratulating me and jumping about. But it was a total piece of luck. I had no idea. Just reflexes and lady luck. 8 times out of 10 I would have dropped it.
It’s Cook so everyone has to genuflect. If his eye sight is so good how come he keeps playing down th wrong line?
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It’s a great catch and I think taking it on your inside is always harder than outside because I bet 0.1 of the reaction time is Cook processing whether Bairstow is going for it. Bairstow not going for it helps Cook because he has clear vision from edge to hand. I’m pretty sure anyone who has ‘kept wicket with no gloves’ knows it is difficult to get them to stick most of the time to trundlers, and I bet this is coming at him around 80mph after the edge. Put it this way; I reckon it’s a 50-50 he catches it or not.
But it’s the over egging the pudding from comms that grates. The way they went on about it you would’ve thought Cook had no right to snag it. I still genuinely think Cook gets embarrassed by it.
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80mph? Physics begs to differ. The ball doesn’t even arrive at the batsmen at 80. After the edge, 65mph tops.
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Fair enough. I’m not gonna fight you.
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I was surprised Cook caught it given how many he has dropped in the last couple of years.
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Ah Cooky. Another drop. He didn’t let me down. I really wonder what he’s doing in the slip corden these days.
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Mark, I think there are a couple points: firstly, while an amateur may drop those (let’s say) 8 of of 10 times, I think someone who has the reactions and hand eye coordination of a top level sportsperson may reverse that. It’s amazing how many times they do get it. Secondly, I don’t think it ‘sticking’ is the point. If you get there, most of the time it does stick. It’s the getting there that’s the point. Again, I think we underestimate the abilities of top sportspeople, and just because an action is done without conscious thought doesn’t (in my humble etc.) make it non-skilled, or fortunate.
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Great stuff Dmitri. I love paragraph 2, yes I am a fan of Adil, but even so, good to see him get a big scalp in the first innings. Especially so as he bowled his way and at his speed, which lord Selvey always says is too slow and doesn’t work (tell that to one S K Warne with 700 plus test wickets).
I also agree fully about Rob Key. He is excellent and, actually, I find him funny (subtle bantz), as well as insightful, perceptive and just generally better to listen to than many of the others.
I enjoyed today and hope India continue to fight tomorrow, much more interesting than 390 odd plays 170 and 100 odd.
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Lizzie Ammon once tweeted me, after I had not genuflected to Sky’s golf coverage enough (and I put missing Kaymer’s shot to the 18th at Medinah because of the advert break alongside ITV coming back from an ad break in the Japanese Grand Prix that due to a retirement Mike Hakkinen was the new World Champion) that all I ever did was moan at TV coverage. And I do moan a lot (and as my work colleagues and family will agree, not just about sport). Sport isn’t a matter of life and death, but it’s also not your own personal playground, and it certainly isn’t beyond criticism. I know it’s hard work. But deal with it. The US has a whole site dedicated to Awful Announcing, and Deadspin can be really cruel too. Here, there’s little to pop at Sky. If it’s the Beeb, well fire away.
I know things are a matter of taste. I was thinking, post test, of a “power rankings” of who the best and worst were on the Sky comms team. Sanga is great, Ricky is great, Rob Key when he cuts out the out and out bantz shows great knowledge, Athers is pretty good, though I’m not as enamoured of him as others are, and the same goes for Holding, who I used to call the Jamaican Boycott. I like Isa Guha, but she needs to keep away from the bantz (she started off today by asking about Botham’s back. We don’t really care, Isa). Botham has been better recently, though he can lapse back. I think Lloyd is a caricature and it’s more about him than the game. Ian Ward is really really good, better anchor than commentator, but certainly fine by me. Then we get to Gower, who has utterly fallen off a cliff.
Meanwhile, amused that Selvey made buttons to see Cook’s catch and comment, but as yet, Adil dismissing the #2 player in the world has passed his inquisitive eye by. We await with interest.
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A power ranking sounds fun, but like #39 (or is it #38) will you put yourself in it? I agree about Ian Ward, he is particularly good when he hosts the masterclasses, his questioning is spot on!
Much as you lament what Gower has become, I feel the same about Nasser. I loved him as captain, more than Vaughan and that’s saying something when 2005 is taken into account, but he has become spineless, just a cheerleader.
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I left out Nasser. Great in parts, not so great in others. Not really got a problem with him as a commentator, to be honest.
As far as I am aware, I don’t commentate! Thank heavens, so no chance of number 39.
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“The ECB’s legal representatives from Onside Law kept their distance from Ben Stokes’s team during his Bristol trial. The ECB are well aware that Stokes being found not guilty of affray means he could now launch a restraint-of-trade case against them for banning him from the whole Ashes tour last winter ahead of his trial, although he was paid his central contract throughout.”
With all due health warnings about the source – Charles Sale – I wonder if Stokes would be silly enough to even contemplate this?
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More Sale gossip…
lt’s not a good sign for Sky cricketer presenter Ian Ward when even his own colleagues follow up Sports Agenda in referencing on air him being so pally with the England players.
Sir Ian Botham said he was the only non-player invited to the players’ golf day last Monday, and Michael Atherton called him ‘a friend of the stars’.
I heard that reference. Took me back to the UAE golf day with the press…..
And more, this time on the man of dignity.
Hello Sean!
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So does that mean we were right that Flower has been running the England team for the last four years then?
I can’t believe the Sky team are even going down this road of attacking Ward when they have been propping up Cook for the last four years. A lot of Meowing going on here.
Egos ruffled,. Perhaps the Sky boys haven’t been clapping loud enough for dear leader. So smarties are withdrawn. Access to power is a terrible thing for integrity.
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Sale’s columns are salacious gossip. They are amusing as well as unbelievable at times. This caught my eye….
Sky Sports commentator Ian Ward has the reputation of being a friend of the players. So in the interests of at least some impartiality in the Sky TV booth, perhaps it wasn’t the best idea for Ward to be an integral part of the England team’s golf day last Monday at Stoke Park.
He returned the best score of the tournament as the only media representative involved and helped Joe Root present the golf prizes.
Meanwhile, it didn’t escape notice that Ward – on air at Egbaston when faced with having to describe Alastair Cook dropping a dolly in the slips off Ben Stokes – went out of his way to make excuses for him.
The last part is classic. The whole of the media are making excuses for Cook’s dismissals, with all this balls out of the ordinary stuff, and they pick on Ward? Really?
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Ha ha ha Too funny!
I commented that day about that Cook drop on here and Wards defence. “ the ball wobbled a lot.” Maybe it did, but he should have still caught it. Particularly as he showed us today how brilliant he is in the slips.
Make your mind up media.
How many think the media would have turned down a day at the golf with the stars? Remember when The Suns finest came on here after we called them out for a golf day with the players.
“You don’t know how journalism works” was I think his reply. Not a good sign when they start turning on each other. Or maybe it is for journalism. I’m surprised Selvey didn’t get an invite. He’s an expert on Golf so I’m told.
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How can anyone seriously talk about restraint of trade for International sport?
All that stuff about the honour of playing for your country and all that? The ECB can pick and drop who they like. See KP. Are we going to see Stokes lawyers in court showing videos of his performances with the ECB countering by playing back Stokes last over in the 20/20 final and going for four sixes?
Great, a jury of his peers will decide who should play for England?
And can you imagine the reception a player would get who sued his country for not picking him? He would be booed at every ground in the land. Who you going to play for if you get dropped? New Zealand? Good luck with that.
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I don’t see how restraint of trade can apply. Stokes was still plying his trade, in that he was still contracted and receiving his payment. England chose not to select him, that’s within their rights at any time and must surely be in the central contract.
The person who did have more of a case was KP, because they said they would never select him again whatever happened, thus shutting off his opportunities to earn at national level.
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New Zealand born Stokes
South African born KP
Don’t forget that, the papers are always reminding us, do they ever mention South African born Strauss though or Indian born Nasser?
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You are right Zeph and I am pretty sure LCL or TLG or someone on here, said the whole KP saga would have been much simpler if the ECB had just said we have decided to drop him due to form or age or whatever, rather than go the full ‘banned forever’ mode like they did.
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Not quite. KP was dropped for cricketing reasons. As he says, it was for disciplinary or they had expressly said he had no chance, rather than the move in a different direction with younger players, he could have sued them. And remember, because it was pointed out expressly by the media, that the PCA were also involved in the deal. He needed to be released from his central contract so as not to have to ask permission to play the IPL and CPL.
Reading Sale, there is a planned documentary on England reaching World #1 and the collapse thereafter. KP has yet to agree to participate. There was a silly tweet in response to Ravi Bopara this week, who was complaining about why Chelmsford smelled like shit, where KP said are “Flower, Cook and Gooch there…”
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A silly tweet maybe but I could imagine one of us writing it as a comment!
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No lawyer, but fwiw, there would be no case for restraint of trade, if anything the ECB were generous in reselecting him before the trial and again now before the independent disciplinary process. If challenged, they could cite that. It is totally legit to not pick him pending the outcome of legal proceedings.
Covered in the thread already but i assume these paranoiac ECB lawyers *aren’t* the ones who signed off on the absolutely clear cut constructive dismissal of Kevin Pietersen?
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Just to add re KP: the reason I’d call it constructive dismissal is that they never gave a clear reason – cricketing or non cricketing. He hadn’t been subject to disciplinary proceedings at any stage so that explanation is out, and the “cricketing reasons” for excluding him *forever* *while still subject to a binding contract that the ECB were not seeking to terminate* were not articulated publicly or privately.
He was sacked in breach of contract because a few senior players and some of the management disliked him. I understand his reasons for not suing their arses off, but it would have been an open and shut case.
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He probably did have a very strong case. What happened in reality was that they paid him off, to a level far greater than any tribunal would have agreed where there’s a £100k limit.
It became a “by mutual agreement” thing.
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What happened in reality was that they paid him off, I only thought about this recently and realised they must have done, although it was never mentioned.
So did they pay him off before he tried to get back in the side? if so, he was being a tad unrealistic, even though encouraged by Graves.
Or was it later and the notorious meeting with Strauss was actually “How much will you take to go away?”
Anyway, regardless, the rhinos will be glad of the money.
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Late comment, but what I saw of the morning session, Broad and Anderson slipped back a bit, not quite as brave with the length as when conditions were perfect – and when batsmen didn’t crack immediately. Not every ball, but they tell me pressure counts…
Broad bowled better later on, but he also gave away 4s at a pace which would attract comment if it were Rashid. (Rashid did and got some of those comments from the commentators…)
Delighted to see India make a game of it, at least for now.
2 challenges for England now, polish off the tail (they haven’t always been good with that) and face a bit of scoreboard pressure…
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I agree, I watched it in the gym so had no distracting commentary and my first thought was a little bit too short.
Rashid is a wicket taking bowler, a bit like Finn, you have to put up with the 4s to get the wickets.
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Arrrrgghhh. The mismanagement of Finn really angers me. England had a genuine strike bowler, and all the worried about was the runs. Steyn goes for runs – he’s expensive in terms of his RPO, and does anyone care? No. And nor should they.
What a waste.
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Sky Sports Cricket resembling a magazine for teenage girls putting One Direction on the cover.
It’s borderline creepy.
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It is all very odd.
Apparently Cook is the only batsman England hope will be “out in the middle.” England have a batting order of just 1.
And then people wonder why some of us don’t go ga ga when he takes a good catch.
The Verdict informed me that Rashid is a “luxury” player. ( whatever that is?) If England can’t score 400 runs regularly we can’t have a luxury player like a leg spin bowler apparently. Oh, and it was only Joe Roots amazing captaincy that Rashid was allowed to bowl at Kohli because other captains would not have trusted him after he went for runs. See, even when he takes a wicket (and the wicket of one of the worlds best players) it’s not down to him, but the captain.
Yet I wonder if said captain really wants him in the team? There are dark mutterings about who picks the eleven. Is it Bayliss and Root, or Ed Smith? The implication is that left to Root, Rashid doesn’t get in. So therefore guess what the peanut gallery demand? Yes, you guessed right that Smith should not pick the final eleven.
Smith is now seen as an enemy of the clever clogs insiders who are all knowing. Who thought I would ever have some sympathy for Ed Smith? But he has wondered off the farm of conventional wisdom. He is a heretic to the high priests of conformity and must be removed.
This is not an international cricket team, but some weird cult.
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I’d love to know what Root really thinks about Rashid being in the side.
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You’d think he’d be thrilled, given that Kohli is contending for the title of Rashid’s bunny.
But Root has another constituency to please, which is Yorkshire. Obviously the politics there have been… political. Things might get easier when Rashid changes counties, as it seems he will.
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Selvey sticking his fingers in his ears and going “I can’t hear you”.
No comment on Adil, but a mini book review instead.
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“I don’t understand a word of the maths”. Probably why he uncritically parroted Crowe’s Last Theorem about KP’s decline – and blamed it on IPL riches when the onset clearly coincides with the Moores farrago – yet never refers to Cook’s.
You’ll have a long wait for anything positive about Rashid. If he couldn’t muster anything for the fragile one nearly winning and nearly saving his first two Tests, he sure won’t bother now.
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Am I the only person who remembers that last year, trent Bridge was the driest flattest pitch of the summer, England played 2 spinners, and got stuffed by an innings. Why do people expect something totally different this year?
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http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/10718/scorecard/1031439/england-vs-south-africa-2nd-test-sa-tour-of-england-2017
We were stuffed, and I mentioned it in the preview. Was looking for the last time we batted second after the oppo made 300 and won. Can’t get Statsguru to do that at the moment.
UPDATE – Joburg 2016. http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8397/scorecard/800465/south-africa-vs-england-3rd-test-england-tour-of-south-africa-2015-16
Last time in England:
http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/12527/scorecard/534206/england-vs-west-indies-2nd-test-west-indies-tour-of-england-2012
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If England had by far the best of the conditions at Lord’s, this might well be India’s revenge today. They could easily get skittled given how much it’s moving around.
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I was just thinking the same thing. Lets see what Bumrah can do (though I am expecting too much of him given he’s just back from injury)
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According to Bumble India have made a huge mistake in not picking two spinners!
His argument is the pitch is dry, and batting second it could be very difficult in the forth innings. But India have to get to a point where they have a descent last innings lead.
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If the wicket starts to turn, Ashwin may prove more than enough for England to handle. I love watching Bumrah but with that action, I’m not sure he is going to have a long career.
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Interesting game now
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Even more interesting. Game on.
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The GOAT is gone for 29. Haven’t seen the dismissal, but I’m sure it was a VERY good ball, well nigh unplayable by anybody, a veritable jaffer, an absolute peach of a delivery…
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Dropped a couple of balls before with a relatively simple chance to 1st slip before he nicked off to Ishant.
Just in case anyone cares, Cook now averages a full 2 runs below KP now. Remember how KP’s form towards the end of his career, and Bell’s, meant that they could have been dropped? It’s handy all the other openers have failed.
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Don’t you know that it’s different for GOATS ?
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Who said anything about glove?
I’m not on the report tonight so there’s a song lyric wasted!
Also, in danger of having a go at our top scorer in the innings. You know how much I hate that.
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Top scorer? Nah… As usual that’ll probably be someone further down the card. Come on Adil! Let the willow do the talking and make the naysayers STFU.
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We’re down to number 7 now…..
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Butter top scores with 39, although obviously he didn’t have to contend with this week’s Ball of the Century.
England only lasted 38.2 overs. Did they think it was a Sunday League game?
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Interesting as the two dismissals came within two balls to listened as to how they dissected the two techniques, apparently Jennings shouldn’t have followed it (true as it was going across him). It then almost forced them to discuss the first nick off which they almost (but not quite) said that it didn’t need to be played on length.
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When Stocks is preparing the pitchforks, we need to look out…..
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Just in this series…?
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McGlashan did a longer line of batting scores (post his MCG double ton).
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To the second best pace bowler in the history of the game. Ishant will become the best if he dismisses Cook 3 more times, and equal best ever (to Morne Morkel) if he dismisses Cook twice more.
Clearly, the likes of Ambrose, Walsh, Marshall, Holding, McGrath, Steyn, were nothing more than mere amateurs.
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This was obviously a meant as a reply to Oreston’s post about the GOAT being dismissed for 29.
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Seen and appreciated, Sir!
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“Ishant sharma has dimissed Cook 10 times – only Morne Morkel has dismissed him more times, with 12”
You wonder why Kohli waited so long to give him a bowl. Cook is his walking wicket.
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I hate it when they refer catches to the third umpire. I can never tell if they carried
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Foreshortening makes it less than useless. It’s been shown time and again that the ball can be held three inches above the turf and it looks grounded.
That was caught. It bounces in his hands. TV is totally misleading.
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I’d limit the number of replays the 3rd umpire can watch. If he can’t tell after watching 3 (for the sake of argument) replays then he just refers it back to the on field umpire to make the decision.
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You wonder why they can’t come up with an electronic system to give conclusive evidence. Or even likely evidence, as all that is enough for Hawkeye as well.
Also, I am not sure how clear the on-field umpire can see whether a ball was caught cleanly or bounced if he is say 50 yards away, and a low catch is taken in the deep (never mind possible obstruction of views by players on the field in the line of sight).
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Who’d be an umpire? All things considered, the majority of them do a really good job.
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Well, eyes have a major advantage in that they see in three dimensions, where a camera only does it in two. That’s why the picture is so misleading. While with lbws you can argue that technology is more accurate, with low catches, it isn’t. I daresay someone is working on it.
At least the soft signal system generally works. Before that, this would have been given not out.
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And see comments.
You see what you want to see, I suppose. I genuinely don’t know, and not ashamed to admit it. Sport has never been about certainty. It certainly wasn’t cheating on anyone’s part.
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It’s never been about certainty, but that doesn’t stop people telling us – with absolute certainty – that Edgbaston 2005 would have ended differently because the Kasprowicz dismissal would have been overturned by DRS.
They tend to forget that many umpires would have given him out lbw earlier, that DRS probably would, and that no-one knows how many reviews Aus would have had left anyway.
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And that Simon Jones in that vital partnership with Flintoff was as stone dead as could be, meaning Australia would have less to chase and if my brother had been born a girl he’d be my sister!
Watching India outbowl our 1000 wicket (rounded up from 977) opening pair is pretty interesting.
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England looking to counter attack here. This could go either way quite quickly.
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If I were a betting man I know where I’d put my money.
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5 wickets for 20 runs since I said England were going to counter attack.
That went well. England are a 20/20 outfit. They might just avoid the follow on
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Got to be tempting to enforce it given the conditions at the moment. IF we lose the last wicket for fewer than 2 runs.
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Academic.
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Well, if this had been India batting, the MSM would have ridiculed them. Now it is merely an exercise in how to write this up without stating the obvious …
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“I maintain, and will until I go blue in the face, that without big hundreds, the opportunity to make massive scores to insure them against flat wickets and insufficient power bowling, England need people to be regularly scoring big centuries. Jos showed it wasn’t impossible – and he’s going to have to get used to being stranded if he keeps this form up – and yet our top batsmen have now got one ton between them in the last five test matches. I’m worried. Sorry, that’s just a bloody fact. While we might get a wicket we can bowl teams out on in this green and pleasant land, it’s not going to get us much further if we can’t string big innings together.
There are no easy answers and we (I) am not pretending there are. There is no solution easily to hand, so that’s why maybe I’m a little more down on this team than others who seem to suspend critical thinking on the basis of an upward tick in a single test. The fundamental issues apply still.”
and
ut Mr Base made many outrageous statements in his “hit” and other than saying he preferred Whoppers to Big Macs, he also said “Bro, I got an ego.” and that’s something this team is not short of. If they were anywhere near as good as they think they are, and that some of the media believe they are if they play up to form, then we’d be up there with India in the rankings. The second day’s play shows why. With a chance to bury the opposition we get flowery 40s, teasing twenties, and a nightwatchman really showing top order batsmen what to do. I’m not buying the “there’s one with your name on it” twaddle Sky Pravda puts out, but there’s some rubbish dismissals out there. Bairstow, let off an appalling leave which was going over nicks off to the last ball before the new ball is due. Root nicks off early on. Malan gets in, gets out. Bess got one that did something out of the ordinary. Botham tells Bess to enjoy the reaction he gets, while I sit there going “good on him for looking cheesed off for getting out for 49”.
Yes. What I said in June, that got the reaction it did from one, really never comes true, does it. I was doing it all wrong.
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Let me be clear, that by no means I am criticising our host(s) for pointing out the obvious. This blog has been consistently doing just that, and digging deeper than going by the platitudes of the day. This is something the MSM still is not doing, despite roughly 5 years of evidence that the promised new era since the sacking of Pietersen, is nothing but mediocre at best.
And now it is left to another luxury player (Buttler), to somehow get England to something like 200.
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Just tagged it on to your comment D because I’m a lazy so and so! Nothing in your comment was implied as a criticism.
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Might not make the follow on target…
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Going to enjoy the reaction to this innings. Millionaire batting on food stamp ability.
Also, some really good bowling.
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#39 on the radio just pointed out that India were bowling straighter, making England play and they were showing the English bowlers how to do it.
The he couldn’t resist ‘Cook got out to a great delivery’
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I get the impression that they are bowling a bit fuller as well though I haven’t seen a graphic to back that up.
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Don’t Panic
Scurran is coming…
Ah.
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Well my fears for this test have been realised. Another non-competitive match.
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Looking forward to the lecture on the sanctity of County cricket in 54321….Oh, and how red ball cricket is so different to white ball cricket.
Also, we will now have to endure another diatribe on the verdict on why we can’t afford the luxury of a leg spin bowler because our batting is so useless. If we are going to be 128/9 I don’t think five seamers are really going to make much difference Mr Willis.
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This may be good for the series but it’s playing havoc with my blood pressure. I’m just glad it is a 5 test series.
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10 for 115 in the session. India aren’t the only ones who are a bit shit when the ball swings.
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Over to you Sri……………………
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Not surprised at that England innings at all.
Nass on the tea break stating broad and Anderson bowled too short, nothing new there then.
I am surprised that Lloyd and Nass are saying Cook did not need to play at his delivery and that this mode of dismissal is becoming a worry for him. It’s not new, he’s been dismissed this way for years, nothing new, Aussies worked this out back in the 2013 series in Aus.
Felt like I was watching a T20 match at the end.
Enjoyed watching Buttler bat, good on him for going for it.
Interested to note that Pope going after the ball in his innings and this was termed positive by the commentators, whereas when Indian players do it, it’s poor technique/unnecessary. Please note I have nothing against Pope, just an observation.
This could end up very one sided, a shame, agree with LCL, want to see competitive matches!
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Just seen the Cook delivery. Absolutely he didn’t have to play at it. And I say again I think his eyes need testing. He keeps playing down the wrong line.
Curren instead of Stokes might have been a better pick. Pitching it up in line seems the asnwer on here.
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Check out @AWSStats’s Tweet: https://twitter.com/AWSStats/status/1031205231332339712?s=09
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Wow what a stat……..
“England did not lose 10 wickets in a session between 1938 and 2016. Today is the 3rd time they have done this in 2 years (24 Tests). Others: v Bangladesh at Mirpur 2016 and v NZ Auckland 2018.”
But this era is as good a standard of test cricket that has ever been according to England’s greatest living cricketer.
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Do we *have* to do facts? 😏
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Didn’t take India long to erase England’s last wicket stand of 33.
200+ lead with all ten wickets left. How many do they need?
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With the current England batting line up, on this pitch, with these conditions (possibly less overcast/gloomy, or even patchy sunshine) and a pretty handy Indian attack, I would have thought anything over 300 is a huge challenge!
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Its day 2. They could bat till Monday if they felt like it.
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Remember that TV game show in the 1980s 321? The booby prize was Dusty bin. Today if they were re-making it…….the booby prize would be tickets for the forth and fifth day of an English test match.
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TLG that comment made me laugh!
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Cook drops Dhawan. I’m not laughing.
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Nothing wrong with his eyes though, that was just Ian Bells problem. Lloyd said the ball dropped on Cook in the air, so not his fault (eughhh). Sorry but Cook is shot, problem is, there is no one to replace him! Hahaha….
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Alastair Cook in the last 5 years averages 35 in his second dig. That’s over 62 test matches.
In 21 innings in the 4th innings of a match, that goes down to 32.
Just interests me, but also shows he hasn’t recently been that rock. Top score is 65 in the 4th innings in the last 5 years.
Joe Root in his second dig averages 41 over the same timeframe. 37.7 in 4th innings.
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The ball “dropped on Cook in the air?”
Blimey, the ECB clearly need to have a stern word in the ear of Gravity. It ought to know that such things cannot be tolerated.
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Even Bumble wheeled back on that one with the replay.
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Yup Bumble quickly dropped that negative line, treason, treason, how dare he!
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Lead already 214.
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Oh, I see England’s resident nightclub expert has a wicket. So justifying his selection already.
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See leg glance…..
Cook had time to see that one, and think about it. He dropped it.
Yesterday it was one of Instant reflex, just shove out a hand, and hope it sticks is much more down to luck than judgement.
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Rather reinforces my point that it was one of Cook’s best catches doesn’t it?
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Errr…….your both right? Maybe.
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Er no,
Any fool can shove out a hand and it sticks. I know, I’ve done it.
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I did it once when stacking the shelves in Waitrose. A yoghurt dropped from a shelf to my left and without thinking my hand flung out from nowhere to grab it. A customer who was stood next to me choosing his yoghurts said “you should play for England”, I kid you not!
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See this my point Rohan. You saved a yoghurt from hitting the floor, and causing the cleaner to have to waste her time cleaning it up. All over England people are saving Yoghurts, and tins of jam from smashing onto the ground. Waitresses are catching china plates from crashing onto the floor. Every day someone catches their mobile phone before it smashes into the concrete.
Everybody’s doing it, but because it’s Cook we have to have a day of celebration.
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Ok Mark. Clearly it’s impossible to give Cook credit for anything at all.
I’ve done it too. And I know how pleased I was with it. Cook is a reasonably safe pair of hands (or was until recently) but has rarely if ever taken a blinder. That one was a good catch, and probably one of his best.
It’s not saying he’s Colin Bland levels for crying out loud. It’s acknowledging it was a good catch. Can’t you even bring yourself to admit that?
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Wish I’d never mentioned it now.
[that’s a lie].
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I remember a vey good Cook catch on the last day at Trent Bridge 2013 v Aus. Eng needed wickets but with few runs to play with, they only had one slip for jimmy, Cook took a great diving catch from 1st slip. We cheered like lunatics, great day, great match!
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“Can’t you even bring yourself to admit that?”
No, NEVER! I will not surrender to the endless Cook worship.
And anyway, this is matter of fact. His catch yesterday was more an act of luck than judgement. Today he had to judge it, and he f***** it up.
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Yes, I’m renowned for my worship of Cook.
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The Verdict is going to be a belter tonight.
England bowled out in a session, Cook playing one he didn’t have to, and then dropping a catch. How are they going to explain away all this?
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And Ebony Rainsford Brent alongside Bob!
Save yourself from yourself!
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Oh FFS!
If I owned a gun that would be the end of my tv.
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Anyone get the feeling Rashid is being set up here to be ‘hung out to dry’. I sincerely hope not, but I can’t help but feel if he doesn’t get a wicket he’ll be lambasted and the batting issues, catching etc. glossed over.
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He gets Dhawan and I have to say, he’s taken wickets at vital times on a pitch which isn’t taking much spin yet. (Only Day 2!) Really hope the selectors can see the value.
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Ahhh, I am watching on live pause, so a bit behind, glad he got a wicket and agree completely with you metatone. Hope the selectors see it as well.
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Hmm, takes a wicket, has got Kohli twice, so let’s bring him out of the attack
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Wow, I thought he only got tail Enders out.
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Up to 10 overs short today.
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Now this is something I can agree with you on! Although to be fair we did lose time this morning, and a lot of wickets have fallen today. 16 I think all told. Allowing 4 mins per wicket, So that is about an hour of just waiting for the new batsmen to come in and take guard.
But our critics will say in this new era of three day test matches who cares?
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Oh gawd, it’s bloody Ebony and Ivory now?
“Ebony And Ivory Live Together In Perfect Harmony”
Not much harmony tonight.
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I’m for competitive tests as much as the next man, but in this case I’m happy to see India bossing it, and looking forward to seeing them wipe the floor with England tomorrow. It balances the table after Lords, gives India a real platform on a foreign tour, and sets up the rest of the series beautifully. Fantastic to see a touring side on top. England may yet win the series 4-1, but they’ll have to play real cricket to do it.
I could add that there’s also pleasure to be derived from the performances of Cook and Stokes, but I’m a bigger man than that, so I’ll say nothng.
I suppose there’s an outside chance I’m getting ahead of myself, and England might knock off the 300+ or hold on for almost three days for a draw, but I’ll take a punt on this one.
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I said it when it happened for England, so I should for India too.
16 wickets in a day would be pitch inspection territory in County Cricket and to my mind it’s not the mark of a proper Test match wicket. It’s not the making of a 5 day game and doesn’t bring spinners into play. It’s not good for the game.
(Ashwin may yet make this comment look stupid, but I think it’s worth saying anyway.)
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And yet India have made runs on it. They are currently a respectable 124/2; enjoying a 292 run lead with 8 wickets still in hand. This is hardly pitch inspection territory. 10 of the 16 wickets that fell today were English and most of the rest were Indian tailenders at the conclusion of their first innings. I don’t demur one jot from your concern about five day Tests but I think we have to be honest about what happened here: England mostly batted like irresponsible numpties. Again. I think a far bigger threat to the future of five day Tests is teams full of players who give the impression that they don’t understand the format and on occasion play like they’d rather be somewhere else.
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A small example, but relevant nonetheless. How about a Phoenix Management client James Vince, having showed he was not up to it in an entire summer, is given the chance a little further on to be able to show that he was still not up to it!
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So we’re all agreed then.
Cook’s catch yesterday was as good as catching a yogurt falling off the shelf in Waitrose.
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Waitrose?
I boycotted them after that Agnew ad.
[I didn’t]
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I’m on holiday (nice! Can snooze anytime) and was falling asleep watching/listening to the end of England’s innings thinking “go on Jos, KP me, make me not fall asleep or make me regret it if I do.” I couldn’t keep my eyes open, heard the six….zzzz.
That’s not to put Jos down (not his job to bat 1-6) but I woke up ONLY an hour and a half later to game over.
And the idiots in the tower will still tell you KP was “bad news”. He made a very, very good team brilliant.
I laughed. Sadly.
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