The question all week for England has been whether Bairstow can bat with a broken finger, and whether he can keep wicket. According to Joe Root’s pre-game press conference, the answers are “yes” and “no” respectively. Bairstow’s inclusion in the team was a relief to most English cricket fans, since the alternative would presumably have been James Vince having yet another attempt at being a Test batsman. No one (apart from James Vince, Michael Vaughan, and people supporting India) wants that.
The fact that Bairstow will play tomorrow puts into stark relief the lack of depth in English batting right now. That a serious hand injury (which the Indians have declared they will target) isn’t enough to force a player out of the team shows a massive lack of confidence in the people England could call in to replace him. That lack of confidence is fully justified, unfortunately. Haseeb Hameed is the only batsman who has debuted since Bayliss became coach in 2015 and averaged over 30. 30. The gap in quality between Bairstow batting one-handed and his potential replacement James Vince is vast.
In other injury news, Chris Woakes is ruled out with an issue with his quadriceps whilst Ben Stokes was apparently bowling with heavy strapping on his knee in training. With this in mind, it isn’t surprising that England have elected to bring Sam Curran and Moeen Ali in to replace Woakes and Ollie Pope. Whilst it might be a little harsh on Pope, who only had two games to try to cement his place in the team, his low average of 18.00 means that England could justify his replacement with an allrounder as improving the team’s batting overall.
The fact that England have replaced a specialist batsman with a bowling allrounder means that England will have 6 bowlers tomorrow (although Stokes may be used sparingly), which I suspect will test Joe Root’s captaincy in the field somewhat. It also probably suggests that Stokes and Buttler will both bat a place higher than normal, which could be a problem if England’s top order collapses.
Speaking of top order collapses, many people will be watching Alastair Cook closely in the next game after he sustained what was (for him at least) an unprecedented number of questions about his position in the team. His supporters have pointed to his strong record at the Rose Bowl, where he currently averages 110.00 in Test matches, as cause for optimism. I think it is worth pointing out that he has only played three innings there which means it is a very small sample, and his last Test in Southampton was four years ago. He has arguably declined significantly as a batsman since then.
England’s opposition have no such problems. With no reported injuries or selection headaches, it seems likely that India will name the same XI. The only surprise in this is that it would apparently be the first time in Virat Kohli’s tenure as Test captain that India have picked an unchanged team. The tourists have a great opportunity to claim a second win in England, which they haven’t managed in a Test series since 1986.
In lighter news, the ECB are apparently looking for a new President to take over the ceremonial duties from CEO Tom Harrison (who dislikes the spotlight) and Chairman Colin Graves (who seems to cause problems every time he speaks in public). The position is unpaid, and the ECB have made it clear that the new President won’t be allowed to make any public statements without the express consent of the board. Personally I’m hoping Graeme Swann gets the job. Or Michael Vaughan. Or Geoffrey Boycott. Or David Lloyd. Or…
As always, feel free to comment about the game (or anything else) below.
Being Outside Cricket 
It’s hard to comment on Bairstow & Stokes. I’d like to be able to say “if the medical staff have ok’d it, then fine” but the England medical staff setup as regards selection has such a poor record (we don’t know if it’s the med staff at fault, or selectors not listening to them) you fear this is going to be one more instance of players being picked and ending up more seriously injured. Not to mention the danger that any intensification to the injuries may affect their performance in this match.
Picking 6 bowlers really seemed odd, but if Stokes is struggling then it makes more sense. Will be interesting to see if conditions give Mo & Adil a chance to bowl a lot or not.
Long term, I’m not sure that picking Mo to bat down the order really helps us with our big problems, rather would have seen them try out someone high up, eg Burns at 3 or something.
I haven’t any idea how the pitch in the Ageas Bowl is this season, but looking at the weather forecast I suspect this will be a higher scoring game than previous games in this series and that might give India a slight edge. But if I’m honest, I wouldn’t put money on it.
LikeLike
I’d rather see Vince @ 3 than an injured Bairstow in the side at all.
Woakes is a worry, in that he seems to be injured an awful lot. That said, I don’t see any evidence he has a future for England as an overseas bowler, so perhaps – while it’s an obvious loss for him – it’s not such a big loss for England in the long run.
The England batting lineup looks exceptionally strong, with Curran @ 8 (presumably) and Rashid at 9.
I still think the selectors don’t have the first clue what their best XI is, if everyone is fit.
LikeLike
I would absolutely pick anyone ahead of a batsman with a broken finger, but at the same time I think an injured Bairstow would score more than a fit Vince. It’s just that I’d prioritise Bairstow’s long term career and fitness over increasing the chances of winning this series.
LikeLike
It’s interesting that none of the journalists seems in any way critical of this. They’re all just, “yay, Bairstow is batting up the order and can’t keep wicket!”
LikeLiked by 1 person
They had exactly the same attitude to Mo playing in the Ashes with a damaged finger. Nobody questioned it until we were 3-0 down and the Ashes gone.
LikeLiked by 3 people
At which point it was all about him not being good enough. Which is an argument alright, but failing to take into account that the bloke wasn’t remotely fit was piss poor.
LikeLike
Cook. Rose Bowl. Flat deck. India. Ashwin injured.
All the ingredients for a standing ovulation whilst Nasser screams “REDEMPTION FOR COOK!”.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m leaving for Athens tomorrow morning. If we bat first I’m sorrowfully expecting Cook to be out before I get there.
Bairstow should not be playing.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Your reverse psychology isn’t going to work on Cook, I reckon…
LikeLike
I can’t say I have much hope. Maybe I’ll have the good fortune to miss him dropping catches in the slips. Poor dear Cookie.
LikeLike
Doctors do say women are more likely to swoon when ovulating.
(Source: Dr Pringle)
LikeLike
Other problems aside; I doubt whether Root knows how to captain spinners. When England bowl he will probably give one or both an over or two each just before lunch. There is no use of having Rashid and Moeen there unless Root will be aggressive with them.
LikeLike
I literally couldn’t believe it when Root took Rashid out of the attack when Kohli came to the crease in the last match. Well I could, I suppose, if only because he’s so bad at captaining spinners.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Root is not a very good captain is he? but neither was Cook. We don’t pick captains on ability now. It’s all about image. To be fair there are very few natural leaders, and captains in a lot of modern sport. Lots of Premiership teams have no leaders.
May have something to do with the all powerful coach, and modern society. I blame the school run. Many Modern kids aren’t trusted to get themselves to school these days.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Guilty confession…
I’ve just bought tickets for day 4 (cheapest – £35),
I’ve never been to a day of Test Cricket in my life, despite it being my one true love.
I’m going with a non-cricket loving friend (she has transport). It costs an extra £10 to park. Plus £4.50 in booking fees.
I shall report back, not just on the cricket, but on the full spectator experience, in prose and rhyme, and with pics… if the game lasts that long…
ECB… be afraid, be very afraid – hehe
LikeLike
I really hope that the match gets to day four, and you have a great time. Hope you enjoy yourself!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Mark, whatever happens, I will strive to enjoy the ‘customer experience’
LikeLike
Have a great day Trev. For all the issues, a day at the Test is a wonderful thing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
LikeLike
LikeLike
Advice is to get there early, Boggers – the Ageas Bowl is something of a ballache transport wise. I’m eyeing up coming off the junction before M27 and parking in Harefield. Although I’ve admittedly never stooped to actually paying for parking…
LikeLiked by 1 person
England played Mo in the Ashes with a damaged finger, that went well!
If Bairstow gets hit on that finger and screws it up who takes the blame?
Strauss…..trust is important.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Trussed up in bandages and comical medical injections
Trust is an ECB badinage of self love with flaccid erection
A cluster-fuck of bad image in wealth fed without viewing reflection
We must muster to, non-suck, their ‘smell the glove’ with true insurrection… #FTECB
LikeLike
Mohammed Shami has said, obligingly, that the Indian bowlers will be targeting Bairstow’s fractured finger. So if worst comes to worst the ECB hacks might already have a ready-made unsporting foreign bogeyman to pin the blame on – rather than on whoever it was who decided it made sense to play a batsman with a damaged digit.
LikeLike
If Bairstow gets any kind of impact on his injured finger (wouldn’t be unheard of….) and then isn’t able to field, am I right in thinking that England won;t be allowed a sub fielder since it’s an injury he already had when the game started? Or is there some clause whereby the exacerbation of a pre-existing problem counts as a new problem for the purposes of a sub fielder?
Genuinely curious.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Under Selvey we would have had one bit of consistency in selection.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They do love Mo in a way that they don’t love Rashid.
And we all know it has nothing to do with ability. It’s pure politics. Rashid doesn’t play by the bizarre antiquated rules and cliques of the 1970s county trundlers club, and the upity pundits.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Just how many of Selvey’s dogs did Rashid run over?
LikeLiked by 2 people
For Fuck’s SAKE.
LikeLike
I’m not 100% sure, but I think it doesn’t matter so long as the opposing captain says it’s ok. I would guess that Kohli wouldn’t want to get into a Spirit Of Cricket situation like Dhoni did in 2014 with Bell’s run out, so he’d just allow a sub fieldr regardless.
LikeLike
Correct. Pre-existing injuries prevent the use of a substitute. In the same way, in club cricket a batsman who came in with a thigh strain shouldn’t be allowed a runner – not that anyone would know in all likelihood.
India may not object to a sub, but the umpires should, and probably would.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I do wonder if any other team in world cricket, when taking a couple of years to try to work out what their best team is, would not only fail to make progress, but actually regress.
No, only England, surely.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m surprised Mo and Rashid are both selected.
I am sure that it will be made up for by neither of them bowling much.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I genuinely believe that they don’t have any clue whatsoever, if that batting lineup is correct.
Ali at 7, behind Bairstow (injured), Stokes and Buttler?
And if England have enough batting to let Ali bat at 7, why wasn’t Pope allowed to bat at 5 or 6?
File Pope alongside Crane and Bess perhaps? (I reckon we’ve seen the last of Leach and TRJ, as well)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I wouldn’t be surprised if Rashid will be dropped for Leach sometime soon.
LikeLike
Jennings out LBW, a jaffa that pitched on leg, and went…straight on, not deviating in the slightest, crashing into all three.
Cut him loose.
LikeLike
I’m really not happy about this ridiculous no ball thing. It’s a plumb lbw, reviewed, and cancelled out because it’s a no ball. India lose their review because the umpire didn’t call the no ball when he should have done.
This constant issue where the first time the bowler finds out he’s overstepping is when there’s a “wicket”. FFS. No, I have limited sympathy for a bowler who gets that close in general terms, but for God’s sake, call the sodding no ball umpire. That’s your job. Umpires have managed it with the front foot rule for 60 years, why can’t you?
LikeLiked by 3 people
I agree with your whole comment, though I believe India get to keep their review since if the umpire HAD noticed the no ball when he should, they wouldn’t have bothered to use it if you see what I mean?
Didn’t cost them much as it turns out…..
LikeLike
Aha! Yep, showing two remaining. They’ve obviously changed that from a few years ago. Good, at least. Even so, it may well have cost them a wicket had he known beforehand.
LikeLike
Advance warning.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Judith Chalmers of sports reporting.
Wish you were here! But unfortunately plebs, you have to pay to get in, I don’t.
LikeLike
To be fair, that doesn’t look to me like a press position. He’s probably paid for a ticket.
LikeLike
I’d assume he gets it back from his employer as expenses though?
LikeLike
Doubt it. I wouldn’t allow anyone to do that in my line of work.
LikeLike
Let’s see if he writes a piece in the Mail tomorrow. Or The Mail on Sunday. His twitter account is like a postcard album. A bucket list of sports venues he’s been to.
Judith at the cricket, Judith in Bangladesh, Judith at Wembley, Judith at the World Cup, Judith at the Ryder cup, Judith at he boxing, Judith at the Olympics, Judith at Twickenham, Judith at the NFL, Judith at the World Series,Judith at the Masters…….
LikeLike
Wish you were there, Mark? 🙂
LikeLike
He frequently does the roving reporter role at sporting events as he doesn’t submit posts / articles until Sunday, by and large. We’ll see.
LikeLike
They don’t lose the review upon discovery of a no-ball. Still they get penalised a run for the review (otherwise it would not have been detected). So still a freebie for the batting side.
LikeLike
When will England lose a toss?
15/2, is not exactly a great start upon winning the toss.Let’s see how long Bairstow / his fingers last …
LikeLike
Looks like that question of Root converting 50’s is not an issue anymore.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Atherton talking up the “Cook Redemption” narrative already…
LikeLike
17 is just a fifth of 95, and gone …
36/4, showcasing again, that 57 all out in New Zealand was not really an aberration.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Weird shot there…
LikeLike
Very un-Cook like.
Worrying, as a Cook fan, that he got out needlessly when set. Getting set was meant to be the issue.
LikeLike
Feeling a bit like Bairstow was set up to fail there. I don’t know that 4 is normally too high for him to bat, but it certainly is when 2 wickets fall in the first hour…
LikeLike
Well England normally lose at least two wickets in the first hour, so that logically means that 4 is too high for Bairstow. The problem is that it’s too high for anyone else as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What happened to Cook there?
Another one bites the dust…
LikeLike
Why don’t England just reverse their batting order? (I’m deadly serious)
It’s not as if their top order ever protects their middle order these days.
LikeLike
It’s not ridiculous at all. Right now, England’s bottom 6 average 27.40 overall whilst the top 5 average 24.20!
LikeLike
No wonder they were so desperate to get Mo into the team. We might as well just pick eleven all rounders. Specialist batsman are a luxury now!
LikeLike
The weighted averages of the top order must be something special.
LikeLike
Didn’t read Tim’s piece on this. Is it like the work done on here by MiaB?
LikeLike
Kind of. It’s all a bit vague, but from the article: ‘The calculation of weighted average is actually fairly simple. The metric takes into account the quality of the batsmen or bowlers faced – and, for bowlers, the quality of the batsmen they dismiss – whether the match was high or low-scoring, and if the player was at home or away. ‘
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/cricket/2018/08/27/revealed-key-statistic-england-use-select-test-team-works/
LikeLike
Another top order collapse. Yawn. Giving a shot is an increasingly tough ask.
LikeLike
…or even giving a “shit.” (Curses! Foiled by autocorrect…)
LikeLike
The top order seem to have trouble giving a shot either.
Boom boom.
LikeLiked by 1 person
…and when they do it’s loose and leaves a bad smell. Still, we can’t accuse them of having the runs (!)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Anyone notice the deafening silence from the Sky commentary team about Cook’s shot? Just an indeterminate dab at a wide delivery, should he have left it?. Gritted out the first hour and gave it away as far as I’m concerned. But not a single word about it. They all went on about the catch (good though it was).
LikeLiked by 1 person
Naughty George….
For those of you keeping count, the average is now down to 45. That is now a whole 2.28 runs per innings below a man ejected from the team, who you remember, they tried to justify with “he’s past his best” “his good innings are fewer and further between” and “he’s inconsistent”.
All good “cricketing reasons”.
LikeLiked by 3 people
Ooh the wee scamp!
LikeLike
Even the defences of that record are less “vociferous” in replies to George. As if his fans have given up as well.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I suspect he’ll be retiring at the end of the series. Can’t see England having two new openers for what is likely to be the series decider.
LikeLike
Playing Devil’s Advocate, with things as they are what would be the practical downside of having two new openers for a series decider? Would they contribute fewer runs than the incumbents? Whether there’s anybody credible waiting in the wings is another matter – and there lies the true problem.
LikeLike
Well if both Cook and Jennings were dropped and England went on to lose the series I don’t think Smith and co would be getting lots of praise, let’s put it that way.
LikeLike
Equally, persevering with a failing combination and losing a home series with a procession of abject top order batting display might not reflect well either (now that it’s becoming untenable even for the most rabid cultists to deny Cook’s decline). Feeling sorry for Ed Smith isn’t something that comes easily but it’s quite possible that he’s screwed either way, stick or twist, because it’s difficult to envisage a new opening pair doing any better than what we currently have. I wonder if this is how it felt to be a Windies fan about 15 years ago.
LikeLike
Oh, I suppose we might win at the Oval despite a top order collapse with the aid of the usual bail-out from the lower middle order and the tail. That could be portrayed as a triumph against adversity and a terrific team effort. Of course it wouldn’t resolve anything, but what’s new?
LikeLike
Remember the scenes from one individual who took huge exception to lines like this….
You don’t have to be Einstein to work this out fellas.
Other objectionable passages…
Or…
I was doing it all wrong.
LikeLike
Indeed. He’s in an impossible situation really. Even if Cook and Jennings were dropped and we won the series it doesn’t answer any long-term questions.
LikeLike
Trouble is we’ll hear all the blah about how he’s perfect for the SL series… so he’ll be there if he wants to be.
LikeLike
They will have to drop him for his own good. To protect his average.
“You’ll thank us in forty years time when you are replaying back your Melbourne knock to your grandchildren.”
I still bet Jennings gets the blame on the Verdict later. Send for Vince will be the cry……….
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t be bothered to check, but I honestly would not be surprised if England were 4 down for 100 or less in roughly 80% of the innings they have batted in this year.
The top order barely takes off the shine of the ball these days. Even slow 20s from 80 balls would be more valuable than what the opening pair serve up, almost without exception.
Anything but dropping the openers will simply amount to rearranging the chairs on a sinking ship. And that sense gets heightened by the continuous selections of the tried and failed, when those who have failed have done nothing about their technical issues that led to the axe in the first place.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That was when the hope was that chef would go on to replace SRT as the top test scorer. He can still do it – though on his current form it would mean that a few players would have retired from the current team before he does.
The cook project has been cooked….
LikeLike
Is this a daft suggestion? Buttler and Stokes to open batting
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think we’re rapidly approaching the time where we are that desperate. But watching Bairstow confronted with the new ball bowlers did highlight some of the pitfalls I think.
LikeLike
They can open it when play begins or they can open it an hour after play begins but either way they will be opening.
LikeLike
I wonder if this will get “Rootmathed”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Buttler didn’t repeat his performance. Not sure if it’s fair for me to feel disappointed, but in the match situation, it’s not great…
LikeLike
7 in 125, by the way. If interested any more.
LikeLiked by 2 people
2 doubles in a year though!
Not that 186, 151 and 149 in eight months mattered much to some of the same people, but there you go.
LikeLike
WTF has WordPress done with the replies! It’ll soon be
one
word
a line
and
indecip
herable
LikeLike
You can either have the ability to reply, or not! It’s set at 10 currently. We can reduce it if you wish Trev… 😉
LikeLike
If everyone replied to the original post instead of replying to replies, it wouldn’t be a problem.
Or you could get one that goes up to 11…
LikeLike
England clearly doesn’t have any batting problem. Lower middle order is there to save the day, any time it’s required. Ali will score a ton and as long as conditions are good for swing, England will be right back in this.
LikeLike
I know nobody cares about these things anymore, but they have only just managed to bowl the 50th over.
LikeLike
Looked at the stats for England’s top order vs lower order.
Since the start of the 2016 summer:
For numbers 1-4 England average 33.52 (6th in the world) with 10 centuries.
For numbers 5-8 England average 35.97 (1st in the world) with 13 centuries.
Kohli on his own has scored more centuries in the period, than England’s top order.
England’s top four have more ducks than centuries.
LikeLike
Follow on saved then…
LikeLike