View Full Version : India v England
England made 407 in the 1st innings & amazingly have bowled India out for 291.
This total included a Tendulkar century & although I didn't see it I listened to Test Match special on the radio & they were going mad about the little man's batting it sounded like after lunch he produced one of the great performances, whipping balls outside the off stump down to fine leg & that sort of thing.
So England did pretty well to bowl them out for a lead of over 100.There's a definite chance of victory now it's just whether we're good enough to take it, but if we make enough runs then them batting on the last day on a wearing pitch should be fun.
And who knows (if we win this one then they're gonna be under pressure for the last one.
To be honest I don't know how we bowled them out with our pop gun attack even our press(negative b@stards that they are) were all saying it would be hard to avoid a brownwash so I'm pretty proud of the performance so far.
Booze Hound
13 Dec 2001, 21:38
Pretty good performance for a team given no chance.
Saw about twenty minutes of Tendulkar. Beautiful. He's clearly the best batsman of his era.
Remember the English bowling attack has very few Test caps. I'm very impressed with Hoggard, Flintoff has been very lively and deserves more success, White has gone backwards (mainly due to injury), Dawson is very promising but they've gone after him in this innings. Giles, it must be recognised, is a better bowler than he's given credit for. He bowled very well in Pakistan last year, by Sri Lankan his injury was playing up. He's now come in on a pitch really a bit slow for him without a match since July and against the Indian batting line up. He's bowled a long spell and taken a cheap five wicket haul.
Another line on the young English bowlers that Rod Marsh has been working with. There was a piece in the Times yesterday which had Rod speaking very well of the likes of Harmison, Jones, Tudor and Tremlett.
Victor Trumper
13 Dec 2001, 22:23
The hour after lunch Tendulkar was as good as any time I have seen him. He was in total control, his placement of the ball was excellent.
England have been great so far in this Test and should give themselves a real chance to win.
WCE2000
13 Dec 2001, 23:26
England have done well in this test, especially considering the team they posted is minus Thorpe, Gough and Caddick.
The attack that England have gone into this test is an absolute shocking bunch of bowlers, and i am bewildered as to how India could've gotten out 130 short of England.
When a side goes into a test match with Andrew Flintoff opening the bowling you know your in a bit of trouble. How that guy has progressed through to international level without someone fixing his run up and action is beyond me.
As much as i hate to sound like a stuck-up aussie, the guy can't bowl, purely and simply, cant bowl.
But for the limited potential this team has, with its three best players out, i think they have done extraordinaraly well.
GoEagles
14 Dec 2001, 00:39
A little off topic, but I was flicking through the local Perth paper on the weekend and under the State grade cricket competition I noticed the name Hollioke playing for a suburban club (forgot off hand which one it was.) Does anyone know if either of the Hollioke brothers are out here in Australia for the summer?
Esperito
14 Dec 2001, 03:07
I believe this Hollioake is of the Ben variety... He's played for South Perth on and off for a few years i think. Also in years past his brother Adam has played in the same WACA competition, and also had a run in the Suburban Turf comp. None of them have really dominated the competitions they've played in here...which I guess indicates the sub-standard level of County cricket back in England these days.
blurton
14 Dec 2001, 04:46
I've never seen Flintoff before but I'll say this, if someone can fix his run up he could be super quick. He's quick now and he almost stops before he bowls.
Booze Hound
14 Dec 2001, 18:44
WCE2000:
You ARE being a 'stuck up Aussie':)
Flintoff has had to remodel his action due to injury but he's a big (very big) and strong (very strong) lad. Given a run up and maybe a leg cutter he could be a fine bowler. His batting will click one dy soon as well and he'll take some attack apart.
I think Caddick may struggle to get hos place back from Hoggard next year.
Originally posted by Esperito
I believe this Hollioake is of the Ben variety... He's played for South Perth on and off for a few years i think. Also in years past his brother Adam has played in the same WACA competition, and also had a run in the Suburban Turf comp. None of them have really dominated the competitions they've played in here...which I guess indicates the sub-standard level of County cricket back in England these days.
I don't deny that the County Championship is weak but it should be remembered that neither of the Hollioake brothers has dominated at County level.Particularly Ben who has been picked on potential & his brother ...well...I don't know why he was picked probably because he has an Aussie twang.
As for Flintoff I think he was timed at about 145 km/h in this Test which is about 90mph.That's pretty quick.
I think they've picked him to do abit of a job with the ball & because he can bat but whereas he has bowled not badly his batting against the spinners is shocking he just looks a walking wicket to me.If I was either Kumble or Singh I'd be fighting to get at him first.
England have made 257 in the 2nd innings & set India 374.This enabled them to bowl 7 overs before stumps, they didn't get a wicket.
I reckon they over did it, i'd be intersted to know what anyone else thinks.
Surely on a low slow Indian last day wicket they could have set a few less & had a bit more of a bowl tonight.It seems as if the scoring was pretty slow at the end which didn't help matters.
I don't know if our best chance of victory was to give them a bit of a carrot & risk defeat or set a total that they have next to know chance of getting(tempting fate here) & get the spinners on put men round the bat & let the pressure of the situation get to the batsmen as well as the umpires.England have obviously gone for the latter but I'm not so sure but who am I to argue with Nasser Hussain he's a pretty good captain if he only called tails instead of heads he might become a great one.
London Dave
14 Dec 2001, 22:51
I thought they would probably have 10-15 overs at them, but the attack is still pretty inexperienced, so perhaps erring on he side of caution is not a bad idea. Still reckon a win is a big chance though.
Victor Trumper
15 Dec 2001, 14:51
Dipper: The highest 4th innings total chased successfully in India is 276. Only three times has a team made more than 200 to win.
England would have been better off setting them about 320 and having about 20 overs at them last night.
I don't know how some of the other posters in this thread can be so critical of England's attack. They have busted thier guts in this Test to be in a position where they can win. If you are an English supporter be very encouraged by how England have gone about this Test.
VT,
Yeah mate i'm pretty encouraged.What on paper is a pretty average attack has definitely punched above its weight in the first innings, unfortunately wickets have been hard to come by in the second innings & the game has petered out into a draw.
I've got to agree with you on the target I think to have stood any chance of winning England had to take 2 wickets in that final session on the 4th day & so really need about 20 overs rather than 7.
I can't help thinking that the conservative declaration was down to one thing & that is Tendulkar, after the way he batted in the first innings I reckon they felt if he got going in the same vein he could make anything over 3 runs or so an over.
What the hell is wrong with Indian cricket.
Seriously for a team built around quality batting, a weakened England are not only easily containing them but taking alot more wickets than I thought they would.
Dravid scoring 3 runs in 73 minutes off 61 balls? I hope that is a typo because if not that is truly pathetic.
Yeah it's true.
Sunnil Gavasker said something interesting on Test match special.
He said foreign sides play India & think what a great batting line up they have as they all average fairly highly but he said for the last 18 months or so most of them haven't done a great deal (Tendulkar excluded) he said they just seem to boost their averages with the odd big hundred but that they collapse a fair bit & live off their reputation.
I think there's a bit of truth in that , the openers aren't great,Dravid who has a big average (it used to be more than Tendulkar's) might make a few runs in India but whenver I see him playing abroad against fast bowlers on lively wickets he lloks terrible.Laxman has had one great series & Ganguly's struggling a bit.