Test India v England (5 Tests) + Ind A v Eng Lions (1 Tour Match and 3 FC games)

[The Passenger]

24th time the top five in an innings have all scored half centuries... the first time since South Africa at Centurion in 2016. SA vs NZ, New Zealand tour of South Africa 2016, 2nd Test at Centurion, August 27 - 30, 2016 - Full Scorecard

 

[Plugger35]

Credit to Hartley, he never gives up.

If you spin enough balls eventually you will get a wicket.

 

[The 747]

Not that it matters but India have missed a chance to grind them into the dirt here.

 

[The 747]

Credit to Hartley, he never gives up.

If you spin enough balls eventually you will get a wicket.

I reckon all the young England spinners have worked hard and not given up. The batting has let them down.

 

[icyflakes]

I reckon all the young England spinners have worked hard and not given up. The batting has let them down.

100%, can't blame the bowlers here. It's not like England were going out to jaffas, they went out to largely average bowling. Hartley and Bashir have done the best they could as freshies and did wonderfully.

 

[icyflakes]

I know this is already an unobtainable target with the way England are playing - but even another 30-40 runs from here would really dig the knife in in terms of morale.

 

[icyflakes]

What is it about cricketers and "X never buys the drinks" banter?! I never hear it in other sports.

 

[CrowBloke]

Gideon can be a masturbotory wank at times but he's got such a way with words.

He might have poached the sentiment from Paul Keating, who remarked scornfully that Opposition Leader John Hewson:
"... [was] simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up". Ouch!!

 

[icyflakes]

That Bumrah little tap four passed the slip was brilliant. Way too good a shot for his batting position!

 

[akkaps]

What is it about cricketers and "X never buys the drinks" banter?! I never hear it in other sports.

You don't hear about going fishing in other sports either.

 

[icyflakes]

You don't hear about going fishing in other sports either.

It wouldn't weird me out though, people have hobbies. It weirds me out that professional sportspeople getting paid millions still joke about who buys the rounds. It feels like something from the days where cricketers were basically amateurs getting a few bucks thrown their way to play cricket. It's more weird when you consider many of these people come from private school backgrounds and were wealthy well before their cricket careers came to be.

 

[western royboy]

What is it about cricketers and "X never buys the drinks" banter?! I never hear it in other sports.

Lots more time spent away from home for extended periods

 

[akkaps]

It wouldn't weird me out though, people have hobbies. It weirds me out that professional sportspeople getting paid millions still joke about who buys the rounds. It feels like something from the days where cricketers were basically amateurs getting a few bucks thrown their way to play cricket. It's more weird when you consider many of these people come from private school backgrounds and were wealthy well before their cricket careers came to be.

Fishing has nothing to do with cricket. Both instances are attempts to humanize the players and commentators

 

[brutus76]

When the Aussies went on those two streaks of Test wins in the early 2000s they scored faster and set aggressive fields and upped the ante

Spazball has taken it up a gear but is also narrow minded in its process as there's times in a game where you just need to dig in and build an innings. Spazball also includes some pretty reckless and stupid shot making and reviews.

 

[CrowBloke]

So, England 218.

India 218 ...
...
...
+ 255 , for 8 wickets.

I have a very good Pommie mate (not "a very good Pommie", a very good mate in spite of that) who had the good sense to marry an Aussie woman, but still barracks (well, intermittently) for England.
Quiet/uninterested (in winning) when they lose. Proud and outspoken when they win.
A bit like Stokes and Co., except they brag about making-the-game and 'entertaining' even when they lose.

He made the mistake of bragging loud-and-long about their First Test win after a 190-odd run deficit in the first dig.
I was unaware of the series until then, did not gaf, but like the Japanese and Pearl Harbour, he awakened a sleeping bear who has revelled in the series since then.
He's on holiday in Cambodia and I've been needling him, of course. He's feigning indifference, no Internet where he is, and cares so little that he texted me a youtube clip of the time Stokes was given out 'obstructing the field' to remind me what cheats we Aussies are.

Uh, mate, no Internet? youtube clip?

 

[PhatBoy]

When the Aussies went on those two streaks of Test wins in the early 2000s they scored faster and set aggressive fields and upped the ante

Spazball has taken it up a gear but is also narrow minded in its process as there's times in a game where you just need to dig in and build an innings. Spazball also includes some pretty reckless and stupid shot making and reviews.

Not at this level - I can’t remember the exact number but the stats guru analyst did a full article about the gap between England under stokes to the next fastest scoring team and the difference is pretty massive.

That Australian team played aggressively but not like this England side has in general. Not close to it. And England’s general dismissals through the series by and large haven’t been through their recklessness. Some have, but mostly it’s just been some poor play full stop. Playing back when they should go forward, getting trapped on the crease, gaps between bat and pad etc etc.

But That’s with the bat.


Australia under Steve Waugh, and the West Indies under Lloyd and Richards, were playing hyper aggressive cricket in the field decades before England came along. And England desperately need to do something about their bowling because it’s f**king shithouse at the moment and there’s nothing especially positive about it.

I think the sample size is big enough now to prove that their approach batting can’t carry the team long term. The bowling needs to improve.

 

[icyflakes]

Fishing has nothing to do with cricket. Both instances are attempts to humanize the players and commentators

You're clearly missing my entire point if you think that's what I was talking about given I explained why I think it's weird in my follow up.

 

[Ohitsthatguy]

Bazball is playing your natural way

Duckett and Crawley have succeeded in India playing their own way

They will both end up with better averages than Warner in India

 

[The Passenger]

It wouldn't weird me out though, people have hobbies. It weirds me out that professional sportspeople getting paid millions still joke about who buys the rounds. It feels like something from the days where cricketers were basically amateurs getting a few bucks thrown their way to play cricket. It's more weird when you consider many of these people come from private school backgrounds and were wealthy well before their cricket careers came to be.

Agreed. Or when football clubs release their fines list (or "leaked" the club would normally say). It never looks great, no matter which way it goes.

Example: Walsall release fine list including £10 penalty for mobiles in dressing room

When players are getting fined above the UK median wage (and in some cases well above the the median) it's impossible not to appear completely out of touch. At the other end of the scale, Walsall players from League 2 (not PL rich but with a very healthy league median wage of roughly £110K/year or AU$200K) docking them £2 for anything looks exceedingly trivial.

I've never seen one of these fines lists hit the media and the club / playing group coming out looking good.

Keep it in house lads.

 

[Marshland]

Bazball is playing your natural way

Duckett and Crawley have succeeded in India playing their own way

They will both end up with better averages than Warner in India

Hardly a gold standard. Try somebody like Hayden instead.

 

[PhatBoy]

Hardly a gold standard. Try somebody like Hayden instead.

What does that mean?

Even Hayden himself only averaged 51 there despite one series where they basically couldn’t get him out.

Duckett and Crawley have done fine.

Crawley in particular is one player that for the moment they don’t have to worry about beyond the ‘good problem to have’ of turning 70s into hundreds.

 

[Adelaide Hawk]

All these moral victories are beginning to become demoralizing.

 

[ioppolo]

England's middle order have been the biggest problem by far, as well as their pace bowlers. This also happens to be their most experienced part of things. Root (aside from a century), Stokes, Bairstow massively disappointing series. Anderson and Wood hugely ineffective compared to Bumrah & Shami.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

England staring down at a series-winning 4-1 deficit.

 

[Cleavy]

700th wicket for Anderson. can he get to 800?