Sport Cricket: Winter 2020/2021

[Leysboy]

And the local commentary team know that. That is why they are attempting to divert attention away from the pitch by putting it back on the teams batting.

On that, when did India last get 130 odd in a first innings at home? That should be enough for anyone to suggest that the pitch is a disgrace

Sunil Gavaskar was mooting that yesterday aswell.

He looked at Broads best figures against Australia 8/15 and then said that it was so green the wicket the batsman couldn’t play on it. He then went on to mention nothing was said about that pitch, but this pitch is attracting interest for the wrong reasons.

 

[unification]

Sunil Gavaskar was mooting that yesterday aswell.

He looked at Broads best figures against Australia 8/15 and then said that it was so green the wicket the batsman couldn’t play on it. He then went on to mention nothing was said about that pitch, but this pitch is attracting interest for the wrong reasons.

So unplayable that England batted to 391-9 dec in that Test .

You know you have a bad pitch when both teams struggle on it. The second test did feel like a bit of moaning poms - Aggers saying it was awful and yet India racked up runs on it. No qualms from me for that one as India were simply better.

This one however has been bad for both sides.

England all out for a sorry 81.

 

[Sarge]

81-9 ....... tough ask to bowl India out for 47

 

[Foley]

Sorry if this has been covered earlier, but why did we pick a team of seamers on a pitch like this?

It was a ridiculous decision. As said by a lot of people at the time.
Root is a decent bowler but he doesn't bowl enough to be a front line spinner (he himself seems to think so)
I guess that the only thing England could claim is that they haven't any other spinners that they trust?

 

[Sarge]

Shocking that Stokes was the highest scoring batsman in that innings with 25........lowest total ever in India

 

[unification]

Massively weird stats with an innings still to come.

Two scores of 50+ in total in the match and the only two players to make a score of over 30 (Kohli and Stokes with 27 and 25 next highest).
Only seven English batsmen in two innings made double figures.
Only five made double figures for India in their first innings.
28 of the 30 wickets have fallen to spin.

If England pull this off and they won't as even just a few boundaries will finish it, it will be even bigger than Stokes's amazing innings at Headingley.

 

[Junior_1]

See a tweet from Warner earlier (before we batted) where he suggested England flip the batting a order a bit.

Mentioned along the lines of Broad or Archer go up the order to open with Crawley and try smash a quick fire 20/30. Got panned but it’s that kinda innings which could have worked.

 

[Leysboy]

Look at them figures. A part time bowler with and average of 41, gets a best of 5/8 says it all. We’re in Day 2 for Christ sake.

 

[Oufcrealist]

It was a ridiculous decision. As said by a lot of people at the time.
Root is a decent bowler but he doesn't bowl enough to be a front line spinner (he himself seems to think so)
I guess that the only thing England could claim is that they haven't any other spinners that they trust?

We obviously didn't think the pitch was that bad. But you should always play 2 spinners out there. A spinning all rounder would be ideal. I think Bess would have got 3 or 4 wickets at least.

 

[Big Ron]

Miles behind Anil Kumble, but favourable conditions in the sub continent helps.

Still a great achievement nevertheless.

That's a very qualified acknowledgement - 2nd fastest player to 400 wickets after Murali and some years to go. I think all the greats take the bulk of their wickets in their home country in favourable conditions (look at Jimmy).

However, having previously defended India's right to produce a favourable wicket, this has overstepped the mark. Not just the spin and bounce but also the crumbling of the bowlers foot-marks on the first day!

 

[Essexyellows]

They took dinner to make it last..........

 

[unification]

India looking to finish this quickly. No pressure on them now.

 

[ZeroTheHero]

Test match will be over just after tea on day two. A complete waste of time.

 

[unification]

All over and a humiliating way to end. The tiny total was destroyed by a handful of boundaries.

Moan about the pitch all we want but they are better than us in these conditions. Better spinners, better batsmen, better all round. Giving them a scare isn’t really enough.

I think we’ll have them in England though.

 

[Leysboy]

Good finish it off, I think a lot of fans around the world have been cheated out of a superb test series, and have rapidly lost interest. Creating pitches that play like a Day 4 pitch on Day 1 is not interesting for fans of the game.

 

[Sarge]

after that humiliating defeat, cherry on the top, England cant qualify for the world test match series ....in England

 

[andystroud]

India slipped up in the first test by giving the seamers something to bowl on. They weren’t going to make the same mistake with the pitch again.

 

[Foley]

In England we tend to try and get 5 days worth of cricket due to the large crowds paying a lot of money and TV.
I hope that India are penalised a lot in revenue from the TV Companies for completing in 2 days.
As somebody else said above, what could have been a fantastic Test series is now a total farce
Any money on what the pitch for the 4th Test will be like?

 

[Leysboy]

In England we tend to try and get 5 days worth of cricket due to the large crowds paying a lot of money and TV.
I hope that India are penalised a lot in revenue from the TV Companies for completing in 2 days.
As somebody else said above, what could have been a fantastic Test series is now a total farce
Any money on what the pitch for the 4th Test will be like?

I think they need to win the series 3-1 to qualify with New Zealand. I could be wrong on that, I can’t quite remember the permutations but it would be nice to thwart them, and draw the series! just the see the look on Kohli and Ravi Shastri’s faces, when they fail.

I don’t see that happening however, because it’s probably going to be something similar to what’s been served up for the last 2 days.

 

[tonyw]

All over and a humiliating way to end. The tiny total was destroyed by a handful of boundaries.

Moan about the pitch all we want but they are better than us in these conditions. Better spinners, better batsmen, better all round. Giving them a scare isn’t really enough.

I think we’ll have them in England though.

I think so as well.
If we prepare a series of green tops where the ball seams all over the place then I would absolutely guarantee it.

But that's kind of the point - if pitches everywhere are dialed up to eleven (dust bowls in India and Pakistan, trampolines in South Africa and Australia, fields in England and New Zealand), then away sides are never going to win a Test series again. Home teams will always be better in the conditions they're familiar with, and will win every time.

It's bad for cricket.

When pitches are fair - good for batsmen with only a bit of assistance for the bowlers early on; maybe breaking up a little and helping the spinners on Days 4&5 - (as for example, they were in Australia over Xmas when India played an all-time classic series there) - then Test cricket is the greatest sport in the world. But what we saw in this particular Test was a farce.

When it is a logical, correct decision to open the bowling with Joe Root rather than James Anderson, Jofra Archer or Stuart Broad on the second day of a Test match, then the ground staff have ****ed up in a big way.