There was a point in the fourth test between India and England when the hosts were 30-odd runs behind their opponents with only three wickets remaining.
It was a false dawn though and the masterful Kohli and magnificent Jayant Yadav (in only his third test) combined to take the match and with it any hopes of a series draw beyond the grasp of the visitors.
It served to underline the gulf in experience of conditions on the sub-continent. India rammed home their greater knowledge and understanding of how to play in such an arena. Through most of this series they have been the far better of the sides and a win was inevitable once a lead of 200 was surrendered. … Read Full Article
Posts Tagged: Ben Stokes
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Congratulations to Bangladesh as England Spin to Defeat
Well done Bangladesh on a first test win over England. The victory was thoroughly deserved and the series could have so easily finished 2–0 to the hosts rather than the 1–1 draw.
Both matches were excellent adverts for test cricket in that they were testing for both teams with the Tigers in my mind claiming a points victory over the two games. In Mehedi Hasan they have clearly unearthed a young diamond who may yet help to propel his team to more victories against the top teams.… Read Full Article
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Professional England See Off Tigerish Bangladesh
Well done England on a professional ODI series victory against Bangladesh. The Tigers might not be viewed by all as the toughest opponents and the visitors will certainly face sterner tests – but any Asian opposition on home soil is anything but a pushover.… Read Full Article
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Points to Ponder After Opening Loss
One test in, England are one-nil down. Well done Pakistan
Having brushed Sri Lanka aside England are in the midst of a much sterner test against an in-form Pakistan. And the visitors succeeded where many others have failed of late, i.e. to expose England’s weaknesses.
Perhaps England’s main weakness is a lack of top quality spinner. Moeen Ali is useful for a good few overs and tends to surprise many batsmen and trick them into a false sense of security. He is, however, a second spinner. If he couldn’t bat would he be in the side? Very unlikely. He’s a backup option, not lead the attack material. How and why England have chosen to ignore Adil Rashid amazes me. Over the decades English selectors have shown a reluctance to pig leg-spinners and Rashid is seen as susceptible of leaking a few runs – but he has proven in ODIs and T20s that he is able to keep it tight. Thankfully they have at least indicated they are willing to put this right by naming him in the 13 man squad for the second test. They must pick him – especially as Old Trafford tends to offer encouragement to the twirlers. England have a bit of a selection dilemma on their hands – I suspect Ben Stokes and Moeen are fighting it out for one place.
… Read Full Article
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Super England Claim Super Series
With just one match left in this new “super series” format between England and Sri Lanka the home nation have proven themselves completely dominant
Winning the test series comes as no surprise – the visitors were never going to be able to cope with Anderson and Broad in home conditions – but I expected a sterner test in the 50-over format.… Read Full Article
0Pitch Perfect England Need a Sterner Test
So the first test of the summer is at an end. Well done England for a victory for what was really a match of men against boys.
Sri Lanka are, to use that oft touted sound-bite, a team in “transition” and boy did it show. It must be remembered, however, that they kept a strong England batting line up to a tad under the 300 mark – and half of those runs came from the excellent Jonny Bairstow. Alex Hales did well too with a decent knock and must be kicking himself he didn’t convert it into a ton. Had it not been for those two it might have been a closer run thing. We will never know.… Read Full Article
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Management Need to Stoke the Fire for Success
Wow, incredible, fantastic. I could go on: the list of superlatives to describe the magnificent (there, I’ve slipped another one in!) innings by Ben Stokes in the drawn second test has to rank alongside the best ever knocks in international cricket.
I know – points to this writer for stating the bleedin’ obvious! What his innings does do though is highlight the need for England to be able to not only spot talented individuals such as Stokes but to nurture them and encourage them to reach their full potential.… Read Full Article
0Ashes to Ashes, England to Dust
For what I am about to say may I be struck down from above…but I am glad that this Ashes series is at an end. Quite simply Australia have played far better than the sum of their individual parts and England have been, for the large part, absolutely diabolical.
As sure as night follows day the Aussies wrapped up a devastating 5–0 series win, yet again bowling England out for a pitiful total not worthy of an international line up. The visitors now need to go back, re-group and pick up the pieces from this potentially disastrous tour down-under.… Read Full Article
0Australia urn their easy Ashes victory
With a ruthless determination and a killer instinct worthy of a wolf chasing a wounded deer, Australia duly completed the rout of a demoralised England this morning.
England simply haven’t turned up this series and a rejuvenated Australia have preyed on every weakness and every failing to humiliate what is still a pretty good side.
Winning a fourth consecutive Ashes series was a pretty tall order and it was one that was beyond England. The urn now returns to Australia (figuratively speaking, anyway!) and we no doubt won’t hear the end of it from our cousins on the other side of the planet.
As Cook admitted in his post-match press conference, England have been outplayed in all areas and will, I suspect, claim a 5–0 triumph. It’s simply not their style to take their foot off the gas. The wolf has caught the prey, now he wants to finish every last tasty morsel.… Read Full Article
“The pink ball appears grey/blue in red/green deficient vision, depending on its severity. I did a simulation with colour blindness…”