Some thoughts on the England XI for the test match that starts at Lord’s tomorrow and a photo gallery.
Tomorrow the second of three test matches between the England and Sri Lanka men’s teams gets underway at Lord’s. England announced their playing XI yesterday and this post looks at that announcement
The only change is the injury enforced one of Olly Stone for Mark Wood.
THOUGHTS ABOUT THE XI
Ben Duckett failed twice in the first test but has done enough to prove himself as a test opener. Dan Lawrence is not really an opener at all, but a) he didn’t do too badly in Manchester and far more significantly in my view, b) to change your mind about something like this after one match would smack of panic. Ollie Pope has a magnificent FC record but an ordinary test one to date, though his average at number three in test cricket is respectable. As skipper he was going to keep his place barring injury, but there remains a Hick like chasm between his FC and test returns. Root, Brook and Smith are the engine room of the batting, and to have left any of them out would have been rank stupidity. The question arises over number seven. England, sticking to the policy with which they won the first test, went for the genuine all rounder Chris Woakes, leaving Smith with the gauntlets and enabling the selection of five front line bowlers. I wholeheartedly approve of this policy. The alternatives were either to deepen the batting at the cost of leaving the bowling light or to select a keeper at seven and relieve Smith of the gloves. I would have preferred to see Smith elevated as a pure batter rather than as batter/ keeper, but he barely put a foot wrong since his promotion to international status, and I much prefer a full range of bowling options (have a look at some of my All Time XIs, especially the one of players whose surnames begin with V for more on my thoughts in this regard). Atkinson fared well with the bat at number eight last time out, and has done brilliantly with the ball all through his test career to date. Potts had a poor game at Old Trafford, but I think it right to persist with him rather than give up straight away. Stone is a fine bowler who would have played many more times at the highest level but for the injury problems that have dogged him all through his career. Bashir has not any tremendously helpful conditions this home season but he has been adequate as a spinner. Thus over these selections I am broadly supportive of the ECB (it would be frankly laughable for anyone to make out that I of all people am blindly loyal to the ECB).
PHOTOGRAPHS
Before I present the full gallery (remember to view images at a larger size than shown here just click on the image) a brief note about the featured image which appears last of all. It is a composite of two images taken approximately 26 hours and about a quarter of a mile apart – the first was something I spotted on a leaf in my back garden when setting off for work yesterday, the second something I saw on the way home from a walk that took in among many other places both the library and a supermarket (the first of three walks today – the pictures from the other two are still on my camera). We are now ready for my usual sign off…
This picture of the remarkable Gayton village sign (a 3d construction) came with the assistance of me having got the best seat on a closed-top double decker bus – the non-drivers side front window seat on the top deck.
A look back at England’s win over Sri Lanka at Old Trafford and a large photo gallery.
At just after 7pm yesterday evening Joe Root straight drove a four off Prabath Jaysuriya to seal an England win the opening test match of the series against Sri Lanka. This post looks back at the match and gives England player ratings.
THE FINAL STAGES OF DAY THREE
I put up a post on Friday and this section picks up the action from there. Mendis and Mathews fought well, and although Milan Rathnayake, promoted after his first innings efforts, did not fare well he did last long enough that Chandimal was able to resume his interrupted innings. He and Kamindu Mendis carried Sri Lanka to the close at 204-6, a lead of 82 overall. The biggest news of this period of the day was that Mark Wood suffered a thigh injury, which we now know has ruled him out of the rest of the series. Olly Stone will probably take his place in the XI for the next test, while 20 year old Leicestershire bowler Josh Hull has been added to the squad.
DAY FOUR
Sri Lanka initially responded superbly to their adversity, and Kamindu Mendis and Dinesh Chandimal took Sri Lanka past the 300 mark while still together. The breakthrough finally came when Atkinson had Mendis caught by Root for 113, a superb century that rightly earned him a standing ovation from the Manchester crowd. The tail then imploded and from the high water mark of 307-6 Sri Lanka were all out for 326, an advantage of 204.
Chandimal’s thumb injury meant that he could not keep wicket, and Kusal Mendis took his place behind the stumps, with yet another Mendis, Ramesh of that ilk, on as substitute fielder. Asitha Fernando had Duckett caught by the second choice keeper with the score at 34, Duckett 11. Pope never looked remotely comfortable, and his dismissal caught by skipper de Silva off Jayasuriya for 6 to make it 56-2 was no surprise in the circumstances. Lawrence after making a respectable start for the second time in two innings as opener also failed to convert that start into a really big score for the second time out of two, falling LBW to Rathnayake for 34 to make it 70-3. Brook was starting to look impressive when he hit a return catch to Jaysuriya to make it 119-4. Jamie Smith injected some vital momentum when England were threatening to atrophy, scoring 39 off 48 balls before Asitha Fernando bowled him to make it 183-5. That made it 150 runs in the match for Smith. Woakes joined Root, and the pair never looked in any difficulty as they knocked off the remaining 22 to win. On the face of it this was comfortable for England, but that run chase was definitely hard work for them, and had Sri Lanka’s top order functioned adequately in either innings (they were 6-3 at low water mark in the first innings and 1-2 in the second – five top order wickets across the two innings for a mere seven runs) they might well have embarrassed England. Jamie Smith whose 150 runs across the two innings, both contributions being crucial, and a wicket keeping performance marred by only one definite error, his role in the no-ball as per law 27.3.1, was deservedly named Player of the Match. Scorecard here.
ENGLAND PLAYER RATINGS
Ben Duckett – 3. Two failures with the bat. Dan Lawrence – 6. He is not an opener in spite of which he fared respectably in both innings, but loses points for not managing a major score either time. Ollie Pope – 3. Failed even worse with the bat than Duckett, but gets some credit for winning his first match as captain. Joe Root – 8. 104 runs for once out in the match, and his cool head in the final innings steered England through what could have become very choppy waters. Harry Brook – 7. Two good counter attacking innings when England needed them, a combined 88 runs in the match. Jamie Smith – 9. His first innings century turned a potentially sticky situation into one where England were in command, his 39 in the second innings injected some extra momentum at a crucial stage of the chase and his keeping was sound overall. The law 27.3.1 incident and the fact that he did not quite manage to see the chase through were the only negatives. Chris Woakes – 7. Three wickets in each Sri Lankan innings, a crucial supporting innings first time round for England and there at the death second time round. Gus Atkinson – 6. Wickets in both Sri Lankan innings and a crucial supporting knock first time round for England. Matthew Potts – 5. The least impressive of England’s regular bowlers, he shipped runs at five an over in the first Sri Lanka innings, and his three wickets in the second looked a flattering return as well. Mark Wood – 6.5. His searing pace, unmatched by anyone on either side, had more impact than his mere two wickets in the match might suggest. Sri Lanka’s best batting period in the match came, not coincidentally, after injury had removed him from proceedings. Shoaib Bashir – 6. Three wickets in the first innings, wicketless second time round.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
I put in an appearance at a Beer Festival at the Rathskeller today – it is an event raising money for charities, among them the West Norfolk Autism Group.
A look at developments in the England v Sri Lanka test match at Old Trafford and a photo gallery.
The test match between England and Sri Lanka is into the final session of the third day. England have fared very well. I covered events of the first day here, so what follows will look at days two and three.
DAY TWO
Yesterday was a work day, so I missed most of the play. Almost all of the England front line batters (Pope being the exception) got some sort of start, but they also got out without going on to really big scores, with the exception of Jamie Smith who batted superbly and ensured that England were well placed. England were 259-6, 23 runs ahead on first innings when rain and bad light halted the action, with Smith 72 not out.
DAY THREE
The morning session gave the lie to those who had worried that England’s decision to play five front line bowlers with Woakes at number seven had left them with too long a tail. It was over an hour before England lost a wicket, Atkinson being the one to go for 20. By then Smith had completed his maiden test century, and England had moved past 300. At 315 Smith himself fell, for 111. However Potts, Wood (22 off 13 balls) and Bashir added a further 43 entertaining runs for the last two wickets before England were all out. In the run up to lunch things got better still for England as Woakes and Atkinson bagged a wicket a piece in the mini-session Sri Lanka had to negotiate before the interval. The second session of the day was better for Sri Lanka, although they lost the wickets of Karunaratne and their captain Dhananjaya de Silva, and also saw Chandimal suffer an injury when a ball from Wood struck his thumb, which was serious enough to at least temporarily remove him from the action. Angelo Mathews and Kamindu Mendis got Sri Lanka to the tea interval, though they were still in arrears at that point. That pair are still together as I type, with Sri Lanka now 146-4, 24 runs ahead overall. There was a bizarre outcome to a review of an LBW appeal by England when TV replay Umpire Joel Wilson requested a split screen showing bowler and wicket keeper at the time the ball was delivered to check whether the wicket keepers gloves were wholly behind the stumps, as required by law 27.3.1 – and they were not, leading to a call of no-ball and an extra run to the SL total, but fortunately for Smith the replay showed that even had this offence not happened the not out verdict wouldn’t have been overturned – it was umpire’s call on whether it was hitting the stumps.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
This green shieldbug was resident in my garden for a couple of days. I took several images, getting far closer than is usually possible.
A look at action on day one of the test match so far (there is not likely to be any more due to the light) and a photo gallery.
The first test match of the series between the England and Sri Lanka men’s teams got underway today in Manchester. The first innings of the match has now concluded, and this post looks at what we have seen so far.
THE MORNING SESSION
Sri Lanka won the toss and opted to bat first, as was virtually mandatory given that no side have won a test match at Manchester after putting the opposition in. Ollie Pope, stand in skipper for England in place of the injured Ben Stokes said that he would have chosen to bowl had he won. England began extremely well, reducing Sri Lanka to 6-3, with two wickets for Woakes and one for Atkinson, albeit both of Woakes’ wickets, taken in the space of four balls had the assistance of the batters – Madushka played a loose shot to be caught by Root and the veteran Angelo Mathews horribly misjudged a leave when the ball was very close to the stumps and fell LBW. Wood produced a brute of a ball that Chandimal could only fend into the hands of Brook o make it 40-4. Bashir, brought on late in the morning session, produced one that kept wickedly low to pin Dinesh Chandimal LBW (he reviewed it, probably out of disbelief that a ball in the first session of a test match in England had actually behaved in that fashion) and that was 72-5. Kamindu Mendis kept skipper Dhananjaya de Silva company until lunch, by when Sri Lanka were 80-5.
THE AFTERNOON SESSION
With the score at 92 Woakes found the edge of Kamindu Mendis’ bat, Smith took the catch and SL were six down. Prabath Jayasuriya got to to 10, before Atkinson’s pace proved too much for him – he was caught off what was called a no-ball as the third bouncer of the over but was unable to make use of the reprieve, edging through to Smith two balls later and that was 113-7. Milan Rathnayake was making his test debut, but proceeded to bat with a competence that should have shamed most of those above him in the order. Tea was approaching when the previously impeccable de Silva played a poor shot at Bashir, turning the ball straight into the hands of Dan Lawrence to be out for 74. That was 176-8, and tea was taken with the score 178-8.
THE EVENING SESSION
Rathnayake and Vishwa Fernando were now in occupation, and both batted well in contrasting ways – Rathnayake assumed control of the scoring, will Vishwa Fernando blocked. During their partnership the light became an issue, and England were able to continue only be deploying Root in partnership with Bashir. Rathnayake had set a new record for a number nine on test debut (72), and the highest score for nine years for anyone debuting at nine or lower in the order (Ashton Agar scored 98, also against England, from number 11 on his test debut in 2015) when he finally fell, holing to Chris Woakes off Bashir, whose third scalp of the day brought his test bowling average below 30 per wicket (29 at 29.86. That was 226-9, and the last pair Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando added a further 10 runs before Vishwa was run out to end the innings. 236 all out was far more than Sri Lanka could have hoped for from 6-3 or indeed 113-7, but the Bashir delivery to Chandimal notwithstanding this not actually an especially tough pitch for batting, and England will probably be pleased with their day’s work, especially if they make it to the close without loss (SL have opted to open with Prabath Jayasuriya and Dhananjaya de Silva, deciding they want to bowl this evening and accepting that to do so they must use spin only). As I prepare this for publication Sri Lanka have turned to pace and the umpires have immediately suspended play with England 22-0 after four overs, Duckett 13* and stand-in opener Lawrence 9*.
A quick look at the England XI for the first test against Sri Lanka, which starts on Wednesday and a huge photo gallery.
The second part of the England men’s test summer gets underway on Wednesday at Old Trafford, against Sri Lanka. The England XI for that game has just been announced and this post looks at the selections.
There are no absolute bolts from the blue here, which is a good thing. With Crawley and Stokes injured there had to be at least two changes. Having opted for Lawrence, although he has never done the job in red ball cricket before playing him as an opener was the least disruptive thing that England could have done in the circumstances. Some might notice that there is less batting depth than against the West indies, but I personally applaud the selections of Smith at six (he bats at number four for Surrey, so this no real gamble) and Woakes at seven, which gives the side five front line bowlers. With Potts, Woakes and Bashir there the two gun speedsters, Wood and Atkinson, can be used in short spells as would be preferable. Potts has a first class century to his name, and Atkinson can also handle a bat. Additionally, the Sri Lankan bowling attack is not exactly fearsome, and to win test matches one generally has to take 20 wickets, so again with Stokes’ absence forcing a decision between being light on bowling or somewhat lacking in batting depth it was better to go for the former. Although he would not have been my first choice pick for the role at the start of the season I am pleased to see Shoaib Bashir being given an extended run as first choice spinner – as someone who first started following England in the second half of the 1980s and witnessed the whole of the 1990s in their (in)glory I have developed a major dislike of ‘here today, gone tomorrow’ selections.
I think the selectors have done the best job possible in difficult circumstances, and I expect this side to fare well against Sri Lanka.
An account of England’s victory over West Indies at Edgbaston and resultant 3-0 series triumph, plus a photo gallery.
Yesterday I put up a post just as England were moving into a first innings lead over West Indies in the third test match of the series at Edgbaston. This post looks at the events that have unfolded since that one.
ENGLAND SURGE AHEAD
Jamie Smith and Chris Woakes extended England’s lead at a rapid rate. Smith just missed out on a maiden test century, but his 95 was a command performance, beginning with England still very much in jeopardy and ending with them in complete control. The scoring was not quite done even then – Gus Atkinson belted a couple of sixes coming it number ten, and England ended with a first innings lead of 94, and West Indies had an awkward mini-session to get through with the bat.
EARLY WICKETS FOR ENGLAND
West Indies did not make as much of a Horlicks of this mini-session of batting as the 1994 England side had in Trinidad, but the experienced Kraigg Brathwaite fell early, and Kirk McKenzie completed a truly miserable series (33 runs at 5.50 in six innings from a supposed number three) by doing likewise.
WOOD WASTES WEST INDIES
The West Indies had a respectable morning, though they needed far more. Mikyle Louis who had previously produced a succession of scores in the 20s completed a maiden test 50, and Kavem Hodge also reached 50. However, the lunch time score of 151-5, with da Silva batting in company with Hodge held out little hope for them, being a lead of only 57. The end of the West Indies innings was swift and brutal as the pace of Mark Wood was simply too much for them. Joshua da Silva had been somewhat fortunate to survive two LBW appeals from Wood when he was given out at the third time of asking and did not review it. Six runs later Alzarri Joseph had his stumps comprehensively shattered, and then at 171 came the killer blow for such hopes as West Indies retained, Hodge edging one through to Smith who made no mistake with the catch. Three balls later Jayden Seales’ off stump was sent cartwheeling. Number 11 Shamar Joseph creamed a four through the off side but the second ball of his innings was fast, full and straight, took the edge of his bat and flew to Brook in the slips. West Indies were all out for 175 and Wood had figures of 5-40 for the innings.
STOKES SLAMS HOME ENGLAND’S SUPREMACY
Zak Crawley was having a scan on an injured finger, which means that England needed someone else to open. However with a target of only 82 (three runs fewer than has ever been successfully defended in the fourth innings of a test match, and that match in 1882 was incredibly low scoring – the highest of the four individual innings was Australia’s second innings of 122) this was unliekly matter much. Rather than ask anyone else to do the necessary Stokes donned the pads himself and opened the innings with Duckett – two left handers answering to Ben opening the innings together. It was soon apparent that Stokes intended the match to be over before the tea interval – before the innings was two overs old he had struck four boundaries, and he continued in that vein, overshadowing Duckett, not generally noted for being a shrinking violet with the bat. Stokes reached 50 off just 24 balls, the quickest ever for England in test cricket (four balls quicker than Botham v India during the 1981-2 series), and two balls outside the all-comers record by Misbah-ul-Haq of Pakistan. Stokes finished things by belting the second ball of the eighth over for six to give England victory by ten wickets with two days and a little more than a session to spare. Wood’s blistering spell to terminate the West Indies second innings saw him named Player of the Match, while Gus Atkinson with 22 wickets at 16.22 each in the three matches was named Player of the Series. The West Indies have a promising bowling attack, but their batting is indubitably weak and lacking in depth. Playing Holder at six and da Silva at seven requires a much stronger top five than West Indies currently possess – Louis batted well today, Brathwaite is experienced but no ones idea of a great test opener and Hodge has been impressive, but Athanaze has played only one innings of note in this series, and I have already mentioned Kirk McKenzie’s shocking series. A full scorecard for this match can be seen here.
PHOTOGRAPHS
A little bit of a preamble to today’s gallery, relating to the first picture in it: one of my fairly recent library finds is Rachel McLean’s ‘Dorset Crime’ series, several volumes of which I have now read. I highly recommend this series, in which I have read books 1,3,4,5,6 and 7 to date. The seventh book, “The Blue Pool Murders” features a map showing all the locations (LJ Ross in her Northumbrian crime series does the same thing, as does Rebecca Tope in both her Lake District and Cotswold series). Preamble done here is my usual sign off…
A look back at the test match at Trent Bridge between England and West indies. and a fine photo gallery.
I did not actually get to follow a great deal of the match that unfolded at Trent Bridge between Thursday and Sunday (scheduled for five days, but four proved enough). Thursday was a work day, so I got only the closing stages of England’s 416, and as documented in my previous two tests I was busy over the weekend.
A HISTORIC MATCH
England amassed 416 on the opening day, but had, as opening batter Ben Duckett admitted, “left a few runs out there”. The West Indies response was led by two batters from the tiny island of Dominica (also birthplace of pace bowlers Norbert Philip of the West indies and Phillip DeFreitas of England) Alick Athenaze (82) and Kavem Hodge (120, the first test century by a Dominican), and at the end of day two they were 351-5 in response to that 416 by England. In the end, assisted by England trying to be too clever against the tailenders, West Indies led by 41. During the bit of listening I got in on the Saturday in between concerts Brook and Root batted beautifully after Pope had completed a 50 and then got out. Both players would get hundreds, but for the second time in the match England didn’t maximise their opportunity, suffering a collapse late on. They did however pass 400 for the second time in the match, the first England team to do so (though it has been done against them at least once – Headingley 1948, England 496 and 365-8 declared, Australia 458 and 404-3 to win by seven wickets). Part of the reason that occurrences are rare (there have been 12 in all of test history) is that sides putting up big totals used to expect only to bat once – declining to enforce the follow-on was much rarer than it has recently become. Also scoring rates were less rapid in test cricket in days gone by, which mean that topping 400 twice would almost certainly not have led to victory (the extraordinary Headingley 1948 match aside). West Indies thus need 385 to win – fewer than had been scored in any of the first three innings of the match. By the time I got to catch up on the action on Sunday after Norton Hill the West Indies second innings was already underway, and it did not initially look promising for England. However, with 61 on the board Woakes had Mikyle Louis caught behind and a dramatic collapse set in, including off spinner Shoaib Bashir entering the record books by taking wickets in each of his first three overs – before this only one spinner had taken wickets in each of their first two overs in a test innings at Trent Bridge – Shane Warne, when he almost bowled Australia to victory in 2005 with England needing only 129 to win. When Wood dismissed Sinclair courtesy of a catch by Crawley West Indies had tumbled to 93-6. They were still six down when I left for my evening engagement, but England, with the aid of the extra half hour got the job done that evening. West Indies were all out for 143 in the end, Bashir 5-41, including the final wicket, Shamar Joseph clean bowled for 8. Pope was named Player of the Match for his scores of 121 and 51. England had underachieved with the bat in the first innings on their own admission, had arguably done the same in the second, and had still emerged victorious by the huge margin of 241 runs.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
A Red Admiral looking rather the worse for wear.In contrast this Comma looked in perfect health.
A look at developments so far on day one of the England v West Indies test match, dominated by an extraordinary debut performance from Gus Atkinson. Also a photo gallery.
Today is day one of the opening test match of the series between England and West Indies, which is happening at Lord’s. This post looks at the action so far.
THE PRELIMINARIES
Both playing XIs were known in advance, England’s on Monday, West Indies’ yesterday. England had gone for batting depth, with Woakes at number eight, while the West Indies had opted for extra bowling strength, and both Holder at number six and da Silva at number seven looked to be a place too high in their order for comfort. England won the toss and elected to field first.
THE MORNING SESSION
James Anderson in his final test match took the new ball in partnership with Woakes. West Indies got through 10 overs without losing a wicket, at which point Gus Atkinson came on for his first bowl in test cricket. Atkinson immediately showed the extra pace that had been the reason for his selection, and struck with his second ball, Kraigg Brathwaite dragging it on to his stumps. West Indies got through the rest of the over, but Atkinson avoided conceding any runs. Atkinson’s second over was also a maiden, and in his third he struck again, having Kirk McKenzie caught by Crawley. By the end of this over his figures were 3-3-0-2. Harry Brook held a sensational catch off Ben Stokes to get debutant opener Mikyle Louis, the first ever test cricketer to hail from St Kitts, although its sister island of Nevis has produced a few, for 27. That was 44-3, and Alick Athenaze and Kavem Hodge saw things through to lunch, with the score 61-3.
POST LUNCH
After the interval this pair advanced the score to 88 before Atkinson’s already impressive debut became a truly great one. He got Athenaze and Holder in successive deliveries, and although da Silva prevented the hat trick he was out second ball to make it three in four for Atkinson and a five-for in test debut. In the next over Kavem Hodge donated his wicket to an umimpressive Woakes, basically giving Pope catching practice, and that was 88-7 with four wickets having gone at the same score. Alzarri Joseph had a bit of fun before trying one aggressive shot too many and holing out to Woakes off Atkinson for the debutant’s sixth scalp. That was 106-8, and it was soon 106-9 as Shamar Joseph played the worst shot of the innings to give Pope his second catch. Atkinson at this point had 7-36 and was on for setting a record for the best bowling figures by an England debutant, but a combination of Gudakesh Motie scoring runs off him with a mix of luck and skill and James Anderson pinning Seales LBW to end the innings at 121 left him with 7-45, second best behind Dominic Cork’s 7-43 in 1995 (also against West Indies). However Cork’s effort had come in West Indies second innings, so Atkinson did have the best ever first innings figures by an England debutant. Ben Duckett has fallen cheaply, playing a loose shot at Seales and edging to keeper da Silva. However Crawley and Pope are going well together at the moment, with the score currently 58-1. While I have been preparing this for publication England have moved on to 71. An appeal for LBW against Pope has just been upheld, but has gone for review. However the replay shows the ball missing the wicket. England 71-1, already within 50 of first innings parity.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
I wasn’t sure about the highlight of this gallery until while I was out walking during the lunch interval I saw this hedgehog near Kettlewell Lane.I got closer, while taking care not to cause stress.
A look a two of test cricket’s daftest dismissals, the second of which happened yesterday. Also a huge photo gallery, making the most of the arrival of spring.
In the recent test match between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka two Sri Lankan batters scored centuries in both innings, and a Bangladeshi batter suffered the dismissal that prompted this little squib. I offer two contenders only, starting with…
LITTON DAS’ BRAINFADE
You are facing your first ball, with your side already reeling at 37-4. What do you do? If you are Litton Das you have an almighty heave and hole out in the deep, turning 37-4 into 37-5. Sadly, although this particular dismissal stands out for its sheer awfulness Bangladesh have had far too many moments of lack of application/ lack of mental toughness in their 24 years as a test playing nation, and such progress as they have made in that time is barely measurable.
WHY DID HE DO THAT!!!
You are Shannon Gabriel, specialist fast bowler with zero pretensions as a batter, and your side, the West Indies are nine wickets down with seven possible deliveries left in the match. At the other end, waiting to bat out the last over and leave the pitch with the draw secured, is Roston Chase with 110 not out to his name. What do you do? Mr Gabriel had a wild yahoo and succeeded in losing his wicket, handing the match, and with it the series, to Pakistan. The West Indian commentator’s agonized shout of “WHY DID HE DO THAT???!!!” is only too understandable in the circumstances.
MY VERDICT
On the one hand Litton Das is a proper batter and Shannon Gabriel one of the more genuine of genuine tail enders, which would seem to militate against the Bangladeshi. On the other hand Bangladesh were miles from any hope of escape in the match, whereas Gabriel knew that if he simply kept out one ball it would Roston Chase’s task to survive the remaining over, and he knew that Chase had a ton to his name and would be seeing it like a watermelon. Thus on the ground that the end goal was in plain sight for Gabriel and not remotely visible for Das, while acknowledging that Das had an absolute shocker, and that no one should have got out like that in that situation I give the verdict to Gabriel.
PHOTOGRAPHS
I have a massive photo gallery to share…
A large bee zeroes in on a nectar-rich flower head.A bee searching for flowers.
A look back at the test match in Dharamsala and at the India v England series as a whole, and a composite XI for the series. Also a huge photo gallery.
The final test match of the India v England series at Dharamsala ended earlier today after barely half the allotted playing time, with India winning by an innings and 64 runs to take the series 4-1. This post looks back at the match (I missed two major chunks of play – on day one because it was a work day and on day two because the West Norfolk Autism Group had a committee meeting, but still got enough of the action to have a decent idea of what went on) and at the series, including naming a composite XI for the series.
THE PRELIMINARIES
Ollie Robinson’s injury forced one change on England, and they opted to recall Mark Wood rather than give Gus Atkinson a game, a mistake IMO, but one that had zero effect on the outcome. This meant that Jonathan Bairstow became without doubt the least deserving ever recipient of 100 test caps. India dropped Patidar (I choose to consider the official line about getting an ankle injury during training to be absolute BS) and brought in Devdutt Paddikal for a test debut, while Bumrah returned after a one match rest. England won the toss and opted to bat first on a flat looking pitch.
DAY ONE
England started well, with Crawley playing nicely and Duckett helping to push the score into the 60s before the first wicket fell. Pope never looked at home and was out to the daftest dismissal of the series, when he gave Kuldeep Yadav the charge, playing for spin that wasn’t there and walking straight past the ball to be stumped by a ridiculous margin. Root and Crawley took the score to 134 before Crawley’s innings ended for 79. Bairstow and Root had taken things to 175-3 but then came an epic collapse, and moments later the score read 183-8. Foakes, left for the second successive innings to attempt to shepherd Bashir and Anderson, did enough that England reached 218, still an obviously inadequate total. I missed most of the start of the Indian innings, but they ended day 1 on 135-1, Jaiswal having gone after taking his series aggregate to 712 runs.
DAY TWO
Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill batted superbly and India were in to the lead with only one wicket down. Both these batters notched centuries and got out shortly thereafter, but the debutant Paddikal and Sarfaraz Khan continued to good work and at one stage India looked set for a really mammoth total. However, they lost wickets while I was out, and by the end of the day were 473-8. Shoaib Bashir having conceded 100 in his first 20 overs had hauled things back and was on 4-170 by the close. Anderson had claimed his 699th test wicket.
THE FINAL HUMILIATION
Anderson got his 700th test wicket, and Bashir ended the Indian innings by claiming his fifth wicket, his second test five-for in his debut series. There was little else for England to enjoy. Duckett suffered a crazy bowled dismissal, trying to charge Ashwin who took the new ball alongside Bumrah. Crawley failed cheaply as well, turning one from Ashwin into the hands of Sarfaraz Khan, and Pope fell to catch by Jaiswal off Ashwin. That was 36-3. Bairstow flashed his way to 39 off 30 balls before falling LBW to Kuldeep Yadav and that was 92-4. Right on the stroke of lunch Stokes concluded a wretched series with the bat (and he only bowled at all in this match, taking a wicket with his first ball in nine months but otherwise doing nothing of note) by being bowled by Ashwin, against whom he seemed to have not a scooby, for 2. England at 103-5 needed 147 more just to avoid the innings defeat. Foakes fell for 8, also bowled by Ashwin and it was 113-6. Tom Hartley offered Root some support, but he and Wood were both pinned LBW by Bumrah in the space of three balls (and if Wood knew anything about the intermediate delivery I am a Dutchman) and that was 141-8. Shoaib Bashir offered Root support, and the prospect a century for the Yorkshireman appeared on the horizon. However with the partnership with 48 a delivery from Jadeja kept low and bowled Bashir to make it 189-9. With Anderson at the other end Root aimed a big shot against Kuldeep Yadav and succeeded only in picking out Jasprit Bumrah to fall for 84. England 195 all out, Root 84. Kuldeep Yadav was named Player of the Match for his seven wickets, five of them taken in the first innings, and Yashavsi Jaiswal was named Player of the Series.
ANALYSIS
This series was played on excellent cricket wickets – these were not at any stage of any match raging turners, and everyone had the chance to get in the game. India won 4-1, and are in truth not flattered by that margin, because they have the better cricketers, and they generally played somewhere close to their best. Crawley’s series was reminiscent of the one Shane Watson had in the 2010-11 Ashes – respectable aggregate and average, but no really major innings, and like Watson he was part of a well beaten side. Duckett had his moments, including a superb century, and he and Crawley usually have England a solid start, while not coming close to being a latter day Hobbs and Sutcliffe. Where England failed abysmally was in the number 3-6 positions in the order. The 40 innings played by those players across the series (four players, 10 innings each) yielded exactly three major innings – Pope’s 196 in the first match, Root 122* at Ranchi and Root 84 in the second innings at Dharamsala. When the engine room of the batting is failing to that extent one cannot really expect other than a hammering. In the 1924-5 Ashes Hobbs and Sutcliffe both had superb series, but were largely unsupported by the rest of the order and England lost 4-1. Here Crawley and Duckett were not as good as Hobbs and Sutcliffe had been 99 years ago, and the middle order failed even worse. Only Anderson, who became only the third ever bowler and first ever seamer to record 700 test scalps, was remotely effective among England’s pace bowlers, but India’s pacers were not brilliant either. Hartley and Bashir as front line spinners did more than anyone could have expected of them, and Bashir especially looks hugely promising, but they were unsurprisingly outclassed by their rather more experienced Indian counterparts. Foakes kept impeccably through the series, but Dhruv Jurel also did superbly once he replaced the underachieving Srikar Bharat, and Jurel was a clear cut matchwinner at Ranchi. Thus India were, thanks to Jaiswal, somewhat ahead when it came to openers, in a different league from England in slots 3-6, ahead on pace (Bumrah being better in the series than the veteran Anderson) and ahead on spin, though less one-sidedly so than might have been expected, equal on keeping, and probably equal on captaincy, though to make up for his shocking series as a player Stokes would have had to captain like peak Brearley, and he certainly did not do so. I do not think that either Wood (now 35 and unlike Anderson seriously injury prone) or Oliver Edward Robinson (too many fitness issues) should feature for England again, and it is long past time to confine Bairstow’s activities to white ball cricket. I also feel England need a genuine number three – barring his one great innings at Hyderabad Pope has looked further at sea than Captain Nemo and the Nautilus in this series. Josh Bohannon is the best number three currently playing county cricket, while Jamie Smith (Surrey) and James Rew (Somerset) must in the reckoning to replace Bairstow at number five. Bashir should keep his place as should Anderson for the present. Among younger pace options Matthew Potts, Josh Tongue, Gus Atkinson and Tom Lawes should all be considered in the immediate term, and I would have half an eye on the progress of James T Langridge of Somerset who showed signs of promise when thrust into One Day Cup action as a 17 year old last season.
In terms of the team approach, I am all for attacking cricket, but what we saw far too much in this series was brainless batting – large numbers of wickets simply thrown away. Also some of the players public utterances (Duckett’s comments about Jaiswal learning from England’s approach being an example – almost as ridiculous in their way as was Pope’s first innings dismissal at Dharamsala in its way).
COMPOSITE XI FOR THE SERIES
Yashavsi Jaiswal (India, left handed opening batter). Only one Asian opener has ever scored more in a series than his 712 in this one: Sunil Manohar Gavaskar against the West Indies in 1970.
*Rohit Sharma (India, right handed opening batter, captain). His century in the final test and the fact that his rival skipper was effectively un-selectable on any honest reckoning get him in – I have commented on the efforts of Crawley and Duckett earlier in this post.
Shubman Gill (India, right handed batter). He came good as this series progressed, and outside of his Hyderabad display Pope scraped up a mere 117 runs in nine innings.
Joe Root (England, right handed batter, occasion off/ leg spinner). He did well in the fourth and fifth matches, and number four was a problem position for India. Paddikal made 65 in his debut innings, but that was the only innings he played, and Patidar was never remotely convincing. However, he needs to stop trying to play fancy, and settle, as he did in these last two matches, for using the traditional test match methods that have brought him 11,000 runs at 50.
Sarfaraz Khan (India, right handed batter). Solid performances in all matches that he has played.
Ravindra Jadeja (India, left handed batter, left arm orthodox spinner). The veteran Indian all rounder has had a fine series, while Stokes had a wretched one.
+Dhruv Jurel (India, wicket keeper, right handed batter). Both he and Ben Foakes kept very well. The tiebreaker is Ranchi, where Jurel was India’s matchwinner.
R Ashwin (India, off spinner, right handed batter). The veteran bowled better as the series progressed.
Kuldeep Yadav (India, left arm wrist spinner, left handed batter). Has had a superb series with the ball since coming in for Axar Patel, and has played some useful supporting innings with the bat.
Jasprit Bumrah (India, right arm fast bowler, right handed batter). The best quick bowler on display in this series.
James Anderson (England, right arm fast medium bowler, left handed batter). Still fit and firing at the age of 41, though England struggled to find anyone to share the new ball with him – neither Robinson nor Wood distinguished themselves in this series. I reckon he would fare better in this XI, with Bumrah at the other end, than he had the opportunity to do for England in this series.
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