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[Cricket] England vs India Fifth Test - The Oval







spring hall convert

spring hall convert

Well-known member
Nov 3, 2009
9,608
Brighton
dazzer6666 said:
Tend to agree with this.....some of our batting has been weak, but our bowling has for the most part been superb. Regardless, it's been a great series to watch, and actually nice not to see overwhelming dominance of the bat as is so often the case these days. Lots of twists and turns and sessions/days swinging one way then the other. Proper cricket.
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Superb? Not so sure. They've made excellent use of conditions set up totally in their favour. Had this series be 5 or 6 weeks earlier, we may have been in serious trouble but thankfully the Indians have once again shown they can't play the moving ball.

We haven't answered any of the questions that were hanging over us from the last two winters. No spinner has pressed a claim (we already know Moeen Ali is pitiful away from home.) No actual fast bowler in the team so the assortment of trundlers will just get taken apart on slow wickets in West Indies and Sri Lanka. As for the batting, we've played on tracks where one will have your number so you may as well have a go so again so we'll have no one prepared for long innings needed on the slow, low wickets we're going to play on in the winter.

Fun series but we've gone backwards imo.
 




Beach Hut

Beach Hut

Brighton Bhuna Boy
Jul 5, 2003
72,315
Living In a Box
50 for Cook

:clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2::clap2:
 








Bold Seagull

Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
30,458
Hove
spring hall convert said:
Superb? Not so sure. They've made excellent use of conditions set up totally in their favour. Had this series be 5 or 6 weeks earlier, we may have been in serious trouble but thankfully the Indians have once again shown they can't play the moving ball.

We haven't answered any of the questions that were hanging over us from the last two winters. No spinner has pressed a claim (we already know Moeen Ali is pitiful away from home.) No actual fast bowler in the team so the assortment of trundlers will just get taken apart on slow wickets in West Indies and Sri Lanka. As for the batting, we've played on tracks where one will have your number so you may as well have a go so again so we'll have no one prepared for long innings needed on the slow, low wickets we're going to play on in the winter.

Fun series but we've gone backwards imo.
Click to expand...

You can only play the conditions you are given. England have bowled superbly in conditions that have favoured them, they still had to perform though. If you only look to the next series, you never enjoy the one you are in.

The top order line up just seems the most bizarre anomaly in the game. To go 6 years since Strauss retired and not find a consistent opener or no.3, and now we have to still experiment with all 3 positions is just inexplicable. I don't remember this happening to this extent before? Even in the darker days of our cricket, we had players come in and do a job even if they weren't exceptional. I'm not as negative about the bowling as you are, because even if they fire and we find a fast paced magician, going to mean little if we're still 50-3 on a great surface.
 


dazzer6666

dazzer6666

Well-known member
NSC Patron
Mar 27, 2013
55,530
Burgess Hill
Bold Seagull said:
You can only play the conditions you are given. England have bowled superbly in conditions that have favoured them, they still had to perform though. If you only look to the next series, you never enjoy the one you are in.

The top order line up just seems the most bizarre anomaly in the game. To go 6 years since Strauss retired and not find a consistent opener or no.3, and now we have to still experiment with all 3 positions is just inexplicable. I don't remember this happening to this extent before? Even in the darker days of our cricket, we had players come in and do a job even if they weren't exceptional. I'm not as negative about the bowling as you are, because even if they fire and we find a fast paced magician, going to mean little if we're still 50-3 on a great surface.
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Agree - I could have caveated my post with something about the conditions but you can only play where you're playing............the Duke ball is a big help too.

Decent start this morning, looking positive (typed with a sense of trepidation, obviously)
 














spring hall convert

spring hall convert

Well-known member
Nov 3, 2009
9,608
Brighton
Bold Seagull said:
You can only play the conditions you are given. England have bowled superbly in conditions that have favoured them, they still had to perform though. If you only look to the next series, you never enjoy the one you are in.

The top order line up just seems the most bizarre anomaly in the game. To go 6 years since Strauss retired and not find a consistent opener or no.3, and now we have to still experiment with all 3 positions is just inexplicable. I don't remember this happening to this extent before? Even in the darker days of our cricket, we had players come in and do a job even if they weren't exceptional. I'm not as negative about the bowling as you are, because even if they fire and we find a fast paced magician, going to mean little if we're still 50-3 on a great surface.
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Quite. It wasn't that long ago we were desperately unhappy with Ian Bell's performance. His test record compares favourably with all bar Root & the outgoing Cook among this current group.
 


Bold Seagull

Bold Seagull

strong and stable with me, or...
Mar 18, 2010
30,458
Hove
spring hall convert said:
Quite. It wasn't that long ago we were desperately unhappy with Ian Bell's performance. His test record compares favourably with all bar Root & the outgoing Cook among this current group.
Click to expand...

Got any theories as to why this is? My own thoughts are that we look too much at statistics and not enough actually watching a player's technique and ability. I worry this leads us to be overlooking younger players who we could get into the England setup early and start to shape them better than allow bad habits to form in the county game by the time they reach their mid20s. Ollie Pope is perhaps bucking that trend going with youth.
 




M

Machiavelli

Well-known member
Oct 11, 2013
17,770
Fiveways
Bold Seagull said:
Interesting you should say that as my impression is that our batting has made their bowling actually look better than it really is. We've got out to some really poor shots to poor deliveries on too many occasions. Not saying they've bowled badly overall, but a better top order could have made them look a lot more ordinary.

On the flip side I think our pace attack in particular have bowled so well we've made their batting look more fragile than it actually is. They've got out to some absolutely jaffa deliveries at times.
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I don't really disagree with that. Yes, our bowlers have bowled sublimely but, then again, they usually do on home soil. I haven't seen such a varied Indian attack for a number of tours. And, yes, there are far more questions about our top batting order coming out of the series than going in.
 




Mellotron

Mellotron

I've asked for soup
Jul 2, 2008
32,468
Brighton
Root now looking like he might overtake Cook and be first to 100.
 






Triggaaar

Triggaaar

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2005
53,135
Goldstone
Cook 100!

:bowdown:
 


Moshe Gariani

Moshe Gariani

Well-known member
Mar 10, 2005
12,198
:lolol::lolol:
 


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