england v/s india

Dozen Wicked Words

Shame Cook got out in such a silly way on 190, all he had to do was ground the bat. Still, fantastic innings again, if he could just learn how to win a toss now he would be the complete package!!!!

booth70

England have been brilliant since the first day in Mumbai while India have been utterly hopeless

Ashwin has been India's best batsman in this series:(.....such is the sorry mess Indian Test cricket is in at present

Kohli did all the hard yards against Australia last winter but has gone backwards since but still needs to be persevered with....Yuvraj Singh is a good one day player at best.....Dhoni can't continue to live on past glories and he is NOT a test player by any stretch of the imagination.....and Tendulkar....looks like he will not go and has to be pushed.....less said about the bowling the better:mad:

The future of Indian cricket looks very bleak.....The selectors need to get their heads out and make radical changes and build a team for the future around a few core young players like Kohli and Pujara and others coming thro the national ranks.....if it means India continue to be battered during the rebuilding process over the next few years so be it.

booth70

Just saw this......nice , timely article in the context of my previous post!

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-england-2012/content/current/story/596086.html

manafana

booth70 wrote: »

Just saw this......nice , timely article in the context of my previous post!

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-england-2012/content/current/story/596086.html

india are unlike any of other major test nations, purely interested in results at home and creating celebrities, so many young lads who could be getting a go instead they strick with an old guard struggling at the best of times.

England still have serious issues on the sub con its just india arn't good enough to exploit them, they could do with hitting the gym. Anderson has bowled the most overs in test cricket this season, he has looked one of the freshest despite this. Khan looks like he could collapse at times. Their warm ups are far from intense too

Football Gambler

booth70 wrote: »

Just saw this......nice , timely article in the context of my previous post!

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-england-2012/content/current/story/596086.html

Good call with that link Booth, agree with most of your previous post, also......

Football Gambler

I never thought I'd ever think, say or write this, but I actually feel sorry for Duncan Fletcher..... he is residing over a team that has lost Dravid and Laxman, he also inherited Zaheer and Harbhajan on the way down..... and to top it all, he has the problem of Sachin to deal with.

Dozen Wicked Words

Great win for England, looked a bit iffy at 8 for 3 but fantastic team performance. Times of India calling for big changes before play today, end of Dhoni as captain and end of Tendulkars international career looming?

Football Gambler

dooferoaks wrote: »

Great win for England, looked a bit iffy at 8 for 3 but fantastic team performance. Times of India calling for big changes before play today, end of Dhoni as captain and end of Tendulkars international career looming?

Where they on about getting rid of Dhoni and bringing in a new captain for the 4th Test, or just in the long run?

booth70

Calcutta 2001 ....Indian Test cricket was reborn on the back of that famous come from behind win against Australia thanks to VVS's 281:)

Calcutta 2012 ....Indian Test cricket which was already dying a slow death officially died:mad:

Football Gambler

Due to being ill all weekend, I was up watching it and I was actually getting a bit worried after Pietersen got out, which in hindsight was ridiculous.... but I suppose that having followed England for as long as I have, there is always a part of me that thinks they can blow it from any situation.... I must be too mentally scarred from previous experiences...

grimbergen

Can anybody explain the empty stadiums for these tests? We all know how popular cricket is over there yet attendances at this test were dire - are the locals priced out of it?

Football Gambler

grimbergen wrote: »

Can anybody explain the empty stadiums for these tests? We all know how popular cricket is over there yet attendances at this test were dire - are the locals priced out of it?

Not sure about the pricing, what I do know is that ODI's and T20's seem more popular in India, and it has also been the case over the years that the fans only seem interested in watching certain players.... I've seen it on TV, where grounds have emptied out after Tendulkar has got out, even when there are still hours of play left in the day.

manafana

its a bit of myth that india is cricket mad, they actually prefer football, they do love bollywood culture thou, and cricket players are seen as celebs, so like above they idolise certain players only

Dozen Wicked Words

manafana wrote: »

its a bit of myth that india is cricket mad, they actually prefer football, they do love bollywood culture thou, and cricket players are seen as celebs, so like above they idolise certain players only

There was over 100,000 football fans for the Kolkata derby. Game was abandoned due to crowd trouble.

Inquitus

manafana wrote: »

its a bit of myth that india is cricket mad, they actually prefer football, they do love bollywood culture thou, and cricket players are seen as celebs, so like above they idolise certain players only

I spent a year travelling round India in the late 90's and all I saw was young kids playing cricket everywhere, can't recall seeing much soccer at all, obv a decade has passed since so it may have changed.

Rjd2

The attendances for recent India test standards have been ok, Mumbai was very well attended. The harsh truth is the days of grounds in India been packed are gone.:(

Anyways looking forward to seeing how India's replacements do, I understand dropping Zaheer, but no matter how finished and old he is, he is still a etter alternative to Ishant bloody Sharma.

Football Gambler

manafana wrote: »

its a bit of myth that india is cricket mad, they actually prefer football, they do love bollywood culture thou, and cricket players are seen as celebs, so like above they idolise certain players only

Some of the more popular cricketers have starred in Bollywood films over the years, whether they would be more well known in India for Cricket or Bollywood, I'm not sure...

Football Gambler

Rjd2 wrote: »

The attendances for recent India test standards have been ok, Mumbai was very well attended. The harsh truth is the days of grounds in India been packed are gone.:(

Anyways looking forward to seeing how India's replacements do, I understand dropping Zaheer, but no matter how finished and old he is, he is still a etter alternative to Ishant bloody Sharma.

Get the feeling it could be a selection made on the basis of fitness or fielding, or bit of both.... Duncan Fletcher was well known for not wanting passengers in the field during his time as England coach, could see him tolerating Zaheer while he was taking wickets, but as soon as the wickets started drying up.....

Rjd2

Football Gambler wrote: »

Get the feeling it could be a selection made on the basis of fitness or fielding, or bit of both.... Duncan Fletcher was well known for not wanting passengers in the field during his time as England coach, could see him tolerating Zaheer while he was taking wickets, but as soon as the wickets started drying up.....

Oh yeah Zaheer's fitness is awful, again I admit he is finished, but retaining Sharma doesn't inspire at all. Ideally they give Awana a go in the next test, his domestic stats look impressive at least. Not to excited about the other seamer Dinda in the squad either.

manafana

Right test no 4 is nearly upon us with all excitement i have previewed the match here.

England not favourites when really they should be, cook is seeking to be just the 3rd test captain to win a series India

Rascasse

manafana wrote: »

Right test no 4 is nearly upon us with all excitement i have previewed the match here.

England not favourites when really they should be, cook is seeking to be just the 3rd test captain to win a series India

Interesting that you have Onions down as replacing Finn. I'd would prefer that but expect Bresnan to get the nod, if only for the fact he is more of a known quantity in international cricket whereas Onions hasn't had a look in after the injury.

Football Gambler

Bell gone, 123/4 now..... even allowing for the fact that this pitch isn't going to go the distance, England would surely want at least 250 to give bowlers a chance.....

All the talk is that the uneven bounce might suit the seamers, that makes Finn an even bigger miss for me...

manafana

Rascasse wrote: »

Interesting that you have Onions down as replacing Finn. I'd would prefer that but expect Bresnan to get the nod, if only for the fact he is more of a known quantity in international cricket whereas Onions hasn't had a look in after the injury.

was hard to predict, in end root came in for patel, felt he should have come in for bell who is so out form.

I would liked to see onions get a go as he had good domestic season and earned himself a go, on plus side bresnan had been ok with bat, and come day 3 this will be about the spinners.

Indian team was nightmare predict how their changes might go

mattweeden

Onions should have had a go

Football Gambler

manafana wrote: »

was hard to predict, in end root came in for patel, felt he should have come in for bell who is so out form.

I would liked to see onions get a go as he had good domestic season and earned himself a go, on plus side bresnan had been ok with bat, and come day 3 this will be about the spinners.

Indian team was nightmare predict how their changes might go

I thought Bell only survived as there was no ideal candidate in the squad to replace him, so I wrongly assumed that the batting would stay the same (more by default).

With that in mind, I was very surprised to see Root come in. Patel hasn't really contributed, but it was a brave call to bring the untried Root in. It wasn't like England were in a desperate position and had to try something different.

Even if Root gets out first thing in the morning, at least he has already shown he looks comfortable at this level.

mattweeden

root is a fine player. Bell needs to score some runs

mike65

Turned out to be a decent first innings and England are on top of Indias reply, about 90 for 4.

vicM

Thought Dhoni requested a turning pitch to aid the spinners? or were they trying to throw the English off..
Somebody mentioned they will try and follow on, and then put up a mammoth score.. At this point they want to avoid defeat..

Football Gambler

vicM wrote: »

Thought Dhoni requested a turning pitch to aid the spinners? or were they trying to throw the English off..
Somebody mentioned they will try and follow on, and then put up a mammoth score.. At this point they want to avoid defeat..

They seem to have made a right mess throughout this series of what type of wickets to produce. It could have been a smokescreen, but from a distance it looks like they haven't known what to do since Monty out bowled India's spinners in the 2nd Test.

vicM

manafana wrote: »

its a bit of myth that india is cricket mad, they actually prefer football, they do love bollywood culture thou, and cricket players are seen as celebs, so like above they idolise certain players only

well Kolkata, The North Eastern states and Kerala, would enjoy their footy, the rest are just slightly interested in the EPL and the world cup..so no its not a myth, they are cricket mad