Our shot selection has been absolutely appalling. It is no coincidence that our most technical batsman, the one who got "dragged" into playing Bazball when it isn't his game, is the one who is most comfortable out there. This pitch isn't unplayable and yet the rest have been pretty clueless as evidenced by the fact that, either side of India getting 477, we've somehow managed just 220-14.
As I've said, we will win a lot of games on "roads" playing the way McCullum and Stokes want us to but if there is any element of difficulty. particularly against quality spin, then we are, in the main, clueless.
Predictably guff Failing to adapt to the situation is just standard for this mob . As soon as they play anyone decent basically India or Australia the hit and miss approach and lack of control will give the initiative to the oppo more often than not.
Even when we find ourselves in command the pure rashness of the approach can bring the game back to the oppo . Need to add a bit more thought process to the match situations and conditions . We’ll rollover Windies and SL in the summer but we’ve got to look to work on something different if we’re not gonna get butchered in Oz end of 2025/26
Just like the last tour, England go 1 up but Indian's class and their depth in their squad of players and the cream rises to the top and a 4-1 scoreline shows how difficult it is to play in India.
We lost wickets being aggressive and being defensive. England were beaten between the ears on day one.
Crawley 7.5 (batted well and top run scorer but four times got to 70 without converting) Duckett 6.5 (ran out of steam) Pope 4.5 (for that innings and giving us our only win)
Root 5.5 (for eventually forgetting about Bazball)
Bairstow 3.5 (a quick 30 is no good to man nor beast - 8/10 times bowled or LBW says it all)
Stokes 3.5 (as much for the excuses and blind allegiance to a methodology as his batting) Foakes 6.5 (for his keeping)
Ahmed 5.5 (a talent who needs to bowl more to learn his craft) Hartley 7.5 (excellent consistency but the test will be on less helpful wickets) Robinson 3.0 (for his 50 but by the time he plays his next game he will have gone 10 months without taking a wicket. Talks a much better game than he walks) Wood 3.5 (wickets didn't suit but even so he was disappointing) Leach 4.0 (difficult to mark on the back of one Test and possibly now the time to move on) Bashir 7.5 (a real character and the future but is another who needs more time learning to adapt) Anderson 7.0 (still running in and giving his all. An absolute legend)
I'm wondering if this could be the last we see of Robinson in the test side? Woakes will obviously come back in for the summer and the likes of Tounge, Potts and Mahmood will all be available too maybe even a look at Carse or Sam Cook?
I'm wondering if this could be the last we see of Robinson in the test side? Woakes will obviously come back in for the summer and the likes of Tounge, Potts and Mahmood will all be available too maybe even a look at Carse or Sam Cook?
I do think that will be the case. The fact that they only gave him a one year CC in October when Wood was given three years and the likes of Archer, Carse, Atkinson, Potts, Tongue and Woakes received two years was indicative that this was a "kick up the backside".
Bazball reminds me of the football trend towards long ball/direct football in the 80's and 90s. It had its initial success, but once opposition clubs worked out how to play against it, it faded away. Long ball cricket.
Bazball reminds me of the football trend towards long ball/direct football in the 80's and 90s. It had its initial success, but once opposition clubs worked out how to play against it, it faded away. Long ball cricket.
It will still work against the lesser nations on tracks that allow a player to hit through the line of the ball and play more cross batted shots. Against better bowling on tracks, where you really need to attack from a position of strength, it won't.
I'd like that to be the last time we see Bairstow in the Test team, but of course he has 2 home series against WI and SL to look imperious in.
Although we will have to find a place for Brook. The absolute wrong thing to do would be to drop Pope and keep Bairstow.
Pope proved with that massive, match winning score on a difficult wicket that he can do it. Equally, if each and every one of our top six had played an innings of that proportion then we would not have lost this series. Pope is technically sound but seems to allow nerves to get the better of him early doors causing everything to look somewhat frenetic. I do, actually, think that he has become a victim of Bazball in the same way that Root was - the difference is that Root has an inherent understanding of what made him so good and has something to refer back to. Giving a player "freedom to express themselves" is fine but until Pope consistently gets big scores at international level against top attacks he won't have that belief. It's a "chicken and egg" situation.
Pope can do it, but doesn't do it enough. Despite that massive score, he ended up averaging just 31.5 this series, and it's not as if he's been batting in the 3rd over, as we've had decent opening stands all series.
And Stokes not bowling has cocked up the team balance. With him not scoring many runs this tour, he's turned into a modern day Mike Brearley, picked for his captaincy.
I'm wondering if this could be the last we see of Robinson in the test side? Woakes will obviously come back in for the summer and the likes of Tounge, Potts and Mahmood will all be available too maybe even a look at Carse or Sam Cook?
I do think that will be the case. The fact that they only gave him a one year CC in October when Wood was given three years and the likes of Archer, Carse, Atkinson, Potts, Tongue and Woakes received two years was indicative that this was a "kick up the backside".
Yeah I can't see a way he stays a regular , doesn't perform on the pitch and seems a liability off it , I don't think whatever he said on his podcast about the break to Abu Dhabi will have endeared him to the ECB along with the fitness issues . Think we've got plenty of options in the pace stocks that he's not a huge miss.
Comments
88-3
Gone, umpire’s call.
92-4.
Bairstow played an aggressive innings and was looking good but Indian spinners are all different and pose problems.
Stokes b Ashwin 2
103-5 at lunch
All over by tea.
This was Ashwin's 5th wicket and another batsman is befuddled and picks the wrong ball to attack.
As I've said, we will win a lot of games on "roads" playing the way McCullum and Stokes want us to but if there is any element of difficulty. particularly against quality spin, then we are, in the main, clueless.
141-7
141/7
141-8
Golden duck
141/8 and England are being totally out classed in this test match.
Root reaches his 50.
152/8
189/9
189-9
195 all out
India win by an innings and 64 runs
Failing to adapt to the situation is just standard for this mob .
As soon as they play anyone decent basically India or Australia the hit and miss approach and lack of control will give the initiative to the oppo more often than not.
Need to add a bit more thought process to the match situations and conditions .
We’ll rollover Windies and SL in the summer but we’ve got to look to work on something different if we’re not gonna get butchered in Oz end of 2025/26
We lost wickets being aggressive and being defensive. England were beaten between the ears on day one.
Crawley 7.5 (batted well and top run scorer but four times got to 70 without converting)
Duckett 6.5 (ran out of steam)
Pope 4.5 (for that innings and giving us our only win)
Root 5.5 (for eventually forgetting about Bazball)
Bairstow 3.5 (a quick 30 is no good to man nor beast - 8/10 times bowled or LBW says it all)
Stokes 3.5 (as much for the excuses and blind allegiance to a methodology as his batting)
Foakes 6.5 (for his keeping)
Ahmed 5.5 (a talent who needs to bowl more to learn his craft)
Hartley 7.5 (excellent consistency but the test will be on less helpful wickets)
Robinson 3.0 (for his 50 but by the time he plays his next game he will have gone 10 months without taking a wicket. Talks a much better game than he walks)
Wood 3.5 (wickets didn't suit but even so he was disappointing)
Leach 4.0 (difficult to mark on the back of one Test and possibly now the time to move on)
Bashir 7.5 (a real character and the future but is another who needs more time learning to adapt)
Anderson 7.0 (still running in and giving his all. An absolute legend)
Pope proved with that massive, match winning score on a difficult wicket that he can do it. Equally, if each and every one of our top six had played an innings of that proportion then we would not have lost this series. Pope is technically sound but seems to allow nerves to get the better of him early doors causing everything to look somewhat frenetic. I do, actually, think that he has become a victim of Bazball in the same way that Root was - the difference is that Root has an inherent understanding of what made him so good and has something to refer back to. Giving a player "freedom to express themselves" is fine but until Pope consistently gets big scores at international level against top attacks he won't have that belief. It's a "chicken and egg" situation.
And Stokes not bowling has cocked up the team balance. With him not scoring many runs this tour, he's turned into a modern day Mike Brearley, picked for his captaincy.
Yeah I can't see a way he stays a regular , doesn't perform on the pitch and seems a liability off it , I don't think whatever he said on his podcast about the break to Abu Dhabi will have endeared him to the ECB along with the fitness issues . Think we've got plenty of options in the pace stocks that he's not a huge miss.