Today India won only their fifth test match in England to go one up with one to play in this three match series. The result was as expected after the tourists dismissed England for 355 yesterday, leaving them a relatively easy target of 73 for victory. However, England will be more than delighted with the application of their bowlers, especially Chris Tremlett, who in only his second test match, seems to have reserved himself a permanent place in the line-up. India lost three wickets in their chase, all to Tremlett, and if only the England bowlers could have whittled three quick wickets from the Indian top order on Friday evening and Saturday morning, this test match would probably have had a very different result.
England lost this match by 7 wickets, but there was plenty of their cricket that deserved more than that, not least the second innings batting display, and the effort from the bowlers throughout the entire match. Luck plays a big part in sport, and on such fine margins, games are won and lost. Ryan Sidebottom in particular will feel aggrieved that he did not pick up more wickets on his home ground, following a fantastic display of consistent swing bowling. He will bowl a lot worse and pick up more wickets. Sod's law. I thought James Anderson was effective, but inconsistent, and if one bowling place was up for grabs for the third test, it would be his. However, I feel the selectors will go with the same attack, considering how close they got this time round, and hope the Oval brings more luck than misery. Tremlett, as already said, bowled superbly, and looks to have cemented a place in the England side for the forseeable future. Steve Harmison is going to have to work hard in county cricket before he gets another look in I feel. The consistency of Tremlett's bowling creates pressure, and he bowls a great line and length, gets swing and bounce, takes wickets and bowls at 80-85mph. A great bowler in the making!
It was England's first innings batting display that cost them this match, although again it was by fine margins. Another 50 runs in the first innings, and another 50 in the second, could have given the Indians a tricky target on a wearing final day pitch. Application was a word used earlier on, and the TV pundits have touched on it many times over the past five days. The English batter's application was probably not as good as it could have been. We have batsmen who love to cash in when it's all going good, but what we need is for these batsmen to show a harder streak. We need batsmen who can go out there and front up when the going is tough. Michael Vaughan played a captains innings, and I thought Strauss batted well second time around, and if those two had stayed together longer, we could have set a useful target for India. Vaughan showed what needed to be done, and was very unfortunate to get out in the manner that he did. Collingwood grafted well, but needed more support from the lower order. Plenty to work on for England's batting for the Oval, although the only change I would consider making is for Ian Bell. Bell is a quality player, but is short of runs and struggling with the swinging ball, and is not very experienced when batting with the tail. The only question is who to bring in? Owais Shah maybe?
The much fancied Indian batting line up fired in this game, all of them getting decent scores. They will be tough to bowl out twice, but the application (there's that word again) of the English bowlers today and throughout this test has definately given cause for optimism.
Zaheer Khan was man of the match, with 9 wickets in the match, and showing great consistency. I also thought RP Singh bowled really well. The wicket of Matt Prior in the second innings was fantastically executed, and at 21 years of age, he looks very promising. Sree Sreesanth is a talented bowler, but has become distracted in this match. His mind seems to wonder, and the Indian management need to sit him down and read him the riot act and get him back on the rails. If the ball swings at the Oval, both bowling attacks should do well, and it will be down to the application (!) of the batting line ups as to who proves the winner.
Michael Vaughan has never lost a test series on home soil, but his side are going to have to chase this one, so be ready for a very positive England performance looking to draw this series. What do I think? Well, biased opinion here, but I think England will bounce back and get the win, if the weather holds. The last few days have not gone as England would have planned, but a change of luck, and if the batters hold their own, and anything is possible, but don't be suprised to have another 5 day marathon. This series has been really good value so far, and I don't think the final test will disappoint!
Tuesday, 31 July 2007
Tuesday, 24 July 2007
England v India - First Test Stalemate
The firs ttest between England and India at Lord's might have ended as a draw, but England will go away with plenty of positives from a game, which in all truth, they should have won. English weather once again decided a cricket match. India were 9 wickets down in their second innings, still 98 runs off winning, and England on the attack for that one final wicket. With the dimming light, England had Panesar and Vaughan bowling, so as to stay out as long as possible. Vaughan getting his 6 deliverys down as quickly as possible to allow the dangerous Panesar to do his stuff. I couldn't help thinking that maybe Kevin Pietersen would have been a better option than Vaughan , as KP gets more revolutions on the ball, and up against the number 11 might have caused more trouble, rather than wasting the overs just to get the Montster back on.
All in all though, this was a very promising England bowling attack. It was the first time since the 4th test agains the Aussies two summers ago that at least one of Jones, Hoggard, Harmison, Freddie and Giles had not been in an England side, but it showed the strength in depth England now have. The attack was very inexperienced, Sidebottom, Anderson, Panesar, and debutant Tremlett. Everyone expected the debutant to be Stuart Broad, but with the injury to Hoggard, the selectors had a rethink, and they wanted more variety. Tremlett offers the team something similar to Steve Harmison, but with more consistency in line and length. I thought Tremlett looked promising. Having been in and out of the one day side over the last couple of years, Tremlett has struggled with injury and consistency, but from working with Shane Warne and Stuart Clark at Hampshire, he has shortened his run up and looked a much better bowler. He showed that in this test match, taking 4 wickets and economically as well. His batting needs some work though, two ducks not the best start.
The rest of England's line up seems to be in pretty decent touch with the bat though. Strauss got 96 in the first innings, but he still looked scratchy. Cook got a couple of starts and will be disappointed not to have built on that. Vaughan looked decent, as did KP once he worked out how to play the left arm seamers. His second innings ton showed real hard graft, which hopefully will satisfy some doubters about his ability to do that. His test record is looking very impressive! I was disappointed for Paul Collingwood that he had two failures, and hopefully he can get going at Trent Bridge on Friday. I am still unsure about Ian Bell as a number 6, and once Flintoff returns to the test side I feel he will be the one who misses the cut, unless England go with only four bowlers. Prior had a good second innings and I was pretty pleased with his work with the gloves.
India have a famous batting line-up. Some big names, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman, amongst others, but they didn't seem to shine as was expected. Probably the last time some of these names will tour England, a lot was expected as swansong, but England's bowlers tied them down and forced mistakes. Panesar got the big wicket of Tendulkar in the second innings, who was coincidentally his first test victim. Dravid as well fell cheaply twice, which England will be delighted with. Personally, Dravid is the big wicket, as he has the ability to occupy the crease for a long time, so to get him back in the changing rooms early on is essential. Wicket-keeper Dhoni is a very dangerous player once he gets going, and if they target on the final day had not been so great, I feel he would have had a good day at getting India there. There was big talk of Sachin Tendulkar wanting to bring up a ton at Lord's as he, along with another world great, Brian Lara, have never scored a century at the home of cricket, and actually have pretty modest records at Lord's as well. Unfortunately for Sachin, he couldn't even make a 50.
India's bowling line-up started off indifferently, but they gained consistency as the game went on, and caused England plenty of problems. Left arm seamer RP Singh took five for in the second innings, showing that the young attack as a promising future. Sree Sreesanth also looks a handful, with plenty of physical aggression.
So the next test at Trent Bridge starts on Friday. It will be the same again for England I suspect, with Hoggard still out injured, and hopefully Panesar will continue to torment the India batsman. I think India will also be unchanged. They will hope the middle order picks up some runs, but they should be happy with the improvements the bowlers showed throughout the first test. The one problem with the Indians is their immobility in the field, and with fielding now such an important part of the game, England will look to take an advantage from that.
Let's hope the second test brings a positive result and better weather. Bring on Nottingham!
All in all though, this was a very promising England bowling attack. It was the first time since the 4th test agains the Aussies two summers ago that at least one of Jones, Hoggard, Harmison, Freddie and Giles had not been in an England side, but it showed the strength in depth England now have. The attack was very inexperienced, Sidebottom, Anderson, Panesar, and debutant Tremlett. Everyone expected the debutant to be Stuart Broad, but with the injury to Hoggard, the selectors had a rethink, and they wanted more variety. Tremlett offers the team something similar to Steve Harmison, but with more consistency in line and length. I thought Tremlett looked promising. Having been in and out of the one day side over the last couple of years, Tremlett has struggled with injury and consistency, but from working with Shane Warne and Stuart Clark at Hampshire, he has shortened his run up and looked a much better bowler. He showed that in this test match, taking 4 wickets and economically as well. His batting needs some work though, two ducks not the best start.
The rest of England's line up seems to be in pretty decent touch with the bat though. Strauss got 96 in the first innings, but he still looked scratchy. Cook got a couple of starts and will be disappointed not to have built on that. Vaughan looked decent, as did KP once he worked out how to play the left arm seamers. His second innings ton showed real hard graft, which hopefully will satisfy some doubters about his ability to do that. His test record is looking very impressive! I was disappointed for Paul Collingwood that he had two failures, and hopefully he can get going at Trent Bridge on Friday. I am still unsure about Ian Bell as a number 6, and once Flintoff returns to the test side I feel he will be the one who misses the cut, unless England go with only four bowlers. Prior had a good second innings and I was pretty pleased with his work with the gloves.
India have a famous batting line-up. Some big names, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Dravid, Laxman, amongst others, but they didn't seem to shine as was expected. Probably the last time some of these names will tour England, a lot was expected as swansong, but England's bowlers tied them down and forced mistakes. Panesar got the big wicket of Tendulkar in the second innings, who was coincidentally his first test victim. Dravid as well fell cheaply twice, which England will be delighted with. Personally, Dravid is the big wicket, as he has the ability to occupy the crease for a long time, so to get him back in the changing rooms early on is essential. Wicket-keeper Dhoni is a very dangerous player once he gets going, and if they target on the final day had not been so great, I feel he would have had a good day at getting India there. There was big talk of Sachin Tendulkar wanting to bring up a ton at Lord's as he, along with another world great, Brian Lara, have never scored a century at the home of cricket, and actually have pretty modest records at Lord's as well. Unfortunately for Sachin, he couldn't even make a 50.
India's bowling line-up started off indifferently, but they gained consistency as the game went on, and caused England plenty of problems. Left arm seamer RP Singh took five for in the second innings, showing that the young attack as a promising future. Sree Sreesanth also looks a handful, with plenty of physical aggression.
So the next test at Trent Bridge starts on Friday. It will be the same again for England I suspect, with Hoggard still out injured, and hopefully Panesar will continue to torment the India batsman. I think India will also be unchanged. They will hope the middle order picks up some runs, but they should be happy with the improvements the bowlers showed throughout the first test. The one problem with the Indians is their immobility in the field, and with fielding now such an important part of the game, England will look to take an advantage from that.
Let's hope the second test brings a positive result and better weather. Bring on Nottingham!
Tuesday, 17 July 2007
Footie season approaching...
So the clubs are now back in pre-season training, season tickets have been sold, new kits on sale...and the fans are eager for that opening game to arrive. It's been a couple of months since the last ball was kicked in anger, and now the wait for it all to start again is less than a month away. The first game of the season, that sunny afternoon in early August is nearly here, do not despair!
But during the summer, there is one thing that happens a lot, and there is plenty still around the corner, and that is transfers, and there have been a few big ones at that! I have already talked about Thierry Henry moving to Barcelona. Arsenal moved quickly to secure Eduardo Da Silva as replacement striker. Carlos Tevez is also keen to leave West Ham and join Man Utd, but it's complicated...! On the other hand, rumours are that Gabriel Heinze is about to leave Man Utd, possibly for Liverpool, although Fergie doesn't want to sell Heinze to a rival. Liverpool, (you see the link here) have signed big names in Ryan Babel and Fernando Torres, spending the American money!!!! And talking of spending foreign money, Sven Sven Sven!!! He's back, and he's back in charge of Man City, who today announced the signing of Brazilian and former Barcelona midfielder Geovanni on a free, to go along with the cash spent on Rolando Bianchi and Gelson Fernandes. Looks like Sven has been busy scouting during his time off!
Well, that's all for now. Hopefully there will be plenty more big signings to come, and don't be too impatient with waiting for that first big game to come (go see a pre-season game to keep you satisfied in meantime).
But during the summer, there is one thing that happens a lot, and there is plenty still around the corner, and that is transfers, and there have been a few big ones at that! I have already talked about Thierry Henry moving to Barcelona. Arsenal moved quickly to secure Eduardo Da Silva as replacement striker. Carlos Tevez is also keen to leave West Ham and join Man Utd, but it's complicated...! On the other hand, rumours are that Gabriel Heinze is about to leave Man Utd, possibly for Liverpool, although Fergie doesn't want to sell Heinze to a rival. Liverpool, (you see the link here) have signed big names in Ryan Babel and Fernando Torres, spending the American money!!!! And talking of spending foreign money, Sven Sven Sven!!! He's back, and he's back in charge of Man City, who today announced the signing of Brazilian and former Barcelona midfielder Geovanni on a free, to go along with the cash spent on Rolando Bianchi and Gelson Fernandes. Looks like Sven has been busy scouting during his time off!
Well, that's all for now. Hopefully there will be plenty more big signings to come, and don't be too impatient with waiting for that first big game to come (go see a pre-season game to keep you satisfied in meantime).
Cricket summer update...the heavens open!!!
Well, I bet when the ECB planned this summers itinerary, they did not have the slightest clue that the weather would be as bad as it has been. There have been so many postponements and matches called off due to the weather, that it has made a bit of a farce out of some of the games. Teams, for example, Leicestershire, went out of the Twenty20 cup because they couldn't get there games scheduled for dry days, let alone have a chance at winning them. One huge problem has been for Worcestershire. With somewhere around £200,000 worth of damage to their ground, this summer has been particularly tough on them, with postponed matches, re-arranged matches, and a badly damaged ground. Let's all hope that Worcs can recover from this set back and that the weather holds off to allow cricket this summer to be played out as it is meant to, not just have no results dominating the table.
On a different note, England's one day series went as planned, little success, but plenty to build on! Where have we heard that before... sorry, I'll stop being cynical, because I actually believe, for once, we are on the right tracks. Positive steps are being taken. England's 30 man Twenty20 World Cup preliminary squad includes Marcus Trescothick, plus an interesting debutant in Sussex all-rounder Luke Wright. Wright's inclusion is a developing trend from new England coach Peter Moores to introduce new players, and with that, in-form county players, in to the international fold. Wright has had a stormer in the Twenty20 cup this summer, so his inclusion is a good move by the management. The other inclusions in this squad which are well deserved go to Darren Maddy, Chris Schofield and Jeremy Snape. These are players that have been there and done it in this competition and other county one day tournaments. They are the inform players and should, in all fairness have been called up for at least the Twenty20 competition with the West Indies a few weeks ago. It is a specialist tournament, and requires specialist players, and the positive thing is that this new England management is beginning to see this and take notice of the specialist players! Something, I hasten to add, I do not believe the previous coach did enough of in the shorter form of the game.
That's all on the cricket front for now. England face India in a 3 match test series starting this week. Let's hope they can kick on from the West Indies performances. With Harmy ruled out, this is the chance for Stuart Broad to shine. Enjoy the series. I'll let you know what I thought of it in due course!
On a different note, England's one day series went as planned, little success, but plenty to build on! Where have we heard that before... sorry, I'll stop being cynical, because I actually believe, for once, we are on the right tracks. Positive steps are being taken. England's 30 man Twenty20 World Cup preliminary squad includes Marcus Trescothick, plus an interesting debutant in Sussex all-rounder Luke Wright. Wright's inclusion is a developing trend from new England coach Peter Moores to introduce new players, and with that, in-form county players, in to the international fold. Wright has had a stormer in the Twenty20 cup this summer, so his inclusion is a good move by the management. The other inclusions in this squad which are well deserved go to Darren Maddy, Chris Schofield and Jeremy Snape. These are players that have been there and done it in this competition and other county one day tournaments. They are the inform players and should, in all fairness have been called up for at least the Twenty20 competition with the West Indies a few weeks ago. It is a specialist tournament, and requires specialist players, and the positive thing is that this new England management is beginning to see this and take notice of the specialist players! Something, I hasten to add, I do not believe the previous coach did enough of in the shorter form of the game.
That's all on the cricket front for now. England face India in a 3 match test series starting this week. Let's hope they can kick on from the West Indies performances. With Harmy ruled out, this is the chance for Stuart Broad to shine. Enjoy the series. I'll let you know what I thought of it in due course!
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