England In India - October 2011/12

[Sureshot]

Saw Anderson was fielding in practice today a lot, just not bowling. He's expected to be fit apparently.

Also, another ton for Taylor against Sri Lanka A.

 

[ZoraxDoom]

I think he has a lot of adaptibility in him as far as batting is concerned, he got his chances in bits and pieces and was dropped after just 1 bad series, he did really well in England aswell, he came in purely on the basis of his wicket keeping, but he improved a lot in his batting and is a terrific keeper.
Should have got a longer run in the team.



Agree with you.



Like i told you, batting at number 7 in Indian lineup is too tough, most of the times you are in only for a few overs and when the pitch supports the bowlers you find yourself in the middle in just the 25th over at times.

I think Iqbal Abdulla has a bit to prove with the bat, you cannot pick him right now though his bowling is quite good. But Jadeja and Irfan are very good both with bat and ball.

Irfan has proven himself in international level.
Jadeja has a decent FC record as an all rounder, so he should get better opportunities to prove himself, both are good enough for tests I guess. One of them should be in the playing 11 as we need to have 5 bowlers to solve our bowling issues and the 5th bowler has to be an all rounder.

It's strange, I agree with you about KDK and Jadeja, but believe you're completely off the mark with Yusuf in that he was misused. And KDK did get a LOT of chances, and couldn't cement his place which was sad, but he did get misused. Even then, with all those opportunities, he should have cashed in a bit more. A bit like Kaif.
Also think you're wrong about Irfan. Until and unless he can show his bowling is still a force to be reckoned with, that he can take wickets regularly, he shouldn't be in the side. His batting is good but I don't think he can bat at 7 for India. A good number 8, but shouldn't be at 7 unless numbers 8 and 9 can bat a bit too.

 

[Aalay]

I would love to see Anil Kumble as future selctor or coach. Would fit perfectly in either of those jobs.

 

[Themer]

Also, another ton for Taylor against Sri Lanka A.

Since there has been a bit of pressure on him to show what he can do as there was a possible test spot open he's been immense, unlike Belowpara who's forms tailed off. Shows you've got a bit of mental strength to start hitting hundreds when the selectors are watching.

----------

111 Eng Lions v Sri Lanka A Northampton 16 Aug 2011 List A
10 Eng Lions v Sri Lanka A Worcester 14 Aug 2011 List A
106 Eng Lions v Sri Lanka A Worcester 12 Aug 2011 List A
22 Leics v Kent Leicester 6 Aug 2011 Twenty20
76, 98 Eng Lions v Sri Lanka A Scarborough 2 Aug 2011 First-class
72 Leics v Hampshire Southampton 31 Jul 2011 List A
19, 0 Leics v Essex Southend-on-Sea 27 Jul 2011 First-class
168*, 41 Leics v Sri Lanka A Leicester 20 Jul 2011 First-class

That is some form to have when the selectors are watching you intensely.

 

[barmyarmy]

That is a weak argument at best. You expect bowler like Swann to take wickets and keep the run rate down. Indians took on Swann because they could. Not everyone can take Swann apart just coz he want to. You need the skills to do that.

What is the next away series for England? I hope it is in SC , Sri Lanka to be precise

Throwing the bat is hardly test cricket. Spinners almost always get slaughtered in that situation.

 

[shravi]

Throwing the bat is hardly test cricket. Spinners almost always get slaughtered in that situation.

Scoring runs is test cricket. It doesn't matter how they come as long as they do.

You can't just base your opinion on the last innings. Swann hasn't been very effective all throughout this series and India have handled him fairly comfortably. Now sure, he hasn't bowled many overs because the fast bowlers have done the damage but the fact is that he hasn't been a wicket-taking or a run-saving option throughout the series as his average of 80, strike rate of 110 and economy rate of 4.39 attest to. That's not to say he hasn't bowled decently, because in spells, he has, but India have played him well (one of the few things they have done well in this series).

However, I still think he's the best spinner in the world.

 

[Aalay]

Throwing the bat is hardly test cricket. Spinners almost always get slaughtered in that situation.

Still I think Swann will struggle against SL. Even though he will get the best condition for a spinner, still I can see him struggling against Sanga and Co. The way Praveen was hitting him in the last test, sorry to say but he didn't look like he is best spinner in the world. Does not have enough variations I guess. If he wants to succeed in Sri Lanka, I think he needs a bit more variation in his bowling, rather than an off break and a straight ball that slides through.

 

[playkid12]

I would love to see Anil Kumble as future selctor or coach. Would fit perfectly in either of those jobs.

Maybe a future selector, but honestly, I want to see Ganguly as India's coach. Kumble, although really intelligent, seems a bit too soft and orthodox for a coaching job. Ganguly has a way of sparking the entire lineup like no other. The only issue is his knack of getting into disputes, but that's the kind of aggression India needs if they want to be a top team. Calling back a man after he was given out was just ridiculous. There's no killer instinct in this team. And that goes back to how all of the bowlers suck and the captain is always cool as a cucumber.

 

[Themer]

India have played him well

India have played him well no doubt, however the pitches really haven't been conducive to spin, as shown by how Harby and Mishra went.

Swann's been well short of his best though.

 

[War]

Swann hasn't gotten a pitch anywhere similar to the turning Adelaide Ashes series pitch when he spun ENG to victory in this series. So although IND have played him well his potential effective has been damped by the fact that he not gotten a turn to make the IND batsmen rethink their strategy of how to play him.

 

[shravi]

India have played him well no doubt, however the pitches really haven't been conducive to spin, as shown by how Harby and Mishra went.

Swann's been well short of his best though.

tbh, they would probably struggle on a dustbowl in form like this .

 

[karan316]

It's strange, I agree with you about KDK and Jadeja, but believe you're completely off the mark with Yusuf in that he was misused. And KDK did get a LOT of chances, and couldn't cement his place which was sad, but he did get misused. Even then, with all those opportunities, he should have cashed in a bit more. A bit like Kaif.

You are right about Karthik, he did get enough chances, and maybe he should have done a bit more, but he has a very good technique and he can play in any condition unlike some of the other youngsters who find it difficult on bouncy wickets,
and he cannot be treated this way, there were so many matches where seniors were rested, he should have got another chance after he was dropped.

Why m i wrong in defending Yusuf Pathan? you see how many players we have tried at number 7, all have failed for the simple reason that India has a strong top order and the number 7 batsmen will not get to bat much on batting wickets, he might get to bat a bit early on bowling conditions though, the best thing you can do with the batsmen in that position is that just give him around 20 to 25 matches in a row and see what he has, you cannot judge him in any other way nor can you just keep changing the batsmen batting at that number.

There have been so many batsmen tried in that position.
Its not a coincidence that all of them are failing,
Jadeja, Uthappa, Yusuf and even Raina does not have a good record at number 7.
Yusuf is the only one out of them who has managed to play long innings and has shown the capability to face even the toughest bowlers in toughest conditions despite of coming so low in the order.

I don't see why we cannot have faith in him and give him more opportunities.

Also think you're wrong about Irfan. Until and unless he can show his bowling is still a force to be reckoned with, that he can take wickets regularly, he shouldn't be in the side. His batting is good but I don't think he can bat at 7 for India. A good number 8, but shouldn't be at 7 unless numbers 8 and 9 can bat a bit too.

You are right, he does need to have that extra in his bowling if he wants to be in the side,
but the best way you can judge where he stands right now would be by just making him play a series and see what he has to offer,

Even RP Singh is getting a chance even though he has not played FC cricket since last 6 months. So why can't Irfan get a look in?

And i think India really needs 5 bowlers, in that case, either Irfan or Jadeja will have to bat at number 7, I really don't see India solving their bowling problems without that, if a 5th bowler is selected, then he can release the pressure from the other bowlers and also get some handy wickets.

India is finding it difficult to take 20 wickets and are not even able to contain the
opposition. The bowlers are looking tired after bowling long spells, there is no other solution but to go with 5 bowlers( Irfan or Jadeja as the 5th bowler).
And i really don't think that our number 8 and 9 batsmen are so bad, Praveen and Mishra have it in them to provide a few runs. Even Ashwin is good with the bat if he comes in for Mishra.

People are blaming the Indian batting order but nobody is noticing that our bowlers are not able to exploit the conditions and are lacking the intensity because of bowling long spells constanly.

 

[s2sschan]

Wasim Jaffer

Not calling up Jaffar who was already in England when Gambhir was injured kind of surprised me. By forcing Dravid to open they disturbed the batting line up.

Wasim Jaffer and Munaf Patel are examples of Selector's Injustice.

 

[karan316]

Swann is not doing bad, its not easy for a spinner to bowl against the teams from the subcontinent especially when the wicket doesn't offer much turn.

Swann is doing a good job, Praveen Kumar has played as an all rounder for Uttar Pradesh, has played a lot on turning wickets, him hitting Swann for sixes should not come as a shocker. And Swann anyways managed to defeat Praveen quite a few times, he got inside edges, missed stumping and some misfields spoiled Swann's figures. It was just that Swann was having a bad day i guess.

You cannot compare how Harbhajan or Mishra bowls with Swann as both of them bowl against completely different kinds of batsmen.
Indian batsmen are very good players of spin just like how England batsmen are good players of fast bowling.
Swann has to face tougher conditions than Harbhajan and Mishra.
He has not bowled much in the series either. Fast bowlers have done most of the job.

Swann is the best spinner currently.

 

[barmyarmy]

What's happened to Irfan Pathan btw? Is he injured?