England in India

[Stephen Bailey]

As far as fast bowling is concerned, I am not sure having Simon Jones & Harmison would be such a good idea. Keep in mind that these bowlers can go for plenty in odi's. E.g., Hoggard was England's best pace bowler in tests but was made to look ordinary in odi. Simon Jones won't be effective as you hardly get any reverse swing going in odis. Also, Harmison and Jones can be flayed at the death.

Hoggard has always been odinary in ODI's no matter what his average says. Jones is still an improving bowler and has shown he could well be a force to be reckoned with. He also has an ability to make things happen, which England will desperately need if the batting continues to flop like it has done (not just against India). Harmison should play ahead of Anderson most of the time, he bowled well during the NatWest series, taking 5 for against Australia at Bristol and I remember him getting wickets in the final.

 

[puddleduck]

Whoever mentioned Harmison not making a difference as well as Tresco is dead wrong. Even when Harmison bowls badly he rarely goes for runs in the one day arena, and when he bowls well he adds wickets to a good economy rate. Him and Freddie are Englands two key odi bowlers. A very difficult bowler to go after as he has good bounce, good pace, a good yorker and comes on to the bat awkardly.

Tresco has obviously been missed, it is impossible to replace an experienced opener who scores at a good strike rate, gets big scores when in, and is a superb slip fielder to boot.

Definately can not talk about missing Vaughan, his odi pedigree is poor, whilst when in form he is class, he too often gets out when trying to up the run rate. His shot selection often goes out the window in odi cricket.

Also whilst Simon Jones has the potential to become a key bowler for England it is a little premature to say that missing him has made a huge difference. Until he plays consistently well, and without injuries, his part can not be overestimated. I do believe if he can stay fit for a year or two he will develop nicely, but he must stay fit first.

As you said Stevie, "no matter what hs average says", well Hoggards average in the odi says 32 odd with an economy rate of 5.12. In the test arena he can attack with the new ball, and then when the swing dies work outside the offstump with changes of pace, in the odi arena that is just licence to take him on. I think his cutters would have caused some problems in the first 3 odis, but on good tracks like the most recent game and the tracks to come he will always be reasonably easy pickings.

Still at the end of the day, the players who have come in have to perform better than they have. Whilst the likes of Freddie and Strauss need to score far more with the bat in this series.

India with a reasonably settled side, and a very inform middle order, and a spin attack that seems to include half their side, have quite simply been far too good for England. A fully deserved series victory for them, and congratulations to Dravid, I feel he has done everything right for them since the test series.

 

[SaiSrini]

Was watching Aaj Tak News report on India's series victory. They had their usual champagne celebrations!

I am very impressed with the way Dravid speaks. I mean, he is such a cool customer and doesnt try to mince words. His talking is as composed as his batting is.

Well its something when a current flop batsman is made the captain and Sehwag is now in that position! Lets see what it does to his game. I personally would be fuming if he plays the same senseless hook shot that he has played in Delhi and Kochi! Being the captain, his failures from now will attract more ire from the fans and might prove to be dangerous for his future!

 

[harishankar]

In an effort to suck up to the English commentators, some of the Indian commentators hardly dare to disagree with anything they say.

Maybe they want to be good hosts, but it makes for boring commentary when every commentator keeps mouthing cliched phrases without making any sense.

L.Sivaramakrishnan keeps repeating time and again "it hit the toe end of the bat" and also "that's the slower delivery" even when clearly the bowler hasn't bowled a slower delivery. I guess any ball that takes a wicket is a "slower delivery" in his book.

Also his reading of the doorsa is pathetic, for a former spinner. Even Nasser Hussein and Mike Atherton had to correct him on a couple of occasions when Bhajji bowled an off spinner which didn't turn and LS was quick to describe it as a doosra.

I am glad that Deano and Nass are doing commentary. Dean Jones provides good comic relief from time to time and he is one guy who doesn't take himself too seriously, unlike LS or Arun Lal who like pontificating endlessly. Nasser is smooth, polished and very balanced. Never irritates the viewers or imposes his POV on the audience. Rather, he makes some great observations from time to time on what is going on in the middle.

 

[prarara]

I agree. I too prefer Ravi Shastri. He is a really good commentator!

On Yuvi, I think he is also one of our senior players. He has had his share of injuries - hamstring, and the rumored leg swelling at Kochi where fortunately he overcame that to play! So the team management can think of resting him for a few matches!

On Commentators, I think when Dravid retires in the next 5 years or so, he will make a good commentator. He is a very articulate speaker currently.

 

[harishankar]

Dravid will be like Nasser Hussein I think. Smooth, polished and a mild, easy tone. Nothing like the Arun Lals and the Atul Wassans of DD fame...

Talking of Atul Wassan... anybody watch DD fourth umpire yesterday after the match? It was comedy time with all four speakers talking at the same time and Charu Sharma trying desperately to stop them. In fact, he called "Time out" and had to forcibly stop each panelist from interrupting when the other was speaking.

The best part was how Charu Sharma forgot his lines after that shouting match... He looked clueless and lost... Maybe he'll have had a harsh word or two to say to one or two of his "guests" after that show.

 

[arghasen]

England is without some of their best players. So its unfair to judge that India is a far better side. But The Victory is always sweet. I believe they will win 7-0 this series. I really hope India could play against Australia or South Africa. Then only we'll be able to see How good the team is.

 

[Cricket_god]

England is without some of their best players. So its unfair to judge that India is a far better side. But The Victory is always sweet. I believe they will win 7-0 this series. I really hope India could play against Australia or South Africa. Then only we'll be able to see How good the team is.

even with their full strength team they could have struggled i think it is a good thing that they have some players injured so that their is some excuse for the english fans and they are fit and not burned out ahead of the ashes and i wish they inflict 5-0 whitewash over australia atleast in test with their full strength team. :happy and regarding aus and south africa australia have a weak odi bowling line up and south africa have a weak batting line up so i don't think they should troubl us atleast in conditions like westindies and subcontinent.if you saw the indo south africa series it was played on green tops in 2 odis and we defeated them in one match

 

[SaiSrini]

even with their full strength team they could have struggled i think it is a good thing that they have some players injured so that their is some excuse for the english fans and they are fit and not burned out ahead of the ashes and i wish they inflict 5-0 whitewash over australia atleast in test with their full strength team. :happy and regarding aus and south africa australia have a weak odi bowling line up and south africa have a weak batting line up so i don't think they should troubl us atleast in conditions like westindies and subcontinent.if you saw the indo south africa series it was played on green tops in 2 odis and we defeated them in one match

which match are you talking abt?

against sa at hyderabad (match 1), it was a green wicket and india lost by 5 wickets. in eden gardens, it was another green top and we all know what happened at eden gardens. smith and hall smashed us! so we are still suspect with our game on a helpful pitch for the bowlers!

i think west indies will have batting wickets. any world cup should have good batting wickets. the organizers always have this notion that ODI cricket is for the batsmen and the batsmen attract the crowds. to make the world cup successful, i am confident they will have batting pitches that are strokefilled. india will do very well on such pitches.

india will be going to the west indies this may for a 5 match ODI series. the world cup is played less than a year from that series. so should be an important one for the indians!

 

[cricket_lover]

England ODI team is no different than their test team, sans few changes. Lets see..
Trescothick--> he would have made some impact, if in form. I believe he was in good form in the test series against Pakistan.
Vaughan --> i always considered him a burden for the team
Hamirson --> quite struggling in the test matches, he went for runs in the practice matches as well
Giles --> i don't think he would have done a better job than plunkett

Who else? Simon Jones, he's a wonderful test bowler but i do not know his ODI stats...

The current English team is the one that will play the WC07, ofcourse, they will make changes but this is their foundation, and they will bulid on this.

Indian ODI team is better because of its flexibility, and enormous talent. The top order looks fragile, with Tendulkar returning, that shouldn't be a problem. Middle order, everyone except Kaif is doing well. Now that is fine, in most cases because, even if one or two fail, others can chip in and compensate.
That shouldn't be the reason to fail though, and i'm sure the Indian selectors will come hard on you. Sehwag and Kaif are under the pressure right now, but Sehwag should be boosted by the fact that they still consider him a very big player (giving him the captaincy). I feel Kaif should be handed in VC, especially when he plays in the tests, to expose him to the "pressure".

Kumble and Ganguly are not out of the question either..for WC07, same with Khan, Balaji and Nehra. So India has a very good balanced side, and with Bhajji and Powar and the part-timers chipping in, i'm quite sure they'll be a force to look for in World Cup next year.

 

[genghis_khan]

England ODI team is no different than their test team, sans few changes. Lets see..
Trescothick--> he would have made some impact, if in form. I believe he was in good form in the test series against Pakistan.
Vaughan --> i always considered him a burden for the team
Hamirson --> quite struggling in the test matches, he went for runs in the practice matches as well
Giles --> i don't think he would have done a better job than plunkett

Who else? Simon Jones, he's a wonderful test bowler but i do not know his ODI stats...

The current English team is the one that will play the WC07, ofcourse, they will make changes but this is their foundation, and they will bulid on this.

Indian ODI team is better because of its flexibility, and enormous talent. The top order looks fragile, with Tendulkar returning, that shouldn't be a problem. Middle order, everyone except Kaif is doing well. Now that is fine, in most cases because, even if one or two fail, others can chip in and compensate.
That shouldn't be the reason to fail though, and i'm sure the Indian selectors will come hard on you. Sehwag and Kaif are under the pressure right now, but Sehwag should be boosted by the fact that they still consider him a very big player (giving him the captaincy). I feel Kaif should be handed in VC, especially when he plays in the tests, to expose him to the "pressure".

Kumble and Ganguly are not out of the question either..for WC07, same with Khan, Balaji and Nehra. So India has a very good balanced side, and with Bhajji and Powar and the part-timers chipping in, i'm quite sure they'll be a force to look for in World Cup next year.

its all well and good having a talented team....but does India have the mettle for the pressure situations?

for example a close finish in a semi-final with Australia???

 

[cricket_lover]

its all well and good having a talented team....but does India have the mettle for the pressure situations?

for example a close finish in a semi-final with Australia???

they do, and the past results prove that. You're right, its all about handling the pressure, and i feel India can do that now, with ease.

 

[vizard]

Botham is full of himself too. Someone needs to remind him there's no such thing as 'we' or 'our team' in the Com box..Also can he explain the statement "the best teams in world don't change for test & ODI's, we do".

one word. Australia.

 

[James219]

they do, and the past results prove that. You're right, its all about handling the pressure, and i feel India can do that now, with ease.

Well, in the past India definitely haven't had the capacity to perform to their full potential under pressure in my opinion, their away record also suggests that, but as you say, they're on the rise in that department and are learning how to win more as a team with the emergence of new talents mixed with experienced heads. However, I'm positive they won't be able to perform consistently under pressure and do it with ease, you have to mentally attune yourself to the absolute extreme to have that quality and it's unbelieveably rare in any side.

 

[vizard]

It'll be interesting to see if India wins some finals as well.. they had a terrible record in finals under ganguly. I don't member last time Australia losing a final..except for the final game against SA but that wasnt a tri-series, the loss against Sri Lanka in VB series didnt count as it was a best of 3 and we won 2-1.. and the last English summer Natwest Final was a tie. Can anyone provide me with that stat please..Last Australian loss in a final & also Australia's win-loss record in finals over say last 5-10yrs

I think Roger Federer had a record of winning 23 consecutive finals.. I won't be surprised if we had a similar enviable record