India in England Jun-Sept 2014

[TooDrunkToBeBowled]

India have done well so far, I would say right now 92 to win of 10 overs 9 wickets in hand India are in the drivers' seat.

 

[TooDrunkToBeBowled]

Guys what are your views on Raina getting into the test side? I think there is enough proof that he has sorted out the short ball issue, and its also clear that his game overall has gone up a notch. I would be willing to give him a run in the test side. Exactly where he fits in and who he replaces is another issue, but, in general I would definitely be open to Raina getting a good test run.

 

[TooDrunkToBeBowled]

Kohli 50, long while coming, but we are all glad its here

 

[Skater]

Is that England shirt Red or Orange?

Also why do England change their outfit from Blue to Red? Any specific reason.

Does anyone remember India every playing in colored clothes besides blue? If Ind had to go for alternate colors, what would you prefer it to be?

Our ODI shirt is blue, the T20 one is red.

As I said earlier, I do understand how to an English man, the Ashes is most important. Engish cricketers have been growing up wanting to win the Ashes for a 100 years and before there even was a world cup. I get that part.

What I am disputing is the 'dont care' for the world cup argument. Even if the Ashes is the most important thing for an English cricketer to win, the even so surely the World Cup would come second.

Like to us the World Cup is the most important tournament, but the CT then is the second most important tourament (actually its not that simple, but that is a debate for another day). We don't exactly then say we don't care for winning the CT. Sure we would rather win the WC than CT, but its not like the CT is unimportant or something we don;t care about, or forget that we won it. Its something that we cherish a great deal.

Similarly I get that the Ashes is what an English fan would win most, but after that surely its the World Cup. Which doesn't exactly put the world cup in the 'dont care' category, even for English fans. That is what I am disputing. Even if you cherish winning the Ashes, you would not in a few months forget that you won the world cup (if you did). It will be something you will remember for decades.

I am not disputing Ashes being the most important to Eng fans, but I definitely don't buy the argument that the world is something that Eng fans don't care about, and if Eng were to win the world cup it would be forgotten in a few months time.

I can't speak for all England fans but I can tell you that I personally don't care about the World Cup because I just don't like ODIs.

 

[TooDrunkToBeBowled]

Our ODI shirt is blue, the T20 one is red.

I can't speak for all England fans but I can tell you that I personally don't care about the World Cup because I just don't like ODIs.

Well we clearly have very different opinions then, but well I guess to each his own.How do you feel about T20s?

Personally for me, both Tests and ODIs are cricket, and I want India to win at anything they are playing.

I loathe the idea of T20 Int'l though, as its not even serious cricket, let alone worth of INt'l fixtures, but even so if India are playing a T20 match, I want India to win it as much as I would want India to win still, and if they win a T20 tournament, which I don't should exist in the first place, but if they win it I will still join in the celebrations.

So basically whatever India are playing I want them to win, I don't distinguish between tests and oDIs as tests is the only the India should win, or only ODIs is what India should be going for. Its all cricket, and I want India to do well in cricket period.

 

[Skater]

Well we clearly have very different opinions then, but well I guess to each his own. How do you feel about T20s?

Much the same. Test cricket is the ultimate. I would rank winning a Test series in South Africa, for example, higher than winning the World Cup.

Again, I cannot and I am not speaking for every England fan, but for me personally, I just don't care about the World Cup. For England that is - I'll watch the games, but it's nothing to get excited about.

 

[grkrama]

Everybody agrees test cricket is the best form of cricket as well as true test of batsman/bowlers endurance and skill,but as of now there is no way to have an multinational test tournament, ODI's while not tests do surely fill that void and hence would be higher than beating any single team in a Test series however well ranked the team may be, ofcourse having a great run in tests allover the world and sustaining it for sometime like AUS or Windies did may top WC, would be right up there to cherish.
nope thinking again unless its a test world cup wont top it as going through a string of different teams in a short period and coming on top is always going to be The challenge and the ultimate reward.

 

[TooDrunkToBeBowled]

Much the same. Test cricket is the ultimate. I would rank winning a Test series in South Africa, for example, higher than winning the World Cup.

Again, I cannot and I am not speaking for every England fan, but for me personally, I just don't care about the World Cup. For England that is - I'll watch the games, but it's nothing to get excited about.

Beating one side, over a competition which features all the nations just makes absolutely no sense to me. I do agree test cricket is the toughest, but there are no real tournaments to be won in test cricket.

Picture a tennis player saying I don't care about winning the grand slams, I just want to beat Federer. I can understand some rank 100 player who has no shot in hell of winning a grand slam, say okay, if I beat Federer that is it, I know I can't win the slam, but if I beat Federer, damn thats my career.

But a contender will still say I want to win the slam period. In any sport, the real glory is winning the special tournaments. In Football its the World Cups, the Grand Slams in Tennis, they are the gold standard. Sadly in tests there is no gold standard trophy to win. All test tours are on the same level. I know some are harder some easier, but to the ICC, a test tour to B'Desh is at part with a tour to SA.

The desire of winning purely comes from how hard a tour is. You say SA is a special tour, but that because they are a top team, if one generation down the line they were to become a poor side, then that tour will no longer be special. Thus in tests there is no gold standard tournament to win. In Tennis, a grand slam will never not be special or a Football WOrld Cup will never not be special, and similarly a Cricket World Cup will never not be special.

Bilateral test tours though, will just be a yo-yo thing, hot or cold, depending on how strong the team you are touring is at that point. The SA tour which may seem special now, will be not special if SA are weak some years later. Like WI tour was special in the 70s and 80s but not any more. There is no gold standard trophy to be won that will stay forever in test cricket, and real glory is winning the gold standard tournaments in any sport. In cricket the biggest gold standard trophy will remain the World Cup.

I just don't understand what you said, but then again, I guess, we have discussed this enough already. We are not going to agree I guess.

 

[MUFC1987]

We reached the final of the last one. And in T20, you just cannot predict based on such behavior and say India aren't likely to win a World T20 in a while. Suddenly if one of our bowlers get it right for even a single over in the death in a T20, it will completely turn the match upside down and that would be enough for us to go forward.

But that bolded bit is like saying if England turn up to the 50 over World Cup and teams suddenly collapse against us, that we'll win it. It's possible, but it's sure as heck not the least bit likely. And don't get me wrong, India have a good batting line up for sure and good spinners. But if sides can play the spinners well, the high full tosses at the end will mean that you're chasing 220 or so against a bowling line up like Pakistan's and that's just not going to happen often.[DOUBLEPOST=1410109063][/DOUBLEPOST]This England selection is the kind of thing that I don't understand. If we left Ali (or Root) and Bopara out of this match and picked one specialist bowler and the next best batsman, would we be any worse off? I'd think not.

 

[IceAgeComing]

England should play all limited overs cricket in red, since that is their national colour and the colour of most of their sports teams (bar white, but I doubt that you'd see anyone play limited overs stuff in white). Blue isn't an English colour, and I've never understood the English cricket team's infatuation with it...

 

[TooDrunkToBeBowled]

Its an interesting match now ... Ind were walking it a stage, but Eng have pulled it back brilliantly.

 

[TooDrunkToBeBowled]

Some of the things Wasim Akram says on commentary make me want to punch him. He said Rayudu is new to the crease, give the strike to the settled MS Dhoni who is on 9. I mean what? Settled with 9 runs?

 

[TooDrunkToBeBowled]

The good news for England is that 17 off the last over is a tough one, but the sad news for England is that the one person in INt'l Cricket who could do it, is at the crease.

 

[MUFC1987]

Woakes needs to bounce him. He's been bowling quicker than Finn, so he should be able to pull it off.

 

[SaiSrini]

And he starts off the massive final over with a SIX!!!! 11 off 5 now! We need a hypnotist to trick Dhoni into thinking that tests are like ODI's and T20's