Much as I admire Beefy as a cricketer, he isn’t the arbiter of what is right and proper.
Bell was out by the letter of the law and was a dozy sod but I care far more about the game overall. The series would’ve been soured had that decision stood.
(For England and India both)
As it is, the game has been enhanced and that matters far more than the strict adherence to the letter of the law.
As for learning hard lessons, I’m suspecting somehow that the England squad will not let Bell forget this in a hurry. Even though he was re-instated we won’t be absolved of blame.
And in midst of all of this, I’m not sure the flow of the game has been disturbed to much. England were always on the way to a cracking total and so it proved.
We go on about the batting of India but when I look at the England line up and see Broad in at 9!!!
Thee is only Anderson in there unlikely to score half-centuries but even he is well capable of acting as the other half of a 30-50 run partnership.
So what is in store this morning? Well I think England will be looking for a 450+ lead and to have that just before lunch. I reckon we’ll have 3 or 4 quiet overs to get their eye in and then a 10 over thrash to get to the declaration target.
It’s his left hand, so it shouldn’t affect him too badly.
Propos to Dhoni for withdrawing the appeal. Agree the right decision was made, the “dismissal” had nothing to do with cricket skills.
England have really dug themselves out of a hole, from 88/6 and 124/8 in the first innings to setting India a target of 478. Dravid has gone just before lunch, and India have yet to make 300 in this series, it’s going to take an innings of a lifetime to turn this around. Broad’s purple patch continues, before lunch he hit 44 off 32 balls then got Dravid out in his second over.
Think that was Bell’s first century batting at No 3, he has really matured now. Given the strength of our lower order batting, I think our strongest side would probably be to drop Morgan, have Prior come in at 6 and play a 5 man attack. Incidentally, with Bresnan, Broad and Swann at 8, 9 and 10, I suspect this team may have the highest combined batting average of any 11 to play the game. Not all that meaningful, as batting averages have risen over the last decade, but it does emphasize how deep we bat.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I heard yesterday that an English bowler took 5 wickets for 0 runs in 25 balls in the 2nd Test and turned the match on it’s head? Have I got that right?
It’s wonderful to see the term still used in it’s correct usage in this modern era of Pyjama Pansies.
Being an Aussie, I’m actually enjoying following the English team these days. As extraordinary and as unpatriotic as it might sound, the Australian Team and it’s ethos has lost my support over the past decade. I think it’s wonderful for the game that England is a real force once again. Hope they win the series handsomely and bruise some Mumbai egos, to be honest.
Well, that is an interesting aggregated statistic - one which I hadn’t pondered on before.
I suspect your statistic would be hard pressed to beat the wonderful Windies team of the mid 1970’s-1980’s. That was a very strong deep batting order, which is why they were so unbeatable for so long.
Stuart Broad. It was 5 wickets for 0 in 16 balls that he bowled, so 25 balls in total sounds about right, and finished with career best bowling figures. It turned the match, as it restricted India to a 1st innings lead of 67. He also top scored in the first innings with 64 off 66 balls, taking us from 117/7 to 211 (he was last out). In our second innings he scored 44 off 32 when pushing for a declaration. Finally, he got Dravid out just before lunch, who had scored centurys in 2 of his last 3 innings. It’s fair to say he is having a good test. Here is the match scorecard.
India now 47/4, needing another 431 to win, or another day and a half of batting to draw.
Actually, I’m pretty sure the strongest competition is the 1948 Australian team, the Invincibles. Bradman’s 99 boosts them, and they had some other batsmen with high averages, one over 60 and more than one in the high 40s. However, their wicketkeeper averaged less than 20 to Prior’s 45, and they didn’t bat quite as deep. I’d have to add it up to see who comes on top.
The West Indies team didn’t have a particularly high batting average. Richards averaged 50, but I don’t think anyone else averaged above 45, and they didn’t have an all-rounder. It was their bowlers that gave them a real edge.
Diferent eras of course, so direct comparisons of the numbers don’t really mean much.
68/6 at Tea, huh? You could wrap it up in the next session if you’re really ruthless.
I daresay the crowd is delirious with glee. The Indians have ruined the game recently with their pursuit of 20/20 giggle bash and dash. Some comeuppance isn’t without it’s place I feel.
Sachin is still there. The man who has never in his career fired when the team needs it has a chance to do so.
WIth all due respect; the England batting is very good, but they have not been tested by class bowling; ever. The only time that they were was last year agaisnt Pakistan and Muhammad Amir especially had themon the ropes many times.
I’m not sure. The lineup is strong, but really brittle. And it isn’t like the absence of a 5th bowler seems to have stopped England bowling good batting teams out twice.
I don’t have the same issue with 20/20. It’s fun, and watching a match in Bangalore showed me the unbelievable passion for the game there. He’ll my Amerian boss even enjoyed it.
I’d much rather see the game split between 20/20 and tests (or 4 day games for the internal stuff) and get rid of the crappy 50 over game.
However, if you apply that threshold condition, you would not be able to be stumped by a wicketkeeper after playing a defensive shot against a spinner and being caught out of your crease. You’re not attempting to a run under those circumstances either - but you ARE out of your crease.
There are the rules of the game, and there is the spirit of the game, and I think kudos should go to India for applying the latter over the former it seems to me.
And kudos to the English team for a stirling victory.
