England vs India 4th Test Debate

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England line-up:

1) Andrew Strauss (C)
2) Alistair Cook
3) Ian Bell
4) Kevin Pietersen
5) Eoin Morgan
6) Ravi Bopara
7) Matt Prior (WK)
8) Tim Bresnan
9) Stuart Broad
10) Graeme Swann
11) James Anderson

India line up:

1) Gautam Gambhir
2) Virender Sehwag
3) Rahul Dravid
4) Sachin Tendulkar
5) VVS Laxman
6) Suresh Raina
7) MS Dhoni (C,WK)
8) Amit Mishra
9) Ishant Sharma
10) Sreesanth
11) RP Singh

could end up becoming a stalemate here for a while :/

Oh India has picked up a wicket, and even taken a catch in the slips!.

first run of the day

I dont mind England playing like this, they know that the series is won and just dont want to lose a match. Fair play to them

Go Belly

Well this is boring... Im off to play golf

Little glimpses of what India were capable of slowing the scoring and creating chances.

All too late.

It looks a lovely day for batting and probably a long one for India.

I dont find this boring, i am actually enjoying this. Bell has a big chance here today

Strauss gone now

How many innings do we see from Ian Bell where he starts off scoring very quickly (usually gets his first 20 runs in around 20-35 balls) and then just seems to hit a wall?

I'n not having a go at him, it justs seems to be a trend in a lot of his innings.

And it's usually when he hits this wall that he'll get out. (not so much these days but happened a lot a couple of years back)

I think with Bell it's a confidence thing. He doesn't naturally have much. Now he is at last starting to believe he really is as good as many of us think he could be, but he doesn't know how to BE confident. I think there are signs (odd though it seems) of overconfidence. Not because he's arrogant, but because he's learning what the appropriate level of confidence for his game, the conditions etc actually is on any given day.

If India had played as they have this morning from day one Test one, it would have been a much tighter series. (Still have to pinch myself a bit to make sure I'm not dreaming we're 3-0 up and by such margins...)

At last India come to the party and start playing proper test cricket. Key afternoon session now which i think will dictate whether this match heads India's way (batting clapse), England's (scoring at a high rate) or towards a draw if somewhere inbetween.

It looks as though time may be lost on saturday and sunday to weather. boo-urns

These guys should be feeling confident or in Kp's case egotastically arrogant . Both have scored big innings in the last few weeks and the batting to come is good. I hope they begin to strike out instead of grinding out this afternoon.

Tendulkar trying for his first tour century ...in overthrows

I say overthrows it was more "general spazzery"

Well, its good to see the Indian bowlers at least looking like they have a plan and being backed up by the fielders. This match seems like more of an even contest...dare I say it...more of a Test?

Still, Bell and KP haven't looked unduly troubled. Still thinking the weather will have the final say and that this match will meander to a draw.

'afternoon all.

Interesting , if slow , morning. Disciplined bowling from India for the first time in the series. Pride surfacing? Still needed more than two wickets to make up for yesterday , England well ahead in the game.

Pity about that forecast Islington ...need to move the game along now even more so ...
KP and Bell appear to have decided the same...perhaps not before time.

nice 50 from Bell. He does cop some slating but no-one can deny his talent.

Good 50 from Bell, had to battle hard against disciplined bowling, but cashed in on the loose stuff. I think Dhoni goes too defensive too early, long-off to start with for the spinner? Madness...

Its all gone the poo again for India, Bell and KP are capable of murdering them this afternoon.

Runs and boundaries beginning to flow quickly now. Dangerous time for India, could face the prospect of being worn down again.

England are only 3 runs short of equalling their first session score in less than 10 overs

Yeah good 50 Bell

Funny pacing : very bright start , sluggish spell and now he's rattling along again... Maybe credit the bowling/fielding.

But the bowling is under pressure now - Sreesanth doesn't half go to water when attacked. Not surprised he's off ...

And a good 50 from KP

50 for KP too

Looking good - hope he doesn't do anything silly here as this could be an innings worth watching. He really doesn't show the spinner much respect does he

Handy partnership - taking this away from India quickly.

100 run partnership at nearly 4 an over. Great going by these 2 lads

alfie wrote:50 for KP too

Looking good - hope he doesn't do anything silly here as this could be an innings worth watching. He really doesn't show the spinner much respect does he

Handy partnership - taking this away from India quickly.

Hes doen a lot of silly things, just done them well enough to get away with it so far. Really upped the scoring when the bowlings allowed it.

Don't think Sachin is enjoying guarding the deep fine leg boundary much with KP murdering this loose bowling...

Warnie wants him to have a bowl - he couldn't do any worse

KP starting to walk across the stumps. This can go 2 ways. He will either be out soon or his confidence will grow and he will get a big score.
I love it when he bats this arrogantly

Actually , PSW , I enjoy watching KP even when he does do silly things

Just don't want him to get out and spoil the fun yet awhile ...

Absolutley, hes awesome when things are clicking. Its whats nice about this England side, they have every type of batsman and keep the opposition thinking.

Mishra round the wicket, how long until the switch-hit?

Mishra nearly bowled him there. The perfect judge or a real heart thumper lol

And KPs average goes over 50

Warnes been wanting Sachin to bowl all summer

eirebilly wrote:KP starting to walk across the stumps. This can go 2 ways. He will either be out soon or his confidence will grow and he will get a big score.
I love it when he bats this arrogantly

As do I , Billy ...

Annoys me a bit the way some people bag him when he gets out to a daft shot sometimes : you can't have the one without the other and he probably sells more seats than any ten other cricketers...wins a few Test matches too so I forgive the odd "sacrifice".

It is finger biting stuff watching KP at times though

He is pure entertainment when being cocky

It can get annoying alfie but thats what you get with KP.
An on form KP is brilliant to watch

With KP though its a case of wishing he could control when he does it sometimes. There was a lot of loose slack play again from England this morning, this time he came in sensibly before becoming classic KP. Thats what you want to see from him not playing like Sehwag and trying to hit out the park from ball one.

Agreed Peter. He does seem to be doing that now, more often. Giving himself time to settle in before having a go at the bowling.

Great play from both him and Bell, so far. Despite India's best efforts it looks like this could turn into a repeat of the last game (weather permitting).

Bell playing some silky strokes here...totally different player to KP but also very good to watch when he's firing ...which is most days, lately.

When I see him play like this I wonder again why he cannot seem to nail the ODI business ...

alfie wrote:
When I see him play like this I wonder again why he cannot seem to nail the ODI business ...

For the same reasons Vaughan couldn't. In the middle overs most of his silky shots end up as singles anyway. In the powerplay overs his strike rate still won't exceed 70 if he plays like he does in tests, which isn't enough. Hence he has to change his game, but because his style is through orthodoxy and timing he finds it hard to force the pace. If he'd played in the early days of ODI cricket he would have been just fine, but the game has moved on. He should perhaps look at someone like Mark Waugh to see how you can make yourself successful in ODI cricket without changing your style so much.

No why Michael Slater couldn't hack it at ODI cricket is one of life's greatest mysteries...

Yes , you are probably right there Mike. Just feel someone possessed of such wonderful skill should be able to tailor his game to succeed in the other form. After all Trott , while hardly a racehorse, seems to have made himself useful as the "bat through" man in ODIs .

But perhaps better to just let Bell concentrate on what he does best and not risk messing around with his game...

Come on Belly, get that ton

Another 100 for Bell : :clap

Well played indeed

And there it is! what a turnaround Ian Bell has had since coming back into the side. Very fine innings considering he had to guts it out for a long stretch.

Great stuff from Bell
Yet another ton for England. They really do have the knack of taking games away from opponants in single sessions

Yay great stuff from Ian ' Belly ' Bell. What a summer it's been from him.


He can celebrate at tea with some

Remember when it was said Bell only got 100 s after some other batsman had already made one ?

Actually wasn't that long ago but these days he is rightly seen as a complete player. (Even a real number 3...)

Mishra has now bowled 20 straight overs . He must be knackered