England's Summer of Cricket 2022 as Joe Root Steps Down

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Must be assuming Southee can't be as ineffective again.

England playing some old school test cricket. The run rate has dropped a bit, Root and Bairstow trying to stay disciplined and play rather risk-free cricket. Sound strategy, if they survive the day, things should be much easier tomorrow as the ball would have passed the 30 over mark... India need at least one of these 2 tonight.

Shami is bowling well, but India just wasted a review there. Root was some way down the wicket and that was likely to miss really...
Think Siraj should have a go, perhaps Bumrah can come back for a couple of overs at the end.

Yep, big last half hour*. England down by 338, but if Bairstow/Root can see it through to stumps, they'll be restarting tomorrow against a softer ball with the chance to make good inroads into that deficit. But India will be well ahead if they get one tonight...if they get two they'll be on the victory road.

*Sun is shining. Why not play on until 9 and make up some lost time?

Right brute of a delivery from Siraj to account for Root. Extra bounce, tucked him up for room, as Root tried to fashion his beloved cut shot. Great bowling.

Leach in the middle as nightwatchman. Hmm, still over twenty minutes left!

Kohli dropping Leach of the increasingly impressive Shami. Shami really deserved more than a wicket for his efforts particularly after resumption. His every over, there have been questions for the batter. But no luck going his way, hasn't been able to open his account yet.
But Siraj, taking over from Bumrah, took out the biggest of them...

Shami looking good, but that last bit not going his way...

India's three seamers have looked very good in this innings, dare I say better than how the Kiwis bowled in the earlier series.

Leach gone now. A fairly hopeless five ball duck, lucky to last that long!

No more! Gets his man does Shami! England 83-5. Will there be another nightwatchman? Or would Stokes come out?

Think it should be Jadeja rather than Siraj, want to see one more from Shami today.

Can Bumrah nip out one more? Not enough time for Shami to bowl one more, pity really!

So England go in at 84-5. Bumrah bowling well and leading well too. Shami brilliant, and Siraj with the big strike. Jadeja and Shardul weren't even required yet. Jadeja in particularly may have a big role tomorrow if Stokes and Bairstow see out the early exchanges. Stokes though, was trying to charge Bumrah first ball, will be interesting to see how he in particular, would go about it tomorrow. Think he should be smart, and even if he decides to go, should do it after seeing off 6 7 overs tomorrow. Just 37 overs of play on a badly interrupted day. But the pace India set, means we are still well placed in terms of a result... How's the weather set for tomorrow?

We saw test history today. The most expensive over in test history was bowled. And it didn't come off the bat of Pant or Jadeja. Not even Pujara. It was Bumrah. A man with a test batting average of six, and a solitary first-class fifty, goes down in test history as scoring the most runs off an over of test match bowling.

It represents the absolute nadir of England's stupid, illogical and brainless tactic of bowling short to tailenders. England are statistically the worst test nation in the last few years at bowling to the opposition's number 8-11. And you can see why.

Then India proceeded to tear apart England's top order. The top three, predictably, didn't put up much fight for their wickets. The end of Crawley can't come soon enough. Bumrah was fantastic with the new ball, and he got good support from Shami and Siraj. A key difference from the Kiwis who didn't bowl as a capable unit for the most part.

84/5 trailing by 332. Will be tough to avoid the follow-on, not that I think India will enforce it in any case, and Indian victory looks fairly assured...barring them bowling like New Zealand in the fourth innings. Even if they do, it looks like England will be chasing north of 350.

Indian victory looks about 99% certain. As previously said, I am not too down about it. Silverwood era England would never have beaten New Zealand let alone whitewashed them, so one step at a time.

Agree on the terrible bowling to the tail and how bad Crawley is. I saw someone else mention the new regime appearing stubborn but surely they have some intelligence to learn and change things. If Root was captaining that today he'd have been slaughtered, so I don't see how that passage of play was any improvement

Shami bowled most brutish deliveries for least reward, While Siraj plucked out the biggest reward fairly quickly
I think Bumrah should have let Siraj bowl the last over

The last 20 to 25 minutes  patch was one sided, 3 high quality fast bowlers, just shy of 90mph pace, spitting cobras, and looking like plucking out wickets every over.
Relentless...and Eng were lucky play ended or they didn't look like having the wherewithal to survive for too much longer
Travesty that game ended in broad day light when another hour of play was easily possible and justifiable.

Dunno if like other countries, they will start the day early and play longer to make up lost time here?

While rains and slow over rates from Eng have taken 75 overs out of the game.........that India's 416 came @5RPO has compensated much of the lost time assuming 3RPO as par.

Eng don't look like getting to 270ish per my script.....217 instead should be their first target to avoid ignominy of not making the follow-on( avoidance)  total
If rain does take  out more time tomm....Ind should enforce follow.on...just one test and plenty of rest after that.

Problem for Eng is that not one batter looked like being able to handle the seam and pace.
Root got runs and might end up being top scorer.....but was edgy and restless, unlike his normal self
Alex was expecting an away going delivery..and left the widest gate and beaten by almost one second on pace ( Aussie and Saffie seamers will eat him up)
Pope was out like I have always seen him get out ( no less than 8 or 9 times).....both feet stuck to crease and throwing hands at ball...his every dismissal is a near dejavu of the previous one..

Crawley is too stiff and stands too tall.....he needs to develop flexible waist muscles and bend...and bend a lot really to bring his head on top of the ball when it meets the bat.

Leach after being made to look pedestrian with ball,...was made to look a hopping and skipping rabbit when with bat in hand

Good Day for India.....unless it rains a lot...Eng don't look like saving this one

A special post for that Bumrah inning and Broad over
Eng have not learnt from the last test of "this series"...where they tried to bounce out the same two guys...Bumrah and Shami and got clobbered from a mediocre lead to a game losing one thru a 100+ stand for 10th wicket

They kept banging in....and first shami and the Bumrah feasted...the ONLY  way limited stroke batsman like Bumrah who was for long a rabbit.....can clobber you is of your bowl short.
The way to go at Bumrah and Shami and Siraj etal... is  length and in the channel....sooner than later they will nick one.

As an Indian follower having seen B&W footage of Shastri's 6 sixes in Ranji and Kapils 4 sixes in a row at Lords and Patil's six 4s in a Bob Willis Over and Siddhu clobbering Warne at will and Yuvi's 6 sixes in World cup over ....you think you have seen all only for Bumrah to beat the most runs with bat in an over by a mile and most runs in an over by a country mile

Well we can all see it, everyone in the stands can see it, all the commentators can see it. So why on earth do they keep on doing it! I remember Simon Jones in his short career was good at cleaning up the tail, lo and behold he bowled line and length. The only time to bowl short to the tail is if its Stuart Broad

VTR wrote:Well we can all see it, everyone in the stands can see it, all the commentators can see it. So why on earth do they keep on doing it! I remember Simon Jones in his short career was good at cleaning up the tail, lo and behold he bowled line and length. The only time to bowl short to the tail is if its Stuart Broad

It has to be stupidity. Flintoff was also very good cleaning up the tail, he primarily bowled fuller but it did the job, a tail ender can't do much about a high 80's inswinging yorker.

Bowling short rubbish to the tail, openers getting nowt, nightwatchman pointlessly sent in and out...England bingo!

I didn't watch a ball of it due to playing myself, and I am glad reading through this I didn't - did they replace their brains with mush today or something?

As for the tail stuff - yes agree the pacers should bowl normally...but also use the spinner! Tailenders love a slog off the spin bowling, as the NZ tail showed off Leach and Parkinson...surely more effective than short nonsense

Well I decided to ignore Duty's assurances that radar was clear for the rest of the day and retired at the last rain break : probably grateful for sleep over that late short passage of play. Watched the highlights: didn't look like fun for the batsmen , with Shami and Bumrah getting plenty of movement and really pressing - even Joe Root looked seriously unsettled , not at all his usual calm and busy self. Not too surprised at his dismissal.

Will leave guildford to tell us what he thinks about the night watchman ploy

As for the earlier stuff : have already teed off about the short pitched attack to the tail...honestly mystified as to why they apparently think it is the % play. Must be some data points ? But in that case I can only assume there are unexamined factors that should cause them to be ignored. Bumrah averages under ten for heaven's sake ! Think I would fancy my chances bowling to him with a normal field - well I would a few years ago anyway

Top three England bats all failing against top quality bowling in helpful conditions...not what was wanted ; but hardly unexpected. Still missing Strauss Cook Trott , I'm afraid. I don't have an instant cure.

Where to from here ? Might be a bit much to expect another miracle comeback ; but I hope England do provide serious resistance - even if it eventually proves fruitless. I won't panic if they get beaten here : India are a good side , even if they also have top order issues. But however this one pans out , it will probably be a good thing that England will have a few weeks to reset before hosting SA : will be a few things they might need to recalibrate.

If it is going to rain again tonight I would prefer it do so late and conclusively as this on-off-maybe is murder on antipodean sleeping patterns...

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Bowling short rubbish to the tail, openers getting nowt, nightwatchman pointlessly sent in and out...England bingo!

I didn't watch a ball of it due to playing myself, and I am glad reading through this I didn't - did they replace their brains with mush today or something?

As for the tail stuff - yes agree the pacers should bowl normally...but also use the spinner! Tailenders love a slog off the spin bowling, as the NZ tail showed off Leach and Parkinson..surely more effective than short nonsense

Yes : I wondered whether they would try Leach (or even Root!) at one end in that seven over period up to the new ball. Nothing happening for Potts and Stokes ; and even though Leach had been awful on day one , things might have been a bit different with Pant not around and Jadeja looking principally to farm the strike.

Approach a bit at odds with the previous day's tactics , really. Was Stokes concerned that Leach was very down on confidence after his day one battering ?

Think it shouldn't rain today or much for the rest of the match, so India won't be saved by that!

Joking aside, I don't see England making any more than around 200. Then it will be a boring couple of days waiting for the inevitable defeat

Day three of saying - please, KP, please shut up.

Duty281 wrote:Day three of saying - please, KP, please shut up.

He sounds like a vibrator that's been taught to speak.

Duty281 wrote:Day three of saying - please, KP, please shut up.

He literally never ever stops talking!

Someone tell Stokes that being aggressive isn't just mindlessly running down the wicket and slogging - look at the bloke at the other end and how he's picking and choosing the right deliveries!

Dropped two sitters, and now still gone - batting like an absolute moron at the moment

Sometimes having multiple dropped catches doesn't mean it's your day. It just means you're batting like Poopie and probably should be a little more circumspect

Silly boy Stokes. Got a warning, then tries the exact same thing next ball. Similar to his dismissal v Bracewell in the NZ series where he kept playing shots.

Has been good from India this morning. Unfortunate to not get Bairstow early on, but they haven't been cowed by the England counter-attack and have kept putting it in the right areas.

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Someone tell Stokes that being aggressive isn't just mindlessly running down the wicket and slogging - look at the bloke at the other end and how he's picking and choosing the right deliveries!

Dropped two sitters, and now still gone - batting like an absolute moron at the moment

He's barely worth his place in the team at the moment, one meaningful contribution with the bat in four games now.

Had to be out and so just catching up. Couple of drops from India, the Shardul one particularly horrendous. But Stokes was intent on testing India's catching skills and eventually fell to a good take from Bumrah who dropped him the previous ball. Really silly from Stokes, think he's getting caught up too much in this Bazball stuff. Seems he feels he has to set the tone as the skipper regardless of the situation... Not the smartest option for the 2nd best batter of a lineup that is well short on test standard batting class.
Bairstow going about like a bloody run-away train! Seems like continuing from the New Zealand series. But unlike Stokes, he toughed out the rough passages, really took his time, played out Shami and Bumrah in that demanding passage of play yesterday, and even today, took his time to get going. Just that he's now seemingly unstoppable!
Bumrah and Shami started off well, and Shami unlucky again that Stokes got dropped of his bowling, a chance that Shardul would usually take in his sleep!. But at least, he can claim some redemption as he got Stokes before he could do further serious damage...
As Bairstow is in an explosive mood, would like to see Jadeja been given a couple of exploratory overs, not right before lunch wherein they most likely would look to play him out, but now...

Soul Requiem wrote:

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:Someone tell Stokes that being aggressive isn't just mindlessly running down the wicket and slogging - look at the bloke at the other end and how he's picking and choosing the right deliveries!

Dropped two sitters, and now still gone - batting like an absolute moron at the moment

He's barely worth his place in the team at the moment, one meaningful contribution with the bat in four games now.

Bit OTT there , Soul. He has had a poor game here ; and didn't do much at Headingley...but he made an initially fortunate but ultimately game changing fifty in the Lord's run chase which arguably ignited the team's confidence in chasing these totals. Then at Trent Bridge he scored rapidly in the first knock (OK , he threw it away with a modest forty odd , but still) and played a strong back up to Jonny in the second innings... Hardly rubbish.

Agree he needs to exercise some judgement in his batting. Attacking cricket is fine but you don't have to go totally nuts all the time. Was particularly silly today because with Bairstow in total command there was no need to push.

Bumrah continuing with pace. No sign of Jadeja yet. Think he should have a go now. Billings doing the smart thing, holding an end up and letting Bairstow do his thing. Hopefully from an England point of view, Stokes is taking note.

VTR wrote:Think it shouldn't rain today or much for the rest of the match, so India won't be saved by that!

Joking aside, I don't see England making any more than around 200. Then it will be a boring couple of days waiting for the inevitable defeat

No rain today...yeah , yeah

Good old British weather...

And they have the 200 at least ; so you probably shouldn't be buying lottery tickets today , VTR.

So lunch it is as the rain has marked its arrival. Should be an early lunch. Would surely call it England's session. Thanks mainly to Bairstow...

Off for rain again. More rain forecast later on as well, around 14:30-15:30, so will be another frustrating day, plus India's overrate was abysmal this morning.

Bairstow just about got through the initial half-hour and has since counter-attacked and kept England afloat. Some glorious timing on those shots. But India only one away from getting to the vulnerable tail and they still have a 200-odd lead.

Duty281 wrote:Off for rain again. More rain forecast later on as well, around 14:30-15:30, so will be another frustrating day, plus India's overrate was abysmal this morning.

Bairstow just about got through the initial half-hour and has since counter-attacked and kept England afloat. Some glorious timing on those shots. But India only one away from getting to the vulnerable tail and they still have a 200-odd lead.

England's session as msp says but Duty's final sentence is the more telling comment in the context of the match.

alfie wrote:

VTR wrote:Think it shouldn't rain today or much for the rest of the match, so India won't be saved by that!

Joking aside, I don't see England making any more than around 200. Then it will be a boring couple of days waiting for the inevitable defeat

No rain today...yeah , yeah

Good old British weather...

And they have the 200 at least ; so you probably shouldn't be buying lottery tickets today , VTR.

Ha, they've done better than expected, and being relatively local to Edgbaston, this rain wasn't supposed to happen today!

Well Bairstow's session anyway... But with the important wicket of Stokes taken India will still be moderately happy with the situation. Long way for England to travel to get in range of their opponent - and the tail is , well , less than intimidating

All this rain is a bit painful. Beginning to wonder if the weather gods have their money on the Rarely Sighted Test Match Draw...

Has been enthralling to watch anyway : some truly excellent bowling , thrilling strokeplay - and comical fielding capped by a great catch. 116 runs for 1 wicket in less than two hours good value for spectators money , eh ?

At the risk of inflaming the weather gods, I would say that Monday and Tuesday look completely dry, so the chances of a draw still look very remote.

Restart in just under twenty minutes. Hope Edgbaston can dodge the little bits of rain that are forecast this afternoon.

Thought Stokes was quite arrogant in the last match when it was suggested to him he's better than what he was doing. Response was along the lines I'll keep playing like that as it's entertaining. The innings in question there was something like 18 of 13 balls. He can't honestly believe such a short innings was top entertainment, he was batting for about 20 minutes

All of India's quicks have got on the board, but think Jadeja should be on to see how it goes for him.

100 for YJB.

Form of his life, indeed.

The run machine does it again

Probably the toughest one he has made of the three. Well played Jonny !

Billings is playing a good support role here, with strike rotation and quick running to tick everything along. Exactly the role Stokes should have been playing.

Looks like Thakur has the same issues as Bumrah and Stokes.

Not much you can say really. I don't think any of us thought Bairstow deserved another chance but he got it and has excelled to an extent no one could have imagined.

Bravo YJB

Soul Requiem wrote:Not much you can say really. I don't think any of us thought Bairstow deserved another chance but he got it and has excelled to an extent no one could have imagined.

Bravo YJB

Well I for one have always believed Bairstow belonged in the team. Had lean patches , sure : but I reckon a lot of that was down to being royally messed about by the management. Not too surprised he's been thriving since being given a clear role : though even I didn't expect this level of performance !

Incredible spell from Bumrah and almost unbelievable he didn't break this partnership.

Ah but Shami does break it first ball. Ends another superb innings from Bairstow, and India should be looking to wrap this up quickly.

Duty281 wrote:Billings is playing a good support role here, with strike rotation and quick running to tick everything along. Exactly the role Stokes should have been playing.

Looks like Thakur has the same issues as Bumrah and Stokes.

Don't want to jinx him , but yes , I've been very impressed with the Billings efforts today. Very sensible cricket. Not unlike the way Foakes was playing against NZ.

Even playing "super charged attack" cricket , you need some players to operate in a more conservative (though still positive) manner.

Ask guildford about a chap called Gomes who was quite handy for a very aggressive West Indian outfit

Fine partnership between these 2. Not a lot of batting left, but its very tough to dislodge set batters on this track with a ball older than 30 overs. India will have to bowl with discipline, shouldn't be leaking these many runs, if England wants to go for Bazball, let them really earn their quick runs. Time to bowl dry. Jadeja providing them good control, and Bumrah also doing the same, and as a result, at last, the returning Shami does for Bairstow!

Ah but there it goes...

Bairstow slices the returning Shami to slip and a terrific innings ends to give India a lift just when they might have been starting to flag.

Still 175 behind so Billings has work to do now to shepherd the tail. Wonder how many more they can muster ? I doubt India will make the silly mistakes England made in bowling to the rabbits...

alfie wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:Not much you can say really. I don't think any of us thought Bairstow deserved another chance but he got it and has excelled to an extent no one could have imagined.

Bravo YJB

Well I for one have always believed Bairstow belonged in the team. Had lean patches , sure : but I reckon a lot of that was down to being royally messed about by the management. Not too surprised he's been thriving since being given a clear role : though even I didn't expect this level of performance !

Bairstow, even before this wonderful patch, was a cut above the 20 Something lot for whom he often got dropped. He has issues with his technique even now, but surely wasn't ever a candidate for 21st century Ramprakash or Hick!