4th Test: England v India at Southhampton Aug 30-Sep 3, 2018

[TheParraboy]

Ali the great..

 

[Bazal]

Sexual Harassment Pandya gets a duck, good catch at slip....it seems, going upstairs

WTF were they checking?? Clean as you like

 

[Eelectrica]

India with a batting collapse any Australian team would be proud of. Kholi and Rahane got them back in it.
Ali gotta by MOTM. One more test to go but Curran has to player of the series. Without his rear guard heroics and timely wickets India have this series wrapped up.

Rashid can go back to has safe space in T20.

 

[ANTiLAG]

India with a batting collapse any Australian team would be proud of. Kholi and Rahane got them back in it.
Ali gotta by MOTM. One more test to go but Curran has to player of the series. Without his rear guard heroics and timely wickets India have this series wrapped up.

Rashid can go back to has safe space in T20.

Yeah, Rashid is dropped for mine if Woakes is fit next test, which gives England a tad more batting.

But it still leaves England with 6 bowlers, so Stokes will be under a bit of pressure to score some runs. Curran, Woakes and even Buttler have been outscoring Stokes, and there's a limit to only so much dropping of Curran and Woakes in form that seems sensible.

England is off to Sri Lanka after this test, so maybe Rashid will go on that tour.

Curran's continues to be a fantastic player to watch bat, while I have doubts whether he will be much chop with the ball outside of England. If I were England coach or captain, I would bat him in the top 6 ahead of Stokes in the final test to see how he goes.

 

[hineyrulz]

Curran looks the best bat in the Pommie line up, well except Woakes.

 

[ANTiLAG]

Curran looks the best bat in the Pommie line up, well except Woakes.

Both Woakes and Curran look light years better as batsmen than Jennings. Jennings is so bad, I didn't even realise he is a South African. He may be the worst South African to play cricket for England.

11 tests - averaging low 20's. His FC record, is low 30's. Yet he continues to get selected.

Woakes set up the second test win with his century. Curran made the first test victory possible with his tail end efforts at 8. Did the same in this test at 8. Without these two, this series could be India's Kohli's well already. They're giving England a way to win even when their top order batsmen are repeatedly failing.

 

[AlwaysGreen]

Jeez there's a deficit in even half decent test batsmen around the world.

Thank f**k there's only a handful of world class bowlers or tests would only be lasting 1 day.

 

[ANTiLAG]

[England lower order] I think it's great to have guys who strike the ball well in those positions, you can get a partnership together and hurt the opposition. They are fearless and have skills, they were braver than us in tough positions. Runs from the lower order were significant, I congratulate Sam Curran, he's been a fine cricketer. Apart from Lord's I don't think we have been outplayed,

Kohli credits England's series win on England's lower order. Bit of a slap in the face for the English batsmen.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/18018/game/1119552/england-vs-india-4th-test-ind-in-eng-2018

 

[ANTiLAG]

Jeez there's a deficit in even half decent test batsmen around the world.

Thank f**k there's only a handful of world class bowlers or tests would only be lasting 1 day.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...5;spanval1=span;template=results;type=batting

What you said, plus even former high quality players like Mathews and Amla have fallen away steeply.

But I do think bowling units around the world are getting stronger.

SA has been lethal with MMorkel, Rabada, Philander, Abbott with Ngidi and Steyn when fit. Maharaj is their best spinner since reintroduction.

NZ has its best trio in Southee, Boult and Wagner that it may ever have had.

England are very proud of Jimmy and Stuart. TRJ started with a hiss and a roar before injury.

WI is getting back to winning cricket with Gabriel and Roach supported by Holder.

India has their best seam attack ever in their history in Bumrah, Shami, Ishant, BK and Yadav providing spares. India has wrecked teams at home with spin via Jadeja and Ashwin with Mishra dropped despite being high quality.

Pakistan has had Yasir Shah win them tests, unveiled Mo Abbas with quality seamer support (yet pick Rahat Ali often).

Australia still has produced quality via Lyon, Haze, Starc and Cummins, but even Siddle and Patto have strong numbers in their few games as competition for spots heated up.

SL had Herath dominate in SL and the UAE.

I think bowling standards have improved globally.

http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/en...5;spanval1=span;template=results;type=bowling

 

[Tommy Smith]

My England team for the next Test:

Tom Curran
Chris Woakes
Joe Root
Ben Stokes
Ronnie Irani
Moeen Ali
Joss Buttler
Mark Ealham
Craig White
Stuart Broad
James Anderson

12th man: Dominic Cork

Time to stop picking imposter batsmen and go "full bit part cricketer" genius. It seems to be our strength.

Embrace your Vettori era NZ destiny, England.

 

[Bazal]

My England team for the next Test:

Tom Curran
Chris Woakes
Joe Root
Ben Stokes
Ronnie Irani
Moeen Ali
Joss Buttler
Mark Ealham
Craig White
Stuart Broad
James Anderson

12th man: Dominic Cork

Time to stop picking imposter batsmen and go "full bit part cricketer" genius. It seems to be our strength.

Embrace your Vettori era NZ destiny, England.

Uh oh...did you just call Lord Sir Christopher Woakes a bit part cricketer? Three thousand words incoming...

No room for Owais Shah, Chris Schofield, and Usman Afzaal?

 

[Tommy Smith]

Uh oh...did you just call Lord Sir Christopher Woakes a bit part cricketer? Three thousand words incoming...

No room for Owais Shah, Chris Schofield, and Usman Afzaal?

The Immortal Usman Afzaal is too good for this England team. As are the likes of Shah and Rpb Key.

But we've been so deep in bit part cricketers over the years - with limitless potential to avg. 20 with the bat and 45 with the ball - that you could really pick 2 XIs.

 

[Timbo]

Anthony McGrath and Ian Blackwell very unlucky there.

 

[Bazal]

Anthony McGrath and Ian Blackwell very unlucky there.

As are the likes of Jimmy Ormond, Richard Dawson, Ed Smith, Gareth Batty, Kabir Ali, Rikki Clarke, Martin Saggers, Shaun Udal, Samit Patel, Scott Borthwick, and Adam Lyth

 

[JJ]

Three thousand words incoming...

Conservative, perhaps?

 

[ANTiLAG]

My England team for the next Test:

Tom Curran
Chris Woakes
Joe Root
Ben Stokes
Ronnie Irani
Moeen Ali
Joss Buttler
Mark Ealham
Craig White
Stuart Broad
James Anderson

12th man: Dominic Cork

Time to stop picking imposter batsmen and go "full bit part cricketer" genius. It seems to be our strength.

Embrace your Vettori era NZ destiny, England.

That is really harsh to drop Sam Curran again this series. But if you really want Tom to play - this is how I'd do bit play XI for the next game.

1 Chris Woakes (better bat than Jennings)
2 Alistair Cook (dead rubber to find some form)
3 Moeen Ali
4 Joe Root
5 Bairstow
6 S Curran
7 J Buttler +
8 B Stokes
9 T Curran
10 Stuart
11 Jimmy

12 Rashid

And possibly sooner than expected, England will have Joffra Archer to join Moeen, Sam, Ben and Chris. Except Archer may just be a very deadly bowler.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/westindies/content/player/669855.html

 

[Das Gupta]

Well down England winning with only 9 men (Cook and Rashid did stuff all)

 

[Bazal]

Well down England winning with only 9 men (Cook and Rashid did stuff all)

Cook took some nice catches, fielded well. I mean, it doesn't sound like much but fielding well was enough to make Gary Pratt internationally famous....

 

[Das Gupta]

Since his double century on the MCG road Cook has only passed 50 once in 16 innings.
His average is a woeful 18.62.
Time to go Cook you have been slipping for a few years now.

 

[Das Gupta]

Cook took some nice catches, fielded well. I mean, it doesn't sound like much but fielding well was enough to make Gary Pratt internationally famous....

and Mickey Edwards
I wish I had his hair.