1st Test (Leeds) - 20th June

[The_Rey]

4 to 7

Hope your handicap is decent mate, otherwise you're going the same way as our best ever bowler

 

[Johan]

reckon Jimmy with reverse would've been better here than Tongue

 

[silentstriker]

and I also don’t understand why sarfaraz khan is not in the side.

 

[Silly Point 2.0]

What time are you teeing off with Baz and Ben, mate?

9am Monday morning once that cricket thing is out of the way.

Not even joking.

 

[mackembhoy]

Stokes is one of the most overrated cricketers of this generation

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1936070282407760268

One of Harmy best mates is Rob Key.

So of course he's going to big up Stokes as being the greatest thing since sliced bread.

 

[GIMH]

Yep. No other reason to big up Stokes

 

[Son Of Coco]

Stokes is one of the most overrated cricketers of this generation

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1936070282407760268

The constant parroting of the 'saving test cricket' line and anything with this team being 'the best ever' has all the hallmarks of a cult.

 

[chris.hinton]

Please lets get back into this test match

 

[chris.hinton]

Stokes was our best bowler today. Bashir is joe average and should be removed from the test side ASAP. Woakes must think the heatwave means his abroad as he's bowling pretty average. Josh Tongue didn't do anything but Carse was decent but not after lunch

 

[PaulLennon]

Great day for us but need boom to bowl like imran in pakistani wickets like to get result

lot more scrutiny these days.

need him to bowl like he did in 2024 on flatter wickets against the same lineup.

 

[PaulLennon]

Do Indian fans think that Sudharsan is a better player than Sarfaraz or Nair?

I don’t see it

More to do with the fact that he is 22 and if he kicks on, will be a 4-5 period when him, Jaiswal, Gill and Pant are at their peak.

Also Sarfaraz/Nair are not no 3s. Sarfaraz should get the Nair slot in a few years though.

 

[Xix2565]

If you remember the 2013-14 era the young Indian batters actually put up healthy totals in lots of matches in SENA.

Just the bowling was weak so won only one match (Lord's 2014).

This time there is a Bumrah though so let's see.

I think people should remember in 2013-14 pitches were actually good for batting (like today's was) and not the bowling friendly bonanza that hit everyone's averages from 2018 onwards. It shouldn't be that surprising that these batters can cash in on such tracks when available.

 

[Xix2565]

What can be done is remove both Jadeja and Shardul and add Reddy and Kuldeep.

No, Jadeja/Shardul's bowling combined is better for the side. Reddy overs will be like Woakes today, but with less overs bowled because he won't be as backed.

 

[mackembhoy]

Yep. No other reason to big up Stokes

Him being a great captain is true. Calling him our best ever captain is just hyperbole. The saving test cricket stuff is even more hyperbole.

 

[the big bambino]

Funny how Eng prepares a 3 day lottery for the WTC then prepare an actual test wicket here and then choose to bowl on it.

 

[cnerd123]

Very impressed by Gill. I hope captaincy takes his batting to a new level. He's always been aesthetic, just needed more grit.

Pitch is flat, we need around 500+. England can score 500 in a day on this. Should have picked Kuldeep, but then either the tail becomes too long or you're relying on Thakur as 3rd seamer.

England's bowling stocks in the lead up to the Ashes are all attributes and no consistency or IQ. Taking wickets in domestic cricket matters.

Funny how Eng prepares a 3 day lottery for the WTC then prepare an actual test wicket here and then choose to bowl on it.

The WTC pitch was not a lottery. It swung and seamed less than the average for Lords and stayed true to it's history of being the best to bat on Day 3.

 

[Son Of Coco]

Very impressed by Gill. I hope captaincy takes his batting to a new level. He's always been aesthetic, just needed more grit.

Pitch is flat, we need around 500+. England can score 500 in a day on this. Should have picked Kuldeep, but then either the tail becomes too long or you're relying on Thakur as 3rd seamer.

England's bowling stocks in the lead up to the Ashes are all attributes and no consistency or IQ. Taking wickets in domestic cricket matters.


The WTC pitch was not a lottery. It swung and seamed less than the average for Lords and stayed true to it's history of being the best to bat on Day 3.

Yeah, which of the two pitches - Lords and this one - is 'a lottery' depends on how they normally play. Maybe both normally play the way the did/are, and that's fine too.

 

[Shri]

Pitch is so flat that even Kohli might have scored runs on it

he would have edged one wide outside off swinging away from woakes in his first 5 balls

 

[cnerd123]

Headingly is such a weird ground btw. The square covers the entire ground.

 

[the big bambino]

The WTC pitch was not a lottery. It swung and seamed less than the average for Lords and stayed true to it's history of being the best to bat on Day 3.

I'm not sure why people invent meaningless metrics when they can just look at the scores. That tells you the Lords pitch was a joke. Any pitch that settles on the 3rd day was a lottery on the first two.