*Official* Fifth Test at The Oval

[grecian]

The pitches being bouncier and quicker could mean he nicks off too. Quicker pitches helps everyone, though the batsmen should probably enjoy themselves more than the bowlers compared to this series.

Basically, what I'm saying is that slow pitches are the pits.

I think the Sky presenters did a very decent presentation, that you might not have seen, about one of the reasons Cook is struggling is it not getting high enough to cut. On harder pitches the margin of error is so much more pronounced. I guess we won't have long to find out, but so many of his wickets this year seem to be balls dying into the 'keepers/slips hands.

 

[Spark]

I think the Sky presenters did a very decent presentation, that you might not have seen, about one of the reasons Cook is struggling is it not getting high enough to cut. On harder pitches the margin of error is so much more pronounced. I guess we won't have long to find out, but so many of his wickets this year seem to be balls dying into the 'keepers/slips hands.

Yep, saw that. And it's the point people here are making, but the other point is worth bearing in mind too - the quicker and bouncier the pitches, in theory the more the slip cordon is in play.

 

[andyc]

TMS' schedule for the day

 

[Furball]

Yeah IIRC the only really excellent bowling conditions in those series were Lord's and TB on the first day? And given that India were bowling on both those days...

IIRC all the excellent bowling conditions that series came when England were in the field and Dravid wasn't on strike.

The Oval certainly wasn't flat, it was turning significantly from day 3ish. IIRC it went a bit towards the bowlers on the 4th morning at Trent Bridge. England's bowlers had a great slog against some really bad Indian bowling but IIRC towards the end of England's innings some balls started misbehaving off the pitch.

 

[Daemon]

Yeah, Praveen handled himself fine, and so did Zaheer in the few hours he played. The Indian batsmen minus Dravid were **** and the bowling apart from the mentioned was beyond abysmal. Not taking away credit from the English of course,.

 

[Spark]

Didn't Amit Mishra make 90 in that innings? Can't have been that difficult to bat on. The "excellent bowling conditions" I referred to though were basically the two really overcast, muggy days for that series.

 

[Furball]

I think Trent Bridge definitely had something in the pitch for most of the Test. India just bowled like clowns in the 2nd innings.

 

[Spark]

Yeah I remember at the end of Day 1, Anderson and Broad bowled a spell which basically consisted of nothing but magic balls.

 

[Daemon]

I didn't really read the conversation, just felt it was important to point out Praveen Kumar did ok.

 

[91Jmay]

Yeah I'm fairly confident England will win, maybe 2-1 this time, but the pitches and weather won't be on their side this time

Yeah I am confident the score will be 2-1, but I am unsure who wins it yet. Bresnan's fitness is an issue, and our batting lineup still concerns me.

 

[Spark]

I assume you guys are thinking that Brisbane and Adelaide will be draws? The other three have very much been result pitches in recent years.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

I didn't really read the conversation, just felt it was important to point out Praveen Kumar did ok.

He did better than ok. What has happened to him since?

 

[Furball]

He had some sort of firearms incident didn't he?

 

[Cabinet96]

Think he just fell out of favour with the wrong people. Hasn't played a test since Edgbaston 2011.

At least, I hope he fell out of favour with the wrong people. It would be horrible if they removed him from their plans because the fans wanted more pace.

 

[Uppercut]

Word on the street is he's had endless lifestyle and work ethic problems. Which is a shame, he was a useful bowler.

 

[Burgey]

The pitches being bouncier and quicker could mean he nicks off too. Quicker pitches helps everyone, though the batsmen should probably enjoy themselves more than the bowlers compared to this series.

Basically, what I'm saying is that slow pitches are the pits.

They are. And that's why subcontinental records don't really count.

 

[grecian]

They are. And that's why subcontinental records don't really count.

and that's why Burgeys posts don't really count.

 

[CarlsbergXpress]

Wonder if Bell can get another ton tomorrow.

 

[Burgey]

No coincidence Grecian's best contribution to the tour thread comes on a day when there's no play at all

 

[social]

I assume you guys are thinking that Brisbane and Adelaide will be draws? The other three have very much been result pitches in recent years.

Only reason that Brisbane has been a dull pitch of late is that there have been early summer flooding in Queensland plus it was relatively cold IIRC

As a result, the grass didn't grow and the pitch was slower than usual

This year, winter has been very warm so signs are a lot better