What have we learned from the 1st test?

[chris.hinton]

What an excellent win it was for England, India did dominate for longer periods but in crucial moments they were found wanting

What did we learn

- India only have one very good (World Class) bowler the rest are barely test class or not suitable for England
- India have the inability to make their tail wag, and basically just gave up when they were batting was a bit easy for Josh Tongue to go through them like a knife through butter.
- England need to find another seamer and a spin bowler (Bashir simply doesn't have it and would be better off playing in the County Championship for a bit)
- India's fielding needs to improve, At times its wasn't even at a test standard
- Set England any target and they are more than likely to chase it down within the day. India have to be mindful of the toss for the rest of the test matches
- India picked the wrong side


Anything else

 

[sledger]

It was the usual India in England experience I guess. Felt like watching a TV show on repeat for the 4th or 5th time.

 

[Chin Music]

Re England, I think you are being a bit harsh on Bashir. He actually bowled pretty well in the first innings, with as much control as I'd seen him and in the context of a pitch that didn't really deteriorate he didn't do that badly. There has been a bit too much of a focus on bowling figures against the context of the actual game.

I wasn't that impressed with Josh Tongue, and I know that he bagged a few cheap tailend wickets. His bowling against the upper order was pretty dreadful at times and I'm not sure he has a bowling action that will ever allow him to be super consistent. I have concerns about Woakes, is he done or is he merely a little rusty after only a couple of games back after the winter? Carse didn't bowl badly apart from earlier in the game, but he offers a few too many loose deliveries.

Can't say I disagree with your analysis of the India players. I think Siraj was possibly a bit better than the rest but they need a real stocktake of their attack for the next game.

 

[BoyBrumby]

-Both sides' batting > their bowling
-Indian fielders can't catch for toffee
-Bumrah is awesome but looked to be blowing out of his arse in the second innings
-Pant is a generational talent and I'd like to have his babies
-Duckett is nudging world class just now
-Woakes looks short of a gallop
-Crawley can play responsibly when the mood takes him
-Stokes looks like he's not in absolutely prime nick, batting wise
-Tongue is very useful bowling to tailenders; top order not so much
-Thakur still has an overly affectionate relationship with the pies
-Leaving Mo Shami at home looks like a dropped bollock by the Indian selectors

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Shami's injured.

 

[GIMH]

Given Stokes is back to bowling full-time, Tongue is worth having in there for blowing the tail away. Been a bit of a problem in recent years

 

[chris.hinton]

Fair comments guys.

 

[SillyCowCorner1]

It could have easily been a mammoth first innings total for India. Their skipper threw the game away there— getting out to Bashir

 

[social]

Woakes is world class in reasonable English bowling conditions and a complete plodder under any other circumstances

You’d have thought that experience would have taught him something but it doesn’t appear to be the case

 

[jaydesh]

Given the dryer conditions, it wasn't surprising to see both teams make massive scores. I think India virtually gave England the match on a platter multiple times, whether it be the weak tailend batting, one dimensional bowling, or dropped catches/misfield.

For India:
- India should have gotten at least 550-600, but ended up with 471.
- England should have been trailing by 100-150 runs, but England's lower order batting along with India's abysmal bowling/fielding brought it down to 6
- The lead for India should have been 400-450, but only ended up being 370 (with 371 to win)
- A completely weak performance again in England's 2nd innings resulted in a historic chase yet again in the Bazball era
- Sai and Karun were unlucky, and hence should be given the next 2 matches at minimum
- Jadeja's decline continues. Had his good moments, but sometimes lives up to the bits and pieces reputation Manjrekar warned us about.
- Have no clue why Shardul is in the side. Little bowling, and useless with the bat. Perhaps he was a spectator, given his sitting on the ground after misfielding?
- Prasidh was useless. I had my doubts after that 1st test vs South Africa in 2023 at Centurion. Clearly not test match level. Siraj is overhyped, with only fake aggression to show. If only he had as much energy in bowling consistently session after session as he does burning bridges with the other side.
- Fielding was atrocious (on both sides, but India were worse). You can't be dropping 7 catches and expect to win. Catches win matches after all. Misfields were also costly.

For England:
- Top and middle order looks near perfect. Crawley played well in the 2nd innings, while Pope got a magnificent ton in the 1st innings. But I hope this doesn't mean both of them end up going back to their old ways of getting out with single digit scores for the next 8-10 matches
- Duckett is one of the best in the world, while Root is one of the greatest of all time
- Brook looks versatile as a batsmen, and the perfect protege to Root. Needs to curb some of his careless instincts though. Jamie Smith has raw talent. Has come a long way, and a step ahead of Bairstow already. Stokes' form with the bat is a concern. Seems to have been average at best since the 2023 Ashes.
- Bowling is a slight concern. Carse was decent (almost a Gillespie/Ishant type of bowler). Tongue cleaned up the tail well, but was a trundler against the top order. Might be a bit harsh, but Woakes seems to be on the decline with the ball. Stokes can change the game with key wickets, but consistency is a problem. Bashir is learning on the job, but isn't even on par with where Ashwin and Lyon were around 2011-13 or so. Needs to find a county and stick to it, otherwise he'll get smashed down under.
- Fielding/catching better than India, but some mistakes in this area.

 

[flibbertyjibber]

India can't catch/field.

They have a few good/potentially great bats but only one bowler and the spinner looks past it after a brilliant career.

As for us, same as usual, we find a way to win when it looks unlikely. Still fun though even if it can be frustrating.

 

[Shri]

What did we learn

that the eng commentators only began talking about how headingley is a tough ground to take catches when the home team muppets started dropping catches

 

[honestbharani]

That England are a better test side than India in these conditions.



And that whatever we are paying for our fielding coach is the definition of waste of money.

 

[LangleyburyCCPlayer]

Re England, I think you are being a bit harsh on Bashir. He actually bowled pretty well in the first innings, with as much control as I'd seen him and in the context of a pitch that didn't really deteriorate he didn't do that badly. There has been a bit too much of a focus on bowling figures against the context of the actual game.

I wasn't that impressed with Josh Tongue, and I know that he bagged a few cheap tailend wickets. His bowling against the upper order was pretty dreadful at times and I'm not sure he has a bowling action that will ever allow him to be super consistent. I have concerns about Woakes, is he done or is he merely a little rusty after only a couple of games back after the winter? Carse didn't bowl badly apart from earlier in the game, but he offers a few too many loose deliveries.

Can't say I disagree with your analysis of the India players. I think Siraj was possibly a bit better than the rest but they need a real stocktake of their attack for the next game.

Jadeja didn’t get any joy out of the pitch, and if he of all people struggled, is it reasonable to expect Bashir to do much better? Largely agreed on Tongue, he and Carse do a similar job for the team which I think Carse does better, but equally I don’t think we should disregard him cleaning up the tail considering considering it’s long been a weakness of England. Woakes I don’t think was bad neither, especially after a lay-off, and contributed with the bat too. Considering Atkinson is injured and Archer has literally just come back to red ball cricket after yet another setback, I’d be in no particular rush to make any changes to the bowling unit, and the batting unit I suppose now picks itself in light of Crawley and Pope’s successes

 

[reyrey]

Typically when Woakes has done really well in the summer, it's after he's had several games for his county (so lots of bowling under his belt). You think England would know that by now.

He's gonna look like a plodder until maybe the 3rd or 4th test assuming he's still in the side.

 

[Justo]

That catches win matches.

 

[Chin Music]

Jadeja didn’t get any joy out of the pitch, and if he of all people struggled, is it reasonable to expect Bashir to do much better? Largely agreed on Tongue, he and Carse do a similar job for the team which I think Carse does better, but equally I don’t think we should disregard him cleaning up the tail considering considering it’s long been a weakness of England. Woakes I don’t think was bad neither, especially after a lay-off, and contributed with the bat too. Considering Atkinson is injured and Archer has literally just come back to red ball cricket after yet another setback, I’d be in no particular rush to make any changes to the bowling unit, and the batting unit I suppose now picks itself in light of Crawley and Pope’s successes

Re Jadeja, some Indian fans are thinking he is very close to the end, but to be honest he has often only been used as a defensive stalwart when he has played here. It is difficult to judge, but as I said, I thought Bashir bowled quite decently and we forget he is still so young. I also think that a little bit of context is needed overall with the very docile nature of the pitch. I did say that I wondered about Woakes lack of cricket but I will still say that Carse and Tongue will need to be tighter next test.

 

[Blenkinsop]

I fully expected the Indian batters to cart Bashir to all parts of the ground so as to force England to over bowl their seamers. They weren't able to do that, and he picked up a couple of important wickets, so I think he did his job. I don't think I'd be rushing to change the England team for the second Test. India on the other hand...

 

[Uppercut]

Weren't 3 or 4 of the drops off Jadeja's bowling? I don't see much sign of ageing in his bowling, he looks much the same as last time he toured. Still giving it a rip, decently accurate, capable of getting turn bowling fast, but not especially suited to English decks.

 

[centurymaker]

2 drops off the bowling of Jadeja.
5 off Bumrah
1 off Siraj