Virat Kohli’s latest master class against England during the fourth test prompted some mental perambulations. The Indian captain arrived at the crease with his team in excess of two hundred and fifty runs adrift of their guests. Another quick wicket and England would have sensed the opportunity for a sizeable first innings lead. Kohli produced a near faultless display though and the match turned irrevocably in favour of the hosts. One particular question floated around my mind: how important...
Alastair Cook: Back Or Sack?
Well that was hugely unpleasant. Before this game everyone said that first innings runs was England’s problem. This time we scored 400 in the first dig and still lost comprehensively. I guess our only weak spots are batting, bowling and fielding. Other than that we’re bloody brilliant. After Sunday’s Kohli and Ashwin fest, I didn’t think things could get much worse. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned after decades of following England, it’s that things can always, always, get worse. This...
The 4th Test Humiliation & Sour Grapes Thread
Welcome to Mumbai Test thread. I’ll be updating this post with daily reports as the game progresses. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments below. Cheers. Day 4 I’m a little too embarrassed to be angry. When you reduce at team to 306-6 and they end up making 631 it’s humiliating. It’s hide behind the sofa and try not to blush too much territory. I imagine everyone in world cricket is laughing at us today. No doubt Kohli will steal all the headlines again. Fair...
Is Chef Temporarily Frazzled Or Done?
Trevor Bayliss has been England’s coach since July 2015. Since then we’ve played 25 tests with a generally attacking (or perhaps we should say ‘positive’) approach. Although results have been a little mixed, our players tend to play their best cricket on the front foot. Even Alastair Cook played in a relatively carefree way last summer. Consequently it’s highly significant that, after eighteen months of Bayliss’s tenure, he’s suddenly found it necessary to say the following ahead of...
Is A Win In Mumbai Pie In The Sky?
It has been pretty quiet over the last few days. A young Lions team has been playing in the UAE, and many observers are still purring over Haseeb Hameed’s rapid rise from embryo to test opener, but that’s about it. I guess this is the calm before the storm – the storm being the 4th test in Mumbai. Well, I doubt it’s going to be a breeze. It’s a bit too early to tell what the pitch is going to be like, but I suspect it will be a good cricket wicket – much like the one in Mohali. There will...
The Thursday Tartlet
It’s time for our TFT weekly roundup. As always here’s plenty to get our teeth into. And I promise to avoid any ‘I love a good tart’ gags … even though my Dad jokes are getting increasingly hard to resist with age. First of all it has been confirmed that Keaton Jennings, who was the leading run scored in division one last season, has been called up to replace Prince Haseeb. It’s hard to argue with this selection. Even though I rate Nick Gubbins quite highly...
