[Cricket] Eng v Ind - 5th Test - Edgbaston kick-off 11am

[Bold Seagull]

'Daddy, I don't want to see The Hundred, can we go and watch some proper cricket ?'

And proper cricket it was. England cut out the silly stuff and realised five an over would do.....

I've been watching over forty years and this Test is the best I can remember for pure, yet innovative, cricket in an entertaining form..

I’m not sure in the history of the game a side chasing 350+ in the final innings hasn’t approached it with ‘let’s see where we are after 50 overs before going for it’. There have of course been brilliant attacking positive past test teams, but statistics bare out that few if any go out and say ‘we’re going for it from ball 1’. 5 an over in the 4th innings is circumspect for this team now, 5 per over is measured cricket!!!

 

[Eeyore]

[tweet]1544277649383628800[/tweet]

Bairstow has always been frustrating. There was a period a few years back when he was comfortably the best batsman in England. But he couldn't quite translate it with his white ball load to the main game at the highest level.

It's like a light has switched on in his head.

Credit to him, he comes from good stock and loves the long game. Okay, Yorkshire, we admit you're good.

 

[Eeyore]

'Just two lads from Yorkshire.... we had it under control'

 

[Titanic]

"Sometimes teams will be better than us, but no-one will be braver than us"

 

[LamieRobertson]

Lump on, India in the ascendant.

I’ve sold the house ..am I too late

 

[vegster]

I've landed in an alternate Universe.

 

[LamieRobertson]

I'd be all over India if I were getting anything close to even money.

8/1 start of day five ..u didn’t did u

 

[Billy in Bristol]

India have lost the chance to win a series they sacrificed last September for the sake of the IPL...and we will always remember last Autumn's IPL won't we?

England and Cricket the winner today.

 

[Beanstalk]

I wonder if Kohli is still blowing kisses...

 

[Bold Seagull]

I wonder if Kohli is still blowing kisses...

Root and Kohli excellent comparative examples of whether ego and arrogance comes into play remaining in a team after losing the captaincy.

 

[crodonilson]

8/1 start of day five ..u didn’t did u

I did I'm afraid, I will take this one on the chin, fair play that was an exceptional batting performance from England.

 

[LamieRobertson]

I did I'm afraid, I will take this one on the chin, fair play that was an exceptional batting performance from England.

Good on u for owning up

 

[crodonilson]

Good on u for owning up

I hope Mrs Crodo sees it like that when I tell her later.

 

[Beanstalk]

Root and Kohli excellent comparative examples of whether ego and arrogance comes into play remaining in a team after losing the captaincy.

I think there are many interesting comparisons between the two teams in this test. England's aggressiveness manifested into a relentless push for wickets and runs, a calm fearlessness let's say, whereas Kohli embodied an angry confrontational aggressiveness to try and unnerve the opposition. One certainly worked better than the other.

 

[Pavilionaire]

I have to hold my hands up. I thought test cricket in this country was dead in the water. Fortunately, by sheer force of personality, Rob Key got the MD role of the England cricket team, and we haven't looked back.

He picked Stokes as captain and he backed Anderson and Broad - 3 huge decisions he got right straight away.

Crucially, he has split the Head Coach's job into red ball and white ball cricket and nailed the appointment of Brendon McCullum as the test team supremo.

Key then backed his players when it would have been easy to bin off one or both of Lees and Crawley, yet their century opening stand gave England the platform for this incredible win today.

England should thank their lucky stars, all of which have aligned perfectly this summer.

 

[Guinness Boy]

I hope Mrs Crodo sees it like that when I tell her later.

I guess that's Boston Pancake off the menu for a while.

 

[Machiavelli]

To lose the captaincy, for a new captain and manager to effectively say what we were doing before was wrong, we're going to do this, and for Root to up his game (if that was possible) is phenomenal.

I thought like England captains before him who lose it and don't go on that much longer, I can see him extending his career for years yet.

If he does that, he's going to break so many records. I'll be surprised if he doesn't make it to second in all-time Test runs scored within a couple of years. Whether he gets past Tendulkar is a more open question, as is how far he can go beyond it.

https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/records/223646.html

 

[Brovion]

Well, that was rather enjoyable. Very much shows how much cricket is played in the mind.

Oh indeed. Everything we thought we knew about how to play Test cricket has been blown away, the same as our approach to the One Day game altered overnight. (That was down to McCullum as well, albeit indirectly). Even the attitude, 'yeah we will lose a few that we might have drawn' is the total opposite. If Geoffrey Boycott was dead he'd be spinning in his grave.

(I hope we stay this positive when we DO lose a few, as we undoubtedly will).

 

[Hotchilidog]

Oh indeed. Everything we thought we knew about how to play Test cricket has been blown away, the same as our approach to the One Day game altered overnight. (That was down to McCullum as well, albeit indirectly). Even the attitude, 'yeah we will lose a few that we might have drawn' is the total opposite. If Geoffrey Boycott was dead he'd be spinning in his grave.

(I hope we stay this positive when we DO lose a few, as we undoubtedly will).

What was great about the positivity though was that Bairstow and Root barely offered the bowlers any hope. They went for the runs but they were not reckless. Bairstow in particular, it's pretty obvious to say, has been magnificent in this regard of late. I hope Stokes was taking notes as his first innings dismissal was very poor considering the match situation at the time.

Genuinely thrilling stuff from England now (for which Stokes should take a lot of credit), when is the next game? We want more!

Agree with you about being understanding the next time this tactic does not work though.

 

[Guinness Boy]

What was great about the positivity though was that Bairstow and Root barely offered the bowlers any hope. They went for the runs but they were not reckless. Bairstow in particular, it's pretty obvious to say, has been magnificent in this regard of late. I hope Stokes was taking notes as his first innings dismissal was very poor considering the match situation at the time.

Genuinely thrilling stuff from England now (for which Stokes should take a lot of credit), when is the next game? We want more!

Agree with you about being understanding the next time this tactic does not work though.

20/20 and ODIs for the rest of the month and then the Saffers in the next Test Match starting 17 August.