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Battle of the Wickets: England's Resilience Against India's Young Brigade
The ongoing Test series between England and India has presented a riveting spectacle of cricketing prowess, with the series currently poised at 2-1 in favor of England. This episode features a comprehensive discourse between host Mayank and guest Ben, who delve into the nuances of the series, highlighting the youthful Indian team's formidable challenge against the seasoned English side led by Ben Stokes. The conversation elucidates the intricate dynamics at play, including the contrasting performances of both teams and the pivotal role of individual players, particularly the batting and bowling strategies employed. Furthermore, they explore the implications of recent selections and adaptations, as each team seeks to capitalize on their strengths while navigating the evolving conditions of English pitches. As the series progresses, the discussion encapsulates the anticipation surrounding the remaining matches and the potential for further dramatic turns in this enthralling contest.
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Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker B:Hello and welcome to the Last Wicket.
Speaker B:I'm your host Benny.
Speaker B:Thank you for joining us folks.
Speaker B:We have a blockbuster test series going on in England right now at this moment a young Indian team led by Shubman Gill has been challenging the old war horse Ben Stokes and his Englishman.
Speaker B:The series stands at 21 to England, but that does not give us a complete picture.
Speaker B:What an enthralling and hard fought series investment.
Speaker B:It could easily happen to 1 in India's favorite or even 30 if you think about it.
Speaker B:That's house series has been shaping up.
Speaker B:In addition there's been women's cricket with the Indian women taking on the English women in limited overs and that has been a fascinating story all by itself.
Speaker B:So to talk all that and more, we have a returning Ben Bretel who had a chat with my co host Mike earlier last week even as the third test was ongoing.
Speaker B:So do stay tuned to hear their conversation and don't forget to check out Ben's substack.
Speaker B:A link will be provided in the show notes.
Speaker C:Ben, welcome back to the bot.
Speaker C:How are you doing and how are you enjoying the series so far?
Speaker A:Yeah, thanks Mayank.
Speaker A:Yeah, really well, thank you.
Speaker A:We're melting in the heat here.
Speaker A:We've got a huge heat wave in the uk, very unusually and yeah, fantastic to be back on the podcast and really enjoying the the series.
Speaker A:Really intriguing and yeah, looking forward to chatting about it.
Speaker C:And before we get into it, there's another England India series that's been ongoing, the women's T20 series.
Speaker C:One game to go but India have managed to win their first ever T20 series in England.
Speaker C:Have you had a chance to follow that as well?
Speaker A:I've been following a little bit though.
Speaker A:I've only managed to watch two of the games live on, on tv.
Speaker A:I think the England are in a kind of rebuilding phase if you like now with Charlotte Edwards and Natsuva Brunt taking over.
Speaker A:And that era started well with a, a pretty comprehensive defeat of West Indies, but India just look a much better side and it's, I think it's been something of a reality check for England.
Speaker A:To be honest, my main observations from the games that I watched was that England's fielding is still nowhere near good enough.
Speaker A:And even in the game that we won and India's fielding by contrast been fantastic especially when they restricted to England.
Speaker A:England such a low total in the, in the previous game I think there's kind of, there's the sort of green shoots of growth for England.
Speaker A:I think we've got some Promising youngish players.
Speaker A:Lauren Filer looks a, looks a handful with the ball and of course we're, we're missing Natsuva Brunt out injured, which is, you know, she's a, she's a huge miss with, with bat and with ball.
Speaker A:But India just look better with, you know, in all three departments of the game, but ball and, and in, in the field.
Speaker A:And I think it's, it's become clear after that kind of honeymoon against the West Indies that England have got quite a bit of work to do to close what looks quite a big gap between them and, and India and Australia, who, who both look way out ahead at the moment.
Speaker C:Yeah, I would.
Speaker C:I mean, I think the Aussies are.
Speaker C:Oh, and the women are in their own, you know, club of their own.
Speaker C:I don't think they can be compared to any other team.
Speaker C:But yeah, I do think, you know, English team has been rebuilding a little bit.
Speaker C:The injuries you mentioned, those have definitely helped.
Speaker C:But I have to say the fielding has been just amazing.
Speaker C:I, India's always had a couple of really good fielders and Jimmy Rodriguez, Radha Yadav has always been really handful, saving runs, doing, taking good catches.
Speaker C:But this time around it felt like there was no real weak link, which is pretty rare, which is pretty refreshing to see.
Speaker C:And, and I think it's, it's been a key effort.
Speaker C:I mean, the, the spinners have done well, but that you kind of always expect with the Indian women team.
Speaker C:They've always had good spinners, but the fielding to back with it and then of course the power hitting has improved quite a bit as well.
Speaker C:Whether, of course it's know, the experiences in 100 and the BBL in the women's IPL or just a combination of, you know, professionalization of sport.
Speaker C:I think, yeah, they definitely look like a really good team and I'm pretty excited to see what, what happens in the upcoming World Cup.
Speaker A:I think, I think you mentioned the, the women's ipl, the wpl.
Speaker A:I think that's been, you can really see that that's starting to develop this pipeline of, of Indian players and it's.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's been, it's been fantastic for, for India and I think as you say, the, the fielding across the board, it's not just one or two of them.
Speaker A:It's been, it's been all, all of the players chipping in with really good fielding efforts.
Speaker A:And yeah, they look, they look a really good side, actually.
Speaker C:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:I think the, you know, what WPL in my mind helps is of course, like get all of these youngsters an opportunity to perform in front of big crowds.
Speaker C:Have them share dressing rooms with big names and all of that and of course make them, you know, names in every household.
Speaker C:But more than that, I just feel like the depth has increased so much and obviously it's not just wpl, it's just the improved cricket coaching and scouting at a, at the lower levels has helped because I was just thinking about the team as, as it was being announced for this English store and I was like, wow, there' so many good players who are not even on it.
Speaker C:You know, Sri Lanka Patil is one of them and there's others who are really handy all rounders who can contribute in really all three dimensions and they're not even there.
Speaker C:So, yeah, definitely great signs for Indian cricket from that standpoint.
Speaker A:Of course, the women's hundred was supposed to do the same thing for women's cricket in England, but I think it's done a really good job of raising the profile of the women's game in England.
Speaker A:But I haven't yet seen quite that kind of pipeline of players coming through yet that you might expect.
Speaker A:So it's early days but fingers crossed.
Speaker C:For the future certainly.
Speaker C:And I think the 100 is at a interesting point anyways.
Speaker C:Not just the women's part, but overall the 100 in general is interesting because there's a lot of people who are complaining about how it's taken away from the T20 bash or what is it, T20 blast rather.
Speaker C:Yeah, and, and so, yeah, it's at an interesting point because there's a lot of people complaining how it's relegated that to the second level tournament.
Speaker C:A lot of players not being available, so the quality has gone down.
Speaker C:And yeah, I guess I'm curious as to your thoughts about the hundred in general and what is the general sentiment amongst English fans.
Speaker A:I think there's a, a big segment of English cricket fans that kind of loves to hate the hundred.
Speaker A:Those arguments you just mentioned, you know, it takes away, it takes away from other formats of the game, takes away from the, the T20 blast.
Speaker A:It, it certainly takes away from the, the 50 over tournament which tends to happen in August too, which is now kind of almost a second 11 tournament.
Speaker A:It's pushed test matches out into, into, you know, it's pushed international cricket into, into July and June and, and September.
Speaker A:There's lots of arguments against it but you know, I, I've got three young children and they, they love all forms of cricket but they absolutely love the 100.
Speaker A:They can't wait for it to start.
Speaker A:I took them to a game a couple of years ago.
Speaker A:They loved it.
Speaker A:Kids getting involved.
Speaker A:It puts women's cricket on an equal footing with men's cricket, women's.
Speaker A:And with the recent auction of the, of the franchises, it's raised a huge amount of money for English cricket, which can probably keep county cricket on the, on the road for many years to come.
Speaker A:And you know, the, the finances of many county cricket clubs was in kind of dire, dire straits for, until, until this has happened.
Speaker A:So, you know, swing, swings and roundabouts.
Speaker A:I think there's positives and negatives, but I think it's probably here to stay.
Speaker A:So it's a case of kind of get with it and enjoy it or, or carry on moaning about it.
Speaker A:But you know, the same people that are moaning about the hundred were moaning when T20 first started.
Speaker A:And sure, you know, you can't, you can't stand still as a sport.
Speaker A:You're, you're competing in a, in a, an evolving marketplace and nowadays, you know, you're trying to capture kids attention.
Speaker A:You know, when I was 8 years old, I'd watch test cricket all day because that was the only thing that was worth watching on television.
Speaker A:But we didn't have TikTok or YouTube or anything like that.
Speaker A:So, you know, right, you're in a, you're in an evolving marketplace and to stay relevant you need to, you need to keep up.
Speaker A:And I think it's, it's an innovation and it was a risk creating a totally new format rather than just having a kind of IPL style T20 league, but I'm broadly positive on it.
Speaker C:Fair enough.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:No, I agree.
Speaker C:I do think sport often, and cricket in general often, like, tries to rely a lot on tradition and history and all of that.
Speaker C:When some of those things are sometimes holding it back.
Speaker C:Get into it.
Speaker C:Let's get into the Anderson Tendulkar Test series, as it's called now.
Speaker C:We are two matches and two days in, so nearly at the halfway point.
Speaker C:What have been your key takeaways or key things you've, you know, that have stood out to you?
Speaker A:I think it's been a really intriguing series so far.
Speaker A:It's awesome that it's kind of everything's still on the line halfway through the third game.
Speaker A:I've read a lot of criticisms of the pitches, but they've both produced results that have happened on the fifth day so far.
Speaker A:So I'm not entirely sure what the problem is there.
Speaker A:I don't know what people want.
Speaker A:You know, you don't you don't want a Test match that's over in two and a half days and you don't want a boring draw.
Speaker A:So if it ends at some point on the fifth day, I think that's kind of the marker of a good pitch for me.
Speaker A:And I think, you know, as I alluded to earlier, it's not rained here significantly for months.
Speaker A:It's not been a typical summer at all.
Speaker A:So I think it's probably been quite hard for curators to, to, to create a pitch that like, like they would normally create.
Speaker A:You know, it's.
Speaker A:The English pictures are known for being a little bit green, a little bit seamy, a little bit of juice in the wicket, and it's just, just hasn't rained, so it's got to be.
Speaker A:And I heard somebody say that the, the Edgbaston pitch was subcontinental in nature.
Speaker A:And, you know, that's, we've had subcontinental weather, so that's not, not a huge surprise.
Speaker A:And I think the other, the other thing that's kind of allied to that is that both of the teams batting is really their, their strong point rather than the bowling.
Speaker A:With the exception of Bumrah, he's the only bowler in the top ten in the, in the ICC rankings playing in this series, whereas six of the top ten batsmen are playing.
Speaker A:So it tells you something about the, the, the balance between bat and ball.
Speaker A:So I think it's with, with flat, dry pitches, six of the top 10 batsmen in the world and only one of the top 10 bowlers.
Speaker A:It's not a huge surprise that we've seen high scores and bowlers toiling away in the, in the heat.
Speaker A:I think in terms of the way the series has played out so far, I think England are lucky not to be 2 nil down.
Speaker A:I thought, thought they were pretty lucky at Headingley.
Speaker A:India dropped a lot of catches and two really dramatic lower order collapses.
Speaker A:Probably let England off the hook a couple of times and let them, let them have a chance at that run chase, which, you know, they should have been out of sight really, on first innings and then, and then again on second innings, so.
Speaker A:And then, yeah, edge of us was.
Speaker A:I was there on the second day, so.
Speaker A:So Gil make his 260 odd and yeah, it's a magnificent innings.
Speaker A:He's a, he's a great batsman to watch and I can just see it doesn't look like rain at the moment.
Speaker A:So I can, I can see bat dominating ball for the rest of the series, to be honest.
Speaker A:So I think we're we're in for a lot more runs and a lot more.
Speaker A:A lot more hundreds and a lot more Very, very tired fast bowlers.
Speaker C:Yeah, it's got to be tough.
Speaker C:You know, I think you wrote in your recent substack as well that a lot of these English fast bowlers have bowled 80 plus overs and the gap between the second and the third Test was just four days.
Speaker C:So it's, it's gotta be hard work in these hot conditions.
Speaker C:Um, there's been a lot of talk, especially today since we're recording after day two, about the ball and the Duke ball and how, how often it needs to be changed.
Speaker C:It's getting out of shape and I think at one point India needed a new ball or asked for a change after 60 odd balls.
Speaker C:It was.
Speaker C:And, and they got one because it was actually badly shaped.
Speaker C:What are your thoughts on that, considering, you know, you watch obviously a lot more English cricket than I do, have, have this, has this level of needing a ball change.
Speaker C:All of that been as prevalent in previous summers.
Speaker C: t previous because, you know,: Speaker C:So I, I think it's a combination of factors.
Speaker C:But do you think something seems even worse this summer?
Speaker A:Some things definitely changed and I think it, I think that traces back to about five years ago.
Speaker A:And like you say, the, the owner of Duke admitted to a, some kind of quality issue, although he insists that the, the manufacturing process hasn't changed.
Speaker A:He, he, he said that there might have been changes in the, in the processes at the tanneries that, that make the leather.
Speaker A:And then he also said that the, the ball is being hit harder and further by more aggressive batsmen than previously, which kind of sounds a little bit like a cop out to me.
Speaker A:There's clearly an issue with the ball.
Speaker A:Say India changed it today, managed to get it changed after 60 balls or whatever it was, and then they got it changed again.
Speaker A:And I think 40 balls and this never, this never used to happen.
Speaker A:So something's changed and I think that, I think they need to sort it out because it's getting a bit tiresome.
Speaker A:The, the fielding captain going up to the umpires every, every three or four overs and passing a ball through a little hoop to try and get it changed.
Speaker A:It's kind of, and then it's kind of the lottery of which replacement you get if you do get it changed.
Speaker A:India, India had it changed earlier and then they didn't like the One that they got given and they wish they'd kept the old one.
Speaker A:It's kind of makes a bit of a mockery of it.
Speaker A:Just make a bull that lasts 80 overs and deteriorates normally and then you've got a new one after 80 overs.
Speaker A:I also read that he, he suggested that they might want to think about having a new ball available after 60 or 70 overs rather than 80, which I don't think is a bad idea.
Speaker A:If you can't make a ball that stays serviceable for 80 and something's changed that you can't control, then maybe a new ball early is an idea.
Speaker A:But I think mainly just try and make the cricket ball that you were making 10 years ago and everything would be fine.
Speaker C:Right?
Speaker C:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker C:I mean, I do think like the drier conditions, pitches being drier, all of that probably contributes a little bit to it.
Speaker C:But the fact that, you know, to your point, 60, 60 ball old and 48 balls, I think was the second time when they changed it.
Speaker C:That frequency is just a little bit shocking.
Speaker C:So definitely something that needs to be looked at.
Speaker C:And I think the variation, yeah, you know, it just is a little bit challenging because you might have a bowler who's, you know, bowling really well and then suddenly the ball changes, the team has to work all over again to get that ball into the right shape, shine and all of that to, to get it to move the way they want it.
Speaker C:And the other aspect, as I was thinking about this discourse, was obviously in the basball era, England have opted for more batting friendly wickets.
Speaker C: en then what we've noticed is: Speaker C:So again, not trying to say that, you know, not crediting the batsman.
Speaker C:They've, they've played some really good innings.
Speaker C:Ben Duckett in the first Test, for example, that was a marvelous innings to keep, you know, the likes of Bumra and others out while the ball was doing quite a bit.
Speaker C:But, but I do think it does put a question mark on the quality of balls if it is going flat.
Speaker C:And especially on day four and five where you would expect maybe headingly is a good chasing ground, but maybe apart from heading Lee most other grounds you would expect it to do a lot more.
Speaker A:Yeah, I agree.
Speaker A:I think it's, it's definitely got something to do with the pitches and, and they, the trend now seems to be for them to flatten out rather than deteriorate over, you know, day, day three and day four seem to be quite good for batting nowadays, whereas in the olden days as showing my age now.
Speaker A:But, you know, that's when it used to start to.
Speaker A:To break up and you'd see it get really hard to bat.
Speaker A:But yeah, I think maybe just a softer ball that it's.
Speaker A:It's really hard to take wickets with it once it gets to 20 or so overs old.
Speaker A:Is that allied with a flat pitch?
Speaker A:Just.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:Makes chasing in the fourth innings way easier than it.
Speaker A:Than it used to be.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:Let's get into the third Test.
Speaker C:So we're two days in.
Speaker C:England have managed 387, which to me is a pretty incredible score on this pitch, which seems to be doing a lot more than the first two matches.
Speaker C:Even with all the ball changes, it felt like the ball was doing way more even after the 35, 40 or mark.
Speaker C:India are in a little bit of trouble.
Speaker C:They.
Speaker C:They're definitely not out of it, but fair to say England are ahead at this point.
Speaker C:What are your thoughts on just the way England have, you know, gone into this Test one by asking for a little bit of a more sporting wicket?
Speaker C:They've also changed their strategy by batting first, which they haven't done under Bren McCollum, I believe, since the start of basball at home, at least.
Speaker C:And then on day one, they b slowly as well.
Speaker C:So that was something pretty uncharacteristic from this batting lineup.
Speaker C:So, thoughts into this more traditional approach from England?
Speaker A:It's been a.
Speaker A:It's been a bit of a funny pitch, actually, because it.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:They asked for a more sporting wicket, as you say, with.
Speaker A:With a bit more pace and bounce.
Speaker A:It's been quite a slow pitch, but it's also been quite difficult to bat on.
Speaker A:And there has been a bit of lateral movement for the seamers, certainly when.
Speaker A:When the ball's still new in that first kind of 15, 20 overs.
Speaker A:So I think it's been interesting.
Speaker A:It's been hard to.
Speaker A:It's been hard to score on.
Speaker A:And I think you say England have.
Speaker A:You know, I read all these headlines about, you know, India have tamed basball and, you know, the.
Speaker A:England have been forced to change their approach.
Speaker A:You know, for me, I'm.
Speaker A:I'm happy to see it.
Speaker A:I think flexibility of adjusting your style and strategy to conditions is just the key to being good at Test cricket.
Speaker A:So I'm really happy that England did that.
Speaker A:And I think people's kind of surprised at this and surprising the media and in, you know, on the forums and.
Speaker A:And Whatever.
Speaker A:I think that belies a bit of a fundamental misunderstanding of what basball really is.
Speaker A:You know, people think it's about being super aggressive at all times, but actually it's about taking the aggressive option where it's possible and, and trying to transfer any pressure back onto the opposition.
Speaker A:And I think, you know, y.
Speaker A:Yesterday is a really good example of where I think if they tried to be more aggressive, if they tried to score at 5 or 6 Nova yesterday, they'd just be 7 or 8 down at stumps instead of 4 down and bowled out for 200 or 220 or whatever.
Speaker A:So I think actually it's just the intelligent option of batting as they did was the best way of transferring pressure back onto India.
Speaker A:Also tiring the bowlers out in the heat and making them work for their wickets.
Speaker A:And I thought England, I thought England played really well in the face of some really, really disciplined bowling from India.
Speaker A:It was just a good old fashioned day of attritional test cricket and I think the same, the same today.
Speaker A:Actually.
Speaker A:I think England's approach yesterday was probably validated this morning when, when Bum rebowled really well again and, and took those wickets.
Speaker A:And you know, as an English supporter, I'm pleased they showed a bit of common sense and found a way to, to get up to a good score.
Speaker A:I think three, 380 odd sets the game up nicely and India 140 odd for three.
Speaker A:You know, could, could go either way tomorrow, couldn't it could be, you know, 250 all out or 300 all out and England get a decent decent lead or I can very easily see Rishabh Pants scoring a quick hundred and being supported by the lower middle order and you know, in India get a first innings lead.
Speaker A:So it's kind of all, all to play for.
Speaker A:I think England have probably got their noses just about in front at the moment, but it's quite evenly, evenly poised.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, I would agree with that.
Speaker C:I think my thought initially yesterday, watching the first session in a bit was 325, 350 would be a great score for England to get.
Speaker C:But this morning, like, despite all the wickets Bumra took, we had cars who scored 56 and I was like, well maybe it's not as unplayable once the ball gets old.
Speaker C:And you know, what KL Rahul has done to some extent, Karan Nair as well is blunt the new ball to a certain degree.
Speaker C:So hopefully good batting conditions tomorrow will, will certainly help make it a really close test match.
Speaker C:I, I find, you know, I, I was Always laughing at, you know, day one and everybody as.
Speaker C:As you said, saying that India have killed basball and all of that.
Speaker C:I. I always find it funny.
Speaker C:But.
Speaker C:But I will say that I was a little surprised by England's approach in the last Test to the fourth innings when they had 600 to chase, more or less.
Speaker C:It was always going to be draw or.
Speaker C:Or lose at that point.
Speaker C:You needed, like, an exceptionally poor bowling effort, fielding effort to kind of be in the game, and yet you didn't see the English lineup try to slow down their scoring.
Speaker C:Even when Jamie Smith, who was, you know, who's been having an amazing series, by the way, both behind the stumps and in front, he was middling every ball and all of that, but he was batting with.
Speaker C:I can't remember which bowler, but he was batting with the tail and he was going for his shots and trying to hit sixes, and that's how he got dismissed.
Speaker C:So, yeah, that just made me feel that.
Speaker C:Yeah, that whole idea of being defensive and, you know, trying to just play out a draw is not something they think about.
Speaker C:And I will say that it doesn't help that they have made some ridiculous statements in the media and the media has added to that.
Speaker A:Don't say anything.
Speaker C:Yeah, exactly, exactly.
Speaker C:All that kind of stuff, which, you know, makes it a little bit difficult.
Speaker C:But I guess what I was kind of hoping is somebody like Joe Root, such a technically amazing batsman.
Speaker C:Obviously, he got a great ball in the last Test, so I wouldn't, you know, hold it against him.
Speaker C:But what I'm trying to say is, you know, the.
Speaker C: In the: Speaker C:That's.
Speaker C:We all know what they can do if they try to hit the ball hard.
Speaker C:And the.
Speaker C:I think ABW has a 44 ball, 100 in international cricket, so there's no doubting his capability.
Speaker C:But that adaptability is something that is really fun to watch.
Speaker C:And, yeah, I was just surprised that, you know, there was no plan whatsoever or no intention towards that.
Speaker C:Of course, credit to Akash Deep, who bowled splendidly in that innings, but nonetheless, it felt there was missing.
Speaker C:So, yeah, it definitely is good to see that they're being a little more adaptable.
Speaker A:I think there might have been an intention there.
Speaker A:I'm just not sure they've got the skill set to do it, because there's an art in batting for a draw, isn't there?
Speaker A:Because I think if you just think about the time or the overs that are left and literally shut up shop and just try and you dead bat everything straight down the pitch into the, into the, into the pitch, you're just going to get out because you're just kind of inviting pressure.
Speaker A:So there's an element of kind of still playing some kind of normal, normal stroke play where possible, but in a really cautious way that I just don't.
Speaker A:They probably, probably Root and Out of the current team, Root and Stokes are the only two that have ever had to play like that or ever tried to play like that.
Speaker A:The likes of, the likes of Crawley, Duckett, Smith, Brooke.
Speaker A:They, they literally haven't played a test match where they've been asked to do that before.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:Yeah, so I just think maybe, you know, they might have said because they lost 10 overs to rain as well on that fifth day, didn't they?
Speaker A:So there was only 80 over 80 overs to get 600 and there was never any chance of them getting the runs.
Speaker A:But I just think.
Speaker A:I'm not sure they, not sure they've got the technique or the skill set or the more the mindset really, because they've probably got the technique, but they just haven't got the mindset of let's bat 80 overs without scoring, you know, without worrying about how many runs we score.
Speaker C:Yeah, and that's.
Speaker C: elieve, Alistair cook back in: Speaker C:Obviously he was still developing as a batter and you know, we can't compare the two.
Speaker C:But I, what I, you know, the, the thought that comes to mind is you're right.
Speaker C:Like, I think in General, Stokes and McCollum have backed players with more ability to hit.
Speaker C:For example, you could totally see a Ben, folks, if he was playing, trying to block it out.
Speaker C:He's more traditional role as a batter compared to Jamie Smith.
Speaker C:So, yeah, I mean, I think it's one of those things where they've decided to go one approach and then it becomes really challenging to adapt.
Speaker A:Yeah, it's a shame really, because I think, you know, some of the most exciting test matches that I can remember have been draws where it's kind of, you know, nail biting.
Speaker A:One team clinging on valiantly and the other one with 10 men around the bat trying to, trying to take the wicket.
Speaker A:And yeah, it's a shame if that, if that's consigned to the history books.
Speaker A:It's a, It's a shame.
Speaker C:Absolutely.
Speaker C:Looking a bit in the future.
Speaker C:Obviously, the Astros is not too far away and, you know, the English media and many fans are always thinking about that.
Speaker C:Do you think this adaptability is also probably a step towards, hey, let's get ready for conditions?
Speaker C:We're not as, you know, as experienced in, you know, in Australia where, where the Ashes will be held.
Speaker C:Obviously, a number of these.
Speaker C:The team, the team members who are going to Australia or who will be going to Australia have played there a number of times, but definitely some newer batting talent there.
Speaker C:Do you think that's part of the strategy or is it more just, hey, we are adapting to the situation as, as best we can.
Speaker A:I think most.
Speaker A:I don't think knowing, knowing what I know about the, about McCollum and Stokes, I don't think they'll be looking forward too much to the Ashes at the moment.
Speaker A:I think that.
Speaker A:I think the obsession with the Ashes is mostly in the, in the fans minds and in the, in the media mind because that kind of make makes good stories.
Speaker A:So, yeah, I think they'll just be trying to win the series in, in front of them.
Speaker A:And, you know, India is a very stern challenge for England and the conditions in England now aren't, you know, it's not.
Speaker A:You haven't got any green seamers anymore.
Speaker A:It's been hot and sunny for the last three months and it's kind of flat pitches and.
Speaker A:And yeah, I think so.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:I don't think they'll be thinking too far ahead of themselves.
Speaker A:I mean, as a fan, I'm thinking ahead to the Ashes.
Speaker A:I was looking at Archibald today and thinking, right, what's he going to do at the gabba?
Speaker A:That's going to be exciting.
Speaker A:But, you know, because Australian pitches of.
Speaker A:People talk about England pitches changing.
Speaker A:Australia pitches have changed a lot over the past few years as well, haven't they?
Speaker A:They used to be fast and bouncy and now they're seeming around all over the place and you get two or three day test matches in some instances.
Speaker A:So, yeah, who knows what we're going to get over there.
Speaker A:But I think, yeah, to answer your question, I don't think England will be thinking much beyond Lords this week and Old Trafford in a couple of weeks time.
Speaker C:Yeah, that's.
Speaker C:That's fair.
Speaker C:One thing I found interesting from the county cricket was that kookaburra was introduced and they use that for.
Speaker C:I don't know if it's for all rounds.
Speaker C:But I believe they used it for this round of matches and it resulted in seven out of nine games being draws and really high scoring draws at that.
Speaker C:We had triple centurions and spinners going for 300 runs in their 45 overs and, and things like that.
Speaker A:So sorry, made 800 odd for six declared.
Speaker C: culous going back to like the: Speaker C:So yeah, I guess it's interesting.
Speaker C:I don't really know what to make of it because, you know, obviously introducing it for around or two, I guess it gives people a sense of familiarity.
Speaker C:But yeah, I don't know if that necessarily helps because the conditions there, as you were saying, could be so vastly different from what's happening in England right now.
Speaker C:I mean even pitches, you know, when India toured last year were so different.
Speaker C:The Sydney Test for example, had one of the greenest pictures Sydney's ever seen and, and it surprised pretty much everybody from Alan Border to Mike Hussey.
Speaker C:So not sure if that really helps, but I guess what are your thoughts on that and what have you just generally seen from an English fan sentiment with regards to the Kookaburra Bowl?
Speaker A:I think using the Kookaburra ball for, for some rounds of the county championship has, was well intentioned.
Speaker A:I think I can understand and appreciate the reasons why they thought that would be a good idea.
Speaker A:It was to get, get count.
Speaker A:You know, English county bowlers used to bowling with the Kookaburra in preparation for doing it in overseas Test matches kind of disadvantage.
Speaker A:The, you know, the classic 75 mile an hour seamer that tends to prosper with the Dukes ball in April and September and also to provide a bit more opportunity for English spinners because when, when you've got a Dukes ball that's seaming around and on a, on a green pitch in April, May, September, there's no place in your side for a spinner there.
Speaker A:So I think it was well intentioned in terms of putting an emphasis on, on real pace in the, in the, in the pace bowling department and giving an opportunity to spinners.
Speaker A:But I think what they've overlooked is that the Kookaburra ball works well for Test cricket in Australia, in India, in South Africa, it doesn't work with English pitches in combination.
Speaker A:Within English pitches you just get boring games where it's impossible for bowlers to take wickets and, and that's what we've seen with seven out of nine jaws.
Speaker A:The weather hasn't, hasn't helped obviously that's been a contributing factor.
Speaker A:But seven out of nine draws, not even, you know, not the draws we were talking about earlier with one team clinging on with nine wickets down.
Speaker A:Just really boring draws where they might as well have just, just shaking hands after two days and said should we, should we go play golf?
Speaker A:Because it's just not, you know, nobody was ever that game with Surrey making 800.
Speaker A:They, they bowled the opposition out for 350 or so in the, in the, in the first innings and then made them follow on and they were 250 for no wicket when they called it off.
Speaker A:It was just, you know, no, nobody wants to go and watch that.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:And I think the other thing is the argument that it helps develop English spinners is really flawed as well because counties have been signing overseas spinners for these kookaburra rounds because they've got experience bowling with a kookaburra ball.
Speaker A:So yeah, so I think well intentioned understand the reasons for it.
Speaker A:Probably a failed experiment.
Speaker A:I think a better thing that they could do would be to play some rounds of the county championship overseas.
Speaker A:Why not start the county championship in.
Speaker A:Because you can't play in August now anyway because that's the reserve for the hundred.
Speaker A:Why not start the county championship in February or March and play the first round in Barbados and the second round in Dubai or somewhere and then you know, give people experience on different, different pitches with, with different balls and then you know that, that to me would be far more, far more use in terms of preparing.
Speaker A:If you say the aim of county cricket is to prepare players for playing Test cricket for England that would be far more useful than giving them a kookaburra and you know, at the oval or hove or wherever in, in July and expecting to take wickets with it.
Speaker C:Yeah, and that's a great point.
Speaker C:I think one of the things we noticed as Indian fans especially under Ravi Shastri was at that point Rahul Dravid was managing ncaa, the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore.
Speaker C:And one of the things that they did really well I think up to the COVID time period I think I don't know if it's happened as often with after Covid but before the three, three odd year period before COVID they did a really good job of sending an A team to play against England a Australia right before the tour and sometimes of course if let's say who doesn't participate, did not participate in ODIs was available, he would go with that team and that really had, you know, for example the Gaba Win, which is really famous.
Speaker C:A lot of those people were already in Australia for three months at that point.
Speaker C:Even if they were, you know, they were, they were a B team.
Speaker C:Considering all the injuries.
Speaker C:India had one or two people unavailable.
Speaker C:So many of them were already in Australia and had been playing in those conditions for three months that it certainly helped.
Speaker C:So I do see that that is something that boards can do, especially like the Big Three.
Speaker C:I feel like if anybody can do it, it's the Big three.
Speaker C:They have the money and resources to do it.
Speaker C:Obviously, I can see it being more challenging for the other boards to always have two sets of teams traveling.
Speaker C:I think it's also important from the aspect where.
Speaker C:And it went down a little bit in this WTC cycle which ended with South Africa winning.
Speaker C:But I think in the previous one you saw a lot of home teams just consistently winning.
Speaker C:The percentage of wins at home was substantially high compared to this last cycle.
Speaker C:So I think it would be great for the game to have a better away record for teams and just challenge teams at home so that they're not just, you know, they just.
Speaker C:It's not, not the.
Speaker C:To your, to your comment.
Speaker C:You know, it's not the 75, 80 miles an hour bowler who's just wrecking havoc in England and then they're kind of out of options when they go to Australia.
Speaker A:Yeah, I think it, it needs a bit of thinking and it needs a bit of innovation and you know, I think I applaud them for trying, but Kookaburra ball and county cricket isn't the innovation we were looking for, but they should keep trying and finding something because there's definitely, there's definitely an argument that county cricket as it stands isn't a.
Speaker A:Isn't a particularly useful proving ground in terms of test cricket and, and finding the future Test cricketers for England, you know, which is why the next, the next batsman of the next cab off the rank in terms of top order batsman is Bethel never really played any red ball cricket.
Speaker A:They're picking him on potential and white ball form more than anything.
Speaker A:You got guys making hundreds for fun in county cricket and they're going to pick Bethel.
Speaker A:That tells you that county cricket isn't doing its job.
Speaker A:So they need, what they need to do is, is evolve county cricket.
Speaker A:So I think it was a good try with the Kookaburra, but they probably need to look at other options now.
Speaker C:Yeah, that's a great point.
Speaker C:I mean, I feel like Bashir is in the same boat where there's other spinners who've taken more wickets in county cricket.
Speaker C:He's, I don't even know if he's bowled 5,000 balls.
Speaker C:I, I remember when he debuted he had not played that much of county cricket and was just picked off based on, you know, to your point, like the, the potential they saw in him and, and so yeah, that's a great point.
Speaker C:Definitely something that requires some tweaking and, and just finding that right balance.
Speaker C:But let's get back to the series and, and talk about selections and strategies.
Speaker C:I'll talk about India first and curious about your opinion but I think it's been very widely accepted that India have been very suboptimal in their selection strategies.
Speaker C:The second game, for example, the absence of Kuldeep Yadav after seeing India's inability to take wickets in that fourth innings, you know, once the ball got a little bit older, the absence of Akash deep in the first game, that was surprising to me and I had mentioned that the moment I saw that playing 11.
Speaker C:So there's been selections that have been suboptimal from India's standpoint.
Speaker C:And Gautam Gambir seems to be still believing in his all rounder heavy approach which also works really well in T20s and one days where flexibility is great.
Speaker C:I, I in my mind like having somebody like Nitish Kumar ready, obviously the conditions are helpful like they were at Lords on, on day one.
Speaker C:He can be a handful but I think the difference between having you know, a part time 5th and 6th bowler in test vs an ODIs is in ODIs or T20s people are going to try and hit you.
Speaker C:You can still get away with, you know, a bowler being able to bowl half the quota, having a good half an hour versus a Test where they might need to step up and bowl 15, 18 hours in a day.
Speaker C:Expecting a part timer to do that well without letting the pressure go is in my mind a completely different skill.
Speaker C:And that's where I think India has been, you know, complicating their, their chances of winning tests.
Speaker C:And that was the same story in Australia as well.
Speaker C:Thoughts on that?
Speaker A:I completely agree with you Mayank.
Speaker A:I think the all rounder thing is best illustrated with Charlotte.
Speaker A:In the first Test match they're playing him as a, ostensibly a bowling all rounder, I guess contributes with the bat but more of a bowling all rounder.
Speaker A:And then he bowled four overs in the first innings and 12 overs in the, in the second innings or something like that.
Speaker A:I don't think he bowled more than 20 overs in the whole game.
Speaker A:So if you're picking the guy as a bowler and then you're not going to trust him to bowl.
Speaker A:He, he made two, two low scores with the bat.
Speaker A:They may, may have both been ducks.
Speaker A:They certainly weren't double figures.
Speaker A:What, what's the point of that selection?
Speaker A:And I think you know you're seeing a little bit of the same with.
Speaker A:They're picking Nichem already.
Speaker A:They're picking Washington Sundar because they can both, they can bat and bowl.
Speaker A:But it reminds me a little bit of the bad old days of England where they used to pick these kind of bits and pieces players to, to balance the side but actually the, they're not good enough to get in the, in the side through one skill alone.
Speaker A:Then you're just kind of damaging both, you're damaging both elements.
Speaker A:You know, I'd rather, I'd rather see Kuldeep in the side genuine wicket taking threat than.
Speaker A:Because that's the challenge this summer right with the pitches is taking 20 wickets and far obviously called ape.
Speaker A:I think England would be terrified to face kuldeep.
Speaker A:He's the 1 bowler in India's squad aside from Bumrah that England would be really worried about facing that.
Speaker A:They have a great rep, don't have a great record against Wristbin and I think you know, given the flat dusty nature of the pitches and the hot weather, very good high quality wrist spin.
Speaker A:If the idea is do what your opponent would least like you to do, I'm telling you that England would least like India to play cool deep.
Speaker A:And he's been running drinks for the first three test matches.
Speaker C:Yeah, he's, he's had a really interesting career.
Speaker C:There was a stat that came up that he, he had debuted before morning Markle who's now the bowling coacher for India had retired and even then he's played like in the teens and in the number of test matches.
Speaker C:So a player of that caliber, you know, being out when Ashwin and Jadeja were available, still understandable.
Speaker C:But we are past that and, and Jadeja anyways fixed solid role at number seven where in England he plays more like a batting all rounder but he can certainly hold and end up with the ball and, and take wickets on day four and five.
Speaker C:So yeah, definitely surprising to see that.
Speaker C:I think the other aspects of the Indian selection which surprised me was firstly they picked Karunayar and played him at five in Test one even though in the tour game he had scored 100 at number three.
Speaker C:Then they dropped Sai and then he, he moved up to three and so there's all this Juggling around.
Speaker C:Obviously, Sai probably doesn't feel so great about getting one chance and, and getting dropped either because they, because they had to change the lineup.
Speaker C:So, yeah, I just think there's a sense of lack of consistency.
Speaker C:But so far, just on the basis of performance, India have managed to stay in the series and we'll see how long that lasts.
Speaker C:And I think the other aspect of it is pretty obvious.
Speaker C:Like we've seen that in Australia happening with Bumra having to, you know, leave the fifth test and his workload is even today a concern after his surgery and his comeback.
Speaker C:I think we run into the same issue considering Mohammed Shami is still not completely fit for test cricket.
Speaker C:Akash Deep had missed that Sydney Test because of an injury.
Speaker C:Siraj has been bowling a lot of overs, a lot of them with the old ball when not much is happening.
Speaker C:So, yeah, we suddenly risk having in bowling attack of freely inexperienced bowlers like Prasad Krishna and, and then supporting acts like Shardul Thakur if we have, you know, a few more longer series like this.
Speaker A:He's gonna have to bring Ash Deep in at some stage I think as well.
Speaker C:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker A:Siraj has to be tired after this, surely.
Speaker A:He.
Speaker A:He needs a rest.
Speaker C:Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:So it's going to be interesting to see.
Speaker A:I mean, this is the beauty of a five test series, right?
Speaker A:It's kind of managing fitness and workloads through the, through the series and how that narrative plays out.
Speaker A:I agree with you about Sai Sudarshan, by the way.
Speaker A:I think dropping him after one test feels a bit strange.
Speaker A:Don't think he really did anything wrong headingly.
Speaker A:So dropping him after one test seems, seems wrong to me.
Speaker A:I think with a, with a batsman, you've got to give someone more than one go because anyone can get a couple of low scores.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker A:Bradman didn't do very well in his first test, did he?
Speaker C:Yep.
Speaker C:England, on the other hand, they've had some bowlers returning, so obviously Joffre has been returning.
Speaker C:I believe Gus Atkinson was also recently added to the squad.
Speaker C:Before the series, I had heard Mark Wood might be fit for the fourth Test.
Speaker C:I don't know if that's.
Speaker C:He's still on track for that.
Speaker C:So they definitely have some good, you know, firepower and with the ball that's likely to get added.
Speaker C:I think their issues are more on the batting end with a couple of people.
Speaker C:Well, I should say three people actually, because Ben Stokes batting form has not been the best either.
Speaker C:But Pope and Crawley have.
Speaker C:Before the summer started, they were definitely, you know, Struggling to keep their spots.
Speaker C:And then obviously Ben Stokes has struggled a little bit, particularly against spin.
Speaker C:So what are your thoughts on that?
Speaker C:How do England go about managing this?
Speaker A:I'm not worried about Stokes at all.
Speaker A:He's.
Speaker A:He's such a class player and I think he, he almost needs a crisis to show his best.
Speaker A:He always, he comes good when the team needs him and when there isn't that 10 out of 10 level of intensity, he just lets other people do it.
Speaker A:I think he, when, when we really need him, he'll.
Speaker A:He'll stand up and do something.
Speaker A:So I'm not, I'm not worried about him.
Speaker A:He's.
Speaker A:He's class and he's, he's proved it.
Speaker A:Crawley, for me, I've written about it a lot.
Speaker A:I think he, he's had, he's had ample opportunity now to prove himself and his average of very low 30s tells tells its own story.
Speaker A:I just think he isn't good enough or really actually isn't consistent enough because when he's, when he is good, he's really, really good.
Speaker A:And I think that's kind of.
Speaker A:That's the illusion of Zach Crawley.
Speaker A:You know, you see two years ago, Old Trafford against Australia, just destroying them in three hours.
Speaker A:And, you know, if it hadn't been for the rain, then we would have won that test match and won the series.
Speaker A:So I won't go too far into that.
Speaker A:But, you know, when he's good, he's really, really good.
Speaker A:But mostly he's just.
Speaker A:He's just throws his wicket away and it's, it's, as an England fan, is very frustrating.
Speaker A:And you think, well, how many chances is this guy going to get?
Speaker A:And Pope, I think, you know, I love Ollie Pope.
Speaker A:He's.
Speaker A:He's a great team man.
Speaker A:He's batted everywhere from opening down to number eight or something.
Speaker A:He's takes the, takes the gloves when needed.
Speaker A:He's vice captain, he fields at short leg.
Speaker A:He's, you know, great, great team man, but he's, he's such a terrible starter.
Speaker A:You know, even before the series started, I was having nightmares against him, nightmares about him facing Bumrah.
Speaker A:And, you know, he's great cricketer, but I think way more suited to batting at 5 or 6 than 3, where you just need someone really solid at 3.
Speaker A:And I think more widely that's symptomatic of an issue we see throughout the world now.
Speaker A:Where have all the number threes gone?
Speaker A:We used to have Dravid and Ponting and Amlo and these giants of men at three making Huge hundreds and you.
Speaker A:You couldn't get past them and just fantastic skill and application and now you've got kind of Wean Muldo and Cameron Green and Ollie Pope and it just doesn't.
Speaker A:It feels like teams are hiding the.
Speaker A:Hiding their best players at 4 and 5 and just chucking any old.
Speaker A:Any old player at 3.
Speaker A:I read a really good article on Substack the other.
Speaker A:The other day about this and just kind of, yeah, they're throwing anyone in at three almost as a sacrificial lamb to, to hide their good players at four and five.
Speaker A:The exception is Kane Williamson.
Speaker A:He's still bats three, but, yeah, I don't know.
Speaker A:I've been calling for them to drop Crawley for ages, but I, I didn't pick the team.
Speaker A:I do think he has got a good partnership with, with Ducat, which might save him.
Speaker A:Pope made a good 100 at Headingley to be fair as well, but I would make the tough decision and drop him and put Bethel in if it was.
Speaker A:If it was down to me.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But I don't pick the team and I'm not presumptuous enough to think that I know more than Rob Key and Ben Stokes and McCollum.
Speaker A:So we have to trust them, I guess.
Speaker A:But yeah, from the outside, it looks like Crawley and paper pretty vulnerable right now.
Speaker C:Are there from a strategy perspective, how do you think they've gone?
Speaker C:Of course we talked about selection, but do you think from a captaincy perspective or, you know, the, the decision to bowl first in the first two Tests, do you think that's worth criticizing or.
Speaker C:I think they're, they're chasing record kind of just proves that it was, it was the right gamble to take considering how flat those wickets were.
Speaker A:I think.
Speaker A:Yeah, again, without, without looking at the pitch and being there, it's difficult to criticize.
Speaker A:And you know, I thought after the first day at Headingly, I was thinking, oh gosh, why did.
Speaker A:Why did he win the toss and bowl?
Speaker A:And then obviously born out in the result we won.
Speaker A:He was proved right.
Speaker A:It flattened right out and I think maybe he was hoping the same thing was gonna, was gonna happen at Edgbaston, but England just played too poorly to, to take advantage of that.
Speaker A:I was very glad that, that he chose to bat.
Speaker A:I was actually hoping he would lose the toss and take.
Speaker A:Take it out out of his hands, but I was glad when he batted because it was just a clear day to bat first yesterday with it being so hot and, and sunny overhead.
Speaker A:It Lords is one of those grounds where they say look up rather than look down.
Speaker A:And he.
Speaker A:He obviously did that and.
Speaker A:But yeah, I was hoping.
Speaker A:I was hoping that he lost the toss because I was scared that he was going to win it and.
Speaker A:And bowl.
Speaker A:It's worth noting that Stokes took a lot of stick for bowling first at Edgbaston, but I think Shipman Gill said he was going to bowl as well, didn't he?
Speaker C:I know he said that in this test.
Speaker C:Did he say that in the last one?
Speaker A:I think he said it at Edgbaston as well.
Speaker A:But I might be.
Speaker A:I might be wrong, but pretty sure we said it at Edgbuston too.
Speaker C:But, yeah, yeah.
Speaker A:I mean, Jim McGill must be hoping he can actually win a toss at some point because he hasn't won one in quite a while.
Speaker C:It's.
Speaker C:It's interesting.
Speaker C:India has, the last 13 internationals, they've not won a single toss.
Speaker C:And I was like, that is crazy.
Speaker C:Across captains, across formats, not winning a toss is quite crazy.
Speaker A:The odds of.
Speaker A:The odds of that are fairly long.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:As the series progresses, where do you see it going?
Speaker C:Obviously we've got now Joffre Archer, who was bowling beautifully.
Speaker C:I thought he was like.
Speaker C:It didn't even feel like he was putting all his effort, but he was moving the ball beautifully today.
Speaker C:Potentially Wood might be back and then, you know, Gus Atkinson might be back as well.
Speaker C:So a lot of good firepower in the English bowling lineup.
Speaker C:My thought yesterday, watching Ben Stokes bat was, is he fit enough to bowl, but looks like he's doing okay and is able to bowl.
Speaker C:Maybe, maybe not long spells, but he's still doing good.
Speaker C:So where do you see compared to how the Indian team is lining up, where, you know, despite the performances from Akash Deep and.
Speaker C:And Siraj as well, they're still definitely very reliant on Bumra and.
Speaker C:And we know that Bumrah is only going to pay one more test out of the remaining two.
Speaker A:I think it was fantastic to see Archer bowl today.
Speaker A:I always love watching him bowl.
Speaker A:I think he's.
Speaker A:He's just like a Rolls Royce of a bowler for me.
Speaker A:So smooth and so effortless and then it just pings out of that wrist and comes down at 93 mile an hour.
Speaker A:He's unbelievable.
Speaker A:I just really hope he stays fit.
Speaker A:Atkinson coming back's exciting.
Speaker A:The last I heard, Wood was trying to be fit for the fifth test.
Speaker A:So, again, yeah.
Speaker A:So you've got good players coming back, which should hopefully freshen up their pace attacks.
Speaker A:I think Bryden Cast needs a rest now.
Speaker A:He Must be incredibly tired.
Speaker A:Like just, just about the same.
Speaker A:The same as Mohammed Siraj.
Speaker A:So, yeah, hopefully we'll freshen up our pace attack and, and, you know, patch up the others and, and keep going.
Speaker A:It's, it's quite a grueling schedule, isn't it, with five tests in seven, seven weeks or so.
Speaker A:So, yeah, difficult to see how it's going to pan out from here in terms, in terms of predictions of how the series is.
Speaker A:It's going to pan out.
Speaker A:I think, you know, the teams look quite evenly matched and, and bat dominating.
Speaker A:A very soft ball so far.
Speaker A:I, I think it might get a distance.
Speaker A:It could be 3:2 either way.
Speaker A:I'm hopeful England can win, but naturally pessimistic.
Speaker A:I've seen.
Speaker A:Seen us throw away much easier winning chances than this.
Speaker A:So, yeah, hopefully I think it'll be 3:2 either way and I'm going to say England 3:2, but I think we close series and it's, it's good.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's been great to watch so far, so hopefully some exciting games to come.
Speaker A:England's.
Speaker A:England's record at Old Trafford, by the way, is fantastic.
Speaker A:They've got a really strong record at Old Trafford and a much less good record at the oval.
Speaker A:So, yeah, if I was, if I was to put money on it, I'd say we'll win at Old Trafford and lose at the oval.
Speaker C:It's interesting, before the series started, I was thinking 3:1 to England and partly it was because again, the fact that one Bumrah isn't going to play all Test, Mohammed Shami isn't fit.
Speaker C:So, you know, there's way too much work to be done by our pacers.
Speaker C:And, and of course, I feel every Indian fan knew that Nadesh Kumar Reddy's success with the bat in Australia meant he was definitely going to get a few chances.
Speaker C:So that means slightly lighter bowling.
Speaker C:But I think with the weather in England the way, you know, usually there's always a game which has some rain interruptions.
Speaker C:Looks like it's a pretty sunny summer this time.
Speaker C:So maybe I do think there's.
Speaker C:We're gonna have all five results and of course that's helped by the fact that both teams are generally with, with this test being an exception, you know, scoring quicker and, and so results are more likely.
Speaker C:So I, I do think it's going to be 3:2 to England.
Speaker C:Yeah, I don't know where that second one is coming from.
Speaker C:India.
Speaker C:I do think that they're gonna have a couple of really solid performances too.
Speaker C:Stem that you know, bring one result, one more result in their favor.
Speaker C:But yeah, I do think it's going to be 32 to England as well.
Speaker C:Who do you think is the highest scorer and wicket taker?
Speaker A:I think with the head start that he has the highest score and must, must be Gill now he's got nearly 600 runs, nearly 600 runs already and he's only halfway through the series.
Speaker A:So yeah, it takes someone to really make a big score to beat him.
Speaker A:I think he just, he's played fantastic so far.
Speaker A:Jamie Smith obviously has been exceptional as well.
Speaker A:He looks, just looks like a gun cricketer to me.
Speaker A:But batting down at 7, he'll have fewer opportunities for a big score than Gil.
Speaker A:Yeah, today he was, he was batting with the tail and yeah, he got, he just got out to a good ball after, after the interval, didn't he?
Speaker A:But I think, yeah, if he a longer term, I think Smith's future is probably batting three or four and not keeping wicket because I think he's that good.
Speaker A:But so he'll get fewer opportunities to make a big, a big score at 7.
Speaker A:So I think Gil looks an absolute shoe in for top run scorer.
Speaker A:I could see Root or Brooke make a big score at some stage, but be really surprised if it's not Shipment Gill in terms of wickets.
Speaker A:If Boomerangi plays three tests, I'm not sure whether that's, you know, if it's, if it's two, two going to the, if it's two, two going to the oval, will they really rest him?
Speaker C:I wish I knew.
Speaker C:I, I, it's been interesting because I've never heard a player and the management talked so clearly about it.
Speaker C:They talked about playing three test matches, playing him for three test matches well before the series started.
Speaker C:So clearly there's some decision around his workload.
Speaker C:Yeah, I really don't know how they manage this.
Speaker C:Like if they go 1, 2 down to rest him in that next test is anyways a really tough decision.
Speaker C:But if he plays and we end up winning, I, yeah, I don't know if he's gonna turn up again in five days and try to play one more game.
Speaker A:I think if India win, if India win this current test match then it, it becomes a lot easier for them because they can, they can then rest him at Old Trafford and, and play him in the final Test and know that the series is always still going to be live.
Speaker A:Yeah, by, by that final Test.
Speaker A:If, if England win this and they go 21 down, then surely they have to play him Old Trafford.
Speaker C:They, they probably have to.
Speaker A:Yeah, but, and then if it's too old, he's got, they've got to just patch him up and play him at the oval as well.
Speaker A:So on that, on that basis I think Boomerang might, if he plays four test matches, definitely if he plays three, if, if Boomerang plays three, I'm gonna say Siraj is going to be top wicket taker because I think he's tough and he'll probably play maybe all of the games.
Speaker A:And yeah, you know, he, he leads the attack.
Speaker A:He bowls much better when Bum was not there for whatever reason and I think, you know, he sort of leads the attack when Bum was not there.
Speaker A:And, and he's, he's just a feisty, combative cricketer and I think, yeah, he'd be my picks.
Speaker A:I think England are going to really rotate their bowlers from here.
Speaker A:Cast is going to need a rest.
Speaker A:Worked is going to need a rest.
Speaker A:Archer's only just come in.
Speaker A:You've got Atkinson and Woods potentially coming back in at some stage.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:And Bashir will probably play every Test but doesn't really take any wickets.
Speaker A:So yeah, Gil for highest run scorer and Siraj for leading wicket taker is.
Speaker C:My, I, I was thinking, I mean Gil is sort of a no brainer.
Speaker C:I think we'll all have to agree there.
Speaker C:He's, he actually crossed 600 runs today so he's already passed that mark.
Speaker C:But in terms of bowlers, my thought was also vox.
Speaker C:I don't know if they will play him all five tests.
Speaker C:And also I guess the conditions vary a little bit.
Speaker C:You know, considering it has not been as seem friendly as it usually is in England, maybe they do rest him for one of the test matches.
Speaker C:But yeah, I was thinking between Wilks and Siraj just again because of the number of over Siraj bowls, he definitely has a chance and he's definitely Indian team's workhorse because as amazing as Akash Deep is with the new ball, he's, he's taken nearly 90% of his wickets with the first 12 overs of the ball.
Speaker C:So they, they still need Siraj to come in and bowl the tough overs after the ball has gone soft and, and so hopefully that'll give him some, some wickets.
Speaker C:And he's also had some, you know, mediocre luck today.
Speaker C:There were two catches dropped of his bowling so hopefully that, that also, you know, over the series saw him looking.
Speaker A:Pretty angry at one stage today, which.
Speaker C:Is not, which is pretty typical for Siraj.
Speaker A:So he bows better when he's a bit angry.
Speaker C:I think I agree.
Speaker C:All right, Ben, well, it's been lovely chatting with you again.
Speaker C:Thanks again for joining us and hopefully we'll enjoy the rest the second half of the series and look forward to talking to you again.
Speaker A:Thanks for having me, Mayank.
Speaker A:It's been a pleasure as always.
Speaker A:And yeah, speak to you soon, hopefully.
Speaker C:All right, for those who haven't had a chance to check out Ben's substack, we'll make sure to add it to the show notes.
Speaker C:Thanks for listening.
Speaker C:Bye now.
