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You just said the unspeakable. :)

Dravid made a good move today by sending England in to bat. Under seamer-friendly conditions England are reduced to 169-7. Hope our batsmen finally live up to their rating and pull off a good score. But it is going to be tough on this pitch against even a second-string English attack.

If they want to keep Saurav in the team , I think he should be the captain. He has much more flair than Dravid as a captain. Dravid is a guy who plays by the rule book and Saurav is captain who takes the situation and makes quick decisions on the field rather than off it. Dravid's gaffe (as an example) - all could see that Sreesanth was struggling bowling against left handed batsmen but he was kept on for more than 7 overs. When RP was brought in , we could immediately see the difference and Strauss and Cook were both tentative.

IF and when Saurav retires, I do not see any potential captian material in this team. Yes there are a couple of names being tossed sbout - Kartik, Dhoni, Yuvraj but I would prefer if Dhoni and Yuvi are kept away from the captaincy for now atleast. Kartik though young looks to have a mature head on his shoulders but can he take the captaincey burden ? Guru Greg thinks highly of him though.

I think Mohd Kaif is the best bet after the seniors retire , as a captain. He has been captaining under-19, India-A and UP with a great amount of success but right now he doesn't figure in the Indian team. I wish and pray that he gets back in soon and cements his place.

No I missed it - any links where I can I watch ? Also can anyone update me about Laxman controversy ? Saw a headline on a news channel "Laxman insulted", what was that all about ?

For once I agree with you :D . Sourav according to me might be one of the greatest captains India has ever had. Purely because he is ready to experiment and plays unorthodox moves.

Also I don't think anyone else is capable of replacing Dravid or Sourav as future captains. Or someone who could replace the likes of Dravid, Ganguly, Sachin or VVS in the batting department either. So until we find these replacements there is no point in us arguing here.

Think Sachin should be made the captain again, that should assure him of a place in the team. ;)

India 149-2, Jaffer 61, Karthik 77. Dravid and Tendulkar are just in. These are the best conditions our big 4 can hope to get, against a second-string English pace attack. I think they will do well and seal their positions in the team for another 20 Tests at least.

Seriously, I think it is just a myth that we do not have anybody to replace the big 4. That is just a defeatist state of mind that we have fallen into; no doubt it is music to the ears of the big 4. I would much rather have Yuvraj walking in at No. 4 than Sachin. And Kaif instead of Laxman. Possibly I would like to have Sourav in the team at present because he can bowl usefully under English conditions. So I might leave out Powar from the team I have proposed and keep Saurav, because I doubt if two spinners are required under these conditions.

I am not too sure about Dravid. I think he still has something to contribute, it may be the pressures of captaincy has finally taken its toll on the man. Let us watch how he does in this match; hope he and Sachin don't bore everybody to death by blocking unnecessarily.

Ooooops !!!

From the cricinfo commentary.

The chances of him getting dropped will be more once he becomes the captain. So all Sachin's critics should pray that he does become the captain lol:.

Do realize that in home conditions an attack like this cannot be considered second string. All of these bowlers have figured in the playing 11 even in the presence of the main bowlers depending on conditions. Besides with the extensive county cricket these Englishmen play they know the conditions inside out. A practice even the most of senior players in our team lack.

Anderson at one point of team spearheaded the English pace attack. Being express quick that he was. That is before they discovered the true potential in Harmisson & Hoggard. Harbhajan too was once considered as a second string bowler before he bowled that magical spell against the Aussies. Don't underestimate the likes of Sidebottom & Anderson just yet. And Monty is being considered as a dream find as far as spin attack is concerned.

Its not a myth, have a look at our bench strength. Either they aren't fit to face the international arena yet, or are as inconsistent as the performance of our team itself, or are marred with injuries. Do you really think Yuvraj can take up the mantle of the Indian batting line up? I really don't think so. He needs to play more maturely not throwing his wicket away. He is a quick learner but I guess it will take him some more time to get there.

I guess we are just trying to console ourselves into believing that there is a better bench strength just because these 4 are not firing.

Managed to watch this delivery. Must say, one of the best bouncers I have seen in recent times.

Proud moment today with Dravid and Sachin at the crease - As Harsha put it, probably the first time 20,000 runs were batting together

I was told about the bouncer that hit Sachin. Watched his innings from his score on 27.

Superb one. Quickly moved on to 57. I liked his innings very much

Thanks god, I have not watched his innings earlier ( 26 runs from 75 *****)

That's exactly what we feed on & worship our heroes for. :)

India 254-3, 56 ahead. New ball is due and English pacemen will be fresh today and looking to exploit the morning conditions; one Mr. Ganguly would probably be cursing his luck. Tendulkar already has 55 to his name, so he would have had a good sleep. If a couple of early wickets fall, India could collapse in a heap.

Yep man that bouncer was really good. Sachin had no clue. Infact Anderson also had Jaffer in a spot of bother a couple of times with the short deliveries. Karthik mocking Sidebottom was funny. And the way Dravid was blocking Monty and other bowlers was irritating man.

And it was very sad to see that Monty was asked to bowl over the wicket outside the leg stump as a defensive play ala Ashley Giles. That is one sick thing that these English men do - bowl with left arm spinners over the wicket into the leg stump. It helps them but makes for dull viewing.

As for today - as rks says Ganguly must be cursing his luck - but why the hell did he come out to bat if 8-9 overs were left ? We could have sent out a night watchman.

Or even MS Dhoni could have come out. :)

So far so good - no loss of wickets in the 1st hour. But what the hell is wrong with Sachin ? 12 runs in 1 hour ?? He was 57 na yesterday when play ended and now after an hour he is 69 (oops hehe) - why is he batting as if India is saving this test match.

We should get going now and get to bowl to england asap - never know when the rains might come in.