[Oxy]

I have said this before and will say it again. Unless and until the team is under this Kohli-Shastri dictatorship, nothing will change. They are simply playing with the fans' emotions. Nobody cares about fixing these shambolic performances.

Why does Kohli have a say in who the national coach should be? Why was Kumble removed just because Kohli threw a tantrum? Cheerleader Shastri ran his mouth after the third test win. Now what? Pretty sure he will drown himself in a pitcher of whisky and enjoy his paid holiday. All this will be forgotten after we whitewash West Indies at home and then rinse and repeat in Australia.

In the Lords post match presentation, Kohli had the gall to say that we have been outplayed for the first time in five away tests. Again he repeated that statement after the Trent Bridge win - that the team is peaking and has been outplayed only once over the last two series. I mean, this pathetic attitude is just infuriating. Were we not outplayed in South Africa? Were we not outplayed at Edgbaston? If you cannot even see the problem then how are you going to fix it?

[selfdrive]

This feels like a sick person who will stop taking medicines/ treatment as soon as a symptom decreases.

The root cause of the Kohli/ Shastri combine is not resolved. They keep making selection blunders. This is where Kumble used to do well, by making the best XI available for the match.

These were the best possible opportunities till date to win in SA and England. And we have just blown away two fantastic chances due to stubborn heads. We are almost back to the days when we had to rely on an outstanding performance to win a test than a team effort. we will probably win the last match or win against Windies and everything will be forgotten again.

[Chetan_Rao]

I was a bright kid but used to hate preparing for exams. 'Why bother, when I can do well enough as is'?

Dad's perennial retort? 'Inagine what you could do with proper preparation'.

[NPV]

This was one of the TVCs for the India-England series.

Watch from 0:31, the answer is quite evident now after 4 tests

https://youtu.be/appSEMjTkIg

[landcruiser123]

It's a sad day for cricket. Alastair Cook is one of greatest openers in the game- he had multiple technical flaws, but he made up with sheer concentration, discipline and willpower.

I'd consider Cook a master in the third and fourth innings, undoubtedly the toughest times to bat in a test match.

What's up with these modern cricketers running out of steam quickly?
Graeme Smith, Cook, ABd and so many have retired in their mid 30s.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by NPV

From recent times, I remember the first test of 2007 series in England when Dhoni remained not out 76 and chasing 400, India ended on 282/9 to save the test. However, bad light and weather conditions did help with reduced overs

And a poor decision from the umpires in the final overs to deny a plumb lbw. With DRS available (assuming they still had reviews left) it would be a different story. In any case, after the advent of DRS most umpires now give decisions in benefit of the bowler. Many such decisions that would have remained not out earlier now go through as out (soft signal or otherwise). With umpires call, they almost feel obliged to give it to the bowler than the batsman.
Maybe Sachin already predicted it; was this the reason he was against DRS
Just kidding, unless the Sachin defence patrol descends on me

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

It's a sad day for cricket. Alastair Cook is one of greatest openers in the game- he had multiple technical flaws, but he made up with sheer concentration, discipline and willpower.

True, would have been awesome to see him go after the all time test run scorer record.
One undue credit given to him completely is for the India series win. Yes, he anchored the batting but without the madcap innings from Kevin Pietersen in Mumbai, that series was a goner for them.
Solid player otherwise and seemed to be quite a decent chap. Not abrasive/ in your face. Quite a typical well behaved Essex/ British schoolboy. I thought England have lost that lot altogether, though Joe Root also seems a decent fellow.

Edit: He must have thought our bowlers would resurrect his career. But if I cannot do it against India at home...

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

What's up with these modern cricketers running out of steam quickly?
Graeme Smith, Cook, ABd and so many have retired in their mid 30s.

Burnout maybe? It could also be with the stringent fitness demands, players of this era find it difficult to live a life of denial (food/ drink/ family life etc)

[hemanth.anand]

The BCCI and the WICB announced the schedule for the forthcoming home series against West Indies set to be played from October 4 to November 11, 2018. India will play 2 Tests, 5 ODIs & 3 T20Is during this period.
Dhawan, Rohit, Pandya will make some stellar performances and break many records and be hailed as national heroes. On a positive side, thankfully its not Sri Lanka again.
Edit: I had forgotten...Pandya Vs Kapil dev, Dhawan Vs Sehwag and Rohit Vs Superman comparisons will start

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

And a poor decision from the umpires in the final overs to deny a plumb lbw. With DRS available (assuming they still had reviews left) it would be a different story.

If I remember correctly it was a close one and how is India or MSD responsible for England screwing up with their reviews?

On DRS: I find this umpires call utter nonsense now. Either it's out or not-out. Lets just get on with it. Even now, luck has a say with such things. Reviews have become strategic more than anything else. I was okay with it for a while when the reviews were removing he obvious howlers but the usage pattern has almost forced me to change my position.

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Dhawan, Rohit, Pandya will make some stellar performances and break many records and be hailed as national heroes. On a positive side, thankfully its not Sri Lanka again.
Edit: I had forgotten...Pandya Vs Kapil dev, Dhawan Vs Sehwag and Rohit Vs Superman comparisons will start

Pant will also be the new MSD and stake claim for ODI World Cup. If Dhawan is dropped for the 5th Test, he might not get to hammer the mighty Caribbeans. And Rohit's name is Hit-Man, how did you forget? Ashwin will run through them and be the No.1 spinner in the World.

I think the Aussie tour might be slightly easier on the batsmen and tougher on the bowlers, just to do with conditions. There isn't much seam and swing as compared to England.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

Edit: I had forgotten...Pandya Vs Kapil dev, Dhawan Vs Sehwag and Rohit Vs Superman comparisons will start

Rohit vs Superman! thats hilarious

Originally Posted by pratyush6

If I remember correctly it was a close one and how is India or MSD responsible for England screwing up with their reviews?

India was the team resisting the implementation of DRS across all series at that time. Dhoni followed the lead of Tendulkar in this topic.
During that series, DRS was used only if agreed upon by both teams before the series began. Obviously, India said no and it was not in use during that match/ series.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

The BCCI and the WICB announced the schedule for the forthcoming home series against West Indies set to be played from October 4 to November 11, 2018. India will play 2 Tests, 5 ODIs & 3 T20Is during this period.
Dhawan, Rohit, Pandya will make some stellar performances and break many records and be hailed as national heroes. On a positive side, thankfully its not Sri Lanka again.
Edit: I had forgotten...Pandya Vs Kapil dev, Dhawan Vs Sehwag and Rohit Vs Superman comparisons will start

I think it's time to accept that there are no really good batters in the game anymore, save one in each team maybe (Kohli, Smith, Williamson etc).

I am trying to think of any team today that has 3 good young batsman, can think of none.

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by Eddy

...
I am trying to think of any team today that has 3 good young batsman, can think of none.

Who would bother, when cricket has turned gladiatorial with the mob demanding blood, not excellence?

Reminds me of what Proximo tells Maximus in Gladiator: 'The crowd didn't love me because I was the best, but because I killed quickly. Win the crowd, and you'll win your freedom'.

Swap 'killed' with 'scored' and 'freedom' with 'money', and he may well be opining about batsmen today.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by Eddy

I am trying to think of any team today that has 3 good young batsman, can think of none.

Does that mean we have better bowlers? I don't think so either.
Ergo, it must be the T20 effect?

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Who would bother, when cricket has turned gladiatorial with the mob demanding blood, not excellence?

Can't agree more with this. T20 is the most preferred form of cricket both by players and spectators. There is no onus for playing good test cricket today. A T20 match has far more share of luck than other longer forms. A bad team can win T20 match with some luck but there is next to zero probability of that happening in test match.

I guess Test cricket will slowly fade away if it keeps getting ignored by the biggest force in cricket today, i.e, India. England has long been the strongest proponent of test cricket but off late, even they are seeing newcomers who favour shorter form of cricket. Clearly, when star players take liking to shorter forms, the younger generation will only follow.

[pratyush6]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Obviously, India said no and it was not in use during that match/ series.

My apologies, it seems I don't have good recollection of this. During this time, I remember that DRS wasn't standardized and even umpires were known to think unfavourably of it. In fact some umpires had even complained about tram lines moved. This was of course unofficial.
Even now, we keep seeing the odd bad call here and there. For example, when a ball hits a Batman on the full, it's assumed that it is going straight, irrespective of the bowler spinning it.

But these are besides the point. DRS is a way forward and I believe ICC needs to do away with the Umpires Call verdict- if it hits the stumps it's out, else not out.

[avingodb]

The fourth match was lost in India's first innings only. Rest was a formality and only a miracle would have saved it. We don't have batsmen anymore who play for time in test match. I mean, taking the first innings slower and making it a 130-150 overs one itself would have tired and demoralised the opposition, especially once you had them under 250.

Also no one seems to value a draw anymore. Even in my office i heard people speak that it was ok to lose in an attempt to win.

No one puts a price on their wickets as they say. And I am afraid we have a large and growing audience that does not value test cricket.