England v India, 2nd Test, Lord’s, 12-16 August, 2021

Yeah, our second-best batsman Extras is off to a great start.

Oh dear, last ball before lunch.

JGK wrote:Oh dear, last ball before lunch.  

Thankfully, it’s tea… though don’t think we’ve got much chance of lasting even one more session, unless rain gives us a helping hand.

And after 213 unbeaten runs, Root finally falls thanks to an idiot pitch invader.

King pair for Curran, so much for bowlers who can bat. I think he’s another one who will be out of the picture for a while.

Is this going to come down to Jimmy in the final over, as per Australia 2009 and Sri Lanka 2014?

Buttler channeling his inner Tavare…

That looks like a textbook defensive shot from Jimmeh



apart from the flattened off stump

You can excuse some things in this game but you can’t excuse a lack of fight, and throwing in the towel. Captain and coach have to go now, along with 5 or 6 players, that was ****** pathetic. Letting two of the worst batsmen in Test cricket smash you all around the ground for an hour then capitulating in 50 overs on a flat pitch.

Root can’t keep carrying this team on his back, if I was him I’d piss off and just rake in the millions playing franchise circus cricket instead. And Jimmy should just take the knighthood and put his feet up in the commentary box.

beamer wrote:You can excuse some things in this game but you can’t excuse a lack of fight, and throwing in the towel. Captain and coach have to go now, along with 5 or 6 players, that was ****** pathetic. Letting two of the worst batsmen in Test cricket smash you all around the ground for an hour then capitulating in 50 overs on a flat pitch.

Root can’t keep carrying this team on his back, if I was him I’d piss off and just rake in the millions playing franchise circus cricket instead. And Jimmy should just take the knighthood and put his feet up in the commentary box.

Bad luck Beams. A great day for the Bannies.

Bring back Cook. Bring back KP. Bring back the Belf. Bring back anyone who can play a forward defensive…

In fairness India bowled very well and had all the momentum. England lost the plot in the short pitch tactics and pursuing the niggle. Kohli just loves that.

The Match Report may be interesting.

Well that was a bit of ok. From likely losing the match in the morning to winning it comprehensively end of day- this Indian team is really quite good.

I think I now understand - a little - what the fans of the great Australian teams of the 2000s felt when they watched their lads play. A just “we’re never out of the game” feeling in my case. Damned if I thought I’d get that feeling in my lifetime. And it’s something likely to dissipate fast, so pardon me if I savour it while I can.

Also, hard luck England fans. Especially to have Stokes and Broad out. And Joe Root, what a magnificent player.

Finally - time for Kohli to give up captaincy?

I don’t think Stokes and Broad would have made the difference… Stokes in particular must be watching this and thinking he’s better off out of it for the foreseeable future.

Other than Broad and Anderson, who comes out of this with any credit? Robinson put in another solid showing and looks like he’s here to stay, as long as he stays off Twatter. Buttler may not have made big runs but least shows a bit of maturity and intent to play the situation, and hasn’t done too much wrong behind the stumps for someone who’s a “batsman-keeper” really. May well end up being our next Test captain by default.

The rest? They’ll all be pretty lucky if they’re in action at Headingley. Hard to see wholesale changes with no county form to go on. Maybe a Covid outbreak resulting in a whole new squad is our best bet…

Root has 28.6% of England’s runs this calendar year. Bradman holds the all-time record with 28.5% of his team’s runs in 1930…

JGK wrote:England should win from here.  India might limp to 200 lead but there is so much time left.

One of your best efforts.

Sam Curran actually made the first ever Test king pair at Lord’s. Only 22 have been made in history, which seems a ridiculously low number. It’s less common than a triple century!

Crikey!! What a win by India.

Cracking stand between Sham & Bum demoralised England.

Eng were 2 down when I tucked in under the sheets and I thought "Eng will lose this". And so it was.

Once again, the 2 just completed Test matches have shown the greatness of Test Cricket over it's other formats.

Congrats to furri and commiz to beams.

More crazy stats… Root averages 99 runs higher than any other England batsman this series. In other words, he’s pretty much a whole Bradman ahead of the rest.

And Bumrah (career average of 3 before today) averages more for this series than England’s second best batsman, Bairstow… (He also averages more than Kohli, Rahane, Pujara and Pant, but not his fellow future batting legend Shami.)

beamer wrote:Root has 28.6% of England’s runs this calendar year. Bradman holds the all-time record with 28.5% of his team’s runs in 1930…

Remarkable

Seems like England have upgraded their ball tampering methods from Murray Mints to Boot Spikes.
https://thesportsrush.com/cricket-news-ball-tampering-video-lords-twitterati-accuses-english-fielder-of-ball-tampering-as-visuals-of-stepping-on-the-ball-with-spikes-go-viral/

skully wrote:Crikey!!  What a win by India.

Cracking stand between Sham & Bum demoralised England.

Eng were 2 down when I tucked in under the sheets and I thought "Eng will lose this".  And so it was.

I went to bed with England at 7/117. Should have waited another 10 minute!

beamer wrote:Sam Curran actually made the first ever Test king pair at Lord’s. Only 22 have been made in history, which seems a ridiculously low number. It’s less common than a triple century!

I think Curran's is now 23.

Pop quiz - which player is on both lists?