T20 Blast 2022 | NOR vs YOR | Preview, Prediction, Probable XI, CREX XI
England announce revamped central contracts; Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, Malan get their first
Saqib Mahmood called up as Stuart Broad’s injury cover
Dom Bess will "never ever turn down" chance to play Ashes in Australia
After having a horrendous tour of India that led to exclusion from the Test side, England young off-spinner Dom Bess is not thinking twice over whether he should travel to Australia for the Ashes series irrespective of the Covid-19 norms imposed by the Australian government. He has said that the Ashes series has been a “pinnacle” and he would “never ever turn it down” albeit there are rumours about England players contemplating pulling out of the series due to the government’s policy. Calling the series an opportunity that gives him “goosebumps”, Bess emphasized that no one who can see a larger goal can deny the opportunity of going out there and defeating Australia in their own backyard. "It gives me goosebumps talking about it. It is the pinnacle. Just watching the 2005 Ashes and then being at school and staying up all night to watch 2010-11 when Cooky [Alastair Cook] scored hundred after hundred. That is the pinnacle of the career - everyone thinks about it. It is a tough ask," he added. "Obviously I don't know what will be happening about Australia and their regulations - but I think if your name was on the ticket and you were going to an Ashes series as a 24-year-old, a young lad, you would never ever turn that down,” Bess said. "I think it would be very tough leaving family and supporters at home, but it is an Ashes series away from home - something you dream of, playing against Australia in Australia and looking to win there. Certainly, you wouldn't turn that down. I don't think anyone who dreams of doing that would be able to turn that down." Bess was the leading England spinner until the start of the Test series against India but his inaccuracy with line and length did not make skipper Joe Root confident of his spinning abilities. He was dropped from the second Test after a relatively successful first Test with the ball and came back only in the final Test where his morale and confidence to land the ball in the right areas were certainly out of order. The career seemed to be out of track for Bess after the series as he expectedly did not find a place in the Test squad to face New Zealand at home. However, the disenchantment did not last longer for Bess as England have recalled him in the squad for the first two Tests against India. Bess has not had a great time with the ball in the initial phase of the County Championship either but a tally of 23 wickets from 10 games does not look terrible either on pitches not so much conducive for spin bowling. However, Bess is not at all putting a lot of pressure on himself leading up to the Test series against India and is instead willing to enjoy the series after having worked his way back to the side. "It is an exciting time but there is no pressure from me to put myself under. I just want to enjoy this series because I know how much I have worked this summer and what I have done,” Bess said. The Test series between India and England is scheduled to kick in from August 04 at Trent Bridge, Nottingham while the Ashes series is scheduled to start in the fag end of the year.
Dom Bess deactivates Twitter account hours after getting call-up for second Test vs NZ
England off-spinner Dom Bess has been included in the squad as a cover for Jack Leach for the second Test against New Zealand scheduled to begin on June 10 in Birmingham. The spinner however has deactivated his Twitter account a few hours after he was called-up. “The reason we have added Dom is that any cover we may need has to be in here with us. If Jack was to feature, we would need back-up for him in terms of concussion replacements and things like that,” England coach Chris Silverwood told the media. In a recent development, wisden.com has shared a racist tweet from an English player without mentioning his name. The ECB is investigating the matter according to some reports. Earlier, fast bowler Ollie Robinson who made his Test debut against New Zealand at Lord’s in the first match was suspended after some of his racist and sexist tweets surfaced again. The tweets were pretty old. Robinson had a pretty impressive debut game after he picked up a total of 7 wickets in two innings including the scalps of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. Bess, on the other hand hasn’t featured in any international fixture for England after the side toured India earlier this year.
ENG vs NZ| Spin-on offer at Edgbaston! England add Dom Bess as Leach’s cover to the squad
England have called in Dom Bess as cover for Jack Leach for the second Test against New Zealand, slated to start on June 10 in Edgbaston. The decision seems to be inspired by the fact that they would be going for the spinning option in Birmingham, as the deck has supported spinners over the last few years. "The reason we've added Dom is that any cover we may need has to be in here with us. If Jack was to feature, we would need back-up for him in terms of concussion replacements and things like that,” England coach Chris Silverwood said. There is also apprehension about the slow over-rate s well. England were fined 40% of their match fees for maintaining a low over rate throughout the 1st Test at Lord’s and spinner in the side would have sped up the over rate a bit. Silverwood is preparing the worst as he believes that in case of concussion or injury, Bess, who is coming on the back of a four-wicket haul to propel Yorkshire to a victory in the County Championship. "If we are looking at playing a spinner and Jack were to get injured leading into the game, then we will need someone else there as well. It's making sure we cover that,” said the 46-year-old coach. Aked if spin would be on offer at Edgbaston, Silverwood said, "Are we expecting a spinning wicket? We will see when we get there, but I'm making sure we've got every base covered."
4th Test Report: Axar-Ashwin blow England away to lead India into WTC Final
India scripted a fantastic come back in the series after being outplayed in the first Test of the series to achieve that all feared and expected before the series began in Chennai on February 05. India won the last game of the series by an innings and 25 runs to snatch the lead and the Anthony de Mello Trophy from England, and also booked a spot for themselves in the World Test Championship at Lord’s in June. At the start of the third day, the writing was on the wall for the tourists and the unbeaten duo at the end of the third day’s play—Axar Patel and Washington Sundar made sure they did not get any opening to come back in the game. They extended the overnight lead of 89 runs to 160 runs as England dropped their shoulders way earlier than they themselves would’ve expected. Washington Sundar missed out on a much-deserving hundred—his second in this series, as he was left stranded by the bowlers-batsmen around him, but he already did enough to put India in a position to allow them to boss the game. England were under the pump and Kohli did not fail to read what other analysts could read from away from the ground and unleashed their tormentor-in-chief in the form of Axar Patel right from the second over, while Siraj was tasked to search some help off the surface as he did in the first innings. After Siraj could not find anything from the surface or in the air, Kohli brought Ashwin from the other end, to unleash all of India’s might with the ball against England batsmen who were already back in the UK in their head. Crawley was flummoxed by a delivery that turned viciously, and he committed the cardinal and perpetual sin all batsmen have been guilty of committing to a delivery that went straight on and India were up and running in the afternoon session. The next man in Jonny Bairstow had looked improving in his game in the first innings, but his development was short-lived. Axar Patel has been all over him in the two games he played, but Ashwin was the man for India today and he played with his mind with an extra closing-in fielder at the leg slip position. Ashwin bowled his delivery perfectly to that well-laid plan and Bairstow—showing signs of a batsman already dismissed in his mind—guided that gently spinning ball into the hands of Rohit Sharma to walk away probably for the last time for England in Test matches for another duck. When you are desperate for runs, and not finding it easy to take on the bowlers who have had an upper hand against you, luck too starts disowning you at the wrong times, and Sibley must have realised today that the whole universe has gone against him. He smashed a sweep shot directly into the thigh of Shubma Gill at short leg and Pant was eager for the rebound to send the English opener back to the pavilion with a helpless look on his face. The senior pros in Joe Root and Ben Stokes have had to face many such phases in this series, and more than not in the last two Tests, they have failed to live up to the expectations and could not raise their game. Maybe Stokes found that Axar will be unplayable for him, and hence he attempted to put some pressure back on the left-arm spinner. He attempted a scoop, more in hope than in his decisiveness to counter Axar’s threat, but could not time it well enough and Kohli was more than ecstatic to snaffle the catch to send another wave of panic into the England dressing room. Root has been hailed as the best player of spin bowling among England batsmen and was looking good to establish himself once again. He was nimble-footed and was quick to adjust according to length, but twice in this game, he was guilty of playing from the backfoot to deliveries he should come forward to defend. Ashwin beat him in the air and he played for the trajectory, not for the length and gave himself out after missing the ball. It was a bizarre scene in the middle as Root considered himself as plumb, but Ashwin thought it could have spun past the leg stump, and the England skipper took a review in hope of surviving but left leaving his team in disarray along with a review. What pundits from England have been seeking is an improvement from the younger players and the duo of Ollie Pope and Dan Lawrence sent a good signal about their skillset and temperament. Pope was not getting stuck in the crease and instead was aggressive to punish the loose balls. For his bad luck though, Axar was too accurate, and he turned to be attempting one shot too many to give Rishabh Pant to weave his magic behind the stumps, after a magical innings with the bat on the second day. Ben Foakes who has been one of the best England batsmen on spinning pitches in the last two games was not good enough to keep Axar defending and one delivery finally took the edge of his bat to reach Ajinkya Rahane at the first slip, although India’s vice-captain looked less assured of having caught that than Ben Stokes’ catch which he claimed. England were doomed even before the start of the third day’s play after they let India off the hook and the partnership with Rishabh ant and Washington Sundar took away all their spirit and heart out of their game. If anything was left there to be feasted upon, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar took off from the same point Pant left had left the crease from, albeit with a very low intensity of onslaught. England started off the series well and gave India a proper headache and what the head coach Ravi Shastri told in his interview with the host broadcaster a ‘kick in the backside’, but the prospect of an Indian comeback was never far away. It took a bad loss in the first Test to shake off the Indian team after the incredible heist in Australia, but the Indian team how they have been on their home soil in the last few years came roaring back in the series. Rohit Sharma turned out to be the best batsman for the hosts in the series and shut down all the calls around his place in the team. Virat Kohli rated his 161 in the second Test very highly and credited him for setting the tone for an Indian comeback, followed by Ashwin and Axar’s heroics with the ball. Axar Patel took 27 wickets in the last three Tests at a staggering average of 10.59 runs per wicket while Ashwin scalped 32 wickets at 14.71 runs per wicket. Ashwin was adjudged man of the series for his important contributions with the bat, along with dominating bowling performances and the off-spinner established his credentials as the biggest match-winner for India on home soil with his eights man of the series award. England could not find a way to cope up with the challenges the Indian spinners and the pitches threw at them and ended the series in a familiar sight of letting go of the series after a dominating start.
2nd Test, Day 1 Report: Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane silence critics, resurrect India
It was known from the outset that the pitch for the second Test will assist spinners more than it did on the first couple of days in the last game, and it unturned out no different from the expectations. India were coming in this game with huge pressure on them after facing a big defeat in the first Test of the series, and there was no quick end to their misery. Shubman Gill, who according to Virat Kohli was the best Indian batsman in the first Test was proved to be inefficient by an express Ollie Stone who was picked only for his extra pace over a more reliable Chris Woakes. Gill has always been good on judging the line of the balls, but only in the second over of the game, one back off the length moved off the pitch to find him ‘stoned’ dead in front of the stumps shouldering his arms in hope of the ball going away from the off stump line. The next man in—Pujara, had once again the task of resurrecting the batting and he started to soak up the pressure from the one end. He was composed as usual and used his feet sparingly to combat spinners as the pitch started to explode a lot earlier than predicted. At the other end, Rohit Sharma appeared to be batting on a completely different strip. He was severe against pacers who committed mistakes of providing him short deliveries while full balls were also dealt with immaculate placements. He looked hungrily for runs after missing out in the first Test on the pitch as flat as a road and was in no mood to allow the bowlers, especially spinners to dictate terms to him. He was eager to sweep spinners off their lengths but was vigilant enough to not sweep from the line of the stumps. His sweeps at regular intervals kept on dragging Moeen Ali away from the off stump, and a smart Rohit was quick to pounce on with cut shots through the off-side. Pujara looked certain, but after spending quite a bit of time in the middle, he tried to rotate strike and Root and Leach were proactive to tempt him with an open field on the off-side. Pujara was opening the face of the bat to nudge the ball in gaps for singles, but eventually, a ball turned to take the outside edge of his bat and England’s plan worked perfectly well for them. Virat Kohli entered the fray after the first hour which threw a lot of actions with wickets falling and Rohit scoring at a rate of knots. He started with good defence but a tossed up delivery outside off stump from Moeen Ali outside tempted him to go for a big booming drive through the cover which was left vacant by Root and Moeen. Until his dismissal, Kohli had done everything correctly for his team as he finally won an all-important toss and he was delighted to bat first on the pitch he said will start crumbling fairly quickly. Kohli went for the drive, the ball dipped, and took a puff of dust along with it to sneak through the big gap Kohli left between his pad and bat in pursuit of his signature cover drive against spinners to hit the stumps. He was so shocked that he could barely believe it and rather asked the umpires if the ball actually hit the stumps after beating him. After Kohli’s departure, it was the moment of reckoning for the pair of Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma, who faced the ire and scrutiny of fans after the loss in the first game to bail the team out of the big hole. Rahane had defended Rohit saying his value can’t be measured by the failure in four-five innings, and he got the best seat in the ground to see Rohit justifying the huge confidence shown on him before the start of the Test. Both Rahane and Rohit batted with authority and control as England spinners started to lose control over the line and lengths with the ball getting older, Rohit was extremely severe while Rahane was measured in his approach. Rohit marched on to hit a critics-silencing century and with the ease, he batted in such a tricky pitch must have also exonerated him from the tag of being a ‘flat-track bully.’ He converted his hundred into a daddy hundred and never looked finished. He was willing to wait for loose deliveries which kept on coming his way courtesy of his proactiveness in the crease. He was distraught after getting caught at the boundary after mistiming a sweep shot which he was playing the whole day with so much fence. He looked really disappointed even after scoring a mammoth 161 runs that could well be the difference between the teams on this pitch that has all in it to be called a dustbowl. At the other end, Rahane too brought up a much-needed fifty to shed off all rounds of questions around his place in the team and the value he brings to the table for the Kohli’s side. He was decisive in his footwork and rad the lengths of the spinners well until he got out attempting to sweep a very full delivery off Moeen Ali. England got back in the game with three wickets in the late third session of the day otherwise the game would have been lost on the very first day itself. Rishabh Pant has launched yet another assault on them and he did not look in a lot of hurry like the first Test and it appeared that he was eyeing the big opportunity of scoring on the second day. Root’s hands were tied due to possible injury concerns to Ben Stokes who could bowl only two overs on the first day and hence the skipper had to go back to Moeen Ali again and again, albeit the off-spinner was struggling to find his length where he could bowl for a lengthy spell or even an over. Ali leaked 112 runs which could not be a satisfactory performance by any stretch of the imagination, although he got the big wickets of Virat Kohli and Rahane. He was brought into the team in place of Dominic Bess to provide control and a helpless Root had to bring himself on from one end to make good use of the turning pitch. Root will be hopeful England will strike early tomorrow to check India running away with the game. This is not a pitch supporting 500 runs and hence anything above 350 runs will make their challenge steeper and steeper. Root will be banking on his pacers to get the best of Pant as he does not have the leverage of too many runs on the board to keep the heat on Pant and wait for him to be found out hitting one shot too many. All will depend on the battle between Pant and England bowler tomorrow as it will dictate the terms of the challenges of England’s challenge when they will walk out to bat.
Jeetan Patel applies for full-time spin bowling coach of England
Former New Zealand off-spinner Jeetan Patel has applied for a full-time role as the spin bowling coach of the England Men’s cricket team. Patel has been with the England side on a consultation basis for the last 18 months and has now applied for the post advertised by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). "The ECB are still in the process of trying to hire three roles. They're still in the background for them. There's a lot going on so I'm not sure when that process will end, but right now it's on a consultancy basis and I love it. I've been very lucky to see this team win Test series, win games of cricket out of nowhere in some cases, to watch Joe Root score the runs he has, to see the young spinners come through and take five-fors, and also to see the group in some wonderful Test matches in South Africa through to Sri Lanka recently,” Patel said on the eve of the second Test match between India and England. "I've really enjoyed my time here and I'd love to continue, but the reality is that I don't make those decisions. I'll put my best foot forward and make sure that I keep growing these guys as much as I can. I'd love it to be full-time." Jeetan Patel has earned a lot of accolades as he has been helping the English spinners—Jack Leach and Dominic Bess in finding better control over their line and lengths. England have won two overseas Test series in South Africa and Sri Lanka under his watch. England are 1-0 up in the Test series against India and it was their spinners in Leach and Bess who claimed eight wickets between them to hand the hosts a heavy defeat.
Pujara doesn't want to curb Pant's 'natural game', but suggests to be 'selective'
India were already behind in the game as the English batsmen had made merry of a placid pitch at the Chepauk, but there were expectations from the Indian team as well to repeat what their counterparts achieved on the first two days of the Tests. Openers failed to seize the opportunity although they were looking in supreme touch, and the wickets of Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane only made the matters worse for the hosts as English spinner Dominic Bess showed how the mountain of runs affects the mindset of a bowling attack. When Rahane departed England spinners in Bess and Jack Leach were settling into a nice rhythm before the storm of Rishabh Pant arrived to defy the troubles India found themselves in and the game situation. He unleashed a calculative assault against the left-arm spin of Leach which could have ended in a disaster for both him and the team with them being so far behind in the game, but for Cheteshwar Pujara who has had the luxury of witnessing these assaults from the non-striker's' end never doubted the willpower of Pant to get at the top of England bowling attack and rather hailed his approach as a good development for the game. However, the cool customer that Pujara is also urged caution to his teammate and asked him to be selective while continuing to be belligerent in his approach. He suggested Pant be mindful of game situations and balance his attacking mindset with sensible shot selection based on the quality of bowling and juncture of the game. "It is his (Pant) natural game so we cannot restrict him much. He can't be too defensive because by doing so he can get out quickly. It is good for his game that he keeps on playing his shots but, at times, he has to be very selective," Pujara said in the virtual press conference at the end of the third day's play. "He needs to understand which shots to play, which not. He needs to understand in which situation it is important that he stays in the crease. Balancing things out is the most important for him." Pant’s counterattacking innings made life easier for Pujara at the other end but there was always a question mark that for how long can his onslaught continue and Pujara reckoned that he should recognise his potential of piling on big innings and helping the team put up a big total, instead of getting out in ‘ugly’ manners. "He will learn from his mistakes. There are times when he can be a little more patient and build another partnership with whoever is there in the crease. He is capable of putting the team first because whenever he bats longer, then we will always end up posting a big total. So, I am sure he will realise that. And then there are times when he also has to understand and the coaching staff always communicates with him that. He has to put the team first and be little sensible at times. He has done that most of the times. There are times when gets out and looks ugly." Indian batting efforts other than that of Pujara and Pant found wanting on the third day when England delayed declaration in order to make as many as they could to put them under pressure and Pujara too rued the soft dismissals from his teammates. Pujara himself was caught in a bizarre fashion after his pull shot deflected off Ollie Pope’s body only to be taken by Rory Burns and Pujara downplayed his and Rahane’s wicket which was achieved by the brilliance of Joe Root as unlucky dismissals. India’s unbeaten batsmen-- Washington Sundar and Ravichandran Ashwin have had the reputation of being resilient as well as effective in the recent past and Pujara has placed high hopes on the duo to take the team in a forward direction on the fourth day of the Test match which he called ‘most crucial’ for his team. "Batting wise, we could have batted better, there were some soft dismissals which didn't go in our favour. The way I got out or Jinks got out... I felt those two wickets were crucial for us, but at the same time we are still confident of doing well. Ash and Washington are both batting well, so we will just have to move on from here. Tomorrow, it will be the most crucial day for us,” Pujara added. India conceded 578 on this pitch while England bowlers made life difficult for the Indian batsmen and Pujara said that the time his teammates were bowling, the pitch offered no assistance while it started to assist spinners on the third day. "There is a bit of spin now but I think it's still a good pitch to bat on. The first two days, it was really, really flat and our bowlers did a fantastic job. It was a pitch where there was not much assistance and we were expecting a little bit more from the surface. But we have to accept and move on," Pujara opined. India are still 321 runs behind England's first innings total of 578 runs, and their hopes of avoiding follow-on hinge on the last-recognized batting pair of Washington Sundar and Ashwin. If India manage to avoid getting bowled out before the follow-on mark, the task of saving this game will become far more difficult than forcing the tourists to bat again and then trying to save the game on the last day of the Test.
IND vs ENG | 1st Test Day 3 Report: India live another day on free-spirited Pant, disciplined Pujara
As it is always said, the third day of the ongoing Test match between India and England turned out to be a moving day, but the hosts fell off on the wrong side of the movement. Their batsmen, except Rishabh Pant, failed to rise to the occasion of challenging a monumental score of 578 by the England team, and played without convictions to leave the side in a disarray. At the end of the third day’s play, India were six down for 257, trailing behind by 321 runs, and their first job on the fourth day will be to avoid the follow-on which is still 121 runs away with just four wickets in hands. A fair share of blame will be levied on the top and early middle order as all batsmen were guilty of committing mistakes and handing over the wickets on some innocuous deliveries. It all started with the opening outburst from an express Jofra Archer and took away Rohit Sharma who perished as he felt for the ball and hanged his bat outside his off stump in a manner that is committed crime for a Test opener. Rohit had hit a boundary on the leg side as Archer erred on the length, but the pacer amended his line, while Rohit’s habit of searching for the ball early in his innings proved to be detrimental for him, and he will be kicking himself for missing out on the opportunity to stamp his authority on the game with the pitch offering little to no assistance to bowlers. His partner at the top of the order, Gill started off from where he left in the highs of Brisbane, and his sublime timing was on display from the word go. He was on the money when James Anderson tried to test his front-foot play, while an examination of backfoot game was easily passed through by Gill who was riding high on confidence. In a very short career, Gill has never looked out of depth with the bat irrespective of the bowling attack he has come up against, but the lack of hundreds in his stat box will be something he would love to improve going forward in his career. He had all the settings required for a batsman to go big such as the game situation, his own form, and the lack of too much help for England bowlers, but in the end, he dismissed himself in a bizarre fashion, rather than getting undone by a piece of brilliance from the opposition. He was timing too well today, and ultimately his eagerness to score led to his downfall as he could not keep an on-drive off Archer along the ground, and Anderson took an age-defying catch diving forward to put the burden of the big score on the shoulders of Virat Kohli and Chesteshwar Pujara. The events before the Lunch interval provided jitters to the host's dressing room but the experience of Kohli and Pujara must have calmed those nerves to finish the session only two down. What transpired in the middle session truly justified the adjective of a ‘moving day’ attributed to the third day’s play of any Test match. Both Kohli and Pujara looked to settle down for a big one and Kohli in particular felt squeezed by the bowlers in Dominic Bess and Jack Leach as the first 10 overs after the Lunch interval yielded very few runs. Kohli appeared to break the shackles but through his own way of maneuvering the field by placing the balls into gaps instead of hitting out of the slump. He has a tendency of opening the face of his bat to find the gap on the off side against off-spinner, and the England skipper Joe Root showed signs of tactical brilliance by keeping the area between the point and cover region empty for him to target in search of single or even boundary as Bess was working well and getting good drift away from the right-handers. Kohli, in general, plays off spinners from the back foot, until they force him to come forward, and Bess too had to undergo that test as the Indian skipper kept on negotiating the little or no turn from right back in the crease. Bess pulled the length back and adjusted the line of the attack outside the off stump, and Kohli, for a change, was done in all end up the off-spinner as he was defeated by the drift and played down the wrong line to lob a simple catch to Ollie Pope at the forward short-leg position. The next man in, Ajinkya Rahane has not enjoyed his time against spinners, and the story could not be different today as his short stay at the crease eas cut short by a spark of brilliance from the England captain who is yet to set a foot wrong in this game. When Rahane came out to bat, he was not prepared for the turn, but Pujara alerted on some deliveries turning from the off stump line. On cue, Rahane was down the track to smother any form of spin against Bess. He looked proactive to not go back in shell against spinners, and jumped out of the crease to reach out to flighted delivery off Bess and succeeded in making that into a full toss and timing it towards cover, but he was guilty of hitting in the air and allowing Root to be a hero, and the kind of days the English skipper is having in the recent time, it was imperative he took a splendid one-handed catch to see off Rahane, and India’s chance of dictating terms to his side. On the other hand, Pujara was batting with immense composure and intent, as loose deliveries were being severely punished. He has been a good scorer on home soil and does not get defensive in India, and it was evident today when he regularly stepped down to spinners, and forced them to shorten their length, and capitalized when they shortened it too much. The next man in Rishabh Pant was fresh from a marvelous innings at the Gabba, and with Pujara at the other end and his side is in deep trouble, the setting looked quite similar to the one he faced in Australia last month. The pitch, however, was different, and so were the challenges, as Root called upon Leach to exploit the rough outside of the only left-handed batsmen in the top six of the Indian batting order. Pant was in no mood to allow Leach to dictate terms to him, and he started taking Leach part over his head. One-shot over the fence, followed another as he made the match situation look completely opposite to what it was. The brilliance of Rishabh Pant is that he makes the game situation and the momentum irrelevant as he changes the course of the game in a matter of few balls. England could not show courage and sent the fielders back on the boundary lines but Root was equally pragmatic having earned the wisdom of understanding Pant over the years that positioning of fielders deep on the boundary will not stop Pant playing in his natural way. Root was right in his approach as some of those sixes went tantalisingly close from the fielder’s reach, but Pant was better than a slogger and he took a calculative risk. He was not attacking balls that were not pitched in his half or were pitched in the good part of the pitch, rather he kept attacking those which were targeted to land in the rough by Leach. There was a method to his game that others would call madness, and he never attacked the off-spinner Bess until the delivery that actually got him out. There were signs that this was not to be India’s day as a well-set Pujara went back to the pavilion in one of the most uncommon ways. He forced Bess to bowl good length at him, but he himself was quick on his feet to rock back on the backfoot to pull over the square leg fielder for four, but he mistimed the shot, and it hit Ollie Pope on his body, and Rory Burns took simple ricochet to send a distraught Pujara back to the pavilion. After Pujara’s departure, Pant was again seen in the zone he was in Brisbane as he was guiding Washington to play through as he would be taking care of the rest. But, Pant’s own downfall summed up the day for India which started going off the clip as he had missed an easy stumping chance off Ashwin and kept the debate about his wicketkeeping developing even in this Test. India are left with only Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington to earn whatever they can before England can decide their course of action in pursuit of a win no could see coming especially the highs of the Indian cricket team in Australia just last month, but the Chennai Test once again showed it is a great leveler although it could happen possibly only due to the pitch at the Chepauk which leveled the potency of Indian bowling attack and allowing the tourists to get away, albeit with a superb batting display in the first innings.
Jack Leach takes heart from Swann-Panesar, but backs his own 'strengths' to defy India
England have been the only team which has won more than one Test match and a Test series in India in the past decade and they are not short of confidence as another four-match series is all upon the cricketing world. There are great expectations from both sides, and largely, this series is being built up as the one between the English batsmen and the Indian spinner. However, the tourists are not downplaying their spin resources and they made it absolutely clear that they are coming in with confidence and back their spinners to make the impact when the pacer Jofra Archer openly challenged the hosts saying the English team can’t be 'outspun' by the hosts. One among the three spinners the tourists are coming with in the big series against India, Jack Leach too exuded the same level of confidence that Archer had shown on the spinners. The left-arm spinner who is on his maiden tour to India said in his first virtual interaction to the press that he is coming with the mindset to make an impact in the outcome of the series and that the presence of a lot of right hander batsmen in the Indian top order, makes his cases for success a bit easier. “I definitely think I can make an impact in this series, obviously we have got three days training and I am not sure what the wicket is going to be like or anything, so not looking too far ahead but definitely want to make an impact and they have got quite a lot of right-handers, so I see that as a good thing for me," Leach said in the virtual press conference. Leach and his partner in crime—Dominic Bess and Moeen Ali will have their task cut out as they will bowl under the pressure of leading the bowling attack given more assistance available for the spinners on the Indian pitches. But, history suggests it has not been that easier for overseas spinners to shine bright on Indian pitches and most of them have only been plummeted by the home batsmen. Leach too realised the potential and quality of the Indian batting order, but he relishes the prospect of bowling against batsmen who he believes will certainly cause problems to his side. The English think tank has done a lot of hard work on analysing the batting technique of Indian batsmen, but Leach does not want to complicate his bowing tactics and rather he wants to enjoy the opportunity to bowl on pitches conducive to spin bowling as the conditions in India can be as good as a spinner can dream of. "We've been watching some analysis on the Indian batsmen and they're all going to cause certain problems for us. Playing in SL tracks is a good experience to draw on. It's mainly about doing what I do well and not complicating things too much,” Leach added. "They are obviously a quality side and have come back off a great win in Australia, but I think it is just a great opportunity for all of us to test ourselves against probably the best side in the world and to do here in India, my first time in India. "This is what the dream you have, to come to places like these. Obviously, it is a fantastic opportunity, and I want to enjoy it.” Lessons from Swann and Panesar The only time India lost a Test series at home in the past decade was in 2012 when the spin twins of Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar ran through their batting order in Mumbai and Kolkata. The duo presented a completely different set of challenges to the Indian batsmen and turned out they could not quite raise their game. Swann defied batsmen with his guile, and change of pace and flight on the ball, while Panesar bowled at a brisk pace to extract maximum bounce off the pitches at the Wankhede Stadium and Eden Gardens. Leach has studied what worked for Swan and Panesar and he did not hide his high regards for the duo who made the England team achieve something that was deemed pretty impossible before it was actually done. The fact that no other team could even come close to defeating India in a series for a long time established the grand success of the tactics of Swann and Panesar. But, leach is pragmatic in his approach as he understands his own game and at least, to begin with, the series, he is willing to stick to his own strengths, instead of emulating what worked for his heroes in India. "Monty and Swann are two bowlers I love to watch. I watch a lot of spin videos to try and take things from the spinners. Monty bowled at a quicker pace in India and that could be very tricky on a spinning wicket,” Leach said. "I am probably not going to be bowling at the same speed. It is probably more about how the ball gets to the batsman in terms of trajectory. There have been other successful bowlers who didn't bowl as fast as Monty did. It is about sticking to my strengths and knowing what my optimum pace and then going up and down a little bit from there. Everyone has an optimum pace. It's important to stick to that as much as possible.” Both Leach and Bess will have the task of taking wickets as well as stopping Indian batsmen from running away with the game by denying them loose balls. Cricket pundits have argued that overseas spinners have not been able to tighten their line and lengths against Indian batsmen in India and hence the visiting captains are forced to bring back their pacers to control the game, thereby taking away the major wicket-takers out of the attack. England have enforcers in Jofra Archer and Mark Wood who can bring fire to the batsmen, and the old-aged guile of James Anderson and Stuart Broad can also be instrumental for England’s success in India, but for that to happen, the trio of Leach, Bess and Moeen Ali will have to be at the top of their game all the time in the series starting February 05.
Jofra Archer downplays Indian spinners' threat; says India can't 'outspin' England
Although the upcoming Test series between India and England is set to throw intense battle between Indian spinners and England batsmen, pacer Jofra Archer has downplayed the threat of Indian spinners and said that the tourists have enough spinning options to challenge the hosts. Writing a column for the Daily Mail, Archer said that if the pitches will offer turn and bounce, English spinners can challenge Indian batsmen as well and that they will not be outdone in the spin department by the home spinners. Archer is banking on his experience of playing IPL in India but he also sees completely different challenges in Tests where batsmen have the time to wait for the bowlers to commit mistakes and hence the pacer said if the pitches will be placid, it would not make a great contest between the bat and ball. He hoped to get pitches that will have a good amount of bounce that can assist bowlers in the series that otherwise is to be dominated by batsmen. "I’ve played lots of Indian Premier League here but nothing in terms of first-class cricket, so the challenges of bowling with a red ball will become clearer. In the IPL the batters have to come at you, whereas in Test cricket they can sit on you for a full session if they want and if the pitch is dead there is nothing you can do about it." "So let’s hope we get some good wickets with a little bit of pace for the bowlers. Or even some turn, because if they spin, the matches will not be one-sided. We have good spinners in our squad and India won’t out-spin us," Archer wrote for Daily Mail. Archer missed the Test series against Sri Lanka preceding the series against India and came directly to India from the UK along with Ben Stokes and Rory Burns. He made the most of the break and arrived in India feeling ‘refreshed and recharged’ having visited his home in Barbados where he enjoyed more freedom from Covid-19 restrictions than in the UK. Archer will walk into the playing Xi after the selectors rested Mark Wood for the first two Tests of the series against India while the senior pacers James Anderson and Stuart Broad were played only one game each on Sri Lanka in order to maximise the resources and keeping everyone fit and ready given the covid-19 related protocols and subsequent biosecure bubble arrangements. Archer said that the rotation policy being adopted by the team management is pragmatism and said if he is given the opportunity to play only two Test against India, he will be happy as it will give him a chance to give his best and then pass on the baton to someone who will be higher on energy and fitness. “I know that Stuart Broad talked about playing two of six Test matches this winter because the conditions do not necessarily suit fast bowlers and, similarly, if I play two against India I will be happy. As an attack, we must get used to more rotation and it feels good that any one of us can walk away from the team knowing that whoever comes in as our replacement will perform,” Archer wrote. “I guess for years it has been a big thing for bowlers to strive to keep their places in the team, but now it’s more like you are passing the baton over in as strong a position as possible.” The England team has arrived in Chennai for the Test series against India and will begin training starting February 02 while Archer, along with Stokes and Burns will be permitted to start their outdoor training a bit earlier because of their early arrival in the country.
Joe Root's two wickets helps England etch distinguished record
England achieved a rare feat in the second Test against Sri Lanka in Galle after the pacers picked all the wickets in the first innings while spinners scalped all the ten wickets in the second innings. Dominic Bess and Jack Leach bagged a four-for each while captain Joe Root picked up a couple of wickets during the course. Leach gave the visitors the first breakthrough after trapping Kusal Perera in front of the stumps. His scalps included the dismissals of Lahiru Thirimane, Dinesh Chandimal and Ramesh Mendis while Bess removed Oshada Fernando, Angelo Mathews who scored a century in the first innings, wicket-keeper batsman Niroshan Dickwella and Dilruwan Perera. England had put 344, courtesy Root’s second ton of the series on the trot I reply to Sri Lanka’s 381 in the first innings. Lasith Embuldeniya scalped a seven-for the hosts. Later, Sri Lanka began the proceedings in a dismal fashion in the second innings and were left tottering at 78/8 when Embuldeniya and Suranga Lakmal chipped in with a partnership of 38 for the ninth wicket. Embuldeniya scored 40 off 42 including six boundaries and a maximum. They were eventually bundled out for 126 to hand England a target of 164. England lead the series 1-0.