Category: Cricket

England’s batting lineup looks settled for the trip to Australia, but their fast-bowling stocks were stretched against India and the captain can help ease the burden

The England-India epic that ended up like two weary prizefighters trading blows will live long in the memory – a 2‑2 classic for which the players on both sides deserve immense credit. Not that Mohammed Siraj, still hitting 90mph on the speed gun on the 25th day, showed weariness. If anything, he could well hold the key to solving the world’s energy problems.

Plaudits in particular go to three men who stepped up bravely when other sports would have simply subbed them off: Shoaib Bashir bowled with a broken left hand at Lord’s; Rishabh Pant batted with a broken foot at Old Trafford; and then Chris Woakes, Horatio Nelson armed with a Gray-Nicolls, followed him in folklore at the Oval. Don’t be fooled by the white flannels and the stoppages for tea – Test cricket is a brutal sport.

Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Siraj were the stars in an exceptional series

By the 99.94 Cricket Blog

Ben Stokes: 304 runs at 43.4; 17 wickets at 25.2
It is no exaggeration to say that a magnificent series like this is the product of how Baz McCullum and Ben Stokes have reinvented English Test cricket, a change comparable to Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque’s revolution of European art a century ago.

Chris Woakes was sent out in a sling as England lost to India by six runs at the Oval in a wild finale to the series

• England and injured Woakes denied as India win thriller

Siraj is signing autographs. Intensely.

“Bought my son a day five ticket several weeks back,” you clever man David Adam, “and he’s been watching the whole match hoping for wickets to stop and rain to start. As much as yesterday’s crowd were rightly gutted not to see the conclusion, I’m selfishly delighted that my son will get his first taste of Test cricket this morning, even if it’s only half an hour. Surely the series deserves to end with a third ever tied test? Siraj sending an spectactularly unsporting bouncer down at Woakes?”

With England looking to win the series and India still able to share the spoils, the loss of three headliners at the Oval is suboptimal

Much like the Dude in the Big Lebowski during his various moments of confusion, it was impossible not to repeatedly blink upon seeing England’s XI for the fifth and final Test against India that starts on Thursday. Four changes, including the loss of Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope’s return to the captaincy, took a few moments to process.

“I don’t want to eat my words but the likelihood I won’t play is very unlikely,” said Stokes after the stalemate at Old Trafford. While that quote needed scanning a few times, so did the gnarly right shoulder he was seen prodding and poking during what was a chastening failure to claim an unassailable 3-1 series lead. A grade-three tear to “a muscle I can’t pronounce” was the upshot, Stokes confirmed on Wednesday, and his summer is now frustratingly over.

• England condemned in India and Australia

• Jamie Overton added to squad for final Test

Kevin Pietersen has come to the defence of Ben Stokes after the England captain became the subject of savage criticism in India and Australia for the behaviour seen from him and some of his teammates in the closing stages of the drawn fourth Test at Old Trafford.

England reacted angrily to India’s refusal to accept the draw when it was first offered on Sunday, with Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja instead choosing to stay on the field until they completed their centuries – which prompted England to stand down their frontline bowlers and let batsman Harry Brook bowl until they both did so, amid significant on-field chuntering.