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I crawled out of my flu-ridden den this morning in time to witness the conclusion of the First Test in Chennai. What an uplifting passage of play, more invigorating for body and soul than a jeroboam of Lempsip. The stadium was seething with jubilant humanity; an audience that was sensitive to every nuance. When Tendulkar required only two for his century and Yuvraj began to block to ensure that his partner got them, the stands roared with approval.
Credit to Sky for their coverage. Cutting away from the action to broadcast scenes of street life and local architecture added flavour to their coverage and the tone of the commentary was spot on.
Sad as I am, I stood and applauded Tendulkar’s century in my living room. Well done India.
A terrific Test match, played out in the very best spirit, and all the more remarkable for its competitiveness given England couldn’t have come less prepared if they’d forgotten their kit and had to play in their undies like so many naughty schoolboys.
Some of the meatheads on the TMS forum saying that they’re "through with England" after this "defeat plucked from the jaws of victory" catastrophically miss the point. There were many occasions during the India – Australia series where the (far more prepared) tourists would have given their eye teeth to have been in the position in which England entered day five.
gc
Adoptive father of two. The patron saint of lower-grade fare. A gently critical friend of point-to-pointing. Kindness is a political act.
If I only watched cricket to see England win, I’d be a desperate man by now. I enjoyed the purity of Strauss’s Boycottesque centuries, but England were beaten by the better team and, as you point out, came closer to victory here than the Aussies did.
And having been unfair to David Lloyd in the past, I have to say that I’ve enjoyed listening to him these last few days – his commentary has been warm, funny and humane.
Some of the meatheads on the TMS forum saying that they’re "through with England" after this "defeat plucked from the jaws of victory" catastrophically miss the point. There were many occasions during the India – Australia series where the (far more prepared) tourists would have given their eye teeth to have been in the position in which England entered day five.
i agree completely. We’ve just seen possibly the best batsman ever play his greatest 4th innings knock. Not to mention Sehwag who is the only batsman i’ve seen capable of doing what he did to get India back in the match, admittedly with the help of some wayward bowling. Extraordinary.
I too applaud the batsmen when they produce a classic innings.
I’m really happy for Tendulkar – he was always a great player, but he has found a renewed vigour and hunger that is now taking him to the apex of the cricketing pantheon.
He just makes it all look so easy.
Zip
Ill leave others to reply to that garbage…
The pitch did flatten out nicely though didnt it Andrew? The lords disease is spreading… India did well though
I was disappointed with monty. beginning to wonder whether he is simply a fading force. Just hasnt added anything to his game at all
Firefox,
You will stand alone with those sentiments, of that i have no doubt.
If they were bleary eyed, they deserved to be if that was their choice; they had just been involved in and won the finest series I’ve ever been privileged to witness.
KP, is I understand the hardest working cricketer on that English team, with a technique few can rival. He also appears to be amongst the fittest, and is someone many aspiring cricketers can look upto if they are able to see past a convenient scapegoat because he has some tattoes or has the courage to attempt new shots mid test.
Andrew Hughes – great post & topic. I lost quite an amount by England not winning, yet can applaud many things in this test (Yuvraj aside, who deserves a hiding for his bunny jibes), especially Tendulkar and Sehwag, who was fearless and showed how Test cricket is and always will be the pinnacle of the game. I must admit, I was very impressed with Zaheer Khan …
Monty is a worry, as he seems to have not come on at all, has no imagination or improvisation.
They are also being captained well too. Dhoni has suprised me a little
We’ve just seen possibly the best batsman ever play his greatest 4th innings knock
Hes not a Bradman….
Gets tricky this but Ponting in form is for me, near enough his equal (and although Ponting is down a little at the moment and Sachin has had a ordinary recent spell too). Lara was arguably more talented and possibly stronger in a crisis.
Firefox,
Not sure what my post had to do with Clive … it was a response to your own post.
You have come across as a little bit crazy on this topic, and I don’t mean that in an exaggerated or joking way.
KP is England’s best batsman – he can play extraordinary shots and if South Africa could have kept him, imagine how strong they would be now.
But nothing I had seen or read about him indicated that he would be a good captain and nothing has changed since his appointment.
In the greatest batsmen ever stakes, there is Bradman, a long, long pause, then there are the rest.
Firefox,
Not sure what my post had to do with Clive … it was a response to your own post.
You have come across as a little bit crazy on this topic, and I don’t mean that in an exaggerated or joking way.
Is that right Salse? So its a coincidence that when after 10 days off the forum within 3 or 4 fairly innocuous postings upon my return Clivey Wivery’s barbed response is swiftly followed by yours? Come on, even you surely do not think you can get away with that one unnoticed do you????
You said I was the “stalker” before – I think if proof were needed to the contrary it lies earlier in this thread.
As for your more recent insinuations about my mental health, I think you’ll find it was you who was rounded upon as a fairly laughable wannabe mod on a popular racing forum and have latched onto Clivey Wivey ever since. Now that my friend is wierd!
I am sure you are sooooooo desperate to get me banned on here that you will stoop to any depths to get a rise out of me. It aint gonna happen Salse matey!
Is there a crazy smiley anywhere?
Firefox,
You will stand alone with those sentiments, of that i have no doubt.
FWIW i agree with above quote.
As for my remarks reference possibly greatest ever, i had no great desire to stoke a debate and should perhaps have inserted “in the modern era”. Apologies. My main desire was to simply put the game into context for the England bashers.
andrew
I had some doubts about peterson too, but he certainy pulled the team togther for this trip (which didnt look likely…especially with gobby Cork throwing in his bit from the sidelines) and on the field, has been tactically ok.
Hes strong minded and determined to make a success of it and will listen and take on board advice. being a slight loner (like Hussein) he would discourage cliques. Always interested me that his two best friends in the team were/are Vaughan and collingwood. they wouldnt suffer fools….
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I agree that he’s strong-minded when it comes to his batting. He has a ferocious belief in his own talent that has got him this far and sometimes irritates his teammates (which is their problem, not his).
But I recall Vaughan’s words about him, that though he is confident in his batting ability, he is not generally a confident person. He has an edgy, ‘let’s get on with it’ sort of personality.
He lacks some of the technical skills, such as the ability to read a pitch and his manouvering of the field is reactive rather than anticipatory – but these skills can be learnt.
It is the man management skills that I have my biggest doubts about. Mike Brearley said that a captain needs to have steadiness, patience, concentration and considerateness. I’m not sure whether Pietersen has these attributes and what complicates it further is his position within the squad. Hussain was indeed a loner, but he was a loner in a strong position, taking over an utter shambles of a team in which he had the respect of his fellow players.
It is no secret that Flintoff did not like Pietersen and where Flintoff goes, his little helper Harmison follows. KP has, it appears, tried to get the two of them onside, perhaps with good reason, but I’m not sure how strong respect for him is in the dressing room. There are also rumours of previous disagreements between Peter Moores and KP. I just have a horrible feeling that when the heat is really on, he will turn round to find no-one supporting him.
I don’t know to what extent KP persuaded players to go back to India – but he would also have had some useful carrots to dangle in front of them – namely IPL contracts.
Most people recall Ian Botham’s time as captain, yet few would be able to tell you that Mike Brearley’s record in charge on the field was considerably better – Brearley W18 D9 L4 (including the stunning 1981 Ashes victory) compared with Both’s paltry 8 draws and 4 defeats in 1980
And most people that know the game know that Botham faced the Windies time and again in his time in charge whereas Brearley faced them not at all as captain
Brearley’s test strike rate is remarkably similar to Michael Vaughan’s, another underrated captain who seemingly fell victim to being unpopular with press and public alike.
Is this a wind up?
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