1st Test - England v India, Lord's

[Rob H]

Weather for Thrusday

Lord's is usually a pancake of a pitch and so batting first is always important at the toss. I can see this much like the Pakistan match here last year with it being a high scoring draw.

 

[Easa]

Neither bowling attacks look good enough to get 20 quick wickets and force a result so my prediction is also a high scoring draw.

 

[Rob H]

Some breaking news that Chris Tremlett will make test debut to replace the injured Matthew Hoggard. Bold decision by Moores to ignore the more experienced James Anderson who i would have picked.

edit - ignore the above, all wrong

England: Strauss, Cook, Vaughan, Pietersen, Collingwood, Bell, Prior, Sidebottom, Tremlett, Anderson, Panesar

 

[Easa]

Great move, been waiting to watch Tremlett in test matches since 2005.

 

[blackcap]

depends on the conditions, if it seems around and swings a bit, then i give England every chance of bowling out India. India hasn't in recent years proved they are any superior to West Indes batting abilities in testing conditions. regardless of the tendulkars, gangulys and dravids who haven't really proven themselves in testing conditions, or not recently.

But if Sreesanth hits top gear, he does have the potential to grab some early wickets and give India a possible chance of winning. England are also not perfect in testing conditions.

Seaming Conditions : Advantage England
Flat Conditions: Even contest

 

[Rob H]

Turns out i got it wrong. Anderson is actually playing and Tremlett is playing instead of Stuart Broad. Again i still would not have Tremlett over Broad but i'm not saying it's a bad decision.

 

[Rob H]

England have won the toss and have elected to bat

England: Strauss, Cook, Vaughan, Pietersen, Collingwood, Bell, Prior, Sidebottom, Tremlett, Anderson, Panesar

India: Jaffer, Karthik, Dravid, Tendulkar, Ganguly, Laxman, Dhoni, Kumble, Zaheer, RP Singh, Sreesanth

India look slightly better on the face of it but with home conditions for England it may even it up a bit.

 

[Easa]

Now that is a poor move. As much as I was looking forward to watching Tremlett bowl, this would have been a great oppurtunity for Broad, to make his Test debut. Poor move, in my opinion.

 

[Punter]

Vaughan has won the toss and decided to bat first.

 

[davidmj85]

Now that is a poor move. As much as I was looking forward to watching Tremlett bowl, this would have been a great oppurtunity for Broad, to make his Test debut. Poor move, in my opinion.

Yeah I agree. They should have picked Broad. I expected Yuvraj to replace Dhoni with Karthik behind the stumps...but might be they wanted Karthik to concentrate on his batting. Looks like this will be an evenly contested test match.

 

[Rob H]

Sreesanth's first ball worked away for 4 by Cook through square leg.

 

[Rob H]

On the legs again from Sreesanth and Cook punishes him behind square.

8/0, Cook 8* Strauss 0*

 

[Nice-N-Fresh]

It´s not often I wish England to win, but today I do.

 

[Rob H]

Two edges from Strauss in the Zaheer over both going for 4. The 2nd edge was close to being caught by Gully. Living dangerously

18/0

 

[davidmj85]

1.4 Sreesanth to Cook, no run, straighter line on off stump and it bends back into Cook who defends it on the back foot, that was 112 kmh


WooooooW!!!

 

[Rob H]

Rank long hop by Zaheer just pulled away with ease by Cook for 4.

 

[Rob H]

Make that 4 more. On the pads and Zaheer worked through mid wicket for another 4. India all wrong so far. Cook already onto 23

40/0 off 5 overs!

 

[Luton Bad Boy]

Is this a test match or ODI, thats phenomenal scoring for a test match, poor Sreesanth and Zaheer, the pasting so far is too much, hasnt Dravid turned to Kumble yet?

 

[the Great Khan]

cmon england...

 

[Rob H]

Sreesanth loves the pads, another boundary through mid wicket this time for Strauss

49/0

 

[Sean]

Make that 4 more. On the pads and Zaheer worked through mid wicket for another 4. India all wrong so far. Cook already onto 23

40/0 off 5 overs!

Wow. Sure this isn't a 20/20?

 

[Rob H]

Sreesanth down the pitch having some words for the first time.

51/0 off 9 overs

 

[Easa]

India have bowled a poor line and Dravid has not even re-inforced the leg side field so Strauss and Cook ae just making merry through the leg side. Poor bowling, poor captaincy, and poor cricket from India.

51/0 (9)

 

[invincible]

India have bowled a poor line and Dravid has not even re-inforced the leg side field so Strauss and Cook ae just making merry through the leg side. Poor bowling, poor captaincy, and poor cricket from India.

51/0 (9)

What do you mean ? Should the captain remove the slips and place a deep midwicket on the first day of the tests even before 10 overs ??? Its the bowlers who are bowling RIDICULOUSLY ... nothing wrong with the captaincy ... dravid never asked anyone to stray onto the legside again and again ...

When both your opening seam options let you down, there's only so much one can do as a captain ...

Poor post and poor bowling !!! Thats it ...

 

[Rob H]

Agree with Invincible. You push for wickets with the new ball, not defend runs like the death stages of an ODI. India's bowlers have let Dravid down and he can't set a field for legside half volleys. RP Singh bowling a good disciplined line though albeit a little bit on the short side.

 

[Rob H]

Another leg stump half volley by the culprit Sreesanth and yet another 4 for Ali Cook.

 

[Rob H]

Good bowling this time by Sreesanth, on offstump and a leading edge by Cook through a gully/point region for 4.

 

[Rickz]

India have bowled a poor line and Dravid has not even re-inforced the leg side field so Strauss and Cook ae just making merry through the leg side. Poor bowling, poor captaincy, and poor cricket from India.

51/0 (9)

How is it poor captaincy?, it's not the captains fault that the bowlers have strayed in their line and length. You cannot take out the slips and place 2-3 feilders on the legside in the first 10 overs, you've got to attack the new ball.

 

[Hash]

Good bowling this time by Sreesanth, on offstump and a leading edge by Cook through a gully/point region for 4.

We have made a great start here Rob!

 

[invincible]

Cook's come a long way in his batting ... Although the bowlers have bowled badly, one cant take anything away from the way he's approached his batting today ... Wrong ball - I HIT IT !!

England have some great future prospects in the form of Cook, Bell, Pieterson and Prior ...

 

[invincible]

Time to remove sreesanth and get couple of overs from ganguly ...

 

[Punter]

Hopefully Strauss will make a big score.

 

[Easa]

What do you mean ? Should the captain remove the slips and place a deep midwicket on the first day of the tests even before 10 overs ??? Its the bowlers who are bowling RIDICULOUSLY ... nothing wrong with the captaincy ... dravid never asked anyone to stray onto the legside again and again ...

When both your opening seam options let you down, there's only so much one can do as a captain ...

Poor post and poor bowling !!! Thats it ...

Poor post? You seem to have a high opinion of yourself.

When did I say there should be a deep midwicket? But there should be more than 2 fielders on the legside so the bowler knows that if he bowls a straight delivery, he has some protection on the legside. No mention of deep midwicket, maybe even an attacking fielder on the leg side.

 

[Rob H]

We have made a great start here Rob!

RP Singh joins in the fun with a delivery on the pads worked through mid wicket for 4 by Strauss.

 

[invincible]

Poor post? You seem to have a high opinion of yourself.

When did I say there should be a deep midwicket? But there should be more than 2 fielders on the legside so the bowler knows that if he bowls a straight delivery, he has some protection on the legside. No mention of deep midwicket, maybe even an attacking fielder on the leg side.

Its not me having a high opinion about myself ... Its you who's actually coming to conclusions without a second thought ... To say Dravid's a poor captain for not having a packed legside field in the first session of a test match doesn't make sense ...

 

[the Great Khan]

what speeds are the indians bowling at?

 

[Rob H]

76/0 off 14 overs and the drinks break.

Reflections - India have bowled very poorly with too many deliveries on leg and middle stump that have been easily tucked away through the legside for boundaries. RP Singh has bowled well in patches but not enough that's full to get an edge. Cook has been faultless. Strauss has been ok but a bit loose around off stump with some nervous prods and trying to work balls through leg that arent there to do.

 

[the Great Khan]

with a delivery on the pads

the legacy of this test for india....dont see their bowlers denting the english...
but i do see the english bowling better!!

 

[Hash]

Its not me having a high opinion about myself ... Its you who's actually coming to conclusions without a second thought ... To say Dravid's a poor captain for not having a packed legside field in the first session of a test match doesn't make sense ...

He didn't say 'pack the leg side field' though did he? He said have more than two fielders there.......especially when your so called bowlers are bowling like fools.

Anyway, we are now 76 for 0 after 14 overs. I wonder if we could go the entire day without losing a wicket? Would serve sportcenter India right for celebrating a human beings injury.

 

[Rob H]

what speeds are the indians bowling at?

Sreesanth has been around 83-86. Zaheer started low 80s but pushed it up to 85 and RP mid 80s too.

 

[Hash]

what speeds are the indians bowling at?

very very fast (by Indian standards)

 

[the Great Khan]

Sreesanth has been around 83-86. Zaheer started low 80s but pushed it up to 85 and RP mid 80s too.

so no excuses there...id expect zaheer to bowl better..if england can get to Lunch without losing a wicket, then tea without more than 2 i see 400 easy!!...then lets hope vaugny can put pressure on the indians with some innovative tactics! i think mentally they have never been very tough!

 

[Rob H]

It says a lot when Ganguly is asked to be bowled on the opening morning of a test match. India on fire

 

[Billy]

Well I screamed "not out" but apprently Bucknor doesn't agree with me.

Nice to see Hawk-eye taking my side though...

 

[Rob H]

Ganguly gets a wicket though )

Cook gone lbw to him in his first over.

76/1 England and karma biting me on the ass for mocking dada

 

[Sheikh]

Horrible, indiscplined bowling by the Indians. It makes me so happy to think that we have Asif in our ranks, who makes full use of the new ball!


On a side note, what's happened to the bouncer? Anyone? Has it been cremated? Lost? Banished? Surely one bouncer should be bowled in the first hour of play of a test match!


Bad decision by Bucknor; India lucky to get a wicket there...

 

[invincible]

It says a lot when Ganguly is asked to be bowled on the opening morning of a test match. India on fire

Well, say that now Rob !!!

I suggested the very move early on in one of my posts ...

 

[MIB]

Ganguly ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[MIB]

Ganguly to Cook, OUT
AN Cook lbw b Ganguly 36 (39b 6x4 0x6) SR: 92.30

 

[Rob H]

Well, say that now Rob !!!

Look at my next post

 

[Sheikh]

Ganguly gets a wicket though )

Cook gone lbw to him in his first over.

76/1 England and karma biting me on the ass for mocking dada

Plumb?


You watching the same game?

 

[MIB]

It says a lot when Ganguly is asked to be bowled on the opening morning of a test match. India on fire

GANGULY ALONE ON FIRE

 

[invincible]

Well I screamed "not out" but apprently Bucknor doesn't agree with me.

Nice to see Hawk-eye taking my side though...

That missed the off-stump not by much ... Hawk eye is NOT decisive ... It just "estimates" the parabola of the motion of the ball and like all estimates, its subject to a certain amount of error ... To human eye - it looked "close" ... Not in any way was it a "bad" decision.

 

[the Great Khan]

well well...dada comes to the party!!...fluke wicket however!!..but lets see how KP handles the pressure now..sreesanth will surely run in to bowl now??

 

[the Great Khan]

GANGULY ALONE ON FIRE

too much curry last night maybe??

 

[Billy]

That missed the off-stump not by much ... Hawk eye is NOT decisive ... It just "estimates" the parabola of the motion of the ball and like all estimates, its subject to a certain amount of error ... To human eye - it looked "close" ... Not in any way was it a "bad" decision.

I don't usually follow what hawk eyes says. I go by what I scream at the television before the umpire makes his decision and I'm sticking to the 'not out' that I first came up with. Followed by "oh bugger" and then "****".

 

[Rob H]

On drive for 4 by Vaughan off Ganguly. Pure class as David Gower says.

86/1

 

[Sheikh]

That missed the off-stump not by much ... Hawk eye is NOT decisive ... It just "estimates" the parabola of the motion of the ball and like all estimates, its subject to a certain amount of error ... To human eye - it looked "close" ... Not in any way was it a "bad" decision.

Disagree about hawk-eye. It's pretty much spot on and its the same technology that tennis uses to judge line calls. If its definitive for tennis then its definitive for cricket.

 

[Hash]

OK, I guess we can't go the entire day without losing a wicket. Let's give India a wicket (maybe another one a bit later) because we feel sorry for them......and their fans will probably kill them if we beat them too badly.

 

[Hash]

Disagree about hawk-eye. It's pretty much spot on and its the same technology that tennis uses to judge line calls. If its definitive for tennis then its definitive for cricket.

The difference is that in tennis it only has to judge where the ball bounced. In cricket is has to judge where the ball bounced and then predict where it would have gone afterwards.......the height, the line, everything. The two cannot be compared.

Hawkeye is accurate but is by no means foolproof.

 

[Rob H]

Disagree about hawk-eye. It's pretty much spot on and its the same technology that tennis uses to judge line calls. If its definitive for tennis then its definitive for cricket.

Not exactly true. Tennis is where the ball bounces, not where the ball bounces afterwards.

 

[MIB]

OK, I guess we can't go the entire day without losing a wicket. Let's give India a wicket (maybe another one a bit later) because we feel sorry for them......and their fans will probably kill them if we beat them too badly.

You are too early to say this...

 

[Rob H]

The difference is that in tennis it only has to judge where the ball bounced. In cricket is has to judge where the ball bounced and then predict where it would have gone afterwards.......the height, the line, everything. The two cannot be compared.

Hawkeye is accurate but is by no means foolproof.

Beat me to it and sumed up even better.

 

[Rickz]

Dada produces the much needed breakthrough...........come on dada another couple.

 

[Hash]

Beat me to it and sumed up even better.

great minds think alike but greater minds put it in better words

 

[Punter]

He also neally got Vaughan in his first over aswell

 

[Rob H]

Vaughan having his usual problems against left handed bowlers. Big lbw candidate to the inswinging ball. Pedro Collins caused him many a problem in 2004 with this delivery.

 

[Sheikh]

The difference is that in tennis it only has to judge where the ball bounced. In cricket is has to judge where the ball bounced and then predict where it would have gone afterwards.......the height, the line, everything. The two cannot be compared.

Hawkeye is accurate but is by no means foolproof.

Not necessarily. For example: In that last delivery it (hawkeye) already had the readings for where the ball pitched, as well as where it hit the batsman. Only after it has hit the batsman does it need to measure where the ball ends up. As I said, it's pretty much spot on; not foolproof, but pretty darn close.

The replays suggested that there was some doubt in that decision. If there's doubt then the batsman gets the benefit. Simple.

 

[Rob H]

94/1 off 20 overs. Run rate tightening up now with Zaheer finding a better line and Ganguly proving hard to get away.

 

[Rob H]

102/1 now as Vaughan hits Ganguly for back to back fours with a classy cover drive and a push down the ground.

 

[Hash]

Not necessarily. For example: In that last delivery it (hawkeye) already had the readings for where the ball pitched, as well as where it hit the batsman. Only after it has hit the batsman does it need to measure where the ball ends up. As I said, it's pretty much spot on; not foolproof, but pretty darn close.

The replays suggested that there was some doubt in that decision. If there's doubt then the batsman gets the benefit. Simple.

But it still has to make predictions. In tennis, it does not have to make predictions, only show us what already happened. So you cannot compare the tennis hawkeye with the cricket one. Entirely different.

 

[Sheikh]

And another thing Hash, how can you say that the two can't be compared? It's the same technology! It was developed for cricket, yet Tennis had the foresight to implement it for decision-making. Yes, cricket would need to utilize the technology for further analysis, but surely the two can be compared?

 

[Punter]

Ganguly is india's best bowler so far.

 

[Hash]

And another thing Hash, how can you say that the two can't be compared? It's the same technology! It was developed for cricket, yet Tennis had the foresight to implement it for decision-making. Yes, cricket would need to utilize the technology for further analysis, but surely the two can be compared?

well yes they can be compared but your comment that 'if it is accurate for tennis then it is accurate for cricket' is totally incorrect, since the two sports are using the technology in different ways.

 

[Sheikh]

But it still has to make predictions. In tennis, it does not have to make predictions, only show us what already happened. So you cannot compare the tennis hawkeye with the cricket one. Entirely different.

I'm sorry, but for me two sports using the same technology (albeit for different analysis) can be compared. If you disagree then that's fine, we have different opinions.

 

[Sheikh]

well yes they can be compared but your comment that 'if it is accurate for tennis then it is accurate for cricket' is totally incorrect, since the two sports are using the technology in different ways.

Ok fair enough. I said definitive though. It's definitive for tennis, and I believe that it should be made definitive for cricket. My personal desire is to see a referral system where hawkeye provides a definitive analysis (for lbws atleast). I think that way we (Pakistan) won't be screwed over as often as we are.

 

[Punter]

India need a couple of wicket's quickly

 

[Hash]

India need to eat some Pakistani mangoes.

 

[Easa]

I am supporting none of the teams but I would be supporting England if Bopara or Shah were playing. Just watching for a bit of a laugh, and looking out for Dhoni's inevitable failure with the bat.

 

[Sheikh]

Still not a single bouncer in about 2 hours of play! Unbelievable stuff! The batsman are just planting their feet down the wicket. It pains me to see such thoughtless, repetitive bowling, even if its by the Indians!