Fourth ODI - India versus England, Old Trafford

England's B's sting India and how! - India 212 England 213/7.

Phenomenal effort by Bopara and Broad to see England through after they were tottering at 114/7 at one stage. Great composure, great match sense, a wonderfully paced innings by the B's reminiscent of India's performance at Lords in 2002.

Which stands in stark contrast to India's efforts.

India needs to urgently address our approach to the shorter version of the game.

We lose wickets and decide to down the shutters. We don't lose wickets and choose defense to be the best form of attack.

A half decent partnership comes about and our body language goes to the dogs. We knock a few wickets quickly and think the job is done.

We choose 7 bats because we don't trust 6 to do the job.

We choose 5 bowlers because we believe 4 cannot deliver.

We exude great energy and confidence at the start of the game but are flat by the time the 50th over rolls by.

Individuals lose focus of the match situation, the team loses sight of the ebbs and flows of the game.

Bottomline - We are not hungry enough.

And now, all of that has been brought front and center by two kids who did everything right under tremendous pressure.

Kudos Bopara and Broad - you wanted it more and you deserve it.

PS:-

Here is the silver lining though - we lose at Headingley and suddenly the pressure is off - both to win the series and to play known quantities.

Which means that we should expect Rohit Sharma and Robin Uthappa get atleast 2 ODIs to display their wares.

A question of balance

Ajit Agarkar has played 188 ODIs for India. Here is a guy who was a batting regular for Sharadashram before switching to become a full time bowler. He has a 100 at Lords. And yet, he cannot be trusted enough to become a full time batsman for India.

Yuvraj Singh has played 179 ODIs for India. He has 49 wickets with an economy rate of 4.99. And yet, he cannot be trusted to bowl 10 overs for India every game.

India plays 7 batsmen and that leaves their bowling line thin. They play 5 bowlers and are effectively playing one batsman short.

So my question is - are we better off playing specialist batsmen and bowlers or is India a better balanced team playing only bits and pieces cricketers?

Does playing 8 bits and pieces players, 2 specialist bowlers and a keeper give India better balance than playing 6 specialist batsmen and 5 specialist bowlers or 7 specialist batsmen and 4 specialist bowlers?

Please please please BCCI

let him continue writing even if he breaks into the India team.

No gag orders please!

On Fielding

(comments made by me on Prem Panicker's blog during the Third ODI versus England)

Let us take it as an article of faith that India’s ground fielding is going to remain solid and never move into the realms of the spectacular.

Forget the usual suspects like Ganguly and Munaf, people like Uthappa and Gambhir also cannot be expected to be anything more than solid.

And if that is the case, maybe we need to recalibrate our expectations on what this Indian team can and cannot do.

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And why blame these guys alone - ever watched kids play in the maidans?

Isn't that when there is purity as far as the game is concerned with the kids playing the game for the joy of playing - ever noticed how many kids sign up to field?

And ever noticed how the fielding slacks off significantly after the first couple of overs or if the opposing batsmen start a run barrage?

And if that is the case, how can one expect attitudes, hardened over the course of the better part of a young life, change dramatically on wearing the India colors- especially when the India colors were earned on the back of batting and bowling and not fielding performances ?

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The contrast with the Poms is sharp, especially in the ODI arena, but India’s ground fielding was never top drawer even during the WC 2003 campaign.

Now, as an aside, I was reading in the Times or the Telegraph that the lights in Bristol were not even club standard and that may have affected the Indians sighting the ball.

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The high point of India’s fielding was when we took the field with Kaif, Yuvi, Raina, Sehwag, SRT, Pathan andAgarkar - agile bodies ( the first three) and strong arms ( the latter 4). But even then, there were 3 fielders who had to be hidden in the field

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Take Manoj Tiwary for instance - kid threw himself after the ball and hurt himself during practice. And that dive has cost him an India cap for the near future. And then he had to endure BCCI shenanigans - over which doctor he could consult with and who would pick up the medical bills.

So not only was his income being impacted because of him not playing, he was in a position where he would have had to foot his own medical bills!

And with sports medicine not as evolved in India, the medical tab is significant.

And so the question becomes, why would anyone exert themselves on the field when 1) there is no guarantee of income during the rehabilitation phase and 2) there is no guarantee of re compensation for medical bills incurred.

Also, what coaching is given with regards to fielding and throwing techniques during the formative years of a cricketers life? Whatever sliding and diving that kids do today is because of what they watch on television, not because there is a program in place that teaches kids the right techniques in fielding.

Forget sliding and diving - what about fundamental throwing? Why is it that Rahul Dravid has to harp on about "weak" arms in the field?

The unfortunate thing is that if these trends continue, with the world leaving India by the wayside in Twenty 20 and ODI cricket, India's ODI cricket is likely to go the way of India's Hockey.

Maybe then the BCCI will wake up and smell the coffee.

Third ODI - India versus England, Edgbaston

Plenty to think about for India after a crushing loss. England 281/8 India 239 all out.

First, the toss. And the choice to bowl first with one batsman short.

Two, the bowling composition. If Munaf Patel bowls 5 overs to Yuvraj's 7, Piyush Chawla bowls only 9 of his 10 overs, Sachin Tendulkar does not turn his arm over, there is something wrong here.
Munaf Patel was expensive, the slower bowlers were doing a good job, so much so that the part time bowler was given an extended run. So what about the front line spinner and his non completion of overs? And what about the other part timer with his all sorts?

Three, the lack of cricketing nous. When Ramesh Powar spends an inordinate amount of time and balls when the need of the hour is to get Yuvraj on strike as much as possible, when Zaheer Khan and Yuvraj Singh get into a tangle running between the wickets, when the Poms run two after hitting the ball straight to a fielder - there is someone fundamentally wrong with the Indian approach and mindset.

India will need to step up and step up quickly else this series will be over by the time we reach Headingley.

And as I type this, Mike Artherton takes special delight in rubbing it in during the course of his interview with Ian Bell.. Well!