Test Matches v India.....This Summer.

Latest - Result

India 148 all out & 94 all out
England 486 all out

England win by an innings and 244 runs

England win the series 3-1

I've been away so I didn't follow much of the final test.  I was at the first 2 days of the Old Trafford test though.  I was sat with a group of Indian fans who were stunned when Dhoni chose to bat under murky Manchester sky.  'We can't play swing' they kept saying and so it proved.  They never recovered mentally from that 1st morning at Old Trafford and pretty much checked out of the series from then on.  It was pretty embarrassing to be honest - I hope their media and fans rip them a new one.  These are the best paid cricketers in the World and they just showed no fight whatsoever.  England played well and it did show some good signs that they fought back from going 1 down.  But let's be honest India made that about as easy as it possibly could have been.  From pretty much the moment Jadeja took the pressure of Cook by dropping him at the Rose Bowl everything went wrong for them.

I'm pleased for Cook and I'm pleased for this England side who took some undeserved stick from people who couldn't except the KP era was over.  We have some interesting, talented, hard-working players who are trying to make a name for themselves and it was good to see them get some reward for that.  We played some exciting stuff at times.  Having said that I still think there are huge questions and you have to ask whether you'd be comfortable with this team against Australia or South Africa anywhere or playing India and Pakistan away.  These are the true tests for an England team right now in World Cricket and I'm not sure I'd back us in any of those series.

Alaister Cook - 7.  (Probably only 6 on performance but showed mental strength to turn it around.  Answered critics and kept his cool.  I think I'd be tempted to have given it 2 fingers to the press box given the number of his ex-teammates who were sitting there picking up easy paychecks for sticking the boot in.  Still needs that 100 though and still needs to show he's back to his consistent, solid best).
Sam Robson - 4.  (Not sold at all.  Had a poor series v India and looks flawed to me with his technique outside off stump which is surprising for an opener and fatal really.  I don't think he'll partner Cook to start the next series.  Lyth may come in - need to find someone because Johnson will make mincemeat of Robson next summer based on that performance).
Ballance - 9.  (Watching him live I really appreciated him for the first time.  He looks so calm, so solid and just accumulates quite quickly without you really noticing.  England's most consistent performer.  Hopefully our number 3 for many years to come)
Bell - 6.  (Bell was Bell.  Looked good at times but frustrated with dismissals and lack of responsibility in certain situations.  This is who he is though and there's no one better and we need his experience for what it's worth so I suppose you just stick with him.)
Root - 8.  (I thought Root was outstanding this year.  Has become a key member of the team.  They now have to decide if they're going to keep him at 5 from now on or try and move him up again - it must be tempting I would have thought).
Ali - 6.  (Odd season.  Played arguably England's finest innings of the summer in an agonising backs to the wall defeat but too often gave his wicket away loosely and looks to have a problem against the short ball which is concerning.  On the other hand his bowling exceeded all expectations and right now there's no doubt he keeps his place as England's primary spin option.  Still tons of promise and worth persevering with anyway.  He's really exciting to watch but needs to think a bit more about his approach to batting I think).
Buttler - 7. (Has come in and done everything that was asked of him.  I think he's now taken the gloves off Prior for the duration.  Only reason this isn't higher is that generally he came in to bat in extremely favourable situations which completely suited his approach.  You want to see him under a bit of pressure in a 120-5 kind of situation before you fully back him.  I also thought his keeping at Old Trafford was a bit ropey.  But I've no doubt he's now England's man and will take some removing).
Woakes - 6. (Seemed the most limited of the seamers we tried.  A bit one dimensional and didn't bowl at the stumps enough.  But is a decent cricketer who deserves to continue to get opportunities to develop as an international player.  He certainly has some major upside.)
Jordan - 6.  (Again didn't quite fully grab the opportunities presented but the promise is still there and his final performance at the Oval suggested that he's getting it together.  Hasn't had much of a chance to show what he can do with the bat but is a genuine athlete and a fine fielder.  A fun player to watch with a great attitude - there's a bit of the spark plug Freddie Flintoff quality about him).
Broad - 8.  (Deserve credit for playing through injury.  Won us the series with a stunning spell on first morning at Old Trafford.  After the poor first test was probably our best bowler in the Indian series.  Perhaps beginning to show signs of consistancy finally.)
Anderson - 7.  (There were finally signs of decline for Jimmy but he bounced back brilliantly and will certainly lead us v Aussies next year. Again, you hope he's still at the top of his game next summer but you worry wear and tear will catch up with him).
Plunkett - 8. (I thought he was the story of the summer till he got injured.  Plunkett was much criticised in his first spell as an England player, then declined massively and looked to be finished.  Instead here he is finally fulfilling his promise.  Let's hope he bounces back because I think he could play a key role in next year's Ashes and potentially in the World Cup as well).

If Mitchell Johnson is fully fit I'd still make us underdogs v Australia next summer but I think we have a team with the right attitude and talent to make it a very good series and there's no reason to think we couldn't win it if our big guns turn up.  Next big event is the World Cup in the next year.  India - dear oh dear, big problems I don't even know where to start there.  Feel sorry for Dhoni - he gave everything and is a great competitor - his team rolled over on him though.  Only plus is the discovery of India's first genuinely fast bowler in Varun Arun - he was fun to watch, raw but fully of aggression.  Really worked England over at Old Trafford. 

Yes - that was certainly a good knock but we were still not under that much pressure in the game given India's terrible performance in the first innings.

I agree with you on Root - he is impressively versatile.  I'd like to see him given the ball a bit more often actually.

Latest 2nd ODI v India - Cardiff...England won toss & chose to field.

India 304-6 - 50 ovs - Raina 100..Woakes 4 wkts & Tredwell 2.

England coach Peter Moores insists skipper Alastair Cook can be an influential batsman in one-day cricket.

Last week ex-England spinner Graeme Swann said Cook should not be in the one-day team as he scores too slowly.

"Alastair has taken some criticism but is a very good one-day player with five hundreds and 19 fifties," Moores said.

Following successive heavy defeats, England trail 2-0 in the one-day series with India and need to win at Edgbaston on Tuesday to keep the contest alive.

The captain has 3,030 runs from 84 ODIs at an average of 37, with a strike rate of 77 runs per 100 balls.

September

2 4th ODI, Edgbaston (10:30 BST)

5 5th ODI, Headingley (10:30 BST)

7 Twenty20 international, Edgbaston (15:00 BST)

This one day series has been a nightmare for England.

If they are going to continue to try and build a platform then go hell for leather in the last 10 overs then Cook and Bell have got to start to score hundreds (something Bell has failed to do throughout his ODI career) and they need Trott back.

However, while this approach could yield success in the UK I don't see it being effective in the sub content (where it is easiest to score quickly against a newer ball) or in Australia (where you have to score 300+).

I would like us pick a more dynamic team. We might as well write-off this World Cup and start to build for 5 years time. The squad I would take is something like:

Hayles
Vince
Bopara
Taylor
Morgan
Moeen
Buttler
Stokes
Woakes
Willey
Broad

Tredwell
Jordan
Ballance
Kieswetter

All of the bowlers in the squad are front line bowlers but they can hit the ball hard too giving us some depth to our batting. It also includes a left armer who is decent at the death and Woakes who I think has also matured into a decent death bowler with potential to improve further. I was really impressed with him on T20 finals day.

We'd have some dynamic batsmen up top and Taylor and Bopara should be adaptable enough and technically solid enough to hold the innings together.

That would mean no place for Cook, Bell, Root (bit unlucky perhaps), Gurney (Willey is a better batsman and I think he's at least as good a bowler from what I've seen), Anderson (never really rated him as ODI bowler, he's a bit too predictable) or Finn (who I still don't think is back to his best yet but I could be persuaded to take instead of Jordan).

I suspect though we'll keep the same squad for the World Cup, it will be a disaster and then senior players like Cook, Bell and Anderson will retire from ODI cricket giving us a chance to change our approach.

Unusually I disagree with you Irish.

I think England have lost 6 of their last 7 ODI series and we are failing to get the best out of our better players. We've been awful since we lost he Champions Trophey final.

Hales has come into the side and been aggressive in the power play then dropped anchor. That's not how he plays in county cricket. When he gets off to a start he keeps going. Graham Swann has stated that that's the way the management want England to play and I think that's completely wrong. People have commended Moeen's innings the other day but I don't think he'd have come in and been so aggressive had he been batting at 3 and come in after 20 overs. I'm sure he'd have just looked to rotate the strike and play risk free cricket.

Cook even stated that we didn't attack the spinners last week because we'd lost wickets but even the best club players hit a couple over the top early on, push the field back and then take the single. The mentality is all wrong.

The spinner point is a good one and I agree that our county players don't get enough practice against quality spinners but most of the 50 over stuff is played later in the season now so hopefully some of our better spinners will get more of a chance.

I think we have the players to be better than we are at present but we pick players based on their record in test cricket not their performance for the counties in ODI cricket.

I think the trap we’ve fallen into in the past is picking bits and pieces cricketers. I am not talking about picking jack of all trade types. I think the players I have listed are all genuinely decent cricketers, most of whom have two strings to their bow.

I know what you mean about having a couple of World Class players to hold it together though. Australia only really have Clarke, India have Kohli, South Africa have DeVillers and Sri Lanka have Sangakara. Bell is the obvious man to do that for England but his one day record is dreadful. I don’t think Cook is assertive enough to bat at the top of the order and I don’t think he’s adaptable enough to bat at 4. I guess they are hoping that Root will develop into that player.

Anyway, Cook has started with good intent today. Let’s hope the penny’s dropped.