He struggled in the county game but learned how to bat in English conditions and showed it with a hard-earned hundredThe slow, lazy rhythms of Test cricket feel an unfamiliar music now, when most innings unravel so fast and batsmen are so frantic. But Friday played out the old way. Cheteshwar Pujara, India’s throwback batsman, batted five hours for his first Test century in England. When he finally got it, as the sun was beginning to dip, the crowd rose in a standing ovation. It was not just the score they were clapping but the manner of it. Pujara had done the one thing so few batsmen have seemed able to in this series. He had persisted.There was only the...
The manner of the opener’s dismissal in the first innings of the fourth Test against India highlighted a player whose ability to make decisions is hampered by the mental pressure he is underBack when Keaton Jennings was a coming man, he was one of a group of English players picked to take part in a military training camp. One of the tasks, Jennings said then, was that the players had to fix a broken boat during a storm.Turns out that while this may have been good metaphorical preparation for the experience of playing in this England team, it was less help getting him ready for the actual business of Test match batting. Jennings made such a strong impression at that...
Cook? Jennings? Bairstow? Stokes? Fourth Test against India finds England in a state of flux with only Joe Root inked in for October’s tourOne up with two to play makes you the favourite to win. Yet on the eve of the fourth Test in Southampton the India team, though 2-1 down in the series, seem the more settled. For the first time in Virat Kohli’s reign as captain he has indicated he intends to play the same side in consecutive Tests. Meanwhile England, despite their lead, remain a team in a state of flux. Related: Joe Root defends dropping Ollie Pope for Moeen Ali Related: Virat Kohli says momentum is with India as tourists name unchanged side Continue reading...
After England’s heavy defeat to India at Trent Bridge, captain Root must lead from the front at the Ageas Bowl Related: Jonny Bairstow ‘desperate’ for England wicketkeeper role after injury Continue reading...
Fifty years ago a seemingly unignorable knock from ‘Dolly’ fell by the wayside – but had consequences for apartheidThere have been many strange decisions by England cricket selectors over the years. Only one of them changed the world. And it happened exactly 50 years ago. Related: A first win in England: India and the elephant will never forget | Simon Burnton Continue reading...