Cricket-Match-Special ... A forum for discussion

259 ao with 4 overs unused

might be enough, we'll see

the 500 nonsense seems a long way off atm

Topley taking all the wickets and Willey going for all the runs

India 3 down

Topley writing his name on the teamsheet in laundry marker.

I'm not sure why England are opening with 2 left handers, tbh, but there you go

Overton gets Yadav to nick off....... 4 down

Missing Rashid for wickets in the middle overs.

eek.... Livingstone's on

where's my hard hat?

Worth trying something to buy a wicket. England need to bowl India out.

Not working though!

Not happening. India cruising home.

Pant didn't even have to get a sweat on

white ball wheels coming off or temporary blip?

It can't be as simple as no Rashid and no Wood/Archer, because it's the batting that's all over the place. Odd that the test boys, who've been bashing the red ball about in white ball fashion, are struggling to buy a run

also odd that the bloke who took 3 wickets for no runs didn't bowl out...... suggests a lack of clarity of thought

No Morgan with the bat of course.

Main problem is the top order isn't getting the innings off to a start.

Durham do this all the time in T20 and it annoys the hell out of me. When it becomes obvious that the game is not going to go all the way to the end, what is the point in holding back your most effective bowler for the death overs? It's just silly and suggests to me that the captaincy is being done by the numbers rather than with a bit of thought

I totally agree with you , DFM , about the folly of holding back the main wicket taking threat. Common enough , even at this level ; but it always drives me nuts. Buttler made some vague claim later about Topley perhaps being a bit tired but that sounds like a very dodgy alibi.

As for the other business about signal cards from the balcony : well really not so terrible different from sending out a runner with a drink or a change of gloves so doesn't bother me in an ethical sense : but it does annoy me in that you surely appoint a captain because you think he has or can learn a proper feel for the game and can make sensible decisions on the field ...all this overdone advice from analysts must undermine him to an extent : and quite often seems to be quite useless anyway ! If the analysts said Topley shouldn't bowl I am saying right now they were absolutely wrong ! And proven to be.

May not have made a difference to the result , I concede. But the way they actually went was never going to work so why not go with the fellow who is in the form of his life ?

Bit of a rant. Sorry about that...

In more measured vein...

The batting failings have been the main issue this series. Without studying the figures , I suspect much of England's recent ODI success has been founded on really good starts with the bat : probably a lot of the time either Roy or Bairstow - and often both - have got going and turned in a significant and rapid score for the later order to build on. Just hasn't happened this month. Then we have had the remarkable sight of Joe Root making just 11 runs across 3 knocks at number three : not expecting that to happen too often ! And the later bats have not been able to turn useful part-recoveries into anything big - something that may just be happenstance but did look at times like players getting a little carried away with the attack at all costs plan. Livingstone can hit the ball a mile ; but he consistently throws his wicket away by going for one too many big hits rather than playing the situation : makes him a bit iffy as a finisher , I think. Think Jos should have been a bit more careful too straight after losing his partner with a lot of overs till to go.

Funny in a way that the players who have been monstering Test opponents can't buy a run against the white ball. Players aren't robots ; and I do wonder if the understandable relaxation that must come from winning several matches apparently against the odds has just taken the edge off them. It was never going to happen ; but with all the cricket they play these days I'd have been content to see Root , Bairstow and Stokes sit out these white ball games and allow the back ups (Brook , Salt ) to have a go. Still another bunch of white ball games now against SA : could have come back a bit more refreshed , perhaps ?

Should give credit to India anyway : new ball bowling was excellent - on pitches a bit livelier than your typical ODI strip ; and even if the seamers rather lost the plot late in the innings they had Chahal handy to exploit the England late orders' difficulty exercising judgement against spin. Top order generally struggled like England's ; but then Pant and Pandya did what the England middle order couldn't and went big...deserved their series win

England maybe need to discuss game management among themselves ahead of the SA series...