creeeeeeeekeeeeeet

[Nicko58]

That patch of rough outside the left-handed batsman's off stump looks absolutely brutal, and we have a lot of left-handed batsmen in our team.

[TANGODANCER]

That patch of rough outside the left-handed batsman's off stump looks absolutely brutal, and we have a lot of left-handed batsmen in our team.

If that's the case I'd be pointing that out to the umpires pretty sharpish. Won't do any good I don't suppose, but better said now than sounding like an excuse for losing later.

[jimbo]

There's nothing to complain about. The pitch is standard 5th day fayre in India. This has been the classic 500-500-200-200 pitch. Problem is we dropped kholi on 50 in the first innings and then had two batting collapses in ours. We weren't a million miles away overall - we bowled well and there were some positives batting.

For the next test Duckett has to go - his heads gone. Looks completely baffled by ashwin. He'll have his time again but ideally in conditions with pace on the ball. I'd also bin ansari - doesn't look like a test player. I'd bring in buttler, batty and woakes given broad will likely miss out.

[Nicko58]

I wasn't suggesting that the state of the pitch was an excuse or anything to complain about, just that it would be difficult to bat on.

[jimbo]

I wasn't disagreeing with you. All part and parcel of playing over there. Batting on the 5th day is going to be awful so you've got to make big first innings runs. We didn't, they did.

[Worthy4England]

Foot down, long handle, over cow. Need to deal with spinners and patches of rough in the only manner they understand. They don't like it up them.

[Worthy4England]

Oh dear. Best thing you can say is that 300 gives you something to bowl at. Maybe I'm judging on every wicket = 500 on the first two days.

[Nicko58]

Short of our lower order replicating the Indian lower order's first innings heroics, I'd say it's goodnight Vienna.

[Worthy4England]

Goodnight, Vienna.

[TANGODANCER]

I can hear a zither playing the Third Man theme somewhere.....

[Nicko58]

Aye. At least Hameed comes away with some credit, though.

[Worthy4England]

Yeah and Root, tbf.

BBC reported it was England "succumbing" - I guess whoopass isn't in their spellchecker (and it's certainly not in mine)...

[jimbo]

750. Seven hundred and fifty. Seven fecking hundred and fifty.

We've well and truly fallen on our arse this tour. We did well in the first two tests but look like a complete shambles now. The hour I watched this morning was possibly the worst I've seen in tests from England. No control and no hope!

Wouldn't be surprised if cook calls it a day after this tour. The whole lot of them just look pissed off and knackered!

[TANGODANCER]

^

Aye, it it was for 7 wickets declared, not even all out. Been watching glumly with no joy to post.

[BWFC_Insane]

When you haven't got any sort of spinner worth his salt you will struggle in India. And this is where we are.

Broad, Anderson, Stokes, as good as it gets in English conditions. But without a decent spinner or better still two, may as well not bother going to the sub-continent.

[jimbo]

It also helps to have a batting line up with a backbone. It pisses me off how too many of our players seem happy with a quick 80 rather than really knuckling down and getting a big score. Then when the pressure is really on we just collapse. We've just given away 4 wickets in the last hour again ffs

[BWFC_Insane]

It also helps to have a batting line up with a backbone. It pisses me off how too many of our players seem happy with a quick 80 rather than really knuckling down and getting a big score. Then when the pressure is really on we just collapse. We've just given away 4 wickets in the last hour again ffs

Of course. Though I'd argue we've scored 477 first innings. That is a decent, nay more than decent score. But India can score whatever they like against us as in these conditions are bowling attack is as bad as it gets. Zero threat. Any side that knocks 750 without being bowled out shows that the bowling attack they are facing is piss poor.

[Worthy4England]

It also helps to have a batting line up with a backbone. It pisses me off how too many of our players seem happy with a quick 80 rather than really knuckling down and getting a big score. Then when the pressure is really on we just collapse. We've just given away 4 wickets in the last hour again ffs

Of course. Though I'd argue we've scored 477 first innings. That is a decent, nay more than decent score. But India can score whatever they like against us as in these conditions are bowling attack is as bad as it gets. Zero threat. Any side that knocks 750 without being bowled out shows that the bowling attack they are facing is piss poor.

Not really, can also show the bowling attack is not suited to the wickets they're bowling on. Or can show that we've spilled too many chances (which we have over the course of the series). Got to look at the batting too, which has looked fragile both in Bangladesh and again in India. Long way from being guaranteed to get a draw here...Just lost 4 wickets for 8 runs....

[BWFC_Insane]

It also helps to have a batting line up with a backbone. It pisses me off how too many of our players seem happy with a quick 80 rather than really knuckling down and getting a big score. Then when the pressure is really on we just collapse. We've just given away 4 wickets in the last hour again ffs

Of course. Though I'd argue we've scored 477 first innings. That is a decent, nay more than decent score. But India can score whatever they like against us as in these conditions are bowling attack is as bad as it gets. Zero threat. Any side that knocks 750 without being bowled out shows that the bowling attack they are facing is piss poor.

Not really, can also show the bowling attack is not suited to the wickets they're bowling on. Or can show that we've spilled too many chances (which we have over the course of the series). Got to look at the batting too, which has looked fragile both in Bangladesh and again in India. Long way from being guaranteed to get a draw here...Just lost 4 wickets for 8 runs....

I mean piss poor in this series. In English conditions, different story. But these are spinning pitches. And our spinners are trash. Pure unadulterated trash.

We will score close to or over 700 runs in this match in total and still lose.

Tough on batsmen to be asked to score 800 runs merely to save a test. I acknowledge there are issues with our batsmen. But our bowling attack in these conditions has been entirely shown up as inadequate and the biggest problem.

[Worthy4England]

It also helps to have a batting line up with a backbone. It pisses me off how too many of our players seem happy with a quick 80 rather than really knuckling down and getting a big score. Then when the pressure is really on we just collapse. We've just given away 4 wickets in the last hour again ffs

Of course. Though I'd argue we've scored 477 first innings. That is a decent, nay more than decent score. But India can score whatever they like against us as in these conditions are bowling attack is as bad as it gets. Zero threat. Any side that knocks 750 without being bowled out shows that the bowling attack they are facing is piss poor.

Not really, can also show the bowling attack is not suited to the wickets they're bowling on. Or can show that we've spilled too many chances (which we have over the course of the series). Got to look at the batting too, which has looked fragile both in Bangladesh and again in India. Long way from being guaranteed to get a draw here...Just lost 4 wickets for 8 runs....

I mean piss poor in this series. In English conditions, different story. But these are spinning pitches. And our spinners are trash. Pure unadulterated trash.

We will score close to or over 700 runs in this match in total and still lose.

Tough on batsmen to be asked to score 800 runs merely to save a test. I acknowledge there are issues with our batsmen. But our bowling attack in these conditions has been entirely shown up as inadequate and the biggest problem.

Yes until you spot that they scored nearly that many in one innings (For 7 declared). There wasn't 300-runs worth of poorer bowling - some of it down to the batting too. They bag 759 with Rahul getting nigh on 200 and Nair grabbing 300 (not out) - they might have scored pushing 900 all out (on a track we'd had first go on)....In which case 477 in the first innings looks pretty much below par.