England No. 1; India No. 2

It would be an understatement to say that the crown of best Test team has passed from India to England.

The crown didn’t pass, it was seized. And England didn’t just seize it. They seized it and then used it to beat India to a bloodied pulp. Then they stood over the carcass and took photos while wearing their new crown at a jaunty angle.

The margin of defeat – an innings and 242 runs – does not deceive. India were murdered in this game. And not just murdered. England murdered them and danced round their grave singing comic songs in a raucous voice.

A dispirited India, ground into the blameless Edgbaston turf by the relentless glacier that is Alastair Cook, were torn apart by the skill of James Anderson. Anderson, gaining life and movement that had been absent when India bowled, claimed the first four wickets to fall in the final innings and has now overtaken both Andrew Caddick and Sir Alec Bedser in list of England bowlers with the most Test wickets.

Where do India go from here? As a Test team, their future is bleak. Most of their best players are far nearer the end than the start of their careers and the priority of the BCCI remains the money-spinning limited-overs game.

It seems the BBCI are emerging as the villains of the piece, but that may not be fair. After all, the IPL was set-up partially to negate the ‘rebel’ ICL. All the Indian board have done is try to meet the insatiable desire for players to earn more. The ECB fell victim to a similar problem with the Stanford event.

In the long-term, Indian players will need to work hard to have any hope of retaining their No. 1 status. They’ll have to be fitter and stronger. They’ll have to play county cricket to experience differing conditions and they’ll have to accept that many of them are hopeless against the short ball. While they remain in denial, they’ll never improve.

They’d be fools to hide behind an injury to Zaheer Khan. England were missing Chris Tremlett, too. These things happen. Instead, they should examine why Zaheer reported for a tour so out of shape and they should reflect on why their bowling resources are so limited.

That Praveen Kumar has been their best player so far tells as much about his tremendous heart as it does about the underachievement of the rest of the team. Kumar is a worthy but limited cricketer making the best of himself; his colleagues – Dravid excepted – are complacent superstars who have become too posh to push. Literally and metaphorically they have grown fat on their success. It remains to be seen whether they have the hunger to regain the top spot.

It’s worth remembering, too, that the first two World Test Championships are to be played in England. It’s hard to see how India can win.

Is there a better bowler than Anderson in world cricket? Probably not. Where once Anderson was a bully in helpful conditions and a liability in others, he’s now a superb on any surface. The ability to move the ball both ways in the air and off the pitch is precious in itself, but allied to Anderson’s accuracy and control and England have a special bowler.

Certainly Gambhir, who prodded Anderson’s first ball of the day to slip, and Laxman, who edged a beauty that left him, were the victim of a fine deliveries.

But perhaps India were also unfortunate. Sachin Tendulkar, batting with an ease that none of his colleagues could match, was run out backing up as Graeme Swann, in his follow through, got just a finger on MS Dhoni’s firm, straight drive. Then Dravid was victim of a poor umpiring decision. He was adjudged caught behind, though replays suggest he hit only his shoelaces. India’s failure to request a review, however, was inexplicable.

Dhoni and Kumar showed some belated heart with a furious counter-attack, but the game was long-since over as a contest. The pair thrashed 75 in seven-and-a-half overs – Swann was slogged for 55 from his last four overs – but even that came at a cost. Kumar sustained a horrid blow to the thumb off Anderson and must be rated as doubtful for the final Test. Sreesanth also sustained a blow to the hand.

The manner in which victory was sealed spoke volumes. Sreesanth, jerking out of the way of a short ball, fenced a catch off the shoulder of the bat to gully. India, battered, bruised and embarrassed had been blown away.

There are, of course, other hurdles to clear before England can claim to categorically be the best Test team in the world. They need to defeat India in India and they need to defeat a South Africa side that, with Imran Tahir involved, at last look to have strength and balance. Both opportunities present themselves in the next year.

England have already proved themselves an excellent side however. People may mutter about the strength of the opposition but that’s not totally fair. Australia had never been beaten by an innings margin three times in a series until the last Ashes series and India – with one of the strongest Test top fives in history – have not lost a series since 2008. England have made both sides look ordinary. It’s not coincidence. England really are very good.

Win should not mask problems

Victory was, in the end, overwhelming. England won by the second Test at Edgbaston by nine wickets with four-and-a-half sessions to spare. They’re two-nil up in the four-match series and have now won six Tests in succession.

So, on the surface, all is well. England have, give or take a position or two, a settled side and they’ll go into an away Ashes series with more optimism than any time in the last 25 years.

Yet, scratch beneath the surface, and things are less straightforward.

England have been flattered by their results this summer. They have played against two sides – Bangladesh and Pakistan – who are woefully sub-standard and in conditions that couldn’t have suited England’s bowlers better.

It won’t be like this in the winter. James Anderson, so dangerous when the ball swings and seams, can still look ordinary and innocuous when it does not. And it will not in Australia. The pitches will be flat and the balls used there – Kookaburras rather than the Dukes ball used in England – will provide him with far less assistance.

Australia won’t prove nearly so unforgiving, either. Pakistan captain, Salman Butt, reckoned that his side missed 14 chances at Edgbaston. Had they held even half of them, then England would surely have faced a far tougher run-chase.

There’s growing concern over a couple of England’s batsmen, too. Alastair Cook looks hopelessly out of touch at present, while Kevin Pietersen has now gone 23 Test innings since recording a century. Yes, he made 80 at Edgbaston, but he was missed five times. He won’t enjoy so many lives in Australia.

Cook’s form is causing particular concern. He has now scored just 100 runs in his last seven Test innings and his dismissal in the second innings at Edgbaston, unable to move his feet or retain his balance, hinted at a man in crisis. He’s barely able to play on the off side and needs to be replaced as opener. The Aussies will gobble up Cook in moments.

Harsh? Maybe. Cook was captain of England only five Tests ago and, aged just 25, he’s scored 12 Test centuries and averages 42. He can clearly play.

In current form, however, he is unrecognisable from that man. So, for The Oval, Trott could step up a position (though he’s reluctant) or England could draft in the excellent but uncapped Adam Lyth. He has the class to represent England with distinction.

And then there’s Stuart Broad. Broad, aged 24, has the world at his feet. He’s now developed into a world-class bowler – he’s rated eighth in the world Test rankings – and he will, in time, score Test centuries. More than that, he’s the pin-up boy of English cricket.

But with that comes responsibility. And Broad’s on-field behaviour is ugly. It demeans him and it demeans the game.

He may count himself fortunate to escape a ban for throwing the ball at Pakistan’s Zulqarnain Haider but he needs to learn the lessons. His constant grumbling at the umpires, his moaning at team-mates’ mistakes in the field and his sledging of batsmen are as unattractive as they are unnecessary. He’s a fine player. He needs to let his cricket do the talking and remember his responsibilities as a role-model.

That’s not to say all is doom and gloom. Far from it. The form of Graeme Swann adds weight to Shane Warne’s theory that he the Englishman is currently the best spinner in the world, while Warwickshire’s Jonathan Trott looks wonderfully sound. As England captain, Andrew Strauss, put it, his presence at number three is “immensely reassuring.”

The Test did not go particularly well from a Warwickshire perspective, however. The club were budgeting on selling 45,000 tickets for the Test. In the end, they sold more like 30,000. They did not, as has been reported elsewhere, make a loss on the game, but the profit they have made is well below expectation. As they also failed to hit their targets for domestic T20 sales, membership, the neutral games between Pakistan and Australia and for their general banqueting business, their end of year financial results will be far below budget.

Haider provides hope for Pakistan

By Gemma Wright

It’s not often that a guy given out first ball in both innings goes on to make a half-century. Zulqarnain Haider, on debut, did just that, however, ensuring that England could face a tricky few hours on the fourth day at Edgbaston. On this pitch, against Pakistan’s attack, victory is far from assured.

If Pakistan do win, they will owe a large debt to Haider. After his first ball dismissal in the first innings, his heart must have sunk when he saw the umpire raise his finger to his first ball in the second.

Wisely, however, Haider asked for a review and subsequently won a reprieve. Had the decision not been overturned, Pakistan would have been six down and still 97 runs behind. The game would surely have been over before tea.

As it was, however, Haider seized his opportunity. First with Amir, who resisted 117 balls for his 16 runs, and then Ajmal, who counter-attacked in his 79-ball half-century, Haider showed the patience, application and skill that Pakistan have so sorely missed this series. His 88 is Pakistan’s highest score of the series so far, while his 115-run partnership for the eighth-wicket with Ajmal is their highest of the series. Their fortitude should be an example to their top-order colleagues.

Barring miracles, England will still win this Test. But their performance on the third day was not entirely convincing. It suggested that, on flatter pitches and against more resilient opponents, their attack may still struggle for penetration. They have been flattered by playing against opponents as brittle as Bangladesh and Pakistan and must remember that tougher challenges lie ahead. Had Pakistan held all their chances, England would surely be struggling.

Stuart Broad was particularly disappointing. While he bowled respectably, his petulance is becoming unattractive. At one stage he hurled the ball, quite unnecessarily, into Haider’s chest, while he also moaned excessively after a referral decision went against him. In the age of TV replays, there can be no excuse for such behaviour. Broad really needs to curb such tendencies. He’s too good a cricketer to taint his reputation with such antics. He has already been charged by the match referee and will be very, very lucky if he escapes censure. No Englishman has ever faced suspension by the ICC; Broad may well be the first.

At least Graeme Swann was impressive. Utilising a dry pitch expertly, he found a prodigious amount of turn and finished with his best figures in Tests. He struck, once again, in his first over, with a delivery that he later rated “the best ball I’ve ever bowled.” Pitching outside Farhat’s leg-stump, it turned sharply to hit the top of off. The delivery that bowled Ali, pitching outside off and turning sharply through the gate, lost little by comparison. At one stage, Swann delivered 67 consecutive dot balls and only Haider’s long reach and utter devotion to survival above run-scoring helped Pakistan resist.

Gradually, however, Haider became more expansive. Somehow putting the plight of his father, who has been in a coma in Pakistan suffering from hepatitis, to one side, he produced some sparkling drives off front and back foot and looked on course for a maiden century until he mis-timed a drive to mid-off. His obvious delight upon reaching 50 was charming.

Afterwards, Pakistan captain Salman Butt expressed his disappointment at Broad’s behaviour. “It’s just frustration,” he said. “It’s not good to see people throwing balls intentionally at others and not even apologising properly.”

England should still win. Steve Rouse, the Edgbaston groundsman, felt the use of the heavy roller before the Pakistan innings had deadened the pitch and that batting would probably be more straightforward as a result. But the turn will remain and Pakistan’s seam attack – shorn of the injured Umar Gul – will remain a handful.

Either way, at least the series has become a little competitive. For Pakistan, the spectators and an England team that need to be tested more ahead of the Ashes, that can only be a good thing.

*Tickets for the fourth day will be priced at £20 for adults but will be free for Under 16s. Anyone who has purchased a full priced ticket will be offered either a free ticket for day 1 of the npower Test match next summer against India or the chance to bring 2 guests free on the fourth day of this game. Book online at www.edgbaston.com and use the ‘Ticket Fast’ option to print your ticket at home to save queuing.

KP benefits from Pakistan profligacy

By Gemma Wright

Do you remember the game of table cricket? The fielders could only claim a catch if it landed directly in the pouch between their feet. Even then, the ball would bobble out given the slightest opportunity.
So it is with Pakistan. Their fielding was so shocking parents shielded their children’s eyes so as not to be permanently scarred by the horror of what they saw. By the end of the day, even coach Waqar Younis could be seen laughing ruefully on the balcony as yet another sitter was put down.
Pietersen was the chief beneficiary of these outrageous mistakes. Struggling for form at the moment, at least half a dozen chances in his innings were refused by Pakistan, and the visitors made poor referral decisions with several lbw shouts.

There were glimpses of the Pietersen of old. He took successive boundaries off Ajmal, cutting once behind square before launching a
ferocious straight drive back past the bowler, and produced one classic flick through mid-wicket off Aamer.

Mostly, however, this innings was a horrible struggle. It was as if a Pietersen impostor had taken his place and to see him surviving missed
chance after missed chance was like watching a drowning man thrashing for a lifeline. He is a man crying out to play more cricket.
He battled, though. He’s batted for longer than anyone else in the game and, by contributing 80 in such a low-scoring encounter on a

pitch he rated as “really hard”, he should have answered some questions about his commitment. It’s now 23 innings since his last Test century (at Port of Spain exactly 17 months ago) and, against any other team, he would have been out five times here before reaching 50.
Controversy had surrounded Pietersen in the first session, as he stepped away from the crease just as bowler Asif let go of the ball. Although it had been called dead ball, Pietersen still hit it and, ironically, it was caught. It was deemed not out, but Pakistan were underwhelmed with the decision. He later apologised for any misunderstanding caused, but cited Trott, the non-striker, walking into his eye line as the reason for backing off. Pietersen finally went, misjudging Ajmal’s doosra and falling to a return catch.

KP’s dismissal precipitated a collapse. England lost seven for 46 from that point, with Ajmal claiming his first five-wicket haul in Tests. His last four wickets came for the addition of just two runs in 26 balls. Had all the chances been taken off his bowling, he might have taken 38 wickets. In the end he resorted to taking two of his own catches to ensure they stuck.

It is, perhaps, worth noting the dismissal of Eoin Morgan. There is a theory that he struggles against the short ball and that angled across him. He did nothing to disprove that later theory when he felt for one angled across him and was caught behind.He still has much to prove.

Starting their second innings with a deficit of 179 runs, Pakistan struggled against England’s quick bowlers. Anderson soon removed Butt with a good ball to swinging away from the left-hander. Butt’s shot, playing slightly across the line, did him few favours. England rarely drop those catches.

Pakistan ended the day on 19 for 1, still needing another 160 runs to make England bat again. Even if they do, a hamstring injury to Gul is likely to rule him out of the remainder of the match. Unless the weather intervenes, it’s most unlikely that this game will crawl into a fourth day.

Afterwards , Butt dismissed the fielding performance as “one of those days”.
“Nothing went out way,” he said. “It wasn’t one or two people [dropping chances], it was everybody. [In the end] you just have to
laugh about it. They were catches guys should take with one eye closed.”

Actually, plenty went Pakistan’s way. Their bowlers kept finding the edge and the ball kept going to hand.
Butt does his cause a grave disservice if he diminishes the extent of the problem. Pakistan are not just unlucky. They are poorly prepared.

They have been consistently poor in the field for some time and their attitude to fielding practise is that of a reluctant schoolboy faced
with a detention. It’s not coincidence. They simply have to work harder. One drop, by Amin in the gully off Aamer when KP had 36, was as bad as this ground can ever have witnessed.

Pakistan sink to new low

Were this series a boxing bout, the referee would have stopped it by now. Had it been a horse race, Pakistan would have fallen at the first. And had it been anything to do with swimming, Pakistan would surely have drowned.
As it is, just one day into the second Test of a four-match series, and Pakistan are being embarrassed. Less than a week after registering their lowest Test score against England (80 at Trent Bridge), they set a grim new record: bowled out in under 40 overs for just 72.

There are some mitigating factors. Pakistan are in a rebuilding phase and their young batsmen – four of their top seven can muster just 15 Tests between them – have precious little experience in such bowler friendly conditions.

Nor can the last 12-months have been easy. The team has been torn apart by off-field issues and the lack of stability – and the flooding – in their homeland can hardly have helped.

England’s bowlers deserve credit, too. In these conditions, Jimmy Anderson is a masterful performer and the movement he gained here – at will and in both directions – would have tested any batsmen. Stuart Broad has also made huge strides this summer and produced a performance of maturity and skill. Instead of straining for pace, both men were content to allow the conditions to help them and remain patient. It wasn’t as if Pakistan’s batsmen made them wait for long.

And that’s the problem. For though Pakistan do have some reasons to feel hard done-by, a total of 72 is hardly excusable. Particularly after winning the toss.

Their batsmen lacked application and technique. Despite having arrived in England over a month ago, they are still pushing, prodding and thrashing at the moving ball as if they are on subcontinent pitches. This contest resembles amateurs against professionals.

Farhat and Butt were both drawn into pushing at deliveries angled across them, Shoaib Malik was brilliantly caught by the impressive Matt Prior after driving at a fine outswinger, before Azhar Ali, petrified at pushing at an outswinger, was trapped by one that nipped back. Umar Akmal was punished for not moving his feet and pinned in front, while Zulqarnain Haider looked out of his depth as he edged a good length ball. Umar Amin flashed optimistically and was well caught at third slip.

There can be few excuses for their fielding, either. They missed between four or five chances (depending on how harshly you want to judge them) in the 34.2 overs of England’s reply, providing their deserving bowlers with very little chance of clawing their way back into the game. Imran Farhat’s drop at first slip, off Mo Asif, when Jonathan Trott had just eight, was a shocker and suffice it to say that the performance of debutant Zulqarnain Haider, who followed his first ball dismissal with an untidy display behind the stumps, suggests the search for a reliable wicket-keeper goes on.

Where do Pakistan go from here? There aren’t any quick fixes. So they have to show patience with this group of players. They have shown they have ability – it is, remember, only a couple of Tests since they defeated Australia – and they will improve. Perhaps the likes of Mohammad Yousuf might add steel to the middle-order, but it’s asking a great deal for a man who hasn’t played cricket for months to come into this side and precipitate an immediate improvement. He’s not an alchemist.

Besides, England have a few concerns of their own. Alastair Cook, who was fooled by a slower ball bouncer and miscued a pull to slip, looks horribly uncomfortable with anything on or outside off stump – which is quite a problem for an opening batsmen – while Kevin Pietersen is pushing for the ball without confidence. He has been dropped twice already. Andrew Strauss edged a good one that swung back at him sharply.

On a larger scale, the ECB must be concerned about the attendance at Edgbaston. After the debacle of Leeds, where Pakistan supporters stayed away in their droves, just 10,000 attended the first day here. A similar number are expected on the second day, but much fewer from there on. It means Warwickshire will fall somewhere below budget (they were anticipating sales of around 45,000 over the course of the game).

It would nice to think that lessons might be learned. Ticket prices here (£60 for adults and between £10 and £20 for under-16s) are patently too high and Pakistan supporters were again very thin on the ground.  But, with the whole of the English game desperately scrabbling for every last pound in order to pay-off their eye-watering debts, it will take a major re-think before anything changes.

The ECB are currently close to securing the right to host next year’s Pakistan v India series; it is to be hoped Indian supporters show more interest in the fortunes of their Test side.

Free England ODI tickets with May issue of SPIN

Was England’s 3-2 one-day series win in the Caribbean pure fluke – or have Andrew Strauss’ team turned the corner?

How would you like to judge for yourself in person at Edgbaston on May 26, when England and Chris Gayle’s Windies side come head-to-head again, in the third NatWest international?

Yes, SPIN readers are able to claim free tickets for the game at Edgbaston on May 26.

Because 1) it’s the school holidays and 2) they’re good eggs, Warwickshire are giving away two under-16s tickets – normal price: £20 each – with every adult ticket sold for the game, the last in the three-game series.

Full details of the offer and the special code you need for it appear in SPIN’s latest issue, on page 19.

ECB in talks with ‘new Stanford’

The ECB are considering an offer from a wealthy benefactor to help pay for the redevelopment of several major grounds, SPIN has learned.

It is understood that talks are at an advanced stage and the individual concerned, a well-known philanthropist, is willing to make a multi-million pound donation.

The news comes at an ideal time for several clubs. A number of historic venues – Edgbaston and Old Trafford among them – are in dire need of redevelopment but are facing a struggle to raise the requisite funds in the current economic climate.

Some will be uneasy at the news. The last time an individual was seen to make an attractive offer to the ECB – Sir Allen Stanford – it ended in tears and recriminations. This time, however, it is understood that the ECB believe the individual to be of impeccable character and that he wants very little in return.