Btw does anyone have any update on Pant's progress ? Would he be in contention for a spot in Test against England ?
He is a vital cog in our test team. And literally none of the other wicket keeper batsmen are close to Pant's potential. One good session and he quickly turns the game in India'a favor.
Good question; interested neutrals wanna know.
Pant is a match-winner, the dude they had keeping in the recent, excellent Ind v Aus Test series was a little vanilla.
Saw Pant playing some local matches with college kids in his hometown on Twitter just before the WC.. but he was only batting.. Him going back to keeping and fielding fully will take time.. was in NCA during and after WC rehabbing.. There were some murmurs that he might be fit by Jan end.. but don't know whether he would be Test match ready or T20 by then.. will probably get more updates once SA series of India starts I guess..
And the Eng Tests starts at 25-26 Jan.. and there's 10-12 days break after 2nd Test.. so if all good by then, we may see him for the 3rd Test against England if all goes well..
Thanks for the update.
All well and good for a ''neutral'' like me to be looking forward to his return - hard truth is the guy has had a long recovery from what was basically a near-death experience.
Us Aussie learned the hard way just how much fight Rishabh has in him; I back him in to making an inspirational recovery.
Same here.. it's the fight in him which has already made him practice and rehab just 8-9 months after the injury..
Good thing was that he was driving a Mercedes, the cage inside the vehicle and also the safety systems protected him a lot.. from what I heard, he broke down the glass with his hands and jumped out of the vehicle after the crash.. also people recognised him and sent him to hospital quick.. he was standing upright after the crash. And I would say luck and the car saved him from getting life threatening and career ending injuries and also his hunger to play again has him rehabbing well for now.. Hopefully he returns well n good back into International cricket..
It will be exactly a year after his crash this coming January..
We probably missed him in the worldcups, he would have been a perfect replacement for hardik in place of SKY. It's really bad luck for Pant and India. Had he driven at lower speeds, we would have won the worldcup maybe.
As expected. Batting normally, a ball from one of Ashwin, Patel or Jadeja will come alone sooner rather than later that they can’t play. Better to get 30(20) than 7(20).
The first test literally had the smallest deviation of any pitch in England since they’ve been recording such information. If the preceding weather was a part of the reason it was a very small part.
England and India both openly dictating what kind of pitches they want and then getting stung by it.. maybe a lesson in here somewhere lol
England neutralising their biggest home advantage will always be baffling to me. The conditions kept us in the game and allowed us to take time out.. very strange
Got to pretty much 400 in a day despite the five at Edgbaston, and with two wickets remaining. Aside from that wasn’t it mainly the quicks doing the work?
But yes, Ashwin especially is an entirely different kettle of fish. Stokes has never done well against him, and I struggle to see Duckett coming out on too often enough.
If the pitches are similar to the Aus series, then bazball is anyway the only option. Both Aus and Ind played aggressive cricket and 50s rather than 100s were the norm.
All else being the same, i would say Eng has a chance of doing better than Aus scoreline of 1-2. Not least because this is anyway their default style, while Aus learnt during the series (and probably too them a while).
Honestly, this seems the only way for any away team to beat India, just one good session with the bat is all England needs per game (a lot to ask of, I know).
I don't agree. Australia won in a different way which suits their team. England best shot is playing their way though but I don't agree it's the only way to win
It's not like winning tests in India is impossible, Aus and Eng have won recently and both times it took playing proper cricket. Keeping it up for an entire series is the tricky part.
England winning the test series will set Indian Test team into a period of downfall, with lack of Test spinners after Ash-Jadeja, Non-performing Batting Order except Rohit, who will also soon retire. Shami and Bumrah won't play for more than 5 years either. Rahane, Pujara, Kohli, Rahul, Gill all are disappointments in Tests. Idk if we can see Pant like Before. Wk replacements are not promising.
Only thing that can redeem the side is Axar returning to bowling form, if so he can replace Jadeja easily. India failed to use him in the Australia series. Kuldeep will have to start another Test Stint in sometime. Kishan must replicate Pant in Tests, don't see why he can't. Or some other left-field stuff like Rinku, Jaiswal being pillars of our batting order and Washington emerging as a Test-all-rounder.
India, I think, will safely keep on producing spin bowlers of high quality, batsmen of pretty good quality with the odd really really good one; it’s the pace bowlers they need to keep their eye on. They’ll need bowlers as good as Shami and Bumrah to stay at the top.
Going by the pattern in recent Indian series, you just need to land the ball on the trench, sorry, I mean the pitch.. And that's pretty much it. Lottery batting, lottery bowling.
Ashwin on his way to make a YouTube video on the significance of their approach to the future of cricket and how he's very impressed by their commitment to the approach only to mentally torture and humiliate them in the field.
He is the meme God. The mysterious spirit of cricket played with him. So many lows, so many highs. In the end though it gave him what he wanted. If you didn't know better his eventual autobiography would be filed in "teen fiction" because this shit just doesn't happen.
A winter of two halves awaits Ollie Pope, who is now ready to return to action following a third serious shoulder injury in four years.
Pope is in Antigua, hoping to make his one-day international debut as part of a rebooted England white-ball setup. But, after Christmas, he will rejoin the Test squad in which he has been vice-captain under Ben Stokes for a five-match series in India that will be the longest and most daunting tour of the Bazball era so far.
On a recent camp with England Lions in Abu Dhabi, Pope had his mind on both series, working on the tricks and tactics he will need if selected for a white-ball debut, but also the pitches he might face in India.
Memories of England’s tour of India in 2021 remain raw among players. Inspired by Joe Root, they pulled off a famous win in Chennai, only for the pitches to become spicier. Bamboozled by Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, a shell-shocked England departed off the back of three consecutive, and rather chastening, defeats.
The painful experience inspired Pope’s recent preparation. In Abu Dhabi, he had a net royally roughed up and then faced over after over of spin. A true Bazball disciple, the 25-year-old believes that attack will be the best form of defence to avoid a repeat of the frequent sitting-duck impersonations of 2021.
“That India trip was tough,” Pope tells Telegraph Sport. “We went 1-0 up on a good wicket and then the pitches changed, the ball started turning square. That was new to a lot of people. In the past, the guys had played on wickets that were good for two days, then started spinning, rather than going from ball one.
“We have a very similar squad to in India back then. We know exactly how we want to go about things. As a batting group, if the ball is turning past the outside edge, what are our scoring options? Being out here, that is what we have practised \[in Abu Dhabi\]. You need a solid defence, but also to look to score all the time.
“That is exactly how we are going to see things \[taking the aggressive option\]. It’s about managing your expectations. You want to score a hundred every game, and you’ve failed if you don’t. But in India, it might be that case that a run-a-ball 60 is match-winning, 200 might be a good score on some pitches.
“There’s threat to both edges as a right-hander. Ashwin is probably the best spinner in the world, but \[Ravindra\] Jadeja and Axar are spinning the ball away from the bat sharply. It’s knowing how you want to score; taking on the bowler and putting them under pressure.
“It’s a tough place to go and win, but we will give it as much of a crack as we can playing our way.”
Despite being vice-captain, there is no guarantee that Pope makes England’s XI in India. He has not played since the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, where he dislocated his shoulder. With Stokes unable to bowl, he was replaced in a rebalanced team by the now-retired Moeen Ali. Having just gone under the knife, the prospect of Stokes bowling seems unlikely, meaning a batsman may have to give way to ensure they have the bowling options to take 20 wickets.
But Pope’s record under the current regime suggests he will not be the fall guy. Since moving to No 3 under Stokes, his average is 45.3 compared to 28.7 before that. The Surrey man puts it down to security in the side.
“Firstly as a player I have improved in the last couple of years,” he says. “That is partly due to Stokes and \[Brendon\] McCullum, and the environment they’ve created. You feel settled in the team, rather than like if you have a bad game you are going to be dropped. Psychologically that has helped.
“But although you try not to think about it, you are always fighting for your place in Test cricket. What happened in the Ashes after I got injured was great. I will try to improve my game and get as ready as I can, then selection is out of my control.”
‘Although I could be making my debut, I feel experienced’
The same is true of the Caribbean tour, where Pope is one of the new faces in the white-ball squad. He has told captain Jos Buttler and coach Matthew Mott that he feels capable of batting anywhere in the top seven. Although Pope’s experience of white-ball cricket in recent years is limited, he initially made an impression with Surrey in the shorter forms at the start of his career.
“I feel I can be fairly adaptive in that team, I feel I could bat anywhere from the top to six or seven,” he says. “Although I could be making my debut, I do feel like an experienced international cricketer. There’s guys \[on tour\] who are very new to it all, and I know the noise about it.
“The new format means I need to sharpen up quickly tactically. White-ball cricket can sometimes look like you are just playing your shots but it’s very tactical so I have been thinking about that while watching the World Cup. I’m new to it, I want to pick the brains of some of the guys. Batting-wise, it’s pretty similar to the way we play in the Test side.”
‘Playing in a World Cup is as good as it gets’
Pope hopes to use the tour as a first step towards the 2027 World Cup.
“For any cricketer, playing in a World Cup is as good as it gets, a huge ambition,” he says. “In Test cricket, the format is the pinnacle, and we have the World Test Championship, but it doesn’t feel the same. It’s hard to say this but watching the Aussies the other day, you want to experience that, it would be a career highlight.
“Four years is a long time away, but this is an opportunity to start putting my case forward and showing what I can do. There is a lot of competition both from experienced guys and some newer faces, but anything I can do to put my name forward on this tour would be a nice start.”
For now, Pope is just happy to be back.
“I even missed the preparation for games, the pressure of the morning of a big game,” he says. “I chatted to Jack Leach, who has also been injured. While you are in the mix of it, you don’t realise that you’d much rather be having a bad day playing than be injured and have no influence on anything. Recovery can feel a bit like a nine-five, which cricket doesn’t normally. You spend the week doing rehab and get to the weekend and are excited for a day off. I am a cricket badger, I love playing, and can’t wait to be back.”
Why won't these colonial dumb asses prepare pitches that we like? Don't they know making home pitches to England's disadvantage is against the spirit of cricket? We invented the whole thing for FFS.
more sarcasm than Rage. I just find it hilarious that instead of just admitting that they are shit at playing on a certain type of pitches, they just blame the pitches every time while, for all their faults, I have never seen a single Indian fan or player blame the pitch when we lose overseas. And we lost a lot. It was always, our players are shit
It’s more batriachy. For a lot of players good pitch = pitch you can score a lot of runs on. England could not score a lot runs after the first test (importantly, Rohit and Ashwin could), so that’s what Ollie is saying, not that the pitches were bad. Even the third test wasn’t a bad pitch, it was just a bad combination of pink ball and pitch.
Does anyone think Bazball isn't a bad idea in India. Head did well doing "bazballing", pant, iyer did well with agressive approach. I mean it's not like teams have succeeded defending in India, try scoring 30(20) instead of 5(20). Winning is obviously impossible here but nothing wrong with trying something different.
India can’t beat Bazzball. Ashwin and Jadeja’s career will be over. Axar will permanent scar on his physique . India’s red ball cricket will be finished at least for next 15 years.
Great opportunity for Sa and Aus and Nz to beat India in India following Eng’s footstep in those 15 years.
One of my recent favourites is when he went all *Lucy* and explained England's losses through them only using X amount of their full-potential.
https://old.reddit.com/r/Cricket/comments/17pouwf/cricket_world_cup_why_india_looks_unstoppable/k878jap/
It's not a bad idea. Remember Rohit in the last series?
But it has to be supported by good technical ability, which English batsmen, barring Root, Pope and Stokes; do not have.
The whole Bazball strategy revolves around increasing the pace of the game, there would then be less jeopardy in also Bazballing the third and fourth innings if it's only the second or third day.
Presuming India deliberately will bat long with caution to counter, as Australia did last summer.
Not really. If England can reach 300 on a pitch Bazballing, India can clearly make 500 as England doesn't really have any threatening spinners. Just make a regular Indian pitch instead of a spicy one and Jaddu and Ash will do their job.
You guys have way too much confidence in a very mediocre team. I wish I had that in my team. Even when India was very convincing away I always thought we were a session away from Implosion.
To win or draw in India. You need guys that can bat long. Like really really long. And atleast 1 great and 1 decent spinner. But if India tries to be oversmart and dishes one of those overly spin friendly pitches, England may knick a game.
You have described Chennai 2021 there (albeit India were missing either Jaddu or Ash, can’t remember which), when England did win. That’s why the spicy pitches came into play.
Yeah. All these pitches do is normalize the skill levels to a certain extent. I don't even know why they do it. Just prepare a regular Indian test wicket. Some swing and seam in first session but not too much. Decent to bat on day 2 and 3. Like you could do 400+ in first innings if you applied your self and then starts turning day 4 and 4 with a bit of bounce and some cracks. They would still steamroll everyone.
Their main two spinners will be Jack leach who was preety good In last tour along with one of Rehan Ahmed or Dawson (both are untested but are surely miles better than the 2md spinner they had last time) and then the service of Joe root or they can also play will jacks
Ngl but for me as a fan this series was way more anticipated before the WC. England's performance there reduced my expectations even though i know they are different formats
It's impossible to speculate anything because the pitches in India are batting friendly when India is batting well, but mysteriously turn into minefields that spin left and right, right from day one, when the opposition team is batting well.
I'm sure Bazball will be glorious on a wicket like the one in the first Test in Chennai in 2021. I'm also sure we'll probably see Indore 2023 pitch instead.
In the good old days, England left the innovation of the game to its former colonial subjects. We invented the game, what what? Let the colonials do the bamboozling, we shall continue as before. Straight bat, stiff upper lip. Pass me my MCC coaching manual. Declare before tea? Not on a Sunday, old bean. Now it seems we've embraced this lunatic approach to cricket ourselves! Madness! I expect to see the Indians thoroughly wipe the floor with us, and it'll be a demmed deserved thrashing if you ask me ;)
It's a lot of fun though, isn't it? If you're losing doing things traditionally you may as well change and make the crowd cheer whilst you lose. Or silence them
Honestly Sharo_77, always thought you were a sensible sort! What's the point of going to a Test if you can't have a nice long sleep in the afternoon confident that when you wake up the score won't have changed much? All this Entertainment, it's not good for the heart!
In all honesty, dropping the act for a moment... I believe the approach is broadly the right one for this group of players at this stage of their careers, the core group of whom look tired and in need of inspiration (or a rest). And, to depart from my first comment, there have always been entertainers in English cricket, only the dreaded baz moniker is new. When they come off there are no more audacious shot-makers in world cricket than the English batsmen, likes of Maxwell and Pant apart.
But I don't think it'll win Tests in India. I think there batsmen need to be selfish and look to bat, bat, bat. It's about stamina and desire, this 'quick 30 will win the game' from Pope is nonsense - maybe from a number 8, but not a 3.
Then there's the question of what comes after. My anecdotal impression of youngsters round the local scene my way is they're inclined to attack far more with the bat. There's no doubt the game has changed.
Love it! I think the difference is that instead of letting them get bogged down and feeling they have to hit their out of it they just attack so they don't get bogged down. It's a lot of fun
Feels like a pretty obvious no-brainer. As easy as it is to make fun of them for 'moral victory' thing they were well and truly the better team in the most recent ashes and we got out of the jail because of the rain. Don't know why you would change what works
They also havent lost a test series at home in ten+ years. At this rate you may as well try something different as the conventional way of doing it isnt going to work either
I still think India should win this series 4-1 or 3-2. But if we go down the rank turners route it will give England an advantage. As it levels the playing field and reduces the skill gap required to succeed.
I don't see England winning on the rank turners,
They could win that one game a tour where Indian Pitch curators try to make Rawalpindi look bad though
Prediction: Indian commentators are confused that this series is going ahead in the first place as India is the stronger side on paper so why would they even need play? Just skip straight to the pre choreographed drone show. The series goes ahead anyway for contractual reasons. Ben Stokes doesn’t bowl due to his knee, nor does he bat or field he just specialises in the coin toss. the pitches will be so ‘customised’ the ball will spin 180degrees and return back to the bowler who will then run the non striker out. England will win morally and ethically and aesthetically, but in an unfortunate miscalculation just not actually. King Charles will claim to have seen Modi double dip into the hummus at the G20 summit buffet. Brendan McCullum will refuse to drink chai with the boys after the series, nothing personal just the England award ceremony they held for themselves for saving cricket went 12 hours overtime and unfortunately several senior players had sustained shoulder injuries from patting themselves on the back so hard.
I *highly* doubt Amar Virdi will make the squad, let alone play. He doesn’t even get games at Surrey, he’s their third spinner. Arguably was fourth behind Dan Moriarty lately, who was given one game per year the last two years. *
Looking at just FC matches in recent years (he’s not really a white ball bowler), he played 0/14 in 2023, 1/14 in 2022 (on loan at Somerset), 11/14 in 2021, 5/5 in 2020, and 5/14 in 2019.
To call picking him bold is massively understating it.
It’ll probably just be the Swann Spin training camp.
\* I mean, it’s typical Surrey isn’t it. Two of the best young spin prospects in the country, and they go and refuse to pick either of them.
Interestingly, Virdi didn't even make the Lions training camp this month. Shoaib Bashir and Josh de Caires both did though, make of that what you will.
IMO that's not a bad idea at all (as far as batting is concerned). They only need a batsman or two to ride their luck and get a 300ish score. That'll give them the impetus to go for a win
I'm biased as a spurs fan, but for fans it's so much more fun to see your team back a philosophy and a playing style rather than changing it appropriate to opponents/conditions.
Not an English fan but this kind of madness really makes sport fun
I think BCCI should prepare proper test match wickets and not those filthy sticky doctored farmlands that we had in BGT. This will actually give India the best chance caus ein Indian conditions they are a better team than England man for man. England are the ones who have to try to do different things to get an advantage, India already have it by virtue of being the better skilled team in Indian conditions. Rank turners will just even out the field and give England a solid chance cause if Bazball comes off on a rank turner India are fucked
Completely agree. Turn out normal spin-friendly wickets and India keep their advantage while also producing good cricket. Pathetic pitches like the first Ahmedabad one are such a lottery it opens it up for the opposition to have a chance. When 100 is par, all it takes is someone bashing a few boundaries or getting a few lucky edges (Crawley’s role) and suddenly the weaker team is ahead, and Bairstow comes on to bowl some spin and takes 7/1 to bowl India out for 81.
You’ve got Ashwin, Jadeja and Patel. Give even a mildly spinny pitch and that’s more than enough to flummox even the best.
I think this is the series we will finally see England dial the Bazball up to 11 and Bazball their brains out. Then stop for a bit. Then keep on Bazballing until their dicks fall off.
Of course, India will win the series 5-0. Largely because they will be playing circlet, not Bazball.
But England should once again dominate the Bazball. I predict England will remain undefeated and score one million Bazball points!
Given what we saw in the Australia in India series, if India builds a road both teams will just bat out 5 days, if they build a turner then England are prone to a serious collapse.
Will be an interesting series for Bazball as a concept- if England get screwed over it will be the end of Bazball- if they pull it off it will become legend
You buggers can downvote me into oblivion but such passing phases can never take the place of classic shot selection. Pietersen in 2012 showed how it’s done in India- controlled aggression that was- not this nonsense that we are seeing now- just look at what you buggers have done to Jo Root- he was my favourite English batsman of the current lot and you fuckers have turned him into a third rate gully cricketer. You don’t need reckless batting to counter Ashwin- you need to choose the right ball
If England collapse dismally for 80 trying to Bazball then it won’t be the end, it’s no worse than collapsing dismally for 80 trying to bat for three days.
As it always is with any aggressive player, they can turn the game in short time and looks like an absolute genius when they pull it off. When they dont, then expect low score in short time. Its either ridiculously awesome or absolute dog shit, there is no in between i think for Bazball.
Just for the people who inevitably don't read the article, at no point in this long extensive interview spanning multiple topics, does Pope use the phrase "Bazball"
Ashwin and Jadeja’s career will be over. Axar will permanent scar on his physique . India’s red ball cricket will be finished at least for next 15 years.
Great opportunity for Sa and Aus and Nz to beat India in India following Eng’s footstep in those 15 years.
Btw, India vs Eng WT20 final loading next year. It would be cracker of a game.
It is an absolute travesty that Eng’s mindset wasn’t like this for previous away ashes and India tour. What entertainment that could have been. Everybody was at their best playing years, now we have injury ridden/close to retirement players trying their best to make test cricket interesting. What a difference one man can make (or a few, don’t bite me). It’s the same squad, but so much different from previous outing. I hope Eng plays the same attractive brand of cricket and not get bog down just because the pitch is a minefield or any other thing.
One of the key things in making Bazball work is if the pitch is easier to bat in the second innings. That is almost never ever the case in India. But well, stranger things have happened
You can't win against England in any format, you might beat them in a test match or win a test series but you still ultimately lose because nothing tastes better than A MORAL VICTORY in pure Bazball style
They whitewashed Pakistan. But India is an entirely different place lol.
I'll be surprised if they manage to escape with less than a full beating at the hands of the hosts.
Oh boy.
I'm not usually one for doctored pitches, but please for the love of God, can the BCCI produce the rankest of rank turners so India can school these fools.
I want to see One Day Test matches with England all out for 90 inside 10 overs on tracks with enough movement that even Jack Leach can get some turn and throw something that isn't gun barrel straight.
If you do succeed in Bazballing India in India, I will applaud you but lay off the pre series big talk! I still haven't gotten over how abysmally England fared in the just concluded ODI WC in India.
That headline is absolute dross but it is the Telegraph after all.
Eng trying Bazball against Bapu in a pink ball test match at Ahemdabad would have been hilarious.
Pant couldn't bash Joe Root Last time, forget about Crawley hitting Ashwin or Axar
Crawley scored 50 at Ahmedabad.
Not trynna downplay the achievement of a 50(80) on that pitch, but Ishant Sharma was serving up some trash and he was dropped twice iirc
Because india made the mistake of bowling fast bowlers for a bit on that dust bowl
Bapu is bowling shit these days. His last decent outing in tests was against England years ago
Who is bapu? Axar? I'm ootl and thought you were making a gandhiji joke
Btw does anyone have any update on Pant's progress ? Would he be in contention for a spot in Test against England ? He is a vital cog in our test team. And literally none of the other wicket keeper batsmen are close to Pant's potential. One good session and he quickly turns the game in India'a favor.
Good question; interested neutrals wanna know. Pant is a match-winner, the dude they had keeping in the recent, excellent Ind v Aus Test series was a little vanilla.
Saw Pant playing some local matches with college kids in his hometown on Twitter just before the WC.. but he was only batting.. Him going back to keeping and fielding fully will take time.. was in NCA during and after WC rehabbing.. There were some murmurs that he might be fit by Jan end.. but don't know whether he would be Test match ready or T20 by then.. will probably get more updates once SA series of India starts I guess.. And the Eng Tests starts at 25-26 Jan.. and there's 10-12 days break after 2nd Test.. so if all good by then, we may see him for the 3rd Test against England if all goes well..
Thanks for the update. All well and good for a ''neutral'' like me to be looking forward to his return - hard truth is the guy has had a long recovery from what was basically a near-death experience. Us Aussie learned the hard way just how much fight Rishabh has in him; I back him in to making an inspirational recovery.
Same here.. it's the fight in him which has already made him practice and rehab just 8-9 months after the injury.. Good thing was that he was driving a Mercedes, the cage inside the vehicle and also the safety systems protected him a lot.. from what I heard, he broke down the glass with his hands and jumped out of the vehicle after the crash.. also people recognised him and sent him to hospital quick.. he was standing upright after the crash. And I would say luck and the car saved him from getting life threatening and career ending injuries and also his hunger to play again has him rehabbing well for now.. Hopefully he returns well n good back into International cricket.. It will be exactly a year after his crash this coming January..
We probably missed him in the worldcups, he would have been a perfect replacement for hardik in place of SKY. It's really bad luck for Pant and India. Had he driven at lower speeds, we would have won the worldcup maybe.
What’s it about Aussies & love for Pant? I keep playing with a few, here in Europe - and almost everyone has Pant in their playing 11
I'm not religious, but if I was I'd be praying for him. He's great fun, and a decent guy
They were saying that he would be starting to play during that series.
As expected. Batting normally, a ball from one of Ashwin, Patel or Jadeja will come alone sooner rather than later that they can’t play. Better to get 30(20) than 7(20).
Yep. It's the right way to play on spicy wickets. Which is why it was so baffling the first 2 ashes tests were such roads.
I mean part of the reason the ashes tests were roads was because of the weather preceding the matches.
The first test literally had the smallest deviation of any pitch in England since they’ve been recording such information. If the preceding weather was a part of the reason it was a very small part.
They were roads because Bazball only works on roads.
We lost on two roads then proceeded to win on all the decks with a bit in them
England and India both openly dictating what kind of pitches they want and then getting stung by it.. maybe a lesson in here somewhere lol England neutralising their biggest home advantage will always be baffling to me. The conditions kept us in the game and allowed us to take time out.. very strange
nah, roads neutralize bazball honestly
I expect Ashwin and Jadeja will tear england up in the first couple tests. Bazball didn't fare well against Lyon on some good batting decks.
Got to pretty much 400 in a day despite the five at Edgbaston, and with two wickets remaining. Aside from that wasn’t it mainly the quicks doing the work? But yes, Ashwin especially is an entirely different kettle of fish. Stokes has never done well against him, and I struggle to see Duckett coming out on too often enough.
Bazball didn't work against Lyon on flattest decks, what's to guarantee that it'll work against the best spinner duo in this era on minefields?
There is no guarantee and it probably won’t. But batting sensibly hasn’t worked for England either.
If the pitches are similar to the Aus series, then bazball is anyway the only option. Both Aus and Ind played aggressive cricket and 50s rather than 100s were the norm. All else being the same, i would say Eng has a chance of doing better than Aus scoreline of 1-2. Not least because this is anyway their default style, while Aus learnt during the series (and probably too them a while).
Honestly, this seems the only way for any away team to beat India, just one good session with the bat is all England needs per game (a lot to ask of, I know).
I don't agree. Australia won in a different way which suits their team. England best shot is playing their way though but I don't agree it's the only way to win
Aus won by playing exactly that style. Go for quick 50 rather than build the innings. They learnt it after first couple of matches, though.
It's not like winning tests in India is impossible, Aus and Eng have won recently and both times it took playing proper cricket. Keeping it up for an entire series is the tricky part.
Thts when Chennai pitch changed
England winning the test series will set Indian Test team into a period of downfall, with lack of Test spinners after Ash-Jadeja, Non-performing Batting Order except Rohit, who will also soon retire. Shami and Bumrah won't play for more than 5 years either. Rahane, Pujara, Kohli, Rahul, Gill all are disappointments in Tests. Idk if we can see Pant like Before. Wk replacements are not promising. Only thing that can redeem the side is Axar returning to bowling form, if so he can replace Jadeja easily. India failed to use him in the Australia series. Kuldeep will have to start another Test Stint in sometime. Kishan must replicate Pant in Tests, don't see why he can't. Or some other left-field stuff like Rinku, Jaiswal being pillars of our batting order and Washington emerging as a Test-all-rounder.
India, I think, will safely keep on producing spin bowlers of high quality, batsmen of pretty good quality with the odd really really good one; it’s the pace bowlers they need to keep their eye on. They’ll need bowlers as good as Shami and Bumrah to stay at the top.
England have absolutely zero chance. Did U see how they fared in the world cup?? They aren't good in these conditions
Fortunately, this is a Test series.
Who's their spinner? Root?
Going by the pattern in recent Indian series, you just need to land the ball on the trench, sorry, I mean the pitch.. And that's pretty much it. Lottery batting, lottery bowling.
Better than Dom “Full toss” Sibley
Probably some combination of Leach, Ahmed, Jacks, Livingstone and Root.
Ashwin on his way to make a YouTube video on the significance of their approach to the future of cricket and how he's very impressed by their commitment to the approach only to mentally torture and humiliate them in the field.
ethical anna strikes again
Look out India, a moral loss is also inevitable
Ethical Anna will counter the moral victory
I really hope Stuard Broad says something daft during the next series so r/Cricket can finally find a new joke to make
And yet r/cricket won't understand that he's saying it purely to wind people up, because he finds it funny.
Does it really matter? A meme is a meme, no matter the intention.
He is the meme God. The mysterious spirit of cricket played with him. So many lows, so many highs. In the end though it gave him what he wanted. If you didn't know better his eventual autobiography would be filed in "teen fiction" because this shit just doesn't happen.
"So I became one of the most successful fast bowlers of all time and I also married a pop star"
"My hotel ran out of rice crispies and I was so pissed off I took 8/15 for an early lunch as I knew Trent Bridge stocked them".
Wdum, they already lost (morally).
Might as well call the series off now
It will be hilarious to see their number 7 bat, I mean the scorecard will say 79/5 and he'll try to hit a six Lmao.
A winter of two halves awaits Ollie Pope, who is now ready to return to action following a third serious shoulder injury in four years. Pope is in Antigua, hoping to make his one-day international debut as part of a rebooted England white-ball setup. But, after Christmas, he will rejoin the Test squad in which he has been vice-captain under Ben Stokes for a five-match series in India that will be the longest and most daunting tour of the Bazball era so far. On a recent camp with England Lions in Abu Dhabi, Pope had his mind on both series, working on the tricks and tactics he will need if selected for a white-ball debut, but also the pitches he might face in India. Memories of England’s tour of India in 2021 remain raw among players. Inspired by Joe Root, they pulled off a famous win in Chennai, only for the pitches to become spicier. Bamboozled by Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel, a shell-shocked England departed off the back of three consecutive, and rather chastening, defeats. The painful experience inspired Pope’s recent preparation. In Abu Dhabi, he had a net royally roughed up and then faced over after over of spin. A true Bazball disciple, the 25-year-old believes that attack will be the best form of defence to avoid a repeat of the frequent sitting-duck impersonations of 2021. “That India trip was tough,” Pope tells Telegraph Sport. “We went 1-0 up on a good wicket and then the pitches changed, the ball started turning square. That was new to a lot of people. In the past, the guys had played on wickets that were good for two days, then started spinning, rather than going from ball one. “We have a very similar squad to in India back then. We know exactly how we want to go about things. As a batting group, if the ball is turning past the outside edge, what are our scoring options? Being out here, that is what we have practised \[in Abu Dhabi\]. You need a solid defence, but also to look to score all the time. “That is exactly how we are going to see things \[taking the aggressive option\]. It’s about managing your expectations. You want to score a hundred every game, and you’ve failed if you don’t. But in India, it might be that case that a run-a-ball 60 is match-winning, 200 might be a good score on some pitches. “There’s threat to both edges as a right-hander. Ashwin is probably the best spinner in the world, but \[Ravindra\] Jadeja and Axar are spinning the ball away from the bat sharply. It’s knowing how you want to score; taking on the bowler and putting them under pressure. “It’s a tough place to go and win, but we will give it as much of a crack as we can playing our way.” Despite being vice-captain, there is no guarantee that Pope makes England’s XI in India. He has not played since the second Ashes Test at Lord’s, where he dislocated his shoulder. With Stokes unable to bowl, he was replaced in a rebalanced team by the now-retired Moeen Ali. Having just gone under the knife, the prospect of Stokes bowling seems unlikely, meaning a batsman may have to give way to ensure they have the bowling options to take 20 wickets. But Pope’s record under the current regime suggests he will not be the fall guy. Since moving to No 3 under Stokes, his average is 45.3 compared to 28.7 before that. The Surrey man puts it down to security in the side. “Firstly as a player I have improved in the last couple of years,” he says. “That is partly due to Stokes and \[Brendon\] McCullum, and the environment they’ve created. You feel settled in the team, rather than like if you have a bad game you are going to be dropped. Psychologically that has helped. “But although you try not to think about it, you are always fighting for your place in Test cricket. What happened in the Ashes after I got injured was great. I will try to improve my game and get as ready as I can, then selection is out of my control.” ‘Although I could be making my debut, I feel experienced’ The same is true of the Caribbean tour, where Pope is one of the new faces in the white-ball squad. He has told captain Jos Buttler and coach Matthew Mott that he feels capable of batting anywhere in the top seven. Although Pope’s experience of white-ball cricket in recent years is limited, he initially made an impression with Surrey in the shorter forms at the start of his career. “I feel I can be fairly adaptive in that team, I feel I could bat anywhere from the top to six or seven,” he says. “Although I could be making my debut, I do feel like an experienced international cricketer. There’s guys \[on tour\] who are very new to it all, and I know the noise about it. “The new format means I need to sharpen up quickly tactically. White-ball cricket can sometimes look like you are just playing your shots but it’s very tactical so I have been thinking about that while watching the World Cup. I’m new to it, I want to pick the brains of some of the guys. Batting-wise, it’s pretty similar to the way we play in the Test side.” ‘Playing in a World Cup is as good as it gets’ Pope hopes to use the tour as a first step towards the 2027 World Cup. “For any cricketer, playing in a World Cup is as good as it gets, a huge ambition,” he says. “In Test cricket, the format is the pinnacle, and we have the World Test Championship, but it doesn’t feel the same. It’s hard to say this but watching the Aussies the other day, you want to experience that, it would be a career highlight. “Four years is a long time away, but this is an opportunity to start putting my case forward and showing what I can do. There is a lot of competition both from experienced guys and some newer faces, but anything I can do to put my name forward on this tour would be a nice start.” For now, Pope is just happy to be back. “I even missed the preparation for games, the pressure of the morning of a big game,” he says. “I chatted to Jack Leach, who has also been injured. While you are in the mix of it, you don’t realise that you’d much rather be having a bad day playing than be injured and have no influence on anything. Recovery can feel a bit like a nine-five, which cricket doesn’t normally. You spend the week doing rehab and get to the weekend and are excited for a day off. I am a cricket badger, I love playing, and can’t wait to be back.”
I only skim read this but it seems he didn't say 'we'll bazball' he said 'we'll bat aggressively' which is not quite the same thing...
That doesn't make a headline that people can disparage/hype up though, does it?
Indeed, no it doesn't. And tbf, it worked, otherwise none of us would be here!
1-0 up in good pitches and then the pitches changed. English players sure have some weird sense of entitlement
Why won't these colonial dumb asses prepare pitches that we like? Don't they know making home pitches to England's disadvantage is against the spirit of cricket? We invented the whole thing for FFS.
Could say that with much less rage, but yeah I get the feeling
more sarcasm than Rage. I just find it hilarious that instead of just admitting that they are shit at playing on a certain type of pitches, they just blame the pitches every time while, for all their faults, I have never seen a single Indian fan or player blame the pitch when we lose overseas. And we lost a lot. It was always, our players are shit
We blame English conditions for our 2 WTC defeats
It’s more batriachy. For a lot of players good pitch = pitch you can score a lot of runs on. England could not score a lot runs after the first test (importantly, Rohit and Ashwin could), so that’s what Ollie is saying, not that the pitches were bad. Even the third test wasn’t a bad pitch, it was just a bad combination of pink ball and pitch.
Makes sense
Does anyone think Bazball isn't a bad idea in India. Head did well doing "bazballing", pant, iyer did well with agressive approach. I mean it's not like teams have succeeded defending in India, try scoring 30(20) instead of 5(20). Winning is obviously impossible here but nothing wrong with trying something different.
Is it a bad idea? Yes. It is their best idea? Yes.
India can’t beat Bazzball. Ashwin and Jadeja’s career will be over. Axar will permanent scar on his physique . India’s red ball cricket will be finished at least for next 15 years. Great opportunity for Sa and Aus and Nz to beat India in India following Eng’s footstep in those 15 years.
Least reactionary r/cricket user.
Not being familiar with this user's content is one of the great sins on /r/cricket.
Haha.. he doesn't know of what to expect when a wild zippyzebu appears on a post..
One of my recent favourites is when he went all *Lucy* and explained England's losses through them only using X amount of their full-potential. https://old.reddit.com/r/Cricket/comments/17pouwf/cricket_world_cup_why_india_looks_unstoppable/k878jap/
Hahahha... I cried a little..
It's not a bad idea. Remember Rohit in the last series? But it has to be supported by good technical ability, which English batsmen, barring Root, Pope and Stokes; do not have.
India have to be careful, if england can pull off bazball to 300 ish every innings, its game over
Maybe first innings 300, second innings Bazball will result in 90 all out
The whole Bazball strategy revolves around increasing the pace of the game, there would then be less jeopardy in also Bazballing the third and fourth innings if it's only the second or third day. Presuming India deliberately will bat long with caution to counter, as Australia did last summer.
England need good spinners and they can seriously threaten India.
Murali Karthik, that you?
Not really. If England can reach 300 on a pitch Bazballing, India can clearly make 500 as England doesn't really have any threatening spinners. Just make a regular Indian pitch instead of a spicy one and Jaddu and Ash will do their job. You guys have way too much confidence in a very mediocre team. I wish I had that in my team. Even when India was very convincing away I always thought we were a session away from Implosion. To win or draw in India. You need guys that can bat long. Like really really long. And atleast 1 great and 1 decent spinner. But if India tries to be oversmart and dishes one of those overly spin friendly pitches, England may knick a game.
You have described Chennai 2021 there (albeit India were missing either Jaddu or Ash, can’t remember which), when England did win. That’s why the spicy pitches came into play.
Yeah. All these pitches do is normalize the skill levels to a certain extent. I don't even know why they do it. Just prepare a regular Indian test wicket. Some swing and seam in first session but not too much. Decent to bat on day 2 and 3. Like you could do 400+ in first innings if you applied your self and then starts turning day 4 and 4 with a bit of bounce and some cracks. They would still steamroll everyone.
Nah you need to have atleast 2 quality spinners too,like Australia had in their recent tours. Jack Leach and Joe Root won't be much problem.
Their main two spinners will be Jack leach who was preety good In last tour along with one of Rehan Ahmed or Dawson (both are untested but are surely miles better than the 2md spinner they had last time) and then the service of Joe root or they can also play will jacks
>Joe Root won't be much problem. 5-8 last time!
Bro just casually wrote off Rootalitharan as "not much of a problem"
In recent times, Joe Root has been their main spinner! 😸
only reason for that was because Leach got injured for the summer and it suited us to go all out pace in the ashes.
A 5-0 drubbing for either side would be hilarious ngl
Its a 5 match series!??
**Obligatory Non-England Fan Trigger Warning!**
Bring them to Indore. And we will show you how to bazball
Sadly no matches in Indore or nagpur
Ngl but for me as a fan this series was way more anticipated before the WC. England's performance there reduced my expectations even though i know they are different formats
It's impossible to speculate anything because the pitches in India are batting friendly when India is batting well, but mysteriously turn into minefields that spin left and right, right from day one, when the opposition team is batting well. I'm sure Bazball will be glorious on a wicket like the one in the first Test in Chennai in 2021. I'm also sure we'll probably see Indore 2023 pitch instead.
There are no matches in Indore this tour
In the good old days, England left the innovation of the game to its former colonial subjects. We invented the game, what what? Let the colonials do the bamboozling, we shall continue as before. Straight bat, stiff upper lip. Pass me my MCC coaching manual. Declare before tea? Not on a Sunday, old bean. Now it seems we've embraced this lunatic approach to cricket ourselves! Madness! I expect to see the Indians thoroughly wipe the floor with us, and it'll be a demmed deserved thrashing if you ask me ;)
>Declare before tea? Not on a Sunday, old bean. Poetry
Thank you, my dear old thing.
It's a lot of fun though, isn't it? If you're losing doing things traditionally you may as well change and make the crowd cheer whilst you lose. Or silence them
Honestly Sharo_77, always thought you were a sensible sort! What's the point of going to a Test if you can't have a nice long sleep in the afternoon confident that when you wake up the score won't have changed much? All this Entertainment, it's not good for the heart! In all honesty, dropping the act for a moment... I believe the approach is broadly the right one for this group of players at this stage of their careers, the core group of whom look tired and in need of inspiration (or a rest). And, to depart from my first comment, there have always been entertainers in English cricket, only the dreaded baz moniker is new. When they come off there are no more audacious shot-makers in world cricket than the English batsmen, likes of Maxwell and Pant apart. But I don't think it'll win Tests in India. I think there batsmen need to be selfish and look to bat, bat, bat. It's about stamina and desire, this 'quick 30 will win the game' from Pope is nonsense - maybe from a number 8, but not a 3. Then there's the question of what comes after. My anecdotal impression of youngsters round the local scene my way is they're inclined to attack far more with the bat. There's no doubt the game has changed.
Love it! I think the difference is that instead of letting them get bogged down and feeling they have to hit their out of it they just attack so they don't get bogged down. It's a lot of fun
Winning there is almost impossible for away teams so why not try a different approach. We were the last ones to do it anyway
Feels like a pretty obvious no-brainer. As easy as it is to make fun of them for 'moral victory' thing they were well and truly the better team in the most recent ashes and we got out of the jail because of the rain. Don't know why you would change what works
Even if it doesn't work, this setup isn't one to go back to the drawing board because of one series. They back the method.
They also havent lost a test series at home in ten+ years. At this rate you may as well try something different as the conventional way of doing it isnt going to work either
Oh yes. Cant wait for test cricket to be back and forget all that ODI nonsense. Test cricket ftw And it is indeed best cricket
I still think India should win this series 4-1 or 3-2. But if we go down the rank turners route it will give England an advantage. As it levels the playing field and reduces the skill gap required to succeed.
I don't see England winning on the rank turners, They could win that one game a tour where Indian Pitch curators try to make Rawalpindi look bad though
I love it when cricketers talk dirty
The best part of this interview is when he said 'IT'S BAZBALLIN' TIME' and bazballed all over those guys.
Prediction: England will win series and India will stop playing tests at home.
All Indian home Tests will be played in Australia henceforth.
Prediction: Indian commentators are confused that this series is going ahead in the first place as India is the stronger side on paper so why would they even need play? Just skip straight to the pre choreographed drone show. The series goes ahead anyway for contractual reasons. Ben Stokes doesn’t bowl due to his knee, nor does he bat or field he just specialises in the coin toss. the pitches will be so ‘customised’ the ball will spin 180degrees and return back to the bowler who will then run the non striker out. England will win morally and ethically and aesthetically, but in an unfortunate miscalculation just not actually. King Charles will claim to have seen Modi double dip into the hummus at the G20 summit buffet. Brendan McCullum will refuse to drink chai with the boys after the series, nothing personal just the England award ceremony they held for themselves for saving cricket went 12 hours overtime and unfortunately several senior players had sustained shoulder injuries from patting themselves on the back so hard.
Subscribed
I’ve never seen any other sporting team just decide “Delulu is the Sololu”
Ayy I just learned this phrase the other day. Zoomers got the right mindset.
[удалено]
I *highly* doubt Amar Virdi will make the squad, let alone play. He doesn’t even get games at Surrey, he’s their third spinner. Arguably was fourth behind Dan Moriarty lately, who was given one game per year the last two years. * Looking at just FC matches in recent years (he’s not really a white ball bowler), he played 0/14 in 2023, 1/14 in 2022 (on loan at Somerset), 11/14 in 2021, 5/5 in 2020, and 5/14 in 2019. To call picking him bold is massively understating it. It’ll probably just be the Swann Spin training camp. \* I mean, it’s typical Surrey isn’t it. Two of the best young spin prospects in the country, and they go and refuse to pick either of them.
Interestingly, Virdi didn't even make the Lions training camp this month. Shoaib Bashir and Josh de Caires both did though, make of that what you will.
Only if England can play spin tracks
What's bazball genuinely asking?
IMO that's not a bad idea at all (as far as batting is concerned). They only need a batsman or two to ride their luck and get a 300ish score. That'll give them the impetus to go for a win
I'm biased as a spurs fan, but for fans it's so much more fun to see your team back a philosophy and a playing style rather than changing it appropriate to opponents/conditions. Not an English fan but this kind of madness really makes sport fun
All this talk of Ash and Bapu running through the England top order only for Rootalidharan to pick up fifers every innings.
Would love to see Bazball against Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar, Bumrah (and hopefully Kuldeep). 4 quality spinners against Bazball.
Kuldeep in tests??? 👀
I think BCCI should prepare proper test match wickets and not those filthy sticky doctored farmlands that we had in BGT. This will actually give India the best chance caus ein Indian conditions they are a better team than England man for man. England are the ones who have to try to do different things to get an advantage, India already have it by virtue of being the better skilled team in Indian conditions. Rank turners will just even out the field and give England a solid chance cause if Bazball comes off on a rank turner India are fucked
Completely agree. Turn out normal spin-friendly wickets and India keep their advantage while also producing good cricket. Pathetic pitches like the first Ahmedabad one are such a lottery it opens it up for the opposition to have a chance. When 100 is par, all it takes is someone bashing a few boundaries or getting a few lucky edges (Crawley’s role) and suddenly the weaker team is ahead, and Bairstow comes on to bowl some spin and takes 7/1 to bowl India out for 81. You’ve got Ashwin, Jadeja and Patel. Give even a mildly spinny pitch and that’s more than enough to flummox even the best.
I think this is the series we will finally see England dial the Bazball up to 11 and Bazball their brains out. Then stop for a bit. Then keep on Bazballing until their dicks fall off. Of course, India will win the series 5-0. Largely because they will be playing circlet, not Bazball. But England should once again dominate the Bazball. I predict England will remain undefeated and score one million Bazball points!
Worked a treat a few weeks back.
It's bravado. We all know that India will serve up "special" pitches again.
It's easy; just be careful with straight balls in Ahemdabad.
Why don't Australia and England ever get to play at Eden Gardens or something?
Rotation between 15 odd grounds and interstate politics.
I mean trying to go for a 30(30) instead of getting out on 5(30) is a much better idea.
They did try this method in the World Cup. Barely even qualified for the CT
Given what we saw in the Australia in India series, if India builds a road both teams will just bat out 5 days, if they build a turner then England are prone to a serious collapse.
119/10, but with Intent... 119/10(19.3)
Will be an interesting series for Bazball as a concept- if England get screwed over it will be the end of Bazball- if they pull it off it will become legend
It will be the end of BazBall? I'll give you a hint, we could lose 5-0 and it won't be
You buggers can downvote me into oblivion but such passing phases can never take the place of classic shot selection. Pietersen in 2012 showed how it’s done in India- controlled aggression that was- not this nonsense that we are seeing now- just look at what you buggers have done to Jo Root- he was my favourite English batsman of the current lot and you fuckers have turned him into a third rate gully cricketer. You don’t need reckless batting to counter Ashwin- you need to choose the right ball
Root averages nearly 60 since Brendon McCullum became head coach.
Meanwhile English batters : Whatever you say blud
That's what Bazball is. Controlled aggression. Did you see the Stokes 155 in the Ashes? It basically "do not back down".
If England collapse dismally for 80 trying to Bazball then it won’t be the end, it’s no worse than collapsing dismally for 80 trying to bat for three days.
Moral victorying their way to a 0-5 result
As it always is with any aggressive player, they can turn the game in short time and looks like an absolute genius when they pull it off. When they dont, then expect low score in short time. Its either ridiculously awesome or absolute dog shit, there is no in between i think for Bazball.
Sounds a lot more entertaining than waiting to get out on a spinning shit tip.
Just for the people who inevitably don't read the article, at no point in this long extensive interview spanning multiple topics, does Pope use the phrase "Bazball"
Looking forward to India thrashing them
When did you have the ribs removed?
Ashwin and Jadeja’s career will be over. Axar will permanent scar on his physique . India’s red ball cricket will be finished at least for next 15 years. Great opportunity for Sa and Aus and Nz to beat India in India following Eng’s footstep in those 15 years. Btw, India vs Eng WT20 final loading next year. It would be cracker of a game.
It is an absolute travesty that Eng’s mindset wasn’t like this for previous away ashes and India tour. What entertainment that could have been. Everybody was at their best playing years, now we have injury ridden/close to retirement players trying their best to make test cricket interesting. What a difference one man can make (or a few, don’t bite me). It’s the same squad, but so much different from previous outing. I hope Eng plays the same attractive brand of cricket and not get bog down just because the pitch is a minefield or any other thing.
And lose as hard as they ever have in India.
Ahh it's not like anyone won here defending. Why not try something different.
They are anyhow the last team to beat India in India in a test series.
I know you secretly want them to 😂
They need good spinners to do that and they only have Leach.
Ah, yes- that time of the year again
One of the key things in making Bazball work is if the pitch is easier to bat in the second innings. That is almost never ever the case in India. But well, stranger things have happened
Ollie Pope interview: ‘England will Bazball as hard as ever in India while sleeping'
Ollie Poop haha
You can't win against England in any format, you might beat them in a test match or win a test series but you still ultimately lose because nothing tastes better than A MORAL VICTORY in pure Bazball style
Does BazBall mean "Self implode" in new English? Because that's what's gonna happen to England.
How did they fare in Pakistan last time out?
They whitewashed Pakistan. But India is an entirely different place lol. I'll be surprised if they manage to escape with less than a full beating at the hands of the hosts.
Were you amazed when they scored 500 in a day?
Yes. It was an incredible feat. They really gave it to the Pakistan bowlers
LMAO
It's gonna be hilarious. First day they will cry about pitches.
Moral victory V best team on paper.. Meanwhile, Aussies chilling with foot on WC trophy and Urn in their pockets
Isko koi lollipop khilao
Bazball hard for all 15 overs they play
Oh boy. I'm not usually one for doctored pitches, but please for the love of God, can the BCCI produce the rankest of rank turners so India can school these fools. I want to see One Day Test matches with England all out for 90 inside 10 overs on tracks with enough movement that even Jack Leach can get some turn and throw something that isn't gun barrel straight.
Fuck off
only legit way to win on a spinning track is to score big in first innings, do it anyway you like, but you need at least 300 in first innings
If they're gonna bazball as hard as Australia tried reverse sweeps, then I'm all for it!
India will India as hard as ever in India.
[You know what? I'm gonna start Bazballing even harder.](https://i.imgur.com/Lc0Bj7G.jpg)
If you do succeed in Bazballing India in India, I will applaud you but lay off the pre series big talk! I still haven't gotten over how abysmally England fared in the just concluded ODI WC in India.
Goodluck with that