Lords test 2011 : Predictions and discussion

[Sid]

Yes Zak got cramps becoz of IPL :cantstop:

[Crookbond]

You can't blame players for looking after their financial well being. Also' date= IPL is backed by BCCI and there is undue pressure on players like Sehwag, Gambhir, Zaheer etc. to play in the league. BCCI as the governing body should be the one to manage the schedule, player workload and injries to the players (at least the contracted ones). After all will you walk away from a 2 million dollar contract for 2 months? I wouldn't and neither would majority of players. Now if BCCI had a plan in pace, let's say have a mandatory physical check-up of contracted players before IPL kicks off and players who aren't fit or need to recuperate are guaranteed their contract money by BCCI and asked not to play. I am sure players wouldn't in such a scenario and the amount of money at stake for BCCI would still be peanuts. To me it's an administration oversight by BCCI at best or pure greed at worst but in either case you can't blame the players.

Similarly, don't blame IPL. You have a choice not to play. There's no "undue" pressure. There are enough pool of players to pick upon.

[Alchemist]

We don't have to blame IPL. Zak had all the time in his life to get fit and ready for the series. He earns so much money, he could have easily gone to England and practiced there to get familiar with conditions. The only thing I would have liked BCCI to do was, have a fitness camp for people going to england from India (not the ones already travelling from WI). But again, its individuals responsibility to stay and maintain their fitness. So no point blaming IPL or BCCI.

[Crookbond]

We don't have to blame IPL. Zak had all the time in his life to get fit and ready for the series. He earns so much money, he could have easily gone to England and practiced there to get familiar with conditions. The only thing I would have liked BCCI to do was, have a fitness camp for people going to england from Inida (not the ones already travelling from WI). But again, its individuals responsibility to stay and maintain their fitness. So no pint blaming IPL or BCCI.

Perfect !

[Ultimate_Game]

Similarly' date=' don't blame IPL. You have a choice not to play. There's no "undue" pressure. There are enough pool of players to pick upon.[/quote'] There's always financial pressure. Nobosy wants to rub BCCI the wrong way as you may well be sidelined. Pls read my post again. You can't go against your employer's wishes and nobody will want to miss out on millions of dollars for 2 months of cricket. It's for BCCI as custodians of cricket in India to ensure such things don't happen or are managed properly.

[CG]

espn speed gun is wrong according to espn star gun ishant sharma fastest-138.4km/h zaheer khan fastest-136km/ according to sky ishant sharma fastest-140km/h zaheer khan fastest-142km/h sky stream-http://www.stream2watch.com/index.php?option=com_videolist&view=video&Itemid=58&videoid=19294 hawkeye speed gun- http://www.espncricinfo.com/england-v-india-2011/engine/current/match/474472.html

[achilles]

Hmm. I wouldn't read too much into either though. Pick up wickets and lets clean up the mess.

[Cricket Tragic]

Who the feck cares about the speed gun? I'm more interested in the wickets column on the scoreboard.

[Karan114]

Who the feck cares about the speed gun? I'm more interested in the wickets column on the scoreboard.

:dito:

[Trichromatic]

Hardly matters. I would be happy even if they show 20mph and bowlers get the wickets. :(

[saneindian]

Let Pk bowl at 70 mph and get us 3 wickets in the morning session tomorrow. Or for that matter, let Ishant bowl at 80 mph and get us early wickets. Thats all which matters.

[kabira]

Rain: Blessing in Disguise Rain saved the day for us. We were looking bit jadded and helpless without Zak. Rain break was blessing in disguise. Now atleast they will have team meeting and come up with new plan without Zak's presense. All we have to do is knock 2 very quickly. They haven't scored at too quickly. New ball should be due soon. Bhajji has to bowl really well. He has to take that extra pressure now. Hopefully we get 2 wickets in first hour tomorrow and put them under pressure. Hows the forecast tomorrow?

[Cricket Tragic]

Rain saved the day for us. We were looking bit jadded and helpless without Zak. Rain break was blessing in disguise. Now atleast they will have team meeting and come up with new plan without Zak's presense. All we have to do is knock 2 very quickly. They haven't scored at too quickly. New ball should be due soon. Bhajji has to bowl really well. He has to take that extra pressure now. Hopefully we get 2 wickets in first hour tomorrow and put them under pressure. Hows the forecast tomorrow?

We've only had about 50 overs. :cantstop:

[kabira]

oh. I thought 60 odd overs were bowled. Well then bhajji at one end and Ishant at other end should start the proceedings. Praveen can bowl long spells.

[saneindian]

Forecast isn't looking too bad for tomorrow. rains predicted in the evening with sunny intervals in the afternoon. Our players would surely welcome some sunshine.

[Guest Gunner]

I would bowl Raina more tomorrow as well, we may not have much choice.

[Karan114]

Steve James: England are on top already England are on top already By Steve James This was undoubtedly England’s day. And its influence may well extend right throughout the series if Zaheer Khan’s injury is serious enough to rule him out of any further action. If that were to be the case there is no way I can see India bowling out England. Zaheer is that crucial to India. And he bowled superbly today. He may lack pace but he more than makes up for it with skill and intelligence. The dismissals of both Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss were both well thought out; carbon copies of dismissals the last time India were here. Cook fell across his stumps and not even the Decision Review System, had it been in use, would have saved him. While Strauss was suckered by a rare bouncer that was simply too wide of off-stump for him to hook. He could keep no control over the shot and it went high to long leg. But Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen set about an impressive rebuilding partnership. It was not pretty because India used very obvious tactics of attempting to bore the pair out. But Trott doesn’t do bored. He just bats and bats, and so he did again today. He had some luck- India’s fielding was shoddy- but timed the ball better and better as his innings wore on. What a Test-match batsman he has become. Pietersen battled hard, always fighting his instincts, but he survived and both will hope for finer weather tomorrow. But India can only hope for a miracle on Zaheer’s injury. The remarkably slow Praveen Kumar proved a handful today under cloudy skies, with the ball swinging like Benny Goodman at times. But we all know that Lord’s under sunny skies can look as flat as a cowpat. India made the correct decision to bowl, but flunked their lines. England have the upper hand and have set an imposing tone to this series already. Thoughts please? http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/stevejames/100017924/england-are-on-top-already/

[Alchemist]

England scoring at a runrate of 2.57 on a rain curtailed day does not set the tone for anything. The only thing seting the tone will be Zaheer Khans Injury. We should find that tomorrow.

[Sooda]

Imposing tone my pnis

[punjabi_khota]

What a bullshyte of an article.