Underestimate the English test team at your own peril

[Fontaine]

I owe Fontaine an apology. Sorry mate. You were right.

No worries mate. I just didn't feel any threat from England apart from Flintoff in bowling and KP in batting. Even Swann, though he bowled well, was figured out by our batsmen once they played him after the first test. Harmison did his usual fade, Anderson was rubbish and Broad was wayward apart from a few spells.

[sandtest]

give some credit to England where it is due. They are a QUALITY test side along with Australia....and India deserves all praise for defeating both of them comprehensively.

[DomainK]

I think England has been more competitive than Australia. The English attack is not one dimensional like the Aussie attack. We had to pull off a neat miracle to win the first test and England successfully forced a draw in the second.

[fineleg]

Flintoff and Swann troubled us. Swann has been an "interesting" bowler - he'll probably pip Panesar in Eng squad soon.

[DomainK]

Flintoff and Swann troubled us. Swann has been an "interesting" bowler - he'll probably pip Panesar in Eng squad soon.

I dont see much of a future for Panesar. Warne gave an interesting comment about Panesar: "He hasnt played 35 tests, he has played the same test 35 times." :D He meant Panesar didnt improve a bit in 35 tests, he still plays the same way...he just does not learn.

[Shane]

England have been better than Oz, coz they have depth and variety in their attack, and ofcourse there is Freddie !!!

[cochise]

Oz were better.

[Shane]

Oz were better.

Depth in bowling mate ... Aussie attack was monotonous and too similar ... English attack was far more varied !!!

[Fontaine]

I still don't see how England are a quality test side? That last team of substance they actually won a series against was against Pakistan in 2006. Since then they've been beaten thoroughly by every decent test side they've faced like Sri Lanka, Australia, South Africa and now India. England are good enough to put away the Windies, and Kiwis but they haven't beaten a proper test country for more than two years.

[Guest Hiten.]

I still don't see how England are a quality test side? That last team of substance they actually won a series against was against Pakistan in 2006. Since then they've been beaten thoroughly by every decent test side they've faced like Sri Lanka, Australia, South Africa and now India. England are good enough to put away the Windies, and Kiwis but they haven't beaten a proper test country for more than two years.

Problem with English side is they rely too much on an individual performance in both batting (KP) and bowling (Freddie). There is no other player who stands up to the occasion. Freddie is getting back to his rhythm and pace, if he is going to continue in the same manner (and somehow if he gets supports from other bowlers) I say beware Aussies. England performed better than the Aussies as they were able to pick Indian wickets at regular intervals. English bowlers picked 31 wickets (out of possible 40) and Aussies managed to pick 59 (out of possible 80) :giggle:

[Ram]

Come to think of it, this series could have so easily gone 1-0 England’s way or ended in a 0-0 draw. How many times have we managed to survive 120 overs on days 4 and 5 in a test match? Till tea on day 4, England were HEAVY favorites. At that point, the most positive result we could hope for then was a draw. The second test ended in a boring stalemate. England may have been hammered 0-5 in the ODIs, but they’ve always been a better test side. But even in their wildest dreams, they couldn’t have possibly imagined that we will end up chasing 387 to win a test match on day 5.

[fineleg]

Problem with English side is they rely too much on an individual performance in both batting (KP) and bowling (Freddie). There is no other player who stands up to the occasion.:

strauss did

[Guest Hiten.]

strauss did

You do realize he had a really lean patch before scoring those hundreds right ? When I said no other English player stands up...I meant on average basis. England are totally depended on KP and freddie. Moreover, they have a very unreliable WK in form of Prior.

[satishg]

Compared to how we thrashed Eng in ODIs, Eng gave us good competition in Tests. Ryan Sidebottom - would he have made the Test-1 at Chennai much harder for India?

anyway finey wat i had said came true..i predicted a 1-0 victory and i stood by it even at the end of the 3rd day where u were giving some ridiculous poll options saying Eng will win 1-0 this that..so moral of the story never underestimate the prediction of GOD's fans :D :P

[cochise]

The only reason England were competitive in this series is that India were not in as high intensity mode as they were against Oz. The only time they really raised their level of intensity was during the Chennai run chase when they were under pressure. The ODI series against England had the team quite relaxed against the English and until they worked themselves into a corner by being complacent did they raise their intensity level. And then they won. In Mohali, they went to sleep again, aside from a few individual performances. Whereas against Oz, it was a grudge series and intensity was high all the way through. The series had an edge. Oz are a far superior team than England. KP and Flintoff are good invidual performers no doubt.

[fineleg]

The only reason England were competitive in this series is that India were not in as high intensity mode as they were against Oz. The only time they really raised their level of intensity was during the Chennai run chase when they were under pressure. The ODI series against England had the team quite relaxed against the English and until they worked themselves into a corner by being complacent did they raise their intensity level. And then they won. In Mohali, they went to sleep again, aside from a few individual performances. Whereas against Oz, it was a grudge series and intensity was high all the way through. The series had an edge. Oz are a far superior team than England. KP and Flintoff are good invidual performers no doubt.

Well - that thing does seem to be with India - that we change the intensity based on the opposition, and are at MAX with Aus.