Number one ranked test team England elected to bat in overcast conditions and reached 75-0 at lunch. Ishant Sharma was the only Indian bowler who looked remotely threatening. Doesn't look like we'll finally see a contest in this series on this evidence.
Given that the bookies had The Oval Test down as a draw before it started thanks to the history of Tests there between the two nations (virtually always a draw), the weather is not helping England to address that statistic. Given the limits of the India bowling line-up and the fact that The Oval is a batting track, England ought to be able to rack up a big first innigns score. If the rain stays away and India fail to post a three hundred plus total in their first innings, there is still time for England to win it.
England need to stick to the tactics they have being employing for a while now, bat once and bat long. Get the next two days batting and give India two days of batting to do and see where they end up, they can either rally and show us they still have the appetite for test cricket, or they can fall apart like they have done on numerous occasions.
superb hundred from Bell. his 16th in tests I talked the other day about Bell operating at 3.....not bad at all. An extremely valuable cricketer at 3,4,5, or even 6
hundred up for Peterson. skied one in the late 80's not picked up at all. Dropped in 102. India all over the shop at the minute.
Went out this morning with two wickets having fallen fairly quickly. Was surprised (but not that surprised) when I got in at six and England were still just two wickets down.
Woakes took seven wickets and made sixty four with the bat recently, wouldnt mind seeing the boy have a run out for England at some point.
India always have a sub fielder on - Virat Kohli - all part of their clever plan to get some of their worse fielders off the pitch! Also Woakes has had a run in limited overs so he is on the selectors' radar.
With Dravid and Dhoni at the crease, I feel this innings will quickly conclude once one of those two go. The follow on will be enforced and there's every likelihood that this game will be over today unless India finally show some fight.
Dravid almost single-handedly has dragged India into the fifth day of this test but with him gone and even though Tendulkar is in and India have seven wickets in hand, we just know that this Indian resistance will fizzle out tomorrow as it has done every game of this series. Kept hearing commentators and listeners being quoted on the live feed going on about "wouldn't it be nice to see Tendulkar make a century, this is the last test he'll play in England". I have the utmost respect for him and admiration of his achievements but no, I'm an England fan, I want him bowled out ASAP. Imagine Sir Alex Ferguson saying: "We're three nil up against Chelsea, let them score a goal to give their fans something to cheer about". Do you want to win or are you a soppy old sod, Aggers & C?
It did rather didn't it? Seeing as how the second innings went (I know that hindsight is foresight for gobshites but.....) would there have been any merit in Dravid not opening the second innings? Dhoni opens a lot, Dhoni is captain. They needed to do something imaginative to try and save the test. Yet again India fail. It isn't dead yet, but it is looking that way.
We're not just the number one Test team in the world, we've completely humiliated the country who were top spot at the start of the series
