comment by Kav H (U19426)
posted 44 minutes ago
TCM, we are missing Bumrah and Bhuvi for the opening few tests and our bowlers have never really done it in England. For example, we still have Ishant Sharma in and around the side - I think that says it all about the quality of fast bowlers we possess, don't you
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I've got no stats to back me up but Ishant seems to be a guy who Cook struggles against. I'm sure a while back he was the batsman who Ishant has dismissed the most.

Either way, I fancy England to win the series but I wouldn't be surprised to see you thump us in at least 1 match. I'd love to see Root convert a few scores in this series, hopefully being up against a guy who he's battling with to be the best batsman in the world (with Smith out of action) will be a good motivator for him.

comment by Afridi14.... You gotta love it!! (U2805)
posted 12 minutes ago
So England have treated rashid like shtt over the years and now recall him based on a 1 ball wonder in an odi.. you have ex England captains now personally attacking rashid because of his selection. Shouldn’t their frustration be directed at the selectors? Hardly inspiring confidence in the lad.... typical England.
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It's a weird one. I wouldn't have picked him but I can fully understand why he was selected. This whole it's bad for the county game thing is a bit silly. He's shown in the ODIs that he can perform on the international stage and he's matured a lot in the last 18 months since he last played a test.

However, despite what selectors have done in the past, the new selectors having picked him have to back him. Give him all 5 tests matches and let his run in the side extend beyond that.

I’m actually on the side of the counties here. Think it’s ridiculous that he’s been picked after clearly stating he’s no interest in red ball cricket for Yorkshire... selectors in the wrong here not Adil. He’d have got slated if he said no by some ex England players for turning his back on his country - so can’t really win

I agree, Rashid as soon as he was asked was put in a difficult position and was going to be seen in a negative light whichever way he went.

I can understand Yorkshire's frustration as they've lost Rashid for the rest of the blast when they would have assumed they'd have him for the majority of the tournament and not lose him for the test matches.

As you say, it's the selectors fault but they've made the decision now so everyone should be getting behind Rashid rather than having people lament him.

My heart bleeds for Yorkshire

Might be throwing the race card here but I don't think we would have seen the same commotion had this been a white player. Just look at Buttler who has played no red ball cricket for a year and then after a good IPL gets a recall and is now the vice skipper for the test team.

Maybe he hasn't grown his beard to long like Moeen. So hes allowed to play?.
You gotta laugh at the well if he wasn't white this wouldn't have happened? lets TALK about real prejudism here.. I remember when prior to Muhammad Yusuf changing his name and converted to islam. he was a christan and wasn't allowed to be Captain. When he converted he suddenly became the captain.. Now that's 100% racism..

Hm, I think had Buttler made himself unavailable for red ball cricket for Lancashire then I think a similar mixed reaction would have come about. Him getting selected did cause a bit of a stir and I think there would have been even more reaction if his circumstances were exactly the same as Rashid's.

It doesn't surprise me that he's been made vice captain, he's obviously vice captain for the ODI/T20 sides and Ed Smith has spoken a lot about his leadership qualities. It might also suggest why he hasn't been given the gloves if he's being lined up as a potential captain should Root decide to step down at any point. He'd have to go through a horrible run of form for them to even consider taking it away from him though.

Hopefully once this series kicks off, Rashid can have an impact so we can talk about his performances rather than his selection. Looking forward to it now, disappointed for Porter but unsurprising that Curran has been given the nod.

comment by Liverpoolwhoelse17 (U16825)
posted 21 minutes ago
Maybe he hasn't grown his beard to long like Moeen. So hes allowed to play?.
You gotta laugh at the well if he wasn't white this wouldn't have happened? lets TALK about real prejudism here.. I remember when prior to Muhammad Yusuf changing his name and converted to islam. he was a christan and wasn't allowed to be Captain. When he converted he suddenly became the captain.. Now that's 100% racism..
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Good to see you on here LWE, what are your thoughts for the series, selections etc?

comment by Liverpoolwhoelse17 (U16825)
posted 23 minutes ago
Maybe he hasn't grown his beard to long like Moeen. So hes allowed to play?.
You gotta laugh at the well if he wasn't white this wouldn't have happened? lets TALK about real prejudism here.. I remember when prior to Muhammad Yusuf changing his name and converted to islam. he was a christan and wasn't allowed to be Captain. When he converted he suddenly became the captain.. Now that's 100% racism..
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We will never know as Inzi was our long term skipper when Yousuf was Youhana and Mohammed.

I've got no issues with England. They pick the best players no matter what race, religion etc. My issue is with the media overreaction. One treatment for Buttler and another treatment for Rashid.

Hi I think it will be an high scoring series. I always fancy England in England over a 4/5 test series. And England love the Indian bowling.
It will come down to England bowlers vs Indian batting.

comment by (Kash) I'm the Mane (U1108)
posted 34 minutes ago
comment by Liverpoolwhoelse17 (U16825)
posted 23 minutes ago
Maybe he hasn't grown his beard to long like Moeen. So hes allowed to play?.
You gotta laugh at the well if he wasn't white this wouldn't have happened? lets TALK about real prejudism here.. I remember when prior to Muhammad Yusuf changing his name and converted to islam. he was a christan and wasn't allowed to be Captain. When he converted he suddenly became the captain.. Now that's 100% racism..
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We will never know as Inzi was our long term skipper when Yousuf was Youhana and Mohammed.

I've got no issues with England. They pick the best players no matter what race, religion etc. My issue is with the media overreaction. One treatment for Buttler and another treatment for Rashid.
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The media have and always will have their agendas unfortunately, just look at Sterling. Vaughan in particular can be very strong in his opinion to lead these agendas.

comment by The Candlestick Maker (U8959)
posted 10 minutes ago
comment by (Kash) I'm the Mane (U1108)
posted 34 minutes ago
comment by Liverpoolwhoelse17 (U16825)
posted 23 minutes ago
Maybe he hasn't grown his beard to long like Moeen. So hes allowed to play?.
You gotta laugh at the well if he wasn't white this wouldn't have happened? lets TALK about real prejudism here.. I remember when prior to Muhammad Yusuf changing his name and converted to islam. he was a christan and wasn't allowed to be Captain. When he converted he suddenly became the captain.. Now that's 100% racism..
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We will never know as Inzi was our long term skipper when Yousuf was Youhana and Mohammed.

I've got no issues with England. They pick the best players no matter what race, religion etc. My issue is with the media overreaction. One treatment for Buttler and another treatment for Rashid.
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The media have and always will have their agendas unfortunately, just look at Sterling. Vaughan in particular can be very strong in his opinion to lead these agendas.
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Completely agree. No question that the England set up is fair and square and an example for the rest of the world, but the English media has a racist undertone and it’s not something new nore is it specific to cricket.

Anyway, reckon this will be a fascinating test series, the recent hot weather has brought India right back in the mix for me and can see them winning at least a couple of games

Here we go - the start of the English Cricket summer. Nothing quite like it especially Lords which is my favourite.

Root wins toss and England bat.

Edgbaston has not been a happy ground for us in Test cricket. Don't think we've ever beaten England there. Lets see how India's bowlers do today.

India XI: Vijay, Dhawan, KL Rahul, Kohli, Rahane, Karthik, Pandya, Ashwin, Yadav, Shami, Ishant.

Pujara dropped. I really don't rate our opening partnership either tbh. Vijay gets found out far too easily for my liking. Hope he proves me wrong.

Jennings dropped

A couple of poor overs from Umesh has allowed both batsmen to get started. Ashwin before Shami is interesting but starting with spin early against these two is a good idea even if it's barely turning.

Spin at 11.30 on the first day of an English test match. Has this ever happened before?

Suprised India didn’t play Jadeja with this early turn

The Aussies had a tendency to bring Warney on early in the 2005 Ashes series but I think the earliest was around the hour mark.

That's why...

Eesh, Cook gone and early turn. Makes you wonder why both sides only went with 1 spinner?

Lovely delivery by Ashwin to bowl Cook.

Sharma finally had a haircut