Cricket fred

[fivepointer]

Fabulous test match. England have thrown away 2 very strong positions but could still win.

[Digby]

The batting from both sides is abject faced with a moving ball. even Kohli is fortunate to have amassed the runs he has

That said I really don't understand how hard it is to switch from shorter formats to test cricket

[Digby]

Well the atmosphere was good, it's raucous enough at the best of times on a Saturday at Edgbaston, well other than watching Graeme Smith compile 275

It's a win but there's huge improvement needed

[Digby]

An accomplished if not substantial start from Pope. Also is Broad now coaching the team on reviews?

[Digby]

Test cricket is basically dead based on that match, even those scoring runs gave up plenty of chances, nobody was willing to play late and straight as it's just not attacking enough and as a result the match in effect lasted less than two days

[fivepointer]

Good toss to win and England exploited the conditions with commendable skill. Yes, the batting wasnt great but sometimes the ball dominates and that isnt necessarily a bad thing.

[Digby]

I don't think the pitch was unplayable, I think every batter lacked patience and went too hard at the ball given conditions

[Digby]

Selectors with a tricky call with Stokes being cleared, he's a lucky boy our jails are already overcrowded, but now who to drop?

[Mellsblue]

I’m not sure if Buttler picked it up in the IPL but I’m not sure ducking out of the way of the ball whilst fielding in the slip cordon will catch on.

[fivepointer]

From the BBC -

England lose all 10 wickets in afternoon session; bowled out for 161
Third time in two years England have lost all 10 wickets in a session
That didn't happen once in previous 78 years (1938-2016)

There appears to be a bit of a trend developing.....

[Digby]

I wonder what the record is for lowest innings above 400 in X number of games

[Digby]

I wonder what the record is for lowest innings above 400 in X number of games

We'd surely set the record for lowest first innings then followed by highest run chase

That said god only knows why India weren't bowling much earlier yesterday, and I'd still back them to win today with 200-250 runs to spare, I do think we'll score quickly with attacking fields being set but nobody looks inclined to hang around

[Digby]

Essentially the top four are only getting picked as the selectors simply don't have anyone better to turn to

[Digby]

Aping Yes Minister the decision to bat is a brave one

[Mellsblue]

There will be lots of talk this morning about how they are showing confidence in the batting line-up and being positive by deciding to bat. There will also be lots of talk this afternoon about how the second innings is when they plan to show it.

[Digby]

Once it was depressing this seemed so inevitable, now it's almost funny, and really if they're not going to give a crap why would anyone else

[Stom]

The decision making just seems so muddled. We've got a guy who just scored a double hundred at 3, playing at 6/7... We've got an opening pair who can't get their heads straight, never mind their bats, and we're playing a middle/lower middle order batsman at 4 based on pyjama form.

I would just like to see a little bit more joined up and long term thinking when it came to the batting. If things aren't working atm, then make real changes, just don't shuffle the deck chairs.

[Digby]

Ali doesn't look a top six batsman to me, even if he has just scored well for Wuss

[Digby]

The end is seemingly nigh, which given the ability in the team is something of a disgrace

[Mellsblue]

The decision to drop Curran looks better by the day.

[fivepointer]

Good effort from Curran. He looks a sparky, resilient cricketer. Can he open the batting maybe?

Oh, and our bowling at the close was abysmal.

[Digby]

Yet another decent batsman gone to pot with the captaincy

[Mellsblue]

It might just be the move to no3. Which, with Jennings, is pretty much no2. He’s always been against it and the mind is so important in batting. That said, he’s not alone. Other than the openers is anybody in the top 6 batting where they want to be.

[Digby]

There is a problem that only Root looks a class act at this level and even he's not close to his best. The other previous class act in Cook went kaput quite some while back. The rest have never looked consistent or are unproven, and really there's nobody better knocking on the door

And I don't see why they'd adjust their techniques to test cricket when there's so much more easier money to be made in pyjama cricket

[Digby]

The side doesn't have any top order batsmen, but it bats deep and plenty bowl, six bowlers in fact, and even with that we've given some overs to Jennings