Written by Joe Man and edited by Joe Murphy.
Four days of enthralling cricket between England and India, sadly ended in a damp Trent Bridge washout.
Its likely India would have won the match being at 52/1 on the final day, needing only 157 further runs for victory. England were well in the game, however, and we were robbed of an enthralling end.
The first day was a shocker for England and they were playing catch up from that point on. England’s batting line up looks so fragile right now and has come into major criticism from fans and former players alike, most noticeably former captain Michael Vaughan. In the last year or so, it seems that batting-wise, a collapse never seems far away.
It’s a frightening prospect with more experienced and attacking bowlers to face some of these players, as another Ashes is not too far away. In fairness to England, they fought their way back into a test match that looked gone on the first day, largely thanks to Joe Root and some tidy bowling.
India have a wealth of talent at the moment and were dominant over England. If you look at the comparisons between the teams, it’s a stark contrast. India have no fewer than 8 batsmen in their squad averaging over 40 while England have Joe Root. After that Johnny Barstow is the closest averaging only 33.
When it comes to bowling, India have two high class spinners, England have none in the current squad. It is true that England’s most potent weapon are two bowlers that are very close to the end of their careers. That being said they are two of the all time greats. Jimmy Anderson ripped into India on day two and brought England right back in to the game. Ollie Robinson looks to be a real find and clearly troubled the opposition using his height to his advantage. With Jofra Archer now ruled out of the Ashes series, he could not have announced his arrival on test cricket at a better time.
The forecast is for good weather at Lords for the second test, so improvements will need to be made across the pitch, for the home nation. The recent addition of Moeen Ali to the squad can surely help with England’s chances. That being said, England are without Stuart Broad after the bowler picked up a calf injury, and question marks remain over James Anderson’s fitness also. Dom Bees has also been dropped from the squad, with Lancashire seamer Saqib Mahmood drafted in as cover. In contrast, India have no such new injury worries.
Bring on the battle!
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