Revolutionaries Routed in Rajkot
India v England, 17th February 2024.
I concluded yesterday’s journal giddy with excitement and by proclaiming that England needed to bat “big” in the sport’s vernacular, bat India “out of the game” and bat all day.
They didn’t even make it past my first pack of chocolate digestives!
England’s tale of woe, with added commentary from either the television or the chocolate addled mind of your favourite cricket correspondent:
Root “Oh Joe! Why have you played *that* shot now!” (18)
Bairstow “Good fucking luck playing that ball!” (0)
Duckett “Oh don’t get out to a lousy long hop!” (153)
Stokes “England are in trouble now” (41)
Foakes “2 in 2 balls!” (13)
Ahmed “Another England wicket falls. Another for Siraj!” (6)
Hartley “Another one! He get’s his revenge! Jadeja!” (9)
Anderson “Make that number 4!” (1)
With England rattling up 207 runs in double quick time yesterday afternoon in response to India’s 1st innings total of 445 I was indeed giddy with sporting excitement for today’s play but I also hedged my bets, urged for a little caution and for someone to follow Ben Duckett’s example with a big century ensuring parity on 1st innings at the very least and at the very best, a game changing lead. Ex England legendary spin bowler and entertaining TV co-commentator these days Graeme Swann described Kuldeep Yadav as bowling a “masterclass” and I couldn’t help but reluctantly agree. Mohammed Siraj emerged from the overwhelming shadow of Jasprit Bumrah and throw in a couple of calamitous and horrendous errors, England collapsed from an overnight position of 207–2 to 319 all out and rather than rampaging their revolutionary way to a lead on 1st innings, they were all out in a session and a half of play to trail by a distant 126 runs.
Ben Duckett has more than enough credit in the bank to be forgiven for dumping a dreadful “long hop” straight into the hands of Shubman Gill but Joe Root danced with the revolutionary devil and chuntered all the way back to the Pavilion a dejected man and England had added just 53 runs to their overnight total. It was as good as this morning would get. Co-commentator Nick Knight was correct in his proclamation that England were in trouble following the departure of captain Ben Stokes for a carefree and carefully created 41, but 20 total runs and a rampaging Mohammed Siraj later, they were all out for a lowly 319 having lost their final 7 wickets for just 95 runs.
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The second Act of our sporting play today contained another Indian masterclass, this time from 22 year old Yashasvi Jaiswal who was simply “playing England at their own game” in the words of Graeme Swann and instructed to “take a bow” from fellow spin bowling legend of yesteryear Ravi Shastri when he reached a quite spectacular century from just 122 balls received. Jaiswal accelerated from his rather sedate and circumspect 19 not out at the Tea Break by repeatedly crashing Tom Hartley to the boundary, reaching his half century with a ginormous drive for a boundary 6 on his way to a 42 ball second half century before having to “retire hurt” due to a back spasm. This kid is so good he even managed to finagle a “retired hurt”, so long in retirement in the modern game and a quaint anomaly so befitting the grand old game, back today, and back into today’s headlines.
Well batted kid.
But in those same Indian headlines I dare suggest that Shubman Gill will also be featuring heavily as he kept his partner company throughout the afternoon and long into the evening in a 150+ run partnership and remains not out at “Stumps” on 65, his team enjoying a thumping lead of 322 runs with 8 wickets remaining, and the destiny of the game seemingly and completely in their hands. Indian captain Rohit Sharma will have the West Indies all-time 4th innings run chase of 418 in May 2003 as a first port of call and then will surely seek a lead of 500 before unleashing his bowlers late tomorrow afternoon. From experience, this is pretty customary fare for a team in such a dominant position. But Sharma will have that nagging doubt that 500 runs, even though the entirety of Test Match cricket suggests otherwise, is still achievable from these revolutionary Englishmen who’s mantra is always “we’ll chase down anything”.
From a position of dominance England have been thoroughly outplayed today and to a point that Test Match cricket history suggests they simply cannot now win this Test Match. They will be set a target far in excess than has ever been scored to win batting last in the 4th innings of a Test Match since records began.
The revolutionaries have been routed.
For today.
Our third and final Act returns us all once more across the Tasman Sea to Perth in Australia for the hosts wholly expected and overwhelmingly dominant victory by an innings and 284 runs over a plucky if over-matched South Africa. Despite a debut Test Match half century from Delmari Tucker and an elegant maiden Test Match half century from Chloe Tryon, and within an innings containing 10 boundary 4’s and each one a true gem of a “correct” cricket shot through the covers, Alyssa Healy’s World Champion Australian ladies team cruised to a dominant win. Today’s game sealing wickets were shared among Darcie Brown, Ellyse Perry, Ashleigh Gardner and Alana King together with “Player of the Match” Annabel Sutherland who snagged 2 wickets today to go with the three scalped in the 1st innings, as well as the small matter of her double century yesterday with the bat!
The spectre of “one-off” Test Matches continues to haunt the ladies game and a game currently holding a stratospheric popularity as so well evidenced during last year’s sold out Ashes series between Australia and England. I have completed a rudimentary search of the fixture list for every premier cricket playing nation and whilst England have a heavy summer workload as regards one-day cricket and South Africa host Sri Lanka for 6 one-day internationals between April and May of this year, Australia have zero up coming fixtures (although they have played almost constantly since the Ashes last summer) but the recurring factor is the lack of any ladies Test Match cricket scheduled in the calendar and I’d hazard a guess we now have to wait until the next Ashes series for our next 5 day game Test and it’ll probably be a “one-off” Test too.
The longer form of Test Match cricket has never been in such a rude health. Let’s have more some more of it please, and in a “series” format rather than repeated “one-offs” and all games to take place, as with Perth and its storied history “WACA” ground this week, in Grade A Test Match venues around the world.
Hardly a revolutionary idea is it?