From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket

Well that was a terrific finish to a terrific series, I think the best
in England since the famous 2005 Ashes series. Well done, India! Whilst
I naturally wanted England to win, I think 2-2 was a much fairer
reflection of the series than 3-1 (or even 2-1) would have been.

My idea of the best XI chosen from the two sides:

Duckett or Jaiswal
Rahul
Gill
Root
Brook
Pant or Smith (w) - Pant probably just shades it, since as Smith tired
his batting fell away
Stokes
Jadeja
Sundar
Bumrah
Siraj

If it was a pitch like the one at The Oval, Sundar would have to give
way to another pace bowler, though I'm not sure who. (Though the
last-wicket partnership of 39 he conjured up with Krishna turned out to
be crucial to the result.)

I see that Brook was chosen as England's man of the series and Gill as India's. You can't really argue with Gill - though Siraj has been
terrific in what has mostly been a batsmen's series - but I'd have
chosen Stokes in preference to Brook.

With the five Tests so close together and all going into the fifth day,
it's probably been the most exhausting series ever for the players. It
wonder if that contributed to how many injuries there were, with Bashir,
Pant, Stokes and Woakes all suffering.

The Hundred starts tomorrow. I hope that the England players involved
will be given at least four or five days rest by their franchises before
being expected to turn out.
--
John Hall
"I look upon it, that he who does not mind his belly,
will hardly mind anything else."
Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-84)
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket

On 8/4/2025 10:28 AM, John Hall wrote:

Well that was a terrific finish to a terrific series, I think the best
in England since the famous 2005 Ashes series. Well done, India! Whilst
I naturally wanted England to win, I think 2-2 was a much fairer
reflection of the series than 3-1 (or even 2-1) would have been.

My idea of the best XI chosen from the two sides:

Duckett or Jaiswal
Rahul
Gill
Root
Brook
Pant or Smith (w) - Pant probably just shades it, since as Smith tired
his batting fell away
Stokes
Jadeja
Sundar
Bumrah
Siraj

If it was a pitch like the one at The Oval, Sundar would have to give
way to another pace bowler, though I'm not sure who. (Though the last- wicket partnership of 39 he conjured up with Krishna turned out to be crucial to the result.)

I see that Brook was chosen as England's man of the series and Gill as India's. You can't really argue with Gill - though Siraj has been
terrific in what has mostly been a batsmen's series - but I'd have
chosen Stokes in preference to Brook.

With the five Tests so close together and all going into the fifth day,
it's probably been the most exhausting series ever for the players. It wonder if that contributed to how many injuries there were, with Bashir, Pant, Stokes and Woakes all suffering.

The Hundred starts tomorrow. I hope that the England players involved
will be given at least four or five days rest by their franchises before being expected to turn out.

What a fantastic series to SAVOR for decades.



Yes, 2-2 is a FAIR result.





Andrew Miller:

Siraj, however, wasn't letting this cause slip now. In he hurtled for
one final effort ball. Back went Atkinson's off stump as he swung for
the hills once again. Out came Siraj's "siu" celebration as his
team-mates swamped him in adulation. Off went the celebrations all
across a nation that had no doubt come to a standstill on an otherwise nondescript Monday afternoon. So ended one of the most breathless hours
ever witnessed in 148 years and 2,598 Tests. And one of the most
compelling series in living memory.



--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket

On 8/4/2025 10:28 AM, John Hall wrote:

Well that was a terrific finish to a terrific series, I think the best
in England since the famous 2005 Ashes series. Well done, India! Whilst
I naturally wanted England to win, I think 2-2 was a much fairer
reflection of the series than 3-1 (or even 2-1) would have been.

My idea of the best XI chosen from the two sides:

Duckett or Jaiswal
Rahul
Gill
Root
Brook
Pant or Smith (w) - Pant probably just shades it, since as Smith tired
his batting fell away
Stokes
Jadeja
Sundar
Bumrah
Siraj

If it was a pitch like the one at The Oval, Sundar would have to give
way to another pace bowler, though I'm not sure who. (Though the last- wicket partnership of 39 he conjured up with Krishna turned out to be crucial to the result.)

I see that Brook was chosen as England's man of the series and Gill as India's. You can't really argue with Gill - though Siraj has been
terrific in what has mostly been a batsmen's series - but I'd have
chosen Stokes in preference to Brook.

With the five Tests so close together and all going into the fifth day,
it's probably been the most exhausting series ever for the players. It wonder if that contributed to how many injuries there were, with Bashir, Pant, Stokes and Woakes all suffering.

The Hundred starts tomorrow. I hope that the England players involved
will be given at least four or five days rest by their franchises before being expected to turn out.

Vithushan is probably ranks in the top 3 cricket writers.



The agony, the ecstasy: 56 minutes of Test cricket at its most glorious

In less than an hour's play on an epic 25th morning, England and India's series touched rare heights

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/eng-vs-ind-5th-test-the-agony-the-ecstasy-56-minutes-of-test-cricket-at-its-most-glorious-1498015



56 minutes of hell. 56 minutes of heaven.

56 minutes of the wildest ride of your goddamn life. 56 minutes that
will change you forever.

It is enough time to move from the northern-most part of the Victoria
Line to its lower reaches, brush shoulders as you walk up the escalator
of Vauxhall Station and turn into the Harleyford Road to see the Kia
Oval on the horizon.

Enough time to believe in new heroes. Enough time to laud old ones.
Enough time to have your heart broken. Enough time to count yourself
lucky that Test cricket, handed down by older generations more than it
is ever picked up by newer ones, was handed to you. Enough time to find yourself a whole new world.

Enough time, on this rare occasion, to pick it up as a new convert.
Because there would have been some in this pocket of south London who
will have experienced Test cricket for the first time on Monday.
Firstly, welcome. Usually, it lasts longer than this. And no, you will
never see anything like this again.

The very existence of List A and T20 cricket - and yes, the Hundred,
which begins on Tuesday - is this idea the longest format is too long,
too convoluted, too inconvenient to really grab you. Who knew all it
takes was a small taste of the hard stuff to grab you by the throat and
stir your soul.

This was 100% proof, undiluted, unhinged Test cricket. All you needed
was a shot of 56 minutes. No human body, not even those reared on it, including those out there providing the action, could have dealt with
much more.

Day five at the Kia Oval was sold out well before this match threatened
to spill over from Sunday's longer-form chaos. The gripping finale of
the third Test, on the other side of the river at Lord's, had resulted
in Surrey selling over 5,000 Day five tickets in 24 hours. Eventually,
17,545 punters had what, unbeknownst to them, would prove to be the most golden of tickets.

At only -u25 a pop for adults (20 for members) and -u1 for kids, it was a sound investment given that refunds would be given if the day saw no
play. Rarely has just 8.5 overs felt like a steal.

Such pricing usually brings a different kind of crowd to the first four
days - especially at Lord's - but, down at The Oval, the mix of English
and Indian fans was as it had been throughout the match already. The
state of the game, however, created a more feverish atmosphere, making
this bowl ground feel taller and deeper, and even more self-contained.
For 56 minutes, there was no outside world, for the outside world was
every bit as transfixed with what was going on in here. Even the
construction on the new apartment blocks in the old Gasholders ground to
a halt.

The clamour as the players entered the field was louder than it had been
all match. The English roars when Jamie Overton pulled the first ball
for four were more guttural. The Indian jubilation when victory was
sealed in Mohammed Siraj's 186th over of the series came crashing back
and forth like Atlantic-sized waves in a goldfish bowl.

The overnight break helped add to the tumult, even amid the fury of
Sunday's hastily called stumps, though an extra night's sleep brought
anything but. A new day's new opportunity was now riddled with even more jeopardy.

How on earth did 35 more runs turn into the impossible job when 301 of
the 374 had been cleared with such ease? Since when has getting through
a tail that includes a man with only one functioning arm come replete
with truly eternal legacy-making rewards and, thus, incomprehensible
pressure?

There were simpler questions, too. Who wanted it? And the one we were
all asking ourselves - who could bear it?

A familiar trope of Test cricket is that, at its best, it is a universal force. Happening to people, beyond their control and comprehension.

But that does a disservice to the protagonists. To Joe Root and Harry
Brook, who dragged this fourth innings into legendary territory. And,
finally, Siraj, who had bowled on 18 of the 25 days of these five Tests, sending down 50 or more balls on 12 of them. And his 1,122nd delivery (including extra balls), sent down with as much vigour as the previous
1,121, was his fifth-fastest of them all at 89mph/143kph. And the one
that will live forever.

Moments like these always give you heroes. But they also give you
kindred spirits. Those you are drawn to as much for their heroics as
their fallibility.

Akash Deep, face down in the green beyond the boundary at midwicket,
palms still stinging from Gus Atkinson's heave to cow, wondering if he'd
be to blame for an impending loss. Dhruv Jurel wanting that same turf to swallow him as Siraj and Shubman Gill berated him for missing the stumps
with an underarm that would have sealed the match. His shot at
immortality scuttled a yard past the striker's stumps.


Atkinson crestfallen, one hit away from a tie that would have given
England the series win, doubled over, smelling the earth where his off
stump used to be. A lionhearted Chris Woakes, dislocated left shoulder strapped to his torso, secured by a sleeveless jumper, arm guard on his 'wrong' side with a view to batting southpaw.

Even umpire Ahsan Raza, assuming the role of good samaritan, helping the infirm Woakes readjust himself after sprinting the bye Jurel failed to prevent, a moment that left his left arm loose despite all the binding.

And hey, let's hear it for the Dukes ball. Pilloried for the last seven
weeks but thriving in its final 85.1 overs of the English Test summer.

Was 2-2 a fair result? On balance, yes. But England's failure to punch
their card for a hat-trick of 370-plus chases against India should be
regarded as a misstep from 301 for 3 and 332 for 4.

That only enhances India's feat in levelling the series, even if they
will depart a long tour with issues of their own. Selection decisions
remain inconsistent, and their batting needs to take cues from their
bowling when it comes to getting a grip of sessions that are turning
against them.

With the best will in the world, who cares about any of that right now.
As both sets of players reflected on how such a hard-fought series could
reach such a climax, they'd do well to appreciate how lucky they were, too.

Test cricket has been going for almost 150 years, and we were still
treated to a one-of-a-kind finish. And perhaps more importantly, at a
time when other Test-playing nations are unwelcome and unable to
participate in series that allow such fairytales, both sides should
count themselves lucky. Lucky to play regularly in a format that can
lift you to higher plains. Lucky to afford to do it.

As it happens, Monday was the 20-year anniversary of the start of the
2005 Edgbaston Test between England and Australia. A Test that,
ultimately, defines an Ashes series regarded as the greatest ever.

That two-run victory was England's slimmest margin. Here in 2025, India
bagged theirs, by six. Maybe the universe is up to something.

Many have wondered throughout these five Tests if the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy could rival 2005's offerings. In these 56 minutes, it did.






--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket

In message <8b069309-5893-4afa-b51b-b60ae2ebed06@america.com>, FBInCIAnNSATerroristSlayer <FBInCIAnNSATerroristSlayer@america.com>
writes
<snip>

Vithushan is probably ranks in the top 3 cricket writers.

He's excellent.

The agony, the ecstasy: 56 minutes of Test cricket at its most glorious

In less than an hour's play on an epic 25th morning, England and
India's series touched rare heights

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/eng-vs-ind-5th-test-the-agony-the-ecs >tasy-56-minutes-of-test-cricket-at-its-most-glorious-1498015

And that's a brilliant piece.

<snip>

A familiar trope of Test cricket is that, at its best, it is a
universal force. Happening to people, beyond their control and >comprehension.

<snip>

I think it's a trope that might have been first written down by Neville
Cardus in an article on the Old Trafford Test of 1902, which he had
attended as a boy and which Australia won by - IIRC - 4 runs. I'd like
to quote what he wrote, but first I'd have to track it down. The gist of
it has always stuck in my mind, though.
--
John Hall
"I look upon it, that he who does not mind his belly,
will hardly mind anything else."
Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-84)
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket

In message <GLpW4GBa+ckoFw7e@jhall_nospamxx.co.uk>, John Hall <john_nospam@jhall.co.uk> writes

In message <8b069309-5893-4afa-b51b-b60ae2ebed06@america.com>, >FBInCIAnNSATerroristSlayer <FBInCIAnNSATerroristSlayer@america.com>
writes
<snip>

Vithushan is probably ranks in the top 3 cricket writers.

He's excellent.

The agony, the ecstasy: 56 minutes of Test cricket at its most glorious

In less than an hour's play on an epic 25th morning, England and
India's series touched rare heights

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/eng-vs-ind-5th-test-the-agony-the-ecs >>tasy-56-minutes-of-test-cricket-at-its-most-glorious-1498015

And that's a brilliant piece.

<snip>

A familiar trope of Test cricket is that, at its best, it is a
universal force. Happening to people, beyond their control and >>comprehension.

<snip>

I think it's a trope that might have been first written down by Neville >Cardus in an article on the Old Trafford Test of 1902, which he had
attended as a boy and which Australia won by - IIRC - 4 runs. I'd like
to quote what he wrote, but first I'd have to track it down. The gist
of it has always stuck in my mind, though.

I've now tracked it down, to a post in the Googlegroups archive of rec.sport.cricket of all places:

https://groups.google.com/g/rec.sport.cricket/c/fSPfRWsyCwY/m/b15p58wNQvkJ

The relevant bit:

"The match at the end seemed to get right out of
the control of the men that were making it; it seemed to take
on a being of its own, a volition of its own, and the mightiest
cricketers in the land looked as though they were in the grip
of a power of which they could feel the presence but whose
ends they could not understand."
--
John Hall
"I look upon it, that he who does not mind his belly,
will hardly mind anything else."
Dr Samuel Johnson (1709-84)
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket

On 8/5/2025 2:32 AM, John Hall wrote:

In message <8b069309-5893-4afa-b51b-b60ae2ebed06@america.com>, FBInCIAnNSATerroristSlayer <FBInCIAnNSATerroristSlayer@america.com> writes <snip>

Vithushan is probably ranks in the top 3 cricket writers.

He's excellent.

I initially wrote Vithushan is one of the top three cricket writers and
then CHANGED it to ranks in the top 3 cricket writers BUT FORGOT to
REMOVE the word "is".

The agony, the ecstasy: 56 minutes of Test cricket at its most glorious

In less than an hour's play on an epic 25th morning, England and
India's series touched rare heights

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/eng-vs-ind-5th-test-the-agony-the-ecs
tasy-56-minutes-of-test-cricket-at-its-most-glorious-1498015

And that's a brilliant piece.

Vithushan is a British Sri Lankan.

I will be honest with you.

When I went to america as a graduate student two decades ago, I was
REALLY REALLY SHOCKED to see the quality of English in newspapers was
MEDIOCRE compared to Indian newspapers like "The Hindu" and "Indian
Express" etc.

BUT NOW in the 2020s, unfortunately the quality of English in Indian newspapers also CAME DOWN to the LEVEL of american newspapers most
likely because the "new Y and Z generation" just DON'T CARE.

Occasionally I still see some amazing cricket columns in Indian media
but they are penned mostly by the baby boomer and generation X columnists.

<snip>

A familiar trope of Test cricket is that, at its best, it is a
universal force. Happening to people, beyond their control and
comprehension.

<snip>

I think it's a trope that might have been first written down by Neville Cardus in an article on the Old Trafford Test of 1902, which he had
attended as a boy and which Australia won by - IIRC - 4 runs. I'd like
to quote what he wrote, but first I'd have to track it down. The gist of
it has always stuck in my mind, though.

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket

On 04/08/2025 18:28, John Hall wrote:

Well that was a terrific finish to a terrific series, I think the best
in England since the famous 2005 Ashes series. Well done, India! Whilst
I naturally wanted England to win, I think 2-2 was a much fairer
reflection of the series than 3-1 (or even 2-1) would have been.

My idea of the best XI chosen from the two sides:

Duckett or Jaiswal
Rahul
Gill
Root
Brook
Pant or Smith (w) - Pant probably just shades it, since as Smith tired
his batting fell away
Stokes
Jadeja
Sundar
Bumrah
Siraj

If it was a pitch like the one at The Oval, Sundar would have to give
way to another pace bowler, though I'm not sure who. (Though the last- wicket partnership of 39 he conjured up with Krishna turned out to be crucial to the result.)

The numbers suggest Duckett over Jaiswal, and I'd go for Tongue
(marginally ahead of Archer, and on the basis of not picking Atkinson on
the strength of one match) instead of Washington Sundar; otherwise the
bowling looks a bit light. I'd have to settle for Jadeja as the spinner
in a series in which spin had little impact, which is surprising given
the length of the matches.

There's even a case for Pant _and_ Smith ahead of Brook.

I see that Brook was chosen as England's man of the series and Gill as India's. You can't really argue with Gill - though Siraj has been
terrific in what has mostly been a batsmen's series - but I'd have
chosen Stokes in preference to Brook.

Indeed, and I'm not sure how they put Brook ahead of Root, unless they
were focussed on scoring rate, in which case Duckett is up there with Brook.

With the five Tests so close together and all going into the fifth day,
it's probably been the most exhausting series ever for the players. It wonder if that contributed to how many injuries there were, with Bashir, Pant, Stokes and Woakes all suffering.

I don't think so. The injuries to Bashir, Pant and Woakes were all
accidents, with only Stokes's (of those) down to wear and tear.
--
David North
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket

On 8/5/2025 11:58 PM, David North wrote:

On 04/08/2025 18:28, John Hall wrote:

Well that was a terrific finish to a terrific series, I think the best
in England since the famous 2005 Ashes series. Well done, India!
Whilst I naturally wanted England to win, I think 2-2 was a much
fairer reflection of the series than 3-1 (or even 2-1) would have been.

My idea of the best XI chosen from the two sides:

Duckett or Jaiswal
Rahul
Gill
Root
Brook
Pant or Smith (w) - Pant probably just shades it, since as Smith tired
his batting fell away
Stokes
Jadeja
Sundar
Bumrah
Siraj

If it was a pitch like the one at The Oval, Sundar would have to give
way to another pace bowler, though I'm not sure who. (Though the last-
wicket partnership of 39 he conjured up with Krishna turned out to be
crucial to the result.)

The numbers suggest Duckett over Jaiswal, and I'd go for Tongue
(marginally ahead of Archer, and on the basis of not picking Atkinson on
the strength of one match) instead of Washington Sundar; otherwise the bowling looks a bit light. I'd have to settle for Jadeja as the spinner
in a series in which spin had little impact, which is surprising given
the length of the matches.

There's even a case for Pant _and_ Smith ahead of Brook.

I see that Brook was chosen as England's man of the series and Gill as
India's. You can't really argue with Gill - though Siraj has been
terrific in what has mostly been a batsmen's series - but I'd have
chosen Stokes in preference to Brook.

Indeed, and I'm not sure how they put Brook ahead of Root, unless they
were focussed on scoring rate, in which case Duckett is up there with
Brook.

Theory of RECENCY.

With the five Tests so close together and all going into the fifth
day, it's probably been the most exhausting series ever for the
players. It wonder if that contributed to how many injuries there
were, with Bashir, Pant, Stokes and Woakes all suffering.

I don't think so. The injuries to Bashir, Pant and Woakes were all accidents, with only Stokes's (of those) down to wear and tear.

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: uk.sport.cricket

On 8/5/2025 2:32 AM, John Hall wrote:

In message <8b069309-5893-4afa-b51b-b60ae2ebed06@america.com>, FBInCIAnNSATerroristSlayer <FBInCIAnNSATerroristSlayer@america.com> writes <snip>

Vithushan is probably ranks in the top 3 cricket writers.

He's excellent.

The agony, the ecstasy: 56 minutes of Test cricket at its most glorious

In less than an hour's play on an epic 25th morning, England and
India's series touched rare heights

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/eng-vs-ind-5th-test-the-agony-the-ecs
tasy-56-minutes-of-test-cricket-at-its-most-glorious-1498015

And that's a brilliant piece.

<snip>

A familiar trope of Test cricket is that, at its best, it is a
universal force. Happening to people, beyond their control and
comprehension.

<snip>

I think it's a trope that might have been first written down by Neville Cardus in an article on the Old Trafford Test of 1902, which he had
attended as a boy and which Australia won by - IIRC - 4 runs. I'd like
to quote what he wrote, but first I'd have to track it down. The gist of
it has always stuck in my mind, though.

Is this the MOST BINGEABLE SERIES EVER?

Asks columnist Osman Samiuddin.


https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/eng-vs-ind-2025-what-did-we-just-watch-osman-samiuddin-1498118




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