5th Test: England vs India - The Kia Oval

[Gingerfinch]

Nice to see Cook score a ton in his last match. Is he the first player to score a ton on debut, and is his last match?

Nerp. First to score 100+50 in first and last match though.

Cheers Arthur.

[bigfluffylemon]

great result for Steely. as good an ending as it's possible to get.

Only a thousand runs short of being the second highest run scoring batsman of all time. I always thought he would get those runs

So did I.

Now just need Jimmy to get one more to go past McGrath's vwicket tally and finish India off, and it's the perfect script.

[Durhamfootman]

Broad only a couple behind Kapil Dev, i think. That could happen tomorrow too

this match will remain in the consciousness for a very long time because of the sheer weight of landmarks that will (probably) be achieved/surpassed tomorrow.

astonishing really

[Durhamfootman]

although that being said..... this match will provide the extra sticking plaster (scrunched up in the corner of the first aid bag) that England will use to mask the (mostly) awful batting performances, from what could very easily have been a humiliating summer, had they been playing a team in better form than this India side

[sussexpob]

Think you hit the nail on the head there , Sussex. For whatever reason , Cook began to doubt his (ability ? desire ? Right to a place ?) and has been operating this season with a clouded mind...unsure whether he should fight it out as he always has , or give way to the march of time...

[
He's been fighting his whole career

Been fighting an average technique for 160 test matches

I disagree with point these points, but I will explain imo my reasoning.

Firstly, I think we need to separate conflicting character traits when manifested in different environments. Cook is undoubtedly always been a batsman of superb dedication on the pitch, he rarely if ever plays rash shots to get out, you always have to get him out, or he will continue to bat with the same approach. Yet, much in the same way as I never did homework at school because I had better things to do, but always worked hard in class and achieved grades, I think this is also a trait in Cook. Technique is a result of hard work, and its not a static thing. I think people have a misconception that people can pick up a bat and will fall always into their natural technique, but a batters natural technique is only the result of work. The purest nature technique that exists is the first time you pick up a bat and just do what feels right, which is not the way to get best results. Once your taught what to do and apply it, its almost like your body wants to take you back to that first time, to what was comfortable and natural.... and your mind has a habit of affirming this minute, slow process by telling you each step is right. You simply dont notice much decline or changes. You think you are doing exactly the same thing, while in actual fact, you arent.

So you need to work hard to maintain that technique. Imo, I think its obvious by the way in which there is clear technical decline in his game, he didnt work hard enough at his game to maintain it. As soon as you arent constantly reminding yourself exactly what that technique is, you are slowly forgetting it. You setup, and your hands are slightly off. The hands slightly lower means maybe you are leaning a little more. The head is no longer steady, which means the feet arent moving. And its cyclic.... the more you let that pattern continue, the more it goes out of synch.

Two times in his career he has followed relative lean patches, with long term disaster, where his technique has fallen apart. The first time, he came back. He was young, hungrier and worked at his game. The second time, it went on as a slowish decline for 5 years, and then the doors blew off again. I dont see this as a fluke. To me its clear he started as a sound batsman. He declined. He worked hard to reinstate that, and become brilliant for a couple of years, then the foot came off the gas and he declined. I think it was always visually there for anyone to see.

For that reason, I dont think he had a bad technique. He had a good one, as good a technique anyone could hope for when he was focused on his improvement and working on it. He just didnt maintain it. His technique is a lot of moving part, that little almost crouch he does, where the bat raises, the head lowers, and then comes back up so hes on the balls of his feet.... thats a high risk move. It requires precision to make sure that after it, as the feet get moving, everything has steadied enough to see the ball coming and to react to it. Its those triggers, when hes not quite timing it, or not quite trusting it... those are the ones. At this level, you cant be thinking about it. It has to be worked to the point everything can be trusted, and what you are trusting is a sound base coming from recent muscle memory.

I guess its hard to judge really. Captaining a side, playing like they do away from home all the time, playing how many days and hours they do compared to other sports, with all the complications of touring and being around various dressing rooms...... it all explains and mitigates why a batsman wouldnt have much of a window to do that type of work, but obviously people do. Kolhi does. Others do. If Cook had done it, Id have no doubt hed have achieved more. He'd probably be able to get to about now, nearly 34, and take the foot off the pedal and reach this stage in 2022.

I did say on another thread though, after 160 matches he doesnt need to apologise for not wanting to. We are debating his relative merits in the position of history, not whether or not he was a good or even brilliant player.Thats a given. Yet, on a whole, his career will always strike as undervalued. He didnt achieve enough for what he had, which was at his very best a iron will to score, a patience few are blessed with, and a very effective technical defence that made him as hard to get out as anyone, mixed with enough shots to punish bad balls.

[bigfluffylemon]

Morning all. The last day of the English international summer awaits (I was going to say the last day of the summer, but I realised that the CC carries on for more than two more weeks! Insane!).

After the drama of yesterday, today is unlikely to match up, but there is plenty of interest nonetheless. Can India hang on for the draw and 3-1 rather than 4-1? Without Kohli and Pujara, you'd have to say not likely, but given the morning sessions so far have yielded three wickets between the four of them, if the current pair bat well and India get to lunch no more than four down, anything is possible. Of course, if both of these go early, you'd have to bet India won't last until tea.

There's also a few more records there for the taking, not least the question of whether Anderson can take the wicket that will make him the most prolific fast bowler of all time. Can Cook add to his record number of catches in an England shirt too, just to add to the finale? There's also still selection places up for grabs for Sri Lanka - Moeen and Rashid in particular will want to make a case for inclusion as spinners on that trip, after the latter in particular has had an anonymous series. Can he bowl England to victory?

As an aside, which spinners should go to Sri Lanka? Rashid's had a poor series and given up red ball cricket (allegedly), while Moeen's overseas record stinks. Jack Leach has had a very solid season in the CC once he recovered from his injury, he should be in the frame, while young Amar Virdi has surely overtaken Dom Bess and Mason Crane as England's most promising young spinner after a successful season for likely champions Surrey.

Plenty to play for.

[Arthur Crabtree]

India will fold. There's nothing for them to play for and pride will be forgotten about before the plane lands.

[bigfluffylemon]

The morning session flat wicket continues.

Not sure how Rahul is still there, but he is.

[Durhamfootman]

only 5 wickets left for Santiago, Broad and Rashid to do what they need to do

1 wicket needed for Santiago to overtake Glenda

2 wickets needed for the tall blonde medium pacer to overtake Kapil Dev

and a bus to catch for Rashid

[bigfluffylemon]

India aren't going to die wondering.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Well done to Rahul on his first Test ton in UK. Rather faster than the situation demanded though.

[yuppie]

certainly seems like the best batting pitch of the series

[Dr Cricket]

certainly seems like the best batting pitch of the series

would be nice as well if it is a draw, takes Root hundred out of the equation lol.
although the irony is that kohli failed on the best batting pitch and missed out on a unwanted record of scoring 600 + the most amount of times in a series and ending up in the losing side.

[yuppie]

Th new ball will be Key here.

Who has replaced Pant, looks s a different player.

[Dr Cricket]

the pitch makes a huge difference really.