The Indian cricket team are chasing history in the ongoing Test series against England. AP Photo
The Indian cricket team are chasing history in the ongoing Test series against England. AP Photo
The Indian cricket team are chasing history in the ongoing Test series against England. AP Photo
The Indian cricket team are chasing history in the ongoing Test series against England. AP Photo

England lead, but India upbeat: Talking points ahead of Southampton Test


Paul Radley
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Mission improbable

What a difference a win makes. Or a loss, dependent on your perspective.

Two weeks ago, India were apparently in the throes of calamity, their vaunted batting line-up rendered useless – Virat Kohli apart – by James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes. Easy to forget they were the world’s No 1 team at the time.

A crushing win at Trent Bridge later, and suddenly they are zeroing in on a lame duck England side, who are themselves harrowed by chronic, unsolvable problems. And yet they are still 2-1 up in the series.

For India to rein in England after giving up the first two games would be highly improbable, not to mention historic. Only Don Bradman’s Australians, who won the 1936/37 Ashes 3-2, have managed such a feat before.

And, talking of Bradman …

Virat Kohli returned to the summit of the Test batting rankings with another even 200 at Trent Bridge. AP Photo
Virat Kohli returned to the summit of the Test batting rankings with another even 200 at Trent Bridge. AP Photo

Class Kohli

Kohli is in the midst of a ding-dong battle to decide who is the best batsman in the world at present - with a batsman who is not actually playing at present.

It says much about the excellence of Steve Smith, before he departed the scene for his year off through suspension, that Kohli has only flip-flopped with him at the top of the world rankings despite his run-glut this summer.

His match haul of 200 runs in the opening Test at Edgbaston put the Indian to No 1. Smith vaulted back up, without having to do anything, when Kohli faltered at Lord's. Then India's captain returned to the summit with another even 200 at Trent Bridge.

Smith’s statistics might have seen him labelled the Best Since Bradman. Whether he is better than Kohli, though, might be a matter of taste.

There is yet hope that the promising Ollie Pope, right, can score big runs for England. AP Photo
There is yet hope that the promising Ollie Pope, right, can score big runs for England. AP Photo

Different batsmen, same problems

A Test at the Ageas Bowl scarcely represents home advantage for England. India play there as often as they do.

The last time a Test was staged in Southampton was four years ago, when England beat India by 266 runs.

Between them, the forgotten trio of Sam Robson, Gary Ballance and Ian Bell contributed 349 first-innings runs to that win in 2014.

Each might have been moved on since, but England are no nearer finding a solution to their batting ills.

If the likes of Keaton Jennings, James Vince and Ollie Pope - assuming any or all of them play - can accrue as much as 349 across the match between them, England would be grateful. They have only surpassed that amount once as a team so far in five innings this series.

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Read more:

Ian Oxborrow: Is James Vince in danger of becoming the modern-day Graeme Hick?

Chitrabhanu Kadalayil: Kohli pays tribute and Buttler should never be dropped again

Graham Caygill: Problems to ponder for England despite leading India in Test series

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England batsman Jos Buttler, right, will take up wicketkeeping duties, like he does in the limited overs. Reuters
England batsman Jos Buttler, right, will take up wicketkeeping duties, like he does in the limited overs. Reuters

Let Buttler do it

If, as seems prudent, Jos Buttler does take the wicketkeeping gloves from Jonny Bairstow, at least the England line-up would have a more sensible look to it.

Having a specialist batsman – and a flashy, white-ball specialist at that – batting at No 7 feels like a luxury in a team that cannot necessarily afford it, judging by recent results.

It is not a guarantee of success. The last time Buttler was the designated wicketkeeper, it was a horror show. He managed scores of 24, 4, 0 and 7 in Tests in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and was promptly hurried into the Test wilderness as result.

Bairstow, too, says he is desperate to keep the gloves, so maybe the change will only be temporary, while his finger injury heals.

India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is lending balance to his team's line-up. AFP
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is lending balance to his team's line-up. AFP

IPL stars

England have only really started to pick Test players solely on the back of white-ball exploits this summer. And Buttler and Adil Rashid have had mixed results.

The tourists, though, have an abundance of Indian Premier League stars to thank for being back in with a fighting chance in this series.

Hardik Pandya might not be Kapil Dev. But he showed in match-turning cameos with bat and ball at Trent Bridge that he at least balances this India side as an all-rounder of some substance.

His young Mumbai Indians colleague Jasprit Bumrah showed, too, that his Test renown could become every bit as great as his limited-overs one. His pace bowling provides a new cutting edge in a side that already has an enviable supply of quicks.

And Rishabh Pant might have caught the eye by hitting his second ball in Test cricket for six, but his dapper glovework was a bigger plus for India.

Scoreline

Swansea 2

Grimes 20' (pen), Celina, 29'

Man City 3

Silva 69', Nordfeldt 78' (og), Aguero 88'

It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times

If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.

A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.

The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.

In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.

The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.

Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.

Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.

“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.

The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.

“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.

“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”

Cry Macho

Director: Clint Eastwood

Stars: Clint Eastwood, Dwight Yoakam

Rating:**

Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten

Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a  month before Reaching the Last Mile.

Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

 

The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ

Price, base: Dh1,731,672

Engine: 6.5-litre V12

Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic

Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm

Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm

Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km

TRAP

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Rating: 3/5