India Take Control As England Collapse
India moved into total control of their Test series with England, now leading 1-0 after two Tests. Whilst in truth, the match was lost on Day Two, England had fought back really well, particularly on Day Four, where Cook and Hameed batted brilliantly and Broad and Rashid restricted India. The net result was that England started Day Five on 87-2, needing 405 to win. A hefty total, but certainly a lot lighter than it could have been. The question wasn't whether England would chase that total, but how deep into the day, and close to that target could they get? The answer to both ended up being an incredibly frustrating: not very. England lasted just 38 overs, and were all out for a dismal 158.
The scorecard really does pitch a tale of woe. Ben Duckett made nothing, Moeen Ali made 2, Ben Stokes made 6, Rashid, Ansari, Broad and Anderson all got 9 between them. England's upper middle order and tail end offered absolutely no resistance. None. Nothing. Only Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow made double digits on the final day, Root reaching a battling 25 off 107 and Bairstow at least salvaging some pride by being 34* off 40 balls, coming in at 115-5, seeing Root fall without scoring to make it 115-6, and then being stuck with a series of bowlers who offered nothing with the bat. You can almost forgive England's 8-11 for not doing anything with the bat, the match was long since over as their 4-6 offered just as little.
This was a bitterly disappointing collapse. Not because England lost, that ship had sailed, but because there was no fight in it. England didn't go down swinging, they didn't grit their teeth dig in and make India get them out. Yes the spinners bowled well, Ashwin and Jayant Yadav taking three wickets each and Jadeja taking two, but England offered no resistance. Cook and Hameed dug in for 60 overs othe previous night, the rest of the team combined couldn't manage 40.
It very much feels like one step forward two steps back for England at the moment. No sooner do they turn in a brilliant performance to almost win the first Test, with good performances all-round with bat and ball, and we can see the progress. Then they come here and collapse, twice. I don't want to be overly critical of the bowling at this stage, particularly as Broad, Anderson and Rashid were all excellent and on Day One the pitch didn't do much, making this a very, very good toss to win. But with the bat England will be bitterly disappointed, and should be. Duckett and Moeen collectively averaged two in this Test match. There was nothing below Bairstow at 7. Cook and Hameed were both unfortunate and played well but even so neither of them were able to score a game-changing innings. In a match where England desperately needed someone to save the day, the middle-order vanished, Root got out in stupid fashion (again I might add) and nobody lower than Bairstow took responsibility.
There are, as I've been saying in recent weeks, plenty of positives looking forwards for England. We know that Cook, Root, Stokes and Bairstow are talented batsmen, and certainly it's hard for the latter two when they keep facing situations of 100-4 or 100-5. Hameed looks a find. But as a unit, as a batting line up, England's confidence looks fragile, their middle order looks unbalanced.
In a match where Virat Kohli scored almost exactly the difference between the two sides, playing arguably two match-winning innings at the heart of India's middle order, the contrast between him and Joe Root was horribly stark. It's unfair to pick out any England batsman for singular criticism, particularly the exceptional Root, but he had the chance to really impact this game in the first innings, and he holed out in unbelievably poor fashion.
England now are on the back foot. The series isn't over yet, and there are lots of signs that they can take the fight to India in the remaining three Tests, but the simple truth is that right now, in this Test, fight is something that England appear sorely lacking.
West Brom 4-0 Burnley
So...this is a thing that happened. I've watched Burnley a few times this season and it really is staggering how defensively they can appear so well-drilled and so disciplined at home, and yet so utterly, utterly woeful away from Turf Moor. It's easy to see why Burnley have the joint worst away record in the division, having now conceded at least three goals in four of their five away games, scoring just one goal in the process and only picking up a solitary point, at Old Trafford.
In this game, Burnley were the architects of their own downfall. Less than five minutes in, Dean Marney instinctively sliced a cross back towards his own goal, straight to the feet of Matt Phillips, six yards out, who rifled home brilliantly. Less than fifteen minutes in, Ben Mee (who was hapless all afternoon), backed off and off and off, happy to let James Morrison pull the trigger on the edge of Burnley's box. And pull the trigger Morrison did, leaving Heaton no chance.
And that was that, the game was gone. Burnley actually started quite well, and had over 60% of the ball in the first fifteen minutes, playing some decent football. If Jeff Hendrick had hit the target when he chipped Ben Foster from the angle about six yards out, it would have been a different story. But as it was, having so much possession really ended up being to Burnley's detriment in the first half, as West Brom ripped them apart on the counter attack time and time again. Phillips, Morrison and Salomon Rondon were all terrific. Morrison was the star of the show, picking the ball up, running the party, picking excellent passes and all round looking good. It was his cross that fell to Phillips to kick things off, and after scoring himself he continued to create chances for his teammates, and played an influential role in Rondon's goal, West Brom's fourth in the second half, with a delightful flick to free the also magnificent Nyom down the left, whose pull-back was inch perfect to Rondon.
Rondon himself played a huge part in the carnage. Aside from scoring, it was his brilliant hold up play that freed Morrison for the second, and he tested Heaton with a brilliant drilled effort shortly before West Brom scored their third, a sharp finish at the back post from Darren Fletcher after a great jinking run inside the box from the excellent Phillips. All three of Morrison, Rondon and Phillips were substituted before the game was over, and all three received fully deserved standing ovations from the Hawthorns' crowd, who must have been thoroughly enjoying themselves.
West Brom were simply better in every department. They defended stoically, whilst Burnley's back line was an absolute shambles. And whilst Brunt, Phillips and Morrison produced lots of quality passes and incisive play, Burnley had absolutely no incision in the final third. Too often the ball ended up at the feet of Lowton or Gudmundsson, only for a poor cross to come into the box. It's hard to be overly critical of Sam Vokes, who was joined up front at half time by Ashley Barnes, given that he was feeding off scraps all evening, reduced to a spectator as his team's defence was torn apart. West Brom were everything that Burnley weren't. Tight at the back, free-flowing coming forward. I mentioned Burnley's poor away form before and it's worth mentioning again, because based on what I've seen from Burnley this season, they could comfortably lose every single game between now and the end of the season away from Turf Moor. They were that bad.
But Tony Pulis' side deserve a lot of credit. They've had a run of really tough games recently and have come out of it with a draw against Spurs, a win at the King Power, and now, after the International break, given the chance to pick up some vital points before what looks a tough December on paper, with Chelsea, Southampton, Man United and Arsenal still to come before 2016 is out, West Brom have delivered in spades. Hull City will be panicking ahead of next Saturday's clash. As for Burnley, whilst they are at home on Saturday, back at Turf Moor where they've been a different prospect this season, they have got to face title favourites Manchester City. So they need to start licking their wounds. And quickly.
The Hard and Fast Section
- Du Plessis fined for ball tampering. Bizarre.
- Murray "too young for knighthood". Agreed, long career ahead.
- Spurs travel to Monaco with injury crisis looming. Europa League?
- Leicester at home to Brugge. Win and they're through.
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