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[mini998]

Trouble is it's not more England supporters want to see India.. It's purely Indians here want to see India.

I could be wrong by I remember it was about 50-50 crowd distribution between IND and ENG fans when they toured 2011? yeah this time around Englland fansare disheartened so it will look different

[mini998]

First of all commiserations ENG supporters , must be heart wrecking watching this series .

But what a series for SL , WOW, never expected us to bounce out England in England and win a test series .

But I have to say it all started with that late declaration in first test , had  England won that match then momentum would have been with England so SL might have crumbled in this test.

Hope Balance's century was worth it.

[joeljonno]

First of all commiserations ENG supporters , must be heart wrecking watching this series .

But what a series for SL , WOW, never expected us to bounce out England in England and win a test series .

But I have to say it all started with that late declaration in first test , had  England won that match then momentum would have been with England so SL might have crumbled in this test.

Hope Balance's century was worth it.

You can't be certain that would have made difference.

It was the bad fielding to blame. About 15 dropped catches over two games. Take them, win series 2-0.

[Gerry SA]

Hmm with an Indian squad which could bat all 5 days I think a few draws are coming our way

Maybe they could bat 5 days if the series was in India.

But India have many batsmen with questions hanging over them.

Vijay, Dhawan, Sharma and Dhoni.

I'm expecting at least 2 batting collapses from India.

[mini998]

You can't be certain that would have made difference.

It was the bad fielding to blame. About 15 dropped catches over two games. Take them, win series 2-0.

Well there were dropped catches from both sides , so you can't just pick out on one side , same with umpiring decisions, In first test Eng had the advantage with 50:50 decisions and in this test SL had the advantage .

Yeah you can't say for sure if England would have won if they declared early but at least they would have had chance , few more overs at SL no 11 would have been vital in that first test.

[mini998]

If am to put money on ENG- IND series then I'll put my money on England . I'd expect something similar to what we saw back in 2011.

[MJB3]

All the media focus on Cook & a spinner has detracted from a few other fairly important issues which have reared their head

1) Sam Robson - yes he got a ton and congrats too him. However technically, surely he will be figured out very soon at this level, and given his apparent lack of scoring options is a huge concern when combined with Cook's form

2) Fielding - once again England's fielding has been atrocious.  Who can seriously remember the last time England fielded well?  Something needs done as the bowlers are unfairly getting stick when they are let down atleast 3 times an innings it seems.

3) Matt Prior - poor gloves and suspect batting bar one knock.  Give him the India series to prove himself.

4) Lack of leaders - who are the leaders in the team? Would Cook still be captain if there was an obvious leader as an alternative?

5) Chris Jordan - ultimate ' jack of all trades,  master of none'. A very good cricketer but seems to not be quite up to international standard YET. Should be replaced by Stokes


Also as a side point,  I genuinely believe Ali can become a test spinner for England. A decent FC record and plenty of advice and help from Saeed Ajmal, with time he will get there. Hope he gets a run as there is no obvious alternative, however he will probably struggle vs India, given their quality v spin.

[mini998]

Chris Jordan seems like poor man's Andrew Flintoff ,

Not up to test cricket yet I feel

[RichW]

I know Stokes has started his international career well and I agree we need to get him back in based on these and his county performances.

But in the long term I really don't see him being successful he'll average less than 30 with the bat and more than 30 with the ball meaning he's not good enough to play as bowler or a batsman which you need to be to be a true all rounder.

I may be completely wrong but it's just a feeling I've got.

[pie-man]

I do feel for Jimmy but cant understand why mid-lower order batters are not ducking enough.  Root didn't play the short stuff well at all and I think had the England batsman got under the ball, SL wouldn't have bowled so may short balls.

Seems to be a more recent thing where batsmen are playing short bowling with a straight bat.  Ive always thought either pull/hook or get under it...

[Manormanic]

But in the long term I really don't see him being successful he'll average less than 30 with the bat and more than 30 with the ball meaning he's not good enough to play as bowler or a batsman which you need to be to be a true all rounder.

I think this is a bit of a misnomer in the modern game.  It used to be that the definition of an all rounder was that they would be worth selecting as a batsman if they could not bowl and as a bowler if they could not bat - but in truth, how many players have ever simultaneously been one of the best five batsmen in their country and one of the best five bowlers?  In my memory; Ian Botham, Clive Rice, Imran Khan and briefly, because there was such a paucity of options, Dwayne Bravo.  For about eighteen months Andy Flintoff might have been too. 

Hadlee, Kapil Dev, Cairns?  None would have made the grade as batsmen.  Kallis? an excellent bowler, but South Africa would have been able to call upon a better pure seamer at any time.

So most all rounders have a stronger suit; the question is more, if they are not a superstar assured of their place for one discipline a la Kallis and the others named above who just happen to be very good at the other, is whether they provide something in balancing the side as a 6/7 bat and fifth bowler, rather than just being a bits a nd pieces player. 

Stokes appears to do this; if you were picking the best six batsmen in the country, you probably wouldn't go for him (nor would you have picked Moeen ALi for the series under discussion), nor would he be in the top five bowlers but as a package he offers enough to be worth selection. 

[Manormanic]

I do feel for Jimmy but cant understand why mid-lower order batters are not ducking enough.  Root didn't play the short stuff well at all and I think had the England batsman got under the ball, SL wouldn't have bowled so may short balls.

Seems to be a more recent thing where batsmen are playing short bowling with a straight bat.  Ive always thought either pull/hook or get under it...

I don't understand why he was even holding the bat in that situation.  As soon as Eranga's shoulder dipped he should have dropped it and let the ball hit him.

[MD2812]

A spin on the captaincy issue.

Was cook let down by an apparent lack of Vice Captain?

We know Cook is defensive as a captain and struggles when more attacking fields needs to be brought into play, or brings them in late.

Who was the vice captain? What advice is Cook being given from his senior players? Or has created an environment where players don't give him advice?

[pie-man]

I don't understand why he was even holding the bat in that situation.  As soon as Eranga's shoulder dipped he should have dropped it and let the ball hit him.

Exactly!  Eranga's plan was fairly well telegraphed (I know he bowled one full one), why did Jimmy, and Root earlier for that matter, not drop hands and get out the way??  Different class of bat IMO but apparently Robin Smith used to get the bowling machine at 90mph, pitched short (with a cap in those days!) and if he couldn't play an attacking cross bat shot he ducked under it.  Bowlers will soon get bored if the short pitched bowling is left alone.

[Manormanic]

Who was the vice captain? What advice is Cook being given from his senior players? Or has created an environment where players don't give him advice?

What advice did Cook seek?  Apparently none.  Which is even more worrying!