Off Stump

In this day and age where commerce rules most of the time even in sport, its very strange that a Test match should start on a Sunday. Not only does that guarantee fewer people at the ground over the five days, the TV audience also gets affected by the weekend only half utilised. The funny scheduling is only apt though in what has been a strange ol' series in a strange ol' year. In 2013, it seemed like teams had no idea how to win away Test matches any more. Just 3 out of 44 Test matches in the calendar year ended in a visiting team winning and two of those were in Zimbabwe. South Africa were the only team that could claim a creditable away win ( over Pakistan in Dubai ). A lot of teams must therefore have had some serious amounts of "overseas-winnability" magic potion mixed into their New Year's Eve drinks. Or so you would think looking at the results in 2014 so far. Of the 14 matches that have had a result, nine have been won by the visiting team with Sri Lan...

My predictions mostly don't come true so when I wrote that the England-India series was going to be two flawed teams competing for who can play worse, I was not expecting the teams to oblige me straightaway! And while both teams did their best to try and lose the first Test match at different points, the pitch (and astonishing lower order batting) ultimately foiled their suicide attempts. India contrived to lose 4 wickets for 2 runs in their first dig and 5 for 44 in their second turn at different points. South Africa and Australia (or even Sri Lanka in current form) would have stamped them out by an innings. England tried their best to match them by losing 6 for 68 in their first innings but then Root accompanied by the bowlers outdid the Indian tail. If they had batted a second time you can be sure that they would have lost 5 for 30 before being rescued by Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett. Across the three (nearly completed) innings in the match, wickets 7-10 managed an aggregat...

India have not played a five match Test series  since 2002  (which they lost 1-2). They have not played a  five match series against England  since 1985 (which they lost 1-2 as well). The last time they played a five match series in England (in 1959) they were wiped out 0-5. This team has no one who has played a five match series and they have managed to win only one of their last 15 overseas Tests. On the face of it, this series should be a no contest. England have lost six of their last seven Test matches . They have just been beaten in a home series by Sri Lanka for the first time in their history. Their captain can't buy a run and has started to hit back at his critics in the media. Their vice-captain and wicketkeeper has just made a shaky comeback. In the last six months their best bowler (and the best spinner in the world) has retired and they have voluntarily kicked out their best batsman of the last decade. On the face of it, this series should be a no c...