That the inaugural series of the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy ended in a 2-2 draw seems only right and proper. The clearly better side, India, were let down at critical points by their new captain’s inexperience, allowing England back into a couple of tests in which they should have been buried. So, it all balances out in the end.
It has been a genuinely fascinating series, swinging one way and the other: England one-up; India pull level; England go 2-1; a draw; then a nail-biting finish as England just fail to chase down their target by six runs. Comparisons have been made with the 2005 Ashes (AKA “The Greatest Test Series Ever”), although a purist might quibble that duff pitches made the contest too batting-friendly.
Still, no one can claim that a series with 5,514 runs containing 21 centuries (the joint-highest tally in history) and 81 sixes, and in which 5 bowlers between them took 8 five-wicket hauls, failed to deliver value. The records kept racking up, usually by Joe Root: most Test catches; second-highest runs total in a career. Always good to see five Tests each going to a fifth day (even if we were not given five days’ worth of overs). This summer has demonstrated why Test cricket is, quite simply, the best form of the game.
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We were told that this was a “new” and “young” Indian side adjusting to the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and the absence of fast bowler Mohammed Shami because of injury. Their main attack weapon, Jasprit Bumrah, the leading bowler in the world, would only be able to play in three tests, to protect him against acquiring an injury too.
Harry Brook is a freak of nature at the crease — in more ways than one
That may have been expectations management after India had been given a surprise drubbing in Australia over Christmas. In fact, six of the sixteen Indians who played in this series also played on the previous tour in 2021 — as against only three Englishmen. More of their squad members were in the top ten ICC Test rankings than their hosts.
Nevertheless, if India can reliably crush England into the dust at home, they have never had a great record here. They last won the old Pataudi Trophy in 2007. They should have taken it on their visit in 2021. They were 2-1 up after the Fourth Test, and nobody seriously believes they would have lost the next match at Old Trafford — but it got postponed for a year to Edgbaston due to Covid. By then, England had entered the Bazball Era. Cue four days of sloppy fielding, blinkered bowling and careless batting — followed by a ridiculous run chase to score 378.
That Edgbaston Test hung over this contest. England appear to have assumed that they could simply repeat the feat — which, to be fair, they did in the First Test at Headingley. But they couldn’t in the Second or the Fifth. The Indian captain, Shubman Gill, spent most of his time in the field as if he expected an onslaught to begin at any moment, and waited for the Englishmen to get themselves out — which, to be fair, they usually did. Gill’s mistake will be cured with experience. England’s mistakes are more deep-seated.
We should compare this summer with the truncated series in 2021.
It hardly needs saying that over rates continue to decline. The four matches in 2021 saw 1,324 overs bowled, in a series with a fair bit of time lost due to rain. This year, when the weather was much better behaved, managed only 1,469 with one extra match.
In the memory, back then India held a clear upper hand, with England under Joe Root beginning their slide towards annihilation in Australia and humiliation in the West Indies. Yet in the record books, India were only marginally ahead: 2,005 runs in aggregate against 1,929 (but having batted an extra innings). Both sides scored at more or less the same rate, about 3 runs per over. India’s performance with the bat was only slightly better than England’s. Each of their wickets lasted on average 10 overs for 29.1 runs compared to 9 overs for 27.6 runs. The real difference was that India bowled out England on all eight occasions, whereas England only returned the favour on six.
This time, the margins were further in India’s favour. Their wickets survived on average 12 overs at 42.5 runs each as opposed to England’s 9 overs at 36.3. The core fragility of England’s Bazball approach remains. Stokes’ chaps may well be able to tonk runs more quickly (on average 4.1 per over against 3.5), but because they cannot stick around for long enough doing so, they accumulate fewer of them (2,540 compared to 2,974) and so they do not come out the other end as the victors. And because this means they have to spend longer in the field, they tend to make fielding mistakes, and fewer of their bowlers survive a series in peak condition.
At times there were signs that this realisation might have dawned on some of England’s batsmen. They slowed down. They took account of conditions. They didn’t try to bash every ball to somewhere in Wales. But then Ben Stokes missed the final Test and his merry men decided to stage the biggest mass suicide since the Rev Jim Jones.
Relying on the enemy to make mistakes while you conduct a last innings run chase in which Joe Root never gets out is not a strategy. It’s buying a lottery ticket. Bludgeoning weak second-rate sides to death inside three days confers no entitlement to defeat a seriously good team. Yes, Harry Brook is a freak of nature at the crease — in more ways than one. He sometimes acts as if his IQ is lower than his batting average. Is it now six or seven Tests that England have lost because he went for a daft, expansive stroke? Ah, but the shots that came off looked really great on the highlights.
Next up: the Ashes down under. Well, I don’t suppose the Aussies will be losing any sleep. They have already worked out how to defeat Bazball. Nothing about the Mk II version changes that. All they need to do is keep their nerve and wait for Ben Stokes to pick up another injury.
But, hey, who cares about that? Now we can all watch The Hundred. Never mind the quality, just count the sixes.
