England's batting collapses and lose 6 for 68 after lunch
CRICKET: England suffered another spectacular batting collapse
as India cemented their advantage in the first Test in Trent Bridge.
Having reached 134/1 on a pitch that remains docile, the hosts lost
six wickets for 68 runs after lunch to a combination of fine seam
bowling, poor shot selection and umpiring errors.
Stuart Broad led a recovery with a brisk 47 and a spirited unbroken
last-wicket stand of 54 between Joe Root and James Anderson frustrated
the tourists, but England still closed on an underwhelming 352-9, 105
behind.
Root top-scored with 78 not out, Gary Ballance made 71 and Sam Robson
scored 59 before he was controversially given out lbw when umpire Bruce
Oxenford failed to spot an inside edge.
Matt Prior was also the victim of an umpiring howler, but India's
insistence that the decision review system should not be used in their
series left both batsmen powerless to appeal.
Officiating errors could not, however, mask a collapse reminiscent of
those that plagued England throughout their 5-0 Ashes whitewash in
Australia last winter and recurred in the second Test against Sri Lanka
at Headingley in June.
Pitch lacked life
Their latest slump, which puts India in a position to dictate the
remainder of the match, was particularly galling given a pitch that
lacked life and had been repeatedly bemoaned by England's bowlers.
"We've got a lot of inexperience and we'll only get better and learn
more the more we play," Root told Sky Sports. "We've got to learn
quickly at this level."
Asked about his own innings, Root told BBC Sport: "I was struggling a
bit to start with. The ball had just been changed, they were bowling
exceptionally well and it was hard, you've got to give them a bit of
credit.
"But Broady took a lot of pressure off me, he put them under pressure
and it made my life a lot easier."
The serenity of Robson and Ballance's progress in the morning session
was in stark contrast to the total panic that ensued after lunch.
Sharma 3 for 23
Ishant Sharma was the instigator with a superb spell of 3-21 runs in
35 balls.
Pitching the ball up from the Pavilion End, his first scalp
nonetheless owed a lot to good fortune as Oxenford missed the contact
with Robson's bat.
But there was no dispute about the ball that dismissed Ballance, a
brilliant delivery that nipped back sharply into the left-hander's pads.
Ian Bell looked in fine touch for his 25 but he was the next to go as he
made a late decision to play at a short ball from Ishant and glanced
through to the wicketkeeper.
If Bell's demise was mildly embarrassing, Moeen Ali's was totally
ignominious. He turned his back on a Mohammed Shami bouncer and gloved
to first slip.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar got in on the act with two wickets in three balls.
Prior looked justifiably horrified when the umpire upheld Dhoni's appeal
for a catch behind to a ball he missed by some distance, but Ben Stokes
could have nothing to quibble about when a thick edge carried through to
the keeper.
England 202/7
At 202/7, England were still 56 adrift of the follow-on target, but a
lively counter-attack from Broad delighted his home crowd.
Riding his luck at first, then timing the ball sweetly through the
covers, Broad hit nine fours in his 42-ball innings before falling lbw
to a Kumar ball that straightened and would have hit leg stump.
After Liam Plunkett was bowled by Kumar for seven, Anderson and Root
mixed solid defence with inventive strokeplay to bat through the final
hour and frustrate the tourists' efforts to finish England off before
the close. |