England unchanged for 3rd Test
london: England on Monday named an unchanged 13-man squad for the third Test against India, starting in Nottingham on Saturday. England retained uncapped Essex paceman Jamie Porter and off-spinner Moeen Ali, both of whom missed out on a place in their XI that played in the capital. Victory at Trent Bridge would see England clinch the series.
Squad: Joe Root (capt), Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Olliver Pope, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, James Anderson, Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali, Jamie Porter.
Shastri-Kohli to face questions
New delhi: The BCCI is likely to pose a few questions to chief coach Ravi Shastri and captain Virat Kohli depending on how the third Test against England pans out after being left disappointed by the team's surrender in the first two games. The team for the fourth and fifth Test would be picked after the third game, the result of which would decide the Board's course of action. "The Indian team can't complain that they were not given enough time to prepare. When we lost to South Africa, the players spoke about tight scheduling and lack of practice games. It was after speaking to them that we decided that white ball matches will be held before the Tests," a senior BCCI official said. The question doing the rounds in the BCCI corridors is why the Shastri-Kohli duo has been given a carte blanche in team management. "We arranged white ball matches first. It was on the senior team's insistence that we send the India A team during the same time starting the concept of 'Shadow Tour'. Two senior India players (M Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane) were accommodated for 'A' team games. Whatever they wanted, they were provided. Now if results don't come, the Board is well within its rights to ask questions," the official added.
‘Anderson a special commodity’
london: Effusive in his praise for James Anderson, England skipper Joe Root says the veteran paceman is a "special commodity", who is getting better with age. The 36-year-old Anderson crossed the 100-wicket mark at lord's during England's victory on Sunday. Anderson is also on the cusp of overtaking Glenn McGrath as the most successful fast bowler in Test cricket. With 553 wickets, he is 10 short of the Australian great. "He's a special, special commodity, isn't heij He's something that doesn't come along very often and we've got to enjoy him while he's around. There's been chat about his longevity but at the minute he's bowling better than he ever has before," Root said.
‘Men against boys’
london: It is "men against boys" at the moment, says former England captain Nasser Hussain, criticising the lack of fight from India in the second Test while urging the beleaguered visitors to dig deep. India were embarrassed by an innings and 159 runs in four days in a rain-interrupted Test at the lord's, days after going down by 31 runs in the series opener at Edgbaston. However, unlike the first game, at the 'Home of Cricket', the visitors were unable to match English side in any of the departments of the game. "England are arguably the best in the world in these conditions but the real eye has to be on India — they have to be wary of the wheels completely falling off," Hussain told Sky Sports Cricket looking ahead to Saturday's third Test at Trent Bridge.
Jones expects India to bounce back
Mumbai: Former Australia batsman Dean Jones backed India to bounce back after being thrashed by an innings by England in the lord's Test. "I'm expecting that the Indian team will bounce back. They got one bad day when the ball swung around. It is very important to bounce back, that is what sport is all about. One bad Test match doesn't make a bad cricket team, not at all. "It can happen with the conditions at lords. There are times where you can over-analyse technique a little bit, moles become mountains, you think too much about it, that is just the way it went. They have to regroup and come back now," said Jones.
