India unlikely to tinker with five-pronged attack for second Test at lord’s starting on Thursday
Shrugging off selection headache, India took to the practice nets at lord’s on Tuesday and if indications are anything to go by, are likely to continue with the five-pronged attack in the second Test against England starting Thursday.
With five back-to-back Tests to be played in this series spanning 40-odd days, there is hardly any proper turn-around between the first two matches. The first Test at Nottingham had ended in a tame draw on Sunday.
With the pitch being the central theme at Trent Bridge, a significant pointer came across from those five days. Both teams will be moving forward with a five-pronged bowling attack unless pitches change dramatically.
India handed a Test debut to Stuart Binny in the first Test and the pitch prevented him from displaying his medium-swing abilities to the full. He did make good use of the opportunity to bat in the second innings, scoring his maiden Test fifty and digging the team out of a hole in doing so. The visitors came away from that match with status quo in the series and, if there is one question at all, it is perhaps to do with retaining the same composition.
The indicators from today’s net practice are that India have shrugged off any selection headaches that might have been coming their way.
The top batsmen all began with a hectic net session - Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay getting things underway, and then Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane batting for a while. It was interesting to note Kohli working out with fielding coach Trevor Penney giving him throw-downs, batting against a particular line and length.
The highlight of this net session though was R Ashwin bowling to skipper MS Dhoni with Ravindra Jadeja batting in the adjacent nets. Binny was padded up to bat next-up, with Rohit Sharma not in the vicinity. He did get a chance later on, along with Gautam Gambhir, when the first XI from the Nottingham Test had finished their work-out.
The Indian team isn’t one to give hints in such practice sessions, but two days before the match, it can be said that they will persist with the five-bowler theory again. And by the looks of it, Binny and Jadeja are still in line ahead of Ashwin.
The lord’s pitch showcased a tinge of green in the morning, but that is expected to disappear by time of the toss. Wickets here historically flatten out as the match progresses and so it will not be a surprise if India do not change their XI.
It heaps more pressure on the five frontline batsmen, with Dhoni batting at number six, akin to what the English batting will experience as well. The difference though is that they bat deep, with their top nine batsmen from Trent Bridge all boasting Test hundreds.
Anderson faces ban England pace spearhead James Anderson today faced the prospect of a ban of two to four Tests after he was charged with a level three offence for allegedly “abusing and pushing” India’s Ravindra Jadeja during the first cricket Test at Trent Bridge.
Anderson has been charged under level 3 of ICC Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel by India team manager Sunil Dev following the alleged incident that took place on the second day of the match last Thursday.
If proved guilty, Anderson will face a ban of two to four Tests or four to eight ODIs. England and Wales Cricket Board, however, denied the accusation made on Anderson and said it fully supports the paceman. The ECB said it has notified the ICC of its intention to lodge code of conduct violation charge against Jadeja.
“The England and Wales Cricket Board has today reacted with surprise that the India team has made allegations against James Anderson under level 3 of the ICC Code of Conduct for a minor incident involving Ravindra Jadeja during the first Investec Test match at Trent Bridge,” the ECB said in a statement.
“In the light of this the ECB has notified the ICC of its intention to lodge code of conduct breaches against Jadeja. James Anderson categorically denies the accusations made against him and the ECB has pledged their total support for the player should he be charged by ICC,” it said.