Conquering the final frontier – England’s tour of India thus far [Part 1]
Counted among the highlights of the 2012 cricket calendar, England’s tour of India kicked off in October this year, and as the Poms steeled themselves to tackle unfamiliar conditions, formidable opponents, and difficult surfaces known for outwitting even
the best of batsmen, the Indian team presented a fairly calm and collected picture, ready to defend their record on home ground.
Without making fans wait much, the extensive tour (which is still underway and spans four months), got right to the main event – the all-important Test series.
The Poms appeared at a significant disadvantage at the start of the 4-match extended-overs series. Having lost their top Test team ranking to the touring South Africans during the summer, the team was on shaky ground. Add to that the distractions from Kevin
Pietersen’s long, drawn out spat with the England and Wales Cricket Board, Test skipper Andrew Strauss’ abrupt retirement, Alastair Cook’s appointment as Test captain, Pietersen’s subsequent return and reintegration into the national squad, and the fact that
for the past 28 years England had failed to win a Test series in India, and the tourists’ chances appeared slim indeed.
Faced with the daunting task of tackling a tour of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AN-Cook-c1026 arrived with his team to find India bent on keeping their visitors on the backfoot, by employing tactics such as denying the
Poms any exposure to spin bowling (oft-considered http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013’s Achilles’ heel) during the three practice matches they played (all of which ended in draws).
The England XI faced India A for their first practice match, which lasted 3 days (October 30, 31, November 1) and was played at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Off-spinner http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JM-Anderson-c1705
also had his moments. Meanwhile, skipper Cook presented a composed and formidable figure at the top, working his way steadily up to a century. However, aside from the part-time spin of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SK-Raina-c2539, the tourists
were not allowed to get in any practice against specialist spin bowlers, and the match eventually ended in a draw.
The second tour match saw the England XI facing off against Mumbai A, and was played out at the Dr DY Patil Sports Academy in http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Monty-Panesar-c2024
and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Samit-Patel-c2426 were the most successful bowlers in England’s attack. Meanwhile, Jonny Bairstow struck a composed century, while Nick Compton made a strong case for the opening spot in the national Test XI with an unbeaten half-century.
The third and final tour match was played against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KP-Pietersen-c1806 struck a promising century, while skipper Cook remained reliable at the top. The top and middle order
put in strong performances, and the team managed to fit in some practice with spin against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/A-Mishra-c871 and Jayant Yadav. On the bowling front, pacer Tim Bresnan emerged as the most prominent bowler once again, but England were ultimately unable to take the
match towards a favourable result.
With the conclusion of the game, England’s opportunities for practice came to an end, and the teams went into the crux of the tour.
Continued in Part 2 …
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