
‘Could be 4-0 now Wasim..,' Michael Vaughan predicts India vs England scoreline after 1st Test
The funny banter between Michael Vaughan and Wasim Jaffer continued on social media as England beat India by five wickets in the first Test at Headingly in Leeds on Tuesday. The former England captain predicted a 4-0 scorecard for England against India. 'Evening @WasimJaffer14.. Hope you are ok .. #1-0,' Vaughan tweeted initially.
'Happy that a young Indian team got you worried like this. Enjoy the win, Michael, we'll be back,' Jaffer responded to the Tweet. 'Could be 4-0 now Wasim..' Vaughan added in the end.
Ben Duckett was the top scorer for England in the chase of 371 runs and was also awarded Man Of The Match. Duckett scored 149 runs. 'At the heart of this win was Ben Duckett. He doesn't get the credit he deserves in this team. Pound for pound, I reckon he is the best all-format batsman in international cricket right now. There may be players who are better at one of the formats, but none of them are as good at all three. Others in the conversation would be Travis Head or Aiden Markram, but on current form, I'd have Ben over them, especially as he does it in such a tough position, opening, across all formats,' Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
'Duckett is unique, and there is a bit of genius about him. His reverse-sweeping of Ravindra Jadeja in this game was staggering. It's his smile and relaxed manner, allied with an incredible eye for the ball and clever strategies, that make him so brilliant,' he added.
Duckett's batting coach James Knott from his school days at Stowe school had told this newspaper about the origin of that reverse sweep. 'Ben played hockey and rugby, as well as cricket from a young age at Winchester House Prep School and then throughout his time at Stowe. In hockey, he was a great exponent of reverse hitting the ball and could already play the reverse sweep and switch hit when he arrived at Stowe. We worked more on the orthodox sweep and the paddle sweep which he didn't play as much,' the coach had told The Indian Express.
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New Indian Express
43 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
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The Hindu
43 minutes ago
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Time of India
3 hours ago
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How has the art of leg-spin bowling changed over the years? Since 2008-2009, the theory and execution of leg-spin have been different. Leg-spin is becoming extinct. In white-ball cricket, especially T20 cricket, you are asked to contain rather than look for wickets. If you do the same in Test cricket, you will be taken to the cleaners. At those times, the concept of leg-spin was different. It was about drawing the batter in, outsmarting him, and getting him out. If leg-spin bowling is to regain its old glory, it will take a considerable amount of time. It can only be restored with Test cricket, nothing else. There was a certain thrill in watching a batter step out only to get back to the crease in confusion, unsure of what had just happened. Moments like those were gratifying because you knew you'd outwitted him with sheer craft. Could you list some of your memorable dismissals? When I played for Prime Minister's XI against Australia in Bengaluru in the 1960s, the visitors had Ian Redpath on their team. Even when I was bowling well outside the off-stump, he played the ball on the leg side. I then decided to pitch the ball outside leg-stump, forcing him to be locked to the crease. I got him stumped because he was unable to move. The dismissal gave me great satisfaction. In my first Test against Pakistan in Delhi, Imtiaz Ahmed danced down the pitch only to see his off-stump disturbed. I flighted the ball more compared to the previous deliveries in that over. It was one of the great dismissals of my career. Did you believe you could have played more international cricket? I had a wrist issue and was not 100% fit to play against England (at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai), but I was asked to. I felt that it was not a risk I was supposed to take in a Test match, but I was told I would be able to adapt. I bowled defensively in the first innings and didn't take a wicket. I was then told I was being held in reserve for the next match and not given an over in the second innings. The sacrifice of playing the Brabourne Test cost me my India career; that is what happens when you play for someone else. But not playing another match for India did not deter me. By making use of every opportunity I got, I established myself as one of the top spinners in the country. However, I did not get the recognition. You played in the same era as the famed spin quartet … Erapalli Prasanna, Bishan Singh Bedi, and Venkataraghavan were already top-class, while B S Chandrasekhar was still finding his footing. He was raw in the early days but had great potential. 'Tiger' (Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi) had the trump card in Chandra, while Pras is the greatest off-spinner I have ever seen. In situations that were not conducive for India to win, it was Chandra who did the job for the team. No batter could master Chandra. The spin quartet under Tiger made India a force to be reckoned with in Test-match cricket. What do you make of the current Tamil Nadu senior men's set-up? I have been following their matches (Ranji Trophy). The players have to change their mindset to a great extent. I have seen batters play inappropriate strokes to balls, including bad ones. In the bowling department, they cannot rely on just one bowler. Another issue is a lack of consistency. By the time you reach the knockouts, you need to have built that rhythm. You should be going in with the mindset, 'I'm just as good as you; let's see what happens'. But I feel that confidence is missing when they face strong teams. How impressed were you with ace offie Ravichandran Ashwin? He is a great bowler, but I cannot compare him to anyone else. To get into the bracket of highest wicket-takers as an off-spinner is a recognition in itself. He is great in his own way.