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Hans India
6 days ago
- Sport
- Hans India
Ben Stokes Calls Edgbaston a ‘Subcontinent Pitch' After India's Huge Win
England's captain Ben Stokes, who thought of keeping their winning record at Edgbaston against India, was taken by surprise when India defeated them in the second test match of the -match series. India, led by Shubman Gill, rose to the occasion and won the match by a huge 336 runs. This helped India level the series 1-1. India scored over 1000 runs in the match, which is a rare and impressive performance. After the match, Stokes spoke to BBC's Test Match Special. He said that the pitch at Edgbaston was more like one in the subcontinent, meaning it helped India more than England. Stokes said it was hard to bat as the game went on, and that the conditions suited India's bowlers. He added that while the pitch had some help for bowlers early on, it changed later and became very hard for his team to handle. Since Indian players are used to such conditions, they performed better. Many fans were not happy with Stokes' comments. Some even called him a "crybaby" for blaming the pitch instead of accepting the loss. 🗣 "It ended up being more of a subcontinent pitch." Ben Stokes thinks the Edgbaston pitch didn't really suit his England side. #ENGvIND #BBCCricket — Test Match Special (@bbctms) July 6, 2025
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Ben Stokes calls Edgbaston pitch ‘sub-continent' surface after India defeat, England coach McCullum rues toss decision
After a match that witnessed a record 1692 runs being scored on arguably one of the flattest pitches served out in the country in the 21st century, England captain Ben Stokes said the Edgbaston pitch ended up suiting India more, progressively displaying 'sub-continent' traits before their 336-run defeat on day five in Birmingham on Sunday. Despite putting on a rapid 407 with a run rate over 4.50 in reply to India's first-innings 587 after opting to bowl first, Stokes and Co. were blunted by the Indian batters, led by captain Shubman Gill. The 25-year-old Punjab batter ended up becoming the first batter in Test history to record a 250 and a 150 in the same match, totalling 430 runs, the second-highest match aggregate for a player in history. England's Bazballers were eventually exposed, not just by the sheer weight of runs India amassed – the 1014 runs in two innings being the highest-ever recorded by the side in 591 Tests. The glaring gulf between the pace attacks of both teams meant India had enough quality in their attack to pick all 20 wickets, becoming only the second team in Test history after Australia (in 1938, 1969) to register 1000 runs and pick up all 20 wickets in a match. Led by Akash Deep's 10-wicket match haul and Mohammed Siraj's first-innings six-for, India seamers picked up 17 wickets to England pacer's eight in the match. When quizzed on the Test Match Special, if England wanted to continue playing on such flat-bed surfaces, Stokes countered that the conditions ended up mirroring pitches in India, which suited the visitors. 'To be honest, it's probably ended up being more of a subcontinent pitch as it got deeper and deeper into the game. There was certainly a little bit in it to start off with and I think we exposed that very very well early on,' said Stokes. 🗣 "It ended up being more of a subcontinent pitch." Ben Stokes thinks the Edgbaston pitch didn't really suit his England side. #ENGvIND #BBCCricket — Test Match Special (@bbctms) July 6, 2025 After having India at 211 at five in the first innings, England ended up conceding 376 runs more in the innings as Gill recorded his career-best score of 269 with steady hands from Ravindra Jadeja (89) and Washington Sundar (42). 'Then just as it sort of got deeper and deeper, it just became a real tough slug for us and obviously with the Indian attack and the conditions that they're used to, they were sort of used to and knew sort of how to expose those conditions just sort of a little bit better than us and that can happen sometimes. But yeah, it's nothing to be too disheartened about. We can take being out-skilled and we've certainly been out-skilled this week,' said Stokes. England head coach Brendon McCullum, meanwhile, rued the team's decision to bowl first. 'I think, as the game unfolded, we probably looked back on that toss and said did we miss an opportunity there and it's probably fair. We didn't expect that the wicket would play quite as it did and hence we probably got it slightly wrong. But we did have them 200 for 5 and we weren't able to capitalise on that position and when you win the toss and bowl you're hoping to, well you're not anticipating the opposition's going to score 580 and then from that point we're behind the game,' McCullum told reporters. India and England will square off in the third Test at Lord's, starting Thursday.
Time of India
7 days ago
- Sport
- Time of India
IND vs ENG, 2nd Test: 'They can't win' - Former England captain pleads Ben Stokes and co to bat for draw
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - JULY 05: Harry Brook of England avoids a short ball from Akash Deep of India during day four of the 2nd Rothesay Test Match between England and India at Edgbaston on July 05, 2025 in Birmingham, England. (Photo by) Former England captain Michael Vaughan has pleaded with Ben Stokes and co to play for a draw on the final day as they can't win the Edgbaston Test from this position. "They can't win this game," Vaughan told BBC Cricket. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! "India have completely dominated the Test match with brilliant skill, great discipline. It's exactly what I want to see from England tomorrow. In a funny kind of way, this day has been coming where the Bazballers can't arrive on day five and even think about winning. "Have they got the ticker, the skill set, and the determination to try and get a draw? The next best thing from winning a Test match is getting a draw. If they just kind of give it away and just say, oh, you know, the way that we play, we're always on the front foot playing aggressively, they'll get bowled out quickly tomorrow. Have they got the skill set and the mindset to try and bat the full day and get on the bus to Lord's with a draw? We'll wait and see. " Vaughan pointed out that in the 34 Tests under Stokes' captaincy, England have drawn only once — a rain-affected game — while winning 21 and losing 12. He argued that to succeed in major series, especially against top sides like India or in Australia, England's mindset needs to shift. 'Bazball's going to get asked the ultimate question tomorrow. Are the team and the players going to go completely against what their natural instincts are to do? You've got to get what's best on offer. And what's best on offer at the minute is a draw,' Vaughan said on Test Match Special. India Dominate Day 4! Siraj & Akash Deep Rattle England 'If you want to win the big series against the likes of India at home in five matches and you want to go to Australia, I think it's impossible to have a mindset that we just win, that's all we go for. We don't play for draws. "A draw for England from this position, and I hope they get it more in a way of kind of success, if they can get away from here with a draw, it's almost better than last week's win because it's completely against their natural trade.' For real-time updates, scores, and highlights, follow our live coverage of the India vs England Test match here. Game On Season 1 continues with Mirabai Chanu's inspiring story. Watch Episode 2 here.
Indian Express
04-07-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Has Bazball boggled Michael Vaughan too? ‘They either blow teams away, chase brilliant or they get hammered'
From the toss decision to how England bowled, and then batted, the home side's ways continue to confound pundits. Michael Vaughan winced and declared all three results, in cricketing style, were possible: 'So far in this Bazball era England either blow teams away, chase brilliant or they get hammered,' he said at close on Day 2 on Test Match Special. 'They don't play the boring draw because they've never had to.' However this new triad of possibilities brings with it some amount of uncertainty extending to cluelessness of how the psychedelic pattern might unfold. 'I'll be intrigued to see what happens if England lose a few quick ones tomorrow and if they think we have to dig deep,' Vaughan said. Thoughts on whether England had been smart to bowl first also churned in Vaughan's mind. 'Im not too sure what England will be thinking. I hope Ben Stokes is thinking, 'we should've batted first',' he said on TMS, adding that English bowling (largely due to Gill's glorious runs) worried him. 'The way that England bowled today was a slight concern. There were a few things I saw in the field which made me think this looks a bit ominous going forward,' he said. He bought into the theory that their resolves were ground down by being made to wait their turn to bat. 'Sometimes you bat first to grind the opposition into the dirt and that's what England looked like. They played three tired shots,' he said. He was also boggled with how India ran up that massive total, and settled for them being 'lucky' – for losing the toss and not deciding wrong. 'It couldn't have gone any better for India. They got lucky because Shubman Gill wanted to bowl first and I don't know why you would even consider that,' he mused. Is there any way back for England in this Test match?🤔#ENGvIND #BBCCricket — Test Match Special (@bbctms) July 3, 2025 However by the end of the day he had been gung ho with Harry Brook and Joe Root managing to survive, despite the many ways Brook contrived to keep English supporters on the edge. 'This England pair have taken the sting out of the game. India were buzzing about before,' Vaughan said, picking at particles of joy after the three quick wickets. In keeping with his unique thinking slant, he remained perplexed by India not attacking late, saying India were spooked by thevlate rally in Headingley. 'Joe Root has played nice and controlled but I'm perplexed by the tactics of India so far. I think India are spooked by England's big chase here a few years ago and what happened at Headingley.' He was hopeful in sum total. 'The pitch is still a beauty. The three dismissals were iffy. It's still good and, if England are ready to put in the hard yards, it should be a decent score for someone.' The reason for his furrowed forehead was India's spread out field in the last session, with even Cheteshwar Pujara saying early on that Crawley needed a short cover closer in. Vaughan though said, 'If you just walked into the ground now and saw this field you'd think England must be dominating. There's three India players on the boundary. I don't get why teams don't bring the field up against England in this situation.' There's Bazball and then there's the Bazz-boggled.
BBC News
18-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
County Championship, day three - radio & text updates from nine matches
Get Involved #bbccricket Day three of the cricket is shaping up to be a very exciting one with several of our games potentially reaching their conclusion today. Whether you're following the action on our live text, radio, or sitting in the stands we want to know your thoughts on your team, how they've performed so far and any predictions for today's play. As always, we will be sharing the best responses.
