It was good to hear England captain Alastair Cook being so honest in his assessment when he admitted that his team were “outskilled and outplayed” by India in the second one-day international. However, just as I don’t like to go overboard in reaction to a victory, I don’t see anything to be gained in overreacting to a defeat.
England were hammered in Kochi and in many ways the match was a mirror image of the first one-dayer in Rajkot where England were much more comprehensive winners than the nine-run margin suggests.
On Sarah Taylor: Women’s cricket has improved in quality over recent years and England’s Sarah Taylor is an outstanding cricketer. She is the female equivalent of Adam Gilchrist – a true star with bat and gloves. If she can prove that she is worthy of a place in the MCC Young professional’s team or Sussex men’s second XI purely on cricketing potential and ability then it doesn’t matter what gender she is. It’s only if people are good enough, should they be picked.
Will a female cricketer ever be good enough to play in the county championship? I have my huge doubts. It is often said that the number one women’s tennis player would not take a set off anyone in the men’s top 100 because of the speed and power of the game and I think the same applies to cricket. I would be amazed if a woman could make it at that level.”
Both matches hinged on the last few overs of the first innings. In Rajkot, Samit Patel and Craig Kieswetter smashed 59 off the last four to take their total to an imposing 325. In Kochi, England were on the receiving end of a late assault as Mahendra Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja struck 82 from the final six.
Their barrage catapulted India from a par total of around to 240 to one of 285, setting England a target that was always going to be very difficult on a turning pitch. In the event, England’s fate was effectively sealed in the space of three balls when Bhuvneshwar Kumar removed Kevin Pietersen and Eoin Morgan. Losing two of their best one-day batsmen in the same over immediately put them on the back foot and suddenly their less experienced players like Joe Root and Kieswetter were having to decide whether to stick or twist, while still aiming to maintain a decent run rate. With the new fielding restrictions in place, there is an even greater need to keep wickets in hand because as has been proved runs can be scored very freely at the end of the innings, but you still have to make sure that the run rate remains manageable up to the 40th over or so.
