Cricket, as they say, is a funny game. By funny I’m guessing they mean funny as in weird, not funny as in “ha-ha”. And by weird I assume they mean there are a lot of unexplained things that can happen.
But is it really that funny (peculiar) that the same two teams can engage in two separate series in the space of a couple of months and the results are such polar opposites?
Well it is that funny, but it can be explained.
India defeated England 5-0 in their recent five match One Day International series in India. And by defeated I mean England had their own buttocks made to wear as a hat by India.
Thankfully for England they managed to salvage some pride with a comfortable six wicket win in the sole Twenty20 match of the tour over the weekend.
However, over the recent northern hemisphere summer India toured England and experienced some ass-hat wearing of their own.
England won the Test series 4-0, the ODI series 3-0 and even the sole Twenty20 match.
Such was the drubbing during that winless tour that the hats India were wearing during it had also eaten vindaloo the night before.
At least that is how it would appear at first glance.
Although England comprehensively won the Test series, the ODI’s were a slightly different affair. The five match series did have a tie as well as an abandoned match and England’s three wins all came with them batting second and winning with 10 balls or less to spare. In fact, if it wasn’t for a few rain and Duckworth-Lewis affected matches India may have scraped together a win or two.
Really, the ODI series in England was much closer than the 3-0 score line suggests.
Once back home India rediscovered their mojo (which they’d clearly forgotten to take it with them to England) by injecting some youth and fielding athleticism into their side, engaging in attacking yet controlled top order batting, exposing England’s susceptibility to spin, as well performing some sort of procedure to turn MS Dhoni into Superman.
Dhoni didn’t have an average in the series, which sounds bad. But considering the lack of an average is because he scored 212 runs in the series without getting out I’m sure he’ll be sleeping well on his bed full of cash this week.
Most importantly for India they were at home, and nothing seems to galvanise a professional sporting team more than their own stadiums, their own beds, their home fans, and their regular groupies.
The turnaround in results was also help by England’s ineptitude. Historically, England are about as useful in the subcontinent as Ian Botham in a fidelity contest.
Without the swinging ball England’s bowlers seemed out of ideas and their batsmen lacked the fortitude and patience to keep the scoreboard ticking over in the middle overs. Their inability to work quick singles that lead to rotation of the strike was one of their biggest issues.
All of this combined to mean it was England’s turn to do a “no pants” run in the ODI series.
So what have we learnt about these sides over the last few months?
Firstly, England are a good Test side and a mediocre ODI side, especially when conditions don’t suit them.
In saying that though, apart from the great Australian sides, who is good when the conditions don’t suit them?
India on the other hand are a mediocre Test side right now, a pretty competitive ODI side away from home and a potentially great ODI side at home.
India’s next challenge is three Tests and five ODIs at home to the West Indies. I use the word “challenge” very loosely. Expect the Indians to wallop our calypso cricketing friends harder than Simon Katich would a wax statue of Michael Clarke.
England on the other hand have a bit of a break before taking on Pakistan in the Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the new year. The tour will contain three Tests, four ODIs and three Twenty20s.
The English should add credence to their number one Test status and win the Test series but the other games will depend on which Pakistan side turns up.
And of course whether the conditions suit them.
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