Ben Stokes has deep pockets, so deep they can fit a veteran and an ingenue with room to spare. From one end at Visakhapatnam ran in a finely honed, well oiled machine, slim as a sapling, neat as a pocket handkerchief, mahogany from years fielding in the sun. On his head another tonsorial reinvention, this time a nod to the bottles of Sun In hair lightener beloved by teenage girls in the 1980s, but on the pitch the same relentlessly skilful probing on off-stump honed over 183 Tests.
This was Jimmy Anderson’s first international since the final Ashes Test at the Oval in July last year. It was a disheartening series for Anderson, who played in four of the five Tests but took only five wickets at 85.40 and seemed to have lost his knack for coaxing the ball this way and that. There were even whispers of retirement. But he ignored them and here he is again in England whites, rhythm restored, at 41 years and 187 days the oldest pace bowler to appear in a Test. His day’s work was 17 miserly overs for 30 runs, including a working over of Shubman Gill before tempting him into a tickle behind, collected by a diving Ben Foakes. It was the fifth time Gill has been dismissed by Anderson in his fledgling 21-Test career. Continue reading...
http://dlvr.it/T2FH6P
Post a Comment