Live Test Match Blog: India v England - Day One

Live Test Match Blogging / Ed Hawkins / 11 December 2008 / Leave a Comment

England have made a superb start to the First Test after winning the toss and electing to bat. Here with all the latest on the action, the betting and the best tea-time refreshments is Ed "The Hawkeye" Hawkins. If you have any comments or questions e-mail Ed at hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk.

11.25 Eng 229-5 CLOSE
Golly, that was a wasted chance by England. Such a good start, such a bad finish. In a few moments the Day 1 Verdict will appear on our Cricket page, so please check back to muse on some views about how the Test might unfold, plus a look at India's top first-innings bat market. I will be back tomorrow with more blogging. India [2.53], England [9.4] and the draw [1.98].

11.10 Eng 223-5
An email from James, London has just landed. "Irrelevant pop trivia: my cousin once saw Freddie Flintoff in Tokyo Jo's nightclub in Preston (you know, top end of Fishergate). He reckons he'd had a few." Lovely stuff.

10.57 Eng 221-5
England in a hole. An example of how deep is that they have sent James Anderson in instead of Matt Prior. There are seven overs left, which is a long time for Anderson to survive. Indeed he has survived a massive appeal for leg before off his first ball. Replays show clearly he should have been given caught from a bat-pad. Strauss (123) was the man to go, caught and bowled by Amit Mishra for his first wicket against England.

10.45 Eng 212-4
I take much delight from receiving your emails, so please don't be shy (hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk). I take almost as much delight in receiving spam and junk mail, which is an occupational hazard of posting an address on a website. And I like to keep readers informed of what has arrived since I last blogged, which was way back in the summer. Since then you will be glad to know that I have won the Canadian lottery and won a $1m dollar grant from Foundiazone de Ditto for researching the grammar, punctuation and vocabulary of the people in east Timor. I have also received emails from Mr Ognor Bognor Cock and Mucho Mohammed Abudo No'ting.

10.30 Eng 206-4
England supporters would be right to feel nervous. After such a good start, their team is in danger of throwing it all away. The old ball is reversing and Harbhajan Singh is suddenly extracting bounce and turn. If they were to lose another wicket before the close, they would be in danger of posting less than 300, which is no way near enough. That is because after this pair, there is little batting to come. Matt Prior is next in but is in awful nick if his one-day exploits are anything to go by and he is inexperienced in sub-continental conditions. And with spinners operating at both ends, he could soon be walking to the crease. Andrew Flintoff has been out 90% of the time to spin when batting in India.

10.15 Eng 195-4Not that I like to boast, or take enjoyment at another man's downfall, but Collingwood is out. Just take a look at the post at 10.00. Anyone would think that I knew what I was talking about. And with 15 minutes to spare, too!

10.10 Eng 194-3
Beaver has emailed hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk. "How bad does Colly look?" he says. "I've sold absolutely everything about him - I hate him. He should give that OBE or whatever he got back and give it to someone who deserves it... like Joe Swash from I'm a Celeb..."

10.00 Eng 193-3
Paul Collingwood is becoming a bit predictable. I know I have written this sentence on this blog before but ... his old technical failings are in evidence again. It is the tell-tale sign when he is out of form: his bat does not come down straight, instead falling at an angle across his body. So far it has made him edge through the slips, survive a leg before shout and almost chop on. I will be surprised if he is still at the crease in half an hour.

09.44 Eng 184-3Kevin Pietersen has been dismissed and England are enduring a discernible wobble. India are in to [3.05] and the draw is out to [1.71] with the fall of England's best batsman, who was enticed into making a mistake by Zaheer Khan. KP never looked comfortable during his 33-ball four but in truth that had much to do with Zaheer getting the old ball to reverse swing. Testing times now for England. Paul Collingwood has edged through the slips from his first ball. A complete turnaround in Chennai.

09.33 Eng 179-2
Andrew Strauss has his century. Well played, sir. That is his second ton in his last 12 innings. It is also his second century in his last three innings in India. It is his 13th overall. It is a particularly good effort because Strauss has not batted in any form of the game since the Standford Super Series. And we all know what a farce that was.

09.25 Eng 173-2 Strauss 98, Pietersen 3
You can almost here the tut-tutting all the way from Chennai. After the on-off-on hooha, the security meetings, the thousands of armed guards, the venue changes and the pleading from Indian cricket honchos, England are giving the home team a good old-fashioned duffing. "Hurrumph, wish they hadn't come now." I bet that is what a few millions Indians are thinking.
Of course it is absolutely marvellous that this two-Test series is going ahead. If you'll excuse me getting on my soap box for a second: bombs and bullets cannot be allowed to destroy the cultural and commercial fabric of India. There, that's sorted it. Also, it means that this blog is bullet proof. Bomb proof, too. Al-Qaeda do like soft targets although admittedly I think my front room in sleepy west London goes beyond 'soft'. Spongy maybe? Yielding most certainly.
I have been up since 4am to make sure that when you reach your work station and feel like cheating the company that pays your bills by logging on to a site that is irrelevant to your job, I am steeped in knowledge of this first Test. For proof that I was up with the lark (if it hadn't frozen to death out there) I've posted my thoughts below.
Indeed, I have been up for so long I can remember when the draw price was [2.00]. It is now [1.45]. England are [7.40] and India [4.00]. That latter price is an oddity because of the two sides which could suffer a defeat, India look the most likely at the moment, even if they have just removed Ian Bell immediately after tea.

Throughout the rest of the day I'll be here with market moves, opinion, some tremendous stats and breaking biscuit news. Don't forget to email me at hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk

08.00
Well, I suppose most of you are on the way to the office now. If you work in London you are crammed into a tube train wondering how it is possible that the fat chap pressing your flesh from the right can smell so badly - so early - of BO and the woman to the left with the immaculate make-up has not thought to check her breath which stinks of booze. Depressing. My sofa is my office which is great because I don't have to catch a train to reach it. Often, I crawl to it from my bed. Once there I can have a lie down, take a snooze, eat biscuits without worrying the crumbs are going to get stuck in the keyboard. And there is not an irritating bloke called Colin who asks "how was you weekend? I went to a craft fair with my mother." The cricket is continuing by the way. England dominant. The composer looks relaxed. It is much hotter there than London.

07.00
I knew I should have attacked the lager with gusto. The lunch break brought an opportunity for me to have a little nap and by the time I awoke Alastair Cook had been dismissed for 52. Andrew Strauss, the composer, is making dreamy progress, however.

06.00
Only two hours into the first Test and I can inform you that the there will have to be a major deterioration in the wicket if there is to be a result. I thank you.

05.00
India captain MS Dhoni employed a spinner after only 12 overs which suggests the pitch is turgid and lifeless. Surely advantage England, who are yet to lose a wicket at 33-0. They should be well capable of posting more than 350. In other news an advert for a television show called 'Noel Edmonds' Christmas Presents' has just been on which if his BBC quiz show is anything to go by, will be about his family goading him to "open the box-take the money-open the box-take the money-open the box-take the money-open the box-take the money." And so on. Noel promises someone they will "remember it for the rest of their lives". I don't doubt it Noel. I can well imagine asking a companion in 20 years, "do you remember when we watched Noel's Christmas Presents." "Of course," would come the reply. "It was so f****** awful I'll never forget it." Ha! Come on people go with it, it is very early in the morning.

04.40
After seven overs, England's run rate is just 1.71. My scorecard tells me there are a minimum of 83 to go. The Sky Sports commentators are musing about the state of the pitch. My thoughts are occupied by the what beverages I could ingest to stave off a craving for bed. Tea? Fruit juice? Actimel? Lager? It's probably lager but I fear the slippery slope towards incoherence and almost certain alcoholism if I started drinking so early.

04.20
Look at the time! Just look at the time! Gosh that is early. I don't think I've ever been up as early before. Oh no, hang on ... I must have been. England were in India for a Test series only two years ago, inspired as they were to a 1-1 draw, apparently, by the music of Johnny Cash. There is little inspiration so far and cue many references to England's batsmen - for Kevin Pietersen has won the toss - providing little in the way of entertainment to keep one awake.