END OF TEST TOUR
ENGLAND REPORT
HEAD HELD HIGH
JIMMY ANDERSON 8 8 WICKETS, AVG 15.87
Bowled the most memorable over of the series in the first Test, when he bowled Gill and Rahane. Magnificent in the fourth, when India chose to block him and score off the others. Can he do it in Asia? You bet he can.
JOE ROOT 368 RUNS, AVG 46; 6 WICKETS, AVG 23.50
8 LAID the foundations for england’s first-Test win with an epic 218, but managed only 150 runs in seven more knocks. After his heroics in Sri lanka, mental exhaustion played a part. Needs one more victory to overtake Michael Vaughan’s england record of 26 as Test captain.
JACK LEACH 18 WICKETS, AVG 28.72
7 ENGLAND’S leading wicket-taker with 18, even if he wasn’t quite in the class of Patel. But he removed Sharma and Pujara four times each, and is now indisputably the team’s No 1 spinner.
NOT BAD AT ALL
MOEEN ALI 49 RUNS, AVG 24.50;
7 8 WICKETS, AVG 28.25 CoVId and rest/rotation limited him to one game, in which he took eight wickets and blasted five sixes in an 18-ball 43. england missed him dearly in the last two Tests.
OLLY STONE 4 WICKETS, AVG 17
7 SHAME he played only once, but hurried India with his pace. Remains part of the plans for Australia, assuming he can stay fit.
BEN STOKES 203 RUNS, AVG 25.37; 6.5 5 WICKETS, AVG 30.60 BEGAN and ended strongly, but struggled against Ashwin in between. Asked to do too much in the last game, when he opened the bowling for the first time in Test cricket, despite a stomach bug, and sent down 27.4 overs, having managed only 19 in total in the first three games.
BEN FOAKES 78 RUNS, AVG 15.60
6 POETRY in motion behind the stumps, but more prosaic in front of them — though he rarely caved in and looked more solid than some of his top-order colleagues. Now gives way to Buttler.
DAN LAWRENCE
6 149 RUNS, AVG 24.84 BATTING at No 3 in India was a tough ask, but he looked a different player at No 7 in the fourth Test, making 46 and 50. Clearly a talent — it’s just a question of where he slots in.
WE DIDN’T LEARN MUCH
JOFRA ARCHER 4 WICKETS, AVG 30.50 6
MADE an instant impact by removing both India openers at Chennai, but chances limited after that, not helped by an old elbow problem.
STUART BROAD 0 WICKETS, 78 RUNS
6 DID little wrong in his two Tests, and briefly looked dangerous with the pink ball under lights.
JOS BUTTLER 54 RUNS, AVG 27 6
PLAYED one Test, scored 30 and 24, held five catches, then went home. India must have been delighted. his next gig will be the IPL.
WENT BACKWARDS
ZAK CRAWLEY 67 RUNS, AVG 16.75 5
MISSED the first two Tests after he slipped on a marble floor, then lit up the first game in Ahmedabad with a boundary-studded 53. But he never looked comfortable against the spinners, especially Patel.
DOM BESS 5 WICKETS, AVG 39.40 4.5
The cautionary tale of england’s winter. They dropped him after the first game, with a flea in his ear. Then they recalled him unnecessarily for the last, with predictable results. Too many full-tosses for a club player, let alone at Test level.
RORY BURNS 58 RUNS, AVG 14.50 4
who knows how his tour might have developed if he hadn’t decided to reverse sweep Ashwin shortly before lunch on the first morning of the series. Made two ducks after that, and was then dropped. will have to fight his way back this summer.
OLLIE POPE 153 RUNS, AVG 19.12 4
HIS reputation as a sound player of spin took a hit. Reached double figures seven times, but couldn’t pass 34, and was repeatedly bamboozled by Ashwin. In that he wasn’t alone, and england will not lose faith.
DOM SIBLEY 134 RUNS, AVG 16.75 4
BEGAN with a promising 87 at Chennai, but as soon as the ball turned, Sibley was in a spin. Seven more innings brought 47 runs. Patel was all over him.
JONNY BAIRSTOW 2 28 RUNS, AVG 7
After being rested and rotated out of the first two Tests, he replaced lawrence at No 3 — and promptly made three ducks in four innings. Not for the first time, his Test career looks on hold.
PS Chris Woakes and Mark Wood didn’t play at all.