Published: Jul 17, 2011, 06:05 PM (IST)
Edited: Aug 21, 2014, 07:54 PM (IST)
By Nishad Pai Vaidya
Andrew Strauss’ 78 against the Indians at Taunton is a very positive sign for England. His knock came off just 98 deliveries which showed that he was keen to get runs and some form before England and India lock horns at Lord’s on July 21. His recent struggles against Sri Lanka were well-covered due to Alastair Cook’s and Jonathan Trott’s performances but the England team management would know that Strauss needs to come good in the series against India. As the Test series approaches us, it is the ideal time look at the England skipper’s performance against India.
Strauss has a certain liking for Indian bowling. His hundred against India at Bangalore in the 2011 World Cup was one of the best innings you would get to see in one-day cricket. He subsequently retired from One-Day Internationals (ODIs) after the World Cup to concentrate on Test cricket. With all his attention focused on the longer version, Strauss can make an even bigger impact as he wouldn’t have to worry about leading England in the shorter versions. He can centre all his concentration and efforts into Test cricket and this will help him in the long run.
Here are Strauss’ numbers against India:
|
Matches |
Runs |
Avge |
100s |
Highest |
|
8 |
700 |
46.66 |
3 |
128 |
The interesting thing about these stats is the fact that all his tons against India have been in India. Two of them were in the Chennai Test of 2008. This shows that Strauss doesn’t have a problem against spin and can make the adjustment against slow bowling on spinner-friendly wickets. His average of 46.66 is nearly four points more than his career average of 42.14.
That average against India would have been a lot higher had he scored more consistently. The bulk of his runs against India have come in a few knocks. On other occasions he hasn’t scored a great deal which has been detrimental to his average. Although his average againstIndia is higher than his career average, it doesn’t indicate the fact that he hasn’t been as consistent against them as he would have liked.
During India’s last tour to England, Strauss was troubled by the left-arm bowling of Zaheer Khan and Rudra Pratap Singh. Zaheer got the better of Strauss on four occasions in that series. In a total of six dismissals, he was dismissed by the Indian left-armers on five occasions. Thus, when the Test matches get under way, the Zaheer-Strauss battle would be a very important aspect of the England-India encounter. If Strauss can overcome the Zaheer syndrome, then the England captain may be on his way to big scores. However, if Zaheer maintains his hold over Strauss, similar to his dominance over Graeme Smith, Cook and Trott, England may have job on their hands.
In the series against Sri Lanka, Strauss scored just 27 runs. A left-armer by the name of Chanaka Welegedera was his nemesis during the series. This would have been closely observed by the Indian think-tank. It was a strange run as he scored two hundreds for Middlesex in the lead up to the Test series. Over the last two years, Strauss has been very consistent and it was really surprising to see him struggle. Nevertheless, his latest outing is a good sign for England and the fact that it came against the team he will face in a few days time would give him immense confidence. The only question is whether he will have an answer to the Zaheer question?
(Nishad Pai Vaidya, a 20-year-old law student, is a club and college-level cricketer. His teachers always complain, “He knows the stats and facts of cricket more than the subjects we teach him.”)
