The Fifth Test of the Investec Series was won handsomely by England by an innings and 244 runs, and finally, the disastrous Ashes tour of Australia seems to have been forgotten. The detractors of captain Alastair Cook, who were so vociferous at the end of the Lord’s Test, are today lying low. We analyse the performance of each England player in the match, and as expected, many receive very high ratings.
Alastair Cook: 9/10
Cook is back to being cool and he his perfect match could have been even better had he got a hundred, after having come so close with a score of 79. His captaincy was top class and at times, he was highly innovative, marshalling his resources expertly. Great end to what was the worst season of his career.
Sam Robson: 4/10
Robson has been perhaps the only poor performer in what was otherwise a brilliant performance by England since the turnaround in Lord’s. He struggled to impress here as well getting a hard fought 37 before getting out.
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Gary Ballance: 8/10
Ballance has been the stand out performer for his side and has done well in every match of this series. Here too, he made a solid 64, and at times, was even flamboyant, qualities you don’t normally associate with him.
Ian Bell: 1/ 10
Bell has had a great series, but didn’t do much in this particular match. But that doesn’t matter as he wasn’t required to.
Joe Root: 10/10
Joe Root has settled brilliantly at No.5 and he just loves batting against India. He has always made at least a fifty in every match that he has played against India, and this time he did much better, making a brilliant 149. Root has an amazing average of 101 against India. If there is one English batsman that Indians dream, that would be him.
Moeen Ali: 2/10
Didn’t do anything in this match, but that’s okay, Moeen wasn’t required to contribute much. Got a well deserved holiday. Has to work on his batting though.
Jos Buttler: 8/10
In only his third Test of his career, Buttler has already become a permanent fixture of this English team and Matt Prior is today a distant memory. Made a composed 45 and his wicketkeeping gave no cause for any complaint.
Chris Woakes: 9/10
Woakes has had an outstanding Test, in which he and Chris Jordan have been more than just support bowlers to James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Woakes has been threatening with the ball, bowled with decent pace, and looks a great long term prospect for England.
Chris Jordan: 9/10
It was a perfect performance by Chris Jordan who took 7 wickets in the match, including a career best of 4 for 18 when his finished off the Indian innings. Jordan also got the crucial wicket of Virat Kohi twice, dismissing him cheaply on both occasions. He bowled with pace and fire.
Stuart Broad: 10/10
It was another perfect Test match for Broad who, along with Anderson is a bowler Indians really dread facing in these conditions. He was always at the Indian batsmen, never giving them even a single loose delivery to free their arms, was a constant menace. Broad was great with the bat as well, getting a quickfire 37 off only 21 balls. Perfect show by him.
James Anderson: 10/10
England’s outstanding player of the series was once again the destroyer of Indian batting, always getting crucial wickets at the top. He may have got only 4 wickets in this match, but created such an extreme pressure for the Indian batsmen, that the young duo of Jordan and Woakes took full advantage at the other end. In many ways, the Investec Test series was Jimmy’s series, and it was fitting that he was given the man of the series award at the end.
