"How Poorly He Bowled": Ex-England Star's Brutally Honest Take On Ravindra Jadeja's Performance
Former England cricketer Mark Butcher criticised Indian all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja for his poor bowling utilisation of the rough during the first Test at Leeds against England, calling it "owning a hammer but punching nails in with your fist", reported Wisden Cricket Weekly. The new-look Team India failed to chase 371 runs during the Leeds Test against England, with opener Ben Duckett's swashbuckling 149 and watchful Joe Root's fifty contributing big to the team's win. During the second innings, Jadeja took 1/104 in 24 overs, getting the over of skipper Ben Stokes. However, England, particularly Duckett, neutralised Jadeja's threat very well, using the reverse sweep to their advantage.
Speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly Podcast, Butcher said about Jadeja, "I could not believe how poorly he bowled. I would liken it to owning a hammer but punching nails in with your fist instead - not landing the ball in the rough at all until, basically, it was too late. That was extraordinary."
"You talk about experience, and he has all the experience in the world. Somehow, it didn't seem to click to him or Rishabh Pant, the keeper, that it might be a good idea not to keep missing the rough all day to the left-handers," he added.
Butcher also slammed Team India's selection, particularly of bowling all-rounder Shardul Thakur, as one of the reasons why they looked ineffective, and they could have gone for spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Shardul could not get into double digits while batting and took a total of two wickets across the match, leaking runs at a high economy rate.
"The issue around the lineup itself... how much more interesting might that last day have been had they gone for Kuldeep Yadav instead of Shardul Thakur. Thakur had had a really poor game until that one over where he gave India a tiny sniff at the back-end," he said.
"If you are not contributing with the bat down there at No.8, you damn well be taking wickets, and be in the game as a bowler for more of the game than he was," he concluded.
Coming to the match, India was put to bat first by England. Centuries from Yashasvi Jaiswal (101), skipper Shubman Gill (147) and Rishabh Pant (134) pushed India to 471, with Ben Stokes being the leading bowler with figures of 4/66.
England also delivered a fine reply with the bat, as a century from Ollie Pope (106) and fifties from Harry Brook (99) and Ben Duckett (62) pushed them to 465, giving India a slender six-run lead. Jasprit Bumrah did take a fifer, but did not get a lot of support from other bowlers.
India took a strong lead in the second innings, with centuries from KL Rahul (137) and Pant (118) taking them to 364. India led by 370 runs, but it was a lower-order collapse that prevented the lead from being even more massive. Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue took three wickets to stand out among bowlers.
In the chase of 371 runs, England started off well with a 188-run stand between Zak Crawley (65) and Duckett (149). However, a few quick strikes reduced them to 253/4, placing India in a balanced spot. However, Joe Root (53*) and Jamie Smith (44*) took England home, despite two wickets each from Prasidh Krishna and Thakur.
Duckett took home the 'Player of the Match' award.
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If you zoom out five or 10 years, there's definitely growth. Ten years ago, I was possibly the youngest rider at 16. Now, at any Supercross race, there are 10 to 20 kids under 15. So yeah, it's going in the right direction. Two manufacturers in Dakar is a really positive thing. It makes people believe that it's possible to race or even win the Dakar from India," said legacy he wants to leave behind View this post on Instagram A post shared by Harith Noah (@harithnoah8)Noah isn't thinking about retirement just yet. He feels like he still has a long way to go and can achieve more in the sport. "I haven't really thought about retirement or the legacy I want to leave behind. I'm not seeing an end right now. I want to keep doing my best and maybe go bigger than I have already. No one thought I'd win Rally 2 before 2024—but it happened. I believe greater things are possible, but a lot of things need to line up properly," said his dream? To bring motorsport closer to the Indian mainstream."I dream of one day when people are waiting for the weekend to watch Indian Supercross live on TV—or watching the Dakar every January," concluded that dream comes true, expect Noah to be at the forefront, tackling the unforgiving challenges of Dakar — and making India proud.- Ends
