Pirate Galaxy » offensive futility.Were a great team, said re

Just as you shouldnt expect a dentist to turn up to work with a spanner and sledgehammer, so you shouldnt turn up in Mumbai with a pack of seamers and think you have the tools for the job.On a surface on which Indias spinners claimed all 10 of Englands first innings wickets, England found themselves attempting to bounce out the Indian batsman for a while. They didnt take the second new ball until the 130th over and, when they did, they initially placed a field which included one slip and four men on the boundary. There really wasnt anything in the surface or the conditions to help their four seamers.It might be simplistic to conclude that England just misread the surface. While it is true that there was little of the swing, reverse or conventional, for which they might have hoped, they also argued that they have picked a side that plays to their strengths. And it is true that, by most criteria, England have a much deeper and stronger selection of seamers than spinners.But, in these conditions, it left England with an unbalanced attack and some players all but redundant. Really, theyve called for a plumber when they needed an electrician.Not for the first time, either. In the second-innings in Rajkot, Ben Stokes, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes contributed nine overs between them. In the second innings in Visakhapatnam, Moeen only bowled 19 deliveries despite the absence of Zafar Ansari due to injury. And, in Mohali, Gareth Batty could have been used as a scarecrow for all the use he was with the ball.It was similar for Woakes here. By the time he took the second new ball, somewhere around 3pm on Saturday, it had been 78 overs and about 23 hours since he had last been required to bowl. He and Ben Stokes have only contributed eight overs each in the first 142 of the India innings; thats the same amount as part-time spinner, Joe Root. It is hard to see how England required both of them as well as James Anderson and Jake Ball.Leading into the game, we thought there might be a bit more in it for the seamers, Joe Root admitted afterwards. But its not quite worked out that way so far.In hindsight, I think we would have liked to play an extra spinner. But it would be silly to think about things that are out of our hands now. Weve just got to make the best of what weve got.But do they need six bowlers? Why, when their batting has been a consistent weakness, do they not pick the extra batsman and put their trust in five bowlers? After all, four bowlers was enough when they won here in 2012 - all but three overs in Indias second innings were bowled by Englands two spinners - and they do have, in Root and Keaton Jennings, respectable support bowlers as required. It was Root, the seventh bowler in Indias innings here, who made the long-awaited double-breakthrough.Part of the problem is the lack of faith England would appear to have in the form of their support batsmen at present. So while they could have picked Gary Ballance or Ben Duckett, they seem to have concluded that neither will make much of a difference. In which case, you wonder why the selectors didnt act after the Bangladesh part of this tour and replace Ballance with a batsman they felt they could trust.Equally, they appear to lack faith in the support spinners. But while Batty was largely redundant in Mohali, he would, at least, have helped carry the burden for the frontline spinners here. At one stage, Adil Rashid bowled a 28-over spell (from the 74th to the 128th over) which conceded 88 runs, while Moeen has only once (in Cape Town, when he bowled 52) delivered more than the 45 overs he has so far in this innings. And while both bowled reasonably well - Rashid sometimes finding sharp turn to beat the bat of even Kohli - there were, as expected, too many release deliveries to allow any pressure to build on the batsmen. The smart money suggests Liam Dawson - a left-arm spinner and decent batsman - will make his Test debut in Chennai in place of a seamer.And that is the nub of the problem. For it may well be that there is no combination of players available to England to prevail against India in these conditions. There may well be no left-arm spinner in England that could exploited these conditions to the extent that India could have been kept to under 400 for the first time in their first innings in this series. Virat Kohli and Ravi Ashwin really might be too good for them. It is hard to be wildly optimistic for the future, either. There would be fewer opportunities for red-ball spinners in the brave new world the ECB is planning. There would be no domestic first-class cricket in August (a List A competition would occupy those players not involved in the new T20 competition) and fewer reasons for counties to invest in young spin talents.But England cannot take such a defeatist attitude. And the further this tour progresses, the more it seems they have erred in their selection. It is not so much that the decision not to bring Jack Leach is puzzling, it is that they have chosen not to pick him while persisting with several players - notably Ballance, Steven Finn and, to a lesser extent Duckett - who they clearly have no intention of picking. Leachs reputation, like others before him, may have grown in his absence from the side, but, even if he had batted at No. 11 here and not bowled an over, England would scarcely have been any worse off.Maybe things would not have appeared so bleak had England taken the chances that came their way? Jonny Bairstow missed a stumping opportunity off Murali Vijay when he had 45, Kohli was put down by Rashid - a tough caught and bowled chance - on 68, and Root put down Jayant Yadav on 8. When India were 307 for 6, it looked as if England might take a significant first-innings advantage. Kohli played magnificently, but England will know they had chances and they were unable to take them.Its bitterly disappointing, Root agreed. It just proves that when you create those half-chances, you have to make sure you take them.It wont be any consolation to England, but their supporters might reflect they were fortunate to be part of a perfect Mumbai Saturday. With 20,000 spectators lapping up every run and the red soil and magnificent stadium helping create a unique atmosphere, it was the sort of occasion most present will remember long after the memory of other games fades. England probably didnt give themselves absolutely the best chance of success, but its hard to avoid the conclusion that, whatever they do, this series is going to be defined by Kohlis excellence. He is the difference. Baltimore Ravens Jerseys . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. Justin Tucker Womens Jersey . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. http://www.ravensrookiestore.com/Ravens-Iman-Marshall-Jersey/ . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. Marquise Brown Ravens Jersey . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. Marquise Brown Jersey . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. WASHINGTON -- Max Scherzer believes the Washington Nationals were one hanging curveball away from beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 of their NL Division Series.Scherzer hung a curveball to Justin Turner that became a two-run home run and gave up a home run to Corey Seager as the Nationals lost to the Dodgers 4-3 on Friday night. Nationals hitters decried the missed opportunities of going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, but Washingtons ace took the blame for mistakes that proved costly.Giving up those two home runs, I really feel like that was the difference in the ballgame, said Scherzer, who allowed four runs and five hits in six innings. Im accountable for that, and Ill shoulder that, and Ill take the blame for that. I know Im capable of executing pitches at a higher level and Ive got to do it.Scherzer (0-1) allowed a solo shot to Seager on a first-pitch fastball in the first inning that the rookie shortstop drilled to center field. Seager said the Dodgers were looking for any runs they could get off Scherzer, a 20-game winner and NL Cy Young Award candidate.In the third, Los Angeles scratched across another run on an RBI single by Chase Utley;?then Utley broke up a potential double play and set the stage for Turner to go deep to left.Scherzer said the third inning will keep him up late at night. He settled down and didnt allow a run from that point on, but Turners blast loomed large.We were pretty aggressive, and that kind of affected the way Max pitched to us, said Turner, who had 27 home runs during the regular season. The second time through, he went through all the secondary stuff even more than we saw him do on tape. Thats what you have to do; you have to make adjustments on the fly and see what other teams are doing and attacking, and you have to try to make adjustments with them.The Nationals got to Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw (1-0) for three runs on eight hits in five innings. Anthony Rendon had a two-run single in the third, and rookie Trea Turner drove in another run with a sacrificee fly in the fourth.ddddddddddddBut shortstop Danny Espinosa struck out three times -- with two runners on each time -- and Washington got only one hit in four innings against L.A. relievers Joe Blanton, Grant Dayton, Pedro Baez and Kenley Jansen. Manager Dusty Baker acknowledged Espinosa didnt have a very good night, but teammates shared the responsibility for the offensive futility.Were a great team, said reigning NL MVP Bryce Harper, who went 1-for-5 with a double and a run scored. When we get guys on base, we usually have pretty dang good at-bats and usually get those guys in. Definitely tough scoring three runs tonight.MURPHY CAUGHT STEALINGOf all the Nationals missed opportunities, no bad decision loomed larger than one in the seventh inning when second baseman Daniel Murphy walked and took off to try to steal second off Baez. Murphy was coming off missing time with a strained glute, had the green light to go because he thought Baezs delivery was slow, and was thrown out by catcher Yasmani Grandal.Theres only two choices on that play: Its either be safe or dont run, and I cant get thrown out right there, Murphy said. It cost me an at-bat in the ninth inning as well, running into an out on the bases.TRAINERS ROOMNationals: RHP Stephen Strasburg threw a bullpen session hours before Game 1 -- his first time on a mound since he hurt his right elbow a month ago. He was ruled out for the NLDS, but the Nationals hope he can return if the team advances. ... All-Star C Wilson Ramos, out for the season with a torn knee ligament, threw out the ceremonial first pitch.UP NEXTIn Game 2, RHP Tanner Roark (16-10, 2.83 ERA) starts for the Nationals, taking the assignment that likely would have gone to Strasburg if he were healthy. LHP Rich Hill (3-2, 1.84 ERA in six starts after a trade from Oakland) will pitch for the Dodgers. He was let go from Washingtons Triple-A Syracuse affiliate last year. ' ' '