England vs India, 7th and last ODI, Lord’s

11.25am England strike early
After Rahul Dravid won the toss and elected to bat, Jimmy Anderson put England in the driving seat with two early wickets. Dravid might have been regretting his decision as he walked back to the pavilion for a duck to give England their third scalp of the morning.

Beer consumption so far: 1 can. 

11.50am Cleverest bit of cricket all summer
Ian Bell, as well as the mainstay of England’s batting, has shown himself to be as cunning as a fox with a sneaky fake bit of fielding to prevent a second run being taken. Chasing the ball in tandem with Dimitri Mascaraenhas, he executed a slide before he had caught up with the ball, fooling Yuvraj Singh into not stealing a second run.

Meanwhile, Tendulkar was dismissed by Flintoff for 30, although TV replays suggest strongly that his bat did not touch the ball. A bitterly disappointing end to what is almost certainly his last innings at Lord’s.

India are in deep trouble, and need a big partnership from Yuvraj and Uthappa to have any chance of winning.

1.55pm England mop up
India’s dismal innings came to an end when MS Dhoni chipped a Flintoff ball to Jimmy Anderson. Dhoni was the only batsman to reach 50, leaving India with an almost impossible task in front of them. England’s batting is strong and they should cruise to victory.

India 187 all out in 47.3 overs, Dhoni 50, Mascarenhas 3-23, Anderson 2-22.

Beer consumption so far: 3 cans (awaiting fresh supplies)
Cornish pasty consumption so far: 1 pasty

3.40pm England wobble
India kept hopes of victory alive after dismissing both England openers in the first two overs. Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell steadied the ship with a partnership of 63 before Belly was run out in a mix up between the batsmen. England will still be confident of victory but India will not have lost hope yet.

5.15pm England wrap up victory
Kevin Pietersen (71 not out) and Paul Collingwood (64 not out) saw England safely home in the 37th over. After the fireworks at The Oval the match was something of an anticlimax, and India looked like a beaten team long before the final runs were hit.

England 188 for 3 in 36.2 overs, Pietersen 71*, Collingwood 64*, RP Singh 2-40.

Coming soon: a rambling discussion of the series and the England players’ performances.

England vs India, 6th ODI, The Oval

In a nail-biting contest at The Oval India clinched the narrowest of wins to level the series and set it up for a tense match at Lord’s this weekend.

England’s top order failed, but strong batting from Bell and Pietersen put them back on track. Two run outs – one of them the subject of some controversy when Umpire Peter Hartley reversed his decision after seeing a replay – seemed certain to restrict England to a mediocre score until debutant Luke Wright blasted a 50 from 39 balls. Shah added to India’s woe with an unbeaten 107 from 95, featuring 2 sixes, but it was Dimitri Mascarenhas who again stole the show with 5 consecutive sixes in the final over.

India needed to bat brilliantly to stay in the series, and they did so from the very beginning of their innings. Tendulkar and Ganguly put on 150 runs for the first wicket, and Tendulkar was again prevented from celebrating a century when he drove a Monty Panesar delivery into the welcoming hands of Paul Collingwood.

India’s run chase was relentless however, and despite a wobble in the middle of the innings they never allowed the run-rate to get much above 6 until the final few overs. In the end it was Robin Uthappa who saw India home with just two balls spare. His 47 was inventive and bold, and he looks very comfortable batting down the order.

Another fantastic match then, with great performances from both sides. England must be cursing the absence of Flintoff: 10 tight overs from him may well have sealed the series, although had he been included then Luke Wright would not have been played and England might not have broken the 300 mark in their innings.

This series has been a fantastic advertisement for one day cricket, and it is a pity that it has not been on free-to-view tv. With the amount of support for both teams in this country, it could really have really been a summer to remember.

England vs India, 4th ODI, Old Trafford

England took a commanding lead in the ODI series against India in a dramatic and tense day-night match. The England bowlers restricted India to 212, with only Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh scoring over 20. However, the small total seemed to be sufficient when England lost their seventh wicket still almost 100 runs short of victory.

A sensational partnership between Ravi Bopara and Stuart Broad steadied the ship however, seeing England home in the 48th over. Broad, with four wickets and 45 runs to his name was a shoo-in for Man of the Match.

India displayed a tremendous attitude for much of the game, although occasionally their enthusiasm overflowed into unnecessary aggression, but just as the match looked to be theirs for the taking the energy left them. The abysmal fielding returned and by the time England were within sight of their target India seemed resigned to defeat.

The game will be a huge boost to England’s confidence – and hopefully a lesson for some of the batsmen – but a crushing blow to the Indian team. They need to win three games in a row to save the series, and there is little sign that they are capable of doing so. Individual performances are not backed up by support from the whole team. I would not write them off just yet, but it will take either a huge improvement from the squad as a whole or a truly inspired performance from one or two players to keep India in this series.

England vs India, 3rd ODI, Edgbaston

England’s innings was competent rather than spectacular, and was again held together by Ian Bell, posting his third score over 50 in as many matches. Of the top order only Kevin Pietersen failed to contribute much, and he looked a little shaky against the spinners. Perhaps his dismissal by Chawla at Bristol was playing on his mind. Owais Shah hit 19 off 15 balls, including a fantastic six, but will be annoyed not to have stayed in longer. Some more hitting on the last few overs could have pushed England past 300 and helped establish his place in the side.

The Indian innings began quietly, the England bowlers keeping it very tight. Anderson and Broad are looking increasingly effective as a partnership, and I’m looking forward to seeing them bowl together in a test match. Anderson had Tendulkar caught on 8, the fifth time he has dismissed him this summer.

Unfortunately Tremlett once again proved expensive and Collingwood was forced to take him off after two overs that went for 20 runs. By the time Ganguly and Dravid both posted their half century, India looked to be cruising toward their target before Tremlett returned for a second spell and Dravid played on to his stumps before Ganguly nicked one to Prior.

Collingwood captained intelligently, bringing back Anderson before the end of the innings to take the crucial wicket of Mahendra Dhoni. India’s poor running between the wickets again showed itself when their last hope for victory, Yuvraj Singh, was run out.

India were once again comical in the field, and must have gifted England 20 runs, as well as failing to mke a run out. Their weakness in the less glamorous arts of the game are a major reason why they are a team with great players rather than a great team at the moment.

England lead the series 2-1 and if they can maintain this level of commitment should be favourites to win overall. Tremlett remains a concern, and Collingwood will likely want to bring back both Flintoff and Mascarenhas for the next match.

England vs India, Second ODI, County Ground Bristol

India levelled the 7 match series at Bristol yesterday in dramatic fashion, thrashing England’s fast bowlers and racking up 329 runs. Tremlett’s ten overs went for 73 runs and Dimitri Mascerenhas bowled four for 31. Tendulkar, hampered by an attack of cramp in his left hand, hit an agressive 99 before being caught behind to the bowling of Flintoff (TV analysis suggests that the ball may have hit his arm-guard rather than the glove).

England started well in reply and both Cook and Prior scored quickly, getting into the 30s before being dismissed off successive balls. Ian Bell hit a fluid 64 having been dropped on 1, but the wickets fell regularly throughout the innings, putting pressure on the batsmen. Flintoff managed to score 9 in four balls before slogging the fifth straight to Ramesh Powar on the boundary. England kept victory in sight until the very end as the run-rate crept up and up, and Mascarenas kept hope alive by smashing 52 off 45 balls, including 5 sixes. Broad chipped in, making 20 runs off the final over, and it was only in the last few balls that Dravid could be certain of victory.

The key issue for England fans must be the decision to drop Monty. India’s two spinners were their most economical bowlers and took key wickets, and without a full-time spinner England had no variation in their attack. Monty’s replacement, Chris Tremlett, was England’s most expensive bowler, and yet Collingwood continued to let him bowl towards the end of the innings when he had sufficient overs from Anderson, Broad and Flintoff to complete the innings.

There were problems for India too. Without Zaheer Khan their pace attack is considerably weakened, although they seem to have discovered a handy new leg spinner in Chawla. Their fielding was comical at times, and victory would have been considerably more comfortable without a litany of dropped catches and misfieldings.

England have important lessons to learn, and it is to be hoped that Collingwood can get to grips with captaincy sooner rather than later. There is the makings of a very strong side here.