by AD » Thu Jul 11, 2013 8:33 am
Good point, but given that their bowling strength is with their seam attack, why give them the day where conditions are expected to be favourable for seamers? I'd rather give an untested spinner good conditions than experienced and quite capable seamers.
We bowl firrst, use the conditions to aid our very good swing bowlers to get them out pretty quickly and come day two with expected conditions favourable for batting their seam attack is at a disadvantage without the cloud cover allowing them swing and the pitch isn't deteriorating enough for their inexperienced spinner to use, meaning extending bowling spells for the seamers in the heat and more time in the field. And when it comes to their second innings they feel the effects of that. Come the final day the pitch may be favouring spinners more, but with a less experienced spinner they're going to be less likely to be able to make the most of it.
It's very even at this stage but it will be interesting to see how they get on today, especially if Broad is still struggling.