It’s Bazball 1-1 India after eight days of action in South India. Before the IND vs ENG Test series moves to the West in Rajkot, the England Cricket Team will leave for Abu Dhabi on Wednesday for a short camp as an eight-day break begins on Tuesday. Ben Stokes & Co will travel to the UAE to polish some of their skills before returning for the remaining three India vs England Tests.
It’s not very common for a touring side to set up camp outside the country. But this England team do not follow traditions. Even before the India tour, Ben Stokes & Co had a 10-day conditioning camp in Abu Dhabi before arriving in Hyderabad.
England mid-season camp
It was during the pre-tour camp in Abu Dhabi that England devised plans to take down India’s spin threat. Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley came out with an aggressive approach to tackle Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel in the IND vs ENG Test series.
That all three spinners have given away runs at over 4.00 economy rate in this series is a testament to the fact that England have been largely successful.
For example, Ashwin-Jadeja-Axar’s spin trio gave away runs at less than 3 against Australia. In the last IND vs ENG Test series in 2021, the economy rate was only 2.50.
More from India vs England Tests
But the way, England batters have come out against Indian spinners, they have forced Ashwin & Co to rethink their strategies, putting them on the backfoot. Ashwin-Jadeja-Axar & Kuldeep Yadav combined have picked up only 23 wickets in four innings while Jasprit Bumrah has bagged 15 wickets already.
“It was exactly how we trained in Abu Dhabi. We had wickets there that turned a lot. It was a really good training camp for us, as we could control the conditions,” Zak Crawley said recently about the Abu Dhabi camp.
Indian spinners’ economy
| Player | IND vs ENG 2024 | IND vs AUS 2023 | IND vs ENG 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| R Ashwin | 4.08 | 2.59 | 2.50 |
| R Jadeja | 4.21 | 2.57 | DNP |
| Axar Patel | 4.38 | 2.16 | 2.24 |
| Kuldeep Yadav | 4.09 | DNP | 3.32 |
Emphasis on Homework
During the last Abu Dhabi camp, the England Cricket Team dedicated a large portion to tackling the Indian spin attack. They looked clueless in 2021 and became a laughing stock in Ahmedabad with the Test ending in just five sessions. This time, England have made it work. Thanks to the Bazball approach where batters use unorthodox shots like reverse sweeps, spinners have come under pressure.
“I think sweeping and reverse-sweeping when the ball is spinning is a good option. I think the reverse sweep is more common for us because they always seem to have two men out on the leg-side. If they had two men out on the other side, we’d probably play the sweep. The reverse sweep comes probably just as naturally to us as the normal sweep,” Zak Crawley said.
That’s how England play now. And the series is far from over. England can still win it and repeat 2012 heroics.
