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. Alejandro De Aza Jersey .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. Jeurys Familia Mets Jersey . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. Juan Lagares Jersey . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. http://www.baseballmetsofficial.com/wilmer-flores-jersey-c-34/ . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. MIAMI -- Jose Fernandez looked more like himself Friday night.Fernandez bounced back from allowing a career-high nine runs, six earned, in a loss at Atlanta to pitch seven innings allowing just an unearned run to help the Miami Marlins to a 3-1 victory over the Cincinnati Reds to begin the final series before the All-Star break.Obviously there was a lot of things to work on from last start and a lot of adjustments to be made, Fernandez said. I think we made a couple, but theres still a lot of work to be done.Fernandez (11-4) struck out eight and did not walk a batter while allowing six hits, lowering his first-half ERA to 2.52. The Reds scored the unearned run with two errors committed by Marlins outfielders.Its a different element when you can strike people out, Reds manager Bryan Price said. When he needed a strikeout he was able to go get it. He has a different gear when he needs an out. Thats what makes great pitchers special.Christian Yelich homered and drove in two runs and Derek Dietrich also knocked in a run for the Marlins, who returned home after a 3-6 road trip.Miamis All-Star relievers both pitched one inning, Fernando Rodney in the eighth and A.J.Ramos in the ninth for his 26th save in 27 chances.The game took only 2 hours and 16 minutes.Thats pretty good, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. That will help our pace of play report when it comes out.The win assured the Marlins (45-41) of a winning record in the first half for the first time since 2009 when they went 46-44 before the break.I know everybody is excited, but were four games over and four games over is not going to get it done, Mattingly said. Weve got a ways to go. Were getting better. Were capable of more. Weve got a lot of talent here and this second half should be fun. If we play the type of baseball were capable of, weve got a chance to do something special.Dan Straily (4-6) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings for the Reds.I thought I pitched well but not good enough, Straily said. Certain nights you have to go out there and win a ballgame 1-0. I wasnt able to get that done tonight.Cincinnati second baseman Brandon Phillips left the game after being hit by a pitch on the left hand in the seventh inning. X-rays revealed a hairline fracture.It wasnt good enough to stay in the game, Price said. It was real sore. Well have to see where he is ttomorrow with a lot of ice and time to sleep and get the swelling down. Gary Carter Mets Jersey. Yelichs RBI double in the first gave the Marlins the lead.To me Yelly is one of the best hitters in the game and hes starting to show it more and we still feel theres room for improvement with him, Mattingly said.Adam Duvalls single tied the game in the top of the fourth before Dietrichs base hit put the Marlins ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the inning.Yelich hit a solo homer in the sixth for a 3-1 lead. It was his seventh of the season after hitting seven in 126 games last season.Theres room for improvement I think for myself and as a team weve played well in the first half, but weve let a few get away, Yelich said. Its important to finish up this last series strong and take that momentum into the second half.MARLINS DROP FIFTH STARTERMiami optioned starting pitcher Justin Nicolino to Triple-A New Orleans on Friday and recalled catcher Tomas Telis with the plan of going with a four-man rotation until a fifth starter would be needed on July 19, at Philadelphia.Nicolino, who is 2-5 with a 5.57 ERA in 12 starts this season, might not get the nod against the Phillies.Were looking for the best alternative, Mattingly said. Were not committed to Nico getting the next start. We dont have to make that decision right now.TRAINERS ROOMReds: CF Billy Hamilton (right knee) made a leaping catch up against the wall in center field in the fifth inning, but stayed in the game and had ice on his knee after the game. Its fine and everything should be good, Hamilton said. ... RHP Homer Bailey (right elbow) made his third rehab start on Thursday and will make at least two more before returning to the big league club. It sounds like he felt pretty good, threw the ball over the plate, gave up a few hits and a couple of runs, but thats a distant second to how he felt, Price said. It sounds like things are getting better.UP NEXTReds: LHP John Lamb (1-5, 5.43 ERA) will start Saturdays game against the Marlins after allowing eight runs over 4 1/3 innings in his last start at Washington.Marlins: LHP Adam Conley (5-5, 3.65) will take the mound looking to continue his positive stretch, which includes a 2-1 mark and 2.25 ERA over his past four starts. Cheap NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap Jerseys From ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys AuthenticWholesale Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaNFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
