Hartley - who ? - punctures Indian bubble at home !

 

What an ignominious defeat at our own place !!  ~ and if Team India were to play unchanged in the next Test at Visakhapatnam – that could be very bitter !!

 

Most of us may not know or remember Donna Hartley-Wass MBE, a British athlete.  Hartley-Wass graced the cover of fitness magazines during her bodybuilding heyday in the late 1980s.  She was an ace sprinter; in 1977 she was U.K. 400 metres champion. In 1977, she married fellow athlete Bill Hartley. The marriage later ended in divorce.  In 1978, Hartley won two Commonwealth gold medals in Edmonton, Canada, where she won the 400 metres, and the 4x400 relay.  In 1980, she competed at the Moscow Olympic Games where she won a bronze medal in the 4 x 400 relay. 

You might have seen the connection already .. .. the scorecard reads :   England 246 (Stokes 70, Bairstow 37, Ashwin 3-68, Jadeja 3-88) and 420 (Pope 196, Duckett 47, Bumrah 4-41, Ashwin 3-126) beat India 436 (Jadeja 87, Rahul 86, Jaiswal 80) and 202 (Rohit 39, Hartley 7-62) by 28 runs 

England pulled off one of their greatest Test wins in front of the raucous Barmy Army and a stunned home crowd in Hyderabad. A team that had fallen behind by 190 in the first innings - a deficit never before reversed by a visiting team in India – made history though  their most experienced spinner injured, half their side gone before scores were levelled,  did so emphatically even though a hilarious last-wicket stand took India to within 29 runs of their target. 

Another pathetic performance at home on a turning track – as India struggled in the second essay – I am appalled at the performance Shubman Gill who is given so much opportunities and this guy who walks in with a swagger like King Richards  .. .. if Gavaskar, Manjrekar were on mike, they would immediately say he is finest player of spin combining brute power with finesse ! – in his dozen tests, he has made runs gainst New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and failed against England, South Africa, Australia – Shereyas Iyer !! 

After England lost four of their first five wickets in the first innings to defensive shots, and when criticis were raving about England no able to play spin, perhaps their coach after whom  Bazball is named, told them that  it is more acceptable to get out reverse-sweeping than defending.  Ollie Pope responded with a great knock missing a double ton by just 4 runs. 

But .. .. Indians who taste spin daily were undone by a debutant from Ormskirk,   a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England.  Farokh Engineer joined Lancashire in 1968, and Clive Lloyd joined in 1969; together they  helped establish Lancashire as one of the best one day sides in England.  But this  Indian team needs to learn from Dick Barlow (not to be confused with Eddie Barlow of South Africa).  This Barlow played seven times for England against Australia in England: in the match which gave rise to the Ashes at the Oval in 1882; and at Lord's, the Oval, and Old Trafford in 1884 and 1886. Dick Barlow carried his bat for just 5 not out in Lancashire's total of 69 in two and a half hours against Nottinghamshire on a treacherous, rain-affected Trent Bridge pitch in July 1882. 

The man of the day was Tom Hartley with figures of 26.2 -5-62-7 was born to Donna Wass and Bill Hartley. Bill Hartley, won 4 x 400m European Championship gold in 1974. Tom Hartley  is a tall left-arm spinner who enjoyed a breakthrough season for Lancashire in the shortened summer of 2020: injuries and international call-ups gave him the opportunity to play four Bob Willis Trophy games, and he was selected as part of a three-pronged spin attack which led Lancashire to Finals Day.  Hartley's two main assets in T20 cricket are his height and his accuracy, but he shone so well in a Test debut.  

 

Tom Hartley  hails from Ormskirk, a market town in the West Lancashire district of Lancashire, England. The name is Old Norse in origin and is derived from Ormres kirkja, from a personal name, Ormr (which means "serpent" or dragon), and the Old Norse word kirkja for church.  Ormr may have been a Viking who settled here. There is no reference to Ormskirk in the Domesday Book of 1086, but it has been suggested that it may have been part of Lathom at that time.  

A sad day for the Indian fan which will be healed only if some of the stars with punctured status are dropped from the Team and some other youngsters are given a chance.

 
With regards – S Sampathkumar
28.1.2024