This is how cricinfo described the Cook dismissal:
“29.1
Johnson to Anderson, 1 leg bye, fast and full, Anderson gets pad on it and gets a leg-bye
Odd that Anderson would take one there. Isn’t the nightwatchman supposed to protect the recognised batsman?
29.2
Johnson to Cook, no run, oh boy, this one stays a bit low, it’s right on line and Cook is fortunate that he got the bat down in time to get an inside edge on that
29.3
Johnson to Cook, no run, left alone outside off
29.4
Johnson to Cook, no run, clipped away to square leg
29.5
Johnson to Cook, no run, outside off, Cook can safely let this one go through to Haddin
29.6
Johnson to Cook, OUT, Cook is gone! Johnson gets another, fast and full, swinging away from Cook, who gets a thin edge through to Haddin. Wonderful bowling!
AN Cook c †Haddin b Johnson 30 (136m 84b 4×4 0×6) SR: 35.71
What a spell from Mitchell Johnson. He’s back, no question. And you have to wonder about the sense of using a nightwatchman if he’s not going to take the strike.”
My thoughts on nightwatchman are well known (any batsman who calls for one should be beaten with shoes) but surely if one is out there he should do his fucken job.
England didn’t need a nightwatchman, they needed Jesus, Elvis and Keith Miller to come in.
Are you still up?? Or up already? I’m reliably informed that it’s 5.45 am in the Old Blighty.
Is this the effect of Anderson’s nightwatchman skills??
The really confusing thing about it was they were calling for a nightwatchman for the #6 bat. This wasn’t covering for Pietersen or someone else at #3. This was for the damn wicketkeeper when they were already 4 down. So let’s take one out of the tail to be nightwatchman, when if one of the two guys gets dismissed, the tail will begin anyway. Just when I think I’ve seen England make their biggest cock-up, they find a way to surpass themselves.
Yep their arse is on the line and they don’t want a cock up!
Such a fuss is made of that pointless record of his and he wanted to protect it. If you are going to choose a nightwatchman, one that is worried about his duck record isn’t the one to choose.
He did the same thing to Flintoff last year in India, 2nd Test at Mohali
Commentary from Cricinfo :-
The light meters have just been out for the first time. They stay on for now as Mishra continues. England now probably quite keen to get off having lost Pietersen
72.1
Mishra to Flintoff, no run, comes forward on middle, pushed back down the pitch
72.2
Mishra to Flintoff, 1 run, driven down to mid-off, easy single and Anderson has to do his job
Daryl Harper checks the light again, but it’s still just about OK
72.3
Mishra to Anderson, 1 run, driven in the air to backward point, he’s off the mark
72.4
Mishra to Flintoff, no run, big appeals for everything, lbw and caught silly point, but nothing is happening from the umpire
By getting off the mark, Anderson has now gone 44 innings without a duck and that’s equal second
72.5
Mishra to Flintoff, no run, defends from middle and leg
Plenty of field changes
72.6
Mishra to Flintoff, OUT, and another one falls, what a strike, Mishra has Flintoff caught low at short leg. A superb catch from Gambhir under the helmet as Flintoff gets an inside edge onto his pad. Anderson took a single to expose Flintoff again and he hasn’t survived. Should Anderson have taken the whole over? That’s what he was sent out to do.
A Flintoff c Gambhir b Mishra 62 (183m 132b 6×4 1×6) SR: 46.96
The game has changed in the last 10 minutes and that’s also the end of play, so India have struck with the last ball of the day’s play. It was a brilliant catch by Gambhir, getting his hand underneath the ball. So India will feel justified in their tactics and will be eyeing a lead of over 100 tomorrow morning.
Keep things in perspective. The Test was hopeless but Jimmy’s no-duck streak stays alive! ;)
Reminiscent of Cal Ripken’s consecutive games streak in baseball. It would have been better for the team if he had taken some days off but the streak came first.
Hey JRod, I don’t know if you’ve already read Matthew Hoggard’s autobio – Hoggy but, if you haven’t, please do. He’s got a priceless chapter on the role of the nightwatchman and how he thinks its the most absurd conception in cricket…
Brett,
Are you out of your goddamn mind? Don’t compare Anderson’s streak without a duck to a baseball Hall of Famer’s streak of longevity in which he played 2,632 consecutive games over 17 years. During this streak, Ripken won a World Series, 2 AL MVP Awards, was voted to play in the All-Star game for every year except the first year of the streak (and then three years after the streak ended), and essentially revolutionized the shortstop position before switching to third base to accommodate the free agent signing of Mike Bordick, someone who wasn’t even worthy to lick Ripken’s boots. Even still, Ripken continued to dominate at third base. It is ridiculous to say that the Orioles would have been better off if Ripken sat out a couple of games. Cal Ripken is a hard man. I have personally shaken his hand while working for the College World Series when he was in attendance. He has massive hands. Those hands would smack you if he found out you made such an asinine comparison. Cal Ripken could take a dump and it would be more impressive than James Anderson’s streak of consecutive innings without a duck.
However, you’re comparing Baseball with Cricket. I will be kind and leave it at that.
I’m not getting into the Cal Ripken debate since it’s tangential and some people tend to get a bit irrational about it. (I live an hour from Baltimore.) I don’t see it as particularly controversial that occasional rest can be helpful for performance or that individual goals can conflict with team goals. Wasn’t comparing cricket with baseball either although they are from the same family tree. It could be an individual accomplishment in any sport.
I agree with J-Rod that Jimmy was thinking about the no-duck streak and forgot what he was in there to do.