England batsman Jason Roy has insisted that England are not scared of Virat Kohli but that the home side have to find ways of dismissing the India captain early.
Kohli scored 149 and 51 but ended up on the losing side as England defeated India in a thrilling first Test at Edgbaston.
Speaking at the MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s on Monday night, Roy was full of praise for Kohli but denied England were afraid of the No.1 Test batsman in the world.
Manjrekar spoke about the phenomenal form of Kohli and feels that his self-belief is what puts him up there with the Indian batting greats. “He’s a very special talent,” he said. “Where I find him different from the other batting greats is his self-belief, his self-confidence.
“I remember when he averaged 13 the last time he was here [in England], the very next Test match was in Australia, Adelaide. He walked out like he was king of Adelaide. His self-confidence does not dip. It takes a lot for that to take a beating, so that’s where he’s special.”
On the subject of the future of Test cricket, Richardson feels that a Test championship is crucial to maintaining the popularity of the longer format. “Day-night Tests will be great but they won’t be the total saviour of Test cricket,” said the ICC chief, who played 42 Tests for South Africa.
“Not a big fan” v “let’s not be too cynical”.
The Hundred: David Richardson, Jason Roy, Sanjay Manjrekar and Mark Nicholas have their say.https://t.co/JvbgV85n8L
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) August 7, 2018
“It’s more about how we market Test cricket. It about playing selected weekends, long weekends when people are available to come and watch.
”It’s giving context to Test matches and I’m incredibly excited by the Test league that’s now being introduced. It starts after the World Cup next year. A two-year league, nine teams and at the end of it, the two teams at the top of those tables play each other in a final, probably at Lord’s.”
