Not so easy now, eh?

Those cricketing defects which may be covered up for a while, or compensated for, in test cricket, are very quickly exposed in one-day cricket (this does not mean one-day cricket is the superior form of cricket for there are many weaknesses it too covers, and these weaknesses are more numerous and more fundamental in some ways). So, India, having come off a triumphant 1-0 test series win, are finding things a bit harder in the shortened version of the game. Things like a slightly dodgy fielding performance for instance, simply cannot be hidden in it. And India are paying - they are giving away too many runs, dropping too many catches, and then when it comes to their batting are simply not being able to put away this English attack (they never needed to in the test series; er, OK, except for the Oval). Still, I'd not put it beyond them to make a decent comeback, especially if Dravid realizes that for the time being, he might be better off simply batting first, and trying to generate as much pressure on the English batsmen (and as much wiggle-room as possible for his fielders).

There is tons more to write, especially on the ICL and the BCCI (that feudal entity which deigns to rule over cricket in India). But that demands a slightly more carefully reasoned post, which must wait.