Stuart Binny : A flawed selection?

Stuart Binny’s place in the India team was always under scrutiny considering he has not been in great form with the bat recently and that he was nowhere close to test selection until recently. But a good performance in the second innings of the Trent bridge test has silenced some of his critics. Has Binny done enough of what was expected of him? We will analyse in this article.

Binny was always a horses for courses selection for the green seeming tracks which are often encountered in England. He swings the ball and can be lethal in such conditions as Bangladesh recently found out in one of the matches. India erred in selecting Binny for this test match as this was one of the dry rough and low bounce pitch usually associated with the subcontinent with no hint of any lateral movement at all. He bowled just 10 overs among the 144 overs that India bowled and dint quite justify his place that way.

He even played a poor shot in the first innings when India were in trouble after losing Vijay, Jadeja and Dhoni in quick succession. This brought a lot more criticism as he is a senior pro in the Indian domestic circuit and more responsibility was expected of him. But he turned it all around in the second innings. He played a calm and mature knock to save India the blushes. The Indians were in serious danger of losing the test match at one stage and Binny ensured he batted sensibly with Bhuvi to ensure there were no casualties till the score was safe.

He may have seemed innocuous with the ball but he fulfilled his responsibility aptly with the bat. It is up to the Indian team management to give him opportunities only when the pitch has enough support for his type of bowling for he never going to a be a Kallis. He performed to the best of his abilities and needs to be credited for standing up to the England attack when it was most required.