Ravichandran Ashwin and Ishant Sharma reaping the benefits of county cricket experience

In the first Test at Edgbaston between India and England, Ravichandran Ashwin took seven wickets and Ishant Sharma took six wickets. They were easily the best bowlers for India in that game. Although India lost the Test, it was more due to the combined batting failures of the team (barring Kohli) rather than the bowling. The bowlers were able to take 20 wickets in the game and gave away only 467 runs at an average of 23.35 runs per wicket.

So how did Ashwin and Ishant manage to be successful in alien conditions in England? Both of them credited their success to their English county cricket experience. Ashwin played for Worcestershire last year and gained rich experience of playing in English conditions.

Similarly, Ishant played for Sussex this year, and in the 10 games that he played, he bowled more than 150 overs. Experience of bowling with Dukes balls for their respective counties also helped them as Dukes are different to Kookaburra or SG balls.

The wickets in England are generally not helpful to spinners. However, playing in county cricket helped Ashwin understand what pace to bowl at. He varied his pace during India's match against England at Edgbaston.

In Ishant's case, it was changing his line for left-handers from over the stumps to around the stumps that helped him and the benefits were evident when he changed his line. He took five wickets in the second innings in which three were of left-handers. Ishant took these left-handers wickets by bowling around the wicket and getting them caught in the slip cordon.

Another Indian player who gained rich county cricket experience this season was Cheteshwar Pujara. Surprisingly, he was left out from the playing eleven in the first Test at Edgbaston. Although he had a lean phase playing for Yorkshire this season, playing county cricket would have given him a rich experience of English conditions.

However, Pujara looks certain to be playing in the Lord's Test, especially after the failures of all specialist batsmen in the first Test barring Kohli.