There are statistics in cricket that are quirky and niche, that induce a smile or a raised eyebrow towards the curious soul that sought them out in the first place. And then there are others that point to a significant trend and, quite frankly, are damning.
As the Trent Bridge crowd filed out for refreshments or relief at tea on day two, and England’s opening bowlers were probably muttering a Murtaugh-esque “I’m getting too old for this shit” while lacing up their boots, one floated around that was very much the latter.
It went that in the past two years England have now lost all 10 wickets in a session three times, having never done so during the period from 1938 to 2016, with Andrew Samson, Test Match Special’s mathematical maestro, the source of this particularly instructive and troubling nugget.
A soft underbelly, a lack of spine, a glass jaw: take your pick, because while there is talent in this team – as will doubtless be mentioned during the post‑mortem of this match – there are problems in the batting that, during the three successive wins this summer, have been rather masked by lower-order fightbacks and bowling excellence.
Granted, this latest sorry session was extended in length as Virat Kohli’s resurgent tourists hunted the 10th wicket and Jos Buttler briefly counterattacked from his convention-defying role as a specialist No 7. But to go from 46 for none to 161 all out in the 29.2 overs after lunch, even in bowler‑friendly conditions, means it can still be filed alongside similar recent collapses against Bangladesh and New Zealand.
Both of those came away from home, of course, first in late 2016 when the two Hasans – Mehedi and Shakib-Al – spun a web on a Dhaka dustbowl during a doomed fourth‑innings chase, before in March this year Trent Boult and the pink ball gave England a post‑Ashes slap in Auckland (two days before Australia’s ball‑tampering scandal erupted and drew the world’s attention).
This time the wrecking ball was one Hardik Pandya, who struck with his first ball to remove Joe Root after the drinks break and then, by exploiting some hard-handed batting with the swinging Dukes ball, went on to claim his maiden five-wicket haul. Pandya looked an endangered species before this Test (something perhaps amplified by a flash image) but this could be a breakthrough made reference to in years to come.
A nod should go to 20‑year‑old Rishabh Pant amid a fittingly breathless debut too, striking his second ball in Test cricket for six on day one during a promising 24 and, after a gobby send-off from Stuart Broad on the second morning, becoming the third wicketkeeper in history to hold five catches in his first innings behind the stumps. And to think it is supposed to be his weaker suit.
That the 54 compiled by Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings was the highest opening stand from England this year is telling in itself and neither man should be feeling too comfortable. Cook, who nibbled at Ishant Sharma behind two balls after a reprieve, averages 19 since his epic double century in Melbourne, while Jennings, who fell the next ball from the jerky Jasprit Bumrah, is yet to truly convince in his second coming and has now gone 13 innings at home without a half century.
Beyond this near six‑year headache at the top of the order, things continue to look muddled and right now there are only two recognised batsmen who look capable of batting long and big. The first is Root, who was decidedly scratchy and then decidedly grumpy upon getting out for 16, convinced that KL Rahul’s low catch was grassed. The boos rung out but it was the correct decision, with the ball bouncing up off fingertips not turf.
The second is Jonny Bairstow, whose five centuries to date have all come in the first innings of a Test, and is far more talented than an average of 39. Here he defended with hard hands, albeit to a lovely outswinger from Pandya, when soft were required. Sandwiched between the Yorkshiremen is a 20-year-old, Ollie Pope, playing just his second match and two spots higher than for his county, while Ben Stokes at No 6 has found rhythm more forthcoming with ball than bat since returning to the Test side.
Alternatives usually come from county cricket but as the Championship fired up for its latest round all three England selectors – Ed Smith, James Taylor and Trevor Bayliss – were at Trent Bridge. They may have an army of scouts and footage these days (and Bayliss is rightly with the team on match day) but, like the batting that transpired and could not be salvaged by those lower down, it was not a great look.
