Ali Martin’s report will be with you shortly. That’s all from me but Daniel Harris will pick things up again in the morning. See ya!
As much as I love watching Jasprit Bumrah bowl, I get plenty of joy looking at his numbers, too. Since the start of 2015, no other bowler has taken more Test wickets against England at a better average. He has 65 against them at 21.73, which is worse than his overall average, which remains below 20.
Ollie Pope is asked what score England would be comfortable chasing: “Numbers-wise I don’t want to put a number on that because it’s such a quick-scoring ground. You beat the in-field and it can go for four. The less the better but we back ourselves to chase a steady score.”
The highest successful Test chase at Headingley is the 404 Australia hunted down against England in 1948, Don Bradman finishing unbeaten on 173. England’s 2019 Ashes hunt, inspired by Stokes, is second and the Bazballers have enjoyed it here: they chased down 296 against New Zealand in 2022 and 251 against Australia in 2023.
It’s been another brilliant day in this Test match, and it’s difficult to call who is in control. I thought it was India’s when Harry Brook fell for 99 but there was a key 55-run stand between Chris Woakes and Brydon Carse that helped turn this into an innings shootout. Jasprit Bumrah finished with five for 83, his 14th five-for in 46 Tests.
KL Rahul has impressed in India’s second innings and has a history of going big against England. Shubman Gill will begin alongside him in the morning – can he emulate Virat Kohli and score twin tons on his captaincy debut?
Stumps: India 90-2, lead by 84
Gill pushes Bashir into the covers for one, and Rahul punches away for a single, too. A tossed up delivery doesn’t turn and very nearly brushes Gill’s outside edge. With one ball left to go in the over, the umpires decide against continuing as the rain comes down. That’ll be stumps.
23rd over: India 87-2 (Gill 4, Rahul 46) Stokes is getting the ball to hoop now, tension building with a new man in and the day approaching its end. The outswinger whizzes past Gill but the over ends with a leg bye as Stokes goes too straight.
22nd over: India 86-2 (Gill 4, Rahul 46) Bashir returns and begins too short – he’s lucky not to be punished by Rahul. Can the offie make use of the breeze? Bashir finds a nice line wide outside of off, inviting a tentative push from Rahul. It ends up as a maiden.
21st over: India 86-2 (Gill 4, Rahul 46) Shubman Gill, the young captain, has little fear: he carves his first ball over the slip cordon for four, much to Stokes’ annoyance.
WICKET! Sudharsan c Crawley b Stokes 30 (India 82-2)
Sudharsan has been clipping away comfortably all innings and does so against Stokes, timing nicely for a boundary. But he errs just moments later playing into the leg side, the clip finding Crawley at short midwicket.
Updated
20th over: India 76-1 (Sudharsan 24, Rahul 46) Rahul is peppering the cover boundary, finding four more off Tongue, England lacking any serious threat at the moment.
Krishnamoorthy v writes in: “Is any score less than 400 to chase in the 4th innings a threat? The only X factor is Bumrah who can bowl any team out singlehandedly.” I would be shocked if Ravindra Jadeja doesn’t play a significant role in the fourth.
19th over: India 70-1 (Sudharsan 24, Rahul 40) Rahul tries to launch another through the covers but nearly inside-edges a Stokes delivery on to his stumps.
18th over: India 69-1 (Sudharsan 24, Rahul 39) Sudharsan has been watchful but misses after trying to slash Tongue away outside off. The quick then finds the pad – but only after the inside edge. A leg-side clip brings two before Sudharsan is dropped! Tongue goes wide and Sudharshan cuts hard to Duckett at gully, who juggles but can’t hold on after having three goes.
17th over: India 67-1 (Sudharsan 22, Rahul 39) Rahul just about nicks another quick single as Stokes thunders though his over.
Updated
16th over: India 65-1 (Sudharsan 21, Rahul 38) Rahul really is a wonderful technician, not just with those drives but with the bunts for a single, too. He has two Test hundreds opening the batting in England, a serious feat, at the Oval in 2018 and at Lord’s three years later.
Updated
15th over: India 64-1 (Sudharsan 21, Rahul 37) Bashir is taken off after just the one over, with Stokes bringing himself on. He showcases a bit of swing and sharp bounce, and he’s focused on a leg-side line, trying to get Sudharsan to play a fatal glance, as he did in the first innings. There’s a leg slip positioned. The final ball of the over is well wide outside off, though, and Sudharsan finds the boundary. Time for a drinks break.
14th over: India 59-1 (Sudharsan 17, Rahul 36) The umbrellas are out at Headingley so we may have a break in play very soon. Rahul and Sudharsan have rotated the strike pretty well and they nick a quick single off Tongue.
Updated
13th over: India 57-1 (Sudharsan 17, Rahul 35) This is a surprise. It’s not Stokes but Shoaib Bashir who appears at the other end, ready to twirl against Sudharsan. His first ball is tucked into the leg side for one. The next ball is really poor, a drag-down that is pulled away by Rahul for four. The off-spinner finds the right line and length with the last delivery, played out by Sudharsan for none.
Rahul has a weird Test record: seven away tons, just the one in India. But he still averages close to 40 in 20 home Tests, around 31 abroad.
12th over: India 49-1 (Sudharsan 16, Rahul 28) Here is Tongue, who had a rough day one but gobbled up the tail yesterday. His second ball is pummelled through cover point by Rahul, who is throwing some lovely shapes when he sees the fuller delivery.
11th over: India 45-1 (Sudharsan 16, Rahul 24) Woakes gets some swing into Sudharsan but it doesn’t really bother the batter, who plays out a maiden.
10th over: India 45-1 (Sudharsan 16, Rahul 24) The batting pair end up running four before Rahul drives through mid-on to the boundary, Carse overpitching. A cover drive for four ends the over, Rahul perfectly balanced at the crease. The ball doesn’t appear to be doing much for England – it can’t be long before Josh Tongue is called in to pummel the pitch.
9th over: India 33-1 (Sudharsan 16, Rahul 12) Chris Woakes gets the wobble seam going from around the wicket, trying to squeeze an outside edge out of Sudharsan. The batter, playing the ball right under his eyes, has some control as he guides one past the slip cordon for another boundary. Woakes delivers a fine retort to close the over, swinging one past the outside edge.
8th over: India 27-1 (Sudharsan 10, Rahul 12) Carse goes full and Sudharsan just pushes the ball through the covers, forcing the substitute fielder to chase and stop the boundary. The debutant looks to have settled – I imagine he was a bag of nerves walking to the middle.
7th over: India 22-1 (Sudharsan 6, Rahul 11) Woakes is maybe a touch too short to Sudharsan as the No 3 clips away for one. Rahul is happy to defend and leave again.
Updated
6th over: India 21-1 (Sudharsan 5, Rahul 11) Carse fizzes a delivery past Sudharsan but then strays on to the pads, the left-hander tucking away for one. The Durham quick is back to over the wicket against Rahul, trying to angle the ball in and then jag away from the right-hander. Rahul’s defence is solid and he’s happy to let a wider one go at the end of the over.
5th over: India 20-1 (Sudharsan 4, Rahul 11) Woakes keeps Rahul quiet with a maiden and allows Carse another go at the left-hander.
4th over: India 20-1 (Sudharsan 4, Rahul 11) Sai Sudharsan, on debut, on a pair. And he gets off it immediately, an edge – played with some control – staying low and running away for four. But Carse has found some proper rhythm going around the wicket to the left-hander and four dots follow.
WICKET! Jaiswal c Smith b Carse 4 (India 16-1)
A corker from Carse. He angles the ball into the left-hander, finds the nip away as well as the outside edge, Smith gobbles up behind the stumps. What was that nonsense I was talking earlier about Carse with the new ball?
Updated
3rd over: India 16-0 (Jaiswal 4, Rahul 11) Rahul nearly perishes, an inside-edge narrowly evading the stumps after he tried to punch off the back foot. He finds the middle of his bat with the next ball, though, thumping through point after Woakes goes back of a length. A cover drive follows moments later, a gorgeous shot from the right-hander after Woakes goes too full. The bowler is still searching for the right length here.
2nd over: India 6-0 (Jaiswal 4, Rahul 1) Brydon Carse is undoubtedly a Test-level bowler but I’m still not so sure of him as a new-ball man. His third ball is dropped into the leg-side for one, KL Rahul getting off the mark. Carse goes short around the wicket to Jaiswal, who, without looking all that comfortable, pulls away for four.
Updated
1st over: India 1-0 (Jaiswal 0, Rahul 0) Jaiswal drives his second ball, an edge travelling low but stopped in the gully region. Rain seems to be approaching Headingley, and Jaiswal finds air, not the ball, with a flashing cut. Woakes had overstepped anyway. There’s a hint of inswing to the left-hander as Jaiswal resists.
And we’re back. The floodlights are on and Chris Woakes has a fresh Dukes. Let’s play!
Jeremy Boyce writes in:
A great effort by England after losing the first day, and then losing Crawley in the first over of their reply, how many times have we seen that kind of thing lead to big trouble ? Appropriately, a proper Curate’s egg of an innings by England :
Good in parts : runs all through the order with all the batters except for 1 and 11 making it to double figures, no ducks, rode their luck, 4.65 runs per over is a decent scoring rate, small first innings deficit
Bad in parts : many good starts but only one batter able to carry that through to 3 figures, too many loose shots giving away chances and wickets, where would they have been if the dropped chances had stuck ?
Whatever, we’re pretty much back to square one, and as you say, it’s now a one-innings shoot-out. Who will blink first ?
And Doug writes in after seeing Rob’s list (see over 75) of cricketers to have a drink with:
Rob’s list included Ken Rutherford, which reminded me of his time in Singapore maybe 12 or more years ago. He turned out for regularly for our midweek footy team & always joined for a beer afterwards & was a wonderful addition. Decent left foot on the pitch & always affable & self deprecating in the bar, happily chatting with all & about anything. Top bloke.
It’s tea by the way. With a break in the action, I’d like just a moment to talk about David Lawrence. I read his autobiography just last week, written with the help of Dean Wilson, and was moved by the struggles he’d encountered throughout his life: as a Black man who had to deal with horrible experiences of racial abuse, as a fast bowler whose kneecap split at the age of 28, as a man-mountain who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease. My thoughts are with his family and friends.
Updated
As Andy Bull wrote yesterday, this series is split into two: when Bumrah bowls and when he doesn’t. Brydon Carse and Chris Woakes were able to deliver a rapid partnership of 55 because Bumrah was having a breather. When he returned he needed just 10 deliveries to knock over the final two wickets.
England are all out for 465 – Bumrah takes five!
Shoaib Bashir delivers an exemplary forward defence to Bumrah before swivelling away a pull for one – a bit of relief for the No 11. And then comes the inevitable, Tongue’s off stump knocked back. Bumrah, the greatest fast bowler I’ve seen, has five wickets. India have a first-innings lead of six.
WICKET! Tongue b Bumrah 11 (England 465 all out)
Updated
100th over: England 464-9 (Bashir 0, Tongue 11) Jadeja tempts Tongue with a lobbed up wide one – and the batter gets a hold of it, a lofted drive bringing four. India lead by just seven.
99th over: England 460-9 (Bashir 0, Tongue 7) Shoaib Bashir gets plenty of love from the Headingley crowd after blocking out his first delivery, the last of Bumrah’s over.
WICKET! Woakes b Bumrah 38 (England 460-9)
Shardul Thakur takes his sweater and cap off … but there’s a late change of mind. Shubman Gill summons the great fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah beaming as he flies in to bowl, still on for a five-wicket haul. But there’s frustration as Tongue drives and edges low, away from the cordon and to the boundary for four. A snorting delivery leaves Tongue at the last second, very nearly taking out off stump. England’s No 10 finally retreats to the safe haven of the non-striker’s end with a bunt off a full toss.
But here’s his fourth, Bumrah rattling Woakes’ stumps. It’s full and it nips through the batter’s defence.
Updated
98th over: England 455-8 (Woakes 38, Tongue 2) Jadeja repeats his trick, delivering six dots.
Paul Thompson provides a warning: “It’s just started raining in Thornton, 13 miles due west of Headingly. It’s heading in your direction. You might get half an hour before it arrives.”
97th over: England 455-8 (Woakes 38, Tongue 2) Gill is holding back Bumrah as Siraj continues. Woakes receives some treatment before Tongue gets off the mark with a clip for two. Siraj closes the over with a hooping outswinger, forcing Pant to collect with a dive.
96th over: England 453-8 (Woakes 38, Tongue 0) Ravindra Jadeja is brought on and delivers his trademark, the rapid maiden.
Updated
95th over: England 453-8 (Woakes 38, Tongue 0) Josh Tongue enters and Siraj greets him with a bumper. England trail by just 18, this game heading towards an innings shootout.
WICKET! Carse b Siraj 22 (England 453-8)
Carse goes full Bazball, trying to scoop Siraj but doesn’t get near it, somehow surviving. He then backs away next ball and hacks away down the ground for four, effective if not elegant against the short-ball ploy. But then comes the surprise, a pinpoint yorker that finally ends this troublesome partnership. Carse gave himself room to swat it but found it out of reach.
Updated
94th over: England 448-7 (Woakes 37, Carse 18) Woakes’ offside single brings up the 50 partnership … off just 36 balls. It’s a rare quiet over, just one off it.
93rd over: England 447-7 (Woakes 36, Carse 18) Brydon Carse! He skips down the ground and swats Siraj through the covers for four. Siraj’s response is a fierce bumper. England’s strong tail is showing its value after India’s crumbled quickly yesterday.
Updated
92nd over: England 441-7 (Woakes 35, Carse 13) This is non-stop stuff, Woakes and Carse turning into middle-order blasters. The former pulls a short one from Krishna for six, and then makes room for another big one, upper-cutting over third. Woakes is a proper all-rounder at home, more than capable of doing a job higher up the order.
91st over: England 427-7 (Woakes 22, Carse 12) Brook, by the way, is the first England batter to depart for 99 in a Test since Jonny Bairstow against South Africa in 2017. Woakes remains regal though, driving Siraj straight for four. The runs flow freely as a ball flies off a length, beats Woakes and the leap of Pant to run away to the boundary. This pitch is playing some tricks.
Updated
90th over: England 416-7 (Woakes 15, Carse 12) Is it another drop by India? No, the outside edge off Woakes drops just short of Jaiswal in the cordon. Krishna continues to thunder in but is too wide as Carse throws the bat outside off and finds four behind point. Carse is then fortunate when an inside-edge runs away for four more, and two to close the over makes it a big one. India lead by just 55 now.
89th over: England 405-7 (Woakes 14, Carse 2) Harry Brook is a cool, relaxed character but he was clearly gutted with that – he has a solid record in England but with just the one Test hundred. Woakes and Carse exchange singles off Siraj.
88th over: England 403-7 (Woakes 13, Carse 1) Chris Woakes punches down the ground to end a difficult over for England with a boundary. They move past 400, with Brydon Carse into the mix – he’s a strong No 9, averaging close to 30 in first-class cricket with two hundreds.
Brook out for 99!
Oh my word. After missing with a swish outside off, Brook miscues a pull shot to deep backward square, missing out on a Test hundred at his home ground. Never mind the milestone, that’s a huge moment in this Test match, handing India firm control – they still lead by 73.
WICKET! Brook c Thakur b Krishna 99 (England 398-7)
Updated
Thanks Rob, lovely to be on. And just as I type, Brook pushes Krishna into the offside for two to move to 99 …
87th over: England 396-6 (Brook 97, Woakes 9) Woakes watches a Bumrah inswinger like a hawk and drives it sweetly through mid-off for his first boundary. Beautiful shot, that. A square drive brings him two more; this is Bumrah’s 23rd over of the innings and fatigue may be setting in.
Right, that’s it from me. For the rest of the day, the job satisfaction is all Taha Hashim’s. Thanks as always for your company, emails and especially your Syd Lawrence memories.
Updated
Drinks
Rishabh Pant needs a bit of treatment, so the umpires are taking early drinks break.
“Rob,” says John Starbuck. “The lighter touch of that Curtly Ambrose story is that everyone knew that, whenever he took a wicket, his Mum would go outside the house and ring a bell to celebrate.”
Which leads us nicely, sort of, to that great Merv Hughes story. For those who didn’t complete their degree in Wicket Celebrations, it occurred during a Test between Australia and Pakistan in early 1990. Javed Miandad responded to a seledge from Hughes by calling hima “fat bus conductor”, and you can probably guess the rest. Hughes dismissed him soon after and celebrated by shouting “Tickets please!”
86th over: England 388-6 (Brook 97, Woakes 1) Oh good lord what a shot. Brook finds the most emphatic way to quieten Siraj, at least for a couple of deliveries, by lifting him effortlessly over wide long-on for six.
An errant delivery goes for four leg-byes, and makes it 18 from the over with a majestic cut for four. Siraj’s noggin has well and truly gone; it was last seen disappearing over the Pennines.
A reminder that this coruscating Test match is still 10 minutes away from the halfway point.
85th over: England 370-6 (Brook 83, Woakes 1) My word, Harry Brook has been dropped again! He was cramped for room by Bumrah and steered a cross-bat shot straight to third slip, where Jaiswal shelled a pretty simple chance.
Brook gets dropped a lot; it happened five times when he made 171 in New Zealand last winter. I guess you could argue his aggression puts pressure on the opposition and therefore he makes his own luck to some extent. But I still think Jaiswal would take that chance eight or nine times out of 10.
“Now then, what a subject for discussion: with whom would you like a pint?” muses Bill Hargreaves. “I’d have to say Richie Benaud. I think it would be a quiet, contemplative pint. No pork scratchings or any of that muck. I expect I’d find myself paying attention to my dress code before hand, too - not want to look too formal or informal. I just think you could talk to Richie about anything. There would be fertile, wistful pauses, no doubt. I expect my sister, Katy, would try to get Geoffrey Boycott and Shane Warne into each other. ‘There’s a lot of kiddology but you only really had four deliveries, Shane.’”
Isn’t that like saying Tyler Durden only really had one body?
Updated
84th over: England 367-6 (Brook 81, Woakes 1) It’s Test cricket, folks, but not as we knew it. Fourth over with the second new ball and Brook is batting like it’s the death overs of a T20. He wallops four down the ground, cuts another imperious boundary, then smears this far short of Krishna at mid-on.
Siraj’s beans are going. He hits Brook on the body with a sharp nipbacker, then hangs around for a word or 20.
A single makes it 11 from the over, and means Brook will be on strike to Bumrah on the next over. This is so good!
Counties to vote to cut matches from domestic cricket
Some significant news here from Matt Hughes. I never thought we’d see the day.
83rd over: England 356-6 (Brook 70, Woakes 1) Madon! Woakes misses a big drive at a ball from Bumrah that hits a crack and bounces grotesquely over everyone for four byes. That was a bit like Curtly Ambrose’s famous opening delivery to Mike Atherton in the 1995 Edgbaston Test.
Woakes then sways out of the way of a typically well directed bouncer. He’s hanging in there against Bumrah. I don’t think it’s a conscious decision but so far he has faced all 12 deliveries from Bumrah with the second new ball.
82nd over: England 352-6 (Brook 70, Woakes 1) Brook charges Siraj, misses a lusty slap at a wider ball and falls over. Rishabh Pant smiles – “he probably recognises a kindred spirit” says Mike Atherton on Sky.
“That is the most brainless piece of cricket I’ve seen in a long time from Smith,” says Felix Wood. “Incredibly stupid.”
I wouldn’t go that far. It’s frustrating as all hell but the margins are fine and you can argue the percentages were more in his favour than they would have been against Bumrah with the new ball. That said, I’m increasingly worried about England’s happy hookers in Australia and I do think they need to calibrate their approach.
There was a good replay on Sky just now that showed Krishna’s wicket ball to Smith was slightly wider and slightly shorter than the one that disappeared into the crowd earlier in the over. Not much – but enough to turn a 6 into a W, so maybe you’re right about this particular shot. I still don’t have a problem with Smith playing it per se.
81st over: England 350-6 (Brook 68, Woakes 1) Bumrah has a big LBW shout turned down after going wide of the crease to angle a full ball into Woakes. His teammates converge to discuss a review, only for Bumrah to signal that it was probably going past leg stump. He’s so good that he can even clear his head to objectively assess his own reviews. What self-respecting fast bowler does that?
Woakes battles his way through a maiden, made harder by a bit of new-ball swing for Bumrah. This next hour is quite vital.
80th over: England 350-6 (Brook 68, Woakes 1) That’s a hammer blow to England, who still trail by 121. And now Jasprit Bumrah has a new ball in his hand.
“I’ve just re-read your article about the 1991 series against West Indies, and the Oval Test in particular - halcyon days,” says Richard Barrowclough. “I’m nearly 72 now, and my first Test was also at the Oval, back in 1963 when Trueman and Statham opened the bowling for England for I suspect the last time; but I’ve never seen a more irresistible bowler than Curtly Ambrose from the Pavilion End at Lord’s in that series. Hick had finally qualified for England and all hopes were pinned on him, but was caught like the proverbial rabbit in the headlights.”
It was devastating – Ambrose dismissed him in six consecutive innings at a head-to-head average of 3.50 – and you could argue Hick never fully recovered. Few bowlers in history have been as good as Curtly when he had a specific motivation beyond winning cricket matches. You can him reading all the articles, all the Bradman comparisons, and concluding: “Not on my watch.”
Smith tried to pull six more but didn’t quite get enough on it this time. Jadeja took the catch as he backpedalled towards the sponge, then got rid of the ball before his momentum took him over the boundary. Sudharsan was there in support to complete a terrific relay catch. That’s such a timely wicket for India, with just three balls remaining until the second new ball becomes available. Bumrah could knife through the lower order now.
Updated
WICKET! England 349-6 (Smith c Sudharsan b Krishna 40)
It doesn’t matter because Smith is out next ball! The short-ball ploy, so beloved of England, had delivered a huge wicket for India.
Updated
India review for caught behind against Smith
Smith pulls Krishna for a massive six, then tries again and misses. But there’s a noise as the ball passes the bat and Gill is persuaded by Jaiswal to review the decision. Did it scrape the bottom edge as Smith thrashed across the line? Nope.
79th over: England 343-5 (Brook 68, Smith 34) We’ve all been panting in this heat. Now Harry Brook is Panting: he copies Rishabh’s falling lap stroke to hit Jadeja for four.
Jadeja has a big LBW appeal turned down when Brook misses a whip across the line at a quicker delivery. Missing leg.
78th over: England 335-5 (Brook 60, Smith 34) Krishna has no slip and nobody in front of square on the off side, a sign that he is going to bowl everything short. Brook mishits a tennis shot high towards mid-off, with the ball plopping safely; that prompts India to put one man in front of square on the off side.
Smith nails a pull through midwicket for four later in the over. Every little helps, especially ahead of the second new ball. England trail by 136.
“Cricketer you’d most like to have a pint with - has to be SF Barnes, surely?” says John Cox. “You need some vitriol.”
Imagine if you spilt his pint though. I’d almost prefer to spill Francis Begbie’s.
The players are back, and Prasidh Krishna has a field for short-pitched bowling.
Lunch
77th over: England 327-5 (Brook 57, Smith 29) Bumrah’s first ball to Brook is too straight and skips away for four leg-byes. Perhaps he’s showing the first signs of fatigue. Perhaps he’s past it and he’ll never take another Test wicket.
Perhaps not. He beats Brook with a short ball that cramps Brook for room and zings past his attempted uppercut. Brook then flicks three through midwicket to bring up an important fifty partnership from 71 balls.
That’s the last milestone of a brilliant session that produced 118 runs and two wickets in 28 overs. India are still ahead in the game, with England trailing by 144, but there isn’t much in it and Brook and Smith look well set.
The second new ball is available in three overs’ time, so at around 1.50pm. I would suggest clearing the old day planner.
76th over: England 319-5 (Brook 54, Smith 28) Jadeja rushes through an over, even by his standards, so that Bumrah can get one more in before lunch.
75th over: England 316-5 (Brook 52, Smith 27) Seven minutes to lunch, six overs to second the new ball... It doesn’t feel like the obvious time to bring back Jasprit Bumrah but that’s what Shubman Gill is doing.
The usual rules don’t apply to Bumrah, I guess, and he almost strikes first ball when Smith chips just short of mid-on. Sheeeeeeesh. The over ends far more positively for Smith, who times a terrific drive to the cover boundary. His bat has an abundant middle.
“God Shane was great,” says Max Williams. “Will never really accept that he’s gone. Probably the cricketer I’d most like to have a pint with - Atherton, Stokes and Cummins run him close. Yourself?”
I’m fine on my own thanks. I said FUGGOFF!
(Probably Ian Chappell, though I think he’s a red wine man now, Keith Miller, Graham Thorpe, Mahadeva Sathasivam, Virat Kohli, Betty Wilson, Ken Rutherford… ah, man, the list is endless. And too many of them have gone.)
Updated
74th over: England 310-5 (Brook 52, Smith 23) Jadeja’s figures (18-2-53-0) are a big old slice of nothing. But he’s been a threat, as you’d expect on such a dry pitch, and we should remember that the match still isn’t at the halfway point. Jadeja can be lethal in the fourth innings, as England know from last year’s Rajkot Test.
73rd over: England 307-5 (Brook 51, Smith 21) A quiet over from Thakur. Just over 10 minutes to go before lunch.
Updated
Brook dropped before reaching half-century
72nd over: England 305-5 (Brook 50, Smith 20) Another let-off for England! Brook has been dropped by Pant, a tough chance up to the stumps but one he would take maybe seven times out of 10. Brook leaned forward defensively to Jadeja, who found enough turn to take a thick outside edge. Pant couldn’t hold on and the ball teased the close fielders before dropping safely.
Smith offers maybe a fiftieth of a chance later in the over with a flick past short leg, then Brook drives a single to reach a stylish, if occasionally blessed, fifty from 65 balls. At one stage he was 0 from 15 deliveries. Even you and I can do that math.
Updated
71st over: England 300-5 (Brook 46, Smith 19) Thakur enquires for caught behind after beating Smith outside off stump. He’s getting the old ball to wobble ever so slightly, though not enough to change Smith’s attacking intent. He walks down the track again to flick firmly past midwicket for four.
Smith is such a dangerous player. A dragged pull for two brings up England’s 300; they trail by 171.
“Longtime follower and fan of OBO here,” writes Konrad Jagodzinski. “I just want to let you know that in Italy the England-India test series is available for free via the official ICC website. They stream live Sky broadcast minus commercials. It may be of interest to some readers.”
Ah, thank you, that’s kind. I think it’s only available in certain countries but still very handy for some of you. Bye, then! Have a nice life! You were welcome!
70th over: England 294-5 (Brook 46, Smith 13) Smith drives a flight delivery from Jadeja just short of extra cover. This is a tricky balancing act for England. They need to cash in against the old ball but they can’t really afford to lose another wicket before the new one becomes available in 10 overs’ time.
“Just read the news about David Lawrence,” writes James Brough. “My first day in student lodgings at university was the 4th day of the Oval Test in 1991 against West Indies. England spent it chiselling away at the Windies batsmen. Syd took five wickets, including ending Viv Richards’ last Test innings, caught at extra cover. What a moment that must have been for him. What hopes he must have had.
“My form master when I started secondary school at Newcastle High was Mick James. Short, kind, terrifying when angry. He also ran a B&B where I spent a week revising for A-levels because my family were on a skiing holiday in Switzerland. He died about 15 years ago of motor neurone disease. Aged 60-odd, he died about 18 months after diagnosis. I suspect he and Syd would’ve got on. What a bloody waste.”
That five-for is overshadowed, understandably, by Phil Tufnell’s extraordinary seven-for in the first innings. But England were really straining for wickets on a flat pitch and probably wouldn’t have won the game without Syd’s contribution. Crucially, he also dismissed Richie Richardson – who at the time was the best player in the world along with Graham Gooch and Robin Smith – for 121 on the fifth morning.
69th over: England 293-5 (Brook 46, Smith 12) Smith had pummelled a poor ball through point for four earlier in the over. This is an important spell for Thakur, whose selection ahead of Kuldeep Yadav is pretty hard to fathom, even allowing for his batting.
REVIEW! England 290-5 (Smith not out 9)
Sheeshorama, here’s another sliding door in this fascinating game. Smith ran down the track, missed a full toss from the new bowler Shardul Thakur and was given out LBW. But he reviewed instantly and the technology showed the ball would just have missed leg stump.
Updated
68th over: England 286-5 (Brook 46, Smith 5) A fine over from Jadeja to Brook includes a strangled LBW shout and a big-spinning delivery that goes past the edge.
After five dot balls, Brook seizes on a fractionally short delivery and pulls superbly for four. This is just brilliant cricket.
67th over: England 282-5 (Brook 42, Smith 5) A lovely nipbacker from Siraj is inside edged past leg stump for four by Smith. Siraj blows hot and cold but he’s such a competitor, with an irrepressible spirit that reminds me a little bit of Darren Gough. And when he’s hot, he burns.
“Can we not set a limit for how many times the bowling team can request a ball change?” asks Luke Stevenson. “Maybe one every hour? Most Test matches now once a team gets past 40 overs they spend half their time having the ball checked and disagreeing with the umpire about the outcome, which I would say is not what most people tune in for.”
Well, there’s always a lone weirdo who’s into that sort of thing, and I am that weirdo but I really like your idea. Is there a problem that we haven’t considered? Within that one hour limit the umpires would still be allowed to suggest a chance themselves if they think the ball has gone out of shape.
66th over: England 278-5 (Brook 42, Smith 1) Two singles from Jadeja’s over. At least that’s what the scorecard says. Hey, Ravindra, slow down.
65th over: England 276-5 (Brook 41, Smith 0) Jamie Smith is the new batter.
Updated
TMS this, TMS that
Toby Peggs has made a video about how to find the Test Match Special overseas link. Bookmark it, cherish it.
WICKET! England 276-5 (Stokes c Pant b Siraj 20)
Brook runs down the track and smashes four more through extra cover. If it’s good enough for Bumrah, it’s good enough for Siraj. That boundary brings up the fifth partnership and adds to Brook’s exhilarating portfolio of strokes this morning.
England need plenty more from Brook because they keep losing wickets. Stokes feels for a wider delivery from Siraj, bowling around the wicket, and edges it through to Pant. He flips his bat up in the air, then shouts angrily at himself as he walks off.
Ultimately he could have left that ball, but Siraj’s line from around the wicket had been really challenging so you can understand why he made the error. The ball straightened off the seam as well. The Sky commentators think Stokes’s frustration is down to him playing a bit of a nothing shot, rather than that he could have left it.
Updated
64th over: England 271-4 (Brook 36, Stokes 20) I couldn’t tell you a single thing about that Jadeja over, which kind of proves Krishnamoorthy’s point in the 62nd over.
Drinks: England rally after loss of Pope
63rd over: England 268-4 (Brook 35, Stokes 18) Siraj gurns in with frustration when Stokes edges a good ball between slip and gully for four. It wouldn’t have carried but it was a moral victory for the bowler. As is that, a straighter delivery goes past the edge to end the over, and the first hour of play.
“If you’re thinking of theatre, top skill, unusual bowling action and incredible presence, I think the template was set some time ago...” writes Jeremy Boyce, attaching a picture of … is that Brian Blessed? Hang on, sorry, it’s WG Grace. “And he was an originator of mind games.”
‘Mind games’ is a generous description in some cases.
62nd over: England 264-4 (Brook 35, Stokes 14) Jadeja has a slip and backward short leg for Stokes; the latter is definitely in the game with Stokes trying to get outside off stump when possible.
Out of nothing, Stokes jumps into a reverse sweep and nails it for four.
“Ravindra Jadeja is a problem to OBO,” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “He finishes his over in 40 seconds. Before you can type anything sensible he is already back for his next and you have no time for a Bumrah or a Krishna over in between.”
You’re not wrong, he gets through an over i- sorry, GTG, Siraj is bowling again..
61st over: England 259-4 (Brook 35, Stokes 9) Brook charges Siraj, who follows him with a crafty short ball. But Brook is still good enough to adjust and ping the ball over the slips for four. That’s an outrageously good shot, for which he had a reaction time of half a second, if that.
Pant tries unsuccessfully to get the ball changed, then throws the old ball to the floor in a slightly odd act of petulance. Maybe he’s just trying to pick a fight to get India going.
“Can we have a go at trying to unpick Stokes’ batting in the Bazball era?” asks Mike Jakeman. “It seems fairly clear that by removing the fear of the consequences of failure, Stokes has given the batting unit freedom to attack as much as they like. But has it had the inverse effect on him? Does he feel like he has to be the only adult in the room? Or, as I watch him strike at 15 again, am I falling into the trap of him being a notorious slow-starter and we’ll see him go from second to fifth gear in ten overs’ time?
“My hunch is that it simply too much to ask a single player to be a thrilling batsman, incisive fourth-seamer, gun fielder, set the field placings and the ideological tone-setter of a team and the least important of these disciplines for England is the first one. Either way, I have a bet on with a friend that he won’t make a 50 in this innings and I’m feeling quite confident right now about a free lunch.”
Yeah, my instinct is that it’s largely a natural drop-off, and certainly that his approach is unrelated to captaincy. There was a period around Covid when he was England’s best batter, above even Root, and his approach was very similar then. I still think he has one more batting purple patch in him, hopefully starting today. His improvement with the ball should have a positive impact as well.
60th over: England 255-4 (Brook 31, Stokes 9) Plenty happening from the rough when Jadeja bowls to the left-handed Stokes, so the usual match-up rules don’t necessarily apply today. Brook hasn’t yet taken any risks against Jadeja; he’s happy with ones and twos. For now.
“Given that both Shane Warne and Jasprit Bumrah played as much on the batters’ minds, especially with regard to their potential stroke-making, is it a time for a league table of bowlers’ Deceptively High Cunning?” wonders John Starbuck. “Malcolm Marshall comes to mind.”
Marshall sounds like the smartest fast bowler of the lot, certainly among the greats, and Selve wrote wonderfully about him over the years. I’d probably draw a distinction between cunning with the ball (eg Marshall setting up Mike Gatting for the inswinger) and psychological manipulation with the mouth. I’d probably pick Warne with both.
59th over: England 252-4 (Brook 28, Stokes 9) Mohammed Siraj replaces Bumrah, who bowled an excellent but wicketless spell of 4-1-11-0. Stokes gets his first boundary with a pristine push-drive to the left of mid-off, a shot that evokes his glorious maiden Test century at Perth all those years ago.
58th over: England 246-4 (Brook 27, Stokes 4) I like this move from India. Ravindra Jadeja is coming on, presumably to play on Brook’s ego and desire to attack.
For now Brook is content to take a single off the first ball. Stokes then gets a thick edge between his legs and not far wide of backward short leg. That was a good delivery from Jadeja, which turned from the rough. As Mark Butcher says on Sky, spin should be a bigger factor than usual given the heat of the last few days.
Stokes has 4 from 27 balls. He had 2 from 66 against Australia on this ground in 2019 so in a sense he’s off a flyer.
57th over: England 244-4 (Brook 26, Stokes 3) Stokes’ first big shot is almost his last, a windy woof at a tempter from Bumrah that he could easily have edged to somebody in the cordon. The rest of the over, Bumrah’s third maiden, is the age-old tale of ball meets dead bat.
“Every Bumrah over feels like a miniature Test match in itself; a small but crucial epic,” says Phil Harrison. “I can’t remember another bowler ever feeling like that.”
While I broadly agree with you, one lead actor comes to mind.
56th over: England 244-4 (Brook 26, Stokes 3) Fair to say Brook is into his work now. He gets his fourth boundary with a picture-perfect push through extra cover off Krishna. Brook made 0 from his first 15 balls; he’s scored 26 from the last 16.
“David Lawrence studied at Linden Road secondary school back in the day where my father was headmaster,” writes Chris Doherty. “He was a bit of a baddie at school to put it mildly; my father got so fed up of him being hauled into his office for bad behaviour that he threatened to phone Gloucestershire CCC where he was learning his trade as a youngster and put an end to his budding career.
“The trick worked, his passion for cricket was such that he pretty much became a model student overnight. In later years, watching him play first for Gloucestershire and then for England, my father was so, so proud and pleased for him. As he put it, cricket was his salvation; it was what turned him into the marvellous person we all knew and loved.
“So doubly emotive for me, today’s news. Rest in peace.”
55th over: England 238-4 (Brook 21, Stokes 2) Stokes has made a watchful start, as has been his wont since around 2018, the first summer of Bazball excepted. He plays out four more dot balls from Bumrah, which matters because he can’t bowl forever. That’s already Bumrah’s 16th over of the innings.
Updated
'He hit a four ... over the wicketkeeper's head!'
Thanks to Matthew Doherty and others for reminding us that Syd Lawrence was a central character in the most wonderful piece of cricket commentary known to man.
Updated
54th over: England 237-4 (Brook 20, Stokes 2) Four more to Brook, steered past gully off Krishna. Stokes then recoils after defending a ball that hits high on the bat. When Krishna bowls well – and he has been better this morning – his bounce is a significant threat.
“I’m on the record many times as an acolyte of the Stokes/McCullum regime, but I had the provocative thought last night that is it the best one for Harry Brook?” wonders Will Vignoles. “For such a fabulously talented and destructive batsman he does seem to have a tendency to chuck it away with nonsense shots like his reprieve last night, and maybe a less forgiving setup could help him pick his moments a bit more? Not sure I believe it myself but it’s an argument I suppose…”
And arguments make the world go round. That said, it is interesting to consider When Bazball Goes Bad. There was one example (it was a private chat so I won’t say who just in case) of a batter being shown too much faith – the longer they stayed in the team, the more damage was done to their technique and confidence, and in hindsight it would have been a mercy to drop them maybe five Tests earlier.
53rd over: England 232-4 (Brook 14, Stokes 2) Hello! Brook charges Bumrah and wallops a cover drive for four. I’m not sure I’d choose to tweak Bumrah’s tail, which I suppose is one of the reasons I’m not the No2 batter in the world. There are a few others: an almost complete lack of hand-eye co-ordination, the self-confidence of Mark Corrigan, a visceral aversion to any kind of conflict, even sporting.
Anyway, it was scintillating stuff and a reminder that each England player will have their own method against Bumrah. Stokes’s, for now, is to get in line and defend solidly. He has had plenty of trouble against Bumrah in the past; who hasn’t.
52nd over: England 227-4 (Brook 10, Stokes 2) The new batter is Ben Stokes, who is quietly in a bit of a lean trot. Since his last Test hundred, that dead-eyed rampage at Lord’s two years ago, he’s made 802 runs at an average of 29.70.
WICKET! England 225-4 (Pope c Pant b Krishna 106)
A big wicket for India, not least because Jasprit Bumrah didn’t take it. Pope tries to cut a short, wide delivery from Krishna that gets big enough to brush the top edge and race through to Rishabh Pant. That’s a frustrating end to a quite outstanding innings.
Updated
51st over: England 225-3 (Pope 106, Brook 10) Bumrah’s first ball is a loosener that Pope flicks behind square for four. A single gives Bumrah two deliveries at Brook; both are defended solidly.
50th over: England 220-3 (Pope 101, Brook 10) Prasidh Krishna opens the bowling from the Not Bumrah End. Brook misses a windy drive, slaps a cut for four to get off the mark – and then pulls mightily over midwicket for six.
Well that escalated quickly: one moment Brook had 0 from 15 balls, now he’s on 10 from 17.
Updated
The players line up for a minute’s applause in memory of Syd Lawrence. Motor neurone disease sounds unimaginably horrific. You can read about it – or watch the Australian show Mr Inbetween, which has an astonishing portrayal of a man with MND – but I can’t imagine anything prepares a family for the impact it has.
Updated
Ben Duckett on Ollie Pope
He was just so calm coming out. He probably couldn’t come out in tougher conditions, with Jasprit Bumrah running down the hill with the lights on. I don’t know what’s inside his head, but he’s just stayed true to the way he plays, and there’s no better feeling than that, scoring a hundred against that attack, coming out in the first over. You could see it in the way he celebrated, and it didn’t just mean a lot to him, it meant a huge amount in the dressing room as well. I had goosebumps for him.
“I know people don’t like the term ‘Bazball’ but it’s much more than just ‘positive cricket’,” says Gary Naylor. “England are reaping the benefit of one of its tenets – that it’s better to risk picking a player for one Test too many rather than one too few – with that superb ton yesterday. The commentators on the highlights could barely conceal their disappointment that Jacob Bethell (professional centuries 0) was not in for Ollie Pope (professional centuries 32) at No3. Bazball also demands wicket-takers and Josh Tongue did his job, as the last four Indian wickets added just 18. Meanwhile, Kuldeep Yadav looks on as Shadul Thakur bowls his overs.”
I would who the hell do you think you are, Naylor politely disagree on Bethell. Everybody I heard though Pope was right to keep his place, and there was so much warmth towards him yesterday. I’m as obsessed with Bethell as anyone – I was there, in New Zealand, when he made that 10 at Christchurch* – but there are very few precedents for 21-year-olds thriving in such a key position so it’s fine to wait. I also think it was and is fair to query Pope’s record against the best teams at No3. But like almost everyone, I was so happy for him yesterday.
Kuldeep, though. I’ve become world-class at sitting on the fence, straining to see both sides of any argument, but that one is beyond me.
*Okay, I was writing the OBO at home in Whitstable. But I saw every ball!
“Big day for Harry Brook, this,” writes Phil Harrison. “If there’s a serious chink in his armour, I suspect it’s against the short stuff. He was incredibly lucky to get to stumps but Bumrah will work him over first thing – and Australia will be watching with great interest. Haven’t looked forward to a day’s Test cricket so much in years!”
One of my biggest concerns about the Ashes is how a number of England’s batters – Duckett, Brook, Smith, potentially Bethell – will deal with the short ball on those huge grounds.
“What awful news to start the day,” writes Linda Gray. “I logged on full of enthusiasm and anticipation for a great day’s cricket and now I feel quite deflated with a tear in my eye. A lot of things about English cricket in the 1990s weren’t the best but Syd was one of them.”
I can’t really add much to that. He’s one of the few cricketers about whom I never heard a bad word. Even the ones we love usually rub some people up the wrong way; not Syd.
Sounds daft now, but England’s 2-2 draw at home to West Indies in 1991 was that generation’s equivalent of the 2005 Ashes. In this paper, Selve wrote that it “represents quite possibly the most stirring of post-war deeds and arguably the grandest of them all”.
Syd Lawrence played a key part in that, hustling a second-innings five-for on a flat Oval track. It was his first five-for in Tests – and his last. At Wellington A few months later, in the last session of a nailed-on draw in a series that had already been decided, he steamed in at full pelt, because that was all he knew. He suffered a fractured kneecap, one of the most horrific injuries ever seen (and heard) on a cricket field, and at 28 his career was effectively over.
He was so indomitable that he made a brief comeback for Gloucestershire in 1997. Those four games, in which he took eight wickets at 45, are the greatest testament to his character.
Read Andy Bull on Jasprit Bumrah
The fielders finally held on to one in his third spell, when he had Joe Root caught at slip. Then in the final over he bounced out Harry Brook with what turned out to be a no ball. By stumps, he had taken three for 48, and it could easily have been double the first number. His teammates had none for 149 between them.
RIP Syd
Updated
David Lawrence dies aged 61
Some desperately sad news this morning: David ‘Syd’ Lawrence, England fast bowler of the 1990s and one of the finest men ever to play the game, has died aged 61. He was diagnosed with motor neurone disease last year and his book, In Syd’s Voice, was launched this week.
We’ll have more shortly but Taha wrote a terrific piece about him for The Spin last week. The headline is especially poignant.
Updated
Preamble
Our thoughts at this time are with those who don’t like Test cricket. What is wrong with you losers? A pulsating second day at Headingley was the latest reminder that this is the greatest sporting format of all. Always has been (well, since 1877), always will be (well, until, you know).
There’s every chance today will be equally exhilarating, maybe even more so. England will resume on 209 for 3, a deficit of 262, with Ollie Pope on 100 and Harry Brook 0 not out in his second innings. Pope’s century, his finest innings on home soil, was a gem.
Once upon a time, defiant batting meant over-my-dead-body, but Pope – under so much pressure going into this game – breezed to a hundred from only 125 balls. The ovation he received was a lovely moment for one of the good guys.
Oh, just one more thing. Jasprit Bumrah, bloody hell! He was almost a one-man attack yesterday, taking all three wickets and having Brook caught off a no-ball. Bumrah’s overall Test record, 208 wickets at 19.35, is that of an all-time great, but in the last 18 months he has starting putting his tanks of SF Barnes’ lawn.s
For various reasons, Bumrah didn’t play a Test between July 2022 and December 2023. Since his return at Centurion for the Boxing Day Test, he’s taken 80 wickets in 16 Tests at an average of 15.13. It gets better: 14 of those 16 Tests have been against South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and England.
Great bowlers have carried their teams in the past – Ilford 2nds and all that – but it’s hard to remember the last time a team as good as India were so dependent on one bowler. Here’s the breakdown since the start of the Border/Gavaskar Trophy in November.
Bumrah 35 wickets at 13.31
The rest 48 wickets at 40.91
Bumrah’s spell this morning will set the tone for the rest of the day, the rest of the match, maybe the rest of the series.
