Ali Martin’s report from Old Trafford
Liam Dawson talks to Sky Sports
[How did that feel] Yeah it was good! I was a little bit nervous the last couple of days, but bowling first settled some of those nerves. I enjoyed it.
[Did you expect to hear from Rob Key when Shoaib Bashir got injured?] I didn’t originally but our director of cricket at Hampshire pulled me aside and said, ‘Listen, there might be a chance of playing in Manchester.’ I’m here now and it’s a great opportunity.
I made it quite clear that I thought Test cricket was probably gone, with the age I’m at, so to get the opportunity is amazing. Thankfully it went okay today. I know a lot of the lads in the dressing-room so that wasn’t an issue at all.
The buzz of a Test match is very different to domestic cricket. It was good fun out there today and it’s another big day tomorrow.
[What did the captain and coach tell you?] Just to be me, really, to do what I’ve done in red-ball cricket the last three or four years. Today was exactly what you’re gonna get – nothing amazing, but I’ll try and do a job for the team.
I think we had a good day. They played and missed quite a bit in the first session. We’ve got a new ball in the morning and that will be a huge period in the game.
[On continuing with spin after 80 overs] We gave it a little crack but the pitch isn’t really spinning at the minute. Coming off and taking the new ball in the morning [makes sense]. If we can bowl them out for 375 and then bat big, hopefully we’ll be in with a shout.
[Do you remember your last Test wicket before the day?] I have no idea! [It was Hashim Amla] Was it? Okay!
[On dismissing Yashasvi Jaiswal] It was nice. There wasn’t much to work with. I tried to bowl a fourth-stump line with natural variation and a little bit of drift.
I’m not getting any younger so I’m trying to enjoy each day I play for England. We’ll see what happens.
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Stumps
An intriguing first day at Old Trafford ends with India on 264 for 4. In real terms they could be five down: Rishabh Pant retired hurt with a nastily swollen foot after trying to reverse sweep a Chris Woakes yorker.
Let’s pause for a moment to dwell on part of that sentence: ‘… after trying to reverse sweep a Chris Woakes yorker’.
It was a rugged arm wrestle all told, similar to the first day at Lord’s, with both teams in the ascendancy at different times. All seven Indian batters reached double figures, but nobody went big and Sai Sudharsan’s classy 61 was the highest score.
The pick of the England bowlers was Ben Stokes, who picked up Sudharsan and Shubman Gill. Chris Woakes was also excellent and the returning Liam Dawson took the big wicket of Yashasvi Jaiswal with his seventh ball of the game.
Bad light stops play
That Jadeja boundary is the last of the day. Ben Stokes doesn’t want to give India any more easy runs and asks to take the second new ball. The umpires won’t allow them to use the quick bowlers in this light so the players are leaving the field.
83rd over: India 264-4 (Jadeja 19, Thakur 19) Jadeja dances down to lift Dawson emphatically over wide mid-on for four. That’s a cracking shot from a player who is bang in form.
82nd over: India 258-4 (Jadeja 14, Thakur 18) This passage of play feels a bit pointless, with India pottering along at two or three an over and England not threatening to take a wicket. If nothing else, having two spinners on will improve England’s over-rate.
“I live in Yorkshire, where we like our roses white, our burgers unsmashed, and our beers drinkable without having to take out a loan,” says Will Ellen. “Though a recent Guardian article about the Londonification of Manchester fills me with dread. I fear £8.20 IPAs will soon be crossing the Pennines...”
81st over: India 254-4 (Jadeja 12, Thakur 16) A maiden from Dawson to Jadeja, who has picked up where he left off at Lord’s by defending with complete certainty.
80th over: India 254-4 (Jadeja 12, Thakur 16) Root replaces Stokes, either to hasten the second new ball or because the umpires have told England they can only bowl spin in this light.
Thakur pushes four through mid-off, then turns one fractionally short of leg slip. The second new ball is available – but Dawson is continuing, which suggests England have been told they can’t take it in this light.
79th over: India 250-4 (Jadeja 12, Thakur 12) There’s a bit of excitement from the England fielders when Jadeja pads up to successive deliveries from Dawson. Both leaves were safe, the first on line and the second on line and length.
One from the over, and one more over until the second new ball is available.
78th over: India 249-4 (Jadeja 12, Thakur 11) A bouncer from Stokes whistles over the head of Jadeja. It’s called wide but Jadeja isn’t happy and complains to the umpires about the light. The commentators think it’s an attempt to postpone the second new ball until tomorrow morning. Even if play continues, the umpires may decide that it’s only safe enough for the batters to face the old ball.
77th over: India 245-4 (Jadeja 11, Thakur 9) “Aren’t India effectively a batter down through no fault of their own?” asks David Horn. “Recently, and not before time, in football we have the introduction of an extra substitute known as the concussion sub.
“Surely something similar could happen in cricket. Effectively an injured batter could be replaced with squad members specifically nominated prior to the start. Some teams may try to take advantage, for instance if a number eleven bowler chips a fingernail they bring on a gun batter instead (Yes I am looking at you Australia). Best way forward IMHO would be to agree replacements between the skippers, say three for each team, top batter, mid order and nine ten jack, to replace similar level players if required. Not perfect but better than now. Your thoughts?”
In theory it’s a no-brainer, but the moment you introduce that rule teams will start testing how bendy it is. I’d prefer to spend more time thinking about it so that the regulations are watertight and you cover every eventuality. There will be some internal injuries that are hard to verify. Cheating has become so ingrained that many players and teams don’t even realise they’re doing it.
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76th over: India 244-4 (Jadeja 11, Thakur 8) Thakur’s stands tall to force Stokes through backward point for four; good shot. And a good response from Stokes, a lifter that beats the bat. From the first innings of the Zimbabwe Test, Stokes has bowled with such menace. He could be a lot of fun to watch on Australian pitches.
“There’s always been something a bit quirky and different about wicketkeeper-batsmen - AB De Villiers had more gears than a mountain bike - but Pant is in a whole different category of his own,” says Will Ellen. “Fingers crossed that’s not it for his series.
“Talking of fingers, Phil Tufnell said how odd it was going for a pint with a wicketkeeper. They’ve taken so many blows and knocks in their career that their fingers sort of stick out at odd angles, which means the lifting of said pint pot is somewhat problematic. At £6 a pop these days you don’t want to be spilling any, do you?”
£6? Which never-ending happy hour are you living in?
75th over: India 237-4 (Jadeja 11, Thakur 1) The arrival of the right-hand Thakur means the return of Liam Dawson. Thakur pushes his last ball for a single to get off the mark.
I’m still trying to make sense of that Stokes wicket. It wasn’t just against the run of play, it was an affront to the run of play. This is what you can achieve through force of personality. Or so I’m told.
74th over: India 235-4 (Jadeja 10, Thakur 0) Shardul Thakur comes in at No7, presumably to give India a right/left-hand combination.
That wicket was so typical of Stokes as to verge on cliché. Old ball, nothing happening, key moment, wicket. He’s awesome.
WICKET! India 235-4 (Sudharsan c Carse b Stokes 61)
Stokes said he took himself to “some dark places” on the final day at Lord’s. He’s doing it again at Old Trafford, trying to burgle a wicket with a ball that most dogs wouldn’t look at.
And he’s done it. Of course he’s done it. Stokes has suckered Sai Sudharsan into a top-edged pull that flew straight down the throat of long leg. Sudharsan can’t believe he’s fallen for it and swishes his bat in frustration.
Stokes, more animated this summer than I can remember, celebrates with another primeval roar.
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73rd over: India 235-3 (Sudharsan 61, Jadeja 10) Jadeja dumps Root contemptuously back over his head for four. That’s an excellent shot, which continues a burgeoning counter-attack that has taken some of us by surprise.
72nd over: India 231-3 (Sudharsan 61, Jadeja 6) A bit of width from Stokes allows Sudharsan to play a beautiful back-foot force past backward point for four. He was dropped by Jamie Smith on 20 but has otherwise played with the authority of a veteran.
71st over: India 223-3 (Sudharsan 55, Jadeja 6) The injury to Pant means England should have control of the scoreboard until the second new ball. Should. Sudharsan has played carefully and Jadeja doesn’t play many attacking strokes.
Jadeja plays no stroke whatsoever to a delivery from Root that skids on and doesn’t miss off stump by much. Root puts his hands to his head in frustration; in truth I think it was a safe enough leave.
70th over: India 223-3 (Sudharsan 54, Jadeja 5) Stokes, who will never ask somebody to bowl the sour overs from 70-80 if he can do it himself, replaces Woakes and is edged through the gap for four by Jadeka. I don’t think it carried but it was well bowled.
“Hi, Rob,” says Smylers. “When you described Shubman Gill’s wicket as ‘Brobdingnagian’, I knew what the word meant — but only because I looked it up last night, after you used it for the wickets of Nat Sciver-Brunt and Sophia Dunkley.
“Have you been challenged to use it in OBO updates? Or do you just like it because it has ‘Rob’ in the middle of it? Can we expect coinages from other literary works to start appearing in the OBO — perhaps a bowler leaving a batter biffsquiggled?”
A challenge? Like a bet? It’s just your imagination, Smylers. Besides, if I was trying to shoehorn words that include my name I’d have started with pentachloronitrobenzene.
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Sai Sudharsan's first Test fifty!
69th over: India 217-3 (Sudharsan 53, Jadeja 0) Joe Root comes into the attack, something that might have happened earlier with all the left-handers in India’s top six. Sudharsan hammers his second ball through the covers for four to reach a quietly superb fifty, his first at this level in his second appearance: 134 balls, six fours, oodles of patience. Really well played.
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68th over: India 212-3 (Sudharsan 48, Jadeja 0) “Following along from the actual Test for the first time ever – a Christmas present for my cricket-daft son,” writes Allan MacDonald. “TMS have just had a discussion about how ‘it’s not exactly cold, but…’. I want to be very clear - it’s not bloody cold at all! I’ve been in a T-shirt since about 1145… (Although that may be due to my adaptation to Invernessian climes…)”
With such a hardy disposition, I trust you were at the Island Games in Orkney last week as well.
Rishabh Pant retires hurt on 37
A dinky mobile ambulance is being driven onto the field, and Ravindra Jadeja has come out to the middle as Pant’s replacement. Pant is in serious pain here and may have broken a metatarsal; if so, you’d imagine his series is over. Let’s hope not – he has provided so much entertainment in this series.
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Pant may have to retire hurt. He’s in a lot of pain and his foot has ballooned just below his little toe. There’s a tendency to laugh whenever something happens to Pant, simply because he is the most hilarious* cricketer in history, but this looks nasty.
* That’s an entirely complimentary usage of the H-word
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Pant is not out! Yep, there’s a spike on UltraEdge so Pant’s wonderfully ludicrous innings will continue. But not yet: he’s hobbling round, having been hit on the boot by that ball from Woakes, so the umpires have called for a drinks break.
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England review for LBW against Pant
He made a Horlicks of a comical attempt to reverse sweep Woakes, but I’m pretty sure there was a bottom edge onto the boot.
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67th over: India 211-3 (Sudharsan 47, Pant 37) Pant clobbers Dawson in the air and wide of mid-off for four. Stokes didn’t pick the ball up at all, though it was a long way to his left and even he wouldn’t have been able to catch that.
66th over: India 203-3 (Sudharsan 47, Pant 29) England look like a team who are waiting for the second new ball – but that’s still 14 overs away so they need an alternative plan. For now the scoreboard is under control, though even a relatively sedate Rishabh Pant has lifted the run-rate above three an over.
65th over: India 201-3 (Sudharsan 46, Pant 28) Pant has an absurdly good record against left-arm spinners, most of it written in sixes. For now he’s happy to milk low-risk singles, one of which brings up the 200. India have batted admirably today, suppressing the ego* for the good of the team.
* Most of the time
64th over: India 197-3 (Sudharsan 44, Pant 26) A maiden from Woakes to Sudharsan. The forecast is better tomorrow; or, to put it another way, England could be entering a world of pain if they don’t take any more wickets tonight.
England warned for slow over-rate
It took England longer than 90 seconds to start a new over, hence the warning for the umpires. I think there’s a five-run penalty if they are warned again, but I need to double check that and there just isn’t time.
63rd over: India 197-3 (Sudharsan 44, Pant 26) Dawson replaces the ailing Carse and almost gets Sudharsan with a ball that keeps low and sneaks under the bat. Sudharsan could easily have dragged that on.
Apparently England were given an official warning for farting around at the end of the previous over. As we thought at the time, Lord’s 2025 was the crawl that broke the camel’s back.
62nd over: India 195-3 (Sudharsan 43, Pant 25) Woakes replaces Archer and concedes four. I missed most of it was I was compiling the Pant table below, but the commentators didn’t use any exclamation marks so I assume it was uneventful stuff.
Most sixes by a batter in a Test series overseas
16 Rishabh Pant (England v India, 2025)
15 Shimron Hetmyer (Bangladesh v West Indies, 2018-19)
14 Wasim Raja (West Indies v Pakistan, 1976-77)
13 Brendon McCullum (Pakistan v New Zealand, 2014-15); Ben Stokes (South Africa v England, 2015-16)
12 Several, including Shubman Gill in this series
61st over: India 191-3 (Sudharsan 40, Pant 24) Pant looks so comfortable, in fact, that he has just swiped a full back from Carse over mid-on for six. I mean, why wouldn’t you? Why wouldn’t everyone?
I suspect that, when the dust settles on this series, Pant’s performance will go down as one of the greats by a visiting batter in England. He’s pushing 500 runs and he’s tossed his bat to all parts, never mind hitting the bowlers there. Oh, and that sixth was his 16th of the summer – a new record for a batter in an overseas series.
In other news, Carse is grimacing and moving gingerly. He hasn’t looked right today.
60th over: India 182-3 (Sudharsan 39, Pant 17) Archer squares Pant up with a lovely delivery that hits him on the thigh and bounces short of Crawley at third slip. I only mention Crawley because at first it looked like it came off the edge.
It’s worth noting that Archer’s pace has been down on the Lord’s Test. His fastest ball today is 89.1 mph; at Lord’s it was 93.1 mph.
It’s very gloomy at Old Trafford, superb bowling conditions on the face of it, but Sudharsan and Pant look comfortable. It feels like time for Chris Woakes and/or Ben Stokes to come on.
59th over: India 179-3 (Sudharsan 38, Pant 15) Four bonus runs – well, leg-byes – to India when Carse strays onto the pads of Sudharsan. Carse has been a fair way short of his best; even with a nine-day break between games, he must be feeling the 117 overs he bowled in the first three Tests.
“There have been oodles of scientific studies of cricket ball behaviours – swing, spin, reversing etc – but are there any genuine examples considering the effect of the lights?” wonders John Starbuck. “It’s difficult to allow for different conditions at particular grounds and weather, but if there’s anything in it, surely it would have been shown up by now?”
John, do I look like some kind of über-nerdy scientist? Hold on, forget tha- Now that’s just insulting.
Erm, I don’t really know. Presumably it’s related to the conditions that necessitate use of the floodlights rather than the lights themselves.
58th over: India 174-3 (Sudharsan 38, Pant 14) Rishabh Pant had started his innings rather sedately. That sentence is in the past tense because he has just slog-swept Jofra Archer for four. Yep.
Better still, he tried to reverse-sweep the next ball and was hit on the rump. “What’s he doing?” says Mike Atherton on Sky Sports.
He’s being Rishabh Pant.
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57th over: India 164-3 (Sudharsan 35, Pant 9) Sudharsan is sent back by Pant, drops his bat and has to sprint to make his ground. He has plenty of time in the end, but for a split second there was the potential for rare farce.
I’m not sure about England’s tactics here. The floodlights are on and they are bowling at least two balls an over in their own half of the pitch. Get JK Lever on!
56th over: India 163-3 (Sudharsan 35, Pant 8) Sudharsan is beaten by a seductive outswinger from Archer. That’s the kind of delivery he bowled on the first day at Headingley in 2019. On that occasion Archer reduced his pace, made the ball talk and ran through Australia with 6 for 45.
He’s still searching for his first wicket of this game. When he drops short, Sudharsan plays a majestic pull for four, one leg off the ground like Gordon Greenidge.
For a guy who has been recalled to play only his second Test, in a match his team cannot afford to lose, Sudharsan has been hugely impressive.
55th over: India 159-3 (Sudharsan 31, Pant 8) A fuller ball from Carse beats Pant’s slightly absent-minded defensive push. He pummels the middle of the pitch the moment Sudharsan gets on strike, though, which suggests that policy will continue.
A quiet over, four from it.
54th over: India 155-3 (Sudharsan 30, Pant 5) Archer returns in place of Stokes, presumably with Rishabh Pant in mind. They had a short but memorable battle on the final morning at Lord’s.
Sudharsan pulls a short ball over backward square leg and away for four. Carse didn’t pick the ball up at long leg; there was no chance of a catch but under normal circumstances he might have saved the boundary. The enveloping gloom – I mean at Old Trafford, not on Planet Earth – is such that the floodlights are on. That often helps the ball move sideways, so England might put the short-ball ploy on the backburner.
“I get that Shoaib Bashir’s team-mates like him, he has a lot of potential, and one wicket and some parsimonious overs don’t mean Liam Dawson is the future, especially at 35,” begins Ian in Tokyo. “But the enforced dropping of Bashir and recall of Dawson has strengthened England’s bowling, batting and fielding. Hard to see a reason to pick a non-batting, non-fielding spinner if he’s not a match-winner with the ball, isn’t it?”
I’d say it’s a bit more complicated than that, primarily because of conditions in Australia. But I agree with your main point; I’d imagine everyone does. A lot has changed since England invested in Bashir last year and Dawson’s case was almost irresistible. I say ‘almost’ as it took an injury for England to pick him.
53rd over: India 150-3 (Sudharsan 26, Pant 4) Pant charges the first ball after tea, of course, he does, and heaves it along the floor to mid-on. A single later in the over allows England to resume their short-ball attack on Sudharsan; he defends fairly comfortably.
“Notwithstanding what’s happened in the last hour, can you remember a better touring opening partnership in recent years?” wonders Luke Dealtry. “Australia haven’t had one this good for ages.”
I reckon they’re the best since… India’s last tour in 2021, when KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma sold rock and roll back to the Americans Boycottian batting back to the English. I thought Usman Khawaja and David Warner did well in 2023. Warner also added a heap of runs with Chris Rogers in 2015, though that was a peculiar series – Australia struggled when the ball bowled sideways and eviscerated England when it didn’t.
The players are back on the field. Brydon Carse is coming into the attack in place of Liam Dawson.
Alas Smith and, er, Gill
It must be so hard for any batter, especially a young captain, to maintain anything resembling form when they start a series as spectacularly as Shubman Gill.
As we mentioned, South African captain Graeme Smith experienced a similar drop-off 22 years ago.
Graeme Smith (2003)
First two Tests 277, 85, 259 (average 207)
Last three Tests 35, 5, 2, 14, 18, 19 (average 16)
Shubman Gill (2025)
First two Tests 147, 8, 269, 161 (average 146)
Last three Tests 16, 6, 12 (average 11)
Tea
52nd over: India 149-3 (Sudharsan 26, Pant 3) Stokes has at least three, possibly four catchers on the leg side for Sudharsan. No matter: Sudharsan takes most of the last over of the afternoon session and calmly sees India through to tea.
It was England’s session: they took three vital wickets for 71 in 26 overs, with Liam Dawson’s dismissal of Yashasvi Jaiswal the champagne moment.
The wicket of Gill was Stokes’ 15th of the English summer. He has never taken 20 in a single Test season, a peculiar statistic that will probably change in the next fortnight. It would verify what the naked eye has been screaming all summer: after three years of misery, Stokes the bowler is back.
51st over: India 147-3 (Sudharsan 25, Pant 2) With only a few minutes remaining before tea, Pant resists the urge to blast Liam Dawson into a galaxy far, far away, settling instead for a safe single and some soft-handed defensive stokes. Dawson has bowled well; on commentary, Ravi Shastri makes the point that his ability to control the scoring rate helped build pressure before that Stokes wicket.
50th over: India 145-3 (Sudharsan 24, Pant 1) Rishabh Pant is the new batter. He takes a single, then Sudharsan pulls superrbly for four. Stokes applauds him sarcastically before ramming in another short ball that Sudharsan mis-pulls on the bounce to leg slip. The temperature is rising.
Gill is out! And he takes a review with him because there were three reds. Gill padded up top a lovely nipbacker from Stokes that hit him around the kneeroll and would have gone on to hit the top of off stump.
Rod Tucker took an age to give the decision, with Stokes beseeching him to raise the finger. That’s three failures in a row for Gill – the same thing happened to Graeme Smith in 2003 – and, in the context of the series, another Brobdingnagian wicket for Stokes.
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WICKET! India 140-3 (Gill LBW b Stokes 12)
Shubman Gill has reviewed but England are sure this is out.
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49th over: India 140-2 (Sudharsan 20, Gill 12) India’s run rate of 2.86 is a reflection of some accurate bowling, a slow outfield and an unusually restrained innings from Yashasvi Jaiswal. Their performance has been quite similar to England’s on the first day at Lord’s.
Smith drops Sudharsan on 20
48th over: India 139-2 (Sudharsan 20, Gill 11) Sudharsan is put down by Jamie Smith! He was caught down the leg side in the first Test and Stokes was aiming for exactly the same dismissal. Sudharsan got a thick inside edge to the right of Smith, who almost dived past the ball and couldn’t take what should have been a pretty comfortable catch.
47th over: India 138-2 (Sudharsan 20, Gill 11) Ravi Shastri, who was a left-arm spinner in a former life, is in the Sky Sports commentary box and sounds very impressed with Liam Dawson – particularly his accuracy. Gill tries to do something about that, running down to thump a drive that just clears the leaping Stokes at mid-on. Fine margins, part 32423534563460943.
46th over: India 132-2 (Sudharsan 19, Gill 6) Stokes, who dismissed Sudharsan in both innings at Headingley, replaces Archer. Three slips in place, nobody down the leg side. Sudharsan defends a few deliveries before playing tip and run on the off side.
45th over: India 131-2 (Sudharsan 18, Gill 6) One of the shots of the day from Sudharsan, a rubber-wristed drive through extra cover for four off Dawson. He’s looking increasingly confident, the Sudharsan India envisaged when they picked him, and he plays two more very confident attacking strokes without beating the infield.
44th over: India 126-2 (Sudharsan 14, Gill 5) Archer’s 12th over of the day passes without incident. We don’t have the data to hand but it feels like the batters have been made to play at a helluva lot of those 72 deliveries. Accuracy and bounce, rather than movement and searing pace, have been his greatest weapons today. His figures are 12-2-23-0.
43rd over: India 124-2 (Sudharsan 13, Gill 4) Dawson’s recall is a symbol of England’s increased pragmatism, a change of approach that has crept up on us after all those grand statements in the first couple of years. It’d be fascinating to know whether it was a collective decision for Stokes, McCullum and Key or just part of the team’s evolution.
Dawson continues to Gill with a slip and leg slip; the latter is almost in the game when, out of nothing, Gill drags an agricultural sweep into the ground and through the legs of Pope.
42nd over: India 122-2 (Sudharsan 13, Gill 2) The arrival of Shubman Gill means an increase in the amount of gum-flapping from the England fielders. Gill plays a typically serene extra-cover drive off Archer that is very well stopped; four runs becomes one (not another Spice Girls reference FFS) and Sudharsan plays out the rest of the over.
The last ball, which kicked from a length, was especially well played.
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41st over: India 120-2 (Sudharsan 13, Gill 1) Never mind what that wicket means to Liam Dawson; never mind that human story. This is a joyous day for the Wisden podcast team of Mark Butcher, Yas Rana, Phil Walker and friends, who have spent most of the last two years cursing Dawson’s absence from the England team.
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After eight years out of the Test team, Liam Dawson has struck with his seventh ball. It was tossed up well wide of off stump, drawing Jaiswal into a nervous defensive push away from his body. The ball skidded on to take the edge and was nicely caught by Harry Brook at slip. For the second Test in succession, an England bowler has had a fairytale start on his return to the side.
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WICKET! India 120-2 (Jaiswal c Brook b Dawson 58)
Welcome back! Liam Dawson has picked up Yashasvi Jaiswal, who normally eats orthodox spin for breakfast, lunch and the rest, with a lovely delivery.
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40th over: India 120-1 (Jaiswal 58, Sudharsan 13) Jofra Archer goes to bed dreaming of having two left-handers to bowl at, among other things, and he continues his third spell with a maiden to Sudharsan.
Archer has been very accurate today, which is reflected in figures of 10-2-20-0.
Thanks Daniel, hello everyone. Before you ask, the A in my name stands for Archibald, which is why so many people are intent on calling me ‘Baldy’.
Righto, my watch is over; here’s *RA Smyth to chill with you through the rest of the day. Peace aht!
39th over: India 120-1 (Jaiswal 58, Sudharsan 13) Decent start from Dawson who, after Sudharsan takes a single, persuades one to go on with the arm and catches Jaiswal’s edge; they run two, two singles follow, and that is drinks.
38th over: India 115-1 (Jaiswal 55, Sudharsan 11) Archer replaces Woakes and begins with a leg-side loosener, then strays on to the pads again and this time, Sudharsan flicks four to deep square; England haven’t tested him enough early in his innings. But Archer improves through the over while, at square leg, Dawson gets loose; having waited three hours to bowl today but eight years since his last cap. Imagine how he must be feeling; I’m not surprised he’s got his mirrored shades on, and I wonder if Jaiswal will go at him.
37th over: India 110-1 (Jaiswal 55, Sudharsan 6) Crydon Barse continues and has a full over at Sudharsan – though I wonder if Stokes would ideally set Archer at him whole he’s still nervous. This isn’t a bad over, but four dots are followed by a low full toss which is driven for three, the bowler responds with a nasty bouncer which Jaiswal must contort to avoid.
36th over: India 107-1 (Jaiswal 55, Sudharsan 3) At what point will Stokes turn to Dawson? Woakes’ extra-long morning spell probably prevented him from turning his arm over in the morning session, but I’m sure captain and bowler will want him in the match as soon as possible. Problem is, he might be behind Archer and Stokes this afternoon, though there’d still be time for him to get a go. Meantime, Woakes goes again and, after a single to each batter, Jaiswal, drives supremely through long-off for four; he’s starting to settle at the crease now.
35th over: India 101-1 (Jaiswal 50, Sudharsan 2) Talking of which, is Andrew Strauss in Napier the definitive not-giving-it-away innings? He’d just come back after being dropped, was batting at three, it was the final Test of a three-match series, and his career was on the line. Starting slowly, he managed 177, and in less than a year was captain of the team. Back with our match, Jaiswal shoves to point, they sprint through for one – there’s a direct hit at Sudharsan’s end, but he’s home – and that raises a crucial, battling fifty. It’s so good to see him bat like this because we know what he can do when it’s in his favour, but this is him showing us that he’s got the minerals to persevere when it isn’t.
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34th over: India 100-1 (Jaiswal 49, Sudharsan 2) Immediately, Woakes goes around to the left-handed Sudharsan, who gets off the mark with a flick to deep square; they run two, raising the hundred in the process. In comms, DK reckons Nair ought to have been given a bit longer, having been a long time away and looked alright till getting out; it’s also worth noting that he’s twice been done by screaming catches. But it’s Sudharsan with the shirt and he leaves everything he can, desperate not to give it away.
33rd over: India 98-1 (Jaiswal 49, Sudharsan 0) England, trying to cut off the runs behind square on the off-side, have put point back … for all the difference it makes, Jaiswal waiting for a wide one, then dabbing it into the ground for four through deep third. He’s such a clever batter, and his reactions are amazing – I bet he’s unbeatable at Slapsies and Knuckles. After five balls of the over, point comes up, looking to prevent the single that’ll keep Jaiswal on strike; again, he’s beaten outside off, and Carse is looking better now. Can Woakes get after Sudharson?
32nd over: India 94-1 (Jaiswal 45, Sudharsan 0) Woakes will fancy himself to get after Sudharsan, who knows this is a big knock for him; between overs, we see footage of him visualising his innings, playing shots in yesterday’s rain. He plays out a second consecutive maiden – and another testing one too; pressure is building, and this feels like a pivotal period in the match. The next hour will be crucial and quite possibly the one after that and the one after that.
31st over: India 94-1 (Jaiswal 45, Sudharsan 0) Carse continues and a fuller one incites Jaiswal to come forward, play and miss; that’s much better. And he backs it up with another good delivery, attacking the stumps, then another, prodigious late movement sending ball into pad; the pitch is doing stuff, just only some of the time. And another fine delivery completes a really good maiden over, full straightening and passing the edge; Carse might just be into the match.
WICKET! Rahul c Crawley b Woakes 46 (India 94-1)
Finally! Again Woakes probes in the corridor, again he finds some away-movement but this time also a bit of extra bounce, and this time, also the edge, and Rahul squared up, goes back to drive and instead the edge is finally contacted, the ball whizzing to second slip where Crawley snaffles.
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30th over: India 94-0 (Jaiswal 45, Rahul 46) Woakes slings down a cuttable delivery but as Rahul tries giving it the treatment, it moves away, again missing the edge; it’s as though there’s a force field around both bats, force and field being words I’ve not used in combination since the infant-school playground. Rahul then eases to square leg for two, and England badly need something to happen.
29th over: India 92-0 (Jaiswal 45, Rahul 44) Jaiswal cuts hard but picks out backward point, then goes short and wide – perhaps deliberately, looking for the catch – and Jaiswal doesn’t miss out this time, schmeissing him for four. As he runs in again, we see Brook blowing bubbles with his gum at slip, a habit i don’t get: what is it about chewing that feels good, as opposed to knackering your jaw? Two singles follow and, though I’m sure Carse appreciated the show of faith from his captain tossing him the ball at the start of this session, he is not really threatening.
28th over: India 86-0 (Jaiswal 40, Rahul 43) Woakes, also changing ends and now at the Statham, is rewarded for his morning excellence with another spell; in comms, Ponting notes that England, not just Carse, were too short earlier, saying it’s hard to bowl full without fielders down the ground; he suggests moving third slip to cover, while Nasser wants two gullies given the batters’ desire to cut. Meantime, Rahul takes two to square leg, the only runs from the over.
27th over: India 84-0 (Jaiswal 40, Rahul 41) The teams are out on time – Shubman Gill will be buzzing – and it’s Carse with the ball, changing ends in search of rhythm. Can he bowl fuller than his natural length? Can he find another lick or two? In fairness to England, they didn’t bowl badly this morning, beating the edge a comical number of times, but they struggled to build pressure, the testing deliveries too far apart, and the batters gutsed it out well. During lunch, Jaiswal came out early for five minutes of throwdowns – he probably isn’t entirely happy with his morning’s work, but might also have wanted to adjust to the light. But when Rahul takes a single, he sees away four deliveries … then the final is ruled a no ball and, when the extra one is short and wide, Jaiswal smokes a cut to the point fence for four.
Back come our players. Might it be that the next hour is crucial? Surely not!
Lunchtime email: “David Vaudin may have listened to TMS as a kid while out and about,” says Barry Lloyd. “However, I listened to it through a cheap, tiny transistor radio, clamped to my ear while I pretended to be asleep. I recall traitorously regretting that Fred Trueman didn’t immediately get Neil Hawke for his 300th at The Oval in ‘64 because it meant that I had to stay awake all the way through lunch. Can’t recall what comestibles the team had been gifted though.”
I spent many happy hours doing both – my dad would always have it on when running errands, but from the 1986-87 Ashes onwards, I also had it in my ears having been lozzed to bed. What a feeling that is, having your day prematurely curtailed only to have a full one of Test cricket waiting for you.
Righto, I’m off for a break; I’ll be back in 30 to do an email or two before the afternoon dig gets under way.
Lunchtime entertainment:
That was yet another intense and high-class session of (Test match) cricket. India, though, have built a platform, and if England can’t find a breakthrough early in the afternoon, they could be looking at another monster total.
26th over: India 78-0 (Jaiswal 36, Rahul 40) Archer begins what’ll probably be the final over of the session and he’s got Jaiswal on strike … but only for one ball, a single to midwicket giving the right-handed Rahul, who plays him more easily, five balls to survive. He does so with relative ease, adding a single off the final one and that’s lunch, India put in and finishing the session unscathed. As Gill said at the toss, a good one to lose.
25th over: India 76-0 (Jaiswal 35, Rahul 39) Earlier, we saw Sai Sudharsan sat on the balcony reading a book, but the cameras didn’t linger long enough for us to see what it is; velly poower, as my gran would’ve said. Back in the middle, Rahul nurdles a single then, after three dots, Jaiswal – who has no problem taking the aerial route on the off-side – throws hands at a cut, Mark Butcher at Headingley style, and that’s six! A single follows, and this is fantastic work from the tourists, who’ve ridden their luck but also defended really well.
24th over: India 68-0 (Jaiswal 28, Rahul 37) Archer persuades one to rear up, Rahul feels obliged to play it, and is beaten; England have gone by the outside edge so many times this morning, for no reward. The batter then dabs into the off-side and steals a single, then Archer zips one away from Jaiswal, his seam presented beautifully; he’s so good at bowling to left-handers. And have a look! Archer drops short, but bowls right at the man, who bends away from it, almost on to haunches and, as he falls, the ball flicks the face, or perhaps he flicks the ball with the face, earning four over the keeper’s head. I’ve never seen a shot like that before, deliberate or otherwise.
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23rd over: India 63-0 (Jaiswal 24, Rahul 37) Stokes tries a bouncer from around and Jaiswal goes at it hard, missing; the follow-up is full, straight and handled well. Then, when serves a ball that’s short and wide, he of course doesn’t miss out, buggy-whipping a cut that steams to the fence for four.
22nd over: India 59-0 (Jaiswal 20, Rahul 37) Yup, Archer returns and has Jaiswal, who barely faced him in his first spell, on strike. He goes around the wicket immediately but still isn’t hitting his Lord’s pace, when he was regularly above 90. Broad says the pitch is spongier at OT, so you don’t get as much momentum from it and into your legs, so it takes time to adjust; perhaps that’s a reason why, and also why Carse hasn’t been at it this morning. A single into the off-side is the only run from the over.
21st over: India 58-0 (Jaiswal 19, Rahul 37) Oh man, the usually dapper Stuart Broad is now wearing a broon cardy so disgraceful I’ve no choice but to snap it. Is he now a mid-60s geography teacher? Meantime, Stokes hurls himself through a second maiden in two overs, totally oblivious to the commentary-box carnage.
20th over: India 58-0 (Jaiswal 19, Rahul 37) Carse hasn’t yet found the rhythm that elevated the evening session on day four at Lord’s, and Rahul twizzles him through midwicket, Archer chasing, diving, and finding his knee stuck in the grass, but he saves the boundary and looks fine when he gets up; the batters run three. Jaiswal then takes the bait, hooking at a bouncer and to-edging, but short of long leg. A wicket does not look imminent, and I’d expect to see Archer return sooner rather than later.
19th over: India 53-0 (Jaiswal 18, Rahul 33) Rahul takes a single, then Stokes squares Jaiswal up, beating his outside edge, before trying a bouncer; the batter isn’t tempted to play, presumably cognisant of the man out on the hook or, as they say or said in Manchester, the hooke (rhymes with booke, looke, puke and so on).
18th over: India 52-0 (Jaiswal 18, Rahul 32) Carse is up at 85mph now but after Jaiswal misses a cut, not quite able to free arms, he nails it two balls later, crunching it to the fence behind square on the off-side for four. Those are the only runs off the over, and this is developing into a really good start for India. I wonder if we might see Archer back into the attack sooner than previously intended, because England need something.
“Here’s the route map to the TMS overseas link that you might wish to share,” offers David Vaudin, doing the Lord’s work.
17th over: India 48-0 (Jaiswal 14, Rahul 32) Stokes introduces himself to the attack, Woakes bottling his spell after a poxy eight overs. Jaiswal, unusually becalmed this morning, turns his loosener into the on-side for one then after three dots, Stokes goes a bit wider on the crease, swings one in, whams the pad, and bends his back almost in half appealing. But you could see the ball was going down, so there’s no review.
16th over: India 47-0 (Jaiswal 13, Rahul 32) As Carse slings down largely unthreatening dots, Ponting suggests that given the time between Tests, the bowlers might’ve put down a mark on the 6.7m length they need to hit at OT, then practised landing the ball on it; who knows if they did or didn’t but, like most of his cricketing opinions, that makes a lot of sense. Anyhow, just when Carse thinks he’s getting away with a maiden, Rahul cuts towards point, just wide of the diving Pope – what an image that is – at point, and the ball just abut forces itself to the rope for four.
15th over: India 43-0 (Jaiswal 13, Rahul 28) Alreet, Woakes resumes after drinks; I assumed he’d go off, but he’s found a groove so it makes some sense for Stoles to keep him going. Meantime, RT Ponting makes his first commentary-box appearance of the series – he’s a great addition – and doesn’t think we’ve seen enough to justify the decision to bowl. But after a single to Rahul, Woakes again moves one away from Jaiswal, again missing the edge, then again. He’s had very little luck in this series.
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14th over: India 42-0 (Jaiswal 13, Rahul 27) Rahul again opens the face to earn two then, after as dot, he rips a back-cut through point and to the fence for four. Three singles follow, and at drinks, India will be the happier of the sides.
“Further to my earlier email,” returns Sam Styles, “we joined the queue for gates 11 and 12 at 10.30 and eventually got into the ground at 11/45. The queue was still away over the car park and back across the bridge on Great Stone Rd. Didn’t see or hear anyone outside explaining or actively managing the situation. Good job people stayed civil (though it started to kick off when we got to the gate and were helpfully told ‘there’s no queue at gate 1’). This arrangement isn’t fit for purpose. Big problems to fix for the rest of the test. I think questions need to be asked of Old Trafford re: entrance arrangements. And maybe set off now if you have tickets for day 2.”
If I was going to Lord’s, where I watch most of my cricket, I’d be looking to get there before 10.30 to be sure of seeing the start, but if I got there them, I’d still expect to be in in time. I was, though, scared when you said people stayed civil, so relieved by the kick-off that followed it; Manchester is still Manchester, the Peterloo spirit still keeping things going.
13th over: India 33-0 (Jaiswal 12, Rahul 19) It’s a seventh over for Woakes and his first ball, scrambled seam, hammers the pad and looks adjacent … there’s a noisy appeal … rejected … but will England review? Nope, the bowler appraised an edge, correctly so as the replay shows; good from him, good from the umpire. Maiden.
12th over: India 33-0 (Jaiswal 12, Rahul 19) Carse replaces Archer, Rahul breaking wrist and opening face to shove his second delivery through cover point for two; this outfield is sluggish as you like. Two more dots follow, then the bowler finds a bit more lift, forcing his man back and hitting the splice – that’s a really good length, and if he can up his pace beyond the 77mph which that ball clocked, he’ll be talking.
11th over: India 31-0 (Jaiswal 12, Rahul 17) Four dots from Woakes, then one sits up and Jaiswal drives down the ground for four; again, the bowler responds well, again he misses the edge by the thickness of a blue rizla.
“Re your comment re the anthems,” says Clare Dowding, “‘the camera getting close enough for us to hear individual singing is a pleasing development’ – this has been happening at rugby matches for years, even though it sometimes gives the lie to Wales’ reputation as the land of song. I’m a proud Welshwoman, and the sight of my compatriots belting out our anthem can bring a tear to the eye, but in some cases so does the sound, and not in a good way.”
As the African proverb has it, “If you can walk you can dance, if you can talk you can sing.” But I love to seem players emoting, especially without caring how their voice is perceived.
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10th over: India 27-0 (Jaiswal 8, Rahul 17) This is Archer’s fifth, so presumably final over of his spell. Can he make something happen? Rahul will, I imagine, happily see him away, and after three dots, one quickens off the pitch; he defends inside it well, then opens the face with soft hands, gliding two through the slips. A bouncer follows, forcing Smith to vault to collects.
9th over: India 25-0 (Jaiswal 8, Rahul 15) Woakes again beats Jaiswal with one which moves away – that’s the length. So far, though, he’s just missing edges, but what’s this? Again, one ducks in, Jaiswal leaps back to defend with the face … and the bat snaps at the handle! There’s not loads of pace in the pitch but there is bounce. Anyroad, four replacements come out, one is picked, and Jaiswal doesn’t strike me as the type to care; he leaves the final ball of the over alone, when Woakes would surely have been desperate to make him play. Maiden.
“Regarding India’s run of bad luck with the toss,” emails Simon McMahon, “maybe Gill can just do what I think I remember Ed Smith, in his book about luck in sport, saying a (nameless) county captain did every time, and toss a coin himself before the start of play in the dressing room before calling the opposite of what landed when out in the middle. That’ll work.”
Luckily, science has solved this problem for us: tails never fails.
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8th over: India 25-0 (Jaiswal 8, Rahul 15) Archer is still at 85mph as, in comms, Ravi chides their lengths, saying they’ve been too short too often but when they’ve hit a fuller spot, they’ve beaten the bat. In this over, though, Rahul defends well both when asked to come forward and pushed back, playing out a maiden.
7th over: India 25-0 (Jaiswal 8, Rahul 15) Rahul looks in decent touch, sending two towards cover, but then Woakes finds late movement off a good length, exactly what he’s trying to do, and the batter is beaten. A dot follows, then the batter unloads the suitcase at a drive but, when the outswing takes the ball further away from him than expected, the connection sends it high … and between gully and point, running away for four. That means he now has 1000 runs in England, and a single towards midwicket means seven runs off the over. Woakes, though, is looking dangerous.
“Currently in the queue to get in to Old Trafford,” says Oliver Deed. “Forty minutes so far and the gate is just about in sight. I watched England in Rawalpindi a few years ago and passed through four military check points, and it took less time than this. Shambles!”
Yeah, that isn’t good. I wonder how much of it is because they’re searching bags for illicit pop.
6th over: India 18-0 (Jaiswal 8, Rahul 8) Rahul waits for Archer, driving square and running; Pope sets off in pursuit and saves one, sliding at cover to prevent the boundary. Those are the only runs from the over and India will be happy with this start.
5th over: India 15-0 (Jaiswal 8, Rahul 5) Woakes’ first delivery is short and Jaiswal is never missing out, creaming a pull to the fence for four. But Woakes comes back well, four dots followed by a beauty which seams just too much, darting away from the proffered outside edge. That was very, very close.
“Hi Cousin Daniel,” begins Neil Harris; word up Cuz. “Funny how you remember things. That 2012 series v SA would be way down on my list. “We got trounced at the Oval when South Africa scored a million, the infamous Headingley test was lost to super Saturday and the third test was the KP fallout. One to forget.”
Yeah, I love my t&f but I’m not letting Greg Rutherford get in the road of one of the greatest knocks I’ve ever seen. And the Lord’s match was some of the most intense sport I’ve ever seen live, with, unusually for Test cricket, something tangible at stake.
4th over: India 11-0 (Jaiswal 4, Rahul 5) Bit of bounce for Archer, forcing a hurried Rahul to play down into the ground. Meantime, we see footage from earlier this morning of two Lanky heroes, Sir Clive Hubert Lloyd and Farokh Engineer, who’ve had tiers of the same stand named after them. I’m too young to have seen Engineer, but Lloyd is one of the first cricketers I got to know, a great of the game and a great of menschlichkeit. Both fully deserve their recognition. Meantime, Archer sullies what would otherwise be a maiden with a wide, still not up to full pace – his final delivery was 86mph. Pathetic.
3rd over: India 10-0 (Jaiswal 4, Rahul 5) Woakes hasn’t taken any time at all to settle, and he’s now bowling to three slips and a leg slip … none of them any use when Rahul collars a pull, hauling it around the corner with his toe-end for four. I’m not sure that as Woakes’ pace, the pitch will be receptive to the shorter stuff; he needs to look to hit the stumps. A leg bye completes the over.
“I do think Ben Stokes’ claim about over rates needing to be adjusted depending on location a little rich,” writes Liam Crowley. “Considering to my eye the biggest problem is a the fielding change every three balls, constantly badgering the umpires for a ball change, general faffing about, physios on the pitch and drinks breaks overrunning or being taken whenever the batsmen fancy changing their gloves, because God forbid they have to spend two hours in them (at best).”
So we’re saying field changes should defer to over rates? And that spin from both ends doesn’t take a lot less time than pace from both ends? In any event, responsibility for the ball-changing situation, and drinks, lies with umpires not players.
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2nd over: India 5-0 (Jaiswal 4, Rahul 1) Archer might extract a bit more from the surface than Woakes, but at Lord’s it took him a while to ease into his pace, and shonuff he’s roundabout 85mph here, Rahul playing his fourth ball down into the on-side and sprinting through for a single. That brings Jaiswal on to strike, twice dismissed by Archer at Lord’s – in the first dig, with a beauty – but he sees out the over comfortably enough.
1st over: India 4-0 (Jaiswal 4, Rahul 0) Woakes, who has 35 OT wickets at 17, opens with a pearler, coming at Jaiswal from around, moving the ball away ad beating the edge. Two further dots follow, then Jaiswal pushes at one, edging … and the ball drops short of Crawley at three, the lack of pace writ large. Gosh, and after another dot, Jaiswal edges again, this time between two and three, the globule scuttling away for four.
Chris Woakes has the ball, Yashasvi Jaiswal will face, and … play.
“Is anybody in there?” wonders Sam Styles. “Just nod if you can hear me, is there anyone home?” “Queues outside for miles in every direction!”
The ground looks maybe half-full.
Our players come out, and it’s anthem time. There are better voices in the world than Zak Crawley’s, but the camera getting close enough for us to hear individual singing is a pleasing development.
Email! “The weather forecast looks OK,” begins Andrew Goudie, “so we should get a full day of 60 overs.”
I find the prescriptive nature of over-rates a bit odd. As Stokes has noted, the rules need to be different depending on location as on the subcontinent, there’s more spin bowled, which obviously takes less time. It’s rare I finish watching or attending a day’s play and consider myself cheated, and though it’s true that in England the summer light means we could easily finish off the allocation, I’m also conscious of how mentally and physically demanding the game is and that, after a long day, the players need some respite.
Is this the best series in England since 2005? To borrow Shenseea’s line, “that’s a no for me” – I’m going for South Africa 2012, as that was two great teams playing for the mace, not to fine teams playing for the trophy – but it was only three matches, and we’ve got two more for this to usurp it.
On Kuldeep, Athers notes that England were always going to bowl – and when did describing it that way replace calling it fielding in the cricketing lexicon –if they won the toss, so Gill could’ve guaranteed having him wheeling away in the fourth innings. I bet England are pleased he’s not there.
India have lost 14 Test tosses in a row. The odds of that are, apparently, 16,384-1.
Gill was confused as to what to do, so thinks it’s a good toss to lose. He’s happy with how India have played, winning more sessions and days than England, they’ve just lost a few “crunch moments”. The surface looks “nice and hard” and he makes three changes": out go Karun Nair plus the injured Akash Deep and Nitish Reddy; in come Sai Sudharsan, Shardul Thakur and Anshul Kamboj, making his debut.
He is not asked what the point of bringing Kuldeep Yadav on tour was; Old Trafford accepts wrist spin, India are behind in the series, and he’s still sat at the side.
England win the toss and bowl
Four our of four for Ben Stokes, who thinks the overhead conditions will be good for bowling and everyone’s had a good opportunity to relax and recharge. Everyone left everything out on the field at Lord’s, both sides have been excellent with little between them, and he thinks the wicket is typical Manchester, quite firm with a bit of grass coverage. It’s been a while since dawson played a Test, but he’s thoroughly earned his chance.
Toss time…
Do England even need a spinner? I can’t say I’ve no visions of either Dawson or Bashir getting hit all over the show in Australia, and it might be that an all-seam attack is currently England’s best option. It won’t happen, I don’t think, but if you’ve constantly got a pair of fresh quicks, that’s not a lot of respite for opposition batters.
So what do we make of Liam Dawson’s return? His batting and fielding are obviously like the Swiss flag – England have been uncharacteristically lax in the latter department this series – but I’m mainly looking forward to seeing how his bowling holds up. He might not have Bashir’s raw talent, but his nous, variety and comfort with his game make him an interesting addition.
It’s overcast in Manchester – [insert gag here]. I remember staying in Broughton Park with my gran as a young child and noting that a) it was always raining and b) the chat was always about who’d died recently. I’ve been more popular.
Otherwise, the pitch looks like it’s pretty dry, so there should be a bit of uneven bounce and perhaps something for the spinners later; the outfield is lush, so boundaries might be harder than usual to come by. Stuart Broad would bat but thinks Ben Stokes will want to bowl.
Preamble
It’s been 17 hours and eight long days since you took your love away …. aaah aaah aaah aaah aaaaaaah. But we got through it, flowers that we planted in the backyard contriving not to die – mainly because we didn’t actually plant them to begin with. Clever, eh?
Earlier this week, we learned that sports coverage is to be prescribed on the NHS for people struggling with depression – a move that makes perfect sense. Sport is community and sport is company; sport is story and sport is inspiration; sport is joy and sport is love.
As it happens, the specified endeavour was football, but that only lasts 90 minutes. On the other hand, we have in front of us a full five days in which our world ascends, expands and intensifies. The simple fact of being us is better; so much better.
And that’s even before we consider the particular brilliance of this series, now animated with bonus needle. Somehow, England hold a 2-1 lead despite having lost more days and sessions than they’ve won, a hardened team growing at crucial moments, revelated by the curious notion that winning beats losing.
India, meanwhile, are – on the face of things – in trouble, needing to win the last two matches to take the series, shorn of the injured Akash Deep and Nitish Kumar Reddy. But where there’s Jasprit there’s hope, and the pitch at Old Trafford might just be in their favour: if it’s dead, as has been the way this season, it’ll favour the fastest bowlers and best spinners; if it’s a more usual OT track with bounce and turn, it’ll favour the fastest bowlers and best spinners. Nor should it be forgotten that, after the painful loss at Headingley, India retorted by clobbering England at Edgbaston and now, fired by a sense of unity and injustice, they will be coming to get it, trying to have fun no matter what they do.
Test cricket, nothing compares to you.
Play: 11am BST
