Time to wrap things up here. Ali’s first hit is in, with more coverage to follow. India have been excellent across three Tests and somehow find themselves 2-1 down. It’ll be pretty special if we go to the Oval at 2-2. Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. Thanks for reading and all the lovely messages.
Gary Hall makes a good point:
The biggest difference between the sides?...Extras, especially the Byes (36 -3) with Extras at 63-30.
Here’s Jofra Archer – buzzing to be back – on knocking over Rishabh Pant:
“I just tell him to charge that. This morning I was struggling a little bit, the ball just kept coming out full. And one of the full balls he just charged and it pissed me off a little bit.”
Stokes on his own bowling efforts: “I thought I’d taken myself to some pretty dark places before but today … bowling to win a Test match for your country, if that doesn’t get you up, if that doesn’t get you excited I don’t know what does.”
On Bashir, who he says has a “broken hand”, Stokes says: “Coming on, taking that last wicket, it was written in the stars. What an absolute warrior.”
Shubman Gill speaks to Michael Atherton. He’s asked about the crucial run out of Rishabh Pant in the first innings. “We were thinking if we get a lead of 80 or 100 runs we’d be in a good position.”
He’s asked if Bumrah will play at Old Trafford: “You’ll get to know about it soon.”
Ben Stokes is named Player of the Match. He says he went with Jofra Archer to open this morning alongside Stokes partly because he “had one of those feelings” with it being the six-year anniversary of the World Cup win.
On Archer, he adds: “It’s been awesome to have him back out there. When he turns it on and starts running in, and the speeds come up on the screen, the feeling in the game just changes. It’s absolutely great to have him back.”
Ben Stokes finishes with figures of 3-48 off 24 overs. He threatened to overdo it with his marathon spells – bringing this to mind – but his side are 2-1 up with two matches left to play.
There’s a chance that we don’t see Shoaib Bashir for a while after that wicket. He’s still struggling with that taped-up left hand. If he doesn’t make it to Old Trafford it could finally be time for Liam Dawson.
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Very good from Mark Beadle:
22 isn’t that what Zak scored? The match winning innings then…
Ravindra Jadeja is left unbeaten on 61 off 181 balls. An incredible effort from a magnificent all-round cricketer. India were gone at 82 for seven but he was willing to grind, to do it with guts and singles. He wasn’t far off.
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England beat India by 22 runs!
Bashir continues to toss the ball up to Jadeja, and a single brings three goes at Siraj. Men crowd around the bat as Siraj defends off the back foot … but the ball spins back and strikes the stumps, one bail dislodged! Siraj is left on his haunches in disbelief. Bashir, out of nowhere, is England’s hero.
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74th over: India 169-9 (Siraj 4, Jadeja 60) Archer appeals but there’s an inside-edge before the blow to Jadeja’s pad. Archer ramps up to 89mph with a ball that slides down the leg side. Jadeja cuts hard but Bashir, with one hand, cuts it off at deep point. Siraj is on strike for the final ball and he’s hurt. He guided the bouncer to safety but it struck him on the arm. Out comes the doc to spray away the pain.
India need 24 to win.
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73rd over: India 168-9 (Siraj 4, Jadeja 59) Siraj inside-edges on to his pads and while England appeal, India sneak a run, no silly point in place to cut it off. Bashir tosses up to Jadeja at 48mph, getting some turn and bounce. But, again, they sneak through for one after Jadeja blocks into the off-side. Siraj defends to complete the over.
India need 25 to win.
72nd over: India 166-9 (Siraj 3, Jadeja 58) Here comes Archer. His pace is down to Jadeja, lingering in the low 80s, the fourth delivery just sneaking past the outside edge. The penultimate delivery brings a single. Will he ramp things up against Siraj? The bouncer is tucked around the corner and they decide to take a single.
71st over: India 164-9 (Siraj 2, Jadeja 57) Jadeja turns the third delivery away for one. Does Bashir float one above the eyeline? He begins quick and flat but does close with a loopy delivery outside off. Siraj resists.
India need 29 to win.
Here’s a surprise. Bashir returns, on from the Pavilion End. Let’s play.
Worth a look, this. It’s on.
Oliver Smiddy writes in:
Seriously though, why is Stokes still bowling himself, while Archer languishes in the field? You’ve got the Indian no.11 in, so give Archer a shot at him, surely? I applaud Stokes’ FIDIM energy, but the Archer comeback story surely deserves to conclude with the winning wicket?
Archer to win it at Lord’s exactly six years on from the World Cup final? I like it. Ravindra Jadeja seems less enthused about it.
Tea
70th over: India 163-9 (Siraj 2, Jadeja 56) Ben, give someone else a go, man. Archer has to start after the break. Stokes continues and gets Jadeja to swish and miss outside off. An inside-edge on to the pads follows moments later before Jadeja finds one with a ball to go. Siraj does brilliantly to push away the final bouncer. India’s supporters are starting to believe. We’re going into the final session of day five, a scenario that seemed implausible in the morning.
India need 30 to win.
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69th over: India 162-9 (Siraj 2, Jadeja 55) Jadeja sways out the way of a Carse bumper before cutting for one. Again, it’s with two deliveries left in the over. Stokes joins Pope in the short-leg region as Siraj, like a proper bat, guides the ball to deep backward square. He remains on strike … and drives a fuller ball to long-off for two! India’s supporters roar. Siraj has his first runs.
India need 31 to win.
Jadeja jogs back on. That’s his fourth consecutive half-century by the way – he’s seeing them well. Brydon Carse has the ball as we approach tea.
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Fifty for Ravindra Jadeja!
68th over: India 159-9 (Siraj 0, Jadeja 54) Stokes goes short, wide and Jadeja cuts, the thick edge flying over the slip cordon for four. That’s his half-century but he doesn’t do his standard bat twirl – this job ain’t done. As Nasser Hussain points out, the contest has turned into a battle between two great all-rounders. A single comes with two balls to go. Siraj survives. Jadeja sprints off the field, I presume for a toilet break.
India need 34 to win.
67th over: India 154-9 (Siraj 0, Jadeja 49) Just short of short leg! Siraj fends at a Carse delivery and the ball doesn’t carry to Pope, who is terrific in that position. Another ball falls in that region but Siraj stays strong, blocking out the over.
India need 39 to win.
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66th over: India 154-9 (Siraj 0, Jadeja 49) Jadeja pulls Stokes along the carpet … to the fielder in the deep and there’s no run. Surely it’s time for Stokes to have a breather and for Archer to have a go. Oh, what’s this … a boundary! Jadeja whips Stokes behind square on the leg side to close the over.
India need 39 to win.
65th over: India 150-9 (Siraj 0, Jadeja 45) India get some love from the crowd as Jadeja takes one off Carse to bring up 150, with two deliveries left for Siraj to negate. He flaps at a bouncer that doesn’t rise, but the ball doesn’t pop up for a grab. Another bumper closes the over.
India need 43 to win.
64th over: India 149-9 (Siraj 0, Jadeja 44) “Show some energy,” Stokes shouts to Archer, who is fielding at long-on. England’s captain thunders through for another over, featuring the trademark Jadeja single.
William Vincent is already thinking about Old Trafford:
Look, l know that this will not be a popular view, but I hope England lose. First, because it will take an heroic performance from India ~ one for the ages. Second, because it might, at long last, provide the spur to put Crawley and Pope out of their misery. Bethell to open, Smith at three, and Foakes keeping and batting at seven. The joke is no longer funny.
Thanks for commentary ~ erudite and entertaining as ever.
India need 44 to win.
63rd over: India 148-9 (Siraj 0, Jadeja 43) Jadeja, who has faced more than 130 balls, keeps out a potential toe-crusher, the leading edge giving him a single. Carse gets two deliveries at Siraj, the first blocked out, the second more of the same.
India need 45 to win.
62nd over: India 147-9 (Siraj 0, Jadeja 42) Stokes, you feel, isn’t going to stop bowling until this is over. Mohammed Siraj hangs in there for the rest of the over.
India need 46 to win.
Bumrah is tempted into the pull but miscues horribly, the ball lobbing high into the air, with Sam Cook, on for Bashir, pouching at mid-on. India’s No 10 leaves the field with his head down, the game surely up now.
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WICKET! Bumrah c Cook (sub) b Stokes 5 (India 147-9)
Bumrah does very well to sway out of a Stokes bouncer. He keeps the next one down but then comes the mistake!
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61st over: India 147-8 (Bumrah 5, Jadeja 42) Carse replaces Bashir, who leaves the field. The first delivery is a bumper that goes too high, resulting in a wide. Bumrah is happy to try and attack the bouncer but he’s not making any contact with his swishes. Not sure if that’ll please Jadeja. The quick bunts to mid-on for a rare run off his bat, with two balls remaining in the over. Carse does well to keep the dots rolling in.
Gary Naylor writes:
It’s too comfortable for Bumrah here. Stokes has to tell Archer to go round the wicket to him and get the ball into his armpit. Harder to get inside those and swing for the bleachers.
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60th over: India 145-8 (Bumrah 4, Jadeja 42) Lord’s is a concoction of nervous murmurs as Stokes continues. He beats Jadeja outside off with the penultimate delivery and in comes the field … Stokes goes wide to secure the dot.
India need 48 to win.
59th over: India 145-8 (Bumrah 4, Jadeja 42) Jadeja takes one off Bashir’s third ball. Surely, surely, Bashir’s got to toss one up outside off? He does give his fifth delivery some serious air, and Bumrah swings … but the chip escapes the reach of midwicket. They don’t run … and the last ball of the over is quick, flat and down the leg side for four precious leg byes.
India need 48 to win.
58th over: India 140-8 (Bumrah 4, Jadeja 41) Jadeja clips Stokes behind square on the leg side and wants two … but Bumrah isn’t up for it. Ollie Pope was quick at fine leg. The quick must now face four deliveries of Stokesian heat. He defends off the back foot but nearly offers a chance with the final delivery, an awkward half-pull landing close to short leg.
India need 53 to win.
57th over: India 139-8 (Bumrah 4, Jadeja 40) Jadeja nabs one off Bashir’s third delivery and Bumrah blocks out the rest, the off-spinner deciding against any floaty tempters.
India need 54 to win.
56th over: India 138-8 (Bumrah 4, Jadeja 39) There’s an unsuccessful lbw shout with the third delivery, and Bumrah is then seen to by the India doc. Stokes has a chat with Root, leading to a change in plan: England have entered The Bouncer Zone. The first one is a touch too high as Bumrah swings and misses. Another swish of air closes the over. It should have been given a wide and Bumrah isn’t best pleased by the decision.
Arul Kanhere writes:
I’ve been hoping for a tie from the moment these teams were tied in the first innings.
What a rare one that would be....
Plus it’s at the lord’s and 14th July beckons.
How could I forget? It’s six years since England’s super-over victory in the World Cup final.
India need 55 to win.
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55th over: India 138-8 (Bumrah 4, Jadeja 39) A bold, brave call from Stokes: Shoaib Bashir, with that dodgy finger, is called into the attack. This will tempt Jadeja but three dots are followed by an lbw shout … an inside-edge denies England. The field comes in but Jadeja can’t get the ball away – Bumrah will be on strike for the next over.
India need 55 to win.
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54th over: India 138-8 (Bumrah 4, Jadeja 39) Stokes begins with a bumper to Jadeja that sails high. Then comes a flick, a block and, finally, a single. Bumrah has two balls to survive as Ollie Pope has a quick word with his skipper. India’s No 10 produces a straight bat to both.
Brian Withington writes:
The draw might be a stretch but an improbable second new ball is coming into play at this rate.
India need 55 to win.
I’m a nervous wreck. You’re a nervous wreck. Ravindra Jadeja is the coolest man alive. Ben Stokes gives his men a final team talk before taking the ball from the Nursery End. Let’s get back to it.
53rd over: India 137-8 (Jadeja 38, Bumrah 4) Target 193 Obviously the draw point was a weak gag, but the tie is definitely a possibility; imagine the tension if we get witiin sight of that. Anyroad, for the first time in the innings, Stokes turns to spin and Root’s golden arm; there’s plenty of rough outside Jadeja’s off-stump for which he can aim. Again, though, we see three dots then a single, after which Bumrah defends confidently. That’s drinks, and England have some thinking to do, feart they might be on the wrong end of a heist for the ages. Either way, though, we’re set for a banger of a denouement and, with my watch over, here’s Taha Hashim to call India home. Enjoy!
52nd over: India 136-8 (Jadeja 37, Bumrah 4) Target 193 Stokes has seen enough, tossing himself the ball to try and get this finished. In he charges, mane flowing – if i ever had myself a hairjob, not that I need one of course, I’d totally be googling where he got his, then wearing mine like he wears his. He starts from around to the left-handed Jadeja, angling the ball in to target the stumps; Jadeja takes his fourth-ball single, allowing Stokes two deliveries at Bumrah. The first is just about glanced away, walking across, the second dropped to slip. This is great work from both batters, who might just be bringing the draw back into the equation.
51st over: India 135-8 (Jadeja 36, Bumrah 4) Target 193 Carse continues, Jadeja still taking no chances and defending confidently. He plays away three dots then, rising on to tippy-toes, eases into the pitch and to third man for his fourth-ball single; surely Carse will now go full and straight? Er no, he’s back of a length and Bumrah rides it well enough, then squirts into the on side and they refuse the single.
50th over: India 134-8 (Jadeja 35, Bumrah 4) Target 193 I expected Stokes to take over at the Nursery End, but Woakes continues and there’s a bit more intention about Jadeja now. He doesn’t, though, get the delivery he’s earmarked to whack, so takes his regular fourth-ball single, this time to mid-off, and given a batter wandering across his stumps, the bowler goes straight; Bumrah does just enough to jam away, then defends the final delivery of the over well enough.
“If you need something a little coarser to describe the England captain’s ability to turn the tide,” offers Rick Harris, “then I would suggest ‘Stokarse’ as in ‘The match was drifting away from England until the skipper stokarsed them to victory’. Or, in the case of someone not straining every sinew to beat the opponent: ‘The view in the members pavilion was that Nugent couldn’t be stokarsed and had let the country down.’”
49th over: India 133-8 (Jadeja 34, Bumrah 4) Target 193 Carse replaces Archer and, after three dots, Jadeja chases a wide one, cross-batted … and misses. Then, with the field kept back, he edges a single, leaving Bumrah one ball to survive, and he steps across as is his wont, then blocks well. He’s starting to enjoy this; they both are, and so are the crowd.
48th over: India 132-8 (Jadeja 33, Bumrah 4) Target 193 In typical style, Jadeja dances down … and yahoos over the fence for six! The umpire then calls over but there’s a ball to go yet, Jadeja looking to go big again, but this time he miscues; still, though, they’ll take the single. For the first time in a while, England are not in control.
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NO WICKET!
Impact was outside the line! We can’t say that was a good review because he’d have reviewed a bowled, but he was very quick to signal – he probably knew. And what a roar greets the decision. The India fans are starting to believe…
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WICKET! Jadeja lbw b Woakes 26 (India 128-9)
Woakes jags it in, hits the knee-roll, and that looks extremely adjacent. But Jadeja reviews…
48th over: India 125-8 (Jadeja 26, Bumrah 4) Target 193 My guess is this’ll be the final over of Woakes’ spell, and he begins it with three dots.
47th over: India 125-8 (Jadeja 26, Bumrah 4) Target 193 Bumrah takes a moment but he’s fine, then Archer goes again, just about blocking one which keeps low with an edge on to the pad. Jadeja then sees out a maiden, but at some point he’ll surely have to take more risks – perhaps once Archer has gone. For now, though, he sends the fifth delivery of the over to cover for one, then the bowler puts in a short leg, suggesting a bouncer, inly to go full; Bumrah, having checked out the pull before the ball was released, edges to point and they eschew the run.
46th over: India 124-8 (Jadeja 25, Bumrah 4) Target 193 Yup, Woakes continues but, with the field up, Jadeja is again circumspect, seeing away three dots before chasing an attempted slower ball that slips out the side of the bowler’s hand for one; there’s his single, leaving Bumrah two deliveries to negotiate. And one is almost enough, Woakes hitting the seam, persuading the ball to move away, and missing the edge by fractions; two isn’t bad either, leaping off pitch then glove, and blocking any potential catch with his chest. India require 69 runs to win.
45th over: India 123-8 (Jadeja 24, Bumrah 4) Target 193 Bumrah likes to wander across his stumps, so England have Crawley at leg slip, and he’s almost in the game when one is turned around the corner; it doesn’t carry. So Bumrah milks his good fortune by playing a pull to a ball that isn’t the bumper he was expecting, then sees out the rest of the over, another maiden. Will Stokes persist with Woakes, or will he make a change?
44th over: India 123-8 (Jadeja 24, Bumrah 4) Target 193 Woakes continues and Jadeja unloads the suitcase at his second delivery, but is through the shot too soon and they call it a dot. Three more follow then, looking to drive, Jadeja edges a drive into his pads, completing the maiden and archer now has a full over art Bumrah.
“Am a Yorkshire bloke watching in Taiwan with my Taiwanese wife,” informs Ben Ashton, “and to get her interest up I pointed to Woake’s bowling and told her that you’d said he was ‘the Clooney of cricket’. She said ‘Noooo, he’s the Ryan Gosling of cricket!’ and she is right! Now she is watching with interest.”
We’ll chalk that one up as another win for the OBO. I’d love to see him that jacket.
43rd over: India 123-8 (Jadeja 24, Bumrah 4) Target 193 Archer isn’t up to full pace yet, but a bit of extra bounce at 84mph is far too good for Jadeja; a proper lifter follows, beating the bat again, and this is beautiful to behold. The ease of it is just fantastic, ambling in and exploding, and when Jadeja takes the single on offer, he has two goes at Bumrah … who presses forward, rocks back, and nails a pull in front of square for four! India need 70 to win…
42nd over: India 118-8 (Jadeja 23, Bumrah 0) Target 193 Woakes continues, though I wonder if he gets a full spell – Stokes will want this over with and might reckon himself as the man most likely to get things done. Meantime in comms, Ravi fingers Stokes’ run-out of pant as the key point in the match and it certainly made a difference – England spent the whole of day three toiling, looking extremely unlikely to take wickets at all times, but taking them every now and again anyway. That said, I’ll always see that run out and Bashir getting Rahul as a pair. Back to today, though, Jadeja drives a single down the ground and Bumrah sees out the rest of the over, every block cheered by the India fans in the crowd.
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41st over: India 117-8 (Jadeja 22, Bumrah 0) Target 193 Yup, it’s Archer from the Pavilion End, and after two dots, Jadeja is given one slanting down leg-side; he doesn’t miss out, flicking around the corner for four. A bad into the off-side then earns a single, allowing Archer two balls at Bumrah; the first, a low full toss, is sent to mid-on when it might’ve disappeared to the fence, and the second is defended confidently. By the looks of things, the plan is for Jadeja to do most of the scoring, while Bumrah blocks.
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40th over: India 112-8 (Jadeja 17, Bumrah 0) Target 193 Bumrah defends well, and I wonder if he’ll free arms – he’s not much of a batter, but he can hit it and, frankly, I’m not sure he’s too many options. Moreover, I wonder if India regret not playing with greater aggression once Jadeja and Reddy were settled, because they were never getting the runs in singles; well, now it’s too late. Bumrah then blocks again, before wafting at one outside off, bat drawn to ball as if hypnotised by it, but he doesn’t make contact. Wicket maiden.
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Off we go again. Lord’s is fizzing.
England huddle on the outfield, raring to go. Skies are now overcast, and though it doesn’t look likely to rain, there’s the possibility of help for the bowlers – help they scarcely need. Stokes will surely to go Archer after Woakes finishes his over from the Nursery End.
“Re: chat from earlier about describing getting better as pressure increases,” offers Allan MacDonald, “if we’re on the search for an adjective, would ‘Stokensian’ fit the bill?” Meantime, Rick Harris advises that “My verb to encapsulate the sheer force of one person’s will to bend events to their advantage would be ‘Stokebotham’.”
The more I think about it, the more I feel some kind of swear-word intensifier is called for.
I’ve been pretty crook these last few days so planned to grab 20 minutes’ shuteye during the break, only to discover I’m on way too much of a buzz for that. I hope Ben Stokes is proud of himself.
Righto, I’m off for a little break. I’ll be back in about 25 minutes, though, to do some emails and look forward to the afternoon dig.
Jofra Archer, though. When we say we know what he’s gone through, we do by description, but the fury, frustration and devastation he’ll have felt at his inability to do what he does, when what he does is what he does, is beyond us all. The love and devotion he’s expended getting back to here tells us plenty about him, likewise England’s eagerness to get him back in, and Stokes turning to him first up this morning was a basic but inspired act of captaincy that is a big reason his team are poised to win the game.
What a morning for England! Galvanised by their superhero prophet of a captain, they’ve ripped through India with some superb bowling, and they’re two wickets away from a 2-1 series lead. India need 81 runs to pull off a heist for the ages.
WICKET! Reddy c Smith b Woakes 13 (India 112-8)
And there is that one ball! Hung outside off, Reddy dangles a bat, edges behind, and that is surely the crucial blow?! England go to lunch having taken four wickets this morning, and the match is now theirs to lose in a manner both entirely shocking and absolutely predictable.
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39th over: India 112-7 (Jadeja 17, Reddy 13) Target 193 Reddy edges Carse’s first delivery to point, just about keeps out the yorker that’s his third, then edges the fourth for two in a puff of dust; dicey stuff, but is there a wicket-ball behind it? Not yet. Reddy presses to mid-on, whereupon the bowlers lets him know just how much he enjoys his work, then takes a single to short midwicket … which is belatedly called as a no-ball. A dot completes the over and, though one ball changes everything, India are now navigating this well, 81 runs required.
38th over: India 108-7 (Jadeja 17, Reddy 10) Target 193 Woakes replaces Stokes, 1-19 off 88.2 this morning. He’s looking very Clooney these days, the handsome so-and-so, hair luxuriating in fronds of warm silver sun, to borrow Raymond Chandler’s description of him. Maiden, unthreatening but nevertheless, played out well by Jadeja, who’s a fantastically doughty and charismatic competitor. He believes, with a perfect belief, that this is his time.
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37th over: India 108-7 (Jadeja 17, Reddy 10) Target 193 Carse ploughs in again as, in the field, Woakes loosens arms. He’ll feel a way about being left till last, rightly so, but his chance is coming. Jadeja, though, has decided it’s time to move – he’s looking to score whenever possible now, and he turns to backward square, sprinting one, then, when Reddy looks to turn it into two, he sends him back, in the nick of time. This so intense it reminds me of Glastonbury.
36th over: India 107-7 (Jadeja 16, Reddy 10) Target 193 Having interceded between Carse and Jadeja – imagine that as a square go, goodness me – there’s nowhere safer to kick-off with someone harder than you than on the sports field – begins the 87th over of his spell. And, after three dots, Reddy lowers on to one knee and flays four through cover – Pope gets a hand to it, but to no effect – and the partnership is now 25. Amid all the noise and shouting, this is impressive stuff from these two.
35th over: India 103-7 (Jadeja 16, Reddy 6) Target 193 Carse continues; I’m a big fan of the moment of suspended time as he leaps into his gather, though that’d probably be less the case if I was facing him. He begins the over with four dots, then natural variation sees one duck in alarmingly; on the balcony, Siraj places hand over mouth, then Jadeja cuts the final delivery of the over uppishly and hard. They run two, the sweeper cutting off the boundary, then batter and bowler exchange sentiments, the former having run into the latter with both watching the fielder. This is on a rolling boil now, and I’d be absolutely buzzing for the fourth Test at OT if I wasn’t using up all my buzz on this one.
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34th over: India 101-7 (Jadeja 14, Reddy 6) Target 193 Is Stokes going to bowl and eighth over? Nah, he’s decided he’s tried and can’t be arsed. As if. He likes his second ball, angled in, but Reddy will feel he middled his forward defence. Two dots follow, then am excellent bouncer has the batter leaping into a duck – he did not see that coming, and after Stokes completes the maiden, he has some words for Reddy – this series is hitting a good level of friendly needle now.
33rd over: India 101-7 (Jadeja 14, Reddy 6) Target 193 After three dots, Reddy gets down on one knee to drive; at point, Archer dives right to save three as they run one. Two further dots follow, the way the batter leaves the last one impressive; he looks confident out there, well-organised and disciplined. But with scoring so slow, you wonder if he’s good enough to stay in long enough to get this won.
32nd over: India 100-7 (Jadeja 14, Reddy 5) Target 193 More dots from Stokes but Reddy plays them fairly well, then squirts the final ball of the over into the leg-side for a single, raising India’s century in the process. The crowd like it a lot, and this is India’s best spell of the morning.
“Ref the arguments about 4/5 day tests,” begins Patrick Fullick, “I am reminded of this by the late William Rees-Mogg, written (if I remember correctly) in 2011: ‘Atherton ended his article with a paragraph that condenses the argument for five-day cricket. He puts it from the player’s point of view. I would like to endorse it from the spectator’s point of view. “It is, though, only the rhythms of Test cricket, the ebb and flow, the peculiar challenge offered by the changing conditions over five days and the mental and physical questions that the long game asks of the players that marks cricket out as a special game. Otherwise you might as well watch baseball.’ I agree.”
I’m certain we all do. Trying yo be something you’re not, to appeal to those who don’t like you, doesn’t work with sport, doesn’t work with political parties and doesn’t work with people.
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31st over: India 99-7 (Jadeja 14, Reddy 4) Target 193 I wonder what Shubman Gill is thinking; had he left Zak Crawley alone on Saturday evening, would England have conjured the aggression that took four wickets yesterday? Back in the middle, Carse replaces Archer and Jadeja runs a single down to third, then Reddy adds one more to deep square before glowing a lifter that somehow doesn’t carry to slip. Meantime, the India fans in the crowd get behind their team, so Stokes noises up the crowd then, at the end of the over, grabs the ball for yet another of his own, the seventh full one of the spell.
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31st over: India 97-7 (Jadeja 13, Reddy 3) Target 193 Stokes resumes after drinks and Jadeja pats to point then sprints a single; a no-ball five dots follow, the last of them beating Reddy, who looks to shove through cover. These two are about as settled as they’re going to get.
“In tribute to the late great man,” says Daniel Forman, “I’d go with Thorpean for a Stokesing it effort when it really counts. But my days, what an absolute champion athlete he is. And I wonder if this man for the big moments thing is why he doesn’t really want to play Championship cricket any more, as it just doesn’t get the juices flowing for him, so isn’t really an effective warmup, even when it looks to us like it would be useful. Because he needs extreme pressure to be able to fully switch on.”
Michael Vaughan was like that, I think – once he played Tests, he found it hard to get up for County.
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“Sisu is Finnish for Stokes,” advises Charlie Tinsley. “Look at the poster.”
29th over: India 95-7 (Jadeja 12, Reddy 3) Target 193 Stokes does indeed give Archer another over, the last before drinks, and his second delivery is far too good for Jadeja, beating edge and off-stump by the thickness of a blue rizla. Jadeja, though, won’t panic; he’s still there, knows batting will get easier, and will absolutely back himself to be the hero here. After seeing away five dots, he dabs to short midwicket, Woakes is on to it … and misfields, though I don’t think the run out was on. That’s drinks, at the end of a fantastic first hour for England.
“There’s no sound in sport like the applause that greets every single (and soon, every dot) in a situation like this, says Gary Naylor. “Try explaining that to anyone not born with this game in their blood.”
Agree – I actually wrote something (partly) about the joy of cricket noises…
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28th over: India 94-7 (Jadeja 11, Reddy 3) Target 193 Stokes hurtles in again, Jadeja turning his second delivery away for one, the runs required is now into double figures. Four dots follow, and I wonder if we’re in the middle of one of those Stokes super-spells, where he bowls until the pitch can’t take any more.
“There’s a word in Finnish for what you are describing, approximately,” says Stephen Wale of Mark’s recent email. It is ‘sisu’.
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27th over: India 93-7 (Jadeja 10, Reddy 3) Target 193 Reddy takes one then Archer contacts the pad with one intended to move away that just goes on; he appeals, but it was going down. Meantime, Broad notes that every appeal creates energy, giving the impression that it’s all going your way; he really was a master at managing the environment. Archer, meanwhile, sends down another dot, then flings in a bouncer; it goes for five wides, but also reminds the batters that he can hit a pace that’s too hot for them. A leg bye completes the over, and that’s four Archer’s bowled now – but I bet Stokes is tempted to give him one more. Seven off the over, only one off the bat.
“This is electric,” writes Guy Hornsby. “And I couldn’t be happier for anyone than Jofra Archer. For everything he’s been through, and his longest of long roads back, to see him bowling as he always has and really showing what makes him so hard to face is beautiful. Even if this is as good as it gets, he’s going to have this. It’ll never be that ‘what if?’ he’s had over him for so long. I can’t think of anyone that’s had such an impact being out for so long and coming back so well. It is the stuff of fairytales. Be still my beating heart.”
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26th over: India 86-7 (Jadeja 10, Reddy 2) Target 193 Jadeja, who’ll have to get most of the runs from here, takes one to square leg; meantime, in comms, Broad notes that “part of being a fast bowler is the theatre,” and England have created that this morning. But both men at the crease know how to bat, and also that they’re not sorting this by sticking around and knocking singles; they might wait for the ball to go a bit softer, but if they do, they might find themselves back in the hutch before that happens. Anyhow, Jadeja adds one more, Reddy leaves one that passes his off-bail, just, and another one completes the over.
“Is there a word in the English language to describe the phenomenon of someone’s performance improving as a situation gets more difficult and demanding?” wonders Mark O’Donovan-Wright. “If there isn’t, might I suggest Stokesisation? Stokesian? If they’re too cumbersome, I’m open to other Stokes-based suggestions.”
I think we need a verb not a noun, so “stokesing”?
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25th over: India 82-7 (Jadeja 7, Reddy 0) Target 193 Back over the wicket to the right-hander, Archer, open-chested, welcomes Reddy to the crease with a lifter; the batter does well to sway out of the road, but he won’t have enjoyed it.
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WICKET! Sundar c&b Archer 0 (India 82-7)
YOU CAN BET IT MEANT SOMETHING TO THE BOWLER! Sundar, looking to flick into the on-side, gets a leading edge and Archer, well into his follow-through, leaps right, arm extended, then rolls like he’s in the SAS to make sure he doesn’t spill the ball. That is a fantastic piece of work, and England are all over this! Jofra Archer is back, and what a complete honour it is to type those words! JOFRA ARCHER IS BACK!
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25th over: India 82-6 (Jadeja 8, Sundar 0) Target 193 We credited Stokes for the wicket, but we should also note his call in tossing archer the ball. On the one hand, letting your best and fastest bowler bowl requires no genius, but on the other, he was expensive yesterday after a long time away, so the show of faith was not obvious – and you can bet it meant something to the bowler. YOU CAN BET IT MEANT SOMETHING TO THE BOWLER!
24th over: India 81-6 (Jadeja 7, Sundar 0) Target 193 For perhaps the first time, England are in charge of this match. This first half-hour could scarcely have gone better, and this, my friends, is what life is all about.
WICKET! Rahul lbw b Stokes 39 (India 81-6)
Benjamin Andrew Stokes has done it again! This is a terrific delivery – he gives them all everything but this one he gives everything plus – and the ball jags in, beats the bat, and that is plumb! The description says lbw b Stokes, but it might just as well say personality b Stokes.
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23rd over: India 81-5 (Rahul 39, Jadeja 7) Target 193 Stokes stays around to Jadeja, who knocks his third delivery into the off-side for one and, with Pant gone, England will feel they’ve a little more leeway because runs won’t come as quickly as they would with him at the crease. Anyroad, Stokes tears in again, implores one to nip back, it’s powerless to deny him, he hits the back pad, and he likes it, a lot. The appeal is immense, the umpire says not out, and England review. This is a monumental moment, in the series as well as the match…
“Talk about bad planning,” says Simon McMahon. “Just boarded the bus in Dundee and am now en route to Glasgow with pals David, Louise and Sam to meet up with another pal, Catherine, none of whom are much interested in cricket. I, of course, am glued to the OBO. I told them yesterday that this is what would be happening on the outward journey, so me with my head down, staring at my phone and making all sorts of ooh and aah noises, didn’t alarm them. God knows what the other passengers make of it, though. No need to bring the cairds when you’ve got a result on Day 5 at Lord’s and the OBO to keep you occupied, right? (I’m secretly hoping India are bowled out for 192, Siraj last man out, given on review).”
This is your chance to evangelise.
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23rd over: India 80-5 (Rahul 39, Jadeja 6) Target 193 Archer – who gave Pant something of a send-off, unhappy at being one-handed for four just before the wicket – goes around to Jadeja, beating him outside off with one that lifts appreciably. But he can’t maintain pressure, the batter edging with soft hands and the ball running away for four. Archer isn’t quite as quick as he was on Saturday afternoon, fluctuating just above and just below 90mph, but he’s getting there, and after two more dots, Jadeja turns a single to midwicket.
22nd over: India 75-5 (Rahul 39, Jadeja 1) Target 193 Stokes now has a full over at the new man, making him play twice before allowing him to leave a bumper. One into the pads then allows a leg bye, before Rahul runs down two, reminding us that he could be the decisive figure here. But what will Jadeja make of Jofra? We’re about to find out…
“Maybe we wouldn’t need the bowlers to run through a side for less than 200 if the top order contributes a bit more over six individual innings, and Harry Brook isn’t trying to sweep a seam bowler,” reckons Liam Crowley.
Brook is top of the world rankings. I think he’s doing OK, even if he does sometimes get himself out in maddening ways.
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21st over: India 72-5 (Rahul 37, Jadeja 1) Target 193 Jadeja gets away immediately with a twizzle into the on-side; he’ll fancy himself as the man for this situation.
WICKET! Pant b Archer 9 (India 71-5)
Oh my goodness me! This is an absolute beauty, slanting in, bouncing, and straightening to beat the edge before sending off-stump cartwheeling – a beautiful sight. That is why Stokes trusted Archer; England needed that.
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21st over: India 71-4 (Rahul 37, Pant 9) Target 193 Archer begins on a sixth-stump line, left alone by Rahul, who then squirts a yorker away for one. Oooh, and Pant then decides he’s seen enough, leaping away to leg to one-hand a drive back down the ground for four. It’s amazing, but is it sustainable?
20th over: India 66-4 (Rahul 36, Pant 5) Target 193 Stokes continues as expected and Rahul drives his first ball through cover for two. Two dots follow, then Rahul turns a single to midwicket, bringing Pant on to strike; Stokes decides to go around to the lefty, two further dots complete the over, and India will be satisfied with their start, though Pant does not look at ease.
19th over: India 63-4 (Rahul 33, Pant 5) Target 193 I’d probably have gone for Carse, but it makes sense that it’s Archer: Stokes will feel comfortable relying on him and if he gets it right, he can finish this match, He begins with a yorker – if we’re being generous, if we’re not, he overpitched – and it jars Pant’s injured hand. But he shakes it off then, sent another full one, swinging into the pads, he flicks it around the corner for a four, celebrated with glee by the India fans. Two balls, two poor balls so far … but the third is much more like it, pulled back to be full, and Pant, forced to play, defends; at mid-off, Stokes applauds enthusiastically. Three similar deliveries follow, the pace at which archer is hitting the bat clearly discomfitting the injured Pant.
18th over: India 59-4 (Rahul 33, Pant 1) Pant dabs into the on-side and is off the mark immediately, taking one, then Stokes moves his final delivery away, past Rahul’s outside edge; over bowled. But who will it be from the Pavilion End? Heeeeeere’s Jofra!
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Stokes has the ball; here are two slips and a gully. Play.
Here come our teams; Lord’s looks beautiful, of course it does, and the buzz is immense.
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“Phone set to do not disturb,” says Ian Sergeant.
Diary clear
TMS in the ears
OBO in the eyes.
Let’s go
It does help that I’m currently on a sunbed in Paphos – and my wife and daughter are in the Trudos mountains for the day – but all the same, conversations will be just as sparse if they were here!”
It’s never too early for an ouzo.
Simon Burnton, one of our men on the ground at Lord’s gets in touch: “Confiscated by stewards at the North Gate this morning (photo courtesy of Emma John).”
Thank goodness someone has the bravery and integrity to stand tall in opposition to this sick filth.
Sky are hammering the “8m mark”, the spot on the pitch, especially from the Nursery End which, if you hit it, means trouble for the batters. If Jofra Archer can land the ball there, especially with his suffocating line, he can win this match for England. But he and they won’t have long to get things right – 135 can easily seem too few with Rahul and Pant at the wicket.
Stuart Broad likes Brydon Carse’s passion – when he describes him, he could almost be describing himself, noting that his spell last evening got the crowd going. If he can get lift from the Pavilion End, he can win this match for England.
“If Ben Stokes will be hitherto known as the Thundergod,” says John Starbuck, “(a) is he going to play in drag and (b) which side will be the Midgard Serpent? Also, does his wife have golden hair?”
I can’t say I understand all of this, pardon my ignorance, but hopefully others do.
“You know when you get up at sparrow’s fart to get an early train at 0829 to be sure not to miss a single ball,” begins Kim Thonger, “and then there’s a points failure and you just sit next to a field outside Hitchin watching cows for an hour and finally get to King’s Cross at 1035 and the train staff proudly announce you’re entitled to ‘Delay Repay’ refund like it’s some sort of special honour/treat that’s akin to a Nobel Peace Prize with an MBE attached? That.”
“There appears to be much hand-wringing about this England side’s approach to cricket,” writes Ben Heywood, “a consensus being that they continue to throw away good positions with silly shots. I think this is indisputably true, but most England sides of the past wouldn’t have pulled off a run chase like Headingley in the first place, so I can take the rough with the smooth. What many casual observers seem to be forgetting, however, is that this India side are no 1 in the rankings – it’s no disgrace to go down fighting to what is, on this evidence, a very, very strong line-up that has an all-time God in its bowling ranks. England, in contrast, have a flaky opener, a flaky no 3 and a collection of semi-permanently injured fast-bowlers currently missing their brightest new breakthrough act and their previously most successful seamer (albeit for very different reasons). We also do not have an experienced front-line spinner. I suspect that we, the gen pop, haven’t quite given this India side their due. If the opposition were Australian, expectations would be tempered accordingly. India by four wickets for me, but if Jofra and Brydon can bowl fast, straight and nasty in the first hour, who knows…?”
All batters throw away good positions with silly shots – often the same silly shots that got them into that good position in the first place. I think it’s fair to say England needed to modify their approach a little and I’m glad they have, but I don’t expect the change to be uniform and immediate, nor would I necessarily blame a defeat today on the way they play. Ultimately, though all their bowlers are useful, none are able to run through a side, so taking 20 wickets will always be a performance.
“Wimbledon or Lord’s – the excitement is the same, right?” begins Krishnamoorthy V. “This is a match for India to lose. The problem with such low targets is often mental rather than logic or capability. The total is something that Pant alone can knock off, but throw in a full house, Lord’s, the second-innings score of England, a clever captain and nerves, and it is not as open and shut as it appears. I personally want the Indian team to win as they can close the discussions on Kohli and Sharma forever, but I sense that Stoke’ sleeve could be full of aces.”
The pitch has also started misbehaving. Skiddy bowlers tend to do well at Lord’s, so I agree Stokes, who bowled well last evening, could have a crucial role to play today, but with the ball as much as with his captaincy. I imagine he’ll stay on after completing his unfinished over, and it’ll be Carse from the other end, as Archer looked a bit tired yesterday.
Brydon Carse, who’ll have a big part to play today, tells Mel Jones there’s a big feeling of confidence in the group. Asked about his batting, he says he works really hard at it, and Bashir coming out with a broken hand might make the key difference today.
On his bowling, he explains that there’ve been times across the series when he’s felt in good rhythm, generally when he’s got the ball swinging, and the one they’re using know probably has an hour of hardness left in it.
Mohammed Siraj has been given a demerit point and fined 15% of his match fee for getting into Ben Duckett’s face yesterday. The two brushed shoulders, perhaps accidentally, and I don’t imagine many people watching thought anything other than great stuff, but at the same time, I understand the authorities need to draw a line in the sand, and if it’s there, then that makes some sense even if I’d have given Siraj a bonus.
Something I saw then that I’ve never seen before: the sun moved behind a tiny cloud, the only one in the sky, where it remained for at least 30 seconds, and everyone cheered.
Email! “Watching from California for some early morning excitement,” says Neel Pai. “I notice that Ben Stokes looks like Thor. All his wickets look like a thunderbolt from god. For example, on the final wicket yesterday, the ball to Akash Deep looked like there were sparks flying out of the stumps as it flew out of the ground. I am excited to see what will transpire tomorrow. The match is going to swing based on Stokes’ hammer.”
I was in attendance at HQ on Shabbat – if they’re going to put Lord’s in the eruv, Jews are going to walk to it – and as England were toiling in the morning session, we were discussing how Stokes was going to stokes a breakthrough. Seconds later, he nails that run out – as you say, a total superhero.
So, 135 runs or six wickets? The bookies strongly fancy India, and I guess I’m leaning that way too – if England can break the Rahul/Pant partnership quickly, they’ve a serious sniff, but without a bowler able to run through a side, the likelihood is that the tourists finagle the runs they need to take a lead that looked extremely unlikely after Headingley.
Preamble
The feeling is all too familiar. We wake up, feel disoriented as our brain chugs into some sort of action, we realise it’s Monday morning, feel a way, and then … the tingle?
Ah, the tingle: the leaping and soaring inside our hearts and heads which reminds us that something is happening. And something is really happening.
It takes a few seconds to discern what, but we’re into stride pretty quickly – yes, by our lowly standards – because we’ve experienced this same sensation twice in the last few weeks. The pangs of excitement, of wonder, of progress and of distraction, encouraging us to dream, hope and feel; England and India are looking after us.
And, at some point today, one of the two will take a well-deserved lead in a series that is maturing and intensifying into a classic. If we’ve a dog in the fight we’ll have strong opinions about which of the two that should be, but regardless of how it shakes out, we’ll always have the tingle – and really, that’s more than enough.
Play: 11am BST
