Vic Marks's match report
Updated
Here’s that last wicket!
ENGLAND WIN!
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 20, 2020
A spectacular rebound catch from Pope at short leg off Bess wraps up a 113-run win for hosts as they make it 1-1 in #raisethebat Test series with one to play 🏴🏝️
📺 #ENGvWI reaction 👉 https://t.co/aWQlSAraao
📰 Live blog 👉 https://t.co/ym1nmXaa8M pic.twitter.com/QARrjb25Hz
The captains are speaking to Michael Atherton as the groundstaff haul the covers over the Old Trafford pitch.
Holder is disappointed, thinks West Indies cricket yesterday let themselves down. A combination of good bowling and bad batting, too many of their batters got caught on the crease. A few things to ponder over the next few days. In the short term they need to show a little bit more grit to get over challenging spells. No regrets about his decision at the toss- give Stokes and Sibley credit.
Root thinks it was a brilliant week’s cricket. England are beginning to bat longer in their first innings. High praise for Sibley, he does just what they ask, bat time, and also for Stokes who can go through the gears and leads the way in many respects and seems to want to keep getting better and better. Great for the young guys to see that, that you have to put the hard yards in. Stuart Broad put in a brilliant performance, feels like he has a lot of cricket to play ahead of him. A challenge to pick the team for the next Test which is a fantastic place to be, going to be an interesting selection.
Stokes: Man of the match. He is fine, body starting to get quite stiff, asked Broady mid-over and he said just stop, so he did. He doesn’t feel over-bowled, we’ve found a method within our attack to change things up when they get a bit dry. Once you get over 5/6 over mark you feel as fresh as anything (!). Contrasting innings - last night and this morning was pretty simple. I texted Neil Fairbrother and said I bet when you first saw me you never thought I’d last 300 balls. Praise for the bowlers. A real positive move to mix up the batting order.
Thanks for all the emails, sorry I couldn’t use them all and see you on Friday for the grand finale of the Wisden Trophy!
England beat West Indies by 113 runs and level the series 1-1
With just less than an hour to go, England pull it out of the bag! On top since Stuart Broad’s inspired spell yesterday afternoon with the new ball, fired up by attacking second innings batting and then a fizzing group bowling performance. Sharp catching, a stodgy yet vital hundred from Sibley, and inspiration yet again from that man Stokes with 176, 78 and three wickets. Disappointment for West Indies, who weren’t able to hold on, despite a day of rain. All set up for a tense series-decider at Old Trafford later this week.
WICKET! Roach c Pope b Bess 5 (West Indies 198 all out
A fabulous catch by Pope at short leg who fumbles the first attempt then springs to his left to catch the rebound with the outstretched fingers of his right hand.
Updated
70th over: West Indies 198-9 (Roach 5, Gabriel 0) 15 overs remaining. Root swings through a quick over and we enter the last hour. The players take drinks. Not too long for England to wait now. Surely. And something to suck on for the last hurrah, an email from Rob Smyth. “If England wrap this up, Sam Curran will have won 13 of his 18 Tests.” He goes on, “One comparison: Gatting won 15 out of 79.”
69th over: West Indies 198-9 (Roach 5, Gabriel 0) 17 overs remain. A short leg, silly point and slip for Bess as he wheels in against Roach. Roach dabs away, then swings for four off the last ball.
Stat- attack from TMS: Stokes has become the sixth player in Test history to make 250 runs and take three wickets.
68th over: West Indies 194-9 (Roach 1, Gabriel 0) 18 overs remain. Gabriel survives four balls from Stokes - his grin beaming through his grill - when Stokes beckons for Root and says he can’t continue bowling. He stays on the pitch but Root finishes off his over.
67th over: West Indies 194-9 (Roach 1, Gabriel 0) 19 overs remain. Gabriel drags himself to the crease and stands at the non-striker’s end as Roach sees off a Bess over.
66th over: West Indies 192-9 (Roach 1, Gabriel 0) Stokes. Of course!
“So, it looks like the Hairband Quartet might be bowling England to a rather famous victory,” writes Avitaj Mitra. “Would be interested to know of band names inspired by cricket/cricketers. Could the OBO community help?”
It is a great question Avitaj, though I think we may have to carry it over to the next Test...
WICKET! Joseph c Bess b Stokes 7
Joseph eyes up a half volley, flies at it, and it is snaffled double-handed in the gully by Bess at head height ! England are in touching distance!
65th over: West Indies 190-8 (Roach 1, Joseph 7) 20 overs remaining. An eventful over from Bess - two reviews against Joseph. The first is an LBW given not out by the umpire, but Root erroneously reviews; the second is a catch to short leg given out by the umpires but this time Joseph reviews - the ball missed the bat by a dog’s breakfast, and the lbw, which is also checked, is not out too. Everyone moves on.
64th over: West Indies 189-8 (Roach 1, Joseph 5) 21 overs remaining. A simply delicious straight drive from Joseph off Stokes for four!
Mention of permitted use of sweat to help polish the ball makes me wonder if any account has been taken of how much salt is transferred to the ball? writes John Starbuck. After a few score overs it would probably weight the ball a little more and produce more variation. Has anyone got any ideas about this, or the physics of the matter?
63rd over: West Indies 184-8 (Roach 1, Joseph 0) 22 overs remaining. A tremendous wicket for Bess! And a strange flush of blood from Holder who drove Bess deliciously through the covers, carted him for six and then was done-for by the spin out of the rough.
WICKET! Holder b Bess 35
A cracking ball by Bess, super length, it pitches in the rough and slides through a gulf between bat and pad to knock out Holder’s middle stump! Great retort by Bess who two balls earlier had been smashed for six.
Updated
62nd over: West Indies 173-7 (Roach 1, Holder 25) 23 overs remaining. Stokes is hauled back into the attack by his starting-to-sweat captain, but can’t break through with his first over of this spell.
Updated
61st over: West Indies 170-7 (Roach 1, Holder 22) Bess is the man, and he runs through an innocuous-ish over which Roach motions through
Much OBO love for Chris Woakes:
David Murray: If there was any justice in this world Woakes would be first name on the teamsheet. However, I’m concerned that his excellent batting form has suffered recently, probably from being repeatedly dropped and having to worry about his bowling. I hope this recovers because he’s our best batsman after Stokes and Root.
Tom Booth: My only concern about Woakes is that he won’t get the number of Tests hisability and attitude deserves. I started hearing murmurings about how goodhe was more than ten years ago, and all this times later he’s 31 with only 34 Tests behind him. It seems remarkable that a player with his average and strike rate in England - better than any current player but Archer -isn’t an automatic pick in all home Tests. And while I get why that is,since England is currently overflowing with bowling talent, it still seemsdesperately unfair.
Updated
60th over: West Indies 170-7 (Roach 0, Holder 17) Holder pulls Curran towards fine leg for four. Tasty! They nudge a couple more. And we’re down to a minimum of 25 overs remaining. Who will Root take a punt on next?
59th over: West Indies 164-7 (Roach 0, Holder 17) Roach survives a tight Broad over. Incidentally, I think there is a foot of height between Roach (5 7) and Holder.
58th over: West Indies 164-7 (Roach 0, Holder 17) Curran wipes his sweaty forehead and polishes the ball with the residue (permitted) and scampers in. Holder treats him with due diligence - and long levers - and pushes back.
“Like one of your other readers I’ve spent the afternoon struggling to stay awake.,” writes Michael Robinson. “However I seem to keep waking up as we take wickets! Should I set an alarm every 10 minutes to see us home? Beautiful piece of bowing just now from little Sammy Curran.”
I like your optimism Michael! It might also be a solution to the numb bum syndrome that often affects OBO-ers.
57th over: West Indies 164-7 (Roach 0, Holder 17) Holder suffers a rush of blood, nearly run out twice after taking an ambitious two to keep the strike and later being sent back by Roach. Time for some deep breaths for the West Indies captain.
56th over: West Indies 161-7 (Roach 0, Holder 14) They took drinks after that wicket and before the last ball. A game-changing wicket for England, that super innings by Brooks ending ultimately in disappointment. England are down to the tail!
29 overs to go. With 5 overs potentially with the new ball.
Updated
WICKET! Brooks lbw Curran 62
Trapped on the knee by the great partnership-breaker! A slow trudge home by Brooks who doesn’t review.
Updated
55th over: West Indies 161-6 (Brooks 62, Holder 14) Two fours by Holder off Broad’s over, neither too displeasing to the bowler. A thick edge past slip and a looser inside edge slicing 45 degrees from the bat, zipping past the stumps, down to the boundary. Steady now Jason.
Chris Woakes has caught Tom Bowtell’s eye:
I like Woakes a lot. He is definitively steady in both stats and demeanour. He just became the 16th English player to reach the 1000 runs/100 wicket double (https://tinyurl.com/y6ka66yv) and here are his positions compared to the rest of the pack.
Batting: 8th out of 16 (a solid 26.15)
Bowling: 8th out of 16 (a solid 30.09)
Bat - Bowl Average: 8th of 16 (a solid -3.93)
All hail Woakes, the 8th greatest all-rounder in English Test history.
54th over: West Indies 153-6 (Brooks 62, Holder 6) Woakes is whipped off, Curran scurries to his bowling mark. His hair doesn’t behave quite as well as, say, Woakes - immaculate beehive behind the alice band - or Stokes - surely a secret hairspray fan. It flies over his headband into his eyes as he slides the ball in. Brooks squeezes a couple through cover. And time ticks on.
53rd over: West Indies 151-6 (Brooks 60, Holder 6) Broad again. He slides a couple past the prodding Holder’s bat but he survives.
Adrian Gentry has been studying the OBO in far too much detail: “Over 45 the letter A is strangely in bold for no discernable reason.Over 49 the same happened with the letter i. Is this the robot correspondent behind the OBO becoming sentient and trying to reach out for help?”
52nd over: West Indies 150-6 (Brooks 60, Holder 5) Woakes tests Brooks who shows impressive patience, content to knock it about unfruitfully.
51st over: West Indies 150-6 (Brooks 60, Holder 5) And Root does ring the changes. Broad is thrown the ball at the James Anderson end. He adjusts his thick white bandana and starts that loping, rhythmic run. The short stuff disappears and he’s on a length immediately. An edge off Brook’s bat slides past second slip to the boundary. Soft hands so it flies low, though not without danger.
John writes to the OBO from a bobbing boat - how perfectly delightful!
@tjaldred looking for the last few WI wickets. Like them, we all at sea. Enjoying the OBO updates from on @guardian whilst bobbing along the Sussex coast. pic.twitter.com/zM08bXDdJV
— ? (@thisisjohnroach) July 20, 2020
50th over: West Indies 144-6 (Brooks 54, Holder 5) And another maiden passes. I feel Holder has infinite patience, but how about Brooks?
Iain McKane is impressed: “Just got in after a day volunteering on a farm for disabled people, on the slopes of the North Downs. Thoroughly satisfying after helping to dig up the BIGGEST burdock plant in the known world (probably). Almost as satisfying, for their fans, as England’s position either side of tea. Really liking the look of young Brooks for the West Indies. It seems he could go far....” As far as the end of the day?
49th over: West Indies 144-6 (Brooks 54, Holder 5) Brooks v Stokes: stalemate. Maybe time to ring the changes? Approaching mammoth 11- over spell from Stokes again, especially when banging nearly every ball short into the pitch.
48th over: West Indies 144-6 (Brooks 54, Holder 5) Fascinating comparison made by Ebony Rainford-Brent on Sky comparing how Brooks and Hashim Amla play, the flurry and the ease. Just one off Woakes’ over. A minimum of 37 overs left.
For more on the postponed men’s T20 World Cup, see here:
47th over: West Indies 143-6 (Brooks 53, Holder 5) Bowling short at Jason Holder who looks down from 6 foot six is quite the effort. Of course Ben Stokes is up to it. Holder nearly falls for the trap, turning the ball off his hip just a stretch short of a prowling Root at leg-gully who collects it on the bounce. A maiden.
46th over: West Indies 143-6 (Brooks 53, Holder 5) And another maiden, this time from Woakes. And a thought-provoking stat from Ali Martin - is it that Woakes is forever under-rated? Perhaps, his niceness works against him?
100 Test wickets for Chris Woakes ... and in his 34th Test.
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) July 20, 2020
Now has 100 wickets and 1,000-plus runs. By way of comparison, it took Jason Holder 39 Tests to reach this mark, Andrew Flintoff 43, Ben Stokes 43, Garry Sobers 48...
45th over: West Indies 143-6 (Brooks 53, Holder 5) The number one and number two allrounders in the world face-off for a maiden. The floodlights are on at Old Trafford though possibly not elsewhere in northern Europe if two correspondents in their deckchairs are to be believed.
Bill Hargreaves, “All across the land, keyboard warriors wait with baited... well, keyboards.I just popped for a snooze in the garden, here in South County Dublin; I come back to the desk and Blackwood’s out. The reason I’m writing in, is that I can be sponsored to take more shuteye, if it is for the greater good.”
And Gary Naylor
Hi @tjaldred.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) July 20, 2020
I swallowed my fear of becoming the father in The Corrections and bought a chair to sit in my front yard (no back garden) and watch the cricket.
My beloved Tooting street is like Mr Benn's Festive Road (without dinosaurs) so I'm delightfully distracted all day.
44th over: West Indies 143-6 (Brooks 55, Holder 5) Is that curtains for West Indies? Probably, though that personification of calmness, Jason Holder, leans into his second ball from Woakes and clips him off his toes for four to get off the mark.
Also more thank yous to Darren Howells in the USA and David in Macau who sends this https://youtu.be/RBbnRTbbEdQ
Updated
WICKET! Dowrich lbw Woakes 0
Given out on the field - and looks out - but Dowrich choses to review. The ball brushes the very edge of his pad and would have kissed the edge of leg stump - umpire’s call. And that’s Woakes’ 100th Test wicket!
Updated
43 overs: West Indies 137-5 (Brooks 52, Dowrich 0 ) Dowrich receives two balls of Stokes’s short stuff to finish the unfinished over before tea.
After a disappointing search of the kitchen cupboards, I return with four cream crackers. But there is better news for Justin, thanks to you ever-reliable lot.
From Martin, and Arabella and Simon in Luxembourg and Tom Paternoster-Howe: “Justin Horton should download the BBC sports app and then open the match page and click on “Natural Sounds”. Certainly works here in The Netherlands.If he’s at a desktop PC, then go via the BBC sports webpage & choose natural sounds.”
https://www.bbc.com/sport/live/cricket/51415608
And the players are out on the field for this the final session...
TEA West Indies 137-5 (Target 312, minimum overs 41.2)
42.4 overs: West Indies 137-5 (Brooks 52 ) What a match, what a day Stokes is having! He’d already sprinted to the boundary off the first ball of his eighth over as Blackwood sent the ball spinning to the mid-off boundary. His fourth ball was short and Blackwood at last fell just on the dot of tea after a plucky fight. What a last session lies in store! Back in five with a cup of tea.
Also, can anyone help?
@tjaldred Hi Tanya, sitting here in Spain I would really love to be listening to TMS as well as following the OBO. Do any of your correspondents have the YouTube link, and for that matter know how to reliably locate it each day so we don't have to ask?
— The Justin Horton Show (@ejhchess) July 20, 2020
WICKET! Blackwood c Buttler b Stokes 55
The breakthrough! A snifter up the mid-rift which Blackwood smears round the corner into the diving gloves of Butter, who had run 4 metres to his left.
Updated
42nd over: West Indies 133-4 (Brooks 52, Blackwood 50) Brooks leapfrogs to his fifty with a plucky straight six off Bess that flies over the head of a leaping Woakes at long on - 96 balls, 2 sixes, three fours. The two West Indians, Brooks several inches taller than Blackwood, chew the fat with satisfaction.
41st over: West Indies 124-4 (Brooks 44, Blackwood 50) Brooks survives an over of (mostly) chin music from Stokes, tipping a couple off the last ball. The two B’s playing with great aplomb this afternoon.
40th over: West Indies 122-4 (Brooks 42, Blackwood 50) And Blackwood moves to his second fifty of the series - well played!
Also, good news for Women’s World Cup:
The Men's T20 WC has been officially postponed, but the ICC have said that they remain hopeful that the Women's World Cup in New Zealand next February/ March can still go ahead as planned.
— CRICKETher 🏏 (@crickether) July 20, 2020
39th over: West Indies 119-4 (Brooks 40, Blackwood 49)A bullish Stokes maiden. A minimum 46 overs left in the day.
An email from Ian Forth. Mention of Woakes’ niceness propelled me to compose a Nice XI. I’ve asked Rahul Dravid to open - he’s so nice, I’m sure he won’t mind. And there’s a surfeit of captains, but I’m sure they can come to a gentlemanly consensus:-
Fleming
Dravid
Amla
Williamson
Laxman
Misbah-ul-Haq
Gilchrist
Moeen Ali
Woakes
Holder
Harris
That’s good! Off the top of my head, how about Learie Constantine for consideration? There must be plenty of worthy candidates.
38th over: West Indies 119-4 (Brooks 40, Blackwood 49) Brooks absolutely tucks into Bess, extravagantly cover-driving him for four before lifting a slightly short one high, higher, ruler-straight and soaring for six.
37th over: West Indies 108-4 (Brooks 30, Blackwood 48) Every other ball from Stokes is nasty, brutish and short: Blackwood flaps at the last one, wasping it just short of a leg gullyish area.
A timely email arrives. “It doesn’t look as Blackwood is going to die wondering. writes Colum Fordham.“In a sense, I think West Indies’ best chance is to be cautiously aggressive in order to put the England field back. Just trying to hold on isn’t going to work.I hope Bess gets a decent spell but Broad does look like the potential match-winner today. It all makes for a good finish to the fifth day.”
36th over: West Indies 103-4 (Brooks 27, Blackwood 46) Just a couple off Bess. England have successfully slowed the scoring here, which has no real meaning in terms of runs as West Indies are unlikely to win from here, but will frustrate the batsmen. Can they ride their bubbling impatience?
35th over: West Indies 101-4 (Brooks 25, Blackwood 45) Talking of fielding, Root shuffles the pack for short pitch bowling - a thirdish man, a wideish slip -and Stokes obliges from the James Anderson end. Blackwood inelegantly ends up on the floor trying to avoid a brute.
Breaking news: The men’s ICC T20 World Cup that was due to be held in Australia this autumn has been officially postponed.
34th over: West Indies 100-4 (Brooks 25, Blackwood 45) A Bess maiden, tighter lines.
“Afternoon, Tanya,” writes Phil Sawyer. “In the interests of brevity, ‘grizzled Old Trafford skies’ may be just as accurately summed up as ‘Old Trafford skies’. Even on a sunny day, they always have a touch of the grizzled.”
Ah yes, though there is a the moment a keyhole of blue to my left through which the sun is illuminating the dust on the floorboards in quite an unfair way.
33rd over: West Indies 100-4 (Brooks 25, Blackwood 45) Blackwood brings up the 100 with a smooth push off Stokes through the covers for three. Windies looking fairly comfortable at the moment
A fielding query from Don Pepperell
“Given the fact that Jimmy Anderson yesterday said their first aim was to keep a lid on the run rate and with the bowlers aiming at top of off or 4th stump, why a deep fine leg (for the bad ball) and a gap in the slip cordon with no third man.”
“I’m guessing they would have been able to enforce the follow-on if they’d cut off the runs to third man early on. Root seems to have an ideological dislike of the third man yet so many runs go there with leg side fielders not in the game for the most part. Give them a tempting gap at extra cover but don’t reward thick edges with fours.”
The lack of third man has the power to infuriates many. I’m not young enough or theoretical enough to know why third man might have fallen out of favour, but I’m sure there are OBO out there with theories...
32nd over: West Indies 97-4 (Brooks 23, Blackwood 38) Three more off Bess’s over - Windies comfortably picking up 2/3 an over here, which probably means nothing. Incidentally the best current English bowler with the old ball (40 plus) is... Jofra Archer.
Updated
31st over: West Indies 94-4 (Brooks 23, Blackwood 38) The sun comes out and Stokes runs in. Ooof! Blackwood is beaten by a beauty that skims past his outside edge. The ball is now reaching early middle age - think less calamitous hemlines and more expensive hair.
Hello, writes Rubin Ghimire. Hi Rubin!
Still can’t believe cricket is back. It’s almost rebellious.
Is that’s cricket’s epitaph? Almost Rebellious.
Minimum 54 overs remain.
30th over: West Indies 91-4 (Brooks 23, Blackwood 38) Target 307 Bess, bowling with confidence, delivers one just on the right spot and Brooks leans forward awkwardly and plays low, just avoiding playing on.
29th over: West Indies 90-4 (Brooks 23, Blackwood 37) Target 308 Stokes it is, bowling in a short sleeved jumper and a fistful of brylcream. Very King of the Jungle. He sends down two trundling deliveries then Brooks is tempted by one that whispers past the outside edge.
28th over: West Indies 88-4 (Brooks 21, Blackwood 37) Target 310 Thanks Adam, enjoy the garden! Bess resumes under grizzled Old Trafford skies and, with a hoe to leg, Blackwood bring up this fifty partnership from 73 balls - he has made 37 of them. Down at first slip Stokes starts rotating his shoulders and gardening his shoelaces.
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27th over: West Indies 86-4 (Brooks 21, Blackwood 35) Target 312 Oooh, Chris Woakes, ever so close again to Test wicket number 100 when beating the outside edge of Blackwood with an absolute beauty. This is the big wicket. But the No6 is still going at everything he believes he can score off, this time leaning back to place an uppercut over gully for his seventh boundary. That’s a joyous shot; complete confidence. And that, my friends, is drinks. I’ll now hand the baton over to Tanya Aldred who will take this Test Match through to its end. Thanks for your company over the last couple of days - it’s been fun. Do drop Tanya a line. Bye for now!
“Surely Jim Cooper (14.39) is wrong,” Good time for me to be logging off the OBO, I suspect! “The UK has 4 parliaments. Westminster, The Scottish Parliament, The Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly. Yours in pedantry, Jon Narbett.”
26th over: West Indies 79-4 (Brooks 19, Blackwood 31) Target 312 Shot! Blackwood might be on one here! And if he is, well, all four results remain on the table. Sure, he’ll have to bat all day to make that so, but he did it last week and is looking spectacular. This drive off Bess is timed and placed to perfection through cover.
25th over: West Indies 74-4 (Brooks 19, Blackwood 26) Target 312 Woakes thinks he has clipped Brooks’ glove, taken by Buttler, but the decision from Richard Illingworth goes against him. They decide not to review but the replay hints as though a glove was tickled. Yup - watching Ultraedge, that did hit his glove.
“Very interested in your discussion about bowlers who have averaged more than 5 wickets in a Test match over the course of their careers.” emails Matthew Bailey. “I’d like to mention a cricketer who gets discussed a lot less than his talents and achievements deserve, namely, Richard Hadlee of New Zealand. Not only did he average more than 5 wickets in a match - 431 from 86 matches - but he also averaged 27.5 with the bat. I bet not many others can say the same.”
There was a great video posted earlier today capturing all of Hadlee’s 33 wickets against Australia in 1985-86 that you will enjoy. It’s a work of art.
24th over: West Indies 72-4 (Brooks 17, Blackwood 26) Target 312 Bess gets his first chance. It’s always an important day for a young spinner when trying to bowl a team out on the final day - those elevated expectations. It took Nathan Lyon a good four years to come to terms with this and he now has 390 Test wickets. So, I caution this, as Bess begins his work. Of course, Blackwood goes at him right away, taking a couple behind point when he’s a bit too short then leaping onto the front foot when he over-corrects with a ball that’s too full, crashing him through cover for four.
23rd over: West Indies 65-4 (Brooks 16, Blackwood 20) Target 312 Woakes to Brooks, who clips three through midwicket as Blackwood did in his previous set. In theory, the Windies need about four an over to win and have added 39 in the last ten.
A good technical point from Jim Cooper. “To be even more strictly honest, Australia and the UK both have more than one parliament (3 for the UK, 8 for Australia, although the NT one doesn’t have many powers). The NT also has a police force, even though it’s not a state. And Australia has about 1/3 of the population, of course.” Two parliamentary chambers in five of the six states, too. Only one in Queensland, of course, abolishing their upper house in 1922.
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22nd over: West Indies 62-4 (Brooks 13, Blackwood 20) Target 312 Blackwood wants another piece of Curran, seeing the length he needs to slam him over point. Nothing wrong with that. Adding two more past midwicket, he’s into the 20s from 21 balls.
“For those who love neatness,” writes Paul Haynes, “the great Sydney Barnes took 189 wickets in his 27 test matches – so exactly seven wickets a match.” Always the outlier! In terms of those who went on to hit 300, Romeo directed me to this.
21st over: West Indies 56-4 (Brooks 13, Blackwood 14) Target 312 Woakes follows Broad and is straight back on his spot, landing them into a shoebox at Blackwood. The No6 has good enough wrists to turn the strike over from a ball on middle stump, taken to midwicket. Brooks defends the rest. All the love for Broad but don’t forget Woakes - he’s has bowled so well.
“Great OBO!” Cheers, Steve in Germany. “Why don’t we drop Broad every other match and play for draws, then reinstate him to win all the other alternates?”
Here we go, now we’re thinking. I want Anderson and Broad to play at least one Test Match together this summer. Maybe the first against Pakistan?
Stuart Broad in Tests at home, percentage wickets LBW + Bowled:
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) July 20, 2020
Until end of 2017 - 33%
Since start of 2018 - 58%#ENGvWI
20th over: West Indies 55-4 (Brooks 13, Blackwood 13) Target 312 Slammin’ Sammy C to go again at Brooks and the Windies No5 shows commendable patience by leaving alone what is coming his way on the angle across his body. Maiden.
Nicholas Walmsley wants in on the wickets-per-match measure we were discussing before the lunch interval. “The first name that popped into my mind was Fred Trueman: 67 tests (out of a possible 118) between his debut in 1952 and his final test in 1965. 307 test wickets at an average of 21.57, with 5w/innings 17 times and 10w/match twice. Broad, in a similar timeframe (2006–present) has played 138 tests, taken 485 wickets at 28.5, 5w/innings 17 times and 10w/match once. Much as I love Anderson and Broad, Fiery Fred is in a league of his own, and probably would’ve been the first bowler to reach 400 test wickets but for the selectors.”
Woakes replaces Broad, who has taken 6 for 28 since removing Brooks last night. Decent retort to being left out at Southampton.
— Lawrence Booth (@the_topspin) July 20, 2020
19th over: West Indies 55-4 (Brooks 13, Blackwood 13) Target 312 Stuart, you rascal. In at Blackwood, he’s celebrappealing for one that has taken a big inside edge on the way through. No review there. He’s up again later in the set, one that is going down leg. I suspect after ten overs that might be the end of his spell. Brilliant, though.
“Afternoon Adam my dear chap.” And to you, Kim Thonger. “It really shouldn’t be a surprise that we’ve had more cricket captains and players in the U.K. than the Australians, because it’s symptomatic of our general approach to almost everything. Take MPs for example. 650 in U.K. and only 151 members of the Australian House of Representatives. Or police forces, one per state in Oz, plus a federal force. 43 police forces in the U.K. If there’s a way to prevaricate, dither, bureaucratise or overman something we will find it. I imagine a careful statistical analysis would show that we have a superfluity of cooks and bottle washers too, preparing bijou snackettes for the tea intervals. Grrrr.”
To be fair, Australia should have more than 150 members in the Reps (with the Senate diluted; what a madhouse it has become) but that’s for another day!
18th over: West Indies 54-4 (Brooks 12, Blackwood 13) Target 312 Oh Jermaine! If you are him, and you can play the way he can, I suppose your attitude would be to clock three boundaries in an over upon arriving with your team in big strife? The first of those, to be fair, he might have been trying to leave? Or maybe it was an uppercut? With this man, I suspect it was the latter. Later in the over, a full toss means one thing: a lofted drive, past mid-off (where he was caught twice last week) for four more. Then to complete the over of 12, a pristine cover drive. Never change.
17th over: West Indies 42-4 (Brooks 12, Blackwood 1) Target 312 Blackwood is off the pair, with a single off Broad to mid-on. Brooks ignores the temptation to have a pop this time around, happy to remain in his defensive posture for the rest of it.
“A key reason is the early days of Test Cricket,” Alex Brown says in response to the question of why there are so many England Test players. “Up until the First World War grounds bid for matches (like today), but to get the crowds in would select local stars to bring the crowds in. So teams would change through-out the summer. Also until the last few decades, England toured a lot more than Australia to the newer Test Match countries. And tour teams wouldn’t include many obvious regulars. Finally the amateur game meant many players were very part time. It just wasn’t that big an honour to play for your country more than a few times.”
Ah yes, that first point makes a lot of sense. Until the 1899 Ashes series, the host county board selected the entire England XI. A nice quirk of the early-Test era.
One from Anthony Farmer, who has been backing Disco Stu all morning. “Told you! Broad’s got the battle fever.”
16th over: West Indies 41-4 (Brooks 12, Blackwood 0) Watching the DRS projection of the Broad wicket, Chase made the right decision not to review as that was hitting off-stump. Perfect from Broad. Curran’s turn, the man who picked up two wickets in the first dig. Despite the match situation, Brooks doesn’t have any concerns taking on the width, square driving his second boundary.
“Regarding Paul Collins question about 5 wickets a match,” says Avitaj Mitra. “I can only think of 2 bowlers with that sort of record: (minimum of 80 matches). Muralidharan- 800 wickets in 133 matches (6 wickets a match, quite astonishing really). Dale Steyn- 439 wickets in 87 matches, if my memory is correct. (So just above 5 a match). McGrath actually is at 563 wickets at 124 matches. (So, 4.6 a match). I’d say 4 wickets a match is a reasonable expectation for a front line bowler.
Anything above 4.5 and you are pretty much a ‘great’.”
WICKET! Chase lbw b Broad 6 (West Indies 37-4)
Chase leaves the wrong one and Broad is celebrappealing all the way to a third wicket! No review required for that one. His tough stay comes to an end.
15th over: West Indies 37-4 (Brooks 8)
Updated
14th over: West Indies 31-3 (Brooks 7, Chase 1) Chase is off the mark and that’s not for nothing given how tough his first stretch at the crease has been, beaten on both edges a number of times. Woakes nearly nicks him off again early in this over before the No5 gets a gentler offering to flick for a single behind square. Relief.
Chris Woakes' bowling average in England is just 22.86. He's been consistently excellent in home conditions across his career, and has bowled extremely well in this Test. #ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/lahvs2pQMk
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) July 20, 2020
13th over: West Indies 30-3 (Brooks 7, Chase 0) Broad is back and dangerous right away, tempting Brooks into a looooose drive outside the off-stump. I know his game isn’t built on footwork, but still, that’s not the shot for now. Broad brings his length back just a touch from there, the batsman defending from the crease, then getting under a sharpish bouncer to complete a maiden. Pressure building again already.
Some replies over the lunch break about why England have had so many more players than Australia. Tom Paternoster-Howe to go first: “It’s pretty simple to explain why England have had far more captains and players than Oz, having played similar numbers of tests over the same time period: it’s because we keep on losing. If England won as often as Australia, then the selectors wouldn’t feel the need to keep changing the team.”
Seems to add up. Adam from Stockport builds on that. “England have played 190 odd matches more than Australia. Combine that with the shambles that was the England selection process in the 90’s.” I hope this is satisfactory, Digvijay Yadav!
12th over: West Indies 30-3 (Brooks 7, Chase 0) Woakes continues, and after taking a look for a few balls, Brooks does much as he did yesterday, leaping into a square drive. It wasn’t the most convincing stroke, one hand off the bat when contact is made, but it spits away for a boundary nevertheless. When I logged off the OBO yesterday, I thought he was going to crack on and make a ton. Maybe today...
“Glued to the screen for Woakes to get his hundredth wicket,” writes Gareth Fitzgerald. “There isn’t a nicer or lower maintenance cricketer on the planet! I always wonder if the low-maintenance thing makes him easier to drop.”
I’m also looking forward to this. Inside the dressing room, they sure know his value. I remember well the abuse he copped in some quarters when recalled in 2016.
“Afternoon Adam.” Hello, Avitaj Mitra. “I think we can all agree now (absolutely without question) that leaving Stuart Broad out of the 11 in the first test was a terrible decision?(Rotation excuses notwithstanding) Also, any thoughts about what should be England’s bowling attack for the 3rd test?”
For mine, it wasn’t that he was rotated, it was the rationale for leaving him out (more pace) that didn’t quite tally in Southampton. In any case, I’ll be surprised he’s on the teamsheet on Friday - remember, back-to-back Tests and they are going to be bowling deep into this afternoon. I reckon they’ll do a straight swap again.
Paul Collins, also on Disco Stu. “I know 5w innings and 10w matches have always been the benchmarks for bowlers. But to measure consistency 5w matches would appear a great way to judge the overall long-term effectiveness of a bowler, since to average 5w per match over a career would put any bowler in elite company. Glenn McGrath ALWAYS seemed to get 5 wickets in matches, minimum. Broad and Anderson, in recent years, have been every bit as consistent. Who are the top bowlers all-time are in this respect and how the top modern bowlers match up?”
I’ll take a look at that later on today but my expectation is that for Broad his per-test numbers have improved dramatically since 2014, perhaps each year since?
Let’s do a few Jos emails in one go. Stephen Brown, you’re first. “I think we need to talk about Jos. He was given a chance yesterday, and didn’t take it. Given how well Stokes did this morning and how much Jos really needed the runs to prove his worth, he must really be feeling bad. But in addition, in the modern game, the keeper should play a key role in deciding when to review. And he didn’t help Root much in the dismissal in the first over. Surely now is the time to give Foakes a shot to show he can do it long term rather than just filling in when Jos and Bairstow are out of action?”
Geoff Wignall: “Hello once again. Surely it’s all quite simple with cause for contention or muddle notably absent.Jos Buttler is an astonishing and delightful cricketer whom it’s a rare pleasure to see in the England side.And the wicketkeeper/ batsman in the test team should be Ben Foakes (Sarah Taylor being ineligible).”
Some balance from William Lane: “I’m not having any of this nonsense about Buttler’s place in the team. His first innings 40 has gone relatively unnoticed but it was a proper test match innings, losing his wicket when needing to accelerate. Another score like that in the next test and surely he has done more than enough to keep his place?”
There are other emails, but that’s indicative. My own view, to repeat an earlier post, lines up with Will. Buttler batted well in the first dig and was on a hiding to nothing yesterday. The good news for Jos fans is that it is very unlikely that those making decisions will be even thinking about yesterday’s duck when weighing it up.
92 runs in 11 overs with the bat, three wickets in 11 overs with the ball. Joe Root couldn’t have asked for much more than that when play resumed at 11am. The West Indies really did drop their bundle in the field, the low point when Campbell put Stokes down in the second over of the morning. It set the tone for a tough over. In reply, their top order has been no match for two classy quicks bowling beautifully.
But as we saw last Sunday, this doesn’t yet mean game over. Sure, 74 overs is a long time to hang around, but far from insurmountable once the ball isn’t so new. Dom Bess will still need to bowl well over a long period of time, to build pressure if nothing else. A message that Jason Holder will ram home at lunch, no doubt.
LUNCH! West Indies 25-3
11th over: West Indies 25-3 (Brooks 2, Chase 0) NOT OUT! Missing leg stump. England lose their referral. And that’s LUNCH; Chase makes it to the break.
A REVIEW ON THE CUSP OF LUNCH! Broad thinks he has Chase leg before. It looked legside live but up we go. Stand by.
10th over: West Indies 24-3 (Brooks 1, Chase 0) Ooh, Woakes goes so close to making it 23/4 with Chase hanging the bat at another beauty. Brooks gave him the strike, off the mark with a single around the corner. I have a lot of emails sacking Jos Buttler, which is a bit strange given England are currently powering towards what might be a brilliant victory in the circumstances. Make of that what you will.
And here’s Broad’s second wicket. Leg’s pumping - you know the rest. He will get one more look in the final over before the lunch interval.
Wonderful from Broad.#ENGvWIpic.twitter.com/xFEZt1svyX
— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) July 20, 2020
9th over: West Indies 23-3 (Brooks 0, Chase 0) Three down, two West Indies batsmen who haven’t yet faced a ball, seven minutes until the lunch break. Eeek. What a run the hosts have been on since about 4pm yesterday when it was 242-4.
Here is the second of those wickets, Woakes’ ball to remove Brathwaite. A gem.
YESSSS wizard @chriswoakes! 🧙♂️
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 20, 2020
Live Scorecard & Videos ➡️ https://t.co/Jr8JJyRQaw#ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/jjuU7Izhll
WICKET! Hope b Broad 7 (West Indies 23-3)
Back through the gate! Off-stump out of the ground. The West Indies are reeling.
Updated
8th over: West Indies 19-2 (Hope 3) That was also the final ball of the Woakes over. Shaping in then jagging back as he did with that final ball. Absolutely spo ton.
One for us to consider at the lunch break, again from Digvijay Yadav: “A question I’ve always wanted to ask, that is also apropos of the discussion on Sky. Why have England had more players and captains (697 and 80) than Australia (450ish and 45) in the same time period?”
And Adam Hirst is sacking Jos for his non-appeal in the first over: “So even when he makes a straightforward catch, Buttler doesn’t behave like a wicketkeeper should. He’ll still get another test but he shouldn’t.” The dividing line of English cricket!
WICKET! Brathwaite lbw b Woakes 12 (West Indies 19-2)
That’s a BIG moment! Brathwaite is trapped on the back knee-roll by Woakes! He doesn’t review when given out on the field. Fantastic bowling.
Updated
7th over: West Indies 17-1 (Brathwaite 11, Hope 2) Broad beats Hope just outside the off-stump. He might have pulled his bat inside the line at the last minute - either way, fine bowling. As it is later in the set when beating him on the inside edge, the leg before shout from behind the wicket turned down on the basis of height. Even Broad didn’t fancy a review. About five overs left until the lunch break.
“One thing I haven’t seen mentioned yet today is Root’s declaration against this team at Headingley in 2017,” writes Ian Forth. “As a reminder both Brathwaite and Hope scored big hundreds at a rate that would be enough to win them this game. It didn’t matter how many times you suggested to Churchill he should invade Europe further east in 1944, the memory of Gallipoli ensured it was never going to happen.”
You might be right. I nearly put this into the preamble earlier on but took it out - my (deleted) point was that I hope that wasn’t an input to his decision today. Totally different game and series situation. Maybe two overs too many? But still, not bad.
6th over: West Indies 17-1 (Brathwaite 11, Hope 2) Hope tucks Woakes away for one early in the over. Brathwaite is solid in defence, his soft hands a feature as they were yesterday when wearing down the England quicks. Or so it appeared.
“Test cricket in England has grown an affinity towards the remarkable over the past few years,” writes OBO regular Abhijato Sensarma. “The India series as well as the Ashes weaved fantastic narratives, and now, cricket’s comeback series has ushered in its own significant tales. The first match was a pure joy to watch. This second one has been more of a bore at times, but this final day has threatened to usurp the finish of the series opener. A superhuman Ben Stokes assault, a dodgy declaration, now a first innings wicket… Scenes!” Yep, a daily joy at this time of year.
5th over: West Indies 16-1 (Brathwaite 11, Hope 1) Back to back maidens, Broad digging into the channel outside the off-stump at Brathwaite. Good contest. And lucky for the opener that’s where he’s aiming as one of them ran along the ground.
“He reviewed it after the time had elapsed,” insists Digvijay Yadav of Root’s review. “The umpire didn’t have the guts to point it out to him. I can’t be convinced otherwise.” I took it on face value that he made it in time. But is noteworthy how often it comes down to a spilt second. They might have to automate the process.
4th over: West Indies 16-1 (Brathwaite 11, Hope 1) Woakes bowls a beauty to Hope, angling in; nipping away. Unplayable for the No3. He’s very lucky not to nick it. It punctuates a probing maiden from the man who picked up three wickets yesterday.
“Almost perfection, Adam.” Nice energy, William Hargreaves. “Final day, midsummer sunshine, working from home, Guardian OBO, all’s right with the world. Thanks for the great commentary. Really means something.”
Very kind - thanks for being part of it. I look forward to joining you in the garden to follow the second half of the day on the OBO when Tanya takes over.
3rd over: West Indies 16-1 (Brathwaite 11, Hope 1) Brathwaite again, leaning into a Broad half-volley, putting it away with superb timing through cover. Sky reports that the stroke takes him beyond 10,000 First Class runs. I remember covering a Test in Hobart in 2015 where he made a ton that came within a couple of percentage points of bettering The Bannerman. That is, the highest percentage of an innings for a single player out of a completed innings (all wickets taken). Charles Bannerman’s effort in the first innings of Test cricket in 1877 (165 ouf of 244) remains the best.
2nd over: West Indies 11-1 (Brathwaite 7, Hope 0) Woakes gets the treatment from Brathwaite first up, playing a shot that Joe Root is famous for: punching from high on the balls of his feet; top of the bounce. Delightful. He’s had a good tour. It takes the seamer a few balls to find his length, Brathwaite defending well too. Has he got a full day at the crease in him? It looked that way for a time yesterday.
1st over: West Indies 7-1 (Brathwaite 3, Hope 0) It was runs to begin, Brathwaite off the mark first ball with a tuck off his pads then Campbell hammering a bold square drive through point for four. But he got ahead of himself, playing the next ball when he didn’t need to, losing his wicket as a consequence.
“In the eighteenth over when Roach dived to stop a shot and England were awarded two runs it should have been given as four as the boundary ‘rope’ moved when Roach had the ball in his hand,” insists Steve Ditchburn. “And Joe Root has no courage, two or three overs too many for a team who absolutely have to win.”
Quite useful timing on this email, in the end. But a taste of what is to come for Joe Root if England don’t end up claiming ten wickets by the end of today. Tough gig.
How good was this from @benstokes38 this morning!? 😍
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 20, 2020
Scorecard/Clips: https://t.co/HsfMRu9cip#ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/vUrn4YHSlL
WICKET! Campbell c Buttler b Broad 4 (West Indies 7-1)
He sure has! What a review from Root! With half a second to go, despite no appeal from Buttler, the England skipper has made a big call and it has come off. Broad gets an immediate breakthrough for the hosts. Nine to go.
Updated
ROOT REVIEWS! Has Campbell edged Broad? The bowler wants another look!
Updated
The players are back! Broad has the new ball; headband on. Brathwaite to face the first ball. There are four catchers behind the wicket - love the look of that. PLAY!
Updated
“Big Day for Woakes and Bess,” suggests Digvijay Yadav. “We’ve heard ‘Bess will like it’ in both tests every time Chase has spun it a little.” Yep, a massive task ahead. Athers did a good job looking at his lengths on TV yesterday - tl;dl: he was too full.
“I’ve just seen the score card now for today’s play and noted another Golden Duck,” says Matt CV. “I wonder what the record is for a Test match? Are we getting near it?” One for Andrew Samson. I’ll hit him up at the lunch break - he’s always watching.
And some love from Robert Smithson before we return:
“I can barely put into words how much I love test cricket when it gets like this.
No one knows what the rules are, no-one knows what a safe score is, all four results are technically still possible, and even if it gets tedious in the extreme, it’ll be gripping. Personally, I’m looking forward to some SPECTACULAR time-wasting from Holder and co. Nonsense DRS reviews are just his warm up act. He’s probably going to try and catch any of Bess’ more loopy (trajectory, not sanity) deliveries in his pocket and then look around with a gigantic “oh no, the ball appears to have disappeared!” grin on his face... It’s FANTASTIC.”
Delightful. If all four results are still on the table at tea, I’ll really start swooning.
West Indies neeed 312 to win in 85 overs. Or England ten wickets, depending on your perspective. They piled on 92 runs this morning in 11 overs. Stokes was magnificent, backing up his first innings 176 (and vital 11-over spell with the ball yesterday afternoon) with an unbeaten 78 in 57 balls. What a player. If it comes to that, the home side will get use of a second new ball for five overs, which was so important on Sunday for Broad and Woakes to bust upon the middle order.
ENGLAND DECLARE AT 129-3
19th over: England 129-3 (Stokes 78, Pope 12) Four more, Stokes hacks and nicks Holder through the empty cordon before steering two more a fraction squarer to the sweeper out there. One ball to come, surely the last of the innings? Stokes is on strike. And it is wides! Two of them. Good umpiring to ping Holder for negative bowling there after warning him when sending one that far down leg earlier in the over. Running on Dowrich’s arm, two runs are added and Pope gets to face the final delivery, tipping and running behind square for two. More good batting. And that is it! Root declares! The West Indies are set 312 to win in 85 overs.
“Hi Adam.” Romeo, hello. “Holder wasn’t trying to take time out of the game with that review, he just wanted everyone to see the world’s No. 1 all-rounder hit the
world’s No.2 all-rounder in the goolies in slow motion, several times over.”
I was disappointed we didn’t get the audio commentary from Stokes, like last year.
18th over: England 117-3 (Stokes 70, Pope 10) Excellent batting Ollie Pope, carving Joseph behind point for an elegant boundary to complete an otherwise handy over from Joseph, who of course has played a lot of short-form cricket and has a big bag of tricks. However, it’s not enough to prompt the declaration. They lead by 299.
“Hi again Adam.” Welcome back, Geoff Wignall. “Following on from Gary Naylor’s question-suggestion: long spells from Root and Bess beyond say the 40 over mark, obviously assuming they don’t get tonked, could serve the dual purpose of more time with the new ball and giving the quicks a decent rest beforehand. What time is the scheduled close of play today?”
6:30pm is the scheduled close, with the usual extra half an hour. However, that means nothing on the final day, it is all about minimum overs.
Updated
17th over: England 107-3 (Stokes 68, Pope 2) One final review for Holder to burn and he does so with his second ball to Stokes, confirmed as not out due to an inside edge. And yes, it was also pitching a foot outside leg. Mikey Holding is angry about seeing the system used this way on commentary. Back to the action, can Stokes get another one away before the declaration? Of course he can! He launches the Windies captain over long-off for SIX! His third big one this morning. One delivery left in this Holder over and Stokes deflects four more! That’s such clever batting. 13 off the over, the lead is 289 and... Root hasn’t declared. “He’s a freak,” says Nasser of the Stokes late cut from the final ball, played from helmet-height. Brilliant.
“I’m quite enjoying the weariness and contempt in Richard Kettleborough’s voice as he goes through those preposterous reviews,” writes Thomas Atkins. “Unfailingly by the book, but letting you know precisely what he thinks of the whole business.”
Yes, a very big fan of that too. The tone as he went to ultra edge each time - spot on.
“Hello Adam.” Hi, Abhinav Dutta. “Just rather puzzled by West Indies’ approach. If they had to keep England in check, why not bowl tight lines like they normally would? Even if they don’t get the sixes and fours, Root & Stokes will pick them off one single at a time. Absolutely love Holder to bits, but he has got it wrong IMO.”
A lot easier said than done with Stokes going as well as this.
16th over: England 94-3 (Stokes 57, Pope 0) Another of those time-wasting reviews from Holder, sending Joseph’s first delivery to Stokes off for DRS despite, once again, pitching a couple of feet outside leg. As Nasser points out though, it won’t help too much on the final day when all the overs will need to be bowled. In saying that, bad light could be a factor in that last hour - fun and games! Joseph keeps Stokes quiet until the penultimate delivery when he digs a yorker down the ground for two. Last ball, a full toss well outside off-stump, steered for two more to third man. End of the over, no declaration with the lead now 276.
A very good follow-up from Adam in Stockport, who pondered before play if England could go at a run a ball on a final day pitch. “In light of my previous email and subsequent events, I’d just like to add that I reckon Broad is going to bowl utter pony all day, and that Arsenal have no chance whatsoever of winning the FA cup.”
WICKET! Root run out Dowrich to Joseph to Holder 22. England 90-3
Good skills from the wicketkeeper Dowrich, throwing to the bowler Joseph who in turn flicked the ball on to Holder to get rid of Root, who was taking a bye from the first ball of the new over in order to get Stokes back on strike. Final over?
Updated
15th over: England 90-2 (Stokes 53, Root 22) Well, there is it, the worst DRS referral of all time. Stokes is hit in the box by Holder and the Windies captain decides to send it upstairs. I can see what he’s trying to do, draining some time off the clock. But not long - the ball has pitched, oh, two feet outside leg stump? Another good over for the captain overall though, just four runs added. The lead is 272.
“Something I always wonder about declarations and my cricket ignorance can’t answer,” begins David Gregson. “Instead of declaring, once a team is within a broad target for declaration, why don’t they then just start swinging at everything to get some extra runs, and get all out while doing it in the space of, say, 3 overs? So eg just tell every new batsman going in to swing at everything to get some cheap 4s.”
In theory, sure. But in practice, players who have their eye in are far more likely to score quickly than new batsmen walking out. We see that in T20 quite a bit.
“Morning Adam.” Hello, Simon McMahon. “Drinks on me if we get a tie. Anything you like. I’ll provide the snacks too.” Chips and drinks, yeah!
Stokes to 50!
14th over: England 86-2 (Stokes 52, Root 20) In just 36 balls, Stokes brings up his half-century with a second SIX over long-off this morning! Not quite as sweet as the strike to begin the day, but he’s done enough to clear Jason Holder. Four singles to the sweepers along the way makes ten from the over and the lead 268. Taking two overs out for the changeover, we have 90 overs left in the Test Match.
“Adam baby.” Bobby Wilson, you scoundrel. “Seriously mate, time again for a shout-out to the photo-editor. The cricket pages are always notably well-served but the pretties on the OBO page are usually just startlingly good. Mood-setting, subtle, surprising, pertinent, elegiac or funny, they’re right on the money. Another top-of-the-page beaut today. Good areas.”
Too right. Judging by my browser, it looks like Jonny Weeks is on the tools this morning making the OBO look as good as it can. As always, lovely work.
Updated
13th over: England 76-2 (Stokes 44, Root 18) Whatever the circumstances, Jason Holder does the job his side needs of him. Just five runs here, the lead 258.
Hi @collinsadam. I've been watching cricket for 50 years or so, far too short a period to know the answer to this one.
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) July 20, 2020
If Joe Root bowls ten two minute overs in mid-afternoon and gets the over rate way up, might that "buy" an extra four overs of pace come the second new ball?
This is a fantastic question. Stands to reason, right? You can bowl more than your permitted overs on the final day, as I (tentatively!) understand it.
12th over: England 71-2 (Stokes 41, Root 16) There’s the 50 stand, Stokes picking up a Gabriel full toss down the ground for a couple, then getting off strike with another single in that direction. The sound off the bat is something else, he’s smoking it this morning. Root gives the strike back - that’s good batting. Two balls to go, can he go big again? Not from the penultimate ball he won’t, missing one well outside the off-stump; not through a lack of trying, though - he tried to hit it to Leeds. This is fun. Two to finish, driving a ball from the same line and length through extra cover.
“Morning Adam.” Hello, Brian Withington. “England have plenty already - get off now whilst second new ball is still a credible option. Leaves WI with dilemma of trying to win in 80 overs in order to avoid it.”
The lead is now 253. I’m with you, I’d end this soon. Maybe three or four more.
11th over: England 65-2 (Stokes 36, Root 15) Roach drops a slower ball in at Stokes but it doesn’t matter, the all-rounder seeing it early enough to whack it straight back over his head for four. Stand and deliver. A quick bouncer follows, Stokes getting out of the way just in time and letting out an expletive. Roach goes for another short one but this time it bounces too high, called a wide. Singles to both men complete the over - nine from it. They’ve put on 48 from 42 balls.
“The only sniff I remember Mark Taylor declarations giving was of Aussie boot grinding us into the dust,” recalls Matt Tom. There was plenty of that, too!
10th over: England 56-2 (Stokes 30, Root 13) Gabriel to Root, taking one to backward point, which becomes two after an overthrow. From the fourth ball, he gets Stokes back on strike via a single to third man. He has two deliveries to look at with rain starting to fall. They are staying on for now. STOKES DROPPED! Oh, what a bad miss. He tries to again go over long-off but miscues it badly, and Campbell coming in off the rope - who has plenty of time - has grassed it. It’s not over the top to suggest that the error might add overs to the Windies’ task of saving this game.
Updated
9th over: England 51-2 (Stokes 29, Root 9) Stokes is straight into it, slapping the first ball of the day out to deep point for one. There are six men inside the equivalent of the fielding circle for Root but all set a fair way back, none in catching positions. He grabs one to fine leg. Stokes again, who hammers a shorter ball through extra cover for four. Cop that. And he goes again, for SIX! Down the track, a fuller delivery, a big wind up and what a sound as he makes contact! It has gone 20 rows back over long-off. Huge. A couple more into the gap at long-off to finish making 14 from the over. Magnificent batting from the vice-captain, extending England’s lead to 233.
“Good morning Adam.” Hi, Geoff Wignall. “I can’t help but agree that it’d have been better for England to have begun in mid-ODI innings mode, rather than the ‘T20 final over’ approach. But setting that aside, even if the plan was to blaze away wouldn’t Buttler have benefited from taking one or two balls as sighters? Or go full-on radical with his technique and at least try to get in line? And I like Buttler.”
Yep, it didn’t look good. But when you’re sent out and asked to swing from ball one, that’s the way it goes sometimes. Unfortunate but not unexpected. (I like him too)
Updated
The players are on the field! The floodlights are on at Old Trafford as Kemar Roach walks to the top of his mark. Stokes is on strike. England’s lead is 219. PLAY!
Updated
On weather, an email from Charles Sheldrick. “Greetings from the Bunker. Which genius at the ECB decided to try play back to back tests in Manchester, bound to lose one to the weather? Yes I know the stats say it does not rain more than anywhere else….. blah blah. It is a lovely sunny day in the SW, only saying, Coopers Associates County Ground would not be a bad place to play cricket today.”
Unfortunately, Taunton doesn’t have a hotel! Remember, that’s why Southampton and Manchester were selected for this summer’s internationals.
“A lot of talk about the WI side retaining the Wisden Trophy with a draw,” says Martin Laidler. “I thought only the Ashes was a trophy that was worthy of retaining i.e. at the expense of a series win. Isn’t a series win more important?”
For this developing West Indies side, retaining a trophy away from home will mean quite a bit. Another step in becoming a serious power again, over time.
The covers are off! Great timing: play is scheduled to resume in eight minutes.
We have a winner #EngvWI pic.twitter.com/9XgWOyxaGR
— Vithushan Ehantharajah (@Vitu_E) July 20, 2020
“Hi Adam.” G’day, Peter Salmon. “No webinar for me like Stephen Brown. Instead I’ll be flipping between the game and copy-editing a journal article on ‘Acquiring allophonic structure and phonetic detail in a bilingual community’, in particular that of Bangladeshi children. I have no idea either. But before all of that shall we get the Buttler chat done before game time? I remember last test we said that he never got to bat at a stage in the innings that would suit his skills. This test he has come in at 5/352 and scratched around for 40, and 0/0 and made a duck. Not possible to think of better conditions, surely? He has to go I think. Right then, back to Sylheti-English bilinguals.”
Thought he batted well in the first dig and was on a hiding to nothing last night. He plays again next week, for mine. But there’s no denying the building pressure.
Love to see Numberwang getting a run out in the OBO today @collinsadam. Can the Windies turn it around and Wanganum England today? #ENGvsWI #OBO
— Robert Hortle (@RLHortle) July 20, 2020
“Morning Adam, so good to have cricket, OBO and your good self all back.” Most kind, Andy. Great to be back. “Two questions. Let’s do it. 1) Was Stuart Broad being honest with the press last night? I have a nagging word that he knows Root’s thoughts are to get to a slightly silly target like 4 runs an over before declaring and was trying to cajole a different narrative into play. 2) We’ve had a deeply unpleasant few months with COVID related nonsense in our house. One of the minor issues that is raised is that I’m way behind on The Final Word - I’ve not even finished the first lockdown episode. Thankfully recoveries are progressing sufficiently that I can now start catching up. The big question is do I listen to all of them, and not catch up for ages, or just start with the beginning of this series?”
Interesting observation on Disco Stu but he and Root are thick as thieves, so I’m sure he will be heavily involved in the declaration decision. As for The Final Word, if you go through the lockdown eps you are going to hear from Nasser Hussain, Mark Nicholas, Isa Guha, Ian Smith, Harsha Bhogle and Kate Cross. Tuck in, I say.
“Don’t think the Windies can, or would want to chase, the total England set.” Digvijay Yadav, I tend to agree. Retaining the trophy away from home would be a fine achievement for Jason Holder. Why risk it? “And England would want two new balls. So expect harakiri in the first half an hour. Also, as a aside Adam, is it true that Mark Taylor used to dangle the carrot as captain or is that just urban myth?”
I do wonder how the scorecards would marry up with my childhood memories? It felt at the time as though an opposing team was always chasing about 250 on the final day and Australia would bowl them out to win. But it probably wasn’t like that.
Thanks to the emailers who picked up on the typo in the preamble. It happens.
Bad news. The hover cover is on.
Eeeeesh hover cover coming on at OT. Bit of something in the air. And it’s not an incredible general 😰#EngvWI pic.twitter.com/cfPpzhYRS4
— Vithushan Ehantharajah (@Vitu_E) July 20, 2020
“A run a ball, on this pitch?” Adam from Stockport reckons that’ll be tough going for England this morning. “I mean sure, I like a bit of optimism but holy smokes; huge ask. I send this in the hope I put a positive jinx on proceedings.”
Totally with you on the pitch - it won’t be pretty. But, with the field out, they should be able to milk that without doing anything too crazy? We’ll see. I think the mistake they made last night was attacking the boundary from the get-go, thus the Buttler dismissal. In hindsight, the better play was middle-overs-ODI mode.
“Morning Adam.” And to you, Stephen Brown. “I’m excited. This is not going to be a productive day for me as I follow along with you and the training webinar I shall have to sit through just after lunch is not going to teach me as much as it should. Hopefully the exciting finishes to the matches in this series, and indeed a fair few of the recent tests England have been involved in have put the idea of 4-day tests out of the ECBs minds. What odds that the pandemic also makes them realise that Test is Best and they should be nurturing the county game more and we can sack off the daft Hundred idea as well? Here’s hoping from a bright and cheery Milton Keynes.”
Yes, these first two Tests have been a timely reminder that five-day Test cricket isn’t so bad. As I’ve argued elsewhere, and on OBOs during the South African series earlier this year when the debate fired up, I see a place for four-day Tests but not at the expense of five-day fixtures. As the great meme goes, why don’t we have both?
“Morning Adam!” Hello, Sam Rhodes. “What an exciting day ahead. I’m mostly just upset I got yesterday’s prediction wrong by an hour or so... I guess the biggest question now is will England leave all four results on the table while pushing for a win? I think Root would get much more stick for playing it too safe and running out of time than taking a risk and losing, but English declarations always seem to err on the conservative side.”
This is the theme of the early correspondence - concern that England will leave it too long. Jack Pitt-Brooke adds on twitter: “Getting to complain about the timing of England’s declaration twice in one Test match - we are truly blessed mate!”
I was all in on the tie at Southampton last week, only to be let down by Jermaine Blackwood’s worldly. Advance warning: if England do get frisky with their declaration and the Windies start positively, I’ll be back pumping it up again.
Will England get chance to use the second new ball? pic.twitter.com/vpnIA4QEUY
— Ben Jones (@benjonescricket) July 20, 2020
It’s cloudy in Manchester. Quelle surprise.
They’ve dropped Fleetwood Mac first up at Old Trafford. Going to be a good day pic.twitter.com/qkmX43RfjE
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) July 20, 2020
Welcome to the final day at Old Trafford!
Remember when it was raining a couple of days ago and any meaningful chance of a result seemed washed away too? Or, at 199-3 and 242-4 yesterday afternoon when the contest was drifting by the hour? Add ‘how quickly things can change’ to the lists of reasons why our game, and this format, cannot be matched. As a consequence of eight wickets in the final session - even after the West Indies passed the follow-on mark - we still have a serious finish on our hands. What a treat.
When England resume their second innings at 37-2, neither of those numbers on the scoreboard will matter much to Joe Root - who is currently not out alongside his vice-captain (and first innings century-maker), Ben Stokes. Instead, they’ll only be taking note of the lead - currently 219 - and how many of the 98 overs remain in the match. A declaration loses them two of those, so we have a 96-over game today.
How to set it up? There are a few factors for Joe Root to consider. One, whether he gives the West Indies a sniff. Given England are one-nil down in this series, the skipper can’t be sheepish about this. Yes, there are World Test Championship points that will be lost if the were to lose instead of draw, but forget about that - they want to regain the trophy. Risking a loss in order to increase the chance of winning is essential.
What about a second new ball? If England want one late on the final day - and why wouldn’t they after seeing what happened with it yesterday afternoon - then they can’t bat for too long this morning. Perhaps ten overs? That was Michael Vaughan’s view last night. That allows 86 overs to bowl the Windies out, six of those with the second new ball if required and, whisper it, bad light doesn’t intervene.
That being the case, assuming they can go at about a run a ball through those ten overs (remember, this isn’t one-day cricket with fielders up; boundaries will be difficult to come by) then 270 feels like it could be Numberwang. Do the visitors then go and chase it? I mean, they might - and good on them if they do. But a draw is enough for them to retain the trophy, and not a bad outcome at all after two days in the dirt to begin this Test Match, conceding 469 in the first innings.
So for the second week in a row, we have plenty to look forward to on day five. And as always, I’m looking forward to your company throughout. Email, tweet, MSN Messenger? I have them all open. Hit me with your hottest of takes.
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