And here is Ali Martin’s report on a memorable first day of the series.
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Joe Root is giving an interview, yet again. “Lovely night out with the lads last night,” he says, “Ben [Stokes] said some nice words.” Asked about the pitch, he says “it played a lot better than it looked, quite an ugly one. Bounce, a little bit of reverse, really good Indian attack, so it’s important that we make the best of it tomorrow.” That may depend on Ben Stokes and Ollie Pope, and whether they can stay in while scraping off the rust.
Root is the third Englishman ever to make a hundred in his hundredth Test, joining Colin Cowdrey and Alec Stewart. Cowdrey did it at the age of 35, Stewart at 37. Root has only just turned 30. He is playing some lovely tunes and has entered what Smash Hits magazine would have called “his imperial phase”. It will be fascinating to see if he can keep it up. Thanks for your company, sorry not to get through all the emails, and we’ll see you tomorrow for the next episode of The Root Show.
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After all that, you’re probably expecting a match report. And here it is. Warning: it contains the words “wonderful” and “masterful” in the same sentence. And fair enough: Root, on this tour, is making his way through the thesaurus.
The day has belonged to Joe Root, and to Channel 4, who will surely have racked up some handy ratings. And there’s a lot more to come on the telly, as Paul MacInnes reports.
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Close: England 263-3 (Root 128 not out)
And that is that. So the day ends on a sorrowful note for England, but let’s not allow it to take anything away from Joe Root, who has been superhuman on this tour. When he made 228 and 186 in Sri Lanka, it was ravenous batting against a middling attack. Today, he found another level to go up to by adding 128, unbeaten, in his hundredth Test, against Bumrah, Ashwin and Ishant. After spending the whole week talking the talk, he has walked the walk. And on terrestrial TV too. As Alastair Cook says on Channel 4, it’s been “an absolutely brilliant innings”.
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Wicket!! Sibley LBW b Bumrah 87 (England 263-3)
Yes, slamming into leg stump. A great delivery, and a sad moment for Sibley, but he did so well. He gave his all, faced 286 balls, and played his part in a partnership of exactly 200.
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Wicket!? Sibley given LBW b Bumrah 87 (England 263-3)
A superb yorker! This looks out, and is given, but they’re reviewing – might as well...
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89th over: England 263-2 (Sibley 87, Root 128) A single to each batsman off Ashwin, and that’s the 200 partnership off 62.4 overs. It’s been slow, then quick, then measured. And magnificent.
88th over: England 261-2 (Sibley 86, Root 127) Bumrah was just changing ends. He gets some lovely lift outside off, but Sibley was never planning to play a shot. He just wants to bat through the day: that hundred can wait.
87th over: England 261-2 (Sibley 86, Root 127) Bumrah, despite beating Root twice in two balls, is taken off, to make way for Ashwin. He gets a moral victory too, luring Root into a thick outside edge, but it just trickles away for a single. These two batsmen have now quadrupled the score. And Root celebrates with a six! A slog-sweep, crisply done, although the effort lands him on the deck with another bout of cramp. Stuart Broad trots out with some kind of energy drink, and no doubt berates his captain for leaving him out on a pitch that’s giving the seamers some help.
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86th over: England 251-2 (Sibley 85, Root 118) Root, facing Ishant, is still up to playing his favourite shot, the unforced force into the covers, though it only brings a single this time.
“Aside Root’s serene majesty,” says Guy Hornsby, “we should also delight in Sibley’s obduracy here too. He had an absolute mare in Galle and rode his luck last dip but he’s been chanceless here, and has really moved well and been rock solid. It’s vital, given how big we’ll need to go here.” Rock-solid, that’s his game.
85th over: England 250-2 (Sibley 85, Root 117) Root has cramp, understandably – he has said that he used to cramp up on getting to 80 in Asian Tests, so this is progress. He plays a pull at Bumrah, gets a thick bottom edge and jogs a single to bring up the 250. Five overs to get through before he has a well-earned bath.
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84th over: England 249-2 (Sibley 85, Root 116) Sharma to Sibley, which means quite a lot of shouldering arms. There was a danger today that thousands of kids would taste Test cricket for the first time and find that the main ingredient was Sibley leaving the ball. Root’s hundred has made sure there’s something to get excited about instead. And there’s time, just, for Sibley to join him, although he’s probably not remotely fussed.
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83rd over: England 249-2 (Sibley 85, Root 116) Back comes Bumrah, and Root, light on his feet, goes deep in the crease to deflect for two. Bumrah finds his radar, gets one to hold its line outside off and beats Root, which is no mean feat at the moment. And then he does it again, with a carbon copy. He could easily have four for 39 by now, rather than just the one.
82nd over: England 247-2 (Sibley 85, Root 114) Now Kohli does take the new ball, so perhaps he agrees that it was crazy not to. He hands it to Ishant, who immediately finds some tasty outswing, adding to the feeling that Jimmy Anderson could have some fun here. Root ignores that first outswinger but creams the next one through the covers. Old ball, new ball, seeing it like a football. There’s only one slip and a gully, so even if he does nick it, he may well get away with it.
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81st over: England 242-2 (Sibley 85, Root 109) So the new ball is due – and Kohli doesn’t take it. This is either madness or genius. Ashwin, to be fair, finds some lavish turn, though the ball merely misses Sibley’s inside edge and goes for four leg byes. There have been 57 runs off the last ten overs. John Jervis (55th over), your dream is in danger of coming true.
80th over: England 235-2 (Sibley 83, Root 108) Channel 4 are showing the highlights of a memorable innings, but Root is busy adding another one – an off-drive off the off-spinner, Sundar, which, as Mark Butcher says, anyone else would have played to mid-on with the spin. Root has 37 off his last 31 deliveries, and that’s been against a soft old ball. The new one could go either way.
“England captain @root66 healthily distracting kids from homeschooling everywhere in the UK,” says Alison Mitchell on Twitter. “in his 100th Test, and in India to boot. It’s an education of its own.”
79th over: England 228-2 (Sibley 83, Root 101) Kohli brings back Ashwin, presumably for one over before the new ball. It almost works as Sibley goes down the track and gets in a tangle, but the appeal is stifled.
In case you’ve just joined us, here are Root’s scores in the first innings of his three Tests this year: 228, 186, 101 not out. All in Asia, all in the heat, all as captain. Stunning stuff.
A hundred for Root! In his hundredth!!
78th over: England 227-2 (Sibley 83, Root 100) Root drives Sundar down the ground – but there’s a fine diving stop and he only gets one, to go to 99. The good piece of fielding is followed by a bad one as Sibley sweeps and Gill lets it through his hands, and legs: a double nutmeg. Sibley calmly gives the strike back to Root, who flicks to leg to reach a hundred in his hundredth Test – and his third in three Tests this year. He takes his helmet off, gives Sibley an illicit hug, and smiles that boyish smile of his, as well he may. Say what you like about lockdown, it has landed England’s best batsman in the form of his life.
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77th over: England 218-2 (Sibley 76, Root 98) There’s a little corner of Sibley’s psyche that doesn’t entirely fancy this sidekick role. He cuts Shahbaz for four, then tries again, but finds the man at extra-cover. He has 12 off the last ten overs, to Root’s 34.
76th over: England 214-2 (Sibley 72, Root 98) Sibley, not to be totally outshone, sweeps Sundar for four, meeting the ball almost as crisply as Root. Then he misses another sweep, prompting an appeal and a brief conference, but they don’t review because the ball pitched outside leg because Sundar is coming round the wicket. Reviewing is one of two things India have done conspicuously well today, along with keeping up the over-rate.
75th over: England 209-2 (Sibley 67, Root 98) Root plays a late cut off Shahbaz – so late that it could almost be a UK government response to the coronavirus. Except that it’s beautiful.
74th over: England 205-2 (Sibley 67, Root 94) Sibley brings up the 200 with a flick off Sundar, but he’s just the sidekick now. The star turn is Root, who threads it through the on side for four more, to go into the nineties. And that’s drinks, with Root in full flow and England (whisper it) on top. That said, the new ball is half an hour away, and it will only take a couple of nicks to even things up.
Here’s Mike Jakeman, picking up on 9:01. “The madness in Madras Simon Wilde referred to also saw Kiran Nair make 303*,” he notes. “Has any Test triple-centurion gone on to play fewer matches than his six?” The answer, it seems, is no. But Nair is young enough to come again.
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73rd over: England 199-2 (Sibley 66, Root 89) Root switches his hands round and plays a superb reverse sweep for four. Shahbaz responds by going over the wicket and bowling into the rough. It’s the first day of the series and Root has already turned Kohli into Nasser Hussain in 2002, desperately ordering Ashley Giles to wheel away outside leg to keep Sachin Tendulkar quiet.
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72nd over: England 188-2 (Sibley 65, Root 80) A few singles off Washington Sundar, whose bowling has not been half as impressive as his name. He and Shahbaz, on this evidence, are much the same as Jack Leach and Dom Bess, and some way behind Ravi Ashwin. But it is only the first day of the match.
71st over: England 185-2 (Sibley 64, Root 78) Root plays his tenth sweep, off Shahbaz, and miscues for the first time, but gets away with it as his top edge comes down in no-man’s-land at deep midwicket. Irritated with himself, he nails the next sweep, picks up four in the same direction, and passes 500 runs in Tests this winter. His scores have been 228, 1, 186, 11 and 78 not out: an extraordinary Joe, flowing like The Don.
70th over: England 178-2 (Sibley 64, Root 71) Root puts on his dancing shoes and meets a ball from Sundar on the half-volley, but only gets a single. A caption tells us that he’s played the sweep shot nine times, connecting with every one, and making 16 runs.
69th over: England 177-2 (Sibley 64, Root 70) For his other young spinner, Shahbaz, Kohli tries a pair of silly mid-offs, standing next to each other like kids in the Under-9s. In an ideal world, one of them would be making a daisy chain.
68th over: England 177-2 (Sibley 64, Root 70) England have now seen off Bumrah too. Kohli brings back Washington Sundar, and Root sweeps his first ball for four to overtake Sibley. The gauntlet has been thrown down. Sundar has a leg slip and a silly square leg as Butcher calls it, but they’re not going to stop the sweep, which Root plays again, for two more.
67th over: England 171-2 (Sibley 64, Root 64) Root sweeps Shahbaz to draw level again. Sure enough, Sibley darts out of his crease, but succeeds only in turning a length ball into a yorker, which he digs out.
“Dom Sibley and Joe Root were both teenage prodigies,” says Gary Naylor on Twitter, “but the transition to full potential has been different – and we can see it right here, right now. A crisis for Sibley threatened his career; a crisis for Root threatened his conversion rate. It takes all kinds.” A semi-colon and a quote from Fatboy Slim, all in one tweet.
66th over: England 170-2 (Sibley 64, Root 63) Bumrah tries the yorker again, but Root is equal to it. It’s followed by a bouncer, and he copes with that too, playing a careful pull for two, though there’s an inside edge a minute later. Mark Butcher is on commentary, trying to explain the World Test Championship scenario, messing it up, and doing it with such good humour that you don’t mind at all. He’s one of the best TV commentators in England, third only to Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain.
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65th over: England 167-2 (Sibley 64, Root 60) Great psychology from Root, drawing level with Sibley, who wants to keep his nose in front. He goes down the track to Shahbaz not once, not twice, but three times, and the middle one brings an on-drive for four.
“Third time Sibley has faced more than 200 balls,” says Rory Dollard on Twitter. “Both previous times he’s gone past 300, made a ton and England won the game.”
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64th over: England 163-2 (Sibley 60, Root 60) England have again seen off Ishant, who has bowled really well with nothing to show for it but economy (12-2-21-0). Back comes Bumrah, his run ever shorter, his arm ever stiffer, and Root pushes into the covers for four to bring up the hundred partnership. It’s taken 234 balls, and it was just what England needed after losing two wickets for none just before lunch.
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63rd over: England 159-2 (Sibley 60, Root 56) Better from Shahbaz Nadeem, who manages a maiden. Sibley has now faced 206 balls – a double Dentury. Joe Denly, eh, those were the days.
“Now #seashanties are back in again,” says Miranda Jollie, “I am singing Spanish Ladies along to the cricket. ‘From Ishant to Sibley ’tis 35 leagues’.” Ha. And one of those leagues is the IPL, which you won’t find Sibley in any time soon.
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62nd over: England 159-2 (Sibley 60, Root 56) Ishant finds some reverse swing, jagging it back into Root, who adjusts and tucks a single. These conditions – a slow pitch, but enough movement off the seam and in the air even when the ball is in shreds – are just made for senior seamers. If only England had two of them.
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61st over: England 157-2 (Sibley 59, Root 55) Mildly affronted to find Root catching up with him, Sibley cuts Shahbaz for four. He has faced 195 balls to Root’s 116, which won’t bother him at all. The man is Test-match temperament incarnate.
60th over: England 153-2 (Sibley 55, Root 55) Root brings up the 150 with a measured hook for two off Ishant. It’s a no-ball too, the tenth of the day. Ishant retorts with a leg-cutter that goes past the outside edge, but Root has a riposte too – his signature shot, the back-foot force that’s not forced at all, easing through the covers for two more. It takes him level with Sibley, who had a 25-over head start. Root’s career average against India is 59: Kohli-esque.
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59th over: England 148-2 (Sibley 55, Root 51) Kohli pairs Ishant with Shahbaz Nadeem, the novice slow left-armer, who suffered earlier from being teamed with his fellow rookie, Sundar. But Nadeem still can’t get his length right, and Root cuts for four to reach fifty off 110 balls. Apart from the last over from Ishant, he’s simply maintained his supreme form from Sri Lanka. The question now is, can he get a hundred in his hundredth Test?
58th over: England 141-2 (Sibley 53, Root 46) Intervals do change the mood. Root, so commanding against Ashwin before tea, plays two false shots at Ishant Sharma – a waft that yields only a bottom edge, and a classic nick that drops just short of the wicketkeeper Pant. (It may have been Pant’s own fault for not standing a yard closer: a couple of edges dropped short of slip earlier in the day.) After that double wake-up call, Root plays a better shot, a clip for a single.
“Good tidings,” says Martin Fairhurst. “Hip Hop artists The Beastie Boys once sang on their seminal Ill Communication album in the 1990s:
I kick it root down, I put my root down
So how we gonna’ kick it?
Gonna’ kick it root down
“Is it a prophecy? Is it a sign?
“Or is it a sign I need to be drinking my Yorkshire Tea and consuming my holy trinity of custard creams/bourbons/malted milk biscuits at a less sugar-rushy rate?”
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A word of warning from Simon Wilde of the Sunday Times, biographer of the England team. “England have only done the basics so far in losing two wickets by tea,” he tweets. “At Chennai in 2017, they were three down at tea, spent nearly 160 overs scoring 477 – and still lost by an innings. Root, Stokes and Buttler all played in that game and no doubt remember.”
“Morning Tim!” It’s our Piedmont correspondent, Finbar Ainslow. “Ah Chennai. Amazing place, strange mixture of high tech and ancient temples. There’s a brilliant sari store in the centre ... was wondering if the English team are going to be allowed to go around at all now that things are easing there?” They wish.
“Ball,” says Damian Clarke, picking up on the 56th over. “Yeah, soft, pale, bald, and falling apart at the seams.”
Tea: England can enjoy their cuppa
57th over: England 140-2 (Sibley 53, Root 45) Root sweeps Ashwin again, picks up another single and goes to tea, knowing that England have owned the past hour. These two have added 77, patiently at first, then fluently. Dom Sibley has been about as good as he can be, and Joe Root, in his hundredth Test, is closing in on his thousandth fifty. See you in a quarter of an hour.
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56th over: England 139-2 (Sibley 53, Root 44) Sibley is beaten outside off as Kohli gives Bumrah a break and hands the ball to Ishant Sharma – a ball that is now in a bad state, soft and pale and bald. There may be a few cricket lovers who know how it feels.
55th over: England 138-2 (Sibley 53, Root 44) Oooh. Root sees Ashwin drop slightly short and pulls for four, superbly. Next ball, he’d be expecting something full, but it’s short again, on the off side, and Root dances back to cut for four more. Kohli’s gamble on bringing back his two best bowlers is not going well.
“Woke up,” says John Jervis, “to find that dreams don’t come true. During the night my subconscious had the first day as a barnstorming run fest; India all out for 404 and England in a spot of bother in reply at 104-4. Reassuring to switch on and find England grinding away at a pace that suggests reaching 404 in two days might be touch and go.”
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54th over: England 129-2 (Sibley 52, Root 36) A big appeal for LBW against Root as Bumrah bowls a leg-cutter, pitching (unusually) on leg stump. It hasn’t straightened enough, as Rishabh Pant tells Kohli, so they don’t review. But it’s a clever, classy ploy.
53rd over: England 127-2 (Sibley 51, Root 35) Root sweeps Ashwin for a single, the first time he’s swept him today. Respect.
52nd over: England 126-2 (Sibley 51, Root 34) Bumrah dishes up a slower ball to Sibley, then puts his foot down and bowls a fast yorker, lasering in at the toes, which Sibley does very well to dig out.
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51st over: England 124-2 (Sibley 51, Root 33) Kohli goes all-in, bringing back Ashwin too. Sibley’s not bothered – he rocks back, takes two and reaches fifty off 158 balls. It’s his second Test fifty in a row and quite unlike the previous one, in Sri Lanka. That was ugly; this has gone from watchful to almost handsome.
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50th over: England 122-2 (Sibley 49, Root 33) Kohli, seeing that it’s not working with the two rookie spinners, turns back to Jasprit Bumrah, who finds himself in an unusual position – it’s his first home Test, and yet he’s the main man. Root nicks a single off his loosener, and then Sibley keeps him out for four balls before taking a single himself with a leg glance.
49th over: England 120-2 (Sibley 48, Root 32) Virat Kohli puts himself at backward short-leg for Sundar and thinks he’s got a sniff as Root goes back and inside-edges, but Root plays with soft hands and the ball drops short.
48th over: England 118-2 (Sibley 48, Root 31) There’s a gap at deep square leg, inviting Root to sweep Shahbaz. He accepts the invitation, meets the ball early, sweeps for four and brings up the fifty partnership. He’s in such princely form: I just hope it isn’t wiped out by having to captain in India. And Sibley clips for four again.
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47th over: England 109-2 (Sibley 44, Root 26) More aggression from Sibley, who slog-sweeps Sundar for four. That’s no way to treat a man named Washington.
46th over: England 104-2 (Sibley 40, Root 25) A single to Root, cutting Shahbaz, nearly brings a mix-up as the batsmen disagree over whether to try for a second. Wise decision not to.
45th over: England 103-2 (Sibley 40, Root 24) Three simple singles off Sundar. It’s a different game now, just because Ashwin is having a breather.
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44th over: England 100-2 (Sibley 39, Root 22) Sibley goes down the track! And clips Shahbaz for four, to bring up the hundred. England would surely have settled for this at the start of play.
43rd over: England 96-2 (Sibley 35, Root 22) Root, facing the off-spinner Washington Sundar, plays a textbook reverse-sweep for four. Sundar is so new to Test cricket that he doesn’t have a nickname yet. “Ayyy,” says Pant behind the stumps, “Washington Sundar!”
42nd over: England 92-2 (Sibley 35, Root 18) Shahbaz Nadeem continues with his slow left-arm, and Root late-cuts for a single.
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Thanks Daniel and morning everyone. As Richie Benaud used to say on Channel 4...
41st over: England 91-2 (Sibley 35, Root 17) Right, it’s time. Washington Sundar comes on and this is a release period for England; Root recognises that and flows into a drive for four, then tries to sweep a full one; it doesn’t work, but he imparts poke to ball and they run one; that’s drinks, at the end of a terrific mini-session. Ishant and Ashwin bowled beautifully, but the batsmen saw them off well.
“I’ve discovered a marvellous way to amuse myself when awake in the wee small hours,” emails Kim Thonger. “I read the OBO silently to myself, so as not to wake Mrs T., (and here’s the science bit), in the voice of Johnny Rose from Schitt’s Creek. Oh the joy it brings. This also works well in a Walter Matthau voice, since Eugene Levy is basically his reincarnation. I may try a Kenneth Williams or Mr Spock voice tonight. Variation is important. Got to keep the batsman guessing.”
I like this game. In recent years, I’ve taken to singing in synagogue in the voices of various stars of popular music; Liam Gallagher, Bob Dylan and Thom Yorke when I’m feeling generous, Ian Brown when I’m not.
Anyhow, I’ll leave you all with that lovely thought; here’s Tim de Lisle to caress you through the rest of the day.
40th over: England 86-2 (Sibley 35, Root 12) Nadeem replaces Ishant and I wonder if England will look to milk him; not quite yet. Root plays away five dots, then dabs into the off side and hares away for one, the throw coming in hard and flat but not sharply enough to seriously bother Sibley.
“Morning Daniel, morning everyone,” chirps Guy Hornsby. “This is surreal stuff, seeing cricket back on terrestrial TV. I was 31 last time round, there was no Facebook or Twitter and I still thought I might bowl second change for England. Two of those things have changed. Speaking of TV, I can’t but recommend all your choices from the 30th over. It’s A Sin was heartbreakingly brilliant. I’ve also very much enjoyed The Serpent and The Pembrokeshire Murders on the Beeb and ITV respectively. Both chilling true crime, with the brilliant Tahar Rahim (from A Prophet) and latterly a wizened and sinister Keith Allen. If you wanted a metaphor of what’s changed since 2005, look at Allen’s face as you think of Vindaloo.”
39th over: England 85-2 (Sibley 35, Root 11) England need that, “that” being a booming front-foot drive past mid on for four from Sibley. He’s batting beautifully, he really is – not in an aesthetic sense, but in a focusing every aspect of who he is and what we all are to make the very best of himself sense. Great stuff.
38th over: England 81-2 (Sibley 31, Root 11) Ishant is into this, and a leg-cutter has Root rummaging outside off, playing with half a bat ... but with soft hands too, and the ball drops shy of slip. This is fantastic bowling – he’s found his length now, on about a length to threaten the stumps – and fantastic cricket. India know that they’re on top and if they can convert superiority into scalps, they’re set, while England know that if they can strong-stand, they’ll gradually wrest control. Maiden, the third on the spin.
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37th over: England 81-2 (Sibley 31, Root 11) Things are changing. England were in almost total control through the morning session, but the ball is moving about now and runs are hard to come by. The batsmen need to dig in, because it’ll get easier after tea ... if they can hang about till then. Maiden.
“Good morning from Cameroon!” hollers Anna Halford. “Was able to luxuriate in being one hour ahead and start watching/OBO-ing at the leisurely hour of 5am, but then the dog needed a walk. Went out at 36-0, came back at 67-2. That’s it, he’s not getting a morning walk on match days any more.”
36th over: England 81-2 (Sibley 31, Root 11) Sibley nurdles Ishant off his hip for one – an Ishant no ball, as it turns out – which brings Root onto strike. And have a look! Served a short, wide one, he unloads the syootcase and almost drags on! Oh Joseph! But what’s this?! Ishant pins Root on stumps and pad, eliciting a loud appeal ... but that was high and going down, so they don’t review when the umpire says no.
“TMS’s producer says their audio feed is available ‘overseas’ on the BBC Sport website., informs Smylers. “Your earlier correspondents asking after it may have been hampered by their Cricket Social coverage only starting at 6.30, two-and-a-half hours after play began. Currently I’m sticking with the Channel 4 audio just for the novelty value. In a nice touch, I see they’re following the cricket with an episode of The Simpsons, like in the old days: it was switching on for The Simpsons at 6.00, but finding instead an overrunning Test match, that got me into cricket in the first place.”
Look at that three-act structure! Setup, conflict, resolution right there! If Matt Groening is reading, I think the OBO might just get its own meta episode.
35th over: England 79-2 (Sibley 30, Root 11) Kohli is wise to Sibley now and the field is heavily leg-side, but none of it matters when Ashwin goes around and sends a beauty drifting and ripping away from the outside edge. Suddenly batting looks a touch demanding, so Sibley stretches down the track and half-bats one past short leg; that’s it for the over, and it feels like we’ve entered a passage within a passage within a passage. England badly need to make sense of it.
34th over: England 77-2 (Sibley 29, Root 11) England win the first mini-battle: Bumrah departs without breaking through, bringing Ishant back into the attack. Sibley takes one into the on side – of course he does – the only run off the over. This is fascinating, compelling, revitalising “Test-match cricket”.
“Do the Star Cricket presenters have a dress code?”: wonders Tom van der Gucht. “I’ve just been watching (I think it was Nick Knight) and they were all in matching pastel blue shirts. What’s the Guardian OBO dress code? I always envision you all in a similar way to how IT coding genius mavericks are always portrayed in films - Like Alan Cummings in Goldeneye, Dennis Nedry in Jurassic Park or any of the guys in The Social Network: breezy, relaxed, slightly bohemian...”
Exactly that – I’m in a smoking jacket at the moment. On which point the Star uniform is somewhat twee, but C4 left Alastair Cook to his own devices and he’s come dressed as Hazza Hill.
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33rd over: England 77-2 (Sibley 28, Root 11) Ashwin tosses one out there and Root’s bat follows it as though magnetised ... but not until it’s almost past him, and the pair share a giggle. The next ball is a tester too – Ashwin is thinking his brain off out there, even if he doesn’t have as many MATES as Tim Paine – and this one incites an edge that drops. Maiden, and a very well bowled one too.
32nd over: England 77-2 (Sibley 28, Root 11) Root retreats to flick Bumrah’s first ball away for two through square leg; he’s settling nicely, and though the field is very leggy, he flicks three more through midwicket. He’s such a master of tempo, timing and angle..
“I don’t think I’ve ever been more offended by a shot than the Rory Burns Reverse,” says Tom Stoker.
I think we’re neologising here:
“What do you think about the government?”
“Ach, complete load of roryburnsreverse.”
31st over: England 72-2 (Sibley 28, Root 6) Ashwin is in for a fair old stint here, but Sibley turns him away nicely through square leg and they run two. These are the only runs off the over, and this has been another decent start to a session from England ... and yes, I am rocking and chuckling to myself as I type that.
30th over: England 70-2 (Sibley 26, Root 6) It’s just occurred to me that during the Sri Lanka series, we were swapping telly tips, and I neglected to mention Giri/Haji. It’s on Netflix and if you’ve not seen it, I urge you to get involved. And since then, we’ve been given It’s A Sin, a furious, devastating, heartbreaking portrayal of what it was to be gay and in London during the 80s and the Aids epidemic. Finally, if you’ve not seen I May Destroy You, do not be duped by the Golden Globes; it’s a life-changing piece of work that you must get on as soon as possible. Anyhow, Root plays out this latest Bumrah over that yields a no ball wide from a bouncer that reared up well behind Root’s shoulder.
29th over: England 69-2 (Sibley 26, Root 6) Unsurprisingly it’s Ashwin at the other end, fidgeting in from close to the stumps. I’m not sure Root will be able to dominate him as he did Sri Lanka’s spinners, but the flatness of the track is to his advantage and he comes down to drive a single to cover. It’s the only run from the over.
28th over: England 68-2 (Sibley 26, Root 5) This feels like an absolutely gigantic session in the series, words I hope to type many more times over the next month. Bumrah has the ball and is at least intimating reverse-swing because he’s covering it as he runs in, Root facing. He’ll have taken a few moments at lunch, I’m sure; he looked more nervous than usual at the toss, never mind when he came out to bat. But he looks better now, seeing away five dots before rising onto tippy toes to guide a single through point.
Right then, off we go again. Eyes down.
“Re cricket settling newborn twins,” says Rosanna Lynch, reporting a case that eluded me in my time as a lawyer. “Please tell Alice Schofield that (having been there myself) yes, it does, but also it doesn’t, because just as you get used to something working it stops (like England batting?). Also tell her, it gets easier I promise (the multiple babies, not sure about the cricket).”
I’m not sure Rory is called Rory anymore.; I hope little Dominic and Joe are doing well.
“Good morning from south west London,” says George Holmes, “and what a time to be alive! As a long-term lurker but uncapped emailer, it seems like the cricket being on my TV (*cough* via a legal broadcast) for the first time since 2005, when I was all of nine years-old and already falling madly in love with the game, is the perfect occasion to get in touch with the OBO.
I’ve done the necessary groundwork: taken the day off work, explained to my girlfriend that I’ll be keeping strange hours for the next four weeks in order to watch 22 blokes run around a field in India playing a game that could still end in a draw, and now we’re finally here! Channel 4 is on the TV, the OBO updating on my laptop (it wouldn’t be cricket without it) and England still haven’t lost a wicket (apologies, in advance, for that one). Let’s go!”
#WelcomeGeorge
“It’s early days and early overs,” says Abhijato Sensarma, “but the stoic nature of Test cricket has revealed itself to me once more. I have still not recovered from the adrenaline rush this nation experienced during the ‘Gabba Miracle’. I’ll be in the need for systematic desensitisation with help from the ever-reliable Sibley and Burns. A good opening partnership and the maturation of the ball is surely going to lay a base like no other for Root. But then, England are always one good ball away from falling prey to their umpteenth collapse for the ages...”
Point of order: rarely does it take a good ball.
“Perhaps it is just me in Canada and Archisman in the US,” says John Parkinson, “but I’m sure the 13, bona fide, US dollars and a couple of Canadian loonies that we could cobble together would more than compensate for some multinational conglomerate to extend the TMS coverage to the new world. Newsmax if you’re listening, consider it a constructive new direction to capture a more diverse audience. We’ll even throw in some maple syrup and logging rights to my back yard.”
In the meantime:
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“Well, the cat, Poppie, since you ask, was enjoying the early morning cricket, early breakfast and some early sitting behind my head with a steady purr,” says Chris Purcell. “But that’s gone by the board now. She very much doesn’t favour reverse-sweeping in a test match, and now Lawrence’s gone. She’s stalked out in high dudgeon to her special cushion.”
A “special cushion” sounds like a useful addition to a changing room, for sitting on when you toss two hours’ worth of work reverse-sweeping just before lunch.
Lunchtime patter: “Endearingly amateur coverage, empty stadiums and Rory Burns’ demi-mullet have put me in an 80s frame of mind this morning,” tweets Charles Tinsley.
I’m not at all sure about that – I think it’s a bob.
That really was perfectly, beautifully, classically England. They spent roughly eleven twelfths of that session being excellent, then took their hard work and shoved it up their own nostrils. The afternoon activity is going to be intense.
27th over: England 67-2 (Sibley 26, Root 4) It might’ve been Ashwin’s hand that took the bails off but either way Root made it and that’s lunch. What a sesh that was!
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27th over: England 67-2 (Sibley 26, Root 4) Things are extremely frenetic all of a sudden and Root, so serene in Sri Lanka, drives airily at Ashwin’s first ball, a leading edge looping the ball to cover as they run two. And have a look! What are they thinking! It’s the last over before lunch and Root turns to square leg, then decides he wants a tight single! So off they set, there’s a direct hit at the non-striker’s, and some whooping! I thought they got home, but let’s see!
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26th over: England 64-2 (Sibley 26, Root 1) Back in the hutch, Rory Burns will be absolutely cursing himself because England were cotching until he decided to make art. Credit to Kohli, though; bringing back Bumrah was a smart move, and he now has his first home Test wicket.
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WICKET! Lawrence lbw b Bumrah 0 (England 63-2)
One brings two! Lawrence hadn’t got his feet going yet, so Bumrah flings down a ball that’s full, straight, and nasty – there might even be a hint of reverse – and Lawrence is deader than death. I know this tune, turn it up.
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26th over: England 63-1 (Sibley 26, Lawrence 0) Bumrah returns for a pre-lunch burst...
25th over: England 63-1 (Sibley 26, Lawrence 0) Gosh, that Burns dismissal doesn’t look any better on second, third and blooper-video viewings; it wasn’t even his bottom hand the ball hit, which tells you how far he was from the ball. Proper Gatting gear, that. Anyhow, Sibley sees away a maiden from Nadeem and you wonder if the flow of things has changed..
24th over: England 63-1 (Sibley 26, Lawrence 0) Goodness me, this is an event in Dan Lawrence’s life. Perhaps the most notable thing about his batting in Sri Lanka was his calmness, but he’ll be experiencing sensations out there, sensations most of us will never understand. He defends his first ball and that’s over.
WICKET! Burns c Pant b Ashwin 33 (England 63-1)
He’s feeling himself too much! Ashwin goes around, Burns unfurls his famous reverse, and gloves high and behind. What was he thinking?! He batted beautifully for almost a session, then tossed his scalp onto the bonfire.
24th over: England 62-0 (Burns 33, Sibley 26) This is lovely from Burns, skipping down the track to drive Ashwin past mid on! He’s feeling himself alright!
23rd over: England 59-0 (Burns 29, Sibley 26) Sibley sees away five dots, then a no ball follows, then another, then a dot. These two batting through the session would be a terrific boost for England.
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22nd over: England 57-0 (Burns 29, Sibley 26) A false shot, ish. Sibley flicks away uppishly, just wide of the man at leg gully there for precisely such eventuality. Such precision! A single follows, then Burns moves across to the off side, exposing his stumps to swat four through fine leg; that was the shot of a man feeling himself.
21st over: England 52-0 (Burns 25, Sibley 25) There are two men at short extra cover for Sibley; has anyone seem him bat this morning, never mind ever before? I don’t know. Anyhow, he plays away five dots from Nadeem, then turns to midwicket for one. Easy this.
20th over: England 51-0 (Burns 25, Sibley 24) Burns raises England’s fifty with a twizzle around the corner for two, the only runs off this latest Ashwin over. This is excellent from England, and now I feel like I’m in a Nolan film.
“Rumour has it that Christopher Nolan is already working on a cricket movie called Crickception,” says Abhijato Sensarma. “It talks of a match-up within a match-up within a match-up, with the objective of stealing an enigmatic title known as the ‘World Test Championship’. Most critics have already flailed it for being too confusing and convoluted; most critics were talking about the sport of cricket, not the movie.”
It sounds a lot more coherent than Tenet.
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19th over: England 49-0 (Burns 23, Sibley 24) I wonder what Anderson and Archer will make of this track. Speaking yesterday, Root said he had “the displeasure” of facing the latter in the nets, and that he bowled “at the speed of light”. Imagine the buzz of hearing someone – your captain and a brilliant bat in brilliant form – talk about you in that way. That’s leadership. Anyhow, Burns takes another to long leg
“Much hype about cricket coming back to terrestrial TV, and rightly so,” says Martin Wright. “But it’s not the lively Channel 4 coverage of old; it’s just the Star TV feed, and first impressions of that aren’t great, even compared to (whisper it) Sky. Fine for us cricket tragics, but wonder if it will really seduce a new generation into the game? But maybe I’m being unfair… Any thoughts?”
Ultimately, it being on is a tremendous start, and it’ll be what goes on in the middle that hauls people in.
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18th over: England 48-0 (Burns 22, Sibley 24) Here’s another short one, this time from Ashwin, so Burns contacts his inner Terror Squad leaning back to cut away cut away for three. Runs are coming quite freely now! Yes, I really did type those words and you really did read those words!
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17th over: England 45-0 (Burns 19, Sibley 24) Nadeem and his SLA replace Bumarah, Burns quickly unfurling the sweep; they run three, then Sibley clatters a short, wide one through backward point for four. All this time, I thought India were good, when actually it turns out that Australia are just rubbish. This is going to be 4-0.
“What a joy it is to be able to stick the telly on and settle in for some Test cricket,” says Will Vignoles. “Like you, I found that sport was an extraordinary relief when it began again last year, and if anything feels even more of a lifeline at the moment. Obviously it doesn’t quite compare with the sacrifices that some have had to make, but I hope people are properly appreciative of what the players and the many people behind the scenes are doing to get these series on in a bio-secure way. Cringing with fear of the jinx, but England looking solid here!”
16th over: England 38-0 (Burns 16, Sibley 20) Ashwin hustles through another over rooting for turn, but there’s precious little there for him. Burns takes a single past mid on, the only addition to the scoreboard; this is all very unEngland-like, and I’m feeling mild disorientation. I’m sure there’ll be a collapse along shortly.
15th over: England 37-0 (Burns 15, Sibley 20) Burns takes one to long leg, then Sibley does likewise to square leg, and Virat will be wondering. It’s too easy for England at the moment but Bumrah’s final delivery is better, a yorker that Burns just about jams away; it turns out to be a no ball on which they run, and the extra one spirits past Sibley’s outside edge ... just.
“Perhaps of some interest to John Culkin,” begins Charlie Richards. “I’m sure I once read that George Bush’s Chief of Staff would go to bed wearing a specially made Blackberry chest-holster. He swore that this had saved his marriage, as he was able to sleep soundly in the knowledge that any calls would vibrate him awake without disturbing his wife. It’s strange what we consider a successful career in modern life isn’t it? Alternatively, I can suggest having a newborn as a way to guarantee you’re both awake for the start of play and it’s absolutely not your fault for waking everyone up.”
Another mazal tov! I hope young Stokesie is doing well.
14th over: England 33-0 (Burns 13, Sibley 19) Those runs in Galle, right at the end, have done wonders for Sibley, who admitted afterwards he’d had a bit of a mare previously. But have a look! He flicks four away past square leg, the only runs from the over.
“I sympathise with John,” says Daniel Lees. “I’d love to pop downstairs and turn on the tv but our dog is a natural version of the touch-based alarm clock of which he speaks. If I even put one foot out of bed, he’ll be bolt upright, have a scratch noisily, shake his head to rattle his collar and lick my wife (don’t go there!). And I’ll be the one in the dog-house. I’m wondering if having TMS on would disturb the kids in my classroom?”
Absolutely not! You’re teaching them self-sufficiency – let’s call it love – a key tenet of the Torah. At our school, there were a few teachers who liked cricket and one let us listen in class. I asked his mate if I could listen in his class too; he said I could, then confiscated my radio. Cheers Mr West, top man.
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13th over: England 29-0 (Burns 13, Sibley 15) Bumrah again allows Burns to turn him away for one; surely they need to dig a trench outside and on off, rather than slanting in and across? Anyhow, Burns is then slightly foxed by a fuller one, edging away a single, then Sibley takes a quick one to mid on and that’s another over seen away, ball slightly duller, bowlers slightly tireder. Is tireder a word? Apparently so.
“It’s been so long since cricket was on C4,” tweets James Higgott, “that I’ve lost the knack of syncing the TV picture with the TMS commentary. Any tips from readers? As I type this, I also realise that I could have had an hour’s more sleep had I chosen to watch this on C4+1. D’oh!”
Heh, I’d not thought of that, but there’s something unifying and affirming about watching it live – much as I’d love there to be an OBO+1. Maybe one day we’ll have mastered time and can make that possible, but in the meantime my head hurts and I’m going to send the idea to Christopher Nolan.
12th over: England 26-0 (Burns 12, Sibley 13) This looks like a terrific toss to have won; England have a chance to set up the series here, and their two batsmen least likely to give it away at the wicket. But this is better from Ashwin, almost sneaking one through Sibley who edges his final ball for one and that is drinks. I can’t decide whether I want the nailsest islay in the cabinet, or a cocktail – preferably a quinine sour from Gymkhana, London’s greatest Indian restaurant, with some aloo chat to go with it.
@danielharris Please let @archisman (1st over) know that they can hear full ball by ball coverage in USA on @guerillacricket On their site https://t.co/q1Z15yKKPQ, on @TuneIn, on @SimpleRadio , on @HotMicInc, Facebook, and YouTube. Knowledge, jingles and shenanigans
— markzip (@markzip) February 5, 2021
11th over: England 25-0 (Burns 12, Sibley 12) Bumrah returns at Ishant’s end and Sibley flashes at his first delivery, playing it into the ground and through Kohli’s dive at one; they run one. Burns then plays down into the off side and sets off, having to dive at the other end to make his single, before Bumrah is too straight to Burns and is duly turned away for three; on the fence, Nadeem treads on the ball to stop the boundary and does well to escape with mild ankle-knack.
“Perhaps Burns is just going with the flow?” says John Starbuck. “‘Let it grow’ is my motto too, as my wife is not a trained hairdresser and wears hers long, so I’m doing the same. Takes me back to student days in the late 1960s.”
I read that in Toni Braxton’s voice but yes, I too have a lockdown barnet going on; what one of my best men termed a “jewfro recede”.
10th over: England 20-0 (Burns 11, Sibley 8) Burns glances two away through midwicket, getting all the way forward then all the way back; he’s looking pretty relaxed out there, as you might if you’d spent the last bit tending to a newborn. On which point:
“Serious question,” begins Alice Schofield. “Do we think having the cricket on will help with feeding/settling newborn twins?”
Oh my days! Mazal tov! And mazal tov to young Rory and Dominic! It gets easier, I promise, though I’m not quite sure how it works with two.
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9th over: England 18-0 (Burns 9, Sibley 8) Sibley is in no hurry whatsoever, seeing away a couple of dots before Ishant tries a bouncer – he won’t mind seeing that and ducks underneath it easily enough, then turns one away to backward square. This pitch is flatter than Stanley, and bowling across Sibley is not the way to wring something out of it, I don’t think; he’ll fiddle to leg all
day
millennium if you let him.
“Morning Daniel!” hollers Felix White; morning Felix! “I did not mean to be awake so early, but a child was thirsty and here we are. Busy day ahead and I need to be well rested so I’ll definitely just go straight back to sleep. Maybe just one more over...”
I am familiar with the genre. The child knew you had a higher calling, so contacted your conscience and he we are.
“I don’t know if one can listen to the BBC cricket social thing, but TalkSport (for better or for worse) is available here,” says Martin Whitman. “They make you create an account.” Of course they do.
8th over: England 16-0 (Burns 8, Sibley 7) Yeah, there it is; Ravi Ashwin, whose teammates might like him more than Tim Paine’s do, comes into the attack and Burns nudges for one, then Sibley makes room and uses the pace to carve away behind square on the off side for the first boundary of the series. He’s learnt a lot about facing spin these last few weeks, and turns a single to short leg, megging Shubman Gill; I do hope he called it.
7th over: England 10-0 (Burns 7, Sibley 2) Sharma is speeding up, but Sibley sees off another maiden in typical – noch classical – style. I think we’ll soon see spin because nothing’s happening for the quicks and Kohli won’t want these two entrenching.
“Your five Key Questions had me reflexively channeling my inner Ian Dury for ‘reasons to be cheerful (part 3)’,” says Brian Withington. “A welcome tonic indeed, as I’d just had the BBC News channel on in the background whilst working on a fiendishly complex spreadsheet. One of the truly sobering reports from the NHS frontline that engenders compassion, gratitude and despair in varying measures, and should be compulsory viewing for every Covid-sceptic in the nation.
As for the OBO nation, stay safe and let’s hopefully savour a cricket series for the ages. We all know cricket isn’t really that important in the wider scheme of things, but then hasn’t that always been part of its compelling siren charm?”
I really don’t know what I’d have done without cricket – and other sport – in lockdown, not just in terms of the entertainment it’s supplied where otherwise there’d be none, but how it’s given my brain things about which to think when lying in bed and other such times.
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6th over: England 10-0 (Burns 7, Sibley 2) England will be pleased with this start and Burns, whose hair is still hanging out of his helmet, plays out a maiden. Nick Knight reckons he’s used his time away to close close off his stance a little – I’m surprised he found the time, what with all the hair-growing – oh yeah and parenting – but he’s looking calm out there.
Jasprit Bumrah’s 17 caps before his home debut not a patch on Azhar Ali (75) ... but outside of the Pakistan players who made debuts during their team’s 10-year exile, is a joint record with Daren Ganga of West Indies
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) February 5, 2021
5th over: England 10-0 (Burns 7, Sibley 2) Ishant bursts in again, but after three dots he oversteps. He’s something of a rhythm bowler – I remember being at Lord’s in 2014 to see his 7-74 – and also his spell to Ricky Ponting at the WACA in 2008. And his final delivery here is a beauty, the wrist rolling down the ball to straighten it past Sibley’s outside edge. That’s the delivery of the morning so far, Sibley doing well to get out of its way.
“Morning Daniel,” says John Culkin; morning John. “Having forced myself awake at this unholy hour to watch the first ball, I feel I have to let someone know about it. My plan to watch while tucked in bed was immediately scuppered by wifey, so I’m in the lounge, freezing and excited. Game on!”
My wife was equally delighted when I informed her when the alarm would be rousing her which made me think about one that works via touch not sound, somehow squeezing whichever part of you you fixed it to, like a thumb-screw or something.
4th over: England 9-0 (Burns 7, Sibley 2) Sibley bunts into the off side and they run one, then Burns squeezes two away to square leg. There’s not loads out there for the quicks, a statement I immediately regret making given James Anderson has yet to bowl on it. But I love watching Bumrah, and we see a slowmo version of him coming in and flinging into his prance, arms dead straight; it’s beautiful.
3rd over: England 6-0 (Burns 5, Sibley 1) Watching a replay, Pant got a hand to that – it was a chance alright, and missing it puts him under pressure, not just behind the stumps but when he bats. Burns, who timed that stroke just played it too finely, then times another, and they run three down to midwicket; he looks in nick for someone who’s not played in a while, and he’s someone you’d expect to take time to feel his way back, given a technique with lots of moving parts. Had Crawley been fit and Bairstow been out here, I wonder if he’d have played – likewise Sibley, who shoves to cover and nabs his first run.
2nd over: England 2-0 (Burns 2, Sibley 0) Well, let’s see what Bumrah, incredibly playing his first home Test, makes of it. His first ball, coming from wide of the crease, slants across Burns, who hair is long, poking right out of his helmet, and Burns turns it behind ... but Pant, diving right, can’t get a hand to it! I think that just about carried, but it would’ve been an unbelievable catch, and that’s not really why Pant is in this side. While all this is going on, they run one, which is all that comes from the over.
We all know the principle off 'right forward or right back' but I don't think I expected the numbers to be this stark! Really cool piece on Root and spin by @benjonescricket and @fwildecricket https://t.co/ctXVwCQSnl pic.twitter.com/N6J9V6duw1
— Jonny Singer (@Jonny_Singer) February 3, 2021
1st over: England 1-0 (Burns 1, Sibley 0) Ishant begins from around to the left-handed and returning Burns, his second delivery flicked into the leg side for one; there is not much in this track at all.
“Using your infinite reach across the far reaches of the galaxy,” supplicates Archisman, “would it be possible to find a link to the BBC audio commentary (at least) for someone in the USA lamenting the decision not to select Moeen but nevertheless excited?”
I was a little surprised his missed out too, but I understand why Root was loyal to Leach and, most particularly Bess; in Sri Lanka, both turned up when he needed them and both should be used to conditions
And play!
Email! “Get your point about England desperately wanting to bat first,” says Digvijay Yadav, “but sometimes it’s not the worst for the touring team in India to bowl first up. There’s a new batch of balls that are harder and have a more pronounced seam. There’s some grass on this wicket and some moisture. Plus the Chepauk is a belter to bat on days 2 and 3. So I don’t think England would have been distraught if they’d been asked to field first.”
I don’t think they’ll have wanted to bat last, and I’m sure they’ll think this is the best way to smash into the series; lose the toss, and if India bat well they’d be in trouble however well they bowled.
In Sri Lanka, Joe Root scored 45 percent of England’s runs. He’ll probably need to maintain that form if England are to win in this series, but his mates will need to chip in more solidly. Jonny Bairstow, who was also good in that series, is forcibly rested, but Ben Stokes returns, which is an decent swap.
On the teams, India pick Washington Sundar as their fifth bowler, while England’s side is more or less picked for them; Zak Crawley is injured, so Dan Lawrence bats three and Ollie Pope comes back in at six. Dom Bess keeps his spot ahead of Moeen Ali, and it’s Jimmy Anderson not Stuart Broad.
Root tells us that h thinks the pitch will deteriorate, so he wants to get runs up front and control the match that way; Kohli would also have batted.
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Joe Root is playing his 100th Test; “I think he’s England’s greatest-ever batsman,” says ... Alastair Cook. They call that magnanimity. He also notes that Root wasn’t a natural captain, but he’s become very good at it.
Yes!
Teams!
England: 1 Dom Sibley, 2 Rory Burns, 3 Dan Lawrence, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Ollie Pope, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Dom Bess, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Jack Leach, 11 James Anderson.
India 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Rishabh Pant, 7 Washington Sundar, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Shahbaz Nadeem, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Jasprit Bumrah.
England win the toss and will bat!
That will please them greatly. Their best chance of making an impression is to put runs on the board, thereby putting India under pressure and avoiding batting last.
Preamble
Yes! Yes! Yes! No doubt we could carry on in that vein for the next eight hours, but it is affirming to enumerate as well as to emote, so let us bask in the knowledge that 20 of the next 32 days will be elevated by the series that stands before us – which comes to an end on the 8th of March, the day the UK is hoping to emerge from its latest lockdown and let us say amen.
Traditionally, a tour of Australia is considered cricket’s most demanding challenge – especially for England teams and especially since Channel 4’s Ashes of 2005. But as things stand, there can be no argument whatsoever that a tour of India is really where it’s at, and the mere thought of what we’re about to see is enough to introduce frisson to strides.
India’s recent win Down Under is not only the greatest sporting triumph of the coronera but one of the greatest cricketing triumphs of all-time. So they will swagger into this next endeavour with the confidence of a team which feels invincible, the exultance of players who have their revered captain back, and the joy of human beings back at home. The mix is potent.
But it is not omnipotent. England have won four series in a row, five away Tests in a row, and look better and more settled than for quite some time. Moreover – and yes, I know how stupid this is going to sound – it might even that be that they’re more settled into conditions than hosts who’ve spent two months dealing with fripperies like pace and bounce. Or, alternatively, it absolutely might not even be.
Ultimately, we know what’s likely to happen here – England’s lack of matchwinning spinners is likely to cost them and, more generally speaking, this tour feels just too early for a developing side. But given a fair wind with toss and form, they have too many matchwinners to write off completely – and if any of that lot turn up we’re in for a classic.
Play: 9.30am local, 4am GMT
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