The tourists’ selection gambit at Trent Bridge paid off and put down a marker for Lord’s – they will know they have a combination that worksIndia are notoriously slow starters in Test series and when the first ball was bowled at Trent Bridge it was easy to assume this would again be the case. Most of the players may have been in the UK since the start of June but they have seen very little action since the World Test Championship final – some travelled, some took breaks from the grind in parks and restaurants and football matches – and with only one practice game, they should have been rusty. Except, they were switched on.England were even more underprepared than...
The first match may have ended in a soggy draw but the sides generated enough excitement to suggest this series will provide a welcome advert for Test cricketThe batsman hit the bowler straight back over his head, a sweetly timed, powerfully struck shot that surely ranked among the biggest seen in these conditions. We’ll never know how far it might have travelled – a six surely, but into the stands or out of the stadium? – because of the wall in the way. As it was, the ball bounced off brick and into the outstretched hand of the fielder standing in a position that somehow combined silly-mid-off with long-off. One hand one bounce. The batter was gone.It was the best...
The forecasted deluge of rain never came, and England overcame a sticky start to put on a show worth savouring The forecast had said it was going to rain. Had insisted, in fact, with the stubborn assurance of the friend who tells you that the last train definitely doesn’t leave till midnight. At stumps on day three it confidently predicted conditions that would keep the players in their dressing rooms for most of the day. By morning it revised its estimate to a major downpour at lunchtime. Related: Fine Root century gives England hope as India chase 209 for victory Continue reading...
India had a six-week break to explore Britain before this Test and Rishabh Pant and Ravi Jadeja kept up that vibeThere was much talk before this game about the six-week hiatus the India team enjoyed after the World Test Championship and the opportunity it afforded them to enjoy the delights of Britain. Some disappeared into the Scottish highlands, others to England’s hinterlands and the youngest of the crew threw themselves into the hipster dens of east London. Their break has clearly had a lasting impact because even on day three of the Test match the holiday spirit has not quite left them.From the moment that Rishabh Pant walked out for his flirtatious cameo in the morning, it was clear that...
England bowler was suspended after his debut against New Zealand but his comeback showed he had not lost his sparkHalf an hour before lunch on the second day, Joe Root took a strategic time out. That’s not what’s it officially called in Test matches, of course – there was no official signal from the umpire, no countdown clock appearing on the big screen. Still, the England captain took a moment to draw aside his two chief gunners, Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson, for a council of war. Chins were pulled, brows furrowed, plans relaid. England’s bowling team had pursued a perfect length for the conditions, but the two batsmen just weren’t getting themselves out. What do we do now, chaps?It...