That’s all for today’s coverage. We’ll be back at 3.30am to confirm whether Bobby Ewing has just emerged from the shower to inform us that England are 48 for seven, following on, or whether England really are going toe to toe with India in India. Thanks for your company, goodnight.
“Innit warming that AB de Villiers is still watching Test cricket and enjoying it as a neutral,” writes Adam Hirst. “Same with Kallis, he never quite seemed to get the recognition as a genuine great that he should have had. What an innings. As good as anything from an England player.”
Mark Wood speaks
[What brought your more please, four wickets on the run out?] 100 per cent the run out; Sarfaraz doesn’t know how unlucky he is!
[On Ben Stokes dropping a catch with Wood on a five-for] He said sorry. Normally I can’t say anything as I’m the worst fielder in the team, but after that run-out I can just say ‘Howay, mate’…
[On Ben Duckett] Amazing. And as a bowler, class to watch after you’ve put in all that toil. It looked like India weren’t sure on their fields at times: they’d move a man and he’d hit it exactly where the fielder had been. He’d sweep it behind, then he’d sweep it in front. Amazing to watch.
There’s a long way to go. Hopefully we can get their bowlers into a second or third spell – if they’re cramping after seven overs [as Jasprit Bumrah did], if we can get them to 25 hopefully it’ll be a bit different then.
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Say it again
The Spin | Crawley and Duckett have finally put an end to rolling cast of England openers https://t.co/Sp95tFNR4k
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) February 14, 2024
Ravichandran Ashwin (500*) speaks
I’d like to dedicate the 500th wicket to my father. He’s been through the thick and thin of everything I’ve done in my life. He’s had heart attacks every time I’ve played. He’s been a constant support and I’m sure he’ll be very happy today. Five-hundred wickets is done and dusted now; we’ve got a game hanging in the balance.
I feel pretty fresh. The way England play, you don’t have to bowl a lot of overs. They play every over like it’s a T20 or a one-day game. It gives us less time to think but it also means less labour.
The surfaces in this series have enabled the batsmen to have a reasonably good time in the first three or four days. I’d expect this pitch to get really tough for the batsmen on day five. We just need to hang in there, wheel away and exercise discipline.
England have been in similar situations in the series and we have found a way to claw our way back into the match. They put you under pressure and it’s important how you react to that. The game is neck and neck.
Imagine how good Ben Duckett will feel when he sees this tweet from the genius’s genius.
Ben Duckett! Wow👏
— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) February 16, 2024
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Duckett’s innings also contained an unlikely twist: he stole the thunder of the man who has been his nemesis. Ravichandran Ashwin took his 500th Test wicket when Zak Crawley was caught at short fine leg, yet he only held the headlines for about five minutes. Honestly, it was a staggering innings, a mash-up of Virender Sehwag (brutal speed of scoring) and Steve Smith (uncanny, inn problem-solving).
Ashwin may well have the final word, and we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that England are still miles behind, but this has been Duckett’s day.
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Stumps: England trail by 238 runs
35th over: England 207-2 (Duckett 133, Root 9) The last ball of the day is a full toss from Ashwin that Root drives elegantly for four. He walks straight down the pitch to put his arm round Ben Duckett, who played an astonishing innings: 133 not out from 118 balls with 21 fours and two sixes. Rohit Sharma walks over to congratulate Duckett, then Root steps back to allow him to lead the players off the field. Bazball, bloody hell.
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Duckett is not out! Oof, it pitched fractionally outside leg. Just as Pope looked not out to the bleary naked eye, so that looked out. It’s 1-1.
I think this is out. Duckett missed a slightly weary clip to leg and was hit on the back pad in front of middle stump.
INDIA REVIEW FOR LBW AGAINST DUCKETT!
35th over: England 201-2 (Duckett 132, Root 4) With Duckett rather than Root on strike, Rohit Sharma brings on Ashwin for Bumrah – and it may have worked.
34th over: England 200-2 (Duckett 131, Root 4) Siraj goes round the wicket to Duckett with a funky field: gully, no slip, deep square, fine leg, deep backward point, cover, extra cover, mid on, mid off and one other position I’ve forgotten.
Siraj, who has outbowled Bumrah today, has a strangled LBW shout when Duckett whips around a ball that would have missed leg. A rare maiden is on the cards until Duckett takes a single off the last delivery. That also brings up England’s 200, in the 34th over.
33rd over: England 199-2 (Duckett 130, Root 4) Root inside-edges an inducker from Bumrah onto the pads. Bumrah started to appeal for LBW before he processed the inside edge.
The rest of the over passes without incident. Eight minutes left, so almost certainly two overs.
32.1 overs: England 197-2 (Duckett 130, Root 2) India try to get the ball changed. Kumar Dharmasena plays the role of the Man from Del Monte’s curmudgeonly sibling. The odd thing is that, while England have pulverised India in this session, it’s now India who have nothing to lose. In the grand scheme, a wicket in the last 10 minutes would probably put them on top.
Bumrah does come on to replace Jadeja. His first ball is cut for Duckett… and then Bumrah calls for the physio. He’s feeling his hamstring. Never mind the match; this could be a series-changer. Or it could just be cramp: he consumes a sachet of pure health and goes back to his mark.
32nd over: England 196-2 (Duckett 129, Root 2) Siraj continues, reward for taking the wicket of Pope, but surely Rohit Sharma will give Bumrah a crack at Root before the close. A quiet over, two from it.
“Pip pip old Smythee,” says Robert Wilson. “We all bang on like fanboys about beautiful pace bowler actions. Even the most dunderheaded and inarticulate of cricket fans can do a reasonable five-minute bit of wistful blank verse on the elegant biomechanics of a Wasim Akram or a Michael Holding. I’ve always loved a spiky or improbable action that produces top quality quick bowling. Like a unicorn wearing a trilby. And this pleasure always depends on finding the right simile. Malinga was great in this way. He looked like an enraged eight-year-old swiping the heads off dandelions after being told off for teasing his sister (plus that action actually made his bowling a LOT scarier).
“And now I’ve finally worked out why I like Bumrah so much. The ball comes out of the hand like it’s the Sistine Chapel. But his action is exactly that of a man trying to catch a puppy falling off a balcony. Great similes aren’t just beautiful, they’re also incontrovertibly true.”
31st over: England 193-2 (Duckett 127, Root 1) Duckett reverse hoicks Jadeja for six, possibly his most outrageous shot yet. This innings is so reminiscent of Steve Smith at his best, finding solutions and angles that the rest of us didn’t know existed – and all the while playing with an eerie, slightly eccentric tranquility. In the moment it’s hard to be sure but I think we’re already into the realms of great England innings overseas, certainly by an opener. He is 127 not out off 104 balls, for goodness sake, and at no stage has he stepped outside his comfort zone.
“Gilbert Jessop!” says Pete Salmon.
Arf. Given the last 18 months he’s had, with his record for the fastest Test century by an Englishman under threat every second week, we might need to alter the phrase “rest in peace”.
30th over: England 182-2 (Duckett 119, Root 0) I don’t really believe in Hawkeye conspiracy theories so I’ve no doubt that was the correct decision; it just didn’t look out to the (slightly bleary) naked eye. Rohit Sharma only reviewed at the last second; it was an inspired decision. As was the plan for Siraj to pepper Pope with short stuff. I think there were five short balls in a row, then the fuller one took the wicket.
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WICKET! England 182-2 (Pope LBW b Siraj 39)
He’s out! I can’t believe that. Hawkeye had the ball hitting the leg bail – it must have been a fraction away from umpire’s call - and Pope has gone for a good 39.
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INDIA REVIEW FOR LBW AGAINST POPE! Pope is clattered on the noggin when he misses a pull off Siraj. Was that a slower bouncer or did it stop in the pitch? Either way it hit him on the helmet so he will undertake a concussion test.
When play resumes, Pope pulls a sharp bouncer just wide of Rohit at square leg. But it was a no-ball so he wouldn’t have been out anyway. The excitement continues with a big LBW appeal against Pope that is turned down by Joel Wilson,. While Siraj is appealing, a fielder flings the ball for four overthrows.
It looks high but Rohit Sharma has gone upstairs.
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29th over: England 176-1 (Duckett 116, Pope 37) Pope reverse-sweeps Jadeja for four. Duckett slog-sweeps Jadeja for four. Even Dame Fortune is rooting for England: an inside-edge from Duckett flies over the stumps and away for two.
I have never seen India look as rattled during a home Test. This isn’t an England cricket team. This is a myth, a spook story that criminals tell their kids at night. “Rat on your pop, and Bazball will get you.” They could well end up losing this series 4-1, but who cares. They’re the most life-affirming England team since 2005, maybe forever.
28th over: England 163-1 (Duckett 108, Pope 32) Even a great team, and India are most certainly that, struggle when they are put under pressure. Siraj bowls a rank bad ball that is tickled for four by Pope. The controlled authority of England’s batting, while scoring at six an over, is mind-blowing.
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27th over: England 156-1 (Duckett 106, Pope 28) Pope premeditates a lap for four off Jadeja, then gets another boundary with the blind scoop he played so thrillingly in Hyderadbad. This is crazy. Jadeja has an LBW appeal turned down when a ball skids on to hit the pad; it would have missed leg and Rohit Sharma – who only has two reviews left – stays downstairs.
“I’m old enough to remember when England supporters like myself pined for the security of the opening partnership of Messrs Strauss & Cook, those sedate, ‘safe pair of hands’ country solicitors,” says Brian Withington. “In comparison Crawley and Duckett bat like a pair of coke-addled city firm killers spending their hostile takeover bonuses before break of day. Glorious, isn’t it?”
Sure is, and I like the Wolf of Wall Street imagery. But the first three words of your email… you don’t need to be a supercentenarian to pine for the days of Strauss and Cook, do you? I bet there’s at least one irritatingly precocious 13-year-old who could tell you all about watching Brisbane 2010 in the small hours. I know because he starts on the Guardian sports desk next week.
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BEN DUCKETT MAKES A WONDERFUL HUNDRED!
26th over: England 148-1 (Duckett 106, Pope 20) Jadeja is hooked after one over, or maybe he’s going to change ends. Either way, Siraj replaces him. Duckett’s early struggles against Siraj seem an age ago: he rifles another beautiful drive through mid-on for four to reach a glorious 88-ball century. It’s the fastest for England in a Test against India.
Duckett runs down the pitch, gives fresh air a fair old gut-punch and shouts “Come onnnnnnnnnn!” He was furious with himself in the last Test, sick of violating Magnus Magnusson’s mantra by getting out between 21 and 49 again and again. Today he has put that right, and he celebrates by pulling the next ball for four as well.
Duckett has hit 86 of his 106 runs in boundaries. I’m running out of ways to say WTF.
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25th over: England 140-1 (Duckett 98, Pope 20) Pope takes a quick run on the off side and is knocked off his feet when the throw from Jadeja hits his bat. He was home by that point, with the single bringing up the fifty partnership. Later in the over Pope is beaten, waving instinctively at a shortish awayswinger. That’s the kind of ball that gets Joe Root out.
There are still 18 overs to bowl tonight, though they might not get them all in. Play will finish at 5pm local time, 11.30am GMT.
24th over: England 138-1 (Duckett 97, Pope 19) Jadeja replaces Ashwin, who took his 500th wicket but also went at five an over. There’s only one man near the bat apart from the keeper, a reflection of how well this parst have played. The moment India take the second wicket they will be all over England again.
“Mike Brearley could do with putting his psychological training to good use to produce an academic study into the effect height has upon batting approaches,” writes Tom Van der Gucht. “Looking at the likes of Duckett and Warner, you wonder if they have a Scrappy-Doo psychology whereby they feel under threat and need to go out bristling and scuffling.
“By contrast, Crawley has a lofty sense of entitlement based on his lankiness and subsequently has a natural confidence that allows him to attack with arrogant disdain as he wearily dispatches balls to the boundary with apparent lack of care.”
That would certainly explain the 48-ball hundred Joe Pesci scored in my dream last night.
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Drinks: England trail by 308 runs
23rd over: England 137-1 (Duckett 97, Pope 18) Bumrah tries the Vizag Special on Pope, but the line is wrong and Jurel dives to his left to save three runs.
The bye brings Duckett on strike. The fastest Test century by an England opener i- no, no I can’t go there until it happens, if it happens. He is three away after crashing another attempted yorker from Bumrah to long on for four. “What a shot!” exclaims Ravi Shastri on commentary.
“Morning, Rob!” writes Jāna Jeruma-Grinberga. “Iceland Cricket - now there’s a thought. There used to be a yearly ice cricket match here in Latvia, played on a frozen river. I’m not sure the surface would have taken much spin, but obviously a soft ball was used to avoid (too many) lethal outcomes. But I’m really looking forward to Latvia making an impact in cricket, just as we have in bobsleigh, ice hockey, basketball and tennis. Given that we are among the tallest people in the world, surely a few potential demon quickies are out there, waiting to develop their talents?”
How good would that be? The four horsemen, Latvian-style.
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22nd over: England 131-1 (Duckett 92, Pope 18) Ashwin has a strangled LBW shout against Pope, who inside-edged a sweep onto the pads. England accept the risks with the sweep because they know the rewards. Duckett slog-sweeps Ashwin magnificently for six, then pulls for four when Ashwin drops short next ball. Pressure affects even an all-time great like Ashwin. His last delivery is too straight and turned for three by Duckett, who has raced into the nineties from only 75 balls. This is quietly bonkers, if that’s not a contradiction.
21st over: England 117-1 (Duckett 79, Pope 17) That was also the last ball of the over – a slightly worrying one for England because Bumrah got a fair bit of reverse swing.
Duckett is not out! Oof, it did scrape the under-edge as Duckett jabbed his bat down. That’s an absolutely fantastic decision from fragrance-peddler and occasional umpire Kumar Dharmasena.
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I think this will be out. It sneaked under the boot and thumped into the back pad. Duckett has two hopes: a) that it scraped the bottom of the bat and b) that it might have missed leg.
INDIA REVIEW FOR LBW AGAINST DUCKETT! If it’s not bat first he’s in trouble, because it was a blistering yorker from Bumrah,
20th over: England 115-1 (Duckett 78, Pope 16) Duckett skids back to cart Ashwin past mid-on for four. Ashwin looks befuddled, wondering how the hell that ball was hit to that part of the ground for that many runs.
In his unorthodox problem-solving, Duckett reminds me quite a lot of Steve Smith. And that, lest foam be forming in your non-English mouth, is where the comparison ends.
Statgasm department: Ben Duckett in Tests in India
2016-17 Average 6.00, Strike rate 34.61
2023-24 Avge 51, Strike rate 102
19th over: England 109-1 (Duckett 73, Pope 15) Bumrah replaces Kuldeep, who was bullied for 42 from six overs. Duckett hit 29 of them from only 16 balls. This is such a key passage of play, especially with Joe Root the next man in. If Bumrah gets as much reverse swing as he did in Vizag, it’s hard to see England getting close to India’s total of 445.
Pope makes a statement by clipping his first ball, an attempted yorker, through midwicket for four. The rest of the over is played fairly watchfully. Ominously for England, the last ball comes back a long way to take Pope’s inside edge. I assume it was reverse swing, because a pessimist is never disappointed.
18th over: England 104-1 (Duckett 73, Pope 10) Ashwin is on the cusp of another milestone: he needs one more left-hander for 250 in Test cricket, which is almost more remarkable than 500 overall.
If Duckett is No250, he won’t die wondering. He muffs a reverse sweep and then nails a slog sweep to deep wicket for four. Even after a relatively sedate spell, Duckett has 73 not out from 65 balls with 15 fours.
17th over: England 100-1 (Duckett 69, Pope 10) Out of nothing, Pope jumps down the track to drive Kuldeep sweetly over midwicket for six. He still looks a bit wired, though, and almost runs himself out later in the over by going for a non-existent third run. Duckett sent him back in time.
“I have little truck with all this talk of Crawley & Duckett solving the problem of England not having a proper opening pair since Cook & Strauss,” harrumphs Ewan Glenton. . “The problem is far older than that: the last duo that can be taken seriously was Boycott & Gooch.
“As everyone knows double acts have to have two syllables one 1. Greenidge & Haynes have already been mentioned; I grew up with them, Wiener & Laird, Edgar & Wright, Morecambe & Wise, Little & Large, Starsky & Hutch, Bodie & Doyle, Torville & Dean, Sooty & Sweep…
“There’s a reason why The Two Ronnies didn’t call themselves Barker & Corbett, The Dukes of Hazzard wasn’t called Bo & Luke, and why neither Chas & Dave nor Smith & Jones can ever be ranked with history’s greatest ever musicians or comedy duos. Of course these two are both worth their places in the team, but if I was in charge of selection I’d shuffle the order: Duckett & Pope, Crawley & Stokes, for example.”
A splendid email, full of persuasive examples and irresistible logic. But I think there may be a fly in the ointment.
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16th over: England 92-1 (Duckett 69, Pope 2) Another probing over from Ashwin, who has slowed the run rate and fired up the wickets column.
We need a Popeometer to quantify how jittery he is at the start of each innings. If the first innings in Hyderabad was 8.7, this is maybe a 6.2. Come on, come on, come on, get through it.
15th over: England 90-1 (Duckett 68, Pope 1) Pope survives a stumping referral after playing and missing at a gorgeous wrong’un from Kuldeep. His back foot stayed ground. That Ashwin wicket has changed the mood, and Kuldeep is able to bowl his first maiden. He won’t want to get his figures laminated just yet, but 5-1-34-0 looks a lot better than 4-0-34-0.
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14th over: England 90-1 (Duckett 68, Pope 1) Ashwin has taken 69 per cent of those 500 wickets in India. His record overseas is fine (153 wickets at 29.90) but at home, whether on flat decks or bunsens, he is irresistible: 347 wickets at 21.22.
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RAVICHANDRAN ASHWIN TAKES HIS 500TH TEST WICKET!
WICKET! England 89-1 (Crawley c Patadar b Ashwin 15) Ravichandran Ashwin becomes the ninth man to reach one of crikcet’s biggest milestones! Crawley top-edged a sweep to short fine leg, where Patadar adjusted his feet to take a good catch. Ashwin’s celebration is relatively muted – the match situation is all that matters right now – but at some stage tonight he’ll reflect on the wonder of what he has achieved.
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13th over: England 89-0 (Crawley 15, Duckett 68) England are going after Kuldeep, trying to dent his confidence before he gets into a rhythm. Duckett sweeps and pulls him to the midwicket fence, which gives him 13 boundaries in the last 34 deliveries. That’s extraordinary, especially as there has been such clarity and variety in his strokeplay.
I’m still not sure I agree with it, mind. What kind of animal smokes marijuana at his own confirMATION hits 13 boundaries in 34 balls while opening the batting for England in a Test match?
12th over: England 79-0 (Crawley 15, Duckett 58) Ashwin’s first over is relatively quiet. There was an LBW appeal when Crawley made a mess of a reverse sweep, but Ashwin immediately signalled that he thought there was an inside-edge.
11th over: England 76-0 (Crawley 15, Duckett 55) Duckett inside-edges a reverse sweep off Kuldeep that loops wide of slip. His response is to larrup another boundary, this time with a slog sweep to cow corner, before Crawley drives Kuldeep classily back over his head for four. This is sheer delightful batting.
Enjoy it while it lasts: here comes Ravichandran Ashwin, who is on 499 Test wickets and has a formidable head-to-head record against Duckett. Not just in a former life, either.
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10th over: England 67-0 (Crawley 11, Duckett 50) Duckett belts Siraj for two fours in three balls, then cuts a single to bring up a marvellous 39-ball fifty. That has to be one of the fastest by an England opener in Test cricket, but at no stage has it felt wild or uncontrolled. He struggled in Siraj’s first two overs; since then he has played with a serene certainty.
Crawley ends a fine over for England with a pristine extra-cover drive for four. That’s the 11th boundary in the last six overs!
9th over: England 54-0 (Crawley 7, Duckett 41) Now Duckett unfurls the reverse sweep, clouting Kuldeep over backward point for four to bring up the fifty partnership with Zak Crawley and Ravichandran Ashwin.
“Morning to the unassailable Rob!” honks Felix Kirby. “I write (sporadically as ever, and with Bags for Life beneath my eyes) from Oxford. Although — like any self-respecting student — I’m not given to waking up before 10, I’ve been sitting at my desk since 7, trying and failing to memorise Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring. Do you think I could get away with asking a violinist to crunch out a downbow with all the agricultural brio of a Stokes mow over cow corner? Or a timpanist to drive it into the pitch? (And can ‘mow’ be used as an adjective?) Asking for a friend.”
It’s the millennium, language is incidental.
8th over: England 48-0 (Crawley 6, Duckett 36) Duckett times Siraj down the ground for a majestic boundary, his sixth in the last 13 deliveries. A slugged pull makes it seven in 15 balls, a thrilling reversal of pressure.
Of the 160 men who have scored at least 1,000 Test runs opening the batting, nobody can match Duckett’s strike rate of 88. Only Virender Sehwag, who pound for pound is the greatest attacking opener of all time, even comes close.
88 Ben Duckett
83 Virender Sehwag
71 Victor Trumper, Tillakaratne Dilshan
70 David Warner
67 Shikhar Dhawan
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7th over: England 40-0 (Crawley 6, Duckett 28) Rohit Sharma turns to spin straight after tea – not Ravichandran Ashwin but Kuldeep Yadav. Duckett sweeps him for successive boundaries to move to 28 from 27 balls.
“In reply to Kim Thonger and Icelandic Cricket predictions of English plenty, can I be permitted to observe that the only way that the five-run penalty conceded by Ashwin can definitely be shown to have decisively impacted the result is if England follow on, post a target and then bowl India out for 0-5 runs less than that target,” writes Brian Withington. “Nothing else can preserve this narrative imperative, although you might be surprised how long I spent deciding to include 0 in the ‘range of inevitability’ above …”
Why is everyone asking for permission all of a sudden? Did I miss a Blackadder marathon last night?
“My hypothesis for the shabby catching relates to Bazball’s optional practice,” says Gary Naylor. “That’s intended to promote its relaxed environment and we see the benefit every Test. But catching is about concentration and reflexes, which diminish when tired. That’s when the practice and muscle-memory needs to take over - train hard, play easy. England are paying a high price for some substandard work in the field.”
Do we know they don’t practice as much as other teams or is that just part of their PR? The greatest trick the devil ever pulled is convincing the world he couldn’t care less.
This is the eighth time in nine innings that Crawley and Duckett have added at least 30 for the first wicket. They aren’t quite the new Greenidge and Haynes, but they are England’s best opening partnership for a decade.
Tea: England trail by 414 runs
6th over: England 31-0 (Crawley 6, Duckett 19) This is the last over before tea – so Duckett forces Siraj to the cover boundary, because this is 2024, grandad. Crawley, who is slowly becoming the straight man to Duckett’s dasher, is cut in half by a sharp nipbacker. He defends the rest of the over solidly to complete a good mini-session for England, who scored 26 runs in six overs after starting the innings with five penalty runs on the board.
The hard work starts after tea: first spin, then Jasprit Bumrah with the old ball.
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5th over: England 25-0 (Crawley 5, Duckett 14) For the time being Duckett looks far more comfortable against Bumrah. He slashes four to third man, a deliberate stroke, and larrups another boundary through extra cover. Shot!
“Great to wake to a mention of Wilfred Rhodes,” says Pete Salmon. “I always think of him as the Mornington Crescent of cricket. All questions resolved by shouting his name. Only AC Bannerman and Gilbert Jessop run him close, I think. Any others?”
I don’t know why but this concept - and especially the phrase “All questions resolved by shouting his name” - is going to tickle me for days.
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4th over: England 16-0 (Crawley 4, Duckett 6) Siraj is bowling beautifully. Duckett is beaten three times – twice playing attacking shots, once pushing defensively – during an excellent maiden. Siraj is so dangerous when he gets on a roll, a bit like Stuart Broad, so the last thing England want to do is give him an early wicket.
“While I encourage your steadfastness in staying away from X,” writes Krishnamoorthy V, “the only downside is you are missing this glorious handle.
A par score for India on a flat deck. They will be buoyed by the excellent batting performances of the debutants. The Bazballers will now aim to score 750 in the next 2 days and put India under pressure. Ashwin will take his 500th Test wicket in the next hour.
— Iceland Cricket (@icelandcricket) February 16, 2024
“I would like to know what the Iceland cricket admin is smoking.”
Maybe they’re in the Night Country as well.
3rd over: England 16-0 (Crawley 4, Duckett 6) Having middled sweet bugger all in the previous over from Siraj, Duckett times his first ball from Bumrah through the covers for four. That’s such a good shot. In fact it’s almost as good as the statistic with which TNT Sports have just enriched out lives. In this series Crawley and Duckett average 71 against Bumrah; the rest of the England squad have a combined average of 6. S-I-X. Facing the new ball helps, but there’s a lot more to it than that.
Bumrah attempts to address that disparity with a good delivery that pops to beat Duckett’s forcing shot.
“Permission to make a sweeping statement based on a tiny sample size?” says Felix Wood. “Stokes’ constant changing of the field to find the edge is meaning England’s fielders aren’t getting into the zone of each ball. All the drops this innings have been from fielders not being quiiiite ready or in Root’s case coming up too soon. Now I see it written down that looks like nonsense. Still, as Boycott would say, you cant afford to have to take 15 wickets per innings in India, and this really feels like an opportunity missed for England.”
Permission granted. But how do we explain the previous 20 Tests? They just had a bad day and a half I think.
2nd over: England 11-0 (Crawley 4, Duckett 1) Ben Duckett makes a nervous start against Mohammed Siraj. He’s beaten outside off stump and gets a leading edge that rolls into the off side for a single. Crawley addresses Siraj more confidently with another crisp drive for two, this time between extra cover and mid-off.
A terrific over from Siraj concludes with two nipbackers that hit Crawley on the pad. The first was missing leg, the second was too high.
1st over: England 8-0 (Crawley 2, Duckett 0) Bumrah starts the innings with a no-ball. His one imperfection for the innings out of the way, he settles into the usual groove. Crawley – who has played him better than any other England player – drives crisply for two before leaving a ball that only just misses off stump.
It was a good leave, but for a split-second his heart will have been in his chest, where it always is, but beating faster than usual.
“In answer to Brian Withington (103rd over),” writes Finbar Anslow, “I’ll see his Moeen Ali and raise him a Tony Greig (but you have to admit that English spinning allrounders are a bit thin on the ground).”
Wilfred Rhodes would be in the conversation: batted everywhere from No1-11 and took 15 wickets (I think) to beat Australia in 1903-04.
Here come the Indian players, with Mohammed Siraj is among their number. But first for England’s openers, it’s another trial by Bumrah. They will start their innings on 5-0 after India were penalised for practising their moonwalk on a good length.
“Hi Rob,” writes Tim Pare. “Following on from the Taupo road-trip email, having left Aotearoa New Zealand in December, I am currently following with intermittent signal on a five-hour windy drive up to the hill country of Sri Lanka. There’s still plenty of softball cricket in the tea estates, but due to small grounds, they have a ‘no offside’ rule, which although it sounds like football, literally means a shot to the offside gets no runs and actually loses you your wicket. As a mediocre batsman favouring the cut shot … I don’t dare even speak of my average in these games!”
I’m surprised it’s not the other way round – aren’t Legside Larrys supposed to be cricket’s perverts?
India will be very happy with their work: first their recovery from 33-3, then adding 114 for the last three wickets today. England bowled pretty well, especially the quicks, but were sloppy at times in the field. On a pitch that is already a little Janus-faced, they need to score 500 as quickly as possible. No pressure.
WICKET! India 445 all out (Siraj LBW b Wood 3)
Not for the first time, Bumrah is having fun with England’s bowlers. He clatters Wood wristily over midwicket for four, a really good shot, then times the next ball down the ground for two.
Those two runs haven’t done much for Siraj’s knee, and he again needs treatment. He’s okay to continue and survives an LBW shout from Wood later in the over. England have two reviews left and decide to use one, though you can tell from Ben Stokes’ face that he knows it was missing leg. Replays confirm as much.
The next delivery is straighter and given out LBW on the field. Siraj reviews, just in case, but it was thumping into leg stump.
130th over: India 437-9 (Bumrah 19, Siraj 3) Siraj is limping and calls for the physio at the end of Hartley’s over. He was hit on the knee by the ball from Hartley that led to the LBW.
“Just waking up and digesting the situation,” writes Kim Thonger. “My initial thought is, do England declare when they reach 650, or press on until 700?”
Now why would you do that.
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Siraj is not out Yep, there’s the peediest of scrapes as the ball passed the bat. Siraj knew and reviewed straight away.
REVIEW! Siraj LBW b Hartley 3 I think he bottom-edged a reverse-sweep onto the pad, in which case it will be overturned.
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129th over: India 436-9 (Bumrah 18, Siraj 3) So, I missed most of that Mark Wood over as I was chatting to Tanya. Apologies/sue me. Not much happened, just one delivery that beat Siraj on the inside and whooshed past off stump.
Thanks Tanya, hello everyone. Mark Wood has the ball in his hand and a big dumb grin on his face.
And while they take drinks, I’ll hand over to the unassailable Rob Smyth to take you through to stumps. Thanks to everyone for the messages and huge apologies that I haven’t been able to get to them all. Bye!
128th over: India 434-9 (Bumrah 17, Siraj 2) Crucial runs here from Bumrah, who tucks into Rehan Ahmed with two fours from the over, one googly sent rasping through the covers, another googly posted through midwicket.
127th over: India 426-9 (Bumrah 9, Siraj 2) Wham bam, Bumrah goes down town with six off Hartley over long on.
“Following on from the Taupo road trip email, having left Aotearoa New Zealand in December, I am currently following with intermittent signal on a five hour windy drive up to the hill country of Sri Lanka.” Writes Tim Pare. “There’s still plenty of soft ball cricket in the tea estates, but due to small grounds, they have a “no offside” rule, which although sounds like football, literally means a shot to the offside gets no runs and actually loses you your wicket. As a mediocre batsman favouring the cut shot … I don’t dare even speak of my average in these games!”
Amazing! The dear old OBO gets to go on fabulous journeys.
126th over: India 417-9 (Bumrah 1, Siraj 1) India continue to bat out time, and all the while, the pitch ruminates.
125th over: India 415-9 (Bumrah 0, Siraj 0) The Hartley metronome again.
“Good morning dear Tanja.” Hello Frederick Simon in Berlin!
”Poor Liam Dawson. What a fantastic county season last year. And he fulfils the magic criteria: Batting average 33, bowling 32 (in first class cricket). If Duckett gets a second go surely Dawson deserved one too.
”Talking of second goes…Poor Dom Bess: Averages 33 in test cricket with best figures of 5/30. One day he should get a recall.
”My 15 month old son has started waking up randomly at 4:30. I couldn‘t work out why, but now I’ve realised…he wants to watch the cricket!”
Your son shows very good taste for an under two! Liam Dawson is unlucky, but probably happy enough picking up the dollar in the franchises.
124th over: India 415-9 (Bumrah 0, Siraj 0) Time for Jurel to dispatch Ahmed for one more six before succumbing. A nice, neat, organised, determined debut.
WICKET! Jurel c Foakes b Ahmed 46 (India 415-9)
No, he won’t get a maiden fifty on debut. Goes to cut and gets a thick edge into the glove of Foakes who makes a super catch.
123rd over: India 409-8 (Jurel 40, Bumrah 0) Can the tail see Jurel through to a maiden fifty on debut? One off Hartley means Jurel keeps the strike.
122nd over: India 408-8 (Jurel 39, Bumrah 0) A sensational googly from Ahmed, too good for Bumrah, fizzes through the gate.
“Hullo Tanya, mailing from the road from Taupo to Napier, my first time back in NZ in a number of years. It’s a road trip with my sister and daughter, currently driving. Hoping to “see” some English batting this evening as we camp by the sea. More power to the OBO.”
How fabulous. I am very, very jealous Alistair Connor. Hoping to do that with my brother sometime soon.
121st over: India 408-8 (Jurel 39, Bumrah 0) Another Hartley maiden, his seventh.
WICKET! Ashwin c Anderson b Ahmed 37 (India 408-8)
A proliferation of alliteration as Anderson takes Ashwin at mid-on at the second attempt. A lucky wicket for Rehan Ahmed whose first over into the attack was, um, generous.
120th over: India 408-8 (Jurel 39, Bumrah 0) Ahmed starts the over with a juicy half tracker which is Jurel attacks, sending it flying gaily over the rope for six.
119th over: India 401-7 (Jurel 32, Ashwin 36) The morning after the night before.
118th over: India 400-7 (Jurel 32, Ashwin 36) Wood returns for one more. Head down as he shrugs back to his mark. And, fiddle me dee, another drop. This time Ben Stokes at leg slip, as Jurel turns Wood round the corner into his guts and he can’t cling on.
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117th over: India 400-7 (Jurel 32, Ashwin 36) 400 up. In the outfield, Wood looks bloody knackered. Prescient words from Guy Hornsby.
“Morning Tanya, morning everyone. Walking up just now to see India 7 down cheered me up until I realised this partnership is in danger of making life much harder for us in this Test. This innings is putting so many miles into the legs of our quick bowlers in particular, because in the McCullum era, we’ll likely bat for much shorter and we’ll be in the field again much sooner. I get that Wood is probably not going to play the next Test but he’s bowled more than Root and Ahmed. That doesn’t feel great, for him more than anything. We need these two out quickly, really. Anyway, yay.”
116th over: India 399-7 (Jurel 32, Ashwin 35) Suddenly the tempo has picked up a bit. Ashwin glances Wood fine for four.
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115th over: India 394-7 (Jurel 32, Ashwin 30) Half way through the over, Hartley switches to over the wicket. I can’t keep up with all these field changes, though you’ll be glad to hear that Rob takes over from me in an hour, he’s always all over them.
Oh my – a drop. Jurel digs into a shortish one from Hartley and pulls it to mid wicket where it somehow falls into – and then out -of Ollie Pope’s hands as he tips over backwards. He slams the ground in frustration and is still shaking his head at the end of the over.
Arul Kanhere has a bone to pick with Sanket Dhume’s earlier analysis. “ I think they have slowed down to
Get some more runs
Wear down the pitch
Protect the tail
“There needs to be some nuance to this analysis. I don’t think the management can do anything about injuries. One series does not tell the whole story. And if I recall correctly, the same management had a pretty decent WC.”
114th over: India 392-7 (Jurel 31, Ashwin 29) Wood pounds the turf. Another searing bouncer provokes some twisting and turning from Ashwin. “They’re going for high hands” says Graeme Swann. Ashwin’s riposte is a push down the ground for four.
Afternoon session
Hello again! Alastair Cook has just summed up the partnership betwee Ashwin and Jurel as valuable but “painstaking”, which seems a pretty good summary. Wood has the ball, here we go!
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A slow morning’s play, but could be a vital one if India can push past 450 after lunch. I’m off to drink coffee and stretch my limbs, thanks for all the messages, will get back to the rest of them after breakfast.
Lunch: India 388-7
113th over: India 388-7 (Jurel 31, Ashwin 25) A boundary! Jurel’s eyes light up as a short fat one from Hartley lands outside his off stump and he punches off the back foot. Beaten by a beauty next ball. And that is lunch!
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112th over: India 384-7 (Jurel 27, Ashwin 25) Wood comes in for one last blast before sustenance. Jurel and Ashwin continue to refuse to be tempted to go for the big shot.
“Morning Tanya! Trust you and the dog both well. Yesterday I went for a quick stroll through the mustard fields here in the Aravali Hills just south of Delhi, and came back to see England had snaffled a couple of early wickets. Then I sat down to work and Rohit and Jadeja piled it on. This morning? Same quick stroll - same result! But I need to sit down and be vaguely productive now. So can someone else go for a walk, please? I mean, we know it works...” Anyone? I’m about to walk to the kettle, if that helps.
111th over: India 382-7 (Jurel 26, Ashwin 25) Hartley again. The fifty partnership comes up off 118 balls, of which 93 balls were dots. Can that really be right? Stokes continues to move the field this way and that. Five minutes till lunch.
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110th over: India 380-7 (Jurel 25, Ashwin 24) Five off Wood’s over, a couple of nice shots from Jurel, a punchy straight drive and a touch-perfect late cut.
109th over: India 375-7 (Jurel 20, Ashwin 24) Tom Hartley fizzes through another over. The run rate this morning is a sludgey is 2.13.
“Hi Tanya” Hello Sanket Dhume. “For the third time in this series, India has let a position of strength slip from their hands. Some pedestrian batting in the first hour yesterday after winning the toss was bailed out by Rohit & Jadeja. Later, Jadeja slowing down as he got close to his 100 cost them momentum and the wicket of Sarfaraz, who looked like arguably India’s best batter so far in the series and today morning they have ground to a standstill again. Very characteristic of this management regime.
“It also speaks to the noticeable drop in India’s batting standards. Could you have imagined the likes of Tendulkar, Laxman, Sehwag allowing the shocking half-trackers that Rehan Ahmed/Hartley dish out about twice an over without smashing them out of the attack for good? This team really misses a batter like Pant, Kohli or even Rahane who’d take the initiative and counter-punch. This is also what made Sarfaraz’s debut yesterday all the more exciting. But it also annoys me that India do not seem to learn from their mistakes as this series progresses - something Stokes/England seem to be doing really well.”
108th over: India 373-7 (Jurel 19, Ashwin 23) Wood returns with some chin music. Jurel takes evasive action for the first two balls. More field changes by Stokes who reckons Wood has Jurel’s number. And ooof, Jurel picks up four, in the air, off his hips, just wide of Stokes.
And thanks to Ali, for digging out the business of the penalty runs. It turns out that yesterday, Sarfaraz Khan was given a quiet word by the umpires in the 75th over, before Jadeja received a first and final warning in the 80th
“Just wondering”, asks Dale in Melbourne, “whether it was the dog or the son who got back in the small hours. Or were they out together?”
Son, dog was obediently in her basket (or at least I think so).
107th over: India 369-7 (Jurel 15, Ashwin 23) A quick single, well fielded by Ollie Pope on the run, whose strawberry blond mullet pokes out of the back of his cap. And a beauty to finish as Hartley passes the outside edge of Ashwin’s bat.
106th over: India 368-7 (Jurel 14, Ashwin 23) Wood is brought back for another short sharp shock. A handful of singles. Something of a slow grind this.
105th over: India 365-7 (Jurel 12, Ashwin 22) Ashwin sweeps, like a teenager told to clean the kitchen floor. Brings a single. Hartley again bowling with concentration and variation. Ashwin still complaining about the five-run penalty.
“Good morning Tanya!” Hello Jonny, so lovely to have this company in the small hours.
“These sub continental tours are ruining my body clock! I decided for the first test to stay up through the night until the 4am start rather than take a nap and wake myself up. Each morning session has been fantastic and now I don’t want to brake the spell! But I’m 35 and have bags under my eyes that make it look like I have done 3 rounds with Mike tyson!
“If we get them out out for 375 this innings we have a great chance!”
Under 400, I reckon Stokes would be happy.
104th over: India 364-7 (Jurel 12, Ashwin 22) A nice over from Ahmed, until the last ball which is short and wide and Ashwin tucks in, dispatching the ball for four between point and backward point. Ahmed closes his eyes and tips his head to the heavens in frustration.
103rd over: India 359-7 (Jurel 10, Ashwin 18) A maiden from Hartley. I love the aesethics of him bowling in conjuction with Ahmed. Hartley is all height and angles, Ahmed all curves.
“Morning Tanya.” Brian Withington!
”Every morning of this series I have meant to be sensible, get an early night and set the alarm for 6:30 to catch the start of the second session.
"Instead, once again, it’s rolled past 4am and here I still am, coffee fuelled and sleep deprived.
“Yesterday Mark Wood & co made it all worthwhile before the fourth wicket stand broke me and I succumbed to the troubled sleep of the damned until the third session run out.
“This morning Jimmy and Joe have threatened to restore hope and the improbable prospect of England batting before lunch, but I suspect messrs Ashwin and Jurel may yet beg to differ.
“And in response to Finbar Anslow’s question might I offer Moeen Ali as a starter for 10 for the spinning all-rounder camp? Rehan Ahmed will hopefully fit the bill too in time.”
102nd over: India 359-7 (Jurel 10, Ashwin 18) Ashwin picks up a couple from a stylish drive off Rehan Ahmed, but that is negated shortly afterwards when he gets ticked off for running straight down the pitch – and five penalty runs are promptly awarded to England, after India were warned yesterday for doing the same thing. Ashwin takes it quietly on the chin as you can imagine.
101st over: India 354-7 (Jurel 10, Ashwin 13) Ashwin picks off an early post-drinks single with a handsome drive from Hartley.
“Hello again, T
The word ‘miscommunication’ (spoken in English) has been translated as ‘misunderstanding’ in the preamble. Is it too early for me to think about this? How can one English word be translated into another?
*shakes head while boiling kettle.”
Good morning Deepak Puri! I must admit, I just took that snippet of conversation from an India paper, and didn’t think about it. But you’re quite right!
100th over: India 353-7 (Jurel 10, Ashwin 12) A first over of the day for Rehan Ahmed, one from it, and that’s DRINKS!
99th over: India 352-7 (Jurel 10, Ashwin 11) Hartley, whose doppelganger I don’t think we ever successfully discovered,
tests Jurel with a super maiden. Jurel nearly perishes a couple of times, once slicing just short of Wood at backward point, another beaten past the outside edge.
98th over: India 352-7 (Jurel 10, Ashwin 11) Ashwin, who cuts a authoritative figure at the crease, turns the otherwise immaculate Andeson off his hip for four to bring up the Indian 350. They’ll want at least another 50 more – with the commentators on the one hand saying this will be the best day for batting, and on the other spotting out the marks that might work for spinners.
97th over: India 347-7 (Jurel 9, Ashwin 7) Hartley replaces Wood at the North End of the ground. Hordes of school children provide a shrill and enthusiastic accompaniment. Just a single to Jurel.
96th over: India 346-7 (Jurel 7, Ashwin 8) Ashwin plays defensively on the back foot and the ball flies just short of the diving Zac Crawley at second slip. Another Anderson maiden.
Hello Rosanna Lynch. “Morning Tanya. Thanks as always for the early morning OBO company. Absolute scenes here with the cat celebrating another wicket from the unstoppable Jimmy Anderson!” She includes a photo of her gorgeous sleeping cat, which sadly I can’t upload onto the system. My dog has yet to make an appearance, having crept upstairs to sleep on my son’s bed when he got back in the small hours.
95th over: India 346-7 (Jurel 7, Ashwin 8) Wow! Jurel picks up his first boundary by leaning back and ramping an 146kph bouncer from Wood and sending it soaring, with a waft of the wand, for SIX. His neat moustache smiles, or at least I hope it does. Ducks the next.
94th over: India 338-7 (Jurel 1, Ashwin 6) To his eleventh ball, and the last delivery of Anderson’s over, Jurel gets off the mark with a little dart to point. Ashwin walks down to give him a touch-glove of encouragement.
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93rd over: India 336-7 (Jurel 0, Ashwin 5) Mark Wood screams in at 140kph plus. Ashwin stands tall like a sergeant, punches him away for four. The next is a screaming snifter that bounces nastily and Ashwin must jag his head back to avoid being hit . The third is pushed down from armpit height.
“Greetings from sunny Sydney” writes Leo Bajzert. “In days gone by, 326-5 would have filled me dread, but something weird has happened. We might get close, we get out swinging for 200 and be 200 behind. But I find myself caring less about the result and just really, really enjoying the cricket. Which is lovely, isn’t it?” It is and that’s the magic of Bazball! (though there was a certain morbid curiosity that accompanied the last days of the Joe Root era)
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92nd over: India 331-7 (Jurel 0, Ashwin 0) Jurel blocks out an Anderson maiden, showing a good front stride and a solid face of the bat.
91st over: India 331-7 (Jurel 0, Ashwin 0) Root passes the outside edge of Jadeja’s bat, and does a little circular dance of celebration, three balls later, he gets his man, stepping to his left and gathering the ball at head height in front of the stumps.
“Good morning Tanya” Hello Finbar Anslow. “ I wanted to share a vague doubt as to our perception of the requisites of an ‘all-rounder’
“It’s an expressions that conjours up names like Flintoff, Botham, D’Oliviera, Stokes . . .
“Is it just my imagination or does one have to be a medium/medium fast bowler to be eligible? Are spinners automatically disqualified or is that a peculiarity of the England team? For example
“why is Joe Root a part time bowler?
“And why on earth am I thinking about this at 5 am?”
I think Joe Root may have just proved your point!
WICKET! Jadeja c and b Root 112 (India 331-7)
Root gets his reward for a lovely few overs of bowling. He flights one up, Jadeja takes a stride and hits the ball straight back into Root’s hands.
90th over: India 331-5 (Jadeja 112, Jurel 0) And the other new boy, wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel, joins Jadeja at the crease. Jadeja gives him a pep talk, let’s hope it doesn’t include the words ‘quick single’. Jurel neatly shoulders arms to his first two balls in Test cricket.
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WICKET! Kuldeep Yadav c Foakes v Anderson 4 (India 331-6)
A feathered edge from the nightwatchman.
89th over: India 330-5 (Jadeja 111, Kuldeep 4) Root again, and Jonny Bairstow has adopted the kneeling position at second slip. Can’t be that comfortable. He doesn’t get the ball, as Root wheels through a maiden.
88th over: India 330-5 (Jadeja 111, Kuldeep 4) Jimmy Anderson at the other end has been unpacked from the ironing basket. His first ball is on the money, of course it is. A couple of runs.
And good news from the commentators, who watched Ben Stokes having a bowl during practise this morning.
87th over: India 328-5 (Jadeja 110, Kuldeep 3) An early blast of Jerusalem with your coffee? The Barmy Army are on hand. An outside edge scuttles away off Kuldeep’s bat to bring the first couple of runs of the day. Otherwise a neat opening over from Root.
Joe Root has the ball…
Mark Wood is chatting: “The first two overs I thought it was going to be a very long day, but then it started reversing. There’s a bit in it for everyone, have to put some good toil in and all of a sudden there’s some interest. The outfield and pitch is quick and very green , the wicket is quite hard, the batters are hitting the ball into the ground , which was why it reversed so early (after the second over).
Asked about over rate. “Yesterday was hot, maybe that is something that we need to work on. All in all we’re trying to think about taking wickets, sometimes it might look as if we’re slow, but we’re trying to think about how to take these great players out.”
In the studio Alastair Cook and Steven Finn are talking about ….Sarfaraz Khan. Why wouldn’t you? And then we switch to pictures of England walking off the team bus, all navy blue sports kit and sliders. Time to grab a cup of tea, do drop me a line if you’re awake.
Preamble
It’s nearly 12 hours later and I still can’t get over the look on poor Sarfaraz Khan’s face after being sucker-punched by Ravindra Jadeja. He had eased past 50 and looked well on the way to a maiden Test hundred in his debut innings. Such ease and attack! But then the yes-no-disaster as Mark Wood flung down the non-striker’s stumps.
After play, Sarfaraz was diplomatically circumspect: “He came to dressing room and said, ‘Thoda sa miscommunication ho gaya tha… (there was a bit of a misunderstanding).’ I said to him, ‘Ye hota rehta hai’. It’s part of the game,”
Jadeja took to instagram,
Ravindra Jadeja has posted an Instagram story, sharing a heartfelt message after being involved in a run-out mix-up with Sarfaraz Khan.#RavindraJadeja #SarfarazKhan #India #INDvsENG #Tests #cricket pic.twitter.com/5DWGFPUChZ
— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) February 15, 2024
The moment, however, was lost.
That aside, another gripping day, in another gripping Test. England’s morning – inspired by Mark Wood – before hundreds from Rohit Sharma and Jadeja, and Sarfaraz’s nifty 62 off 66 balls swung things back towards India. Play starts at 4am GMT – see you on the sofa.
