Key events
77th over: India 275-5 (Gill 87, Jadeja 34) There’s a lengthy delay and no little booing as Gill gets treatment whilst lying prone on the outfield. Nowt wrong with Jadeja’s movement though, Bashir tosses one up and is clubbed wide of mid on for four. Shadows lengthening at Edgbaston, we’ll probably get five more overs in, a couple of which could be with the new Dukes.
76th over: India 270-5 (Gill 86, Jadeja 30) Jadeja stands tall on his tippytoes and punches Josh Tongue through the covers for four. One of the shots of the day. A single guided to point brings Gill on strike. The Indian captain looks to be struggling with a bit of a dicky lower back. A pull shot is hauled in by Duckett on the leg-side fence. We’re going to have a bit of a delay whilst the physio works some essential oils/voltarol into Shubman’s lumbar region.
75th over: India 262-5 (Gill 83, Jadeja 25) Bashir whistles through another over. England’s eyes are firmly on the new ball. Shubman’s Gill’s are on a Test match ton and being unbeaten overnight.
74th over: India 259-5 (Gill 82, Jadeja 23) Josh Tongue does indeed replace Stokes. Very sensible. The field is set back – are we going to see a bouncer barrage? Double bluff – Tongue is full and at the stumps but Gill is equal to it, holding the pose in his defence and leaving with considerably more success than Nitish Kumar Reddy…
Some plonker wrote this about the leave.
Hear that? Pitter patter of footsteps. Whoosh. Silence. Thud. Groan. The sound of leather not on willow. Cricket revolves around the tussle between bat and ball. But in order to make runs, batting in the longest format is as much about survival and occupation: of actively choosing not to hit the ball.According to CricViz, 16% of all deliveries in Test cricket are left, which makes the abjuration of a stroke comfortably the second most common “shot” in the format after the forward defensive. All that energy expended over nothing. A Beckettian passage of play that repeats sometimes over a hundred times a Test match. Day after day. Nothing happens. Somebody bowls. Somebody lets it go. It’s … absorbing?”
73rd over: India 258-5 (Gill 82, Jadeja 22) Jadeja takes a couple of strides down the wicket and deposits Bashir back over his bonce for four.
72nd over: India 252-5 (Gill 81, Jadeja 17) Harry Brook pulls off a diving stop at backward point to save a few runs for his side and his captain. Stokes has bowled five on the spin, might be time for some Josh Tongue, mind that red zone Benjamin!
71st over: India 247-5 (Gill 79, Jadeja 15) “I’m not sure India are in that bad a position” writes Paul Griffin. “They could easily get 350/400 and could unleash the best fast bowler in the w… what? Oh.”
70th over: India 246-5 (Gill 78, Jadeja 15) Stokes is around the wicket to Jadeja with two slips and a gully in place. Jadeja batting in his cable knit short sleeve jumper despite the positively tropical midlands weather. Two singles scampered.
69th over: India 244-5 (Gill 77, Jadeja 14) Bashir replaces Carse and pins Jadeja on the pad… the bowler likes it a lot and starts skipping down the wicket but the umpire is unmoved. After a hurried meeting in the middle Stokes decides not to review it. ooooft. Clipping leg stump, another decision doesn’t go England’s way on umpire’s call. Bashir could do with a wicket like that, just for the optics if anything. All of his wickets so far in the series have been caught in the deep.
68th over: India 243-5 (Gill 77, Jadeja 13) Gill plays the ugliest shot of his innings in trying to smear a wide ball from Stokes through the off side. No one came out of that too well tbh. Drinks are taken with about an hour or so left in the day, the new ball is twelve overs away so England might get an over or two with that tonight if they get a wiggle on.
67th over: India 238-5 (Gill 76, Jadeja 9) Gill caresses a wide Carse delivery backward of point for four with Andrex soft hands. The bowler follows up with a speared in yorker. He goes full again and is picked off for a couple of singles. India rebuilding after Pant and Reddy fell in a flash.
66th over: India 232-5 (Gill 71, Jadeja 8) Stokes is a bit too loose and is duly punished – one short ball is pulled nonchalantly by Gill and another is smoked square on the cut by Jadeja. Two boundaries in the over and Stokes stomps off with his sunhat looking like the proverbial nettle chewing bulldog.
65th over: India 223-5 (Gill 66, Jadeja 4) Carse thunders through a maiden.
The Grade Cricketer boys are sat just along from the Guardian blob in the press box, they are in town for their live show in Birmingham tomorrow night, apparently some bloke called James Anderson will be joining them on stage. Me neither. Anywho – a little Antipodean birdie tells me there might be a few final tickets left if you are in town tomorrow and fancy a giggle…
64th over: India 223-5 (Gill 66, Jadeja 4) Stokes senses a moment and brings himself on for a bowl. No dice this over but you sense it is happening for England.
“Hello James, can you give a big build up to the rest of the Indian batting line up? Regards Matthew Doherty”
It’s a bit of fun.
63rd over: India 218-5 (Gill 64, Jadeja 2) Carse replaces Bashir and is around the wicket. Shot! Gill sends a high elbowed drive skimming through the covers for four. A lot rests on the Captain’s shoulders now as the set man.
“Hi Jim, I was just about to ask you if India had ever fielded a number six with a first class average of 25 when Nitish Kumar Reddy made my point rather more decisively than I could.”
Gary ‘Stick the boot in’ Naylor there.
61st over: India 212-5 (Gill 59, Jadeja 1) Ravindra Jadeja joins his captain in the middle with India spluttering and Edgbaston rocking.
WICKET! Nitish Kumar Reddy b Woakes 1 (India 211-5)
There are only two types of leave! Kumar Reddy shoulders arms and sees his off peg knocked back by a roaring Chris Woakes! England have another in the hutch and the game is tilting their way on day one.
61st over: India 210-4 (Gill 58, Reddy 1) Nitish Kumar Reddy is the new batter. This guy can play and isn’t short of confidence. He gets off the mark with a clip to leg. England are chipping away at India’s batting card on day one.
WICKET! Rishabh Pant c Crawley b Shoaib Bashir 25 (India 208-4)
India gift another wicket to England! Pant chips Bashir to Crawley at long on and the lissom limbed opener takes a decent catch. That came from nowhere – Bashir wasn’t threatening at all and the visitors are in danger of letting a promising situation slip once again. The Hollies stand give Pant a vociferous send off. His Captain didn’t look best pleased with him either.
60th over: India 208-3 (Gill 57, Pant 25) The Barmy Army start to work their way though their ‘repertoire’. Runs starting to flow more easily for India now, drives, flicks and glances off full balls. Six off the over.
59th over: India 203-3 (Gill 53, Pant 23) Bashir drops short and Pant, resembling a man beating a dusty carpet against a garden wall, hoicks behind square for four. That’s 200 up and ticking for India. They haven’t been able to get away from England as of yet but there are still nearly two hours left in the day.
58th over: India 196-3 (Gill 52, Pant 18) Woakes continues. He’s seemed to be on the edge of combustion all day after those two early and very marginal DRS decisions went against him. Some real Michael Douglas in ‘Falling Down’ energy (more film chat, seriously?) No More Mr Nice Guy.
*Three runs off the over.
57th over: India 193-3 (Gill 50, Pant 17) Jofra Archer is spotted running drinks on the boundary edge and gets a hearty cheer from the crowd. England could do with a bit of his stardust out there right about now. Bashir is plopped back over his head for four by an advancing Gill, that takes India’s captain to a pretty serene half century.
56th over: India 188-3 (Gill 46, Pant 16) Woakes stitches the dots to Gill before venturing too full and onto the pads, Gill doesn’t miss out, regally clipping through midwicket for four.
55th over: India 183-3 (Gill 42, Pant 15) Rishabh Pant is booed by some voracious souls in the Hollies as he blocks out a couple of dots to Bashir.
“I quite like Carse for Brody” says Nicholas Way. “Mayor Vaughn is tricky now B**ball is in its mature second iteration, but Duckett’s ‘whatever they score, we’ll chase’ has something of the right flavour.”
“One of the best things about Jaws is that the shark doesn’t actually make an appearance until about 80 minutes into the film.” Chimes in Simon McMahon. “The technical difficulties with Bruce – the mechanical shark – meant that Spielberg had to find other ways to build tension through inference, music and storytelling. Maybe India are doing the same with Bumrah?”
That made me smile… you son of a…
Righto, the players are back out there. Chris Woakes has changed ends (‘and Umpire’ says a wag in the press box) can he winkle up a wicket for England? Shubman Gill on strike. The Wizard runs in from the Pavillion End and lands it on a handkerchief for a maiden first up after tea.
54th over: India 182-3 (Gill 42, Pant 14)
53rd over: India 182-3 (Gill 42, Pant 14) Bashir is worked for two singles through cover and that is tea. India added 84 runs and England took one wicket in what was an absorbing and attritional session. Honours about even perhaps – BIG FINAL SESSION.
“Taking your Jaws spitballing to its grisly conclusion” says Barry Norman Will Ellen. “Surely Jasprit Bumrah plays the title role? A terrifying force of nature that has any sentient human in its vicinity quaking in their spiked boots… which makes India’s decision not to play him all the more inexplicable. Jaws without a big man eating monster isn’t quite as scary, no?”
They’re gonna need a bigger boat lotta runs.
52nd over: India 180-3 (Gill 41, Pant 13) Gill flicks Stokes off his pads and scampers two runs. Stokes is right on the money for the rest of the over – but so is Shubman. India’s skipper holds the pose on a couple of Fort Knox defensive strokes as if to say ‘get past that’.
51st over: India 178-3 (Gill 39, Pant 13) Tick Tick Tick BOOM! Pant is tied down by Bashir until the final ball of the over which he dispatches for SIX over midwicket.
50th over: India 170-3 (Gill 38, Pant 6) Stokes with his dander up, hurtling in with sweat glistening and bobbing flaxen mane. Another testing over, England’s captain has looked dangerous in this spell, he’d dearly love another before tea.
49th over: India 167-3 (Gill 37, Pant 4) Bashir bowls a good over to Rishabh Pant, tying him down and keeping him honest. Five dots and then a single picked off the last ball.
“Hi James, it seems a shame to cite Stokes as the Quint equivalent without identifying which cricketers for the other roles. Can I start with Joe Root for Hooper (baby-faced, puppyish enthusiasm).
Not too sure about Chief Brody though, let alone Mayor Vaughn.”
Giles Clarke for the Mayor? Ahem. Rob Key? I’m just spitballing here.
48th over: India 166-3 (Gill 37, Pant 3) Close! Stokes gets one to jag off the seam and Pant pokes a half hearted bat at it. No edge this time.
Tom Hooper wades in on some Jaws fun.
“Afternoon Jim, I feel that Chris Woakes has the air of Hooper about him?”
Do you not think he’s a bit Chief Brody? Ollie Pope has a whiff of the Hooper’s? I’d like to see them all comparing scars and singing the odd salty sea shanty.
47th over: India 164-3 (Gill 36, Pant 2) That wicket of Jaiswal takes Ben Stokes level with Andrew Flintoff on Test scalps. Freddie had a decent game here twenty years ago this summer… Bashir gets through a tidier over, targeting the front pad, just two singles off it.
Stokes v Pant round two coming up.
46th over: India 162-3 (Gill 35, Pant 1) The ground comes to life with that wicket and England buzz about in the field with the arrival of Headingley’s double-centurion Rishabh Pant. Jaiswal really dragged himself from the middle, he should have larupped that ball to the fence and he knows it.
Stokes to Pant is box office stuff. Four dots are cheered and jeered by the Edgbaston faithful. Pant hops about in his crease like a bloke in a beer garden who has just trodden on a spaniel’s tale. He gets off the mark off the final ball with a flick to the leg side. Don’t go anywhere!
WICKET! Yashasvi Jaiswal c Smith b Stokes 87 (India 161-3)
That is a gift for England! Jaiswal flays at a short and wide and, as he does occasionally, falls off shot a little whilst trying to flog it square. A meaty edge is swallowed by Jamie Smith behind the stumps and Stokes hares off in celebration. Not a great ball, an even worse shot and England don’t give a ffff fig.
45th over: India 161-2 (Jaiswal 87, Gill 35) Bashir peels off another, India rack up erm three more runs.
44th over: India 158-2 (Jaiswal 85, Gill 34) Stokes replaces Tongue, that was not the most threatening spell from the Notts man, too many loose balls. Can England’s captain pull something out of the hat? This has been a soporific session so far, even the Hollies stand is a bit on the snoozy side.
43rd over: India 155-2 (Jaiswal 85, Gill 33) Bashir starting to leak runs, Gill dances down and pistol whips a four through mid off.
42nd over: India 149-2 (Jaiswal 84, Gill 28) Gill mishits a pull shot off Tongue that nearly carries to Ollie Pope off the top edge. England need to land one of these two big fish currently at the crease. Jaiswal currently scenting blood in the water with the pitch flat and the sun beating down. Yes, I watched Jaws last night (no further questions). Ben Stokes has a touch of Robert Shaw’s Quint about him though (no further questions).
41st over: India 147-2 (Jaiswal 83, Gill 27) Gill skips out of his crease and plonks Bashir to deep midwicket for two. Jaiswal misses out by crunching a cut to the boundary rider on the off side for a single. Bashir does still send down a loose ball or two per over. This is an important game for him, he needs to prove that he can do it against the big boys.
40th over: India 142-2 (Jaiswal 82, Gill 24) Tongue hits the pitch hard just short of a good length. I got the early train out of Das Kapital with Wisden’s silken anchorman Yas Rana this morning and one of the many topics of conversation was the awkward length that Tongue bowls. With his angle of release to the right hander at around 11am the ball is always following you and perpetually seems to be speared in around box height. “Basically, he bowls at your knob”. Simple as that. Anyway, just a single to Gill off the over.
James Wallace
Thanks Daniel and hello from sunny Brum. It’s been tight lines (vision dreams of passion) from England after lunch. Something’s gonna give?
Shoaib Bashir is on for a twirl post drinks with a slip and leg slip in place. He gives it some decent air from his oft mentioned high release point but Jaiswal and Gill are content to pick off the singles with the field spread.
39th over: India 141-2 (Jaiswal 82, Gill 23)
38th over: India 138-2 (Jaiswal 81, Gill 21) After Jaiswal takes a single, England again try to get the ball switched, to no avail, then continue with their tight lines. For now, India play along but, as I type, Jaiswal, back on strike after a single to Gill, eases a short one to deep third for four. And that is drinks, which means my watch is over; here’s Jim Wallace to coax you through the rest of the day’s play.
37th over: India 132-2 (Jaiswal 76, Gill 20) The pitch looks to be flattening out , and India will know this is a chance for them to build something commanding. The going, though is tough –when Jaiswal misses with a glance around the corner, they run a leg bye, then Gill flicks to fine leg, adding two more.
“I had resolved that I was not going to write in today,” says Richard O’Hagan, “but your 2005 piece struck a real nerve as I was going through the same thing at the same time, albeit that I was a few months behind you. Reading between the lines I think everything has worked out for you at least as well as it has for me – I met my wife whilst I was going through the divorce process and against the odds have not only persuaded her to love cricket despite being American, but to actually train as a scorer. The only real point of difference is that I’m still a bloody lawyer and not a sportswriter.”
It’s never too late to save yourself.
36th over: India 129-2 (Jaiswal 76, Gill 18) Tongue replaces Carse and Jaiswal turns his loosener to deep square for a single; five dots follow, and that’s much better stuff from a bowler who was expensive this morning.
35th over: India 128-2 (Jaiswal 75, Gill 18) Woakes didn’t start this spell especially well but he’s back in groove now, sending down five dots before his final ball hits the pads. Again, there’s a rejected appeal, probably because there was an outside edge, and this time there’s no review. Maiden.
34th over: India 128-2 (Jaiswal 75, Gill 18) This time, Carse runs in with tongue protruding – his tongue, not Josh Tongue – and Gill defends to mid-off, then takes one to midwicket.
REVIEW! NOT OUT!
The only thing that could save Gill was an inside edge, and he got one.
34th over: India 127-2 (Jaiswal 75, Gill 17) Carse continues, banging one in, out the way of which, Jaiswal sways. A pull then earns him one after which the bowler thrusts out an arm while running in – presumably to distract Gill who, having none of it, pulls away. But he might be regretting it now because when Carse goes again, he raps the pad, low, celebrappeals, and when the umpire says no, Stokes goes upstairs at the last second. Was there an inside edge?
33rd over: India 126-2 (Jaiswal 74, Gill 17) Gill waves bat at a wide one and winds up edging past the slips for four … then, three ball later, does similar for four more.
32nd over: India 118-2 (Jaiswal 74, Gill 9) Carse sends down a dot then goes over to Jaiswal who, offered a short, wide one, misses – you don’t see that happen too often. He then runs down to deep third for one before Gill pushes off the hip for another, and England are not threatening here. Then, at the end of the over, we see Carse grimacing – he looks in some discomfort but, I think, stays on for now.
31st over: India 116-2 (Jaiswal 73, Gill 8) A single to Jaiswal, then Gill manufactures two twos. He’ll be desperate to make a score here because, as a less bombastic character than his predecessors it’ll help a lot if he can lead from the front while he learns the art of captaincy.
30th over: India 111-2 (Jaiswal 72, Gill 4) Carse stots his way through a decent but relatively unthreatening maiden.
“Can I talk about Angus Fraser here?” asks Thomas Atkins. “No, of course he wasn’t the best English bowler anyone’s seen, but having started watching cricket in the grim post-Botham era of the early 1990s, he was the only bowler for what felt like a decade who you could rely on to bowl decent pace on a consistent line and length, cause a batter problems and even take the odd wicket occasionally. Maybe I could name a lot of better bowlers from other eras, but nobody stood out like a beacon in the darkness like Gus Fraser did.”
Yup, agree with all of that – then Darren Gough took it on a step further, after which England got good.
29th over: India 111-2 (Jaiswal 72, Gill 4) Jaiswal shoves a single into the off-side, then Gill squirts one to fine leg, playing around the pad – Woakes thinks he nearly had him there. It’s been a sedate start to the session.
28th over: India 109-2 (Jaiswal 71, Gill 3) Gill takes one to square le and a further single follows while, in comms, Nasser references his double hundred in the 1997 Ashes – still one the best knocks I’ve seen from an Englishman and absolutely monumental at the time.
27th over: India 107-2 (Jaiswal 70, Gill 2) Woakes, the best bowler this morning, angles one in then has it move away, beating Gill; lovely delivery. A single soon follows, then Jaiswal takes two to point.
“I have a trivial question,” begins Mac Millings. “You liveblog a lot of the tennis, as well as the cricket. Do you have a particular preference, and if so, what are your reasons?”
It’s like asking me which is my favourite son.* There’s something special and unique about the OBO, but the early stages of a slam, when I’m watching four matches at once, is also great, and a proper epic final is something else. It’s a privilege to cover both.
*I don’t have sons
26th over: India 104-2 (Jaiswal 68, Gill 1) After two dots, Jaiswal sticks two to cover, then offered a wide half-volley, he stretches to carve four to third man. He’s so good at not missing out when served poor deliveries.
Carse has the ball, Jaiswal to face, and off we go.
#England #India #mens #cricket #Test #day #live #England #India
