Key events
24th over: England 142-2 (Pope 22, Root 8) I don’t now what Root said to Krishna, but it must’ve ingratiated him, because he’s offered a wide, overpitched piece of nonsense that he drives to deep backward point for four. Krishna, though, responds really well, beating the bat with one that moves away off the seam. Next ball, Root follows one down leg-side and the bowler thinks there’s a catch behind, but Jadeja, at square leg, counsels to the contrary. This is really intense stuff now, extra bounce surprising Root, who quickly adjusts to play into the ground, so Krishna well and truly looks at him. It’s well scary.
23rd over: England 138-2 (Pope 22, Root 4) India are looking to create some theatre here, Siraj upping the volume such that an umpire again gets involved. The over yields five dots, then an edge for four that seems unlikely to improve India’s mood.
22nd over: England 134-2 (Pope 18, Root 4) Root is, of course, one of various in this England side who was nurtured by Thorpe, and he’ll want to mark his mate’s birthday if he can. Meantime, he’s got Krishna in his face having been beaten then responded with a typically gentle wave for four past gully. Usually, Root ignores all that, but this time he retorts – I wonder if, after what Deep did to Duckett, England have decided that India’s aggression will not stand, dudes. The umpires give bowler and captain a talking-to, but i doubt we’ve seen the last of this; India are fighting for their lives.
WICKET! Crawley c Jadeja b Krishna 64 O(England 129-2)
Becalmed for a few overs, Crawley forces the issue, trying to pull one that gets big on him; he splices high to midwicket, and Jadeja is never dropping that. India have earned that with their bowling since lunch, that’s the good news. The bad news is all they’ve done is invite Joe Root to the wicket.
21st over: England 129-1 (Crawley 64, Pope 18) Pope tries to keep thing moving but the bowling is much better now, putting pressure back on to the batters. Pope takes a single to fine leg that’s doubled when the umpire calls no-all, then Crawley pushes to point for a one more.
“Really bizarre Test this,” begins Peter Williams, “Josh Tongue channelling very early wayward-but-lethal Jimmy Anderson by way of Scott Boswell, Ben Duckett channelling Ben Duckett, Akash Deep’s niggly cuddle. And horrid news about Woakes, I wanted him to get 200 Test wickets. Looks very unlikely now. (and he might have been handy with a pink ball this winter.)
On Thorpe, I think we should remember how his willingness to speak up about depression and the privations of touring back in the dark ages (ie the late-90s) helped make it possible for Marcus Trescothick, Steve Harmison, Jonathan Trott, Mike Yardy, Sarah Taylor, Ben Stokes, and many others, to speak up and be applauded for it. His family are doing an incredible job in continuing that legacy.
I wanted to write something after he went last year but it felt a bit crass – I was just baffled, as well, why the news cut so deep about someone i didn’t know and only saw play live once – but have done now and persuaded my employer to publish it today, when he’s being remembered so beautifully.”
Thanks for sharing that and I agree: the work being done by Thorpey’s family, and the dignity with which they’re handling the worst situation imaginable is inspiring and affirming.
20th over: England 124-1 (Crawley 63, Pope 17) Crawley loops an attempted power-flick to midwicket, the ball landing safe, then defends and Krishna chucks the ball at him for no apparent reason – other than a) his team are losing and b) just because. It hits his bat, the bowler apologises, and we move on, a single to each batter keeping the scoreboard ticking over; India are bowling with greater discipline and intelligence than before lunch.
19th over: England 124-1 (Crawley 62, Pope 16) Offered a drive-ball, and Crawley drives down the ground for four then, when a full, floaty one – on the stumps but not moving – arrives next, he flicks uppishly over mid-off, Siraj flinging himself right but unable to get near a catch. A leg-bye follows, then Deep squares up Pope, not for the first time, the batter doing enough to keep the ball out.
18th over: England 115-1 (Crawley 54, Pope 16) It’s Prasidh from the other end – Siraj won’t like that, I wouldn’t think, but what can Gill do? – and Crawley digs out a yorker to square leg, which earns him one. Pope then fends at one, looking to guide between slip and gully, but diving left, Sudharsan gets there only to allow the ball to burst through his hands. It wasn’t a dolly, but nor was it nails, and he’s there for exactly that eventuality; he looks sick, with good reason.
“Frankly, what a thrilling session of Test Cricket – rarely have we been treated to any other type this series,” begins Ben Tyrer, “but what a shame to see Deep show an example of the entitled attitude that Barney Ronay touched on in his piece on Fortis-gate yesterday.
This India team is full of likeable sorts – Bumrah’s smiling menace, Siraj’s tireless love of a scrap, and Jaiswal’s buccaneering to kick an innings off – and yet moments like that send-off can make them hard to love. For a bit of Billy Balance, the England team have shown a similar ugly side this series as well, which all mildly detracts from the fantastic cricket we’ve been treated to all summer long.
Finally, thank you to you and everyone who has written in today to both reflect on Graham Thorpe and their own lived experiences. It takes tremendous strength to open up in the way readers have and delve into periods and parts that we all try to hide away.”
I’m not one for eliminating needle, but the hands-on aspect make this example of it a problem. If deep tries that on someone anywhere else in the world but a cricket pitch in front of the cameras, he might find himself absorbing a tickle.
17th over: England 110-1 (Crawley 53, Pope 12) Crawley inside-edges a single and it’s the only run from the over; better from India, who were too short and too wayward before the interval.
“Today, of all days, feels like the time to remind people that Bazball in its original, undiluted form was fairly explicitly a response to the mental effects of travelling all over the world for a year of dispiriting biodome cricket” – so says David Howell, “who has had intermittent suicidal ideation for the entire 21st century to date and loves the energy of the OBO and its mailbox.”
“As such, whatever else it has or hasn’t done to the fortunes of the England team or red-ball cricket in general, it was really a player welfare move that happened to take the form of a strategic shift – and on those terms, it has quite clearly been a massive success. Utterly fitting that A Day for Thorpey is the day where England revert to pure Bazball 1.0 with success.”
We’re about ready to go again, Deep with ball-in-hand.
“I’m not a natural harrumpher,” exculpates Stephen Cottrell, “but that’s the second time this series (Siraj at Lords the other) where a bowler has given Duckett a really OTT send-off. I’m not interested in the ‘spirit of the game’ [redactted] – a concept usually used to justify your own actions and demonise the opposition – but you can’t have bowlers putting hands on batsmen, or someone will make use of the piece of compacted willow by way of retaliation and then we will have a crisis. ICC have to come down hard on this.”
I’d want to know what was said, but I agree, hands on is a line.
I’m off for a break; I’ll be back in 30 or so for some emails and to set up what might be a decisive afternoon sesh.
Ach, this is rotten news. Godspeed, old mate.
16th over: England 109-1 (Crawley 52, Pope 12) Prasidh, trying to attack the stumps, is full – too full, and Pope panels another cover-drive for four. But the bowler responds brilliantly, squaring him up with one that moves away, then jagging one back which Pope digs out, the ball narrowly avoiding off-stump. Two dots follow and that’s lunch at the end of a superb morning for England. Every time India have been challenged in this series, they’ve responded, and they’ve got to find a way of doing so once more; if they can’t, they may find themselves out of this by close of play.
15th over: England 105-1 (Crawley 52, Pope 8) A single to Crawley, then Pope raises England’s hunnert with a cover-drive for three … then Mr Blonde drops hands, easing four to deep third and, in the process, raising his fifty. Deep responds well, drawing Crawley forward with a full, fifth-stump line, the ball leaving him but missing the edge. This scoring rate is at the same time ridiculous and wholly normal.
“Have a look at the setting for Armenia’s first dedicated cricket ground,” suggests Andrew Goudie. “You can insert your own ‘cow corner’ gag.”
Thanks, that’s beautiful.
14th over: England 97-1 (Crawley 47, Pope 5) Three dots, then Pope caresses a cover-drive for four; Deep responds well, curving one away from the outside edge. And there was bounce in that one too which is to say this pitch is still doing plenty.
“Please can I end the morning session by saying a huge thank you to all of the OBOers who have contributed to my club’s 24 hour net session in aid of cricket mental health advocates Opening Up,” says Richard O’Hagan. “It shows what a phenomenal bunch of people we have here. The link, if anyone missed it yesterday, is here, and we are getting very close to our target with all of your help.
Do it, mates.
13th over: England 93-1 (Crawley 47, Pope 1) Pope, who loves batting on this ground, gets off the mark immediately with a clip to deep backward square.
WICKET! Duckett c Jurel b Deep 43 (England 92-1)
Again, Duckett steps away to reverse-scoop but doesn’t get enough of it, guiding a catch to the keeper. Then, as he departs, Deep puts an arm around his shoulder – the kind that, when someone does it to you in club, pub or park, you know is a warning that violence is imminent if you don’t escape quickly. Despite holding a bat, Duckett handles it well, eventually offering some words at the uninvited hands touching him, before Rahul pulls his mate off. He may have the final word, but I’m not certain he had the better of this particular contest.
13th over: England 92-0 (Crawley 47, Duckett 43) Three dots, then Duckett misses with a scoop; is his luck running out?
Oh my days! Simon McMahon returns: “Oh, and why aren’t more openers pictured like this anymore..?”
That is a fantastic question.
12th over: England 92-0 (Crawley 47, Duckett 43) Goodness me, two singles from four balls won’t do at all, so Duckett annihilates a short one, pulled to deep square for four … and then the umpire calls a no-ball. A further single follows, meaning the end of a quieter over … whch yields eight runs.
“Can I associate myself entirely with everything said so far, about Thorpey and mental health in general,” asks Simon McMahon. “This OBO should be available to all on the NHS. Thanks to all at the Guardian liveblogs and elsewhere for making this subject far less taboo than it once was. I work with children and hope that talking to them about mental health does some good and can help remove the stigma that unfortunately still remains. Please talk, help is available. And in the spirit of the OBO, I like to think of Crawley and Duckett as the Hobbs and Sutcliffe of Bazball.
This is a good game. I like to see them at its Mr Blonde and Mr Orange.
11th over: England 84-0 (Crawley 46, Duckett 37) Again, the first ball of the over is assaulted, Duckett lamping four through mid-off. When England’s Test batters were struggling but the ODI lads were killing it, I wondered what’d happen if they picked the latter and gave them licence to slog with five-day fields to help them; eventually, the selectors sort of tried it, with Jason Roy, and it went as badly as everyone sensible knew it would. These two though, have all the power, but also the composure and technique; as I type, Crawley larrups Deeps’ fifth ball over cover for four, then does likewise with his sixth! This is hard to watch, at the same time as being fantastic to watch, the game reinvented in front of our eyes. Never has it seen anything like this.
“I do wonder why players risk injury on the slide to save four,” says Alisdair Gould. “In my day (!) bowlers in particular wouldn’t have got down let alone thrown themselves around. There are so many examples of shoulder injuries that it seems problematic. Discuss?”
I guess there are also examples of dives which don’t sustain injuries, and matches decided by narrow margins. But yes, I totally understand where you’re coming fro.
10th over: England 71-0 (Crawley 38, Duckett 32) A single to Duckett, then Crawley goes hard at Krishna again, looking to cut, edging instead, and the ball flies away for four more. In follow-through, Deep looks miffed at the injustice; in comms, Broad chastises the short length that allowed the opportunity. This series is being yanked away from India with sadistic alacrity, two singles completing a another profitable over, seven runs from it.
9th over: England 64-0 (Crawley 33, Duckett 30) No, Deep was just swapping ends, and his first ball provokes all sorts, a shout for leg before, a run rejected and a run out possible, before a dot goes into the scorebook. A single to Duckett follows and, just as India will be relieved to have delivered a cheaper over, Crawley seizes on to a delivery that’s fractionally short, humping over midwicket for four. He hits it so hard and so flat – he’s not just playing good shots, he’s advising the bowlers that his heart is full of disrespect.
8th over: England 59-0 (Crawley 29, Duckett 29) Krishna replaces Deep, perhaps hit out of the attack by Duckett, then Crawley edges his second delivery seeking to drive, and the ball rushes past leg-stump and scuttles to the fence for four. When it’s going for you, it’s going for you, and after Krishna finds a soupçon of swing, Crawley takes a little step forward and spanks a drive through cover; it goes for four, and that’s England’s 10th boundary of the innings. India desperately need some control, but these two are something else.
7th over: England 51-0 (Crawley 21, Duckett 29) Gosh, I was just about ro rhapsodise the touch Duckett’s in when Crawley comes forward to wallop Siraj’s first ball back down the ground for four. Immediately, the bowler is under pressure, fighting to save his over while, in comms, Broad advises the bowlers to get Duckett playing with a straight bat; if he’s cutting, the delivery is too short. As it goes, Siraj responds well, ceding just a single from his next four balls, and, er, um, yeah: Duckett moves towards the offside, flicks a half-volleyed reverse-scoop over his head … and raises England’s fifty with a six. I’ve been watching this thing of ours a long time now, and I’ve never seen anything like this. Drink it in, people, because what we’re experiencing is unparalleled in the entire history of Test cricket and very, very special. Is Ben Duckett a genius?
6th over: England 40-0 (Crawley 16, Duckett 23) Duckett twinkles down the track and cuts to the fence then, after a dot, he again advances and this time goes over point for four more. Trouble for India, and Duckett being Duckett, he’s not done yet, using Deep’s inswing – like Tongue’s, starting from too straight – to flicks for a third four of the over. He then misses with a huge hoik, a reminder to himself of the focus required to impose himself without being reckless.
5th over: England 32-0 (Crawley 16, Duckett 11) Four dots, then Crawley stomps forward, clobbers down the ground, and freezes in follow-through; lovely stuff. These two have found the perfect tempo here, attacking with prejudice but intelligence.
“The Graham Thorpe story is a tragedy of gargantuan proportions,” writes Mark Lloyd. “I have experienced extended bouts of depression and, in more recent years, anxiety, over a 33-year period and I feel I have a good understanding of what he went through. The last period of ill-health I had – the worst I’ve had, in fact – was from mid-July to October 2023, and the best way I can sum it up the sensation is to say that I felt like I was living within one of those big transparent balls you can climb inside. I could see the world outside, albeit through a fuzzy haze, but I had no way of accessing it until late evening each day.
As is common with depression, mine mercifully lifted significantly at the end of each day, so the hell of mornings always came with the vague knowledge and hope that by the end of the day I would get a couple of hours of relief (although one of the demonic tricks the illness plays is it convinces you that this is the one time it is never going to leave you). I spent whole days lying on my bed – this is how I listened to the last two Ashes tests, utterly bereft at not being able to extract even a flicker of pleasure from any of it.
The tragedy for Graham and his family is that depression lifts – always, in my experience – and with the lifting of the depression comes a deep and ecstatic joy in simply being alive and, well, ‘normal’. This knowledge is no comfort whatsoever when one is in the depths of despair – if it was, depression would lose its power. There is a cruelty in depression which cannot be put into words. And nobody is immune. But and here is the thing I feel my family and friends will never fully understand (because they have seen what it can do to me) … if, in a parallel universe, I were offered the chance to go back in time to 1992 and erase all trace of depression from the long years ahead, I would refuse without hesitation. I know this to be true, but I have no way to adequately explain it. Rest in Peace, Thorpey – with the stress on the Peace.”
Even parts of us that are hard to deal with are part of us, and learning to love all of ourselves is one of the best ways of protecting mental health. Whitney had it right.
And so did King Promise:
4th over: England 25-0 (Crawley 12, Duckett 11) Duckett races down, swings, and misses; Deep has him on absolute toast here, squaring him up, and he top-edges towards two gullies … neither of whom are sharp enough to take a ball that loops up invitingly. Naturally, Duckett is nervous facing the final ball of a really testing over, so he does what anyone would do: reverse-scoops it for six. At some point, we’ll need to talk about this man, and how he is now one of the best, most creative, inventive, entertaining and brave batters in the world.
“Once you allow substitutions for any reason,” says Stuart Silvers, “you open up a can of worms that ends with the South African rugby union team changing its entire forward pack at half time – or the farce at the end of international football friendlies. Watching England cope without Woakes this morning has already been fascinating.”
I do think there’s a way of making it work, but from my perspective, it seeks to solvs a problem that doesn’t exist.
REVIEW! NOT OUT!
It was a really good ball, but the bounce was taking it over the top; to avoid that on this track, you’ve got to be so full; length just won’t do it.
4th over: England 18-0 (Crawley 12, Duckett 5) Deep’s in and he rattles Duckett, er, in the deep. As you might imagine, his good friend and junior partner finds the whole thing not unamusing; he takes time to regenrate and refresh, then the bowler pins him on the crease with that straightens. He loves it, persuading Gill to review when the umpire says naw…
3rd over: England 18-0 (Crawley 12, Duckett 5) The ball isn’t doing anything, but it might once the lacquer is off and heavy roll has worn off the pitch. But in the meantime and after a single to Duckett, Crawley times four through cover, then twizzles four more to midwicket, and the problem India have is that England score so quickly, by the time conditions start offering assistance, the whole tenor of the innings might’ve changed.
Lovely to see the love being rained down on Thorpey, quite right too, a top fella,” begins Jeremy Yeomans. “I was lucky enough to play village cricket against Graham and his brothers Ian (who I also played football with) and Alan, a highly competitive, (in the most positive meaning of the word) and skilful band of brothers. Together with their dad Geoff, who often stood in on umpire duties and Mum Toni on the scorebook, they made a formidable sporting family, 100% committed and really lovable, grounded people with it.
Particularly remember my lot beating them in an under 15s 20-overs game, where the drama of a couple of run win for us, in the final over,was closer to 9pm on a gloomy September evening in deepest Surrey, which must have prepared him for the darkness of Karachi . at least that’s how I like to picture it.
If memory serves me correctly, Graham would have been under-10 at the time, because I’d have been 14 max.
He showed his class a couple of years later, when I had graduated to the weekend men’s 2nd team at around 17. His Wrecclesham team turned up & kicked our asses on his debut. if I remember rightly he took three wickets, (he was a handy bowler) & made at least 30 odd (might have been 50…. memory’s not what it was, especially in a losing cause) – I believe he was 12 or maybe 13, took out fellas three or four times his age, who were in utter disbelief. You could tell he was destined for better things.
I know he had his demons but Thorpey loved sport and he loved cricket. To have that world shut off to him, appears to have had a hugely negative impact on his emotional being and sense of self. A real tragedy and hopefully making people more aware will help others who might feel that life cannot continue without something which has been seemingly omnipresent in their lives amd will give hope for the future.
Me, I like to remember him on a sunny Saturday afternoon, at Frensham Rec, quietly going about his business of showing the old guard that there was a new kid on the block with bat and ball. Sound technique, no flashiness, just got the job done.”
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