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3rd over: India 10-0 (Jaiswal 4, Rahul 5) Woakes hasn\u2019t taken any time at all to settle, and he\u2019s now bowling to three slips and a leg slip \u2026 none of them any use when Rahul collars a pull, hauling it around the corner with his toe-end for four. I\u2019m not sure that as Woakes\u2019 pace, the pitch will be receptive to the shorter stuff; he needs to look to hit the stumps. A leg bye completes the over.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think Ben Stokes\u2019 claim about over rates needing to be adjusted depending on location a little rich,\u201d writes Liam Crowley. \u201cConsidering to my eye the biggest problem is a the fielding change every three balls, constantly badgering the umpires for a ball change, general faffing about, physios on the pitch and drinks breaks overrunning or being taken whenever the batsmen fancy changing their gloves, because God forbid they have to spend two hours in them (at best).\u201d<\/p>\n
So we\u2019re saying field changes should defer to over rates? And that spin from both ends doesn\u2019t take a lot less time than pace from both ends? In any event, responsibility for the ball-changing situation, and drinks, lies with umpires not players.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n 2nd over: India 5-0 (Jaiswal 4, Rahul 1) Archer might extract a bit more from the surface than Woakes, but at Lord\u2019s it took him a while to ease into his pace, and shonuff he\u2019s roundabout 85mph here, Rahul playing his fourth ball down into the on-side and sprinting through for a single. That brings Jaiswal on to strike, twice dismissed by Archer at Lord\u2019s \u2013 in the first dig, with a beauty \u2013 but he sees out the over comfortably enough.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 1st over: India 4-0 (Jaiswal 4, Rahul 0) Woakes, who has 35 OT wickets at 17, opens with a pearler, coming at Jaiswal from around, moving the ball away ad beating the edge. Two further dots follow, then Jaiswal pushes at one, edging \u2026 and the ball drops short of Crawley at three, the lack of pace writ large. Gosh, and after another dot, Jaiswal edges again, this time between two and three, the globule scuttling away for four.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Chris Woakes has the ball, Yashasvi Jaiswal will face, and \u2026 play.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIs anybody in there?\u201d wonders Sam Styles. \u201cJust nod if you can hear me, is there anyone home?\u201d \u201cQueues outside for miles in every direction!\u201d<\/p>\n The ground looks maybe half-full.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Our players come out, and it\u2019s anthem time. There are better voices in the world than Zak Crawley\u2019s, but the camera getting close enough for us to hear individual singing is a pleasing development.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Email! \u201cThe weather forecast looks OK,\u201d begins Andrew Goudie, \u201cso we should get a full day of 60 overs.\u201d<\/p>\n I find the prescriptive nature of over-rates a bit odd. As Stokes has noted, the rules need to be different depending on location as on the subcontinent, there\u2019s more spin bowled, which obviously takes less time. It\u2019s rare I finish watching or attending a day\u2019s play and consider myself cheated, and though it\u2019s true that in England the summer light means we could easily finish off the allocation, I\u2019m also conscious of how mentally and physically demanding the game is and that, after a long day, the players need some respite.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Is this the best series in England since 2005? To borrow Shenseea\u2019s line, \u201cthat\u2019s a no for me\u201d \u2013 I\u2019m going for South Africa 2012, as that was two great teams playing for the mace, not to fine teams playing for the trophy \u2013 but it was only three matches, and we\u2019ve got two more for this to usurp it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n On Kuldeep, Athers notes that England were always going to bowl \u2013 and when did describing it that way replace calling it fielding in the cricketing lexicon \u2013if they won the toss, so Gill could\u2019ve guaranteed having him wheeling away in the fourth innings. I bet England are pleased he\u2019s not there.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n India have lost 14 Test tosses in a row. The odds of that are, apparently, 16,384-1.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Gill was confused as to what to do, so thinks it\u2019s a good toss to lose. He\u2019s happy with how India have played, winning more sessions and days than England, they\u2019ve just lost a few \u201ccrunch moments\u201d. The surface looks \u201cnice and hard\u201d and he makes three changes”: out go Karun Nair plus the injured Akash Deep and Nitish Reddy; in come Sai Sudharsan, Shardul Thakur and Anshul Kamboj, making his debut.<\/p>\n He is not asked what the point of bringing Kuldeep Yadav on tour was; Old Trafford accepts wrist spin, India are behind in the series, and he\u2019s still sat at the side.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>England win the toss and bowl<\/p>\n Four our of four for Ben Stokes, who thinks the overhead conditions will be good for bowling and everyone\u2019s had a good opportunity to relax and recharge. Everyone left everything out on the field at Lord\u2019s, both sides have been excellent with little between them, and he thinks the wicket is typical Manchester, quite firm with a bit of grass coverage. It\u2019s been a while since dawson played a Test, but he\u2019s thoroughly earned his chance.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Toss time\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Do England even need a spinner? I can\u2019t say I\u2019ve no visions of either Dawson or Bashir getting hit all over the show in Australia, and it might be that an all-seam attack is currently England\u2019s best option. It won\u2019t happen, I don\u2019t think, but if you\u2019ve constantly got a pair of fresh quicks, that\u2019s not a lot of respite for opposition batters.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n So what do we make of Liam Dawson\u2019s return? His batting and fielding are obviously like the Swiss flag \u2013 England have been uncharacteristically lax in the latter department this series \u2013 but I\u2019m mainly looking forward to seeing how his bowling holds up. He might not have Bashir\u2019s raw talent, but his nous, variety and comfort with his game make him an interesting addition.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n It\u2019s overcast in Manchester \u2013 [insert gag here]. I remember staying in Broughton Park with my gran as a young child and noting that a) it was always raining and b) the chat was always about who\u2019d died recently. I\u2019ve been more popular.<\/p>\n Otherwise, the pitch looks like it\u2019s pretty dry, so there should be a bit of uneven bounce and perhaps something for the spinners later; the outfield is lush, so boundaries might be harder than usual to come by. Stuart Broad would bat but thinks Ben Stokes will want to bowl.<\/p>\n