Key events<\/p>\n
Show key events only<\/p>\n
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n
Lunchtime entertainment:<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n That was yet another intense and high-class session of (Test match) cricket. India, though, have built a platform, and if England can\u2019t find a breakthrough early in the afternoon, they could be looking at another monster total.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 26th over: India 78-0 (Jaiswal 36, Rahul 40) Archer begins what\u2019ll probably be the final over of the session and he\u2019s got Jaiswal on strike \u2026 but only for one ball, a single to midwicket giving the right-handed Rahul, who plays him more easily, five balls to survive. He does so with relative ease, adding a single off the final one and that\u2019s lunch, India put in and finishing the session unscathed. As Gill said at the toss, a good one to lose.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 25th over: India 76-0 (Jaiswal 35, Rahul 39) Earlier, we saw Sai Sudharsan sat on the balcony reading a book, but the cameras didn\u2019t linger long enough for us to see what it is; velly poower, as my gran would\u2019ve said. Back in the middle, Rahul nurdles a single then, after three dots, Jaiswal \u2013 who has no problem taking the aerial route on the off-side \u2013 throws hands at a cut, Mark Butcher at Headingley style, and that\u2019s six! A single follows, and this is fantastic work from the tourists, who\u2019ve ridden their luck but also defended really well.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 24th over: India 68-0 (Jaiswal 28, Rahul 37) Archer persuades one to rear up, Rahul feels obliged to play it, and is beaten; England have gone by the outside edge so many times this morning, for no reward. The batter then dabs into the off-side and steals a single, then Archer zips one away from Jaiswal, his seam presented beautifully; he\u2019s so good at bowling to left-handers. And have a look! Archer drops short, but bowls right at the man, who bends away from it, almost on to haunches and, as he falls, the ball flicks the face, or perhaps he flicks the ball with the face, earning four over the keeper\u2019s head. I\u2019ve never seen a shot like that before, deliberate or otherwise.<\/p>\n Yashasvi Jaiswal ducks a short one from Jofra Archer. Photograph: Alex Davidson\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.57 EDT<\/p>\n 23rd over: India 63-0 (Jaiswal 24, Rahul 37) Stokes tries a bouncer from around and Jaiswal goes at it hard, missing; the follow-up is full, straight and handled well. Then, when serves a ball that\u2019s short and wide, he of course doesn\u2019t miss out, buggy-whipping a cut that steams to the fence for four.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 22nd over: India 59-0 (Jaiswal 20, Rahul 37) Yup, Archer returns and has Jaiswal, who barely faced him in his first spell, on strike. He goes around the wicket immediately but still isn\u2019t hitting his Lord\u2019s pace, when he was regularly above 90. Broad says the pitch is spongier at OT, so you don\u2019t get as much momentum from it and into your legs, so it takes time to adjust; perhaps that\u2019s a reason why, and also why Carse hasn\u2019t been at it this morning. A single into the off-side is the only run from the over.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 21st over: India 58-0 (Jaiswal 19, Rahul 37) Oh man, the usually dapper Stuart Broad is now wearing a broon cardy so disgraceful I\u2019ve no choice but to snap it. Is he now a mid-60s geography teacher? Meantime, Stokes hurls himself through a second maiden in two overs, totally oblivious to the commentary-box carnage.<\/p>\n IMG 7363 Photograph: SJ BroadShare<\/a><\/p>\n 20th over: India 58-0 (Jaiswal 19, Rahul 37) Carse hasn\u2019t yet found the rhythm that elevated the evening session on day four at Lord\u2019s, and Rahul twizzles him through midwicket, Archer chasing, diving, and finding his knee stuck in the grass, but he saves the boundary and looks fine when he gets up; the batters run three. Jaiswal then takes the bait, hooking at a bouncer and to-edging, but short of long leg. A wicket does not look imminent, and I\u2019d expect to see Archer return sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 19th over: India 53-0 (Jaiswal 18, Rahul 33) Rahul takes a single, then Stokes squares Jaiswal up, beating his outside edge, before trying a bouncer; the batter isn\u2019t tempted to play, presumably cognisant of the man out on the hook or, as they say or said in Manchester, the hooke (rhymes with booke, looke, puke and so on).<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 18th over: India 52-0 (Jaiswal 18, Rahul 32) Carse is up at 85mph now but after Jaiswal misses a cut, not quite able to free arms, he nails it two balls later, crunching it to the fence behind square on the off-side for four. Those are the only runs off the over, and this is developing into a really good start for India. I wonder if we might see Archer back into the attack sooner than previously intended, because England need something.<\/p>\n \u201cHere\u2019s the route map to the TMS overseas link that you might wish to share,\u201d offers David Vaudin, doing the Lord\u2019s work.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 17th over: India 48-0 (Jaiswal 14, Rahul 32) Stokes introduces himself to the attack, Woakes bottling his spell after a poxy eight overs. Jaiswal, unusually becalmed this morning, turns his loosener into the on-side for one then after three dots, Stokes goes a bit wider on the crease, swings one in, whams the pad, and bends his back almost in half appealing. But you could see the ball was going down, so there\u2019s no review.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 16th over: India 47-0 (Jaiswal 13, Rahul 32) As Carse slings down largely unthreatening dots, Ponting suggests that given the time between Tests, the bowlers might\u2019ve put down a mark on the 6.7m length they need to hit at OT, then practised landing the ball on it; who knows if they did or didn\u2019t but, like most of his cricketing opinions, that makes a lot of sense. Anyhow, just when Carse thinks he\u2019s getting away with a maiden, Rahul cuts towards point, just wide of the diving Pope \u2013 what an image that is \u2013 at point, and the ball just abut forces itself to the rope for four.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 15th over: India 43-0 (Jaiswal 13, Rahul 28) Alreet, Woakes resumes after drinks; I assumed he\u2019d go off, but he\u2019s found a groove so it makes some sense for Stoles to keep him going. Meantime, RT Ponting makes his first commentary-box appearance of the series \u2013 he\u2019s a great addition \u2013 and doesn\u2019t think we\u2019ve seen enough to justify the decision to bowl. But after a single to Rahul, Woakes again moves one away from Jaiswal, again missing the edge, then again. He\u2019s had very little luck in this series.<\/p>\n Ricky Ponting, in happier times. Photograph: Hamish Blair\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a007.27 EDT<\/p>\n 14th over: India 42-0 (Jaiswal 13, Rahul 27) Rahul again opens the face to earn two then, after as dot, he rips a back-cut through point and to the fence for four. Three singles follow, and at drinks, India will be the happier of the sides.<\/p>\n \u201cFurther to my earlier email,\u201d returns Sam Styles, \u201cwe joined the queue for gates 11 and 12 at 10.30 and eventually got into the ground at 11\/45. The queue was still away over the car park and back across the bridge on Great Stone Rd. Didn\u2019t see or hear anyone outside explaining or actively managing the situation. Good job people stayed civil (though it started to kick off when we got to the gate and were helpfully told \u2018there\u2019s no queue at gate 1\u2019). This arrangement isn\u2019t fit for purpose. Big problems to fix for the rest of the test. I think questions need to be asked of Old Trafford re: entrance arrangements. And maybe set off now if you have tickets for day 2.\u201d<\/p>\n If I was going to Lord\u2019s, where I watch most of my cricket, I\u2019d be looking to get there before 10.30 to be sure of seeing the start, but if I got there them, I\u2019d still expect to be in in time. I was, though, scared when you said people stayed civil, so relieved by the kick-off that followed it; Manchester is still Manchester, the Peterloo spirit still keeping things going.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 13th over: India 33-0 (Jaiswal 12, Rahul 19) It\u2019s a seventh over for Woakes and his first ball, scrambled seam, hammers the pad and looks adjacent \u2026 there\u2019s a noisy appeal \u2026 rejected \u2026 but will England review? Nope, the bowler appraised an edge, correctly so as the replay shows; good from him, good from the umpire. Maiden.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 12th over: India 33-0 (Jaiswal 12, Rahul 19) Carse replaces Archer, Rahul breaking wrist and opening face to shove his second delivery through cover point for two; this outfield is sluggish as you like. Two more dots follow, then the bowler finds a bit more lift, forcing his man back and hitting the splice \u2013 that\u2019s a really good length, and if he can up his pace beyond the 77mph which that ball clocked, he\u2019ll be talking.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 11th over: India 31-0 (Jaiswal 12, Rahul 17) Four dots from Woakes, then one sits up and Jaiswal drives down the ground for four; again, the bowler responds well, again he misses the edge by the thickness of a blue rizla.<\/p>\n \u201cRe your comment re the anthems,\u201d says Clare Dowding, \u201c\u2018the camera getting close enough for us to hear individual singing is a pleasing development\u2019 \u2013 this has been happening at rugby matches for years, even though it sometimes gives the lie to Wales\u2019 reputation as the land of song. I\u2019m a proud Welshwoman, and the sight of my compatriots belting out our anthem can bring a tear to the eye, but in some cases so does the sound, and not in a good way.\u201d<\/p>\n As the African proverb has it, \u201cIf you can walk you can dance, if you can talk you can sing.\u201d But I love to seem players emoting, especially without caring how their voice is perceived.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.58 EDT<\/p>\n 10th over: India 27-0 (Jaiswal 8, Rahul 17) This is Archer\u2019s fifth, so presumably final over of his spell. Can he make something happen? Rahul will, I imagine, happily see him away, and after three dots, one quickens off the pitch; he defends inside it well, then opens the face with soft hands, gliding two through the slips. A bouncer follows, forcing Smith to vault to collects.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 9th over: India 25-0 (Jaiswal 8, Rahul 15) Woakes again beats Jaiswal with one which moves away \u2013 that\u2019s the length. So far, though, he\u2019s just missing edges, but what\u2019s this? Again, one ducks in, Jaiswal leaps back to defend with the face \u2026 and the bat snaps at the handle! There\u2019s not loads of pace in the pitch but there is bounce. Anyroad, four replacements come out, one is picked, and Jaiswal doesn\u2019t strike me as the type to care; he leaves the final ball of the over alone, when Woakes would surely have been desperate to make him play. Maiden.<\/p>\n \u201cRegarding India\u2019s run of bad luck with the toss,\u201d emails Simon McMahon, \u201cmaybe Gill can just do what I think I remember Ed Smith, in his book about luck in sport, saying a (nameless) county captain did every time, and toss a coin himself before the start of play in the dressing room before calling the opposite of what landed when out in the middle. That\u2019ll work.\u201d<\/p>\n Luckily, science has solved this problem for us: tails never fails.<\/p>\n Well, you don\u2019t see that every day. Photograph: Darren Staples\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.48 EDT<\/p>\n 8th over: India 25-0 (Jaiswal 8, Rahul 15) Archer is still at 85mph as, in comms, Ravi chides their lengths, saying they\u2019ve been too short too often but when they\u2019ve hit a fuller spot, they\u2019ve beaten the bat. In this over, though, Rahul defends well both when asked to come forward and pushed back, playing out a maiden.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 7th over: India 25-0 (Jaiswal 8, Rahul 15) Rahul looks in decent touch, sending two towards cover, but then Woakes finds late movement off a good length, exactly what he\u2019s trying to do, and the batter is beaten. A dot follows, then the batter unloads the suitcase at a drive but, when the outswing takes the ball further away from him than expected, the connection sends it high \u2026 and between gully and point, running away for four. That means he now has 1000 runs in England, and a single towards midwicket means seven runs off the over. Woakes, though, is looking dangerous.<\/p>\n \u201cCurrently in the queue to get in to Old Trafford,\u201d says Oliver Deed. \u201cForty minutes so far and the gate is just about in sight. I watched England in Rawalpindi a few years ago and passed through four military check points, and it took less time than this. Shambles!\u201d<\/p>\n Yeah, that isn\u2019t good. I wonder how much of it is because they\u2019re searching bags for illicit pop.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 6th over: India 18-0 (Jaiswal 8, Rahul 8) Rahul waits for Archer, driving square and running; Pope sets off in pursuit and saves one, sliding at cover to prevent the boundary. Those are the only runs from the over and India will be happy with this start.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 5th over: India 15-0 (Jaiswal 8, Rahul 5) Woakes\u2019 first delivery is short and Jaiswal is never missing out, creaming a pull to the fence for four. But Woakes comes back well, four dots followed by a beauty which seams just too much, darting away from the proffered outside edge. That was very, very close.<\/p>\n \u201cHi Cousin Daniel,\u201d begins Neil Harris; word up Cuz. \u201cFunny how you remember things. That 2012 series v SA would be way down on my list. \u201cWe got trounced at the Oval when South Africa scored a million, the infamous Headingley test was lost to super Saturday and the third test was the KP fallout. One to forget.\u201d<\/p>\n Yeah, I love my t&f but I\u2019m not letting Greg Rutherford get in the road of one of the greatest knocks I\u2019ve ever seen. And the Lord\u2019s match was some of the most intense sport I\u2019ve ever seen live, with, unusually for Test cricket, something tangible at stake.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 4th over: India 11-0 (Jaiswal 4, Rahul 5) Bit of bounce for Archer, forcing a hurried Rahul to play down into the ground. Meantime, we see footage from earlier this morning of two Lanky heroes, Sir Clive Hubert Lloyd and Farokh Engineer, who\u2019ve had tiers of the same stand named after them. I\u2019m too young to have seen Engineer, but Lloyd is one of the first cricketers I got to know, a great of the game and a great of menschlichkeit<\/a>. Both fully deserve their recognition. Meantime, Archer sullies what would otherwise be a maiden with a wide, still not up to full pace \u2013 his final delivery was 86mph. Pathetic.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 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 KL Rahul guides the ball out to midwicket. Photograph: Alex Davidson\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a006.21 EDT<\/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