Key events
6th over: India 10-2 (Rahul 8, Gill 2) Rahul back cuts Archer for four with the minimum of fuss. His watertight forward defensives are almost as impressive; at the moment he’s playing on a different pitch.
5th over: India 6-2 (Rahul 4, Gill 2) A full ball from Woakes is driven classily down the ground for three by Rahul. While he looks serene, Gill is batting like a man who left his concentration behind at Lord’s. He survives another LBW appeal after playing around his front pad at a fullish straight delivery. Too high, maybe going down, but that is a clear tactic from England.
4th over: India 3-2 (Rahul 1, Gill 2) Gill wrings his hand in pain after a nasty lifter from Archer jams his bottom hand against the bat handle. After a quick chat with the physio, he’s okay to continue. But that was a nasty blow to the middle finger (I think).
The next ball brings another huge LBW appeal, with Archer hitting his knee in disappointment when Ahsan Raza shakes his head. It was a beautiful delivery, a big inducker that beat Gill all ends up, but it would have missed leg stump. Archer realised that by the time he got to his feet; it was too high as well.
“I’d nominate ‘Father’ Marriott as the goat in your list of England batters with Test aggregates of 1 or 0 (149th over),” writes Adrian Armstrong. “One Test, 11 wickets at 8.72, two five-fers. At the age of 37. And he literally wrote the book on leg-spin, or at least began it – ‘The Complete Leg-Break Bowler’ was finished after he died by Ian Peebles and Richie Benaud, not a bad pair of specialist editors. I borrowed it from Newcastle Central Library as a teenager, and I felt I was learning a new language.”
GILL IS NOT OUT
Archer bowled a fabulous yorker that Gill squeezed between bat and boot. Archer was convinced it hit the toe of the boot first; the umpire Ahsan Raza disagreed. So did Jamie Smith, but Archer pleaded with Ben Stokes to review.
It’s fiendishly close. It hit the bat and the flap of the pad – not the boot – almost simultaneously. The third umpire rightly decides there is no conclusive evidence to overturn the decision.
Gill would have survived anyway as the point of contact with umpire’s call. Nasser Hussain points out a slight flaw in the system – the umpire may not have made a judgement on point of contact if his not out decision was based on the ball hitting the bat first. In this case, however, there’s no reason for complaint because we didn’t reach that stage of the process.
ENGLAND REVIEW FOR LBW AGAINST GILL! Drama straight after lunch
Feedback: All-Time Farm XI
“Mac Millings should hang his head in shame,” writes Bob O’Hara, an opener that pretty much guarantees publication, “for missing David Shepherd & Dickie Bird as umpires.”
Robert Wilson speaks for all most of us
This is bliss. It’s actual, no-messing, by-any-standards bliss. I’m almost embarrassed by what cricket can do to me. I have the mother of all legal, respectable and hi-def feeds and a free day. In my ecstasy and gibbering glee, I’m having flashbacks to wonderful youthful days lost to all-day Test coverage that made you think you would always be fifteen or twenty one and would definitely one day get round to reading Pushkin. Too often, we forget the simple rapture cricket can bring. I have actual goosebumps.
And yet I missed the first day completely because I simply didn’t know it was on. Big Paper – like everywhere else – was definitely not selling it to the max. This year you can feel the irritated general contempt for the world’s least promising spectator sport (and yes I know the Guardian ran an op-ed about the last game). I’m not frothing with manosphere rage or anything but the fact remains that this lovely, generous thing is being thoroughly and unmistakably ghettoised. It’s tiddlywinks for posh people (you could get a Blue for that at Oxbridge).
I’m an astounding chav. The chav who other chavs avoided in my Belfast housing estate because I was just SO plebeian. Cricket has NO demographic. It just seems very sad this morning in my state of enchantment that this ineffable and lifelong pleasure is every year being denied to more and more people.
I say again, this is bliss.
Rugby union
In case you were wondering, nothing much happened in the second Test between Australia and the Lions. No siree bob.
Lunch: India trail by 310 runs
3rd over: India 1-2 (Rahul 1, Gill 0) KL Rahul’s immunity to scoreboard pressure is greater than most. He calmly plays out the final over of the morning session from Woakes. India just need him to bat until tomorrow evening now.
Ben Stokes leads England off after the kind of session captains dream about. England added 125 to their overnight score of 544 for 7, with Stokes letting his hair down after scoring his first Test century in two years. Then Chris Woakes struck twice in his first over to leave India facing defeat today, never mind tomorrow.
There’s a decent chance that, as in 2018 and 2023-24, a very hard-fought series between England and India will end 4-1 to the home side.
I’m getting ahead of myself, I’ll shut up.
2nd over: India 1-2 (Rahul 1, Gill 0) Jofra Archer’s turn. He beats KL Rahul outside off, then hits him in the vicinity of the pleasuredome with a sharp lifter. Rahul gets India off the mark with a flick wide of leg slip for a single.
Time for one more over before lunch.
“Although the Poire Belle Hélène is a fine second, the greatest tasting crêpe is of course avec citron et sucre,” says Brian Withington. “However, for pronunciation purposes there is only one candidate, the immortal Kenneth Williams rendition of Ma Crêpe Suzette. You’re welcome.”
(Thanks for all your emails this morning and throughout the series. As my brain gets slower – I’m forty-ni in my forties – I find it harder to read them all, which is frustrating but kind of unavoidable. Double-wicket maidens don’t help.)
Athers knows
A lengthy Test series can be likened to an arm wrestle; you have a struggle for a short while but it often ends with one team completely flattened. Well played India
— Mike atherton (@Athersmike) March 6, 2021
1st over: India 0-2 (Rahul 0, Gill 0) Woakes angles the hat-trick into the pads of Gill. Missing leg, though Woakes enquired for LBW just in case. A double-wicket maiden will suffice.
Sai Sudharasan tried to leave on length, was too slow in doing so and steered the bat to second slip off the face of bat. Harry Brook took a comfortable catch – one that brings the beleaguered captain Shubman Gill to the crease.
WICKET! India 0-2 (Sudharsan c Brook b Woakes 0)
Chris Woakes is on a hat-trick and the Ashes are only bloody well coming home!
We’ve seen this storyline played out so many times before. After spending almost two days in the field, an opening batter can’t clear his head and falls straight away. Woakes started around the wicket to Jaiswal, who snicked a fine delivery towards Root at first slip. He spilled a straightforward chance but reacted superbly to grab the loose ball just above the ground.
WICKET! India 0-1 (Jaiswal c Root b Woakes 0)
Chris Woakes strikes fourth ball!
A bit of entertainment (sic) between innings
“Bobbie dearest,” writ- oh lord it’s Mac Millings. “Instead of a Goat War, why not an All-time Farm Animal XI?
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Goatham Gambhir
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Ben Duckett
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Quack Hobbs
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Brian Cluckhurst
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David Cower
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Oink Morgan
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Neighmond Illingworth
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Waqar Ewenis
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Sydney Baa-nes
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Geese Topley
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Mootiah Mooralitharan
OBO Andy Bull
WICKET! England 669 all out (Carse c Siraj b Jadeja 47)
Carse slog-sweeps Jadeja to deep square leg, where Siraj takes the catch, turns and holds the ball out playfully in front of the England fans. A Panzer VIII Maus couldn’t crush his joie de vivre.
England lead by 311 after one of the most ruthless batting performances of the Bazball era. India’s openers will face a nasty session of around 15 minutes before lunch.
156th over: England 669-9 (Carse 47, Archer 2) Brydon Carse is a Test match No10 only in name. He drags Washington over long-on for six more, then does extremely well to stop a defensivel stroke deflecting back onto the stumps. Carse whacked the ball off middle stump with such timing that he instinctively started to run before realising you’re not actually allowed to do that.
“My son Edward Sinclair (we are in Egypt) suggests Nutella and dates makes the GOAT of crepes,” says Duncan Sinclair. “Each to their own…”
156th over: England 660-9 (Carse 39, Archer 1) England are batting on. It looked as if Stokes motioned for Carse to come with him when he was dismissed; not sure what that was about.
WICKET! England 658-9 (Stokes c Sudharsan b Jadeja 141)
Six and out for Stokes. He spanked Jadeja over long-off, tried again next ball and was caught by Sai Sudharsan at long-on.
Stokes walks off to a standing ovation after a richly entertaining innings of two halves. I don’t have the Before Cramp and After Cramp numbers to hand; overall he hit 141 from 198 balls with 11 fours and three sixes.
While I’d be loath to announce that Stokes the batter is BACK, that performance is pretty encouraging in view of England’s winter itinerary.
155th over: England 651-8 (Stokes 135, Carse 38) Three singles in Washington’s over. Apologies, I was faffing around with the below.
This is a cracking stat from Tim de Lisle, who will be back on OBO duty this afternoon.
I was idly wondering if India were still beating England on runs per wicket over the series. Turns out this partnership between Stokes and Carse has taken England ahead … while the Indians still lead in terms of individual hundreds, fifties, fours and sixes.
I can’t be the only one who is reminded of the dramatic series between England and South Africa in 1998.
Average runs per wicket
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England 29.33
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South Africa 35.36
Result England 2-1 South Africa
By coincidence, Tim wrote the Wisden Almanack review of that series. His intro is one of my all-time favourites.
154th over: England 648-8 (Stokes 134, Carse 37) England have scored 46 from the last six overs, which suggests a declaration could be imminent. There are 37 minutes remaining in this session.
153rd over: England 643-8 (Stokes 131, Carse 35) Carse – a Test No10 with an average of 25 – monsters Washington for four and then six. And why the devil not.
“I’m currently in French medieval village Yvoire with three Serbian women,” begins John Butler, “and they couldn’t care less about cricket or the goat debate. But we have had a rich discussion about what type of crepe is the goat. I favour savoury and just had a complète which is basically ham, eggs and cheese in a crepe. They prefer the sweet of Nutella with fruit (raspberry and blueberry. Perhaps a gender divide on that one?”
As somebody whose autistic palate has room for precisely none of the above, I’m not best qualified to comment. Anyone else? Hopefully this particular Goat War will be a peaceful one.
152nd over: England 633-8 (Stokes 131, Carse 25) After missing a lusty slog-sweep off Jadeja, Stokes changes tack and targets the off side. He skids back to drive through extra cover for four, then charges down the track to batter a flat six over long on. Wow, that’s a stunning shot.
This is now England’s highest score in a Test at Old Trafford. The runs are almost – almost – irrelevant; this is about crushing India’s spirit and scrambling their minds ahead of the third innings.
151st over: England 621-8 (Stokes 120, Carse 24) “The sheer scale and dimensions of Test cricket are torturous aren’t they?” says Phil Harrison. “Imagine being in the field for this long?”
And during a five-Test series. At least India still have a chance of getting a draw. Imagine how England felt during the fourth Test on this ground in 1984. They were 3-0 down to the scariest team of all time, they spent 160 overs in the field on the first two days – and then they had bat, twice.
150th over: England 615-8 (Stokes 118, Carse 20) Jadeja comes on after drinks. Nothing much to report save a bit of turn from outside Stokes’ off stump.
I was so preoccupied with Ben Stokes’ century that I forget to acknowledge another. In his 48th Test, Jasprit Bumrah has finally conceded 100 runs or more in an innings. That’s a crazy statistic. Even a thriftmeister like Joel Garner conceded four centuries in his 58-Test career.
Drinks: England lead by 256
149th over: England 614-8 (Stokes 118, Carse 19) Stokes rolls back the years by driving a spinner for a straight six. He didn’t nail the shot but it had enough to clear the leaping fielder at long off. Washington’s next ball is reverse swept for four with superb placement.
The six took Stokes past 7000 Test runs. Meh. Stokes’ career is a feeling, not a number.
“Delighted for Root,” writes Kim Thonger. “Splendid fellow. But can we spare a thought for those less blessed. Of all cricketers who have played at least one Test match for England, several have finished their careers with very few runs, particularly those who appeared only once, batted low in the order, or were picked mainly for their bowling. But I cannot find an actual list of those who have Test career totals of 1 or less. Can anyone oblige? I’ve tried AI and ESPNcricinfo to no avail.”
Twelve men have batted in a Test for England without scoring a run, the most recent being Matthew Fisher in 2022. Four more finished with one run. Here’s the list.
Or, to put it another way, Smyth 1-0 AI. And if I’m found dead before sundown, you know which vindictive simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think and act like humans dunnit.
148th over: England 602-8 (Stokes 107, Carse 18) Carse glides Siraj for four to bring up the England 600. Siraj administers a brollocking to somebody in the cordon; India’s bowlers look like they’ve had their fill.
147th over: England 597-8 (Stokes 106, Carse 14) England extend their lead to 239, with no suggestion that a declaration is imminent. Mental disintegration indeed.
Ben Stokes’ 14th Test century!
146th over: England 594-8 (Stokes 104, Carse 13) That’ll do. Stokes tucks Siraj fine for four to end a 755-day wait for his 14th Test century. He celebrates modestly, almost wearily, clenching his fist gently and then looking up, to salute his old man with his crooked finger.
Stokes has been so good in this series as captain and bowler that his runs are almost a bonus. If he hits top form with the bat – and that remains a big if – he could win the Ashes on his own.
145th over: England 588-8 (Stokes 99, Carse 12) And still they wait. Stokes faced three balls in that over from Washington but was unable to get past the infield.
“I am probably being crazy here…” begins Phil Crockford, “but would Stokes declare while he is in the 90s? His mantra seems very focused on the team winning, and him sacrificing a personal accomplishment if he felt it made strategic sense seems very Stokes-like.”
I don’t think that’s crazy at all. If the circumstances were right – if, for eg, he wanted a few overs before a break – he would definitely do it. I think Imran Khan is the only captain to declare on himself in the nineties in a Test match, against Sri Lanka in the early 1990s, though Wiaan Mulder is top of this particular selflessness list.
144th over: England 587-8 (Stokes 99, Carse 11) Stokes cuffs Bumrah through mid-off for three to move to 99. It might have gone all the way but for a slight touch from the diving Siraj.
Carse inside-edges for a single, giving Stokes two deliveries at the end of the over to get the job done. He can’t, not yet. And he comes perilously close to falling for 99 when Bumrah straightens a beauty past his frisky drive.
143rd over: England 583-8 (Stokes 96, Carse 10) Stokes plays responsibly, taking two singles from Washinton’s over.
142nd over: England 580-8 (Stokes 94, Carse 9) Carse rarely hangs around with the bat. He slaps Bumrah through backward point for four, plays and misses at another nose-botherer and steers three more behind square.
Stokes takes a single to keep strike. He’s 94 not out, facing a spinner. Oh to hear his internal monologue right now.
“As you are overwhelmed by goats I will not make any issue at all with the reference to the improvement in Root’s ‘conversation rate’,” writes Ian Copestake. “But when you are already joining the batting greats, speaking faster does not seem worth bragging about.”
I want to know how John Moschitta Jr. dealt with the nervous nineties.
141st over: England 571-8 (Stokes 92, Carse 2) The lesser-spotted Washington Sundar comes into the attack and is edged for two by Carse. Washington’s drift has trouble England throughout this series.
“Instead of the GOoat debates, can we switch to Emma John’s view in today’s Guardian on the use of the term ‘Proper England’?” writes John Starbuck. “If all goes well in this match, it could be a mantra to oust Bazball as a definition, but include record-breaking deeds too.”
So you’re saying it’s the Goat of definitions? John, have mercy!
140th over: England 568-8 (Stokes 91, Carse 0) A no-ball from Bumrah flies past Jurel for four byes. The Dawson wicket was a superb bit of bowling from Bumrah, who is back on song this morning. But when you trail by over 200 on first innings, uneven bounce is often terminal.
In fact, replays show the delivery that bowled Dawson was shorter than the one that whistled past his hooter. It should be the other way round.
WICKET! England 563-8 (Dawson b Bumrah 26)
A wicket for India, but they may not feel like celebrating. Bumrah bowled two balls to Dawson, both of similar length. The first exploded past Dawson’s nose, the second kept a bit low and thumped into the top of the stumps.
139th over: England 562-7 (Stokes 90, Dawson 26) Siraj continues to Stokes, who slams a flamboyant, hold-the-pose drive between extra cover and mid-off. Shot!
A quick single moves Stokes to 90, then Dawson swivel-pulls beautifully for four. It’s an understatement to say Dawson is not a Test No8.
138th over: England 551-7 (Stokes 83, Dawson 21) Bumrah looks refreshed after a decent night’s sleep and pleads for LBW when Dawson is hit on the pad by a violent nipbacker. It was probably too high and Gill decides not to risk India’s last review.
“A crushing defeat here will take the life out of this fledgling Indian team and I feel sad for it,” writes Krishnamoorthy V. “Kneejerk is the mantra and moderation is a four letter word to the Indian selectors. I shall start penning my requiem to quite a few talented but unfortunate players.”
Do you think? Some of the peripheral players will be dropped, and the coach Gautam Gambhir must be concerned after a desperate run of results, but they should still build a side around Jaiswal, Rahul, Gill, Pant and Washington.
137th over: England 550-7 (Stokes 83, Dawson 21) Siraj – who like Bumrah, and Stokes for that matter, was struggling with injury last night – is fit enough to open the bowling. Stokes moves into the eighties with a terrific boundary, flashed through the covers on the walk. Those runs make this Stokes’s highest Test score since Lord’s 2023.
136th over: England 545-7 (Stokes 78, Dawson 21) A run-out referral in the first over of the day. Stokes, who struggled with cramp last night, tested his body by taking a quick single to mid-on off Bumrah. A smart underarm throw from Kamboj hit the stumps and the umpires sent it upstairs. Umpire Siraj raised his finger to give Stokes out, but the replays showed he was home, just about, before the bails were broken.
“We’re very fortunate,” says Gary Naylor, “to be watching England’s greatest captain and England’s greatest senior pro in the same team.”
Oh Gary, please no. After yesterday’s longevity fiasco, I can’t be dragged into another Goat War. Have mercy!
The players walk out on an overcast morning in Manchester. It’s likely to stay that way all day. As well as England have performed, they’ve had some luck with the weather.
“I’m looking forward to a home win at Old Trafford,” says Andrew Goudie. “They’ve been few and far between recently.”
One poignant thing about Root’s comments on managing risk are that they could easily have come from his mentor, another middle-order batter who became a chameleon in the second half of his career. Like Root, Graham Thorpe created a bespoke plan for every phase of every innings. On the day Root became the second highest runscorer in Tests, the inquiry into Thorpe’s death came to a conclusion.
Joe Root on his evolution as a batter
[On the improvement in his conversation rate] I went away during Covid. I actually spoke to Nass quite a bit (!). I said, ‘Can I get some footage off Sky and look at modes of dismissal?’. I wanted to see if there were any trends – first 20 balls, from 50 runs to 100.
I’ve tried to look at the game slightly differently. In the first part of my career a lot of it was about my technique. Where my hands and head are. Am I lined up? Is my trigger tight?
In the second phase it’s been more about managing risk, and thinking ‘How can I eliminate as many modes of dismissal as possible with the highest output?’ Sometimes the conditions are so extreme that the risk has to go up. Whatever the biggest threat is that day – bowled, LBW, caught in the slips – how can I eliminate it while still giving myself as many run-scoring opportunities as possible.
It’s a lot of information to process and it comes through experience. It’s difficult to do that until you know your game really well, what your strengths and weaknesses are. It comes from trial and error, from getting things wrong.
I think you have to see the game for what it is. It’s easy to get too emotional, be too hard on yourself or feel sorry for yourself. You have to see it for what it is, be very honest about it and then just try to put that into practice.
Joe Root on becoming the second highest runscorer in Tests
It is pretty cool. You look at the names on that list, they’re all people who as a kid growing up I’d try to be in the garden or in the driveway at our local club. We’d play mini Test matches: me and my brother and anyone else who was knocking around.
One day I’d try and be Ricky Ponting, the next day Kumar Sangakkara or Brian Lara – not left-handed but the same backlift, all of that. Even to be mentioned in the same sentence as these guys is a pinch-yourself moment.
The 2005 Ashes was huge for my era of player – [turns to Ricky Ponting] watching the hundred you got here and seeing everything unfold.
[Did you know the numbers?] You can’t avoid it, they’re everywhere! You try to put it out of your mind. It’s easy to get caught up in the stuff but at the end of the day you’re playing against India in one of the biggest series there is… yesterday was one of the most crucial days of the whole series. It’s not about you, it’s about winning a game and getting your team in a position to do that.
In the 148-year history of Test cricket, 3211 men have batted. Only one has scored more runs than Joe Root.
Ali Martin’s day three report
Root is as team-first a cricketer as they come – No Ego Joe, if you will – and will likely have drawn greater satisfaction from England’s position at stumps. It was a commanding one, too, the hosts closing on 544 for seven and leading by 186 runs. There is a bit of rain forecast to arrive on Sunday but Shubman Gill’s men will need to get there first. Given their bereft state and Rishabh Pant’s broken foot, it is hard to envisage a soggy draw.
TFI Friday? For India, it was more a case of TF Friday’s Over; on the 18th day of an unyielding series, it all became a bit too much.
Preamble
Morning one, morning all. It’s a big day in the north, love. England could take a decisive grip on the series, maybe even win it. India could serve notice of their intention to kick things down the M6 until the final Test at the Oval on Thursday.
England resume on 544 for 7, a lead of 186, with Ben Stokes on 77 and Liam Dawson on 21. Stokes hasn’t scored a Test hundred since his serene rampage against Australia at Lord’s two years ago. A ton and a victory would put the creamy glaze on one of Stokes’ greatest series in an England shirt.
