Key events
URGENT
Could somebody please help our friend and colleague Emma John, because she’s about to drop a very, very weighty name
So I got five hours sleep last night after hosting a charity event for Cricket Beyond Boundaries but it was all worth it because this morning I was in the Lord’s Museum at 7.30am to meet Sachin before the start of play so that he could unveil his new Lord’s portrait…” writes Emma. “The chap in the picture is the artist Stuart Pearson Wright, who admitted he knows so little about cricket he had no idea who Sachin was when he first met him. I especially love that he chose an outfit he thought would look ‘crickety’ (I’m thinking he watched a lot of Peter Davis-era Doctor Who).
50th over: England 154-3 (Root 54, Brook 1) That catch gets better each time you see it because there was a big deflection. Harry Brook is the new batter.
“Greetings from sunny central Brazil,” writes Rishi Desai. “Here in the dead of winter, we’re shivering at a frigid 19°C. When my uncle was a child, he got in trouble in school for loudly celebrating a timely wicket – thus revealing the contraband radio he’d smuggled into his rural Indian classroom.
“By only checking the OBO during my regularly scheduled computer screen breaks (one must always remain vigilant against excessive eye strain), I worry that any genetic predisposition toward the daring has not made it to my branch of the family tree.”
WICKET! England 153-3 (Pope c sub b Jadeja 44)
Ollie Pope has gone first ball after tea! Jadeja tempted him into a drive with a flighted delivery that found the edge and was superbly caught by the sub keeper Dhruv Jurel.
Tea
49th over: England 153-2 (Pope 44, Root 54) Jadeja got through his over so quickly that there’s time for Washington Sundar to bowl his first over at the other end. More drift, less turn, the end.
It’s also the end of a quietly compelling session, in which Pope and Root added 70 runs in 24 overs. It was hard going on a slow pitch but they have manoeuvred England into a decent position.
48th over: England 150-2 (Pope 43, Root 52) We’re going to see spin for the first time, a single over from Ravindra Jadeja before tea.
And we’ll see plenty more after the break because that was an encouraging first over, including one delivery that turned sharply to beat Pope’s defensive lunge.
47th over: England 149-2 (Pope 42, Root 52) Pope plays a similar shot to Root’s in the previous over, helping a straight delivery from Deep to the fine-leg boundary. That brings up the hundred partnership. Pope was dropped first ball, and there will always be a but when we talk about him at no3, but this has been a crucial innings.
Deep thrusts his hands to his head when he realises Pope has got an inside edge on a ball that would otherwise have trapped him LBW.
“I remember a game on a sunny day at Tunbridge Wells where Tav was well and truly in,” writes Mike Appleton. “Many in the crowd observed the ritual of ordering a pint every time the great man scored a four. Made for a pleasant afternoon of civilized drinking . Couldn’t do that with Bazball.”
Imagine playing a Rishabh Pant drinking game. Two fingers if he hits a boundary; two bottles if he throws his bat into outer space. You’d be flootered before he’d faced 30 balls.
Fifty for Joe Root
46th over: England 142-2 (Pope 35, Root 52) Root works Reddy off the pads for four to reach a patient, economical and absolutely vital half-century from 102 balls. One day we’ll appreciate just how good he is.
45th over: England 136-2 (Pope 34, Root 47) Pope is beaten, trying to force the pace against Deep. He’s starting to show a bit of frustration with the slowness of the pitch – but he alleviates some of it with a stiff-wristed pull through square leg for four. That’s his first boundary in almost two hours. Root should keep reminding Pope that this scoring rate is fine; if England are 240 for 3 at the close they’ll have had a superb day.
“These ball changes, what’s going on here?” wonders Felix Wood. “Is it because balls are less hardy these days, or because they’re being hit harder, or are players just less willing to get on with it with a sponge? If it’s either of the first two options is it time to start making a new ball available after 60 overs and telling the fielding side that unless the umpire decides of their own accord to have a look they should just suck it up? Because it’s starting to get on my wick a bit (apart from the last Ashes. That was fine).”
I’ve waited 21 years to be invited to talk balls and, er, I’m not sure. Presumably it’s a manufacturing problem but I don’t understand why it has persisted for three or four years now.
44th over: England 130-2 (Pope 29, Root 46) Reddy, armed with the replacement ball, is late cut masterfully for four by Root. That makes him the first person ever, ever, to score 3,000 Test runs against India. The first 93, made breezily at Nagpur in 2012, hinted at a great future for Root, aged 21 at the time. We had no idea.
“Just finished a morning pot of tea, sitting on the deck in the sunshine in Ithaca, upstate New York,” writes John Tagg, no doubt singing Freddie Mercury’s It’s a Hard Life under his breath. “You may want to remind expats that live coverage on the BBC Sport app always has the overseas TMS link in its header. (Sorry for plugging a rival that, of course, I only use to find the link!)”
Rishabh Pant latest He’s chipped a nail on his index finger and should be fine to play a big part in the match.
Yep, here comes the fourth umpire with the box of balls. That means a break in play, and a chance for Mike Atherton to do a number of his fellow commentators Nasser Hussain and Dinesh Karthik by showing a replay of an infamous dropped catch apiece on this ground.
43rd over: England 126-2 (Pope 29, Root 42) Pope drives Deep through the covers for… three, which is another sign that run-scoring isn’t completely straightforward. A shot like that invariably goes for four.
Deep hits Pope on the pads with a big nipbacker, runs a couple more paces and then suddenly spins round to appeal. Too high.
“None of his teammates were interested whatsoever,” says Stuart Broad of Deep’s appeal. His co-commentator Mel Jones leaves a little pause and then says, “Not a good feeling is it, Stuart.”
New balls, pllleeeeeeeeease
There’s a break in play while India try to get a change of ball. The fourth umpire starts to walk onto the field, only to be told that the old ball is now going through the ring so can he please toddle off.
He might as well hang around near the gate because his services will be required soon enough.
42nd over: England 120-2 (Pope 24, Root 41) Root softens his hands to glide Reddy between the slips and gully for four. Like his mentor Graham Thorpe, Root at his best is a chameleon who adjusts his approach depending on the bowlers and the conditions.
Stuart Broad thinks this pitch will get lower and lower, so it’s hard to know what constitutes a par score. India made 587 batting first last week; England won’t be getting that many.
41st over: England 116-2 (Pope 24, Root 37) Careful now! Root tries to drive a very wide outswinger from Deep and also plays on. He dragged the ball back onto his body and not far wide of leg stump.
Stuart Broad, such a great micro-analyst in the commentary box, thinks this might be a deceptively awkward pitch on which to drive once the ball gets softer. There’s been only one boundary on the off side, and three in total, since the 20th over.
40th over: England 115-2 (Pope 24, Root 36) “Are we watching Tavareball?” wonders Paul Haynes?
Tavball? No no no no no, this is Tavball.
39th over: England 112-2 (Pope 23, Root 35) Akash Deep continues, with a statbox popping up to show that he averages roughly 17 with the new ball (overs 1-20) and 78 thereafter. He’s certainly a new-ball expert this is only his ninth Test so the sample size is quite small. I’d like to see the equivalent figures for his first-class career.
“Adding to your global menagerie, I’m keeping myself updated on the day’s proceedings from Krasnoyarsk, Siberia,” writes Gerard Mullally. “I’m in an Irish pub with a mini painted in the colours of the union jack in the beer garden. There’s a discussion to be had on that, but I think I’ll let it slide and hope for a great day’s cricket instead.”
38th over: England 110-2 (Pope 22, Root 34) Pope waves Reddy for a single. We love a statgasm round these parts [‘we’? – Ed] and Pope’s innings – 22 from 73 balls – is a quiet example of the genre [’genre’? – Ed].
England still have their moments but they have developed as a batting line-up; it’s impossible to imagine Pope scoring at that rate two years ago. Or England scoring 25 for 0 in 13 overs, which is the tale of the tape since lunch.
Thanks Jim, afternoon everyone. England – Bazball England – are scoring at less than three an over, and it’s utterly compelling.
James Wallace
37th over: England 109-2 (Pope 21, Root 34) Root square drives for four, Lord’s is too refined to give the Rooooooot full gusto. Siraj goes full but strays onto the pads, the deflection flies wide of stand-in keeper Jurel and away for four leg byes.
“Blessed are the strokemakers, for they shall cleave air. Blessed are the audience, for they shall tear hair.”
John Starbuck in fine fettle.
Right, that’s me done – the players are taking some electrolytes/Tizer on board and Rob Smyth is here to take you through the rest of the day. Thanks for your company, bye!
36th over: England 101-2 (Pope 21, Root 30) Bumrah takes a breather and the dangerous and double wicket taking Nitish Kumar Reddy replaces him from the Nursery End. Root clips off his pads and they scamper three. Close! Pope gets into a mess outside off stump again but his half-hearted flash falls just short of the waiting cordon.
35th over: England 98-2 (Pope 21, Root 27) England approach three figures but there’s nearly a calamitous run out between Root and Pope as a non existent single sees Pope sprawling for his ground! Face full of dirt and not a run added.
34th over: England 95-2 (Pope 19, Root 26) There’s a long delay here whilst Pant is seen to. We wait to see whether he’ll be able to carry on with the gauntlets… he can’t! Dhruv Jurel is taking the field. That’s certainly one to keep an eye on.
Hearing Tom Osborne’s tales of tearing his hair whilst following in Colombia in 2019 reminded me of this soppy as all hell piece I wrote on a similar topic.
By the time of the final, we were on the Aeolian Islands. You’d struggle to find a more picturesque place. We spent our entire first day there indoors as the whole bonkers game played out. By the time of the Super Over I was losing it, prowling around in my pants, using a curtain pole as a bat, shadow playing every delivery from Boult. T sat on the same cushion, as long as she stayed in contact with that cushion, England were still in it. When Jimmy Neesham launched Archer into the Mound Stand it was a gut punch similar to heartbreak. T looked at me, concerned. “What does that mean?” I couldn’t answer. Couldn’t speak. And then.
Archer. Guptill. Roy, Buttler, Bails! Relief. Joy. Tears.”
A break in play as Pant takes a ball on the finger end and the magic spray is called for.
Time for a rootle in the wonderfully global OBO mailbag. Check out this lovely lot:
Mike Wilner in LA:
“Global check-in from Los Angeles. It’s 6 am, and heading for a high of 32C today. So, whilst following the OBO, I do what any normal Angeleno would do; I bought airline tickets to New Zealand for a January hiking trip. Perhaps I’ll catch a cricket match when I’m down there.”
Rob Petersen in Bali:
“I’m currently following in Bali, probably one of a very small contingent on the island taking an interest in the match (there might be a bit more buzz when the Ashes rolls around). I’ve tried to persuade my dog of the merits of Test cricket, but so far he’s unconvinced. He loves padel, though.”
Robert Lewis in Istanbul:
“To tie in the tropes of scorchio and following in odd places (not to mention your advice to office workers in the UK), I am watching between pages of proofreading in our flat with a Bosphorus view in Istanbul. Tempting to take a leap into the slimy waters of the straits, with 38 degrees yesterday, but it’s a manageable 30 today.”
Tom Osborne in Colombia – sort of:
“Not now but back in 2019, I spent a delightful few days in San Agustin in the coffee region of Colombia. On the day of the world cup final, my wife and I were walking around an excellent archaeological site with tombs dating back over 3,000 years. Whilst the tombs were fascinating (and the visit mainly for my benefit), I spent the whole time furiously refreshing the OBO, particularly during the super over, whilst holding my phone above my head trying desperately to get/maintain signal.
Not sure what the locals thought of my erratic behaviour and associated noises. On another note, this morning affirms my feeling that Pope should open instead of Crawley, with Bethel in at 3. Cheers for the coverage as always!”
Jeremy Boyce in the South of France:
“I’m indoors with the windows and shutters closed hiding from the heat, although it’s “only” 33 today. There are only mad tourists walking down my main street, the natives (I count myself among them, been here 25 years) are all keeping cool.
Pope and Root sounds like the name of a provincial solicitors’ or architects’ practice. Let’s hope they can lay down some law and construct a decent partnership so we’re not looking at a dodgy collapse and eventual proceedings.”
33rd over: England 90-2 (Pope 18, Root 25) Siraj whistles though another over for the cost of just a single. This is Bazball 2.0 manifest, England are going along at 2.75 runs an over but nullifying some impressively nagging Indian seam bowling.
32nd over: England 89-2 (Pope 17, Root 24) England soak up 28 dot balls in a row before Pope digs out a Bumrah yorker and squeezes it into the leg side for a single. You can’t take your eyes off it, though some of the punters at Lord’s clearly have. That Veuve Clicqot is going to quaff itself now is it?
31st over: England 88-2 (Pope 16, Root 24) Dot follows dot follows dot. You guessed it, Siraj dots up Root who then plays an extravagant cut shot but fortunately the ball misses the edge. India suffocating England’s engine room after lunch.
Restricted are the strokemakers.
30th over: England 88-2 (Pope 16, Root 24) Another probing maiden from Bumrah, he has it on a string here at Lord’s. Decking one into Ollie Pope and then snaking one away with the next ball. Too good.
29th over: England 88-2 (Pope 16, Root 24) It’s all gone a bit Bjork out there after lunch. It’s all so quiet… a maiden from Siraj to Root.
28th over: England 88-2 (Pope 16, Root 25) Bumrah to Root. This is a key battle. Root gets a single off the first ball of the over to get off strike. He’s not daft. Bumrah then works Pope over but the batter is up to it for now, blocking out five dots.
27th over: England 88-2 (Pope 16, Root 24) Siraj from the Pav end. It’s a maiden but a leg-bye gets England a single.
“Any chance of someone sharing the TMS link? I have a long drive in front of me and I’m feeling the need for soothing reflections on the qualities of the cake etc. BTW, eleven o’clock starts make great breakfast listening for those of us in upstate New York.”
Here you go Robin Gleed. Happy driving.
26th over: England 87-2 (Pope 16, Root 24) Pope clips Bumrah off his pads for four through the vacant square leg. The bowler responds by darting one back at off stump that Pope shoulders arms too. There are only two types of leave…
“Missoula, Montana checking in” writes Matt Guthrie.
“Re: the global reach of the OBO. I’m sitting on my porch in the town of Missoula (altitude 3200’) where today’s high will be in the mid-70s and there is currently a deer walking down the middle of the street…”
Lovely stuff. Reckon Ollie Pope would snatch you hand off for something in mid 70s right about now.
The players emerge after lunch and Jasprit Bumrah is going to start with the new ball. He’s well rested after missing the last Test and is into his ninth over of the day. Ollie Pope will be on strike with three slips and a gully in place.
Love this, one of the great things about the OBO is how global it is. For every office worker in a British city surreptitiously* tuning in there is someone like Tom Kirkpatrick:
“Following the OBO while walking in the Italian Alps with my partner and baby. Despite Duckett and Crawley going for low scores they at least took 13 overs out of the ball, which is a job done at least. I’m hoping the rest of the day is fairly quiet because the footing later on looks it will demand my attention back!”
Tom sends in a glorious photo of a precipitous stretch of alpine pathway that I can’t share because of… I dunno – The Man. If Pope play as skittishly as he has this morning in the afternoon session then I’d definitely flick the OBO off whilst you negotiate that stretch, you might come a cropper otherwise.
*Incidentally, I wrote something a few weeks ago trying to tap into that furtive following of cricket at work.
Those Thursday starts are a pain, eh? What with all that annoying “work” getting in the way and a manager/team who inexplicably don’t seem to be bothered about whether Sam Cook will jag the new Dukes and be quick enough on his Test debut or even whether Zak Crawley’s Teflon coating might finally wear through?
Where do these people get off organising meetings for 11am? No matter, you’ve got your methods, your strategies. You’ve been in good form during the first months of the County Championship, honing your skills for the first Test. You do what the teenagers do and surreptitiously use an ear bud so you can tune in to Test Match Special on the sly. Do not – repeat NOT – start tapping your tea mug with your teaspoon when Soul Limbo kicks in, have some self-control. Play the long game. It’s Test cricket for God’s sake, show some grit and determination! Wait, who are you calling old-fashioned?
Open up your tabs on your desktop. Go on, fire up that trusty out-of-date spreadsheet ready to cover the over-by-over and live text alerts with the flick of a shortcut key should someone walk past. Concentrate. Use your process. “Be where your mouse is.” This thing could be over in an instant. Get your head down. Take each ball at a time.”
“I can’t have the Swedes take over the OBO” says Sarah Torvalds, “So here are some greetings from southern Finland as well!”
I did think there was something of a Scandi hue to today’s proceedings. The Guardian love a bit of Hygge… tak you very much.
“I had the resources for one cricket-related trip to the UK this year and decided Lord’s at June for the Test World Championship would be a better bet than England v India in July. So far, I’m convinced I made the right choice – it was a brilliant game and sunny rather than Scorchio. (Being a Finn, I much prefer what Ben Bernard in the 2nd over terms a shit summer, though I naturally reserve the right to moan about the weather, whatever it’s like.) Also, with England not in the picture, it was restful to happily cheer South Africa on as an almost neutral.”
That was a brilliant game Sarah and wonderful to see South Africa cast the ICC Trophy shaped monkey off their back. I’ve got a sneaking feeling that this one might well rumble into something special too you know, it doesn’t look to be a batting snoozefest.
Lunch: England 83-2 (Pope 12, Root 24)
Ben Stokes stands to applaud on the Lord’s balcony as Root and Pope make it through to lunch unscathed. Both sides will be happy with their morning’s work I reckon, England recovered well after they were left teetering from a Nitish Kumar Reddy double wicket over. There’s a bit in it for the bowler’s despite the sweltering batting conditions.
Time for some scran. Thanks for your the emails, do keep them coming in. I’ll wade through the OBO mailbag with my quail eggs and beetroot remoulade or whatever the Lord’s media centre chef has rustled up.
25th over: England 83-2 (Pope 12, Root 24)
24th over: England 82-2 (Pope 11, Root 24) Bumrah gets through his eighth over of the morning. He’s gone for just 13 runs but it Reddy who has done the damage in the early exchanges. Pope punches off the front foot down the ground for a single. We might have one more before the lunch break.
23rd over: England 81-2 (Pope 10, Root 24) Don’t bowl there, son. Akash Deep strays onto Root’s pads and is clipped away with nonchalance for four. The ball seems to be doing a little less now, Mike Atherton called it at the ten over mark, maybe England have survived the trickiest period of the day now? They’d be quite happy to get lunch two down with near to a hundred on the board – I don’t think this is a 600 plays 550 match on this morning’s evidence, especially when you factor in the highest first inning score at Lord’s this season is 260.
22nd over: England 73-2 (Pope 7, Root 19) Bumrah returns for a quick burst before lunch. He loses his line slightly and slams one down the leg side that tickles Root’s thigh and runs away for a welcome boundary. Root then keeps strike with a flick off his pads to long leg.
21st over: England 68-2 (Pope 7, Root 18) Three singles off Deep as England’s rebuild continues after the loss of both openers (and nearly Pope too) in Nitish Kumar Reddy’s first over at the start of the second hour. Can they make it through to lunch?
20th over: England 65-2 (Pope 6, Root 16) Root drives Reddy through mid off for three runs, the lush Lord’s outfield isn’t as glassily quick as the ones at Headingley and Edgbaston. There’s clearly not a hosepipe ban in North London. That’s four though! Pope settles his nerves with a nicely timed drive through the covers.
