- Over-by-over report on the day’s play at Headingley
- Former England captain Ted Dexter dies aged 86
- Get in touch: email Daniel or tweet @unitedrewind
And that’s tea; England lead by 220 with seven first-innings wickets intact. See you in 15.
That’ll sting because Malan could easily have left that, but instead he strangled himself down the leg side. He’s done a brilliant job, though, punishing India as his team amassed an unassailable lead, and he’ll know that he’s not only in for the summer but probably the winter too, if anything happens. Credit to Siraj too, who was the only Indian interested in a review.
I’ve no idea if he feathered this...
94th over: England 298-2 (Malan 70, Root 80) This might be the final over before tea – I doubt India can be arsed with another – and after Root takes a single to fine leg, Malan puts an exclamation mark on the session, absolutely clouting another fit as cover-drive to the fence for four. One ball left, and Malan follows it to turn fine, misses ... and there’s an appeal, rejected...
93rd over: England 293-2 (Malan 66, Root 78) Jadeja comes on to whizz through one or two before tea, Root turning his first ball to leg – the only run from the other. His sixth hits Malan on the pad and there’s a hopeful appeal, but I think there was an edge and that impact was outside the line. Other than that, though...
“The last time England’s top four made fifties was 2013 against New Zealand in Dunedin,” says Richard O’Hagan. “One of the four was Steven Finn, who made 56 as nightwatchman. Don’t ask me the last time they all got 60, though.”
92nd over: England 292-2 (Malan 66, Root 78) Root has something in his eye, or maybe he’s tearing up with emotion at how ludicrously he’s batting. Real talk, I’ve not a clue how sportsfolk cope, nor their parents – I’d be beside myself in either circumstance. A single apiece opens this latest Siraj over, so he goes around to Root ... who shmices a hook and finds the gap on an extremely crowded on side, four taking him to 78 off 90. So Siraj goes again, and this time Root makes do with a pulled single; pork, beef, runs, is anything not pulled these days.
“Just a quick reminder that the largest first innings deficit overcome by a winning side is 291,” warns Pete Salmon. Still tense.”
91st over: England 285-2 (Malan 65, Root 72) Warney is advocating for a part-timer to finalge a wicket, which tells you just how desperate this is for India. England add three singles, two of them to Root via pull – he doesn’t seem that petrified of Ishant’s bumpers, nor that he might top edge one of them.
90th over: England 282-2 (Malan 64, Root 70) We see Bairstow sat on the balcony and I bet he can’t wait to get out there; goodness, his is not a face I’d be eager to see if I was in the field. Anyhow, Siraj tries a few bouncers, two out of three pulled for singles, then Root turns another to fine leg.
“Can anybody remember the last time England’s top four all got 50 or more?” wonders Paul Holmes.
89th over: England 278-2 (Malan 62, Root 68) Ishant gets another go and gets milked like Big Bertha, four singles taking the lead to 200.
“Kim’s message got me wondering,” emails Jack Sidders. “What would constitute an unassailable lead for this (or any) England Test team, or if such a thing can ever be said to exist in the post Headingley 2019-era? A first innings lead of 500 with two and a half days to bowl the opposition out? Maybe add in a nasty stomach bug for the opposition top order, just in case? Or could they still manage to implode (like a submarine being crushed from the outside by hydrostatic pressure) from there?”
88th over: England 274-2 (Malan 60, Root 66) Siraj replaces Shami and in commentary they’re advocating some molar music. But it doesn’t work out that way, Root taking one to third man before Malan flicks four to midwicket; India are taking an absolute hiding here, the lead a mighty 196.
“Very sad at the news of Ted Dexter’s passing,” says John Starbuck. |While the obituaries mostly deal with his excellent Test career, I also recall him leading the International Cavaliers, regularly broadcast on the BBC, in a partnership intended to achieve Brighter Cricket. This was the first of the limited overs game on a proper scale, with odd money prizes such as the Fastest Fifty. There was one occasion when he was going for this but towards the end hit a six, which got lost in the long grass. He only needed a couple of runs for the half-century but the umpires deemed that too much time had passed searching for the ball, so they ended the innings one over short. I never did discover if he got that Fastest Fifty, not so much for the money (in his case) as the glory.
87th over: England 269-2 (Malan 56, Root 65) Ishant, who’s having a miserable match, returns and goes around to the left-handed Malan, beginning with a no ball then seeing another dab run past the slips and down the hill fo fo. The second new balloon hasn’t worked for India, the extra pace increasing the rate such that the lead already looks matchwinning. A single follows, then another no ball before Root twizzles three to midwicket; I daresay Ishant will shortly be thanked, rather “thanked”.
I also absolutely love this:
England Men's XI as Paintings
Rory Burns - The Desperate Man, Gustave Courbet (1843-5)#ENGvINDpic.twitter.com/zGyY5iPmlh
86th over: England 259-2 (Malan 51, Root 62) Eesh, yesterday I wondered if India had just chosen a less good ball than England, but on 49, Malan looks to play another run-down only for the edge he imparts to drop short of Pant. So he goes again and this time it works, allowing him to wave his bat to the crowd; what a feeling that must be! A single to deep backward square follows, raising the hundred partnership of just 138 deliveries, and India are, like Smokey, entering a world of pain.
I absolutely love this:
85th over: England 256-2 (Malan 49, Root 61) “Absolutely gorgeous” says Wardy, when Root steps back, leaps, and eases four through cover. Not since 2013 and Ronald’s Ashes has an England batter exuded such easy authority, and this doesn’t seem like a run of form but an enduring oneness with self and technique.
“Can we just sit back and appreciate what a belter of a test match Ravichandran Ashwin is having here,” asks Rudrarpan Chatterjee. Nothing like a balmy August evening to kick your heels in the dressing room and enjoy some schadenfreude.”
84th over: England 252-2 (Malan 49, Root 57) After Root nurdles a single Malan takes Shami to the cleaners, opening the face to glide four past third man then absolutely yeeting four more through cover point. He’s been handed an unexpected reprieve and believe he’s going to take it.
Thanks Tim and afternoon everyone. So India put in 10 days of brutal graft, outclassing England by and large, then went and tossed it all in two sessions. What a sport!
83rd over: England 243-2 (Malan 41, Root 56) A few singles off Bumrah, and that’s drinks, with England right back on top.
“These two are getting a shift on, aren’t they?” says Guy Hornsby on Twitter. “Amazing how runs in the bank and time can give an aggressive middle order the keys to the castle.” Yes, and England have the right people up their sleeve – Bairstow, Buttler, Moeen and Curran – to go ballistic after tea. But it would still be surprising if they don’t have a wobble at some point. I’m handing over to Daniel Harris to steer you through the rest of the day. Thanks for your company, correspondence and tolerance of my technical troubles.
82nd over: England 239-2 (Malan 40, Root 54) England’s lead is now 161. So far, 15 players have had a bat in this game. Not one of the Indians made it to 20, yet all four of the Englishmen have reached 40. This is not a Test match: it’s a Test mismatch.
Root glides Shami through the covers with the greatest of ease and brings up yet another fifty. At a time when his team have been mostly floundering, he has found the form of his life.
81st over: England 230-2 (Malan 40, Root 45) India take the new ball ASAP, as you would. Bumrah swings it straight away but the first ball is a full toss to Malan, who is so surprised that he doesn’t hit it for four. He rectifies that off the last ball, standing and delivering, cover-driving on the up. Shot!
80th over: England 226-2 (Malan 36, Root 45) England pick up a few more runs before the new ball, helped by an overthrow, which is greeted with indecent scorn by the Western Terrace. The lead is now 148.
“Tom Peach’s comment regarding platonic ideal may perhaps be his first shot in a pre-Ashes sledging war,” says Leon Wylie. “Ascribing David Warner as Australia’s platonic ideal is OK only if England accept Don Sibley is theirs. Otherwise Pat Cummins or better still Ellyse Perry (at least to this Australian in sunny Scotland).”
79th over: England 221-2 (Malan 35, Root 41) Root, knowing he won’t be seeing Jadeja again for a while, decides to bring out the sweep and sends the ball skimming through midwicket. When Root starts a series majestically, he tends to fade away by the end, worn down by the cares of office – but he seems hell-bent on not letting that happen here.
78th over: England 215-2 (Malan 34, Root 36) Siraj keeps it tight with some more bustling dots.
Here’s Charles Sheldrick, responding to Tom Peach from the 71st over. “I agree with the sentiment,” he says. “Always loved to watch Mark Waugh even though we were almost always getting spanked. Martin Crowe, Kallis and Sanga batting, Dravid just staying there for days… Curtly bowling was a joy, as was Mushi… Jonty fielding. All superb opponents. But David Warner as an ideal anything is one of the strangest things I have ever had the pleasure of reading in the OBO.” Ha. Ideal opponent for Stuart Broad, maybe.
77th over: England 214-2 (Malan 34, Root 35) Jadeja drops short and Malan puts him away. He’s now a third of the way to a score that will prove a point to Ed Smith.
76th over: England 210-2 (Malan 30, Root 35) Kohli replaces Ishant with Mohammed Siraj, who comes charging in like a man who has had a Red Bull with his lunch. Root treats him with respect.
75th over: England 209-2 (Malan 29, Root 35) Jadeja manages to bother Malan, going fuller and faster and persuading him to play and miss twice in a row. Rattled, Malan takes a kamikaze single, but the throw goes to the wrong end. And that’s the fifty partnership, off only 70 balls. Headingley celebrates with a woozy rendition of Joe Root, to the tune of Hey Jude.
74th over: England 204-2 (Malan 28, Root 35) Root brings up the 200 with his most Rootish stroke, the back-foot force past cover. Ishant bites back with a good outswinger, drawing a leading edge, but fortune, favouring the brave, gives Root two for it. He has passed 30 for the fifth time out of five in this series.
73rd over: England 198-2 (Malan 28, Root 29) A better over from Jadeja, who gets one to turn sharply out of the rough at Malan.
72nd over: England 197-2 (Malan 28, Root 28) Kohli has finally bowed to OBO pressure and posted a third man. This decision saves three runs as Root plays a late cut off Ishant. It would have been well worth four: Shane Warne was going “Shot!”.
71st over: England 196-2 (Malan 28, Root 27) Jadeja goes too full, so Root flicks him for four; then too short, so Root pulls him for four. He’s making the game look so easy at the moment.
“Evening Tim, evening everyone,” says Tom Peach, from “locked-down Helensburgh NSW”. “As an England cricket supporter living in Oz for many years I can get really protective of Our Team, sometimes to the point of not seeing the good in other teams. (The Ashes can be toxic at times.) But this Indian team is full of wonderful stylish players and in Bumrah, the run-up, the sling, the pace, the trickery, the talent, is their platonic ideal in the way Jimmy is ours. Or David Warner is Australia’s. A reminder, if one were needed, that we should appreciate, even love, the talents of our opponents.”
70th over: England 187-2 (Malan 28, Root 18) If Ashwin was in the XI, he’d be bowling now. As it is, Kohli goes back to Ishant, who’s been the least threatening of his four seamers. Both batters help themselves to a single, dabbed away easily enough, and Root pushes into the covers for a well-run three. His 18 has come off only 19 balls.
69th over: England 182-2 (Malan 27, Root 14) Jadeja continues as Kohli keeps one eye on the new ball, which is due in 11 overs’ time. Aiming at the rough outside Malan’s off stump, he commands more respect than he did just before lunch, and this is a maiden.
68th over: England 182-2 (Malan 27, Root 14) Kohli brings back his trump card, Shami, for one over before lunch, which isn’t a fast bowler’s idea of fun. Root dabs him for four, a little perilously, then does it again, with more control. Where’s that third man, Virat? Would have saved some of those overthrows, too. And that’s lunch, with India having a much better session and getting rid of both openers, but England still sitting very comfortably in the driving seat. They lead by 104.
67th over: England 174-2 (Malan 27, Root 6) Root, going swiftly back with that dancer’s footwork of his, flicks Jadeja for two. Apologies for the stuttering coverage – my telly’s on the blink and so is my laptop. Apart from that, everything’s just fine.
66th over: England 170-2 (Malan 26, Root 3) Bumrah beats Malan with a yorker outside off, then Root nearly defeats his partner by sending him back when, as Nasser Hussain points out, there was an easy run on offer. Bumrah tries a yorker to Root too, but he’s in such good nick that he has no trouble jamming the bat down.
65th over: England 169-2 (Malan 25, Root 3) Jadeja continues, bowling nice and slow. Malan and Root show Hameed how it’s done by working him around, picking up three singles and a two.
64th over: England 164-2 (Malan 23, Root 0) Bumrah is back already, at the other end, and he’s not happy because one of his team-mates has just handed England four overthrows with a bizarre throw that ends up in the slips.
63rd over: England 159-2 (Malan 18, Root 0) Instant success for Jadeja – who did turn that ball, just enough to beat Hameed’s forward prod and brush the outside of off.
Hameed’s vigil is over! He misses a straight one. Was it that blow to the head, or the 28 dots in a row?
62nd over: England 158-1 (Hameed 68, Malan 17) While Hameed deals in dots, Malan is just waiting for the bad ball and hitting it for four. He drives Siraj through the covers, then, for a change, takes a quick single.
61st over: England 153-1 (Hameed 68, Malan 12) Yet another maiden to Hameed from Bumrah, who now has figures from the Anderson playbook: 18-9-24-0.
60th over: England 153-1 (Hameed 68, Malan 12) Siraj tries going round the wicket to Malan, which, as Shane Warne has just shown on the telly, is the way to get him out, but the only instant result is four leg byes to bring up the 150. That last fifty took 144 balls: it’s as if Dom Sibley is still there.
“Is there such an out as Head Before Wicket?” asks David Melhuish. “That last duck-down from Haseeb Hameed looked dangerously low!” It did. And yes there is – if I remember it right, LBW covers any part of the body except the hand, which counts as part of the bat.
59th over: England 149-1 (Hameed 68, Malan 12) The Indians have been trying the bouncer against Hameed, who has been ducking quite easily – until now, when he cops one from Bumrah on the helmet. There’s a delay for the usual checks, although he seems fine. Bumrah follows up with a full ball and inquires about LBW, but Alex Wharf, who has been making a confident Test debut, shakes his head as it was going down. Hameed is a bit becalmed: eight runs in 85 minutes this morning.
58th over: England 149-1 (Hameed 68, Malan 12) Kohli finally gives Shami a rest, bringing on Mohammed Siraj. He was so good at Lord’s, but his mojo seems to have gone missing somewhere on the M1. He drops short, twice, and Malan says thank you very much and cuts him for four, twice, behind square. Another Yorkshire truism: you need a third man.
57th over: England 141-1 (Hameed 68, Malan 4) More oohs as Bumrah gets one to lift and leave Hameed, but he’s pulled the bat and gloves well out of harm’s way.
56th over: England 141-1 (Hameed 68, Malan 4) It’s still Shami, and he’s still making the ball talk. Malan gets something resembling the ball that did for Burns – speared in from wide of the crease – and elects to leave it alone, which has the crowd oohing, aahing and wondering how it’s missed the off bail.
“When Jason Gillespie coached Yorkshire,” says Tim Sanders, “he told the bowlers to go a little fuller in length, aiming for the sponsor’s logo three-quarters of the way up off stump. His team won two championships, and Liam Plunkett out-bowled Anderson and Broad in the 2014 Test here, in the years when Jimmy was still searching for the ‘Headingley length’.” Local knowledge! Excellent.
55th over: England 141-1 (Hameed 68, Malan 4) A few minutes ago the commentators produced Hameed’s wagon wheel, which was interesting: every single scoring stroke was square of the wicket, much like Joe Root, only more so. Hameed plays out a maiden from Bumrah, which means he’s reached drinks without mishap. India have been better this morning, as expected, mainly thanks to Shami – but England are still well on top. They lead by 63 and CricViz gives them a 93pc chance of a win here, with India on 5. Anybody getting a touch of vertigo?
“Haven’t felt so much for a forward defensive,” says Emma John on Twitter, “since the Atherton days.” Ha. She wrote a book about that, so watch out Haseeb.
54th over: England 141-1 (Hameed 68, Malan 4) Malan plays and misses at Shami, who’s been much better today than last night.
“When should England declare?” asks Nigel Smith. “I’ve never said that before.” Ha.
53rd over: England 140-1 (Hameed 67, Malan 4) Here at last is Malan, who had to wait 50 overs to see a wicket fall, and then a few more minutes to get the strike. He has a bizarre weakness as a Test batsman: facing good-length balls, against which, according to a recent analysis by the Telegraph, he averages 9 (compared to 49 against the short ball, and 33 against the full one). But he puts a length ball away now, pushing Bumrah crisply through the covers.
52nd over: England 136-1 (Hameed 67, Malan 0) Kohli, trying to crank up the pressure, posts a silly mid-off for Shami. Hameed stays calm and side-on. He’s not just wearing a black armband for Ted Dexter – he’s playing the way Ted used to advocate.
51st over: England 136-1 (Hameed 67, Malan 0) A belated entrance for Bumrah, the human catapult. He’s on the spot straight away and gets Hameed to leave the ball perilously close to the off bail. The last ball is more obliging, pitched up on middle-and-leg, and Hameed takes a single, so Dawid Malan can continue to make his re-entry to Test cricket from the non-striker’s end.
50th over: England 135-1 (Hameed 66, Malan 0) The ball hit the top of off – the classic Headingley dismissal. The partnership was England’s highest of the series, beating 121 by Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow at Lord’s.
The breakthrough! Shami first gets Burns playing with a crooked bat outside off, then bursts through the gate with the nip-backer. Is this the moment the game changes?
49th over: England 135-0 (Burns 61, Hameed 66) Kohli doesn’t go as far as making a bowling change, but he does bring in a leg slip for Ishant, bowling to Hameed. And it perhaps has an impact as Hameed first plays and misses, then gets a thick edge, low into the slips. It brings a single, which leads Dinesh Karthik – usually very sharp – to say you make your own luck. That’s another saying I don’t understand. Isn’t luck, by definition, the bit you don’t make?
“Great to see you in the seat,” says Bill Hargreaves, whose reliably kind words are part of our good fortune on the OBO. “Exciting! Thanks for the great service. This is the TMS overseas link in case it’s wanted.” Thank you, Bill.
48th over: England 133-0 (Burns 60, Hameed 65) Shami bustles away, picks up a maiden, but doesn’t bother the outside edge. Kohli needs to do something fast.
47th over: England 133-0 (Burns 60, Hameed 65) Another over from Ishant, another freebie on the pads for Burns. We need a camera on R Ashwin, who must be tearing his hair out.
46th over: England 130-0 (Burns 57, Hameed 65) Hameed sees that clip for four by Burns and thinks he’ll have one too, off Shami. Michael Holding reckons the Indian seamers have been a touch too short. They’ve also been too much on the pads. Headingley is all about hitting the top of off, which may explain why Yorkshiremen sometimes make boring commentators – they’re always making the same point. Geoffrey Boycott’s catchphrase was “As I was saying”.
45th over: England 126-0 (Burns 57, Hameed 61) Burns hits the first four of the day as Ishant hands him a birthday present on the pads. Before that, Hameed gets off the mark for the morning with a crisp tip-and-run, push and go. He’s done that so well in this innings – simple but effective. Not that I‘ve ever seen the point of that “but”: simple is nearly always effective, isn’t it?
44th over: England 121-0 (Burns 53, Hameed 60) From the other end it’s Mohammed Shami, so Kohli is keeping his Bumrah dry. Shami bustles in and bowls to Burns, who is celebrating not just a return to form but his 31st birthday. He knows that this fifty will turn into a hundred if he can just hang in there, and he plays out a maiden.
43rd over: England 121-0 (Burns 53, Hameed 60) Kohli hands the ball to Ishant Sharma, a show of faith after he set the wrong tone by starting this innings with a nine-ball shemozzle. He goes awry now too, giving Burns a gentle loosener on the pads, which is tucked away for a single, and his first ball to Hameed is too wide. But by the fourth ball Ishant is in the groove, finding just enough movement to beat Hameed’s studious prod. Headingley is shrouded in clouds, which should have all the bowlers licking their lips.
The first email of the day has landed.“Good morning Tim,” says Kim Thonger. “I like your intro this morning.” Thanks! “I’ve been watching Test match cricket for five and a half decades. In that time it’s become ever more volatile. Despite a great day yesterday I have literally no idea which England team will take field this morning. I don’t think there’s an algorithm in existence that can predict the outcome of this game. I see an Indian win is priced by bookmakers at 22/1 and frankly I’m going to have a tenner at least on that because if India get three quick wickets England could implode like whatever it is that implodes most impressively. Nobody will convince me they have a clear path to victory or an unassailable lead. Their minds seem as fragile as a very thin sheet of ice on a shallow puddle. Very much looking forward to the day though, whoever takes the upper hand, it’s enthralling. PS your email address is wrong on the link by the way :-) it bounces.” Ah sorry, will fix. It should say tim.delisle.casual@guardian.co.uk.
On Monday Joe Root was talking about his boyhood dream. Yesterday he was living it: captaining England in the field as wickets fell like autumn leaves, then watching his team-mates cruise into the lead without requiring a single run from him. Today he must be tempted to take the day off, nip down to Sheffield to see the family, and leave the rest of the batsmen to it.
In reality, though, he will be expecting India to come roaring back. Virat Kohli had a shocker yesterday, making the wrong call at the toss, batting feebly, then failing to inspire his attack. This was a performance from the old Indian playbook, not the new one. But teams that have that bad a day usually show some fight at the next opportunity, as England did yesterday. And there is nothing wrong with India’s position that can’t be fixed by taking seven quick wickets.
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