Joe Root finished day one at Lord’s on a teasing 99 not out as England reached 251/4 after a disciplined display with the bat against India on Thursday.
Ben Stokes, whose side needed a response after their dismal 336-run defeat in the second Test at Edgbaston, made a rare call to bat first at the toss and helped steady the ship with Root in the final session with an unbeaten score of 39.
After a tightly-fought first day at Lord’s, Mail Sport delivers its latest edition of BUMBLE AT THE TEST.
Fans’ selection headache
They are a very thirsty lot here in St John’s Wood. The MCC Media Guide made for an interesting read, particularly the back page where they thanked the partners and suppliers.
Among them were BrewDog, Majestic Wine, Veuve Clicquot, Westons Stowford Press and Hendrick’s Gin.
Paracetamol and Anadin are missing a trick here!
England ended day one at Lord’s on 251/4 with Ben Stokes (left) and Joe Root (right) unbeaten
Root played superbly and finished one run shy of a century at stumps – on a teasing 99 not out
India still had a productive day with the ball, as Nitish Kumar Reddy took down both openers
Pant’s unlikely inspiration
The great and the good are attending Wimbledon. Everybody that’s anybody is there, suited and booted.
Jimmy Anderson and Joe Root were with Roger Federer. Stuart Broad, David Beckham, Uncle Tom Cobley and all were spotted, too.
Then I saw Rishabh Pant… I can only imagine he was trying to get inspiration for a new shot. Watch out for the forehand smash over deep extra cover.
Ravi looks the part
Staying at Wimbledon, Ravi Shastri rocked up in a wonderful ensemble, looking every inch a Bollywood star.
He was looking dapper with an open-necked shirt and regulation shades. Then on Thursday, Ravi turned into Mr MCC when he did the toss with his straw boater and tie.
Sartorial elegance from a man who is always great company.
Ex-England star Stuart Broad was among the greats of sport to attend Wimbledon last week
Rishabh Pant was also in attendance and must have gone for inspiration on a new cricket shot
Ravi Shastri turned into Mr MCC when he did the toss with his straw boater and tie on Thursday
Rope-a-dope tactics work
After England’s opening pair were out, I was enthralled by the battle for the next few hours.
It was pure Test cricket — really skilful bowling and resolute batting. England abandoned the Bazball style of flashing at everything, and tried some rope-a-dope instead.
Credit to Root and Ollie Pope because the India pacers bowled some jaffas.
Siraj right to fight
It was interesting that Mohammed Siraj tried to pick a fight with Root. Siraj kept going at him, trying to get a reaction, and I liked that.
Some bowlers need to get fired up. The great West Indian quartet of Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner and Michael Holding never said a word.
Mind you, they didn’t need to.
India quick Mohammed Siraj tried to pick a fight with Root and was well within his right to
But Root’s composure and control suggested that Siraj picked a fight with the wrong batsman
Ollie Pope scored 44 before his dismissal – he would benefit hugely from opening up more
… but Root’s a cut above
The power of the stump mic allowed us to hear that Siraj had demanded Root to ‘play Bazball’.
It was great theatre but Siraj got the wrong bloke. Root is not a paid-up member of that club — he scores naturally.
Here, he rode the storm, was solid in defence, took his scoring opportunities and played with great responsibility.
Ollie has to open up
Sir Alastair Cook says that when Pope bats, his left shoulder faces mid-off and is closed off.
That means it’s inevitable he has to come round his body to play, then his head falls across to the off-side.
I’m sure it’s an area the coaches are looking at because Pope needs to open up. It’s a technical aspect that’s easy to identify but not easy to correct.
