England had another storming day with bat and ball, with West Indies on 10-2, needing 399 to win
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Related: Stuart Broad moves to 499 Test wickets as England tighten grip on third Test
What a performance. Stuart Broad took 6/22 from seven overs today. And, with a touch of luck in his final 11 balls, he could easily have finished the day with a seventh and polished off the 500 milestone before going to bed. That’ll have to wait. When we return tomorrow, the forecast says it’ll rain. But then again, it said that yesterday and we didn’t miss a ball. But even if that is the case, and Monday is a washout, the 399 the Windies need to win is irrelevant now. The only way they can retain the Wisden Trophy is by surviving for anywhere from three to six sessions: they need rain, lots of it, and/or something truly astonishing. Righto, that’s it from me tonight. Thanks for your fantastic emails. Talk tomorrow. Bye!
6th over: West Indies 10-2 (Brathwaite 2, Hope 4) It’s all happening at my house: between overs, would you believe, I just had my ECB Covid-19 Test administered (ahead of going into the bubble for the ODIs next week). It’s that easy. Right, back to Stuart with the final over of day three and he’s, as you would anticipate, absolutely all over Shai Hope with a shorter. The Windies No4 is up to the task from the full ball that follows, safe in defence. Final ball of the day, can Broad make it seven in seven overs? Ohh, he pulls his bat out at the last minute. Stumps! Phew!
5th over: West Indies 10-2 (Brathwaite 2, Hope 4) Great teamwork from Anderson, getting through his over - a fine over at that - in the space of two minutes to ensure that Broad will get another opportunity before the close.
4th over: West Indies 10-2 (Brathwaite 2, Hope 4) Oohhhh! Broad squares Hope up a treat! Again, just perfection: angling in, shaping away, missing the blade by a centimetre and off-stump by not much more. Ohh, and he’s found the edge again with the next, missing every catcher and running away to third man for four. That’ll almost be his final over tonight unless Jimmy races through. What a day.
Six wickets in six overs today for Broad. As you do. #ENGvWI
Broad has 499! He’s picked up six in (not even) six overs today! A lovely little full outswinger to Roach is more than good enough to find a tickle behind. Magnificent.
3rd over: West Indies 6-1 (Brathwaite 2, Roach 4) Anderson is so close to slipping past an inside edge, both Roach and Brathwaite batting with little footwork. Outstanding bowling from Anderson to set the pins back up for Broad.
“Is this match destined to become known as The Broadway?” John Starbuck suggests of the Man of the Match (we can almost give it now) Stuart Broad.
"It's that man Broad again!"
The perfect start for England as Stuart Broad gets John Campbell with his third ball! West Indies 0-1.#RedForRuth
Watch #ENGvWI live https://t.co/WIykQlOF5m
Over-by-over blog https://t.co/9Fv3oAvC2hpic.twitter.com/7WMst401MV
2nd over: West Indies 4-1 (Brathwaite 1, Roach 3) Ooh, that’s nasty from Broad to Roach - the nightwatchman - first up, his short ball whacking into his gloves. That could have gone anywhere. Brathwaite somehow quirts the penultimate ball through the packed cordon to give the strike back to Roach, who manages to get bat on a full one, getting himself a couple more. England race through; 14 minutes left.
“Hi Adam!” Hello, Rich from Virginia “Just emerging from behind the sofa after watching the Villa match...... “a Richie-esque 222”......how brilliant! Speaking of the great man, what is your opinion on the Alan Knott versus Marsh/Healy verdict delivered by the aforementioned legend that the Aussie boys were better? Clearly, I’m in the Knotty camp, (if for no other reason that he would change the mind of the brothers, ‘Bros’, on their views about “superstition”)......):- Cheers, , where yes, temperatures are still akin to the inside of a kettle. P.S. Loved your article relaying your first experience at Lord’s in 2005.”
Related: The Spin | Internet friends took me from New York to the great Ashes series of 2005
Broad in the book third ball! It’s a beauty to Campbell from around the wicket: angling in, had to play, nipping away... edge, slip, gone. Perfect! He has 498 Test wickets and has claimed five in five overs today. What a match he is having.
1st over: West Indies 0-0 (Brathwaite 0, Campbell 0) Anderson is right where he needs to be with his second ball, Brathwaite just getting his bat out of the way in time. There’s half a shout for leg before when he gets one going the other way later in the set, beating the opener on the inside edge, but it’s too high for a review.
“Evening, Adam.” Hello, Digvijay Yadav. “Tuned in for the first time today. The footy was on. Has anyone ever told you that cricket is a lot more pleasurable when your team is back in the Champions League? It is.”
The players are on the field. Anderson to Brathwaite it’ll be. PLAY!
“Monsieur Collins.” Comrade Bob Wilson.“Can Percy Pig Dessert Sauce actually be real? (I worry sometimes about the severity of my nicotine withdrawal and near tee-total new lifestyle). Eccentrically enough, I have two M&S Foodstores near me in Paris. If I get a confirmation, I’m going down there stat. Just to see their faces (if I tell them I’m watching cricket at the same time even better). There’ll be no sympathetic murmuring and headshaking about Brexit this time, I feel.”
The only adequate response I have to this is informing you that J Holder has opted for the heavy roller as Jimmy Anderson and Disco Stu prepare for three overs each.
5⃣0⃣ FOR ROOT!
The England skipper reaches his half-century from just 49 balls, smashing Roach back over his head! The lead is now 378.#RedForRuth
Watch #ENGvWI live https://t.co/WIykQlOF5m
Over-by-over blog https://t.co/9Fv3oAvC2hpic.twitter.com/ANvPsiBGYx
A lot going on in that previous post! But the key information is this: England called it quits when Burns fell, giving them about 25 minutes at the West Indies tonight. They have been set a most unlikely target 399 to win.
West Indies set 399 to win. Burns goes at Chase’s first ball, on one knee and over mid-on for four! He dances at the third ball to try and find the rope again but doesn’t quite get to the pitch of the ball, slicing one to point. He’s into the 90s and that may well be it with 37 minutes of play remaining. Root now who sweeps four more - waaaay too easy. That takes Joe Root beyond Ian Bell (7727) and then past Mike Atherton (7728) for Test runs. Thanks Michael Meagher for that. Burns gets one more chance this over and gets a top edge, taken by the ‘keeper. And that’s it!
57th over: England 216-1 (Burns 85, Root 63) Roach is back and that pace suits Root, who brings up his 49th half-century in Test cricket (and 82nd score above 50) with an imposing lofted drive over the bowler’s head for four. To the mark in just 49 balls; a lovely cameo as England chase these quick runs. He goes again, slapping a shorter ball through midwicket for another four. He’s in delightful touch, almost wasted in these relatively uncompetitive circumstances. Ohhh, the best of the lot to finish, lifting over midwicket with straight arms... hold that pose. 14 off the over as Root races through the 50s quicker than Chuck Berry. They don’t declare and Burns is on strike. It might be the case that he has one over to get to 100. We’ll see!
56th over: England 202-1 (Burns 85, Root 49) Dance, Joe. Dance! He gets to the pitch of Cornwall’s first ball with ease, lifting the spinner over long-off for SIX! Delightful batting. “How much does Joe Root trust the weather forecast in Manchester?” asks Andrew Strauss on TV. It’s a reasonable point - remember when day two was going to be washed out without a ball being bowled? Yes, they have plenty - a lead of 374 - but it’s not an open-and-shut case for England to pull out now, is it? They reach 200 in this over with five runs to the sweepers after his big six.
55th over: England 191-1 (Burns 84, Root 41) Singles, singles everywhere. We’re getting the usual graphics on telly about successful fourth-innings chases, the biggest of those in 2008 when England collected 294 to win against New Zealand.
“I feel Tom (51st over) is missing a trick by not naming his cocktail ‘Porco Rosso’ as per the Studio Ghibli film,” says Ian Stubbings. “Pretty much got me through lockdown, has that lovely Studio.”
54th over: England 186-1 (Burns 82, Root 38) Just three singles off Cornwall this time around, who, in my humblest of opinions, has bowled better than his figures suggest. Meanwhile, it continues to all happen in the Prem... minutes to go.
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53rd over: England 183-1 (Burns 81, Root 36) Chase skips through his over from around the wicket with both batsmen are playing their roles, picking out the sweepers with a minimum of fuss or risk. Six from it - easy. We have 57 minutes until the enforced close of play. Michael Holding wants England to declare now. If Shane Warne was on commentary, he would have been asking for Root to call them in at about 50/0 to give England a chance to wrap it up before tomorrow’s rain.
52nd over: England 177-1 (Burns 77, Root 34) Another authoratative sweep from Root, this time of the conventional variety, and nobody is stopping that. Shot. Four more runs around the spread field makes eight from the over. The lead is 349.
“Hi Adam.” Afternoon, Will Lane. “Not to revive the Root at number 3 ‘debate’ that was seemingly put to bed a while back, if Sibley and Burns can consistently see off the first 15 overs of an innings do you think there is an argument for moving Root to 3? I like the added impetus (to use Michael Holdings words) he adds immediately after the blocking and leaving of Sibley/Burns. Harsh on Zack Crawley maybe but could that open up a slot for Dan Lawrence (who I like the look of ) at 6 with Stokes and Pope moving up a place in the order.”
51st over: England 169-1 (Burns 76, Root 28) Chase is back for a second shift and Root shows who’s boss by reversing straight away, Cornwall going the wrong way at slip when seeing the England captain shape up for the shot. Four runs. A couple of singles down the ground follow then two more for Root with another reverse - lovely timing on that. He keeps the strike with another to long off. He’s 28 from 30.
50th over: England 160-1 (Burns 75, Root 20) Cornwall continues to strive for a wicket; he’s yet to pick one up this week and is running out of time. He asks the question for leg before when beating Burns on the inside edge but not without any real enthusiasm. With Holder off the field with his problematic ankle, it is Brathwaite running the show out there for the Windies. Ohhhh, it was out too! Rahkeem! Had the appeal just been a bit more enthusiastic. Has Holder been there, who reviews seemingly everything! The Dream is turning into a... etc etc.
49th over: England 158-1 (Burns 74, Root 19) Holder is up again, appealing for leg before against Burns with one that didn’t quite get up, but there’s no review. Root’s turn and he plays an outstanding pull shot - straight out of the MCC manual; deep in the crease - in front of the square leg umpire for four. DRINKS! Is Holder injured? Looks like he might be - he’s walking off to get some attention at the breather.
48th over: England 152-1 (Burns 74, Root 14) Boundaries from Burns to bookend the over and he now has a Test ton for the taking! To begin, he danced at Cornwall and picked him up through midwicket with ease - lovely batting. To finish, a resourceful reverse sweep of sorts, making solid enough contact for four more over third man. After starting the slower of the openers, he’s now moving through the gears nicely.
Burns was 38 off 100 balls before tea, now 32 off 38 balls after.
47th over: England 142-1 (Burns 64, Root 14) Holder beats Root on the hook and he’s appealing for caught behind but substitute wicketkeeper Josh da Silva doesn’t encourage a review. A timely maiden from the skipper, who is incentivised to delay this declaration as long as possible. Indeed, to avoid batting again today if he can.
46th over: England 142-1 (Burns 64, Root 14) Reverse sweep! You get four for that, Rory. He gets a touch cute from the next Cornwall offering though, nearly giving a catch to Hope at slip, but it has bounced in front of him, the TV ump confirms. A couple more to Burns from another reverse. They’ve added 28 in 31 balls together.
45th over: England 135-1 (Burns 58, Root 13) Holder is tight in at Burns, taking until the fourth ball of the over to give him a ball to tuck around the corner for one. Root benefits from another poor piece of fielding, beating midwicket for three.
“Maybe I’m just having a belligerent afternoon,” begins Toby Sims, “but I am totally bemused / irked by the ‘Burns / Sibley are too slow’ schtick. As shown previously, if it needs to be uppity, deploy a Stokes in the mood. If there’s *a bit* of time, they soften the attack for any number of batsmen to come in and reap the benefits and cause mayhem (would we rather be 100 for 3?). Also given the fact Stuart Broad has had all of the Weetabix (other cereals are available) this match, it shows a little faith in the bowlers too. I’ll get off my soapbox.”
Related: Premier League final day clockwatch – live!
44th over: England 131-1 (Burns 57, Root 10) Shot, Joe. A dance, a flick, a boundary. He’s class, the England skipper. One, two, three other singles. The lead is 303.
43rd over: England 124-1 (Burns 55, Root 5) Singles exchanged off Holder, who isn’t going to let England pile on declaration runs without a fight; it isn’t how the West Indies captain is built. And they can still retain the Wisden Trophy, of course.
“So, this may sound unbelievable but it is what it is!” declares Aravindakshan Narasimhan. Okay, let’s have it. “I have started to watch cricket again after almost a break of 7 or 8 years (thanks to twenty twenty impact on the game, sorry for the old school nostalgia!), thanks to a friend of mine who sent me an old cricket match (96 ODI) and it made me to watch lot of old matches on YouTube! And my love for Guardian’s OBO has helped in a lot too. Yours is a lovely ode to the game and writing! Thank you! P.S: I still doubt whether I would watch 20-20!”
42nd over: England 122-1 (Burns 54, Root 4) Burns gets four from a misfield at midwicket - not good. Sure enough, it’s from a sweep, a shot he’s scored heavily from that either side of tea. I see on the web that Holder’s dismissal of Sibley was his 100th as captain of the West Indies, taking 35 Test Matches to reach that mark.
“Dear Adam.” Hi again, Mac Millings. “Lovely words about the OBO from Simon McMahon - it really is a wonderful, warm community. On which note, I know you said no more, but I think it might put a smile on the face of one of our long-standing members if you’d mention that my OBO XI’s 12th man is Vernon Philsawyer.”
41st over: England 117-1 (Burns 50, Root 3) Root is off the mark first ball with a tidy clip behind square, coming back for three. “Immediate impetus,” says Ian Bishop.
WICKET!
He survived a review the ball before but this time Sibley (56) has to go, lbw to Holder.
England 114-1, a lead of 286.#RedForRuth
Watch #ENGvWI live https://t.co/WIykQlOF5m
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Yup, that’s out. Three reds after Sibley is beaten on the inside edge, the ball going on to collect leg stump. The captain into the attack and straight into the book.
HE’S GIVEN THE SECOND TIME! Holder wins the lbw decision on the field but Sibley is now using the DRS. Stand by!
HAS HOLDER TRAPPED SIBLEY? He likes the shout so much that he goes upstairs... but it is NOT OUT! Everything is fine but the ball is clipping the bails, so, umpire’s call on height. The England opener survives and the Holder retains his review.
40th over: England 114-0 (Burns 50, Sibley 56) Burns joins Sibley with 50 to his name, smashing a sweep off Cornwall to the boundary. He’s played that shot well. With those runs in the can, he’s happy enough playing the rest in defence. Andrew Strauss is asked whether he would declare today if skipper and says he wouldn’t.
“Too much to do,” Ian Forth begins his email to me. “After weeks of dolefully staring out the window, walking my cocker spaniel (not a euphemism) and waiting for the work phone to ring, I find myself at 1.30am (I’m in Melbourne) trying to finish a presentation for tomorrow while watching this test, the obo and three premier league games simultaneously. It’s faintly reminiscent of the super-charged ending of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood after hours of meandering - except admittedly (spoiler alert) with a lower body count. Why am I writing this email to you? I’m my own worst enemy.” I’ll join you at 1:30am my time when doing my research for an interview I have first thing tomorrow morning. Nothing more certain.
39th over: England 110-0 (Burns 46, Sibley 56) I should also note, this has been the quickest half-century of Sibley’s career. I wonder who Root sends in at No3? Of course, he could do worse than walking out himself, as named. But Stokes’ third innings hitting last week will be fresh in the memory - nothing to lose. Four from Roach’s final ball here, Sibley again driving the full ball ball carefully, into the gap and timed well enough this time to go all the way - his seventh boundary.
38th over: England 106-0 (Burns 46, Sibley 52) Sibley to his half-century with a nice cut, waiting back in the crease before placing Cornwall most of the way to the boundary rope for three. He’s already an important asset to this England team.
England had 11 100+ opening stands in home Tests between 2004 and 2011 - six of them Strauss/Trescothick, five of them Strauss/Cook
This is only their third since then, after Cook/Lyth in 2015 and Cook/Hales in 2016
37th over: England 103-0 (Burns 46, Sibley 49) The first 100-stand for England openers at home since 2016, Athers tells me on TV. Cook and Hales were the partnership then, if you were wondering. Oh, the pieces I wrote (early in) that summer saying they had found their long-term partnership. Ah well. Burns brings up the milestone with a well-timed clip behind square, running away for four.
36th over: England 97-0 (Burns 41, Sibley 48) Nearly a close call on a run out early in the Cornwall over but Sibley is quicker between the wickets than he looks. He then takes another single himself to cover. With a half-century at Southampton and a defining ton last week, he’s been one of the players of the series. Who would begrudge him a cheap second-innings ton here? Especially if he hurries up.
“Hi Adam.” Simon McMahon, lovely to see you as well. “What can I say? Thank you Mac Millings doesn’t really cover it, but thank you Mac Millings. That XI is going on the wall. I wouldn’t wish to over analyse or get too sentimental about the OBO, but for me it’s as much a part of the cricket landscape as Test Match Special, Wisden, and Lord’s itself. The next best thing to being at the ground. A great community that doesn’t ever take itself or the game too seriously. As somebody may have once said, ‘What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?’”
35th over: England 94-0 (Burns 39, Sibley 47) Roach has made a career from bowling into a shoebox as he does to Sibley here, bang on that fourth-stump line.
“Afternoon Adam.” Lovely to see your name in my inbox, Kim Thonger. “As a failed geologist, whose rise to fame in that discipline was hindered principally by an extraordinary inability and unwillingness to understand or remember any chemistry at all, I should like to propose we purloin the geological method of dividing time into epochs and eras.
For example we could use batsmen’s names to divide up the last century or so.
Pre-Hobbsian aka Graceian
Hobbsian
Bradmanian
Comptonian
Sobersian
Richardsian (Barry or Viv)
Gavaskarian
Tendulkarian
Pontingian
Smithian
34th over: England 94-0 (Burns 39, Sibley 47) It’s Rahkeem ‘The Dream’ Cornwall continuing from the Anderson End, in at Burns. He should fancy this match-up. It only lasts one ball to begin though, the left-hander off strike with a tuck. Sibley is attacking the spin straight away, albeit unconvincingly, the ball flying off the outside edge from an attempted cut through third slip for four. Too short, though. He gets one more look at Burns to finish but the delivery is defended.
33rd over: England 88-0 (Burns 38, Sibley 42) Nice stroke, Sibley pushing carefully through cover point for a couple. We saw him hit one lavish drive in that direction last week from about the 310th ball he faced, or something like that. He brings up his Ed Cowan Ton later in the over, joining Burns as having faced 100 deliveries.
The players are back on the field. Roach to Sibley. England lead by 258. PLAY!
I missed this earlier. An important read - Barney interviewing Lonsdale Skinner.
Related: Lonsdale Skinner: 'Most of the racism came from the committee room'
Three cheers for an OBO regular. “Hello Mr Collins!” And to you, Mr Sensarma. “I forgot to share with you one of my proudest personal moments, one I had dreamt of ever since I first came in contact with the sport. I submitted a piece I had written to Cricinfo a couple of months ago during the sport’s forced sabbatical. It was driven out of the need to remain in contact with cricket, more than anything else. But for some reason, they decided to publish it! One of my happiest memories so far.”
Well done, young man. Your passion for the game is inspiring.
Joseph Harvey, you’re up. “Pace from England seems a little slow but if they get all the overs in it should be another 100 runs today. Is that enough to declare?”
Bad light might be a factor here. If it wasn’t, I’d have England trying to have a pop for five overs tonight. But if they can’t be sure of reaching 6:33pm (the latest time they can play tonight, as I understand it) they may as well start fresh on Tuesday. Again, this is assuming that tomorrow does end up a washout - a big assumption.
I’ll grab a cuppa too before coming to some emails. I’m also expecting a COVID tester to arrive at my house shortly. I’m going into the bio-bubble at the Rose Bowl for the England v Ireland ODIs next week - all part of the process. No complaints.
32nd over: England 86-0 (Burns 38, Sibley 40) The Dream is spun around to replace Chase to finish, now from the Anderson End. Oooh, and he gets one go turn big with the penulimate offering of the session, spinning way beyond Burns’ outside edge from around the wicket. A maiden it is; nicely bowled. Tea it is! The end of a wicketless session where the hosts added 76 runs in 28 overs. England’s lead is 258.
31st over: England 86-0 (Burns 38, Sibley 40) Roach back into the attack with a couple of overs left until the tea interval. Or so I’m assuming. Despite covering about 80-odd Tests over the last five years, I still don’t quite understand how they adjust tea when making up overs, as we are today due to bad light earlier in the test Match. Alas, Sibley is very lucky to get through to his cucumber sandwich (or, energy drink and a banana), edging a conventional chance from the first ball, straight to where third slip would be if the West Indies had one in position.
“Dear Adam.” Good afternoon, Mac Millings. “As this delightfully welcome Test series winds down, I think it’s only right that I pick an OBO XI. (I should mention that it started off as a Gary Naylor/Simon McMahon Tribute XI, which is why those gentlemen are both on the teamsheet more than once...).”
30th over: England 80-0 (Burns 37, Sibley 35) West Indies now have four substitute fielders on the ground with Jermaine Blackwood leaving for a moment. Burns, meanwhile, has found a winning formula against Chase, sweeping him successfully for the second time in two overs, this time past the square leg umpire for four. Having pushed the fielder back, he’s able to grab a couple more in that direction with a tuck. “Good batting,” agrees Athers. England’s lead is 252.
29th over: England 74-0 (Burns 31, Sibley 35) NOT OUT! DRS shows the ball hitting Sibley outside the line of off-stump, by quite a margin. It’s not usually a good idea to challenge Umpire Gough. A very good over, though - slower and accurate.
HAS CORNWALL PICKED UP SIBLEY LBW? They are very keen. To DRS!
28th over: England 74-0 (Burns 31, Sibley 35) That’s more like it, ten from the Chase over, England’s most productive so far. Both openers find the rope, Burns sweeping well behing square leg then Sibley driving expertly down the ground. We don’t see the right-hander unfurl too often, but he does have a lovely straight drive.
27th over: England 64-0 (Burns 26, Sibley 30) I’ve made the mistake of visiting my inbox during that Cornwall over; it was finished by the time I looked up. But Sibley was busy with two through square leg to start then another couple through cover.
“Hi Adam.” Hi Aravindakshan Narasimhan. “Originally sent to De Lisle, but a case of poor timing. To add to the list of the greatest bad-technique batsman, I feel one should mention Simon Katich’s stance and style! With due respects to the player of course! Not a name that usually comes to mind when discussing greatest bad-tecnhqiue. But I have always felt his style unique and weird!”
26th over: England 60-0 (Burns 26, Sibley 26) And the approach nearly works! Sibley has another dance at Chase to break up the tight period and nearly clips a catch to square leg! As Athers notes on telly, he was trying to pop it over mid-on but this is, as he explains, a challenge given he faces up looking at midwicket. A top edge from Burns follows, landing outside the reach of short fine, but another win for the spinner. A good point from Freddie Wilde - something we’ve seen through the series when the Windies look to be well behind in the match, as they are here.
The way Holder deploys his strong bowling attack with caution & control is a little reminiscent of Pakistan under Misbah, who also had excellent bowlers to call on but prioritised control over all else. This approach brings discipline to the unit & keeps them in games. #ENGvWI
25th over: England 57-0 (Burns 24, Sibley 25) Scrap what I said just before, the Windies will get these in easily if Chase and Cornwall are in operation throughout - they’re getting through their work quicker than Ravi Jadeja and Steve O’Keefe.
24th over: England 55-0 (Burns 23, Sibley 24) Chase skips through a 60-second over, Burns getting one from a cut but there’s nothing else on offer. Tidy. England have added 45 runs in 20 overs since the lunch interval. In theory, they have 47 more available to them today but I doubt the West Indies will get those in. Indeed, I suspect bad light will intervene even if they do end up on track to bowl them all.
23rd over: England 54-0 (Burns 22, Sibley 24) Big shout for leg before, Cornwall generating plenty of turn back to Sibley, but it looks a touch high and they don’t review. Good call, it was going over. Good bowling though as it prompts a Sibley sweep later in the over, which he misses as well - another appeal. Turned down this time as it has struck him outside the line of the off-stump. Rahkeem the Dream has started well but still hasn’t a wicket to his name - can his match get better?
22nd over: England 52-0 (Burns 21, Sibley 23) England bring up their 50 - making the lead a Richie-esque 222 - when Sibley pushes a single off Chase. Burns then clips two more past midwicket to finish. With two spinners in operation it’ll take me a few overs to get my eye in, but my inbox is open and my twitter replies, too.
21st over: England 49-0 (Burns 19, Sibley 22) The good news, according to the amateur meteorologists in the Sky box, is that the rain around Manchester has missed Old Trafford. We all know it is going to chuck it down at some point this week but we haven’t missed an over yet. Sibley shows some aggression here to Cornwall, using his feet in an attempt to take him down the ground - it goes over midwicket instead. Not convincing but the right call; England need to close today in a position where they can declare overnight if rain does destroy all of tomorrow.
20th over: England 46-0 (Burns 19, Sibley 19) Hello all! Chase is let down first all of his new over, Blackwood at backward point letting a Burns cut shot go through his legs for four. It’s hard to believe how little he was used on the first day given the record he has against England, including the five wickets he took last week.
19th over: England 42-0 (Burns 15, Sibley 19) And here he is. Off-spin from both ends: it’s the stuff of Sibley’s nightmares. He manages a glance for a single, but is soon back at the sharp end as Burns picks up one for an uncertain fend. And that’s me done for the day. It’s over to Adam Collins, who can bring anything to life, even an England opening partnership. Thanks for your company and your excellent nominations for the greatest bad batsman.
18th over: England 40-0 (Burns 14, Sibley 18) It’s a maiden from Chase, who is getting turn and bounce. Time for Cornwall too, maybe.
“Kevin Pietersen has to be one of the best bad technique players,” says Steve Hudson. “He started as a tailender, and had a tailender’s technique – bottom-handed grip, tendency to shovel everything through the legside...and yet played a handful of utterly, staggeringly brilliant innings.” True, but wasn’t he too watchable to qualify for this hard-fought title?
17th over: England 40-0 (Burns 14, Sibley 18) Burns, who is the England player with the most experience as a captain, is at least trying to get a move on, but he’s not finding it easy. He chases a wide one from Holder and encounters only thin air, then takes a quick single to mid-off, which means he’ll have to face Chase again.
Let’s hear it for some great bad batsmen. “The nonpareil candidate,” says Andrew Bell, “has to be Jim Yardley of Worcs and Northants (1969 to 1982) whose movement at the crease resembled that of a palsied crab. For his last 10 seasons he had just one scoring shot: a squirt behind square on the off side.”
“Sorry Tim,” says Geoff Wignall, “but I’m not having it that Chanderpaul was any variety of bad batsman – simply a good batsman with a profoundly ugly technique. For an England comparison, cf middle middle period and onward Peter Willey. Sibley’s problem is essentially an inability to play on the offside. Anyone else remember MJK Smith? And they made him captain (might have been an initials thing).”
16th over: England 39-0 (Burns 13, Sibley 18) Burns manages a cut for a single off Chase, which is a lot better than a doomed dance down the track. And that’s drinks, with West Indies in the wars and England’s openers doing their best to take us back to the timeless Test of 1939.
15th over: England 38-0 (Burns 12, Sibley 18) A maiden from Holder to Sibley, who has now faced 50 balls. The West Indians will be hoping he sticks around for 50 more.
“Afternoon de Lisle,” says Josh Robinson, taking me back to school with a jolt. “Wide, open stance, crooked backlift, exaggerated follow-through? I put it to you & your reader that the greatest bad-technique batsman was in fact the greatest batsman of all.” So Sibley is, in fact, the new Bradman?
14th over: England 38-0 (Burns 12, Sibley 18) So Chase still has the measure of Burns, and West Indies are missing Dowrich, who’s watching from the dressing-room with a swollen lip – I was wrong about him being thumped in the nose, sorry.
Burns goes down the track, Chase beats him, but the ball ends up well wide of off and Da Silva can’t quite get the bails off. He’s still smiling though. This guy will go far.
13th over: England 37-0 (Burns 12, Sibley 18) Sibley sees a full ball from Holder, angling into middle stump, and pushes it to the midwicket boundary. It’s just like watching Viv Richards, without the cap, the nonchalance, the showmanship or the swagger.
12th over: England 32-0 (Burns 12, Sibley 13) It’s a double change as Holder remembers that Burns is Roston Chase’s bunny. And that Sibley has struggled to score off him. This time Sibley is purposeful, coming down the track to clip for two, then taking a quick single to mid-on. That’s really not the way to play if you want to be England’s greatest bad batsman.
11th over: England 29-0 (Burns 12, Sibley 10) This is the innings that keeps on giving. We now have a bowling change! Holder turns to himself, showing that he’s not one to let a sore thumb stop him doing his bit with the ball. Burns late-cuts him for four, but every other delivery is on the spot.
10th over: England 25-0 (Burns 8, Sibley 10) All the excitement is now coming from West Indies’ wicketkeeping arrangements. It’s not Shai Hope standing in for Dowrich after all – it’s Joshua Da Silva. He’s wearing a floppy hat and a broad smile, both of which are impressive in the circumstances.
An email from Peter McGivney. “Further to your comment on Sibley being [potentially] the best bad batsman and the nomination for Chanderpaul, can I put forward Steve Smith. Awful technique, just waiting to be found out at Test level was the view. We’re still waiting.” Too shay.
9th over: England 22-0 (Burns 7, Sibley 9) The weather forecast for tomorrow is abysmal, but nobody has told England’s openers. Burns plays out another maiden from Roach, whose four overs have gone for a total of two runs.
“Greatest bad technique batsman?” says AB Parker with a snort. “Surely Chanderpaul has that sewn up for all time.” Good point. But maybe Sibley can take the English crown?
8th over: England 22-0 (Burns 7, Sibley 9) Burns demonstrated his range by starting the over with a tuck for two rather than one. Then came Dowrich’s misfortune, which was probably not made any easier by the sight of the umpires disinfecting the ball in case it had any of his bodily fluids on it. When play finally resumes, Gabriel gives away five no-balls. Only cricket can produce these moments.
“Further to Kim Thonger’s comments in the fifth over,” says Neville Morley, “a clearer if not necessarily simpler alternative to ‘middle late Broad’ would be a version of the system used for classifying Bronze Age Greek pottery; in place of e.g. EHII and LMIII (Early Helladic II and Late Minoan III), we’d have EB, MB and LB for Early, Middle and Late Broad, subdivided into phases I-III (and potentially subdivided further into IA, IB etc).” Only the OBO can produce these moments.
And not to a batsman – this time it’s Dowrich behind the stumps. A bouncer from Gabriel bursts through his gloves and thumps him in the nose. He’s on his feet but walking off, understandably, so Shai Hope will presumably put the pads on.
7th over: England 13-0 (Burns 4, Sibley 9) A maiden from Roach to Sibley, whose technique comes under some scrutiny from the commentators, none of it flattering. He may be on his way to being the greatest bad batsman of all time.
“Hi again Tim,” says Geoff Wignall. “You were commenting earlier on captains as natural leaders rather than tacticians (Holder and Stokes). Surely it applies also to Root, in so far as he’s a natural leader, as demonstrated by sending out the regular openers with a 172-run lead and a threatening weather forecast in a must win match?” Ha. I’m not sure the distinction does apply to Root – he’s about the same as a leader and a tactician, isn’t he?
6th over: England 13-0 (Burns 4, Sibley 9) Another tuck, first up, for Burns. Sibley, who is gradually becoming more at ease, takes a quick single into the covers after spotting that it was going to the battered left hand of Holder.
5th over: England 11-0 (Burns 3, Sibley 8) First ball of the over, Burns tucks Roach for an easy single. Last ball, Sibley plays and misses in the corridor of utter perplexity. Somewhere in between, Shane Dowrich takes a regulation ball in the midriff. He’s not finding anything easy at the moment, which makes it all the more admirable that he added 68 with Holder to see off the follow-on.
“I think this may be the right moment,” says Kim Thonger, “to start classifying the various parts of Stuart Broad’s career. In the beginning there was early, middle and late early period. Then came early, middle and late middle period. At the moment, since his recall, I put him in early late period, with middle late and late late to come, at some stage. Jimmy is, I think, in middle late period. Jofra I put in his middle early period now. I hope that’s clear, I wouldn’t like to think I might be causing any confusion.”
Jason Holder is back on the field with his left thumb heavily bandaged. Whether it’s broken, we have yet to be told.
4th over: England 10-0 (Burns 2, Sibley 8) Dom Sibley probably wouldn’t bat an eyelid if he had to have his lunch while on a pair, but Shannon Gabriel gives him a four on a plate by drifting onto his legs. Sibley adds a nick for four, past gully, from a crooked bat. For a Test opener, he does seem very shaky on the off side. And that’s lunch, with England making a sluggish start but losing no wickets. With plenty of rain forecast, they need to get their skates on this afternoon. Though the rain may allow them to watch the football.
“If Holder is off the field,” wonders John Starbuck, “who is directing the bowlers? Brathwaite?” Yes, though Gabriel and Roach hardly need to be told what to do with the new ball. The tricky bit will come later, when Stokes starts check-driving the seamers for six. See you in half an hour.
3rd over: England 2-0 (Burns 2, Sibley 0) Burns’s turn to do some blocking. It looks like there’s just time for one more over before lunch.
2nd over: England 2-0 (Burns 2, Sibley 0) Burns gets another single, allowing Sibley to join some more dots.
“Noodling about noodles,” says Hamish Kuzminski, picking up on 12:43. “Here in Germany, Spätzle - small hand-rolled egg and flour noodles - are a totally legitimate Schnitzel accompaniment. Always happy to lend a hand. Toodle pip!” Ah, but can we be sure that noodles go with toodles?
1st over: England 1-0 (Burns 1, Sibley 0) Burns gets a single for that nick, which was a moral victory fo Kemar Roach as well as a blow for Holder. Sibley, who is on a pair, keeps out a series of inswingers as West Indies aim to get him LBW for the second time in the match. In other news, this Test has raised £500,000 for the Ruth Strauss Foundation – a heartening tally and a hard-earned reward for Andrew Strauss’s efforts to encourage people to face up to grief.
“Since Broad came back into the side,” notes John Welsh, “he’s averaging 73 with the bat and has 11 wickets at 12.25. Best all-rounder in history?”
Not one of the openers – it’s Jason Holder, who took a nick from Burns (not a chance) on the tip of his left thumb and went down in agony. He’s going off, slowly and disconsolately.
England have sent out their regular openers. What strange stratagem is this?
Time for some correspondence. Here’s Richard Marz, who would have an umlaut on his A if I could find it on my keyboard. I say this because he may be a bit of a stickler. “Please take note,” he says, “that in Vienna, the home of Schnitzel, the combination of Schnitzel WITH noodles sounds absolutely disgusting. Schnitzel is always eaten with potatoes and I do not mean french fries.”
On the subject of sticklers... “Just catching up after a doorway building morning,” says Geoff Wignall, “and from reading the preamble I fear the battle has been list for the historic meaning of oxymoron: an apparent contradiction in terms employed deliberately as a rhetorical device to emphasise a point or proposition.” Mea culpa.
No sooner has Dowrich played the shot of the day, a gorgeous back-foot drive, than Broad persuades him to mis-time a pull to mid-on, where Chris Woakes is never going to make a second faux pas of the day. Broad grabs the ball and leads England off with figures of 14-4-31-6. He didn’t bowl six times as well as Jofra Archer (one for 72), but he does know how to take wickets, especially if he has a Dukes ball and some cloud cover to play with. He’s still a phenomenal operator.
64th over: West Indies 193-9 (Dowrich 33, Gabriel 0) While these wickets have been tumbling, Shane Dowrich has stayed there, not doing anything. Now he springs into action with a stylish pull off Anderson. All four of Dowrich’s dismissals in this series have come against the short ball, but he’s standing up to it now.
63rd over: West Indies 188-9 (Dowrich 28, Gabriel 0) So Broad now has 496 wickets in 140 Tests, and a chance of making 500 in this match. Fred Trueman famously said that if anyone passed his then world record of 307 Test wickets, they’d be bloody tired. Broad looks, if anything, bloody fresh. And he’s wearing a bandana that would give Trueman palpitations.
Two in one over! A regulation nick to first slip, and Broad has yet another five-for.
Say what you like about Stuart Broad, he knows how to get the cricket ball thudding into the pad. And no pad gives better thud than Rahkeem Cornwall’s. That’s the end of a lively cameo.
Against Cornwall, given out, and it looks a fairly plumb plumb.
62nd over: West Indies 185-7 (Dowrich 28, Cornwall 10) Cornwall continues to go for it, lofting Anderson over the covers, then flicking him to deep square, the second stroke better than the first.
Important news from Kim Thonger. “I’ve just audited the players’ initials. Only 4 of 22 have three. This is disgraceful. I urge all prospective cricket parents out there to do the right thing and give your future little darlings the correct number of initials and/or add some extra names by deed to existing under-equipped offspring. Anything less than 3 initials is at best terribly déclassé and frankly is a sign that we are on the slippery slope to dystopian anarchy.” You tell ’em, KGD Thonger.
61st over: West Indies 185-7 (Dowrich 28, Cornwall 7) Rahkeem Cornwall cuts a magnificent figure at the crease, though for some reason he isn’t wearing two helmets. He gets off the mark in style, straight-driving Broad with no apparent effort. Then he plays a less convincing shot, driving uppishly past cover. If there’s one thing Broad can’t stand, it’s lower-order batsmen swinging the bat, so he switches to the short stuff, whereupon Cornwall flicks him off the hip for a comfy single. This contest is already good fun.
60th over: West Indies 178-7 (Dowrich 28, Cornwall 0) Another maiden from Anderson and that’s drinks. As usual in this match, West Indies got out of the right side of the bed and England didn’t, but then Joe Root turned to Stuart Broad, Mr Inevitable, so England are still on top.
Meanwhile Brian Withington has been thinking about his favourite things. “Starting a cloudy morning session without Jimmy Anderson? It’s like tea without jam and bread. Schnitzel without noodles. Roses without raindrops. Pass my warm woollen mittens and put the bright copper kettle on.”
59th over: West Indies 178-7 (Dowrich 28, Cornwall 0) That was a captain’s innings by Holder, who dug himself out of a trough and got his team over the line. And yet more joy for Broad, who now has three for 20 from 11 overs. Between them, he and Anderson have a five-wicket haul – five for 40 from 24 overs of sheer parsimony.
Yes, not even umpire’s call – homing in on leg stump. Instant success for Broad, and an effective bowling change by Joe Root, and Gary Naylor.
Has Broad done it again? I suspect he has... Not a no-ball anyway.
58th over: West Indies 175-6 (Holder 44, Dowrich 27) Better from Anderson, who beats both edges of Holder’s broad bat. First there’s an LBW appeal from an inswinger, which Michael Gough rightly views as a touch too high; then a classic air shot at an outswinger.
57th over: West Indies 174-6 (Holder 44, Dowrich 26) Woakes reverts to the short ball - so Holder pulls him for four, and that’s the follow-on seen off. He throws in a clip for two as well. In the commentary box, Andrew Strauss produces a graphic showing that West Indies’ strike rate against a full length has gone from 50 in the first 45 overs to 178 since, which is a bit of a problem when you’ve got Woakes and Anderson on.
56th over: West Indies 168-6 (Holder 38, Dowrich 26) “If only,” says Gary Naylor on Twitter, “Root had Anderson and Broad to turn to...” Ha. Broad has been spotted off the field this morning, probably giving another interview. And now Root agrees that it’s time for Anderson, who is typically accurate to Dowrich, but not instantly threatening.
55th over: West Indies 166-6 (Holder 38, Dowrich 24) It was a beautiful catch by Ollie Pope, swooping to his right in a way that makes you wonder if he is related to Nick Pope of Burnley. And a most untypical blemish from Woakes. Maybe he scrambled his systems with those bouncers.
“Shane Dowrich uses the most beautiful bat I’ve ever seen,” says Hal Hainsworth. “He’s also scored three tonnes to Buttler’s one, in twelve fewer Tests and at a similar average. If I knew how to use the chin stroking emoji on email, I would.” Tonnes, eh.
Holder chips to midwicket! Out of nowhere, England appear to have the breakthrough – but the third umpire decides that Woakes has bowled a no-ball, only the second in his 34 Tests. So much for Mr Impeccable.
54th over: West Indies 161-6 (Holder 37, Dowrich 21) The bodyline policy hasn’t been abandoned – it’s just been entrusted to Archer, who is far better equipped for it. He goes round the wicket to bomb Dowrich with two short legs. This, by coincidence, is the ploy with which Neil Wagner of New Zealand recently kept Steve Smith quiet. Dowrich plays one uncertain fend but survives, picks up a couple of runs, and persuades Archer to go back over the wicket.
53rd over: West Indies 159-6 (Holder 37, Dowrich 19) Woakes, after that most uncharacteristic little blitzkrieg, goes back to being Woakes and bowls a maiden to Holder.
52nd over: West Indies 159-6 (Holder 37, Dowrich 19) Holder picks up a two and a one and survives an appeal for run-out as he comes back for the two. Pope’s throw was sharp but the fielders never got very excited.
“Can’t wait for today to get over,” says Digvijay Yadav. “The anxiety over the football results is eating away at my ability to enjoy the cricket.” That’s making me wonder which team you support – Watford? “I admire Holder, as I am sure many others do, but whilst there was some logic to bowling first in the second Test, here it felt that it was stubbornness that led the decision. And the drift in the last session of the first day was also down to him in some way.” It was bizarre to bowl first while also picking the extra spinner. There are so many facets to being a captain – Holder strikes me as a natural leader of a team, but no great tactician. Stokes, in his brief taste of captaincy, was much the same.
51st over: West Indies 156-6 (Holder 34, Dowrich 19) Dowrich has been wobbly against the bouncer in this series, so much so that even Woakes tries a few short ones. The first has Dowrich on the floor, the second is ducked, and the third is pulled for four. The follow-on is surely off.
50th over: West Indies 152-6 (Holder 34, Dowrich 15) Archer continues, so Root is making a bit of a point. Anderson does some warm-ups to remind him who has an end named after them in these parts. And Archer, though turning up the pace, goes for a few runs as Holder plays a handsome off-drive and a well-placed cover force. He has a double hundred against England, and may be eyeing a single one today.
49th over: West Indies 143-6 (Holder 26, Dowrich 14) From the other end it’s Chris Woakes, so maybe Joe Root is showing the old firm that they can’t have it all their own way. It’s Jason Holder’s turn to push into the covers. By the end of the over, he’s having drops in the eye that was giving him some trouble yesterday.
Here’s John Starbuck. “Strictly speaking, Rory Burns [10:51] does not have a goatee. He is bearded, but the hair isn’t trimmed to be only just below his chin, as with goats. There is a lot of misunderstanding about hirsute matters these days. Where’s the BLF when they are needed?” Note for younger readers: John seems to be referring to the Beard Liberation Front – one of history’s most successful revolutionary movements.
48th over: West Indies 140-6 (Holder 24, Dowrich 13) It’s Jofra Archer to open the proceedings, because he’d just started an over last night. He goes for line and length rather than fire and brimstone. Shane Dowrich, looking less shaky, plays a nice push into the covers for three.
“With the Test schedule so compressed,” says Robert Speed, “the shallower bowling stocks of the West Indies have meant fatigue and wear and tear on their fast bowlers, in comparison to the freshness of the rested English fast bowlers, which may be the telling factor in the series. If only the sides could have been re-balanced in the fast bowling department somehow, for a more even contest.
“Yes.” he adds, “this is a jab at English cricket for poaching Archer from a WI cricket set-up that can hardly afford losing player resources like that, and then using that resource against WI – to add insult to injury.” It must be tough for the WI squad to see Archer play against them, but I believe they spurned the chance to pick him when he was a teenager, so there are two sides to the story.
Patrick Treacy has a question for you. “Does anyone else find it galling that Stuart Broad has played so well after being so unmissably outraged at being dropped for the first Test? As if proving that he wasn’t playing his best beforehand and the selectors were actually completely right to drop him? I have always enjoyed watching him (via the pictures in my head put there by OBO) but he does have a way of triggering my entitlement alarms.”
“Looking forward to the cricket today,” says Tim Senior on Twitter. “If England need quick runs again, surely Chris Broad will open the batting.” Ha.
Ian Forth too is pondering the top of the order. “With Sibley and Burns,” he says, “England have finally found two openers that look the part. And by ‘look the part’ I’m being literal. Men who could fit into a team photo with Boycott, Edrich, Close, Illingworth, Trueman, Bailey and Bedser without a second glance. Sleeves rolled up to the elbow revealing blacksmith forearms, clenched jaws, a surly contempt for modern music and social media. The look that says ‘I may not have an Instagram account but am prepared to score 19 off 100 balls before lunch if that’s what it takes’.” Hang on a minute. Burns has a goatee, which might well send Trueman into a rage. Sibley often has stubble, which would get Bedser muttering about whether he’d done his national service. Sibley is on Instagram, Burns is on Twitter. And being boring, while sometimes vital, isn’t the only point of being an opener. Look at Virender Sehwag, or Colin Milburn, who played with some of the people you mention.
In this Test, Stuart Broad has been demonstrating every facet of his game – bowling, batting and above all lobbying on behalf of elderly bowlers. Yesterday Broad’s bat did most of the talking after remaining silent for several years. But his silver tongue still played its part, popping up at the close in the Big Brother room. Amid all the propaganda, there was one tasty titbit from the dressing-room: “Jimmy Anderson said he doesn’t much like bowling from the Jimmy Anderson End”.
Morning everyone. It’s all happening today. In football there’s a double face-off between the bridesmaids – Leicester v Man United and Chelsea v Wolves, as well as Villa and Watford scrapping, separately, for the right to stay up. In county cricket (remember that?) there’s an oxymoron – a friendly derby between Surrey and Middlesex at The Oval in front of a thousand masked members, 900 from Surrey, 100 from Middlesex, all of them getting their temperature checked – presumably so they can be sent home if they’re not hot under the collar about some aspect of the modern world. Meanwhile, on the international stage, there should be several chances for the umpires to take the players off in perfectly decent light.
Last night’s capitulation to the clouds ended up being the only interruption to a day that was expected to be ruined by rain. This time yesterday, we had two weather forecasts on the OBO: the official one, from the Met Office, which proved very much mistaken, and a canny tip-off from Ian Copestake on the Wirral, which was spot-on. Today the Met Office is sticking to its gloom, predicting showers from lunchtime onwards (plus some sunny spells). And the Copestake Office? “We had the usual grim clouds,” Ian reported a few minutes ago, “but the sun is starting to break through now and it is looking very good. So I’d expect the same at your end. Someone should flatten those Pennines though so Manchester can stop being a freak!” You don’t get that from the Met Office.
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