![\"England](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\/6572b413-37b5-45e7-ba32-cc13409911c1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nStokes and Root are very well set here \u2013 it\u2019s not been chanceless but they\u2019ve dug in extremely well in tough, hot conditions. The new ball is available in two overs\u2019 time.<\/p>\n
Today has felt decidedly absent of the swashbuckling scoring we\u2019ve become used to since Stokes and McCullum put their stamp on this team. It\u2019s almost as if England have remembered there\u2019s value in caution, rather than throwing the bat in a vain effort to score.<\/p>\n
Mind you, just because this is a lull in the Bazball era, it\u2019s still well above the average run rate before the New Zealander took over in 2022.<\/p>\n
Stokes peaking at the right time<\/p>\n
With that 34, Stokes now has his highest score of the series so far. He made zero and 33 at Edgbaston, and 20 and 33 at Headingley.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been doing some adding up, and I think that Stokes and Root have played 112 Test matches together. Root\u2019s attendance record is amazing. He hasn\u2019t missed a Test since the one at Southampton during Covid when Stokes captained while Root was attending the birth of his child. <\/p>\n
They\u2019re building well together here, with eight overs to go until the new ball is available. <\/p>\n
Stokes is getting some treatment for a bit of cramp \u2014 he\u2019ll be okay to continue but looks in a bit of pain.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the 50 partnership between these two old muckers Root and Stokes. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s come from 16.4 overs at a run rate of 3.12.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s 50 minutes of play left, which should be enough time for Root to get to three figures\u2026<\/p>\n
The really important stats<\/p>\n
Plenty has been consumed at Lord\u2019s today\u2026 Here are the headline figures.<\/p>\n
An attendance of 29,372 has got through the following.<\/p>\n
Everyone loves a scone12,000 afternoon tea cakes3,250 kegs (286,000 pints) onsite at start of Test match8,500 x bottles of Veuve Clicquot onsite2,500 x bottles of Whispering Angel1,050 casual staff per day53,000 bottles of water onsite for staff and visitorsUmpire\u2019s call saves Stokes<\/p>\n
That was a close one\u2026 Reddy thinks he has Stokes pinned lbw, but it\u2019s given not out on the field. Gill sends it upstairs, but it\u2019s umpire\u2019s call on hitting the wickets. Stokes is still there on 27.<\/p>\n
England are plodding along. The batsmen change their gloves. I imagine, because of the sweat. It\u2019s got a bit too hot for most of the people in the Mound stand who are directly in the sun. <\/p>\n
Washington Sundar is into his second over and is bowling very nicely with plenty of control, and is getting some turn. He\u2019s gone for just two off his two overs.<\/p>\n
India are three overs behind the required over rate although it\u2019s not surprising \u2014 lots of seam and some messing around with ball changes and a change of keeper. <\/p>\n
Pant is still off the field having his left hand looked at but it doesn\u2019t sound too serious. <\/p>\n
Brook\u2019s stay at the crease was brief. He\u2019s plodding his way back to the pavilion after having his stumps rearranged off Bumrah. The world\u2019s best bowler gets the world\u2019s best batsman. Not bad entertainment.<\/p>\n
Ben Stokes is at the crease. The England skipper hasn\u2019t had a score for a while, amid some concerns about his batting form.<\/p>\n
Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n The great and the good of English cricket are here today. In my short and very hot perambulate at tea I bumped into, amongst others, Rob Andrew, Adam Hollioake, Daryl Mitchell and the former Palace manager Alan Smith.<\/p>\n The heat has gotten to a few people. The St John\u2019s Ambulance medical staff have been pretty busy dealing with people who are overheated (and perhaps over-imbibed).<\/p>\n Brook brings a bit more Baz<\/p>\n The arrival of Harry Brook has moved things on a bit \u2014 he\u2019s ticking along at a strike rate of 83, while Root is playing a very important hand going at 50.83.<\/p>\n I just had a step out around the ground and chatted to various people, all of whom said \u201cthis isn\u2019t what we were expecting\u201d. Bazball has raised expectations, but the way England are playing here is a demonstration of the evolution of the team. This is neither the day nor the pitch to throw caution to the wind. <\/p>\n Ollie Pope is gone for 44. He\u2019s nicked behind off the first ball after tea from Jadeja. It\u2019s a sharp catch from Jurel, who\u2019s got the gloves while Pant is off the field. England are 153 for three.<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n A great bit of sledging was picked up by the microphones in the middle, as Mohammed Siraj teased Root after a loose shot early in his innings. <\/p>\n He has a point to be fair \u2014 England\u2019s run rate has hardly gone above three an over.<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n A hat-trick and then some! Curtis Campher has had quite the afternoon. <\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n That\u2019s tea. There were only 70 runs in that session. A slow over rate because of all the messing about with the ball. <\/p>\n We\u2019ve got spin from both ends with Ravi Jadeja and Washington Sundar trying to mix things up a bit before the tea break.<\/p>\n There\u2019s Root\u2019s second half-century of the series. He\u2019s been a very calm influence to rebuild this for England. It\u2019s all very old school. This is what it used to be like watching England, not that long ago. <\/p>\n Root has now made 103 fifty-plus scores in Test cricket, bringing him level with Jacques Kallis and Ricky Ponting. Sachin Tendulkar, who is here today, tops that list with 119. <\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n With a neat backward cut, Joe Root moves to 46, and becomes the first batsman to score more than 3,000 Test runs against India. Player.<\/p>\n To quote the Holy Grail: get on with it!<\/p>\n Here we go again. Out comes the briefcase of balls, and this time we are actually changing it. They\u2019ll try and find one that is about 40 overs old. This is another frustrating delay.<\/p>\n Gill wasn\u2019t very happy about the ball thing \u2014 it looked as though they\u2019d agreed to change the ball, but when the fourth umpire arrived on the pitch with the spares, they changed their mind. <\/p>\n We haven\u2019t got an update on Pant\u2019s condition yet but enquiries are being made with the Indian team press officer. <\/p>\n I spoke too soon on the ball! There\u2019s a delay while the umpire has a look at the ball at Gill\u2019s request. He\u2019s out with the silver briefcase, but they\u2019ve decided not to change it as it has been forced through the measuring gauge, which won\u2019t please India. <\/p>\n It has certainly gone a bit softer, you can tell by the sound it makes off the bat.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a quite wonderful, if restricted, view through the scoreboard at Lord\u2019s, providing a snapshot of the batsman in action. Here\u2019s Joe Root through the eyes of a lucky few.<\/p>\n BEN STANSALL\/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n BEN STANSALL\/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n After all that hullabaloo about the balls, this one seems to be doing very nicely. It\u2019s still swinging, and there haven\u2019t been any moans about it.<\/p>\n This is all very retro. Root is, of course, one of the more traditional players in the team but nonetheless credit must go to India \u2014 the quality of their bowling has forced England away from all-out attack into something far more restrained. <\/p>\n That\u2019s drinks and England have survived the first hour after lunch. The ball is now 37 overs old, and will probably start going a bit soft from now on. No doubt the players will have a bit of a moan about it. <\/p>\n That last hour was bit of a crawl, but importantly Pope and Root are still there, ticking along at under three an over. What\u2019s going on?!<\/p>\n Simon Wilde, at Lord\u2019s<\/p>\n This partnership, currently unbroken on 61, has the third-slowest scoring rate of any partnership since Ben Stokes took over as captain in June 2022.<\/p>\n Only Ben Foakes and Root in Ranchi last February, and Brook and Root at Old Trafford against Sri Lanka last summer, are slower.<\/p>\n Overall, this is the second-slowest innings during the Bazball era, currently ticking along at 2.94 runs an over. <\/p>\n What\u2019s more, England brought up their second-slowest hundred in any Test innings of the Bazball era, taking 35.4 overs. The slowest was 37.2, also against India, in Rajkot last year.<\/p>\n A proper Test match.<\/p>\n Root sends a lovely drive through square on the off side up the hill, and we have our second boundary of the session. England move to 105 for two.<\/p>\n And just like that we have another one \u2014 but this time it\u2019s leg byes.<\/p>\n Rishabh Pant leaves the field<\/p>\n The India wicketkeeper has mooched up to the dressing rooms for a bit more treatment on his finger after he dived to prevent byes down the leg side. <\/p>\n Let\u2019s hope this isn\u2019t too bad. It would be a shame to lose his fireworks with the bat and his chirping behind the stumps. Dhruv Jurel comes on to take the gloves.<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n Quite the stat here\u2026 after lunch there were 28 consecutive dot balls. We\u2019ve had one boundary so far in this session, and that was the third ball after lunch, during the 26th over. We\u2019re now at the end of the 35th. A very non-Bazball afternoon so far.<\/p>\n The \u201cresplendent\u201d count is going through the roof today, and rightly so. The Home of Cricket looks quite wonderful.<\/p>\n GARETH COPLEY \u2013 ECB\/ECB VIA GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n BEN STANSALL\/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n It\u2019s sweltering in London today and spectators are making the most of the grass on the nursery ground. There\u2019s a big screen out here, so some people usually decide just to bed in on the bean bags for the rest of the day.<\/p>\n And that is lunch. <\/p>\n The second hour of the morning was a bit mad. The ball was swinging all over the place, bringing to an end England\u2019s opening pair, but Root and Pope have steadied things a little. <\/p>\n Nevertheless, Shubman Gill will be pleased with what the ball has done this morning, having lost the toss. In the opposing dressing room, Stokes might be wondering if he made the right decision. This partnership is worth 39 from 11 overs. A very absorbing session. <\/p>\n After a bit of a scratchy start, Ollie Pope is settling in here. He\u2019s playing the swing better, with a more open bat face. At the other end, Joe Root is looking his usual organised self. <\/p>\n Someone is going to be having a very civilised lunch on the nursery ground. Look at this set up and the colour of the sky. Glorious. <\/p>\n This is absolutely gripping cricket. Nitish Reddy is getting it to shape away down the slope, and India\u2019s seamers have got their tails right up. It\u2019s a little surprising given there isn\u2019t a cloud in the sky that we are getting so much swing. But it\u2019s good fun. <\/p>\n Gill makes a stop in the field off Root<\/p>\n ANDREW FOSKER\/SHUTTERSTOCK<\/p>\n Crawley is gone for 18, and England are in a bit of a spot now\u2026 Two in the over for Reddy. If the first one was lucky, the second one is an absolute jaffa. Swing and bounce with a bit of movement and Crawley is gone. <\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n Pope then edges off Siraj, nudging at a length ball that also swung late. It dropped mercifully short of second slip, though.<\/p>\n Has Ben Stokes made the wrong call at the toss again?<\/p>\n Ben Duckett is gone, a glove down the leg side off Nitish Kumar Reddy for 23. It\u2019s a cheap wicket all told. He trudges off and is replaced by Ollie Pope, whose first shot is a loose drive outside off which doesn\u2019t quite carry to Shubman Gill at gully. Edgy start\u2026<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n Bumrah is getting it to hoop all over the place now after an innocuous start. There\u2019s a huge inswinger to Crawley, which takes the tall England opener by surprise. The very next ball, there\u2019s movement away. Being able to move the ball both ways at Lord\u2019s is quite a skill. <\/p>\n Crawley has just tripped over his own feet and face-planted the turf \u2014 he\u2019s laughing because he literally tripped over nothing while turning for a second run. <\/p>\n England have survived the first hour, mostly without alarm, but it\u2019s been testing. They are going along at a very non-Bazball-y three an over. <\/p>\n India will be pretty pleased with how the first hour has gone, even though they haven\u2019t taken a wicket. There\u2019s more movement than might have been expected and seems like there\u2019s a bit of something either from the pitch or the air. <\/p>\n Lord\u2019s is packed to the rafters \u2014 there\u2019s not a seat to be had anywhere. <\/p>\n Bumrah has replaced Akash Deep from the nursery end, with Mohammed Siraj taking responsibility for the pavilion end. <\/p>\n Bumrah returns to the India attack after missing the Edgbaston Test<\/p>\n ANDY KEARNS\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n Half an hour of play gone. This is restrained stuff from England\u2019s openers, but they\u2019re growing in confidence. Zak Crawley is 13 from 25 balls and Ben Duckett<\/a> 14 from 26. Akash Deep has bowled two maidens. <\/p>\n First boundary of the match<\/p>\n Duckett hits a lovely cover drive off Bumrah for the first boundary of the game. It came right off the middle, a very nice strike indeed. <\/p>\n It is, unexpectedly, nipping around a bit, and this is a test of Duckett and Crawley\u2019s mettle. They\u2019ve taken a couple of sturdy body shots. Hard going. <\/p>\n A sedate start to the morning. I have just nipped outside on to the concourse to assess the vibes, and blimey it is hot. It\u2019s going to be quite a toil in the field for India I suspect, although it won\u2019t be any better when England take to the field, because the temperatures are set to be high for the next five days.<\/p>\n Anyone who hasn\u2019t been to Lord\u2019s, it has a very distinct feel about it. No loud chanting, no fancy dress, no musical instruments, just a very low constant hum filled with anticipation and excitement.<\/p>\n Akash Deep was one of India\u2019s star performers from the Edgbaston Test, taking ten wickets in the match. He starts from the nursery end.<\/p>\n Pant gloves a looser one from Bumrah which trickles through the cordon for a bye. Duckett on strike, and he survives an edge which doesn\u2019t quite carry to the keeper\u2026 Anxious start.<\/p>\n Jasprit Bumrah has the ball in hand at the pavilion end, Crawley<\/a> is on strike. It\u2019s a leave.<\/p>\n Laura Wright is in a bright red dress is outside the pavilion, ready to lead the national anthems and the players are lined up in the glorious sunshine facing the MCC members who are out in force. The egg-and-bacon is popping in the sunshine, and there\u2019s not a seat to be had outside the pavilion.<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n Sachin Tendulkar is ringing the five-minute bell having unveiled a portrait of himself in the Long Room earlier this morning. <\/p>\n Grab yourself a drink and stay with us for what could be an absolutely fascinating day of cricket. <\/p>\n Talk of moving Ben Stokes down the order is premature<\/p>\n Amid fears for the England captain<\/a>\u2018s form so far in this series, it would be just like him to step up at the big moment and find form at Lord\u2019s, a ground he\u2019s thrived at. He still has plenty to offer at No6.<\/p>\n Read Steve James\u2019s full piece on Stokes here<\/a>. <\/p>\n England put out their team yesterday, with Jofra Archer replacing Josh Tongue the only change. India\u2019s change is an expected one \u2014 Jasprit Bumrah in for Prasidh Krishna. <\/p>\n Gill says he was a bit confused about what to do if he won the toss, and looks a bit relieved to have lost it.<\/p>\n It won\u2019t be easy to take wickets here \u2014 it looks like a pretty typical Lord\u2019s pitch, but both sides can look at the World Test Championship final between Australia and South Africa last month. There were wickets to be had, but the pitch got better to bat on as the match went on. <\/p>\n England win the toss and bat <\/p>\n Right then \u2014 there are, as usual, about 500 people on the outfield ready for the toss.<\/p>\n Lord\u2019s is looking resplendent in the sunshine. It\u2019s a full house and you can\u2019t get a ticket for love nor money. They are going for hundreds of pounds each on the third-party ticket sales. <\/p>\n The coin has gone up and Ben Stokes has called correctly and he is\u2026 drum roll\u2026 batting first!<\/p>\n He was right \u2014 he isn\u2019t stuck in his ways.<\/p>\n Team news from India, just the one change for India, Bumrah in for Krishna as expected.<\/p>\n Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager.<\/a><\/p>\n Enable cookiesAllow cookies onceArcher enters ring to take on Bumrah on mouthwatering heavyweight contest<\/p>\n Mike Atherton, at Lord\u2019s<\/p>\n After a four-year absence, can the fast bowler possibly recapture his electrifying form and become the first man in this series to challenge Shubman Gill?<\/p>\n Read the full preview here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ciggies, adultery and snobbery \u2014 how England won the 1955 Ashes<\/p>\n In his book, Victory in Australia, Richard Whitehead chronicles a lost age when cricketers saw exercise as a form of cheating, and Benson & Hedges supplied the team with tobacco.<\/p>\n Read the full review by the Times\u2019 chief culture writer, Richard Morrison<\/a>.<\/p>\n Len Hutton, the England captain, in Perth<\/p>\n GETTY IMAGES\/FAIRFAX MEDIA<\/p>\n England\u2019s Women suffered a comprehensive loss yesterday as India sealed their five-match T20 series with a game to spare at Old Trafford. Glaring England issues raised their head again, and there is still plenty for the new leadership to sort out.<\/p>\n Click here to read the full report<\/a>. <\/p>\n Just a reminder of what Jofra Archer can do when he\u2019s on song\u2026 His best innings figures of 6-45 helped skittle Australia at Headingley in 2019.<\/p>\n Ben Stokes and Rishabh Pant blast Dukes ball<\/p>\n The England captain and India wicketkeeper have expressed their irritation with the soft Dukes ball being used in this series. <\/p>\n \u201cThere is an issue with the balls going soft and completely out of shape,\u201d said Stokes. <\/p>\n Pant echoed Stokes\u2019s concerns, complaining that the balls being used \u201care not good for cricket.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"England](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\/3d63fa4f-c9cc-4531-bcae-c143d8856fbc.jpg\")
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Henman Hill, is that you?<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\/c4edb0d3-a4f9-44fa-bc4e-1ea6e40c83dd.jpeg\")
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Swinging all over the shop<\/p>\n![\"England](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\/ee4a6f72-342d-4b9f-84da-ed281cab14d8.jpg\")
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