Enable cookiesAllow cookies once<\/p>\n
Lovely innings of 84 comes to an end, and Ollie Pope comes to the crease.<\/p>\n
That is drinks. <\/p>\n
The partnership has passed 150 \u2014 from 23 overs \u2014 and it is looking extremely comfortable in the evening sun here in Manchester. <\/p>\n
Crawley and Duckett\u2019s highest opening partnership is 233 in Rawalpindi, then 231 in the first innings against Zimbabwe earlier this summer, then 188 against India in the opening match of this series. More than 2,100 runs as an opening partnership together in 48 innings. <\/p>\n
England bring up the 150 opening partnership. Duckett slaps a pull shot off Siraj which races to the boundary. India look completely bereft of ideas, and Crawley and Duckett are more than happy to make hay while the sun shines.<\/p>\n
A huge shot from Zak Crawley sails into the stands. A trot down the wicket and a big swing, and Jadeja\u2019s second ball is given the treatment. Two balls later he ramps beautifully over his head to the fence. He\u2019s on 74, England are 135 without loss.<\/p>\n
Eleven runs came off the spinner\u2019s first over, plus four leg byes.<\/p>\n
There are more repairs to the pitch, the footholes are bothering the seamers.<\/p>\n
England march on\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 It feels like this Test is another slow burner and we won\u2019t know very much until well into tomorrow about how it is going. At the moment England, are very, very comfortable. The ball really isn\u2019t doing much at all. Certainly nowhere near as much as it was doing in the morning session when England had the ball.<\/p>\n Zak Crawley follows his partner onto his own well-made, confident, half-century with a back cut off Thakur. Seventy-three balls, with nine fours. He really needed this innings having had his form criticised in recent games after a series of starts.<\/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 Ben Duckett brings up his half-century with a backward cut for two off the bowling of Thakur. It\u2019s his 15th in Test cricket, and was reached off 46 balls, eight fours in there too. The partnership with Crawley now stands at 98, helping his team into an excellent position here.<\/p>\n Duckett is now averaging more than 50 for the series.<\/p>\n Then a couple of deliveries later, up comes the hundred partnership. That\u2019s the fifth time this pair have achieved that total together. Worrying signs for India.<\/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 England are trucking along at almost six an over, and India have got their lines all over the place. Too much width is a bad tactic against this pair. <\/p>\n But India were 94 without loss in the first innings, England are on 86. Conditions can change pretty quickly here but at the moment, but England\u2019s openers are looking pretty comfortable.<\/p>\n England reach 77 for no loss at the tea break. They\u2019ll be absolutely delighted with the start they\u2019ve made. They\u2019ve gone at 5.5 an over in their reply to India\u2019s 358, with both Crawley and Duckett growing in confidence and playing a swinging ball well. They\u2019ve dispatched the bad balls well, and India will be frustrated not to have used the new rock to their advantage.<\/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 India have gone for a review. Crawley has shouldered arms and has been hit on the thigh but it\u2019s missing \u2014 way too high. Crawley is a tall man and it his him on his thigh. Siraj was adamant it was out \u2014 but then he would be, wouldn\u2019t he?<\/p>\n India have got their lines all wrong here and England have raced to 45 for no loss off 9.1 overs. They are wasting the new ball and the sun is coming out now. All good news for England.<\/p>\n A Crawley cover drive for the boundary doesn\u2019t quite have the legs, and Kamboj scampers after it to stop it going for four. Crawley and Duckett made the runs anyway, and the former goes sprawling to make his ground, and has a big dirty stain on the front of his lovely cable-knit jumper.<\/p>\n Duckett has flown along to 26 off 22 while Crawley gets off hte mark, injuring his hand in the process\u2026 this one looks for real this time. <\/p>\n Kamboj hasn\u2019t quite got it right with the new ball, so Shubman Gill will probably think about bringing Siraj one very soon.<\/p>\n The groundsman is out there hammering at the crease. Bumrah wants the footholes banging down a bit. He seems particularly concerned about the bit where his back foot lands. The last thing India need is for their premier bowler to twist an ankle\u2026<\/p>\n Kamboj is coming round the wicket to try and take it away from Duckett and the left-hander has latched on to the width, but there\u2019s a sweeper patrolling out in the deep. <\/p>\n Back-to-back boundaries for Duckett and Kamboj is bowling too straight. Duckett is so strong through the leg side and he\u2019s taken 12 off the debutant\u2019s first over.<\/p>\n Bumrah is getting late swing, Crawley will be keen to get to the other end.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s our first sight of the debutant Anshul Kamboj \u2014 he\u2019s on from the James Anderson end. <\/p>\n He finds some extra bounce and it comes off Duckett\u2019s glove through the slips for four off the second ball. <\/p>\n The third ball almost leads to an undignified dismissal. Duckett\u2019s bat falls out of his hand and it really really nearly falls on his stumps and he had to go and try and catch it to stop it knocking the bails. <\/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 that five-wicket haul, Ben Stokes has joined an illustrious list. He\u2019s become the fourth player to score ten centuries and take five five-fors. The other three are Ian Botham, Jacques Kallis and Garfield Sobers.<\/p>\n Jasprit Bumrah starts with maiden<\/p>\n Right then\u2026 Jasprit Bumrah with the new pill\u2026<\/p>\n He\u2019s trying to draw Crawley on to the front foot, but the England opener stays back and leaves the first three balls, which pass safely outside the off stump. <\/p>\n But he drives loosely on the fourth ball, that was the way he got out at Lord\u2019s. The fifth ball is on a great line, right on the stumps, angled in and Crawley has to play at it.<\/p>\n Bumrah\u2019s first over ends with another one right on the stumps. A maiden and a very challenging over for Crawley.<\/p>\n Here we go again. Zak Crawley is on strike and Jasprit Bumrah will open the bowling.<\/p>\n Well, this is weird \u2014 England are reviewing something that I didn\u2019t even notice they\u2019d appealed for. Checking for a caught behind.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s a very good review, Smith thought there was a faint bit of glove and indeed there was. But it was actually Joe Root who insisted on the review \u2014 and he knows his onions. Archer was saying don\u2019t review it, and Root said absolutely do and that was all very weird. Archer ends up with three wickets and India are all out for 358.<\/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 Stuart Broad agrees with Ponting that this is a very competitive score by India and their bowlers will be very happy with what they\u2019ve seen the ball doing today. <\/p>\n Stokes is continuing from the Brian Statham end bowling to the No11 Siraj, with an attacking field. He\u2019s got something in his eye though, and pulls out of his run up. <\/p>\n Siraj backs away almost to the square-leg umpire to try and carve it away but totally misses it and Stokes just laughs and the next ball is fired right at the stumps. <\/p>\n Stokes is less amused now as Siraj dispatches the ball right back over his head for four. He picked that one up on length and went for it.<\/p>\n Pant\u2019s off. Archer sends his off stump cartwheeling and a brave innings comes to an end. That\u2019s the second time in two innings he\u2019s been cleaned up by Archer. Seams in on an off-middle line and takes the off stump. <\/p>\n Everyone on their feet applauding Pant off the field, and he looks sore as he trudges up the steps, replaced by Mohammed Siraj. <\/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 onceIndia in a strong position<\/p>\n Ricky Ponting on Sky Sports thinks this is very good score, given how much more the ball is moving around today. It won\u2019t be at all easy when it is England\u2019s turn to bat, especially with Jasprit Bumrah in the attack.<\/p>\n A remarkable fifty comes up for Rishabh Pant. It\u2019s his 18th in 47 matches, and is reached by dispatching a wide half-volley through the off side to the fence off Stokes. There was absolutely no footwork there. He\u2019s such an entertainer \u2014 even on one leg.<\/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 few balls earlier he sent Jofra Archer over the leg-side boundary for six. Pulled aggressively and it\u2019s come right out of the middle. Archer then brings his line back a bit tighter on the next ball. <\/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 Ben Stokes has another, removing Kamboj for a duck on debut. It\u2019s an absolute jaffa and there\u2019s a little feather behind for an easy catch. Stokes has his first five-for for eight years, and the most wickets he\u2019s taken in a series, with 16.<\/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 Washington Sundar has hooked round the corner, a big top edge off a short ball from Stokes and it\u2019s caught well by Chris Woakes at fine leg. Sundar goes for 27 and Stokes has four for 63 off 21.2 overs. <\/p>\n India seven down and England will be very much hoping to wrap things up this session. <\/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 Stokes is targeting Pant\u2019s right foot, right at the toes and it clips the pad above the boot allowing for a leg bye, and the India all-rounder hobbles to the other end. <\/p>\n Frustration for England as Sundar flashes through the slips for a boundary. <\/p>\n Archer fires one down the leg side and Pant shovels it in a very ungainly way down to fine leg for a single. Behind square on the leg side is Pant\u2019s area. <\/p>\n They\u2019re taking singles more than I thought they would and Rishabh is back on strike. Archer goes wide of the off stump and Pant can\u2019t move his front foot so has to reach for it \u2014 and that, Ricky Ponting thinks, is the best tactic to try and get him out. <\/p>\n Excellent start from Jofra Archer<\/p>\n This is lovely bowling by Archer to the left-hander. Going round the wicket and angling in, brings the stumps and lbw right into play. <\/p>\n Great bowling by Archer straight after lunch and the sun has broken through the clouds. Spectators are taking their anoraks off.<\/p>\n Jofra Archer gets one to swing back into Washington Sundar who plays all round it and the whole cordon goes up for an lbw, shout but it\u2019s turned down and they don\u2019t review, going well over the top, I think.<\/p>\n And there\u2019s another appeal the very next ball \u2014 this time they are reviewing it, Sundar is a long way down the pitch in his stride. It\u2019s hit his back pad above the knee roll and it\u2019s not \u2014 umpire\u2019s call so stays with the on-field decision. Fine margins\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 And we\u2019re back. It\u2019s brightened up a bit and Stokes, who has been comfortably England\u2019s best bowler, is continuing from the Brian Statham End. <\/p>\n Bit of news in from the ECB \u2014 England Lions will tour Australia at the same time as the main team are playing the start of the Ashes \u2014 they\u2019ll be there until mid-December. Very sensible move because it means there are players there if England need to call them up.<\/p>\n The covers are off and the players are making their way back out to the middle.<\/p>\n A good sign is that the groundstaff have decided not to cover the square and the run-ups. It\u2019s just the hover cover over the wicket.<\/p>\n Interesting session \u2014 two wickets and England have got the new ball talking but it\u2019s Pant who is the talking point again. He\u2019s painfully hobbled off the pitch again but fair play to him, he\u2019s helping India build their innings.<\/p>\n Off go the players, on come the covers. We\u2019re having an early lunch so should restart at 1.30pm all being well. I think it\u2019s just a shower\u2026<\/p>\n This is not news that is going to break the internet but it\u2019s gone really gloomy in Manchester \u2014 the floodlights are in full effect. I imagine Bumrah is champing at the bit to get out there and bowl.<\/p>\n The umpires are having a bit of a chat as a bit of rain starts to come down\u2026<\/p>\n Pant hobbles a slow single<\/p>\n Sundar plays out a maiden apart from a no-ball by Carse, which means that Pant now has to face up to Stokes again. <\/p>\n And Stokes has found a length where the ball rears up, and the first ball of the over does exactly that and hits Pant in the chest. The next ball he manages to almost jog a single \u2014 which is a bit of a turn up \u2014 he is more mobile than Nathan Lyon was when he came out to bat during the Lord\u2019s Test in 2023.<\/p>\n Pant hobbles down the wicket for a single after a big cut. He\u2019s clearly in complete agony. Never let anyone tell you cricket players aren\u2019t hard as nails.<\/p>\n Pant looks in absolute agony \u2014 there will be no singles or twos, or indeed any running between the sticks. It\u2019s stand and deliver or nothing. The second ball he faces squares him up and goes right through him. But that\u2019s the end of the over, and he can stay at the non-strikers end for the moment. <\/p>\n A reminder that no runners are allowed in international cricket \u2014 I always think that\u2019s a shame, there was always real potential for comedy run outs.<\/p>\n Here comes Rishabh Pant. No, really<\/p>\n Rishabh Pant is coming out to bat. Fair play. Boundaries only here, surely.<\/p>\n He\u2019s still clearly in a fair bit of discomfort but he\u2019s squeezed his right foot into a regular cricket boot and will face Stokes. <\/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 He gets a standing ovation as he slowly makes his way to the middle. The ruthless bowler would bowl a yorker at him here. The field has dropped deep.<\/p>\n Stokes gets the breakthrough! A fuller length tempts Shardul Thakur into a big drive and it\u2019s taken very well at gully by Duckett.<\/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 After the conditions of the Dukes balls dominated much of the discourse through the first three matches, yesterday we didn\u2019t have any instances of the ball needing to be checked or changed. It\u2019s unclear whether that\u2019s because it\u2019s a different batch of balls, or because the rain means the ground is much softer and the square less abrasive. Also the ball didn\u2019t hit the advertising hoardings as much yesterday. <\/p>\n Simon Hughes sitting next to me says it might be a new batch, because they look a bit darker than the ones that were being used in the previous three Tests. <\/p>\n There is a video on Simon\u2019s Instagram all about the colour of the balls and the quality of the leather if you want to go and check it out. <\/p>\n Gus Atkinson has been playing for Surrey second XI at LSE\u2019s ground \u2014 he bowled 20 overs in Somerset\u2019s first innings taking two wicket,s and is now opening the bowling in the second. Surrey built a small first innings lead of 30.<\/p>\n An update from Indian camp<\/p>\n It looks as though Rishabh Pant may well appear in this Test, if this tweet is anything to go by\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 Pant is in a moon boot and can hardly walk, but is in the changing room in his whites, so who knows. We\u2019ve seen Nathan Lyon come out and bat while nursing an injury at Lord\u2019s in 2023.<\/p>\n Ben Stokes thinks he\u2019s got Shardul Thakur. The ball rears right up off a length and it\u2019s caught by Jamie Smith \u2014 Stokes appeals for a caught behind, he thinks there was a noise or a glove. Given not out on the field but they\u2019ve gone upstairs to have a look. <\/p>\n UltraEdge shows no edge or glove \u2014 it wasn\u2019t a very convincing appeal by the slip cordon or the wicket keeper. Rod Tucker gets another decision right. He\u2019s made a couple of very good ones this Test. <\/p>\n The England captain has the ball in hand from the Brian Statham end, replacing Woakes.<\/p>\n This is a very good spell from Archer, and Stokes clearly feels an edge is coming \u2014 he has a five-strong slip cordon all standing pretty close together.<\/p>\n When Archer gets a slightly fuller length, there is swing away from the left-hander, but for the moment Washington Sundar is solid in his defence \u2014 soft hands and seems to know where his off stump is.<\/p>\n Jofra Archer went straight to Harry Brook after the latter dismissed Jadeja with a wonderful catch.<\/p>\n Yesterday\u2019s issues of long queues were not repeated today. Lancashire asked people to get to the ground early and have sent out a slightly cringey social media post today thanking people for doing so. <\/p>\n Why people should have to go so early just because they can\u2019t sort out their entry processes is beyond me\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 What a start from Jofra Archer! A brilliant fifth ball of the over finds Jadeja\u2019s edge and Brook takes a fantastic catch down to his right. Just the start England wanted. Washington Sundar comes to the crease. With Pant out, that is India effectively 266 for six.<\/p>\n England are on the attack here, four slips and a gully.<\/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 There\u2019s plenty of movement out there with the new ball, and Archer finds an edge off Thakur but again it hasn\u2019t carried.<\/p>\n After Chris Woakes found a bit of movement in his opening over, Jofra Archer will open from the Sir James Anderson end. He finds an edge off Jadeja straight away, which flies to gully but doesn\u2019t quite carry to Duckett.<\/p>\n We\u2019re about to get going under scowling skies in Manchester. Remember England will have a new ball this morning as they look to take quick wickets. Chris Woakes is warming up as Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur arrive at the crease.<\/p>\n Will Pant\u2019s injury define the series?<\/p>\n Our colleagues at talkSPORT discuss the impact the injury could have on India\u2019s chances for the remainder of the series.<\/p>\n We look to be set fair for the remainder of the match at Old Trafford. There might be a little bit of rain here and there today, unsurprisingly for Manchester in July, but hopefully not enough to disrupt play. The sun should show itself later on in the match.<\/p>\n Ben Stokes knew how to expose Sai Sudharsan \u2014 but Jamie Smith let him off<\/p>\n Steve James<\/p>\n The 23-year-old\u2019s lovely languid strokes are a joy to behold, and come from his preference to keep the bat grounded. There is however a key flaw in his technique, as his head drifts over to the off side. Ben Stokes knew how to expose it by bowling down the leg side and finding a nick, but his keeper\u2019s fumble left him frustrated.<\/p>\n Read the full piece on the batsman\u2019s escape here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tired pitches, dry weather and deformed Dukes \u2014 a tough year for bowlers<\/p>\n Simon Wilde, Old Trafford<\/p>\n Things may not be quite as bad as they were in the long hot summer of 1990, when batsmen ran amok from April to September while footsore bowlers laboured with the Reader balls whose seams had been flattened by special decree from Lord\u2019s, but 2025 is proving another big year of run-making.<\/p>\n We are into the sixth Test match of the season \u2014 including the world Test Championship final \u2014 and have already seen 18 individual centuries, including a mammoth score of 269 from Shubman Gill, and four other innings in excess of 150. Overall, wickets have cost almost 36 runs apiece, the highest figure in an English summer since 2011.<\/p>\n Read the full piece on bowlers\u2019 burdens here<\/a>.<\/p>\n India lost the toss yesterday for the 14th consecutive time in Tests, a one in 16,384 chance. Sky Sports\u2019s stats guru Benedict Bermange has gone one further this morning, working out the chances of five players having the same birthday, December 6, which was a distinct possibility if not for India\u2019s selection choices\u2026<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\/269a6b84-1af3-49e0-ba0d-ae7c2448935a.jpg\")
Ben Stokes into the attack<\/p>\n![\"22,](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\/186dcb17-f10f-4bb0-ae0f-54e6372403f5.jpg\")
No queuing issues today…<\/p>\n
![\"England](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/\/e3247ca7-3e97-4304-a011-fbea43392944.jpg\")
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