England v India: Best of the second Test at Lord's
Tuesday 14 August 2018 08:51, UK
England both denied the elements, and used them to their advantage to earn an emphatic innings win over India in the second Test at Lord's, seeing them take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series to Trent Bridge on Saturday.
James Anderson starred in perfect swing-bowling conditions, taking his individual tally at Lord's to 103 wickets after nine in the match. Not good enough to earn him the man of the match award though, with the recalled Chris Woakes pipping him to that prize, etching his name on the honours board with a fine maiden Test ton.
What else did the second Test throw up? Here is a look back on five talking points from Lord's…
Rain, rain go away
The country is in the midst of its longest heatwave since the long, hot summer of 1976, not that you'd have known it from the four days of action, or lack of it, at Lord's. The Home of Cricket suffered its first full day washout in 17 years on day one, and that's despite the ground having what is widely considered the greatest drainage system in world cricket.
One positive, it allowed for plenty of opportunities to see the second episodes of our fascinating summer series of documentaries. Mind Games focussed on the unfulfilled international careers of Graeme Hick and Mark Ramprakash, Viv Richards: Through his Eyes saw him chat with his great Somerset mate Ian Botham, while Sachin Tendulkar was front and centre of Cricket in Mumbai and Nasser meets Sachin. All are available to watch in full on demand.
The rain was even heavier on day two, but brief breaks of the clouds allowed England 35.2 overs at India. It was all they'd need, skittling them for 107 and setting them on their way to a thumping win, even with bad light ending things the third evening and the return of further showers on day four.
Sky Sports' Nasser Hussain was particularly strong on the bad light issue, saying: "If I was involved in the ICC, the first thing I would change: if you're playing under lights, stay on. That's why we have them. People have spent £100 for a ticket, waited patiently for a couple of days for play, the lights are on, the conditions are perfectly good, yet the umpires take the players off."
Oh Jimmy, Jimmy!
When there was cricket being played at Lord's it was James Anderson, as he so often does, causing havoc among the opposition batsmen, in ideal swing-bowling conditions.
Anderson ripped through India to the tune of 5-20 in the first innings - his sixth Test five-for at HQ - and then returned 4-23 in the second, seeing him secure a century of strikes in his 23 Tests at Lord's, though fall just short of a first-ever Test 10-for at the ground.
It's no wonder though Anderson has a real affection for the place, telling Sky Sports' Ian Ward after England's thumping win: "Anyone you speak to will tell you that you just turn up here and it's incredible, from the lunches to the dressing room, to walking through the Long Room and going out on the field.
"It's such a special place to play and you just get a real buzz when you come here. I think that probably helps me."
Wonderful Woakes
Anderson is not the only one who feels at home in NW8. In three Tests at Lord's, Chris Woakes currently averages a staggering 10.16 a strike with the ball, and a massive 130.50 with the bat. Not bad then!
Woakes' batting average, in particular, was inflated thanks to a stunning maiden Test century on day three, his unbeaten 137 seeing the team out of a slightly tricky spot at 131-5, and a lead of just 24, when he came to the crease. With his hundred, Woakes the seventh player to join an illustrious group of England players on the Lord's honours board with both bat and ball, keeping Gubby Allen, Ian Botham, Stuart Broad, Andrew Flintoff, Ray Illingworth and Ben Stokes company.
Nasser says it couldn't have happened to a nicer bloke: "I'm supposed to be impartial, but I was willing him on to get his century and you could see his England team-mates were too. Every member of the team wanted to be on the balcony for the moment and, when that ball went over mid-on, you could see how keenly celebrated it was by Joe Root in particular. He is a thoroughly nice guy."
And, let's not forget the work Woakes did with the ball too. Four wickets may not seem like a huge return, especially when stacked up against Anderson's nine, but he arguably out-bowled the Lancastrian in the first innings, with a superb six-over spell where he claimed the key wicket of Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya, having had each dropped the ball before too.
India's poor prep
More from Nasser now… "The preparation for a tour of England these days is abysmal," he said after India were shot out for 107 by Anderson and co in their first innings.
"As you walk off you have to ask yourself: 'Did I, did the team, did the management do enough to get me ready to perform at this level?' I don't see the Indian batting line-up having the preparation needed for the best bowler in English conditions there has probably ever been."
While many of India's Test side did feature in the three-match one-day international and T20 series' that preceded the Tests, they took part in only one red-ball warm-up game at Essex prior to this five-match tussle with England, and even that was reduced from four days to three due to concerns over the English summer heatwave.
They were competitive for the most part at Edgbaston, but that was largely down to the individual brilliance of Kohli. With their skipper struggling with a back complaint and not contributing in the same way in the second Test, India's batting was horribly exposed. In five overseas Tests in 2018, following their earlier tour of South Africa, Kohli averages 52.60, everyone else just 13.96!
Positive Pope
India's batting with major problems heading into the third Test at Trent Bridge then, though that isn't to say England's is the most robust still, having relied on No 7 Woakes and in-form Jonny Bairstow (93) to once again bail them out of trouble. But, there were encouraging signs to suggest they may have found the answer in their middle order.
Live Test Cricket
There will be better Test debuts than Ollie Pope's 38-ball effort - though he did also pop up with a run out and a couple of sharp catches at short leg and leg slip - but it was the way in which the 20-year-old went about scoring his 28 runs and the confidence he showed which was particularly pleasing.
Pope showed no signs of nerves, emphatically flicking his second ball for behind square. It was an indication of a slight legside dominance that would ultimately be his downfall, out lbw to Hardik Pandya playing across the line, but comparisons have already been made to Ian Bell, and his captain Root. High praise indeed.
A final word from Nasser, who was also impressed: "The most important thing was Pope looked very comfortable, not overawed in the slightest. I go back to Michael Vaughan all those years ago on Test debut at Johannesburg. I'm not saying he's Vaughan, but look at the similar situation - he came in with wickets tumbling, only made 33 but it was noticeable how calm he was at the crease."
Watch England's third Test against India at Trent Bridge, live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10am on Saturday.
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