The good news? The only thing more erratic than English cricket is English weather. It was another day of hokey-cokey at Trent Bridge. In, out, and shaking it all about.
First, England looked like they had clawed their way back into the game, then they lost control of it again. They could be rescued by a strong batting performance over the next 24 hours, or by the weather. On the evidence to here, a strong meteorological intervention seems more likely.
Certainly when the drizzle came again just after 5pm, the way England’s batsmen hurried back to the pavilion suggested they would shake hands on a rain-affected stalemate now. If they could match India’s second innings total — 278 — that would make a fourth innings game of it at least, but the fragility of this England team remains of enormous concern.
The fragility of Joe Root's England team is a huge concern - they rarely look comfortable
They let Jasprit Bumrah (pictured) and Mohammed Siraj hit their way to a 33-run partnership
Even when batting relatively well — surviving a tricky 25 minutes to a belated tea interval — and creeping to 25 without loss before the next delay, England always appear one poor decision away from collapse. Top order techniques remain an issue. England rarely seem settled, rarely comfortable.
‘If you could change one thing about the openers’ techniques, what would it be?’ David Lloyd was asked. ‘Just one?’ he queried incredulously.
The problem for England is that India have won almost all of the passages of play that matter, those hour-long spells that are the crux of any Test. In the afternoon session on day one when England could either have pushed on to build a score, or fallen substantially short, they collapsed.
Equally, on Friday, having reduced India to 205 for seven it took another 73 runs to work through the tail, including 33 for the 10th wicket stand. Where would 33 have sat in England’s first innings? It would have been the third-highest partnership. And this was a pairing of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj. This is not a tail that traditionally wags. This is a Manx cat of a tail.
Indian seamer Mohammed Siraj. The visitors have won almost all the key passages of play
Yet England allowed them to have fun out there, to swing the bat, to rack up a first innings lead of 95. In a low-scoring game, that is potentially match- defining.
By pure coincidence, 205 for seven was India’s first innings score in the final of the World Test Championship against New Zealand in June. What happened next, decided the game’s course.
New Zealand wrapped up the tail for 12 more runs. Ishant Sharma 4; Bumrah 0; Ravindra Jadeja 15.
From that point India were always chasing. New Zealand’s first innings lead was just 32 but when margins are so tight every little helps. India collapsed in their second innings, New Zealand knocked off 140 to win. The distances between the teams will be slight here, too. In that context, those hour-long passages of play when England
