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[rickjames]

Some of their fielding there atrocious; one of the young lads stopping the ball on the outfield with his foot which could have turned into a Glenn McGrath, misfields, overthrows of which a guy like Ashwin has no chance of getting. Something like 11 no balls as well.

As above, they miss Jadeja massively, whichever left arm spinner they bring in just won't be near his quality he brings to their side...

[adb club cricketer]

Eng in really good position with Root still batting and the likes of Stokes/Buttler/Pope still to follow. Root has gone on to a different level now.

[FattusCattus]

Steady boys - we've still got to get another 200 runs at least to make it interesting.

Stokes gets out early tomorrow, who's getting them?

Could be a big day for Pope.

[ppccopener]

We need double what we have now. Pope has been out for a while not expecting miracles from him..but yes we need more contributions tommorow.

Very interested to see how our spinners go-there was some reverse swing for them and that could be very handy.
Our seamers may still be our best bet.

[SD]

Root comes in for criticism for his low conversion rate of 50s into 100s, but his record would be far better than it is already if he got to play half his innings on flat decks like this one and the bowlers were only allowed to use dog balls.

In recent times, it seems that Root has been held up in an unfavourable light compared to Smith and Kholi but without recognition of some of the cheap runs they have gorged on in home conditions

[Jimbo]

Root comes in for criticism for his low conversion rate of 50s into 100s, but his record would be far better than it is already if he got to play half his innings on flat decks like this one and the bowlers were only allowed to use dog balls.

In recent times, it seems that Root has been held up in an unfavourable light compared to Smith and Kholi but without recognition of some of the cheap runs they have gorged on in home conditions

Smith's average in Australia is about 6 runs higher than his overall test average and he's scored circa half his runs at home.

Root, in contrast, has also scored close to half his runs in England at an average roughly 0.4 runs above his overall average.

As phenomenal as Smith is, stats do make for interesting reading.

[rickjames]

Bumrah's yorker is so lethal

[billyb]

Gosh I'm so excited about this series! I really didn't think England would still be batting.
Very happy!

[rickjames]

Roooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot

[rickjames]

Marry me Ben

[golders]

Would love us to go really big in the first innings (600 plus)
Obvs it means we would bat India out the game, but psychologically it would be a great yardstick to show we can do it again and out in Aus.

[A-Swing-And-A-Miss]

Considering there were two men back square on the leg side, that was a pretty poor shot from Stokes. It was a very classic "We're got nearly 400, lets have a slog" mentality that has plagued England away from home for years. Shame because it was a good knock up until that point and means we've now only got one more recognised bat in the shed and still want/need another 200 runs.

[adb club cricketer]

I am suspecting the pitch will start deteriorating rapidly from day 3 onwards, so Eng might not even need 600 even though it looks like 600 can be easily made. Even with 500 odd runs, it can be difficult for india starting on day 3 pitch.

[ppccopener]

I am suspecting the pitch will start deteriorating rapidly from day 3 onwards, so Eng might not even need 600 even though it looks like 600 can be easily made. Even with 500 odd runs, it can be difficult for india starting on day 3 pitch.

Yeah agree, we need double what we ended up on yesterday. Def looks like a turning wicket but with a bit of reverse swing our seamers may be our best bet also...

The ball is nearly in shreds why they don't use an English style ball is beyond me. There is nothing to work with - it might be an SG ball don't know

[Tony Game]

Pope and Roots running between wickets is starting to make me munch my cornflakes nervously!
Steady boys, steady!