19 July 2007
First Test, Day One, Lords
England closed on 268-4 at Lords having been penned back in the First Test by… well, it wasn’t India’s quality bowling.
At one point, with the likes of Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar bowling it was clear that the Indians were waiting for the rain that has graced most of this English cricket season. Having lost Alistair Cook (36) LBW to Ganguly’s innocuous dobblers, Andrew Strauss put his recent poor form in the past and Michael Vaughan kept his recent good form to the fore in a second wicket stand of 142 to put the hosts firmly in control.
Strauss, whose place was never really in doubt during his bad run, was never fluent but played straight and with great control until doing precisely the opposite, four runs short of his century.
Vaughan (79)and Paul Collingwood then both fell as England, perhaps naively took two offers for bad light which the Indians would have been delighted with, forcing both batsmen to play themselves in twice against refreshed bowlers. Collingwood earned his first duck in test cricket.
Still, England will be confident with Kevin Pietersen still there (34*) and night-watchman Ryan Sidebottom (0*) with the prolific Ian Bell and swashbuckling Matt Prior to come.
One big problem will be trying to bowl out a batting lineup featuring Ganguly, Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman and Dhoni with Sidebottom, James Anderson and surprise selection Chris Tremlett. Tendulkar still waiting to earn his place on the Lords honours board with his first century at the home of cricket.
The one ray of hope for England’s attack is that India are likely to face England’s best bowler, Monty Panesar on a wearing pitch already taking some spin in the last innings.
That assumes the weather will hold which all forecasts say… it won’t.
