One of the many delights of leafy south Birmingham is when an international cricket team is in town and residents stumble across them training on the Colts Ground at Edgbaston. Folks could be heading for a stroll in Cannon Hill Park, or their weekly shop at Aldi, only to suddenly find themselves watching Jasprit Bumrah let fly.
The fences at the Colts Ground have now been hastily covered up with tarpaulins after some passing numpties apparently decided to hurl some abuse at the players over the weekend. Those who did watch India train on Monday were not much the wiser as regards the main question: whether, despite being 1-0 down, the tourists will pick Bumrah for the second Test that starts on Wednesday.
This was telegraphed. Bumrah said before the series he would be playing three of the five Tests as he manages his dicky lower back, something confirmed by Gautam Gambhir, their feisty head coach, after the loss at Headingley. Trailing in the series, and with Bumrah having had a week to recover from that match, you would think this is time to play the second of those three cards.
Yet with the third Test starting a week on Thursday at Lord’s, the ground where every touring cricketer wants to play, it sounds like he may yet be held back. Ryan ten Doeschate, India’s assistant coach, hinted as much, saying Bumrah was “ready to play”, before going on to add that, with possible rain in Birmingham at the weekend, and Edgbaston a typically flat surface, they are still to decide their configuration.
“We feel we can go 1-1 or keep the score at 1-0 without Jasprit,” said Ten Doeschate. “That is putting the eggs at the back [of the series]. But we are going to need him at some stage. You have to decide when to play your strongest suit. Whatever team we put out there, we can compete in this Test match.”
Thoughts go back to England’s disastrous Ashes tour in 2021-22, when they went 1-0 down and then immediately rested Mark Wood for the second Test in Adelaide. Wood took 17 wickets during that 4-0 defeat but 12 of them came after the urn was lost. Sometimes teams can overthink the future at the expense of the situation staring them in the face, even if England are wary of seeing this as an opportunity.
“The worry for us would be to focus too much on [Bumrah],” said Chris Woakes, who will lead the England bowlers on his home ground. “You have to look at their whole attack, and what they bring to the table, and how you can combat the skills they bring. India have got guys that can come in and cause us issues.”
Even with possible rain showers, India eyeing a draw against an England team that scores at 4.5 runs per over – something that in turn broadens the canvas for taking 20 wickets – is high risk.
Ten Doeschate also hinted at India playing two slow bowlers the options being an attacking wrist-spinner in Kuldeep Yadav or the off-spinning all-rounder Washington Sundar.
If the latter, it would probably be with half an eye on scoring the lower-order runs that were missing at Headingley – a potentially negative outlook when taking only 15 of the 20 English wickets was the bigger problem. Better catching would help, with Monday’syesterday’s training session suggesting Yashasvi Jaiswal will be whipped out of the gully position after three costly drops in Leeds.
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As well as scoring five centuries before their tail folded twice, those missed chances offer India hope of turning this series around. They at least know the XI they will be up against, England confirming an unchanged team two days out from the toss and thus holding back the recalled Jofra Archer until Lord’s at the earliest.
“I’m sure he’s champing at the bit to get back out there and show people what he has already done in whites,” said Woakes. “We all know how good he can be, but he’s at an age [30] where his best is probably still ahead of him.”
Archer was not on the ground on Monday after a “family emergency” delayed his arrival, England then going on to confirm that none of the unused squad players will be parachuted into the current round of county matches anyway. Given the slog the bowlers are enduring with the Kookaburra ball this week, Archer, Sam Cook and Jamie Overton may be thankful for the reprieve.
The only real difference for England this week is Moeen Ali among the backroom staff, having taken up the offer to further his coaching experience. It may not be Moeen’s only encounter with India this year, with South Africa understood to be interested in him joining their coaching staff for a Test tour there in November.
