Key events
38th over: West Indies 145-4 (Hodge 49, Holder 12) Holder slaps a Stokes short ball away for four but is then DROPPED the next ball by Crawley in the slips. It went fast but it should have been taken, Crawley got two hands to it but shelled it. He scampers off the pitch afterwards too… reminding me of the old school adage that they don’t hurt if you catch them.
“It is such an unpredictable game, that is why Test Cricket is gripping and fascinates. I hope the WIndies take it to a fourth day.” Michael Galvin echoing the thoughts of many.
“Cher Monsieur James, or Jacques as the Jims of the world are known in France, thank you for your enthusiastic and unbiased account of the goings on.”
My pleasure, Tone White. I might be slightly biased to West Indies, but for the good of the game and those with day four tickets!
“Re The Tiller Girls, an act I considered a bizarre and tedious opening for a show which I hoped might offer something risqué later on, sitting between parents on a sofa which also supported tea cups and saucers, mugs being a thing of the future. Seeing the Tillers now I would class them as an Olympic quality synchronised gymnastic team. Like certain cricketers, capable of doing what seems intellectually impossible.
I at that stage of life where correctly tying shoe laces brings a sense of pride in achievement.”
37th over: West Indies 141-4 (Hodge 49, Holder 8) Woakes strays onto Jason Holder’s ferry boat sized pads and is whipped away for four. A frustrated tug of the grey flecked forelock by the local lad.
Here’s the end of Mikyle Louis. Fencing is on at the Grande Palais this afternoon. Not sure what made me think of that…?
36th over: West Indies 136-4 (Hodge 49, Holder 3) Stokes is keeping it full, giving the ball every opportunity to move late. Hodge forces a full ball away wide of point for four but is then nearly skittled attempting to pull a ball that wasn’t short enough. Settle down. Twenty minutes til lunch, these two need to still be at the crease to keep West Indies hopes alive.
35th over: West Indies 128-4 (Hodge 42, Holder 2) Chris Woakes is into the attack for the first time today. He’s on it from the get go – landing the ball on a pocket square on and around off stump with a whiff of movement.
34th over: West Indies 127-4 (Hodge 41, Holder 2) Jason Holder is the new man. He gets a couple off his first ball with a tickle off his hip. West Indies are effectively 36-4, they need a big contribution from the big man.
WICKET! Louis c Crawley b Stokes (West Indies 125-4)
Gone! A flat footed poke outside off from Louis and he’ll be disappointed by that. It was a good ball from Stokes but he could have left it alone. England break the partnership as it was starting to hurt them.
33rd over: West Indies 124-3 (Louis 57, Hodge 40) Bashir is flighting the ball nicely, getting it up and above the eyeline of the batters. After four such tempters Mikyle Louis opens his shoulders and plops the ball down the ground for SIX! Lovely shot and brilliant catch by a bucket-hatted member of the crowd. BazBall in Excelsis.
32nd over: West Indies 118-3 (Louis 51, Hodge 40) Eventful over! Ben Stokes is getting the ball to jag with what looks like a hint of reverse-swing. He beats Hodge with an absolute beauty that zips away past the forward press at the last moment. Hodge pulls for a couple through the leg-side. Stokes beats him again. Hodge responds with a drive past point for four! Fantastic back and forth between the two men. West Indies lead by 24 runs.
31st over: West Indies 112-3 (Louis 51, Hodge 34) Bashir tosses the ball up, trying to tempt the big shot and Mikyle Louis decides to go for it. He slog sweeps a length ball high and long over mid-wicket for SIX! Great shot and one that take him to a maiden Test match fifty. Well batted that man. Keep it coming.
30th over: West Indies 103-3 (Louis 45, Hodge 31) Stokes after drinks – Close! Hodge jams down on a yorker and the ball bounces up and over the bails. Stokes slipped himself there – that looked quick and certainly surprised Hodge after his slurp. Shot! Mikyle Louis leans on another Stokes full ball and gets four through mid-off. Good stuff this from West Indies, they bring the team ton up too.
29th over: West Indies 96-3 (Louis 39, Hodge 30) Time for a drink – West Indies lead by two runs after a closely contested first hour of play. I’m heading to the fridge for some ‘electrolytes’ of my own.
28th over: West Indies 92-3 (Louis 36, Hodge 30) Ten runs off Stokes’ over and two lovely shots. Hodge drives down the ground for four and Louis follows up with a square drive for another boundary. West Indies nearly level – just two runs to wipe off before England have to get every one they then make.
27th over: West Indies 82-3 (Louis 31, Hodge 25) A couple off Bashir. West Indies putting a partnership together.
Tom Van der Gucht is feeling is on nostalgic form too this morning.
“Morning. I think the last time England whitewashed the Windies was 2004- my all-time favourite cricketing year. I’ve been reading a Tom Cox book where he writes about how some years you’re more you than others and 2004 is a year I felt very much like me- swaggering along drunk on the possibilities that life had to offer and the England team of the time mirrored my sense of optimism.
Are England building a similar squad? Atkinson the new Harmy… Wood the Simon Jones coming back from injuries with searing pace… Jamie smith the new Geraint Jones… Slotting together for the next Ashes series?”
Very nice, Tom – trying to think which year I was my truest self? Maybe I’ve not had it yet.
26th over: West Indies 80-3 (Louis 30, Hodge 24) First bowling change of the morning, Ben Stokes is bringing himself on for a bowl. Swept back ginger locks bobbing luxuriantly as he runs in – the best hair transplant in modern sport? – He keeps it full to Hodge, tempting the big shot. The batter declines to engage but does pick up two runs off the final ball with a glide past point.
25th over: West Indies 78-3 (Louis 30, Hodge 22) West Indies chip away at the deficit, three singles worked off Bashir reduce it to just nineteen runs now.
24th over: West Indies 75-3 (Louis 29, Hodge 20) Great contest so far this morning. Hodge shows his class by pulling Wood away to the fence, 92mph and no mither – the ball flashing to fence with Hodge swivelling emphatically on one leg.
A childhood memory is invoked of a grizzled coach – let’s call him Terry – calling me a ‘Tiller Girl’ when I used to play that shot in a similar fashion. I was 12 years old and this was pre- YouTube. I see what he means now though… and I did insist on going to the crease with a feather boa trailing out of my pocket a la Steve Waugh and his red hankie.
Anyway, enough of that. Hodge gets on the front foot and drives Wood away for another boundary. Classy stuff.
23rd over: West Indies 64-3 (Louis 29, Hodge 9) Another probing over from Bashir, just a couple of singles off it.
Meanwhile:
Like father, like son!
Rocky Flintoff is making his professional debut in the One Day Cup – becoming Lancashire’s youngest ever player. pic.twitter.com/rj9TUKHBFf
— Test Match Special (@bbctms) July 28, 2024
22nd over: West Indies 62-3 (Louis 28, Hodge 8) Louis jabs at a short ball in at the ribs from Wood and serves only to frying pan the ball just short of a diving short mid-wicket. Wood looks like he could have a wicket with every ball at the moment! Catchim’! Hodge flirts outside the off stump to a 92mph length ball and edges through the cordon for four more!
The Art of Living Dangerously by Kavem Hodge.
21st over: West Indies 57-3 (Louis 27, Hodge 4) Kavem Hodge arrives at the crease and very nearly bags a pair! Bashir gets one to bounce on him first ball and his defensive poke flies past Joe Root diving to his left at first slip and away for four runs.
WICKET! Athanaze lbw b Shoaib Bashir 12 (West Indies 53-3)
Stone dead! Bashir gets one to hold its line and Athanaze misses a straight one. No review called for and rightly so. Three reds and England have their first of the morning.
20th over: West Indies 53-2 (Louis 27, Athanaze 12) Eeeesht! Athanaze unfurls a full blooded cut off Mark Wood and it flies in the air just past Harry Brook. Hard to call that a drop, it would have been a screamer if he’d clung on. Four runs is the result and West Indies bring up their fifty.
19th over: West Indies 47-2 (Louis 26, Athanaze 7) Close! Bashir gets one to turn and bite, the ball taking the inside edge of Louis’ bat and popping up just out of reach of Pope at short leg.
“Yesterday I had asked if West Indies would enforce the follow on when England were reeling at 50 for 5” emails Krishamoorthy. “Today I am wondering if there will be a need for England to bat again. The vagaries of this game I tell you”
Doesn’t that just show how hard graft is rewarded in this format? Things are undoubtedly tough out there for the batters at the minute but if they can survive they can then thrive. Get the likes of Wood, Woakes and Atkinson into their third and fourth spells and really make England work for their opportunities. Bat most of the day and set England a tricksy target of 200-250? I’d be very much into that.
18th over: West Indies 46-2 (Louis 25, Athanaze 7) Wood gets another delivery to spit like a camel having a tantrum, Louis looked very uncomfortable fending that off his ribs with one hand off the bat. And you wouldn’t?! Ollie Pope gestures towards Ben Stokes about getting the lid on and camping out at ‘Boot Hill’/short leg.
17th over: West Indies 44-2 (Louis 24, Athanaze 6) Bashir continues, a light breeze fluttering the back of his shirt as he approaches the crease. A tidy over of dots is spoilt by a leg side ball that Louis sweeps with a minimum of fuss for four.
16th over: West Indies 40-2 (Louis 20, Athanaze 6) Mark Wood thunders in. “A fast bowler in heart and mind” Mike Atherton channels the late, great John Arlott in his appraisal of the Durham fast bowler on the tv commentary. Wood is clocking 90mph plus already, which boggles the mind really. Ouch! A snorting delivery from Wood rises sharply and crashes into Athanaze’s shoulder. That’ll be a peach sized bruise in no time.
15th over: West Indies 39-2 (Louis 19, Athanaze 6) Bashir shuffles to the crease with quick feet and a high arm. Athanaze rocks back to pierce the covers with a push and he takes a single. Mikyle Louis on strike. He’s had a decent series without yet making a stellar contribution. Bashir finds some turn but it drifts down the leg side and beats Jamie Smith behind the stumps, the first boundary of the day comes in byes.
To the strains of Jerusalem – here is the TMS overseas link
https://m.youtube.com/live/dtcDCZKUx1A?cbrd=1
Merci to Simon Dennis for that.
Here come the players. Edgbaston a picture in bright sunshine. We’re going to have spin to start with so I better be on my mettle. Shoaib Bashir was rattling through his overs at warp speed last night, clearly not giving a solitary shiny one about the poor OBO scribe. Let’s play!
Bending over to load the dishwasher puts about 2 x through it I reckon…
Fast bowling puts about 8x your body weight through the front leg each delivery.
Mark Wood is totally compelling when watching how much he puts into each delivery…#bbccricket pic.twitter.com/6tE0pKjj5q
— Henry Moeran (@henrymoeranBBC) July 28, 2024
Back to the cricket – our man Ali Martin’s report from Day two is well worth a read before play gets underway in a little over five minutes.
Big Boss Steve McMillan is our Olympics Editor and I’ve just chuckled into my Kenco reading his diary from a week in Paris.
Emmanuel and Brigitte do a walkabout. I try to get close for pearls of wisdom but bodyguards fend me off. My colleague Nick Ames bursts past and thrusts out a paw: “Bonjour monsieur, le président!” Eyes meet, hands are shaken. Macron utters the immortal words: “The Guardian? Thank you for being here.” Nick has the scoop. I am empty-handed. This is why he is an intrepid war-zone reporter and I eat packed lunches at a desk.”
Not that you’ll be diverting your attention away from the OBO for single second but the Olympics are in full swing and of course The Guardian have got you covered – follow on with the Olympics blog right here:
I watched the swimming last night after eating a huge Spaghetti Bolognese. Adam Peaty’s droplet laden hulking frame a totem of athletic masculinity. One last dip of garlic bread into the ragu and a vow to do some press ups today…
Joe Root is a great of the game. Watching him yesterday was an absolute joy. If I was Sachin Tendulkar (and I must stress that I am not) then I reckon I’d be having a nervy little look over my shoulder.
At Trent Bridge, Root had produced a match-defining partnership with Brook to usher England safely through the most awkward period of the game. Here, he did a similar job in the company of Stokes, gradually lifting the pressure on his team and transferring it on to their opponents, creating the conditions that would eventually allow Smith and Chris Woakes to put the home side fully in control, making the unlikely achievable.
On which subject Sachin Tendulkar, the greatest of them all, is 3,960 runs away. On days like this it feels like just a matter of time.”
Preamble
James Wallace
Hello, good morning and welcome to the OBO of day three at Edgbaston. Will this be the final day of the series? Hope not, hope not.
After reducing England to 54-5 yesterday morning, West Indies would have been half thinking about a first innings lead they could stretch in their second dig and set England a tough chase at the back end of the game.
Enter Jamie Smith. The wicketkeeper batter showed exactly why Stokes and McCullum took an informed punt on him over Jonny Bairstow and Ben Foakes. Smith took the precarious situation and the friendly volley from Jason Holder upon arrival at the crease well and truly in his stride.
Batting with the imperious Joe Root the 24 year old lad from Epsom played a remarkably assured innings. Working his way through the gears through the afternoon, Smith got England to a position of safety and then dominance. He fully deserved a first Test century but was undone by a slower ball scudder from Shamar Joseph on 95. Even his phlegmatic attitude to missing out on the personal milestone was impressive:
If someone had said to me at the start of the day: ‘You’ll get 95,’ I definitely would have taken it…I’ll be a little bit gutted in a couple of days to miss out on the milestone but it’s great to put in a performance for the team. It’s nice to set that out quite early in your career, that you are someone that’s going to go out and be positive and not be afraid of the opposition.”
England winkled out two wickets at the close, leaving West Indies adrift by 61 runs with eight wickets remaining in their second innings. All results are in play at the dawn of day three – apart from the dreaded draw of Ben Stokes’s nightmares of course.
Please do get in touch if you are tuning in, play gets underway in a little over 30 minutes at 11am BST.
