England v India: third Test, day four – live

England v India: third Test, day four – live

12.38pm BST 

14th over: England 53-1 (Cook 23, Ballance 17) - lead of 292

Really nice from Cook as he whips Shami through midwicket for four. A two is aborted because of sharp Indian work in the deep, which almost has Ballance in trouble as he slips on the lush green grass just off the pitch. Fine shot down the ground from Ballance, hitting Shami straight and on the up for four.
12.34pm BST 

13th over: England 44-1 (Cook 18, Ballance 13)

Another single stolen. Ballance then squares himself up like a cat that’s just been started by a firecracker (so I’ve heard....). Back to back fours more than make up for the ugliness - tucked through square leg and punched down the ground.
Updated at 12.35pm BST
12.29pm BST 

12th over: England 33-1 (Cook 17, Ballance 3)

A guided four from Cook has Strauss saluting the England captain’s “one day game”. Nothing like the good old English deflection to strike fear in the hearts of the watching world. A single is scampered off the final ball. Better.
Updated at 12.35pm BST
12.24pm BST 

11th over: England 28-1 (Cook 12, Ballance 3)

Cook gets a run and then Ballance gets two, as the score rattles on! Run scared, you weak Indian bowlers with your late movement and silly names.
12.20pm BST 

10th over: England 25-1 (Cook 11, Ballance 1)

A maiden, what madness. Singh’s bowling well, Ballance is having a swing. Seriously, lads, ger on wi it.
12.14pm BST 

9th over: England 25-1 (Cook 11, Ballance 1)

Kumar going well in cutting out any width to Cook, who eventually tries to clamp down on one to get it behind point, but can’t get it off the square. A thick-edge gets him two to finish off the over.
12.11pm BST 

8th over: England 23-1 (Cook 9, Ballance 1)

Good work from Singh, who is into the mid-eighties and getting the ball to outfox Ballance.

David Sweet has a soft spot for Kim Clijsters’s return from motherhood:

“Skip to 1 minute in to avoid the ball hitting and get straight to the emotion. Seeing her daughter on court with her …”

Not seen this before, but this is great from Niall Mullen:

“I love Clive Allen & his dad at the 1982 FA Cup final. When it really meant something...”

7th over: 23-1 (Cook 9, Ballance 1)

A corker sees Robson off before Ballance, with “IMPETUS” etched on his forehead, pushes into the offside and is off the mark straight away. Cook then prods outside off. Just leather it, lad.

Cracking delivery from Kumar, but alas the wicket won't count in official records after failing to reach the 87mph minimum pace requirement.
— Dave Sconnington (@tickerscricket) July 30, 2014

Needs an extra 0.914m of pace
12.03pm BST 
Robson c Dhawan b Kumar 13 (England 22-1)

Good nut from Kumar starts in at middle and nips to outside of and takes the edge of Robson’s bat, through to Dhawan who finally does something. Nice of you to join us, Shihkar...
12.00pm BST 

6th over: England 18-0 (Cook 9, Robson 9)

Robbo steals a single but there’s little else from the over, as Jos Buttler goes for a hit after signing a few autographs. Range finding, we hope.

@Vitu_E If you can get to The Ageas Bowl tomorrow, £15 (£1 for Under 16s) looks like the bargain of the year - http://t.co/QkLJrAYDVo
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) July 30, 2014

For those at a loose end tomorrow
11.57am BST 

John Cox’s favourite emotional sporting moment:

“It has to be Lester Piggott winning the Breeders Cup Mile six days into his post-imprisonment comeback, and more to the point his post-race interview with Brough Scott.

BS (so excited he can hardly stay still enough to keep in shot): ‘Even for you, Lester, even for you, this must be something special.’

LP (usual nasal monotone, slightly puzzled air): ‘Well, not really.’

Not how KP would handle a similar situation, you feel. But so much better.”
11.56am BST 

5th over: England 17-0 (Robson 8, Cook 9)

Kumar offering little pace to work with, plus his swing means you can’t really hit through the line. Robson gets him away into the offside but just for the one run, before Cook gets one on his hip and tucks one through the fielder at square leg for two.

11.50am BST 

4th over: England 14-0 (Robson 7, Cook 7)

A good nut from Singh leaves Cook hanging on the back foot. He’s there for the fifth ball but opens the face of the bat and guides it to four to third man.

“My favourite emo-sporting moment,” that’s the DVD title, Tom Andover, “of the current Commonwealth Games was the great Usain Bolt allegedly, calling Glasgow ‘a bit shit’. This is one of the nicest things I’ve ever heard about the city and it brought a tear to my eye.”

Bet the speedy chump has never been, nor sampled the local fried pizza.
11.44am BST 

3rd over: England 10-0 (Robson 7, Cook 3)

Smart shot through the offside from Robson goes for three, as Shami does well to reach out a lever and stop the ball right on the cusp of the sponge. Cook steps out and across to Kumar, but only in defence. He’s off the mark with a shot reminiscent of Robson’s earlier tuck, for just as many runs.

Dave Boulting uncovers today’s loophole: “Abalone, artichoke, arugula, anchovy and anything with ‘artisan’ afore it.”
11.41am BST 

2nd over: England 4-0 (Robson 4, Cook 0)

Steady from Singh and Cook, as a maiden is played out with little of note.

“This could be a good litmus test for Cook’s captaincy credentials,” believes Martin Laidler. “The needle typically sits around conservative to defensive. The timing of the declaration, the run rate up to that point and the possible shuffling of the batting pack and promotion of a test debutant up the order all may point to a belated learning curve from England’s most famous choirist.”
11.39am BST 

“How about a favourite emotional sporting moments thread for today,” comes Richard Hatton’s suggestion for today’s game. I feel this is standard OBO fodder. He suggests Derek Redmond - the go-to. Hang on, he also suggests a new-age corker, Burt le Clos...

11.36am BST 

1st over: England 4-0 (Robson 4, Cook 0)

Robson is solid in defence and then smart in attack as he plays Kumar square for four through cover-point. Kumar readjusts his length and Robbo is up to the task.

“I really hope England emerge from their overly conservative shells today,” writes Simon Hudd. “Put on 220 very quickly against a demoralised Indian attack and give themselves 4 sessions to bowl them out. Once the proper batters have taken enough shine off the new ball, tell Jos to get his pads on...”
11.32am BST 

Right, so Robson and Cook out to the middle. Both can go at a relatively brisk 75+ strike rate, while Ballance is more than capable of giving it a tonk. Perhaps the only change to the order I would make is Buttler up to five. Even then, Jordan can be thrown up the order, too.

Robson to take strike...
11.30am BST 

“Can we reinvent yesterday’s game?” asks Michael Sones. “Most pompous/pretentious foods beginning with a single letter? For Q I offer quinoa, quince, quails eggs and quorn.”

Do your worst.
11.22am BST 
WICKET! Shami c Buttler b Anderson 5 (India 330 all out - trailing by 239)

Anderson has his 16th five-wicket haul in 97 Tests, as another superbly directed bouncer has Shami swaying and gloving through to Buttler. Alastair Cook has not enforced the follow on. Smart move, me thinks.
11.21am BST 

106th over: India 330-9 (Shami 5, Singh 1)

One for the figures, that. Broad manages to go a whole over without bowling at the stumps, as Singh plays and misses at a few and slaps one straight into the earth, for no run.

Phil Morton’s bored: “I liked yesterday’s game - alphabet foods. Onions, oatmeal , oregano and tripe (offal). We need another one today.” Any ideas?
11.15am BST 

105th over: India 330-9 (Shami 5, Singh 1)

Cracking from Anderson, who gets rid of Dhoni before he’s able to butcher any extra runs this morning. Pankaj Singh is the number 11 - and my, what a number 11 he is. He’s backing away to the first, swinging loosely at the second and gets off mark with a scuff behind square leg. Cook in danger of complicating things here as he sets up a hook-trap as Shami tries and fails to hit the final ball over the cordon.
11.11am BST 
WICKET! Dhoni c Buttler b Anderson 50 (India 329-9)

Cracking ball from Anderson seams in and lifts on Dhoni, who is late on a pull and gets nothing but fists to the ball, which lops safely into the hands of Buttler.
11.09am BST 

Given England’s position in this five Test series, Robert Moore feels the follow-on is a must.

“If we were 1-0 up in the series I think not enforcing the follow up would be the obvious choice. But surely with us 1-0 down and needing to win this game we have to give ourselves the most amount of time we can to get 20 wickets – which means sticking them in again. If it backfires and we end up having to bat a tricky fourth innings then so be it.”
11.09am BST 

104th over: India 329-8 (Dhoni 50, Shami 5)

Broad is back of a length and into the body of Shami, who takes his hand off the bat and dabs it into the off side. Shami then stays leg side of the next ball - full, bit of in-nip - and it’s pushed through the offside for just a single. Dhoni charges one and then is happy to take the single into a deserted legside ring, entrusting Shami with the last two deliveries. Broad goes for the body again but it’s byes down the legside. Shami wants one, Dhoni declines.
11.05am BST 

Dr Nicholas Clark gives us a third opinion:

“If they don’t get the runs then it will be early in the day when our bowlers should still be fresh from their overnight rest. If we don’t enforce the follow on then timing the declaration is difficult. We really need to win this game as the best option is to back our batsman to chase down the 150-200 that we should need to get. If they get much more than that we are knackered anyway and the game should end in a draw.

“Not enforcing the follow potentially wastes time by a late declaration or risk us needs a defensive field in the case of an early declaration.”
11.04am BST 

103rd over: India 323-8 (Dhoni 50, Shami 4)

Flicky-wristed fend to the first ball as the camera pans out and shows point making his way to the boundary. Wonder whether Dhoni will take the single to the man. A couple of outswingers are left, an inducker is smothered. The field come in for the final two balls and Dhoni charges and misses a wide one. Not sure whether that’s smart or not, but the final ball is speared down the leg side and Buttler stops it superbly. No bye, no wides, no boundary and Mohammed Shami on strike to Broad.
11.00am BST 

Philipp Lohan comes to the OBO parish seeking advice from the masses, as Dhoni and Shami make their way to the middle:

“At what state in today’s play, I should decide to head down to Southampton for Day 5? Would only take the risk of skiving off work for a properly good/enthralling/exciting day ahead. Any suggestions?”

I’d say you’ll know by tea - depending on how England are going and whether a declaration is close. Trent Bridge aside, the other three fifth days this summer have been entertaining.
10.54am BST 

Dave Espley is a “no”:

“Definitely no to the follow-on. When a team gets close to avoiding it, if you put them in again, you run the risk of them getting a big score second time round (which certainly isn’t beyond this Indian team) and leaving you an awkward target. I’d not be confident about England chasing any target, let alone an awkward one.”

Also, I think it would be good for Broad and Anderson to rest up and Jordan to get his head right and have a kip.
10.53am BST 

Daniel Beckell has a cunning plan...

“If England either don’t enforce the follow-on, or India get the runs required, and England bat again, might a left-field decision be to open with Cook and Buttler? I can’t imagine them being that bold, unfortunately.”

It’s a good thought. I wouldn’t say we have to adjust the line-up too much; Cook can give it a swing and Sam Robson, certainly in county cricket, has shown he can scored with a 80+ strike rate. The freedom might do him some good. Ballance, too, at three is more than capable of clearing that front leg.
10.46am BST 

Morning all,

Great chat about James Anderson at the moment on Sky. Michael Atherton was particularly impressed by his ability to become a “virtual left-hander” to the right-handers - Cheteshwar Pujara the man falling foul of Jimmy’s, erm, faux Southpaw-ness.

Yeah, just ignore that last bit, but you know what I mean. Naturally, we’re at the stage where we speculate as to whether England will enforce the follow on. Just 47 more runs and that decision is taken out of Alastair Cook’s hands. Personally, I think he’ll be relieved. A quick dart for about 40 overs should England get out India in the first 10, and then a declaration with a lead of 450+, with 20 overs at India this evening. That’s not too much to ask, is it?
10.12am BST 

Vithushan will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Vic Marks on Moeen Ali.

Moeen Ali bowled in a long-sleeved shirt buttoned at the wrist. It might seem outlandish that just before entering the arena he had been required to roll up his sleeves just to reassure some ICC official that there were not any regulation-busting wristbands on his arm but in this era when a judicial commissioner, Gordon Lewis, somewhere in Australia, will be required to stay up late on Friday in order to establish what happened on the stairs on the way to lunch in the Trent Bridge pavilion a fortnight ago, anything is possible.

The contest has been unfolding slowly, so it has been hard to clear the mind of the notion of England’s media manager getting into a huddle with whoever is detailed to speak to the gentlefolk of the press at the end of the day in order to give him a reminder of the salient points of the Middle East crisis. This series continues to startle but it would be preferable if the stories from now onwards were of a cricketing nature.

It has not all been plain sailing for Moeen in his brief career. Before he played his first Test his innocent remarks that he was proud of the community from which he came and that he wished to “inspire other people with faith to play” were twisted and taken out of all proportion in some quarters. So we have had the issue of wristbands. Next perhaps we should assume an intimate ICC tattoo inspection (it is just as well that Jade Dernbach and Peter Trego have not made the Test team – although hope springs eternal in both of them).

In all of this Moeen has handled himself with composure and good humour. In the past he has been happy for his club, Worcestershire, to refer to him impishly as “The Beard that’s Feared” in one of their marketing campaigns …

England v India: third Test - day three live

England v India: third Test - day three live

England's Jos Buttler (L) acknowledges the crowd after reaching a half century. 

11.05am BST 

Peter Harmer has a game for us:

"The success of the Bs yesterday reminds me of a pub debate I’ve had several times in the past," he begins. "Which letter of the alphabet you’d pick if you could only eat/drink things beginning with the same letter. B was always my choice - with beer, bacon, beef and biscuits, it seemed the obvious, if perhaps not the most vitamin-heavy, choice."

Any advances from the OBO-ers?
11.04am BST 

15th over: India 27-1 (Vijay 11, Pujara 6)

The first ball of the day is a beaut - tailing in and seaming away, just past the outside edge of the forward-lunging Pujara. The first runs of the day follow as Pujara tucks off his pads for two.

Meanwhile, Chris Fowler is sticking to the tried and tested "copy & paste" method of putting *that* in your e-mail boxes. Tim Jones on the other hand is just straight clicking. The maverick
10.58am BST 

Ravi Nair has some pre-play predictions - galling ones at that:

"So are we hoping for India all out for 86. Follow on and all out for 48. Or do we want to see three more days of cricket and England, inevitably, losing this series. The difference between the England fan and the Trufan of Test Cricket."
10.53am BST 

Simon McMahon in with the second e-mail of the day. He's seen this all before...

"You can always rely on the OBO. The Simpsons, international politics, somebody counting the number of characters in an email address. And play hasn't even started."
10.47am BST 

"Morning Vish" - morning, Michael Sones

"How many OBOers will be put off by the typing needed to get an email to you (44 characters)?!" Too many, I fear.

"Perhaps Moeen can get a nice tattoo before play begins tomorrow. How would the ICC deal with that?" He'd have to cover the offending area with a flap of Giles Clarke's skin. I think.
Updated at 10.47am BST
10.43am BST 

Oh yes, of course - there was cricket yesterday. Lots of it. And England weren't rubbish.

England declared gloriously on 569-7 and ended the day with India 25-1 (Shikhar Dhawan the man to go). That England found them in this position of great strength is thanks to runs from Ballance, Bell and Buttler on debut.

Morning all,

As some of you have probably already heard, Moeen Ali has been banned from wearing his "Save Gaza" wristbands while playing for England. In the interest of not banging our heads on our respective walls, whichever side of this particular debate we're on, I think it's best we leave this topic be.

In other news, England will be sporting "Help For Heroes" logos on their collars today. The Ageas Bowl will also observe a minute's silence before the start of play.
Updated at 10.36am BST
10.25am BST 

Vish will be here shortly. Meanwhile, have a read about how Moeen Ali might have made some people cross for expressing an opinion held by lots of people on a political matter.

The ICC’s code of conduct for players does not contain any specific guidelines regarding political statements, but they are forbidden from displaying any logos other than for their bat and other approved commercial backers.

Lionel Messi to be prosecuted for alleged tax evasion

Lionel Messi to be prosecuted for alleged tax evasion

Lionel Messi earns over £23.5m a season in salary and bonuses. 

A Spanish court will push ahead with prosecuting the Barcelona forward Lionel Messi for alleged tax evasion despite a recommendation from the public prosecutor the charges be dismissed.

The prosecutor argued in June that Messi’s father Jorge was responsible for the family’s finances and not the four-times World Player of the Year.

However, the court in Barcelona has decided that Lionel Messi could have known about and approved the creation of a web of shell companies that were allegedly used to evade taxes due on income from image rights. The judge in the case ruled that the case against both Messis should continue.

Argentina’s Messi and his father were accused last year of defrauding the Spanish state of more than €4m (£3.1m) by filing false returns for the years 2006 to 2009. They have denied wrongdoing.

One of the world’s highest-paid athletes, Messi earns just over $40m (£23.5m) a season in salary and bonuses, according to Forbes magazine, as well as about $23m from sponsors.

The magazine has him as the fourth top-earning athlete behind the boxer Floyd Mayweather, Real Madrid footballer Cristiano Ronaldo and basketball player LeBron James.

Commonwealth Games: Adam Gemili wins 100m silver behind Bailey-Cole

Commonwealth Games: Adam Gemili wins 100m silver behind Bailey-Cole

Jamaica's Kemar Bailey-Cole, second left, wins the 100m gold medal at the Commonwealth Games ahead of Adam Gemili, second right. 

In the cauldron of Scottish football an almighty Hampden roar sounded for a young English sprinter, Adam Gemili, who until three years ago dreamed of kicking a ball for a living but now has a 100m silver medal to celebrate. No wonder he clasped hands to head in wide-eyed exuberance.

But the understated reaction of the winner, Kemar Bailey-Cole, was just as telling. He had expected to win, and win he did. Despite the absence of Usain Bolt and his long-time frenemy Yohan Blake from the Commonwealth Games’ blue riband event, one thing holds true: the production line of Jamaican sprinters keeps rolling.

Bailey-Cole had a stumbling start and was a metre or so behind Gemili early on. But he picked up to cruise home in a season’s best 10.00sec, with Gemili second in 10.10 and another Jamaican, Nickel Ashmeade, third in 10.12.

“I’m speechless,” admitted Gemili. “The reception I received was amazing. It gave me goosebumps and the extra energy to hold on despite tired legs.”

The 20-year-old’s medal was a minor surprise, given his personal best is 10.04 and there were several men in the competition who had gone under 10 seconds. But it was only a matter of time for the good vibrations, which have been growing ever since Gemili decided to switch from semi-professional football with Dagenham & Redbridge to athletics in 2011, to be realised.

Two years ago, as a callow 18-year-old, he just missed out on the 100m final at the London Olympics after running 10.06sec. Last year he became only the second British athlete – after John Regis – to crash through the 20-second barrier for 200m, before finishing fifth in the world championship final in Moscow. Now at last he has a medal.

And he intends to build quickly on his achievements. “The times will come,” said Gemili. “But medals are what counts and this is just a stepping stone for the European Championships in a couple of weeks’ time and then the world championships next year and Rio in 2016.”

As Gemili wallowed in his personal triumph, Bailey-Cole was more laconic. “The start, it wasn’t good,” he sighed. “The rest was OK.”

Bailey-Cole is coached by Glenn Mills, who also trains Bolt at Kingston’s famous Racers Track Club, and the parallels between the two sprinters are obvious. Both are tall – Bailey Cole is 1.93m, Bolt two centimetres bigger – and both combine a loping stride that allows them to eat up the track, with a zen-like relaxation which means they do not tighten up while others’ legs go wobbly.

Last year Bolt talked up the chances of Bailey-Cole one day eclipsing his feats, and this was a not insignificant marker. But he lacks Bolt’s showmanship and, interestingly, Bailey-Cole admits the pair are not best buddies. “I train with Usain but the friendship is not that close,”he said. “I didn’t hear from him beforehand.”

He was also less than complimentary when asked to compare his Glasgow experience with that of London 2012. “I can’t compare them,” he said. “London was really different food. It was way better than this. Scottish food could do with some more seasoning.”

Earlier, as the sun set on Glasgow, Blessing Okagbare, the Nigerian who dyed her hair gold for these Commonwealth Games, proved her confidence was not misplaced when she won her first major championship title in the women’s 100m in a Commonwealth Games record.

The 25-year-old ran 10.85sec – the second fastest time in the world this year – to beat the Jamaicans Veronica Campbell-Brown and Kerron Stewart, who ran 11.03 and 11.07 respectively. Britain’s Asha Philip ran a personal best but agonisingly finished fourth in 11.18, while Bianca Williams was sixth in 11.31.

Okagbare began to long jump aged 15 but switched to sprinting at 21 after her coached persuaded her to give it a go when she ran her first 100m in 11.21sec. “I wanted to put on a show,” said Okagbare. “It was about execution and staying patient – after 70m it just felt easy.”

In the women’s hammer, England’s Sophie Hitchon was only moderately happy to claim bronze with a throw of 68.72m, a distance over four metres below her personal best.

Hitchon, a former ballet dancer who has two pet rats named Sid and Roddy, came into the Games believing she was in the form to challenge for gold. But the 23-year-old had to settle for third behind the Canadian Sultana Frizell, who retained her title from Delhi with a Games record throw of 71.97, while New Zealand’s Julia Ratcliffe claimed silver.

Hitchon said: “The first few rounds were a little jerky and I only got it together later on. That is what happens sometimes. I am amazingly pleased with a medal but I just always want the very best as an athlete.”

On Tuesday morning the action continues with the Olympic 800m champion and world-record holder, David Rudisha, starting his campaign, while the London 2012 long jump champion, Greg Rutherford, resumes his often testy rivalry with Chris Tomlinson as the pair attempt to qualify for Wednesday’s final.

The evening’s action centres on Scotland’s fast-improving Laura Muir taking on England’s Laura Weightman and the Kenyan favourite, Hellen Obiri, in the women’s 1500m.

It should be some race. But unless Muir can conjure up a moment of high delirium in front of her home crowd, the atmosphere will struggle to match the sonic boom and fulsome exultations for Gemili on a night when he gave yet another shining display of his potential.

Moeen Ali banned from wearing 'Save Gaza' wristbands while playing for England

Moeen Ali banned from wearing 'Save Gaza' wristbands while playing for England

Moeen Ali wore wristbands with 'Save Gaza' and 'Free Palestine' messages on them during the second day of the third Test against India. 

Moeen Ali has been banned from wearing “Save Gaza” and “Free Palestine” wristbands in the remainder of the third Test against India in Southampton by David Boon, the former Australia batsman who is the International Cricket Council’s match referee.

England had cleared Moeen to wear the bands, arguing that he was making a humanitarian statement and not a political one, and perhaps sensitive to accusations of inconsistency as the whole team will wear the logo of the Help for Heroes charity on their shirts on Tuesday to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the first world war.

But the ICC issued the following statement on Tuesday morning: “The ICC equipment and clothing regulations do not permit the display of messages that relate to political, religious or racial activities or causes during an international match. Moeen Ali was told by the match referee that while he is free to express his views on such causes away from the cricket field, he is not permitted to wear the wristbands on the field of play and warned not to wear the bands again during an international match.”

England v India: third Test – live

England v India: third Test – live

Alastair Cook the strides out to open the innings during day one of the third Test match between England and India at the Rose Bowl.



11th over: England 25-0 (Cook 15, Robson 10) Another fairly quiet one, as Warne extols the pitch, and we're told that only Taunton has a higher run average.

"So just when it seems India's bowlers have got Englanditis (bowling short and wide), they bring in this Pankaj chappie who bowls at the stumps", emails Ravi Nair. "That's cheating right? You're surely only allowed to bowl in the corridor of uncertainty. Otherwise it's like Mankading - just not cricket."

Maybe the idea is to get runs on the board as quickly as possible, to get a declaration, to get in, to get runs, to then have time to bowl them out in the second innings.

11.39am BST

10th over: England 25-0 (Cook 15, Robson 10) Quiet one from Pankaj though he forces Cook to drop the bat on the variation ball, that nips in.

So, with things a little slow in the middle, here's Richard Crabtree inviting you to laugh at his pain. "I fractured my cheekbone by walking into a lamppost while looking behind me to see if I could safely cross the road. Almost worse, my first thought was that I had walked into one of a group of people I had seen approaching, so to their delight, I then turned and apologized to said lamppost."

9th over: England 25-0 (Cook 15, Robson 10) Floaty half-volley from Kumar that Robson drives for one, following a misifield at mid-off. Cook then responds with one of his own, before Robson cover drives to the fence - that's the first boundary of the day. Meanwhile, Warne has arrived in the commentary box, talking about "this rubbish about bowling first". He reckons there's pace in the pitch, especially for the taller bowlers.

11.32am BST

8th over: England 19-0 (Cook 14, Robson 5) Pankaj into the attack. He's a seriously significant man, tall, wide and more than enough to compound feelings of inadequacy. His first-class record isn't bad either - he has 300 first-class wickets and 21 five-wicket hauls - but this over isn't especially menacing. Robson takes a single into the covers, following some hesitation, and otherwise, England will be as satisfied after it as they were before it.

11.27am BST

7th over: England 18-0 (Cook 14, Robson 4) Kumar loses his line at the start of this over, swinging them away far too wide to mither. He's better after that, without testing Cook, and sneaks away with a maiden.

"Surely the most ridiculous injury ever in cricket has to be Derek Pringle ricking his back writing a letter", writes Gary Weightman. "Not sure the Telegraph would believe him if it happened today."


11.24am BST

6th over: England 18-0 (Cook 14, Robson 4) Ok, I'm going to say it: England should win this Test. The pitch is fine, they're batting, they've some class players, the opposing attack is friendly enough. Make 500 in two days, then take some wickets, done and done. Cook pushes two down the ground - Pankaj dives over it, for the second time - and then when he misses one, there's an appeal, but the ball hitting the pad was about all it had going for it. Shami then strays onto Cook's pads, and three are tucked away to midwicket.

11.19am BST

5th over: England 13-0 (Cook 9, Robson 4) Robson's squared by Kumar's second delivery, but the ensuing edge suds down into the turf and to point. Otherwise not much to report - maiden.

"As a kid on my grandad's chicken farm I decided to help with digging up some roots so they could lay the foundations for a new coop," says Ravi Nair. "I grabbed the pick, as tall as me, raised it high and brought it straight down on my middle toe. I was told you can't splint a toe so, though it was broken, I just had to hobble around until it healed. I'm blaming that for my never having become a Test cricketer."

You've still got time. Similar one from me - once hammered a tent peg, and bounced the mallet straight into my noz. It stung.

11.16am BST

4th over: England 13-0 (Cook 9, Robson 4) Cook misses out on a short one that he generally clips for four down to point. Could that be the slice of luck he needs to transmogrify into Mike Brearley? As far as the batting goes, in some ways he improved in the last Test, at least occupying the crease - at Headingley, he batted with frazzled mind and without the patience that's underpinned his success. He then edges Shami's final delivery four four - could that be, etc etc?

Martin Laidler, meanwhile, emails in on England's team selection: "It seems that Stokes has been dropped for being labelled an all-rounder due to his batting. If he was just a bowler who bats now and then, he possibly could still be in the starting XI. Muddled thinking not for perhaps the first time this summer."

Perhaps. Perhaps.

11.12am BST

3rd over: England 9-0 (Cook 5, Robson 4) Robson fences one down to third man, and the lack of bounce suggests that there's less in the pitch than expected. If so, good toss to win, and good call from Cook. Next, Shami slings down one that's well wide, for which Robson can't help but rummage - I worry about him, he'll be honoured to learn. But he edges two more to backward point, and England will be satisfied with this start. 

2nd over: England 7-0 (Cook 5, Robson 2) Cook tries a clip to midwicket and squirts to mid on instead, and with Shami anticipating the former, they nash a pair. Then two more, through midwicket, but then Cook flirts outside off when tempted by a lovely length, and is beaten. Is that precisely the sign of poor form that he needs to go on to make a sextuple century?

Talking of Ben Stokes, I can confirm that punching something hard is painful - as a child I lamped a bedside table instead of a pillow. On which point, your most absurdly achieved injuries, please.

Updated at 11.09am BST

11.04am BST

And it's Mohammed Shami from the other end.

11.04am BST

1st over: England 3-0 (Cook 1, Robson 2) "Could that be the break that he needed?" asks Mikey-Michael, because Kumar begins with a beauty, swinging into Cook before seaming away. He fumbles outside off-stump, imparts the thickness of his outside edge - with soft hands, if we're being generous - and the ball drops just shy of second slip. Next ball, he wangles himself a single to midwicket, and Robson is off the mark shortly afterwards, bumping two down the ground through mid on."

"Of the 16632 balls Chris Woakes has bowled in First Class cricket, 144 were in his one Test. We should not judge him on those", emails Gary Naylor. I agree, though I'm not crazy over what I've seen so far, and would've left out Broad not Stokes.

11.00am BST

Kumar to open...

11.00am BST

Play.

11.00am BST

"I think England are really wonderful hosts", chortles Anand Kumar. "As soon as they knew that the visitors had to replace their most potent bowler due to injury, they decided to not take an unfair advantage, dropping their best performing bowler of the previous test (Plunkett). The only thing they are yet to provide India is a rank turner. Looking forward to that gift soon."

Sometime around tea tomorrow, we're going to get to see Jos Buttler bat in a Test match. Allow that.

10.53am BST

Email, with George Wright. "Stokes eh? That's baffling. Is it only me who thinks he would be a really good shout for captain further down the line? No fear, no bull (no known experience admittedly), and already something of a leader."

I suppose it'll come down, first of all, to his ability to cement a place. After that, he's certainly tough enough, but whether he's the nous remains to be seen.

10.52am BST

The absence of Ishant is a very big deal for both sides; England's collective weakness against short stuff is now less an issue, and India have lost their most potent bowler. In typical style, Duncan Fletcher has inserted a batsman - perhaps he'll later be awarded an MBE - which tells you that he'd take a draw.

Updated at 10.52am BST

10.46am BST

Michael Holding reckons on a track like this, if you've four seamers in whom you're confident, you bowl. It is also reckoned that Dhoni would've bowled.

10.44am BST

Given how dependent England seemed to be on Stokes, just ten minutes ago, this decision to leave him out, rather than allow him to play himself into form, is not that easy to grasp.

10.41am BST

England have won the toss and will bat. Something about Alastair Cook. Conditions are overcast, so it'll be a testing first hour or two, but after that, there're runs to be had. Something about Alastair Cook.

Each side makes two changes: Plunkett and Stokes and Binny and the injured Sharma drop out, Woakes and Jordan and Sharma and Pankaj come in.

Slightly odd from England, that - Plunkett is tired, fair enough, and required for Old Trafford, but Stokes was the team's best bowler at Lord's, while Stuart Broad is clearly in need of a sit down. Other hand, Woakes has apparently been bowling better and more quickly in the nets.

10.36am BST

Preamble. There are no shortage of reasons as to why sport is superior to real life, most obviously its not being real life. And because of that, the rules are different - not only are things are rarely as bad as they seem, but they are hardly ever all that bad. There is almost always scope to experience cheer, circumstances almost always improvable and generally resolvable, often very quickly indeed. Real life, on the other hand.

But England are playing sport. So, while it's true that they have lost seven of their last eight Tests, several of them in appalling style, in the process disposing of an all-time great batsman for reasons apparently spurious. But it's also true that they've a nucleus of decent young players in the process of proving their credentials, and as of today, they have Joseph Charles Buttler, who plays as his initials suggest - and then some.

And this is a significant step on the way to turning those decent young players into a team. Because even if Robson and his weakness outside off-stump, Ballance and his reactive batting, and Moeen and his tendency to be stared out by the short ball, all grow into Test batsmen, England still lack a dominator; a man who makes high-class bowlers think and change, a man who introduces frisson to strides.

Buttler himself is either disquietingly softly-spoken or disquietingly softly-spoken; is it determination and confidence, or weakness and doubt? Either way, watching him play is, and is going to be, a significant thrill. Real life, on the other hand.

England triathletes combine talents to claim Commonwealth relay gold

England's Jonny Brownlee, left, Vicky Holland, Jodie Stimpson and Alistair Brownlee with their triathlon relay golds.

Another day, another gold for Alistair Brownlee and Jodie Stimpson – but this time it was the relay triathlon and four of England’s troupe were centre stage on the podium at Strathclyde Country Park. Jonny Brownlee and Vicky Holland were the others to be crowned Commonwealth champions after a resounding victory in a race that had everything from bravura to belly flops.

The Brownlee brothers, Stimpson and Holland had competed in the individual disciplines here only on Thursday but – like the rest of the field – one day of rest had to suffice before a second afternoon of endurance that made for captivating viewing.

In the end England’s contingent emerged as comfortable winners in a shortened version of the full triathlon. In a repeat of the scenes earlier in the week it was Alistair Brownlee who strolled down the home stretch draped in two crosses of St George, high-fiving spectators and crossing the line 49 seconds ahead of South Africa’s Richard Murray to secure a memorable gold, taking the spoils in the first relay triathlon at a major championship.
This time, though, Brownlee left the flag of Yorkshire with the waiting crowd before crossing the line. This victory was not his alone but one also with roots in Gloucester and the Black Country, won in a cumulative time of 1hr 13min 24sec as all four athletes completed a 250m swim, 6km cycle and 1.6km run.

“It feels a bit strange to win a gold medal finally but it’s nice,” said Jonny Brownlee, so often used to following his older brother through the finishing stretch. “I want to win but I normally get beaten by Alistair, so to get a gold medal is pretty special.”

Alistair said: “It’s very different for us doing something as a team. Although we race together all the time, to be able to share an achievement is really good. We’ve raced so many relays together over the years and we really enjoy doing it. It’s fantastic to be able to do it on a major scale like we did today.”

Stimpson and Holland won gold and bronze respectively in the individual event on Thursday and both produced impressive performances. Holland started England’s effort and Stimpson took the third leg, as all the athletes cheered on their team-mates after negotiating the shortened course themselves. “Myself and Vicky are on cloud nine – we are riding high,” Stimpson said. “It’s so exciting; it’s not only exciting for the spectators, it’s brilliant to be a part of. It’s definitely full on; but it shows weaknesses. You have to be strong and you can’t have a weak link in the team.”

Holland said: “You know you’ve got the best two guys in the world on your team and that’s a great place to be in. But equally it adds to a little bit of the pressure because you don’t want to mess up.”

This was the inaugural triathlon relay at a major championship and one that was watched by hordes of spectators on the banks of the loch. Australia were edged out of silver by South Africa, finishing three seconds behind their southern-hemisphere adversaries, but there was only jubilation for all the teams that achieved a podium finish.

New Zealand were brief leaders and, although Jonny Brownlee struggled in the transition zone after earning a significant gap on the bike, he had soon regained his place at the front of the pack. Stimpson extended England’s lead with a dominant display of running and Alistair Brownlee could afford to ease up towards the end with victory assured.

“We’d love to see this in the Olympics,” said Alistair, who unsuccessfully campaigned with his brother to get the relay event into the 2016 Games. “I think it’s a fantastic Olympic event. The inclusion of men and women racing together, there’s the team element, the tactical element – it’s short, fast and good to watch.”

Entertainment was certainly not in short supply as athletes tapped each other in before darting along an extended runway to dive into the water. Some efforts were more refined than others, with the adrenaline rush of starting the race too much for certain competitors.

Some dives were more suitable to a municipal pool than a Commonwealth Games but the crowd were the beneficiaries. Every running leap was met with an expectant cheer, and the odd guffaw, with Mauritius the worst culprits in the belly-flop stakes.

Jonny Brownlee said: “Everyone always gets that wrong. I raced the Youth Olympics in Sydney in 2009 and I ran down and I did a flip because it was a lot further than I thought. I actually did a somersault in the water. Now I just run a bit slower.”

Stimpson said: “I actually practised that when we were warming up because I had never done the third leg before. I didn’t want to end up on my face when I was running in and I didn’t want to bomb in.”

England, though, avoided embarrassment and emerged on top yet again.