As I mentioned in the Sunday Times after two days of this Test, Headingley is probably the best cricket pitch in the world. It exhilarates and frustrates in equal measure, it can exasperate, but also stimulate. Above all, it is a pitch that, especially to a bowler, says ‘don’t be afraid of taking risks, as rewards may be just around the corner.’ It is a place of extremes – England famously winning in the 1981 Ashes Test after being asked to follow on, or being bowled out for 67 by the Aussies in 2019 and still chasing 362 in the second innings to win by one wicket. On Saturday India produced a fourth wicket of partnership of 209 and then lost seven wickets for 41. On Monday KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant put on an eye-catching 195 for the fourth wicket, then they lost six for 31. It was classic Headingley fare. Don’t take your eye off the ball for a second. The fluctuations in the game are beautifully captured in the Betfair timeline.
England have the capability to chase the 350 more to win in the 90 overs available - if the weather behaves itself. The pitch is still excellent - stats from the last ten years suggest that it actually gets better over time - explained by Headingley’s excellent head groundsman, Richie Robinson, as due to the excellent root growth achieved by the specific rye grass used at the ground, and the amount of extensive watering pre-match to bind the surface together. Thinking ahead, England have taken extra precautions by requesting the outfield is watered every night - quite a process to manually switch on more than 50 sprinklers - to ensure is stays green and denies India’s devastating spearhead Jasprit Bumrah the chance to find reverse (old-ball) swing (attainable if the ball gets roughed up on a parched outfield.)
The weather gods may have done that anyway over the last couple of evenings. Which means it is perfectly set up for a pulsating final day. Betfair may only give England a 21% chance of winning, and that calculation is presumably taking the weather forecast into account, but if the clouds blow through and it stays mainly dry (a damp ball could further inhibit India’s chances) I fancy they might just do it. If they win it’ll make Ben Stokes decision at the toss to put India a master stroke. If they lose he’ll probably put it down to fate rather than bad decision-making.
There will be an Analyst podcast like the one above after every day of the England-India series.
Share this post