The test summer continues as England and India head to Lord’s in differing moods, writes WILLIAM KEDJANYI. England will have been delighted with another big run chase at Headingley to kick off the five-match series, but their fortunes were very much reversed in a heavy defeat at Edgbaston that saw plenty of scutiny placed on not only Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes but also key players who need a big game. With Jasprit Bumrah returning for India and Jofra Archer making a red ball comeback for England, there’s plenty happening at Lord’s this week.
The story so far…
Runs, runs, and more runs. 3,365 runs have been scored so far, with innings scores of 471, 465, 364, 373, 587, 407, 427 and 271, and this with runs left on the table also. England’s 271 chasing an impossible total of 608 is the one outlier, and even then that effort is universally acknowledged to have gone well below par.
England took advantage of some poor fielding and bowling from India to take the first test, chasing 371 runs in relatively comfortable style in the end thanks to Ben Duckett’s sublime 149, a fine 188-run opening stand between Duckett and Zak Crawley (65) in the second innings, and solid knocks from Jamie Smith and Joe Root, turning around a test that India seemed to be in control of when 340-3 in the first innings.
Then to Edgbaston, where England put in India and appeared to be on course for a strong position before Shubman Gill turned the screw and a superb bowling effort from Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj gave India a first innings lead that they never relinquished, eventually winning by 336 runs.
Information
3rd Men’s Test, Tendulkar – Anderson Trophy
Lord’s Cricket Ground, London
Thursday 10th July – Monday 14th July
Live on Sky Sports, Sky Go and NOW TV from 11am
Pitch Report
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Flat pitches, two heatwaves and the softest’ dukes ball in recent memory have led to mammoth run totals and whilst England have asked for more spice in the pitch, hot weather – forecasts currently have highs of 29-31°C for each of the days – could tip things in favour of the batters once again, although the slope could present issues if the ball keeps low.
Lord’s hosted the World Test Championship final between Australia and South Africa, with the Proteas successfully chasing down 282 in the fourth innings for the loss of only five wickets, although beforehand bowlers had dominated on what was a greener pitch in cooler temperatures, with scores of 212 (Australia), 138 (South Africa), 207 (Australia) before South Africa chased down the target. Days 3 and 4 saw notably better weather for batting than the first two.
In recent history, we have seen plenty of early success for the bowlers before the pitch has flattened out, and it would be no surprise if the winning captain decided to bowl first, the route taken to win five of the last eight tests at Lord’s. First innings scores during that run read 212-427-121-416-176-165-132-364-378.
Team News
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All eyes are on Jofra Archer as he makes a return to test cricket for the first time in four years, after being beset by back and elbow injuries since his last, also against India, in 2021. He’s the only change to England’s bowling, with Chris Woakes – who has struggled badly this series but has a fine record at Lord’s, retained alongside Brydon Carse, whilst Shoaib Bashir continues as the lone spinner, a role that has been hard work hfor im so far with little assistance from conditions.
India are expected to welcome back Jasprit Bumrah to make what suddenly looks like a much more threatening attack on paper after Akash Deep’s starring role at Edgbaston with ten wickets, ably backed up by Mohammed Siraj’s 6-70 in the first innings.
India have options – Bumrah will return but they could also choose Washington Sundar over Kuldeep Yadav, and Nitish Kumar Reddy didn’t impress in Birmingham which would open the door to a return from Sai Sudharsan.
🏴 England: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir.
🇮🇳 India (possible): Rahul, Jaiswal, Nair, Gill, Pant, Sai Sudharsan, Jadeja, Sundar, Bumrah, Siraj, Akash
🏏 Match Verdict
At the prices India make marginally more appeal with Jaspit Bumrah back in the fold alongside Deep and Siraj, although there have been many in-play twists and turns and waiting for the live action could give greater betting flexibility. The toss will be key, as will the new ball periods – India made hay in Birmingham whilst England couldn’t get the same success – and a lot rests on Jofra Archer for the hosts, who is making his test return after only one County Championship outing with 18 overs under his belt, unless Chris Woakes improves quickly, albeit at a venue he loves.
Both sides have the ability to make big runs here, although they will need to navigate the new ball early especially if they’re put in early and the picture will be much clearer as play develops.
Batters – England 🏴
Some fortune and caution will be needed here – batting second could make things much easier for top order batters – but batting from 3-6 has been an advantage during this series, especially as the dukes ball has softened from 25 overs onwards. With more hot weather expected, that could continue as grass comes off the surface and those batting from 4 onwards make most appeal despite the ability of Ben Duckett to go big and Joe Rooy’s legendary quality when on song.
Jamie Smith was the star of the English batting at Edgbaston, making hay with the best conditions in the first innings when winning a shootout with Harry Brook to top score with 184 (Brook 158), and then showing the most application in the second to take the honours with 88.
Smith already has a strong outing at Lord’s – he made 70 on his debut against the West Indies last year – and he destroyed short ball bowling at Edgbaston which bodes well for another onslaught in the middle overs. Smith’s scores this series read 40, 44*, 184 and 88, so the 11/4 with starsports.bet that he makes a first innings 50 makes plenty of appeal, along with the 7/1 to be England’s top runscorer, a price that could look generous if India can take a couple of early scalps.
Batters – India 🇮🇳
Plenty will be happy to take the 7/2 about Shubman Gill leading the first innings scoring with starsports.bet, after three top scores in four innings and a frankly astonishing record of 585 runs at 146. He’s extremely hard to bet against, but he will get a test from Yashasvi Jaiswal and the livewire Rishabh Pant if conditions are favourable.
7/4 about a first innings 50 for Pant makes appeal given his protection against the new ball whilst Ravindra Jadeja is worth looking at for overs in this market in play, given the good touch he had last week.
Bowlers – England 🏴
Chris Woakes has a fine Lord’s record but he’s struggled badly all series bar a couple of unlucky spells in Birmingham whilst Jofra Archer has been bowling mainly white balls before getting 18 overs in the County Championship. Both have to be taken on, even if they get the new ball. Shoaib Bashir’s wickets have mainly been due to frustrated slogs and mistimed shots. With Brydon Carse appearing to struggle physically last week, Ben Stokes could be the last man standing, and at 4/1 with starsports.bet he made the most appeal by process of elimination.
Bowlers – India 🇮🇳
Jaspit Bumrah is the obvious choice, but he’s priced accordingly, and 6/4 is short about a new ball shootout if Deep and Siraj bring the same form they did at Edgbaston.
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🏏 Ben Duckett Top England (1st Inns) Run Scorer: 5/1 (was 4/1)
Has a puncher’s chance based on his form at Headingley (68, 149) but didn’t have the same success last week (0 and 25). Could give a real run for money but faces new ball bowling including Bumrah.
🏏 Harry Brook to Score a 1st Innings Century: 11/2 (was 9/2)
The most tempting of the three, after his 99 in the first innings at Headingley and a superb 158 at Edgbaston. Worth a shot at the prices.
🏏 Jofra Archer to Take 5+ Wickets 1st Innings: 8/1 (was 7/1)
Not appealing given Archer’s return comes after only one County Championship game and 18 overs, for all his talents.
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PROFIT/LOSS (JUL 2025): -12.00 points
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