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Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
England left stunned by India on Test opener after Ben Stokes invited opponents to bat - as visitors blitz centuries on course to 359-3
It didn't feel outlandish at the time. When Ben Stokes won the first toss of the series at 10.30am and invited India to bat, his conviction was supported by the stats. The last six Tests in Leeds, after all, had been won by the team bowling first. Eight long hours later, England were on their knees, staring goggle-eyed at a scoreboard reading 359 for three, with centuries for India's ridiculously precocious opener Yashasvi Jaiswal and their first-time captain Shubman Gill, as elegant as he was composed. As Gill walked off at stumps with 127 to his name, his team-mates waited on the boundary to shake his hand. India have won only three Test series in this country in 93 years of trying, and will remain grateful to their new leader if they can tick off a fourth. On cricket's sliding scale of crimes, inserting the opposition and taking three wickets in 85 overs rates curiously highly – more highly, for sure, than folding in a heap after choosing to bat, as India did here four years ago, when they were skittled for 78. And in England's defence is the fact that the modern Headingley pitch – as opposed to its up-and-down predecessors of the 1980s and 1990s – seems to improve as the game progresses. In advance, groundsman Richie Robinson told Mike Atherton he would have bowled too; at the toss, Gill said so would he. Stokes, then, was hardly alone. Yet there was no doubt that the application of the heavy roller three hours before the start robbed the surface of the green hue that had excited social media during the build-up. Nor that the baking sun suggested this was a batting day. At Headingley, they say, you look up, not down. England seemed to have looked too hard at the data. Above all, perhaps, it was a day when the limitations of their bowling attack were exposed at the start of 10 huge Tests in seven months that will require not just strength in depth, but variety beyond 85mph right-arm seam and orthodox off-spin. Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson are all missing, it's true. But Chris Woakes had a rare off-day on home soil, and Josh Tongue – used as the battering ram as the field spread – went the distance. Both leaked 4.68 an over. Brydon Carse earned the wicket of KL Rahul, well caught by Joe Root in the slips shortly before lunch to end an opening stand of 91; had he not overstepped just after the break, his yorker would have removed Jaiswal leg-before for 45. But this was not just Carse's first home Test: it was his first red-ball game at Headingley, and his rhythm seemed thrown by the slope. And so, for the second Test in succession, it was Stokes who was the pick of the seamers. His first wicket owed something to luck, debutant Sai Sudharsan edging a swinging delivery down the leg side to Jamie Smith, and trudging off for a four-ball duck to signal lunch. His second, soon after tea, was a thing of beauty, beating Jaiswal on the outside edge, and pegging back off stump. But Stokes 2.0 is supposed to be a shock bowler, not a stock bowler, and his two spells lasted six and seven overs – one or two longer than ideal. It was a good job Shoaib Bashir produced one of his most controlled performances, or England might have gone for 400. None of this, though, should detract from the excellence of Jaiswal and Gill, two twenty-somethings at the heart of an Indian team in transition yet apparently unfazed by the retirements of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Jaiswal drove crisply at first, then unleashed his cut, taking 96 balls over his first fifty, and half as many over his second. He has now scored a century on Test debut, a century in his first Test in Australia and a century in his first Test in England. Throw in two double-hundreds against Stokes's side in 2023-24, and it hardly needs saying that India have a special talent. He is just 23, and possesses a Test average of 54, with time and room for improvement. It is a frightening prospect. Gill, only two years his senior, arrived without a half-century outside Asia since January 2021, but imposed himself from the start, a velvet glove stroking cover-drives with the power of an iron fist. There is no better way to announce your captaincy than with a century on foreign soil. The confidence both men will derive from their instant success is incalculable. And they are in heady company, since the Indian batsmen who had previously made a Test century at Headingley represent a roll call of some of their greats: Vijay Manjrekar, Tiger Pataudi, Dilip Vengsarkar, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly. To compound England's suffering, Rishabh Pant – after launching Stokes down the ground second ball – contributed a typically madcap 65 not out, as 144 flowed in the final session. In the last over of the evening, undeterred by the second new ball, he advanced at Woakes and heaved him into the East Stand for six, ensuring that a day which began with a question mark ended with an exclamation. More than 20 years ago at Brisbane, on the first day of the Ashes, Nasser Hussain famously inserted Australia, who romped to the close on 364 for two. The next few days will dictate if Stokes's decision belongs in the same category.
Arab News
12 hours ago
- Sport
- Arab News
England chooses to bowl first against India in test series opener at Headingley
LEEDS: England chose to bowl first against India in the test series opener at Headingley on Friday. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport
Times of Oman
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Times of Oman
Rohit, Virat, Ashwin retirements mark start of transition for Indian Test team, says Sachin Tendulkar
Leeds: As India prepares to face England in the high-stakes Test series starting June 20, the shock retirement announcements of stalwarts Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravichandran Ashwin have sparked widespread debate. While fans mourn the end of an era, legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar offered a grounded perspective, emphasising the natural progression of generational shifts in Indian cricket. Tendulkar, speaking on the development, acknowledged the emotional void left by the trio but maintained that the process of transition is nothing new to Indian cricket. "We are going through a transitional phase in the Indian team. There are young faces, and some of the senior players are still around to guide them and this churning process will continue for years to come. It has been going on for decades," he said. Drawing from personal experience, the Master Blaster recalled how similar changes have occurred in the past, when his own generation passed the baton. "At some stage, the players have to retire, and at some stage, the new faces replace them, and they start their journey. Even when we were playing, be it Sehwag (Virender), Ganguly (Sourav), Dravid (Rahul), Laxman (VVS), myself, Anil Kumble, Yuvraj (Singh), or Dhoni (MS), at some stage, we all retired and the next generation took over," Tendulkar added. "So, it will continue, this process and I have no doubt that the new generation is talented," he noted. Tendulkar also expressed confidence in the talent pool available in India, calling for patience and faith in the newcomers. "As far as skill is concerned, in our country there are so many skilful players. I hope they make the most of the opportunity given to them," he added. Reflecting on the retirements of Kohli, Rohit, and Ashwin, Sachin was clear-eyed but appreciative. "So, that process, what you said about Virat and Rohit and I'll add another name to that, Ashwin has also retired. These three retirements, I mean, that will go on. Their contribution will always be appreciated," he noted. India tour of England will take place from June 20 to August 4, 2025, with matches to be played at Headingley (Leeds), Edgbaston (Birmingham), Lord's (London), Old Trafford (Manchester), and The Oval (London). A new era beckons for India in the Test format as the modern-day giants gear up for their first assignment without the prized batting bigwigs Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Shubman Gill, India's youngest Test captain, has taken the baton from Rohit to guide the nation to success and challenge for the World Test Championship mace. India's squad: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana.
News.com.au
a day ago
- Sport
- News.com.au
Vaughn backs Konstas to open for Aussies
Cricket: Fox Cricket's Michael Vaughn joined Fox Sports News to discuss the possibility of young gun Sam Konstas opening for the Aussies in the upcoming Test series against the West Indies.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Ben Stokes is buzzing as he prepares for the first of 10 Tests which will define both his and Bazball's legacy as captain embarks on his quest to become England's greatest ever leader
Here we go: 10 Tests against the world's two most powerful cricket nations, 10 Tests that will define the legacy of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, and the legitimacy of Bazball. No pressure, guys, but you're about to embark on the most important seven months of your careers. Between Friday's series opener against India at Headingley and the Ashes finale at Sydney in January, legends will be written, pedestals reconfigured and pantheons polished. The hope is they will mainly be English. Win both series, and Stokes — already in possession of the best victory percentage among major England captains since Douglas Jardine — will go down as their greatest leader. Win against India but lose in Australia, and the jury will remain out. Lose both, and the verdict will be damning. It would be hard, then, to imagine McCullum seeing out his contract until 2027. The stakes really are that high. And while Stokes did his best on the eve of the first of two seismic five-match series to play down the significance of it all, that felt like a characteristic attempt to shield his team from the outside noise that England regard as so unhelpful. But this is big — and he knows it. Despite criticism of the Bazballers, the Test team's fortunes have been transformed since he and McCullum joined forces three years ago. Even excluding one-off wins against Ireland and Zimbabwe, they have won six series out of 10 and drawn two, including the 2023 Ashes when Manchester rain deprived them of the chance to beat Australia. It is a strong record that, for some, is overshadowed by the brainfades and meltdowns — enforcing the follow-on against New Zealand at Wellington in 2023, the hook-happy collapse against Australia at Lord's later that year after off-spinner Nathan Lyon had hobbled off, Joe Root's reverse-ramp against Jasprit Bumrah at Rajkot, the general ineptitude against Pakistan's spinners over the winter. But Stokes, determined to live in the present, refuses to indulge perspectives involving the future or the past. 'There's always a different buzz coming up against India and Australia,' he said. 'We know what these series mean away from the dressing room. We do understand that. But I can only control what I can control. 'I obviously want results to go our way. But defining a career as England captain isn't something I sit there and think about. Because if that's what I'm really bothered about, then in my opinion it's just completely and utterly selfish — and that ain't me.' The Ashes don't begin until November 21 in Perth, but English cricket's obsession with beating Australia means they will recur as a subplot during a gruelling six-and-a-half-week series against India, and Stokes is wise to keep a lid on the hype. Because if England don't beat an India side who have lost six of their last eight Tests, slipped to fourth in the rankings and are led by a rookie 25-year-old captain in Shubman Gill, then their year could unravel horribly. Asked, instead, whether England might try to 'scramble' Gill's mind with the aggressive style that has brought them a run-rate of 4.63 in the Bazball era — more than a run an over clear of anyone else — Stokes replied: 'I don't know. Hopefully we find ourselves in a position where he might scramble his own mind.' In contrast, India come into the Test at Headingley having lost six of their last eight matches England's preference for focusing on their own game, however, will be tested to the full by the unique brilliance of Bumrah, who may play only three Tests as India monitor the state of his back but could play four if circumstances dictate. He took 19 wickets at 16 apiece when the sides last met, in India early last year, and has dismissed Root nine times. His gentle trot to the wicket belies a wickedly fast arm action, and his unusual body shape means he delivers the ball from about 19 yards. Against Australia over the winter, he took 32 wickets at 13, a hall-of-fame effort in a losing cause. And while Bumrah tops the ICC rankings, the highest-placed England bowler in this Test — with Gus Atkinson, in 13th, nursing a hamstring tweak — will be Chris Woakes, who is 20th. Next is Brydon Carse, in 40th. 'Everyone will say that going out and facing someone with a quirky, awkward action can take you a couple of balls to get used to everything, with your timings and trigger,' said Stokes. 'It's not a traditional action that you see in a bowling manual.' As for the predictable choice at No 3 of Ollie Pope, fresh from a big hundred against Zimbabwe, over Jacob Bethell, Stokes swatted aside the suggestion it counted as a 'big selection'. He added: 'It would be remarkable to choose someone else if their last knock was 171, and that's pretty much all I need to say on that.' Above all, England will seek to finesse the style that has brought them 23 wins, 12 defeats and that Manchester draw since Stokes took over in 2022. India will be spear-headed in the attack by Jasprit Bumrah, who took Joe Root's wicket nine times when the two last met early last year Results against India and Australia have a higher currency than any others. And much though Stokes dislikes the set-up of the World Test Championship, he knows England will have to finish above at least one of them if they are to qualify for their first final, in 2027. 'It's about adapting better when we're up against the wall,' he said. 'When those moments come in the series, and they no doubt will, it's about identifying them a lot quicker, gritting our teeth and asking ourselves what is it we need to do to wrestle the momentum back. 'When we are on top of teams, we are very good, but where we maybe have let ourselves down over the last three years is when we have been behind the game.' That admission alone feels like progress. But it has been said that every Test match England play feels like a referendum on Bazball, and not until the votes are finally counted in January will we know where we stand.
