That'll be a Summer's Day: July 2014

Sunday, 20th July 2013 - Second Test, Fourth Day

India 295 and 342
England 319 and 105-4

Entrance: £80
Programme: £5

Match Report

If I was a member of the Barmy Army perhaps my feelings towards the demise of the England Cricket Team would run a bit deeper but cricket is a genteel game and as I left Lords on Sunday evening my thoughts were that I had seen a really good day’s cricket, not that England were deep in the mire and in danger of losing a Lords test match to India for the first time since 1986.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve watched England holding my breath as they batted in the gloom at Karachi or completed Ashes wins, but it doesn’t cut as deep especially when a game isn’t actually finished whatever the certainty of the result.

What is there to dislike about a day at the Test Match? Very little, but I would take issue that an hour and a half to get a burger at lunchtime is rather excessive and annoying that probably the most important, and most entertaining, period of the game was watched on the big screen as the queue slowly made its way to the counter.

On this occasion, I took the wife along and I was fearful that she would become bored if the game got bogged down as its situation dictated. But she enjoyed the relaxed nature of the people around her and found it a welcome change from moronic Wembley.

Into the afternoon and the wine that had been consumed around us, and by us, began to take hold and people became more talkative to the respective neighbours. As the game was obviously slipping away from England, the man alongside me became more and more agitated by the performance and England’s reluctance, in his eyes, to show any intention to actually win the game.

As Alastair Cook scratched his way to a painful, rather than painstaking, 22 before edging one behind to MS Dhoni, the guy’s moaning became repetitive. If I had to sit next to him a Gillingham every other week, when he would have plenty to moan about, I would have to change my seat after a few games.

India started the day 145 runs ahead with four wickets down and general opinion was that England would not want to be chasing much more than 260. England bowled poorly in the morning session with only Liam Plunkett offering a decent length and threat. One of my worries that the wife was going to be bored was that India needing to consolidate their position would be shouldering arms to a procession of short of a length balls and this is what precisely happened in the opening hour.

Vijay stood firm during this opening session before falling for 95 with the score on 235, a lead of 211. The period after lunch, whilst queuing for the burger saw Jadeja and Kumar effectively take the game away from England with some big hitting. By the time we returned to our seats, just in time to see Jadeja loft Stokes once too often, the score had progressed to 334 and now England were staring down the barrel.

Seeking a highly unlikely 319 to win, England looked to see out the evening session, much to my neighbour’s disgust. Sam Robson went on 12 but Cook along with Gary Balance appeared to be steering England towards the safety of the Pavilion and a crack at the total on the fifth day before the wheels spectacularly fell off. Ballance was out for 27 with the score at 70 and Ian Bell came and went for a single before Cook’s 92 ball innings was brought to a close with the score at 72. Three wickets had fallen for two runs and despite Joe Root and Moeen Ali seeing out the day to 105-4, defeat seems inevitable.

Ten wickets, 250 runs constituted a good day’s cricket to me, perhaps my neighbour didn’t agree, but thankfully the wife did.