EletiofeEngland v West Indies: first Test, day one, toss...

England v West Indies: first Test, day one, toss delayed – live!

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Joe Root is not the only member of the #cricketfamily to have a new addition. OBO stalwart Kim Thonger has one too, whatsmore he wants your help with the name. Over to you Kim.

Might you and OBO readers help us? We collect our new dachshund puppy on Saturday. He will join well established opener Dakkers in our canine team. I am keen to name him Furlough (fur, low, geddit) but SWMBO is wavering. Is the consensus that the name Furlough is an unplayable fast yorker on leg stump? Or is it an attractive slow medium long hop outside leg stump? And if not Furlough, what other names can readers suggest? Shortlist currently also includes Lofty, Underdog and Longfellow. Actually I quite like shortlist as a name too.”

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OBO dog in need of name Photograph: RMV/REX/Shutterstock

A cracking performance from the broadcast media this morning. Wonderful segments on Black Lives Matter on Sky and then on TMS with Isa Guha, Alison Mitchell and Carlos Brathwaite. Much to think about.

And the covers begin to be unrolled….

Quick update: The umpires are chatting next to the covers, the floodlights are on, it is not raining, the sky is murky.

An email arrives from Will Bowen: “Afternoon Tanya – a quick search of the archives has revealed that I last contributed to OBO some 9 years ago, shortly before my wife’s “delivery” of twins, which explains the long hiatus. Young Thomas has recently been undergoing cricketing indoctrination at Horsley & Send CC in Surrey – it would be great to get what I believe is still called a “shout-out” to the club, and show the young whippersnapper that his old man has still got it when it comes to inane cricketing banter.”

I remember Send CC. My brothers used to play there years ago, as did the Hollioakes, though I think it was a different ground then?

Happy news for the captain. Congratulations Joe and Carrie Root!

England Cricket
(@englandcricket)

Huge congratulations for our Test captain @root66 and his wife, Carrie, on the birth of their second child! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/om3QgNVIu8

July 8, 2020

It is officially LUNCH here at the Ageas Bowl, with the umpires due to come and inspect again at 1.10pm. I’m just going to grab a sandwich, see you back here shortly, with your cup of disappointment and punnet of resignation.

Updated

Here you go Robbie! Thanks Andy.

Andy Hockley
(@adhockley)

@tjaldred The way to make the “worldwide” TMS work is to go to this link https://t.co/vqPfUF5XrR and then click only on the oddly named “Natural Sounds” link in the bottom right. Everything else is geoblocked

July 8, 2020

I wonder if Farrow and Ball could flog the current colour of the Hampshire Sky? Broken Hope? Slate Sorrow?

Utkarsh Tripathi
(@cric_utkarsh_)

UPDATE :- Scratching my previous update….. Rain is back and so the covers here in Ageas Bowl, Southampton….

We need to wait more….😓#ENGvWI pic.twitter.com/Yg787VfO35

July 8, 2020

Is there anyone out there from Nova Scotia? Robbie Bays is still having communication problems. “I followed the Beeb link you posted and it comes up with Not in your location, clearly I must be on a different planet . Hello Earth Can You Hear ME! …… Robbie in The Independent Republic of Bear River Nova Scotia”

Ah! Rob Key has popped up on Sky – great to see him looking ship-shape so soon after his stroke. No news yet on when we can expect play to start but Key, Nick Knight and Ian Ward are standing chatting on a balcony so it is not raining NOW at least.

James Walsh ponders “Afternoon Tanya! In the most recent season of Fortnite, they’ve flooded the entire map, with sharks and roaming zombies to content with. Hopefully this isn’t a commentary on how the cricket is going to go over the next few days, though looking at the weather…”

I think, though I am absolutely in no way any sort of expert here, that there are also some new weapons available? Perhaps a commentary on the Archer and Wood opening partnership?

Ah, while I was typing I missed this from Guy Hornsby on that Michael Holding segment (below.)

“I know we should chunter on about rain, squad rotation and workloads, but as the film from Sky showed, there’s more at play here. So I’d like permission to profess my enduring love and admiration for Michael Holding. Following up that film was this arresting monologue (https://twitter.com/SkyCricket/status/1280809870766284800) by the great man. He really is a immense human being. It’s sad to see not a lot has changed, but he’s such a compelling listen, just as imposing in speech as when he was thundering into the crease. I presume the ‘gesture’ today that teams will make will be to take a knee. I know it’s just a gesture that needs backing up by the ECB with deeds, but if you’d told me 3 months ago this is what we’d be seeing, I’d have scoffed. Progress comes in small steps.”

Well said.

As Rob mentioned, such a powerful piece by Sky on racism and Black Lives Matter earlier this morning. This was Michael Holding afterwards, also worth every moment of your time.

Jonathan Liew
(@jonathanliew)

We can pontificate and spew on Twitter all we want, but this is the real talk: one of the main gatekeepers to live sport in this country saying, “if you want to watch the cricket, you need to watch this first”. Ignore the minority of weirdos and dickheads. Minds will be changed. https://t.co/mDIy0eZalg

July 8, 2020

An email from Jonathan Goodacre: There has been much comment on the artificial crowd noise today.

But will they be reproducing the drip drip sound of rain on umbrellas and of course, a little later in the day, the beautiful beer stimulated singing and dancing that is what Test Matches are all about?

Can’t wait to find out.

I’m sure the Radio 4 sounds unit could replicate it easily enough with a tap, some saucepans and a couple of baritones.

Thanks Rob, and hello! I greet you with the news that the umpires are still mooching about the damp outfield with unfurled umbrellas, supposedly watching another suspicious cloud nudge towards the ground. Will keep you posted. Meanwhile, this is the first time I’ve owned the TV since lockdown and there will be no fortnite in this house till 4.10, so….

A groundsman drags a rope around the field.

A groundsman drags a rope around the field. Photograph: Stu Forster/Getty Images for ECB

Updated

“Actually, wouldn’t it be great if Stokes turned out to be one of those captains who overbowls himself?” writes Pete Salmon. “Generally found in club cricket, especially the Thirds. Fifteen or sixteen overs straight, the odd hint of a wicket, and 16-2-58-0 at the end of it. Proper cricket.”

“Hey Rob,” says Rob Lewis. “Just to thank your correspondent Damian Burns for the lovely piece on St Helena cricket. My ancestor, Saul Solomon, was a leading light on St Helena in the nineteenth century. He is reputed to have tried to help Napoleon, who was a prisoner of the British on the island, to escape. He didn’t manage to get away though, and some people believe he was poisoned as he died quite young. I never knew they played cricket there, though.”

“On Stokes, comparisons to Flintoff and Botham miss the mark by a fair way,” says Adam Giles. “Both legends of the sport but always relied on natural talent without so much of both the cricket IQ, and the ‘get your hands dirty and grind it out if needs be’ attitude that I believe Stokes has exhibited consistently since his return to the England set-up. I’ll be interested to see how he performs but I’d certainly expect very few defensive field settings in the coming days. Should be a good, intense match.”

That’s an interesting point. I agree that he’s a smarter cricketer, though the biggest concern is what the pressure and workload – if he bowls as much as he does when in the ranks – would do to his game. The biggest problem with Flintoff and especially Botham was not their captaincy; it was their batting and bowling. Either way, as a one-off it is fine, and rather exciting.

“Rob, Rob, Rob…” says Richard Holmes. “If England get Archer to bowl 22 overs a day for a couple more years they’ll have another 84 mph dobber on their hands for the remainder of his career.”

I didn’t say they should, I said that’s what I think will happen with the chosen XI. That’s why I would have picked Broad ahead of Archer or Wood. There is a slight complication with Archer’s workload, though. Whereas Wood is perfect to use in very short spells (4×4, say), Archer can take a while to rev up.

When he flattened Steve Smith at Lord’s last year, he was in his seventh or eighth over of a spell. Maybe the way to use Archer is to give him three spells: six with the new ball, then eight (his treat, when he get really get into a battle with a batsman) and four later in the day.

Some of the players are heading back to the hotel. This isn’t quite as bad as it sounds, given the hotel is on site, but it does suggest the toss isn’t imminent.

“Anyone who can’t access 5Live should have a butcher’s at Guerilla Cricket,” says Darren Winter. “It’s highly irreverent but done with real knowledge and passion, and they’re available on all the usual social channels.”

“This is more like it,” says Mark Hooper. “Just what the nation needs right now – that traditional frisson of excitement, checking every 20 minutes to see if the covers have come off yet, wondering why they take lunch as soon as the sun comes out…”

“Stokes is likely, given the precedents of England all-rounder captains, to under-bowl himself,” says John Starbuck. “Which means that the attack is a bit lighter, so why is SCJ Broad discarded? Buttler is much better than most as a batsman which could make up the deficit in the batting order.”

I’d imagine the division of labour on average day would be something like: Anderson 18, Archer 22, Wood 15, Stokes 15, Bess 20. I agree with you, though, I would have had Broad (or Woakes) in the hard-yakka role.

“Welcome back!” says Pete Salmon. “Obviously a lot of OBOers have lost a bit of match fitness during the break. We are ten minutes in and still no debate about Stokes as captain. I’ll start off. This is madness! Botham! Shoulders/weight! Natural game! Just let him concentrate on batting! Just let him concentrate on bowling!

“Alternatively New dawn! Root’s no good! Natural game! Shane Warne!”

It’s fine in the short term. He’s intelligent and inspirational, which are two of the most important qualities in a captain. I agree it needs to be handled extremely carefully because of the Botham/Flintoff precedents. But I suspect that, if and probably when he does succeed Joe Root as permanent captain, he will be little more than an occasional bowler.

Updated

The covers are still on, and there’s no news on the toss. I doubt there will be any play before midday, maybe lunch.

“The BBC appears to be hiding the commentary for those of us ‘outside the jurisdiction’, as we say in Ireland,” says Alan Tuffery. “The Radio Five Live Sports Extra site is ‘geoblocked ‘and there appears to be nothing available on YouTube. Any OBOers able to help?”

“Morning Rob, lovely to have the OBO back,” says Phil Sawyer. “Looking forward to your coverage of the rain today. So this is what working from home was invented for. If my manager is reading, I’m definitely not this Phil Sawyer.”

There’s a very powerful feature on racism in cricket being shown on Sky right now, with Mikey Holding and a tearful Ebony Rainford-Brent talking about their experiences. Some stories we know (“grovel”), some we don’t (“do you wash my skin? Everyone in your area gets stabbed”). I’ll post a link if/hopefully when it appears on the Sky website.

Updated

“It’s great to have the OBO back and some cricket — eventually,” says Alan Tuffery. “Perfect start after two months of no cricket and four of lockdown — drizzle. Is there a better game for fostering the stoic virtues!”

Depression is quite good for that as well tbf.

“Hi Rob,” says Eva Maaten. “Lovely to see you back, lovely to have cricket restarting, even if it is under strange circumstances. We have just relocated from South Africa on a repatriation flight after several months delay, on our way to Berlin via the Netherlands. Strange times – wonderful to at least have the OBO back in a semblance of normality.”

Yep, life hasn’t been the same without the Met Office website.

Updated

On Sky Sports, Nasser Hussain and Mikey Holding are reinforcing the point that the West Indies deserve so much credit, and gratitude, for coming on this tour at a time when England is a world leader in Covid mismanagement. Amen to that.

It’s drizzling, so the covers are back on. The forecast is a little better for later, both today and the rest of the Test.

Cricket’s back! The toss has been delayed, presumably because of a damp outfield.

“Greetings, Rob”, shouts out OBO stalwart Wayne Trotman from Izmir, (west coast Turkey for those who failed Geography GCSE ‘O’ level back in the day). “And greetings to all around the world tuning in for some distraction from news about you-know-what. Rob, today, is it a case of win the toss and bat, or win the toss, think about it for five seconds and bat? As usual, we are hanging on your every word, lad.”

Legal disclaimer: the Guardian is not legally responsible for the consequences of readers hanging on any of Rob Smyth’s words, never mind all of them.

As for the toss, I suspect whoever wins it will bat but I don’t think it’s a straightforward decision. It’s overcast and we’re not sure what the pitch will be like, so there will be a tempation to let the opposition have first use. As a philosopher once said, you don’t want to go into the unknown not knowing.

Updated

The CricViz Analyst
(@cricvizanalyst)

If, as expected, England’s top four is Burns, Sibley, Crawley and Denly, then it’ll be the least experienced England top order (in terms of caps) since the fifth Test of the 1989 Ashes.

The top four for that Test was Curtis (4), Moxon (9), Atherton (0) and Smith (6).#ENGvWI

July 8, 2020

If England have the same 50 per cent success rate as they did with those 1989 selections – Burns and Crawley the favourites in this case – we’ll all be very happy.

This is great

“Morning Rob,” says Damian Burns. “Really excited for Test cricket to start up again. Here on St Helena we’ve been Covid-free thanks to South Africa shutting off our air link to the rest of the world. But cricket continued and our season recently came to a close. Would be fab if you could share this video we put together which captures the spirit of cricket on the island – it’s sure to get the OBOers warmed up for today’s play!”

Updated

And here’s a handy guide to England’s opponents. You may not have heard of Chemar Holder yet, but don’t worry, you will.

Some damn fine pre-match reading

This is the #raisethebat Test series, and the ECB’s Ben Walker has emailed a nice story about the England team’s tribute to key workers.


Key worker heroes from across the cricket family were today honoured by having their names displayed on the training shirts of the England men’s Test team ahead of the start of the first #raisethebat Test against the West Indies.

The three-Test series, taking place behind closed doors, is honouring and celebrating the heroes who have been going above and beyond to help others during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, the England players and coaches took to the pitch at The Ageas Bowl, Southampton, wearing the names of key workers on their training shirts before the start of the match. The people named on the shirts were all nominated by their local cricket clubs and include teachers, doctors, nurses, carers and other vital professions.

Ben Stokes, who is captaining England in the first Test while Joe Root is away for the birth of his second child, took to the pitch wearing the name of Durham-local Dr Vikas Kumar, a specialist in anaesthetics and critical care at Darlington Memorial Hospital.

Through the pandemic Dr Kumar, a keen cricketer who plays at Cowgate Cricket Club in Newcastle and the Gilli Boys Amateur Club in Darlington, has been working on the frontline while also being there for his family at home.

Ben Stokes said: “We’re only able to play this Test match because of the amazing job that key workers up and down the country have done to help us through this pandemic. Wearing their names is a real honour for us, and is a small sign of our appreciation for the incredible work they have done. They have truly gone in to bat for us all, and it makes me proud of how the whole cricket family has responded to help us get through these unprecedented times.”

Dr Vikas Kumar, whose name featured on Ben Stokes’s shirt, said: “The past four months have been very difficult, but it was a wonderful surprise to find out that Ben Stokes of all people is wearing my name on his training shirt. So many of my colleagues at work and at the cricket club have been working so hard and made big sacrifices, so this is for them as well.”

England Cricket
(@englandcricket)

Today we #raisethebat to honour the heroes within our cricket family who have supported those in need during the past few months.

Find out more ⬇️

July 8, 2020

Updated

Stuart Broad has been dropped for a home Test for the first time in 12 years*. I pity the fool who had to impart this to him.

* He missed a Test against West Indies in 2012 but was rested on that occasion.

It’s a dank day at the Ageas Bowl, but it’s dry at the moment and the covers were taken off around half an hour ago. There will probably be some interruptions in the first half of the day.

Preamble

Cricket, lovely cricket. After four months of vodcasts, watchalongs and virtual Tests, the real thing is back. It’s been a lot of fun reliving the great moments of modern English cricket with those involved, not to mention nosing round houses, trying to deduce whether anyone has rearranged their bookshelves for show (hang on, is that Hegel next to the Da Vinci Code?). But nothing compares to the blank canvas of live sport.

It’ll be cricket with a difference – no spectators, no saliva, no skin folds on Dom Sibley – but it’s still cricket, Test cricket at that, and it should be great. This is the plan. England will play three back-to-back Tests against West Indies, the first at the Ageas Bowl and the last two at Old Trafford. If all is biosecure and dandy, they will then play a three-Test series against Pakistan in August.

It will feel a bit strange at first – and please don’t ask me what it all means for the ICC Test Championship, please don’t do that to me on such a joyous day – but competitive instincts should soon take over. England would very much like to regain the Wisden Trophy, which they lost so feebly in the Caribbean 18 months ago, and continue the development of a young side who charmed us all while winning 3-1 in South Africa earlier in the year.

West Indies have an even bigger incentive, a first series win in England since 1988. Their record in England in the 21st century puts the dire in diabolical: P21 W2 D3 L16 – and one of those wins was the first Test in 2000. But this is the best attack they’ve brought to our green, unpleasant land since that series, and that makes them dangerous opponents.

The quality of pace bowling on both sides should make for high-octane, lowish-scoring entertainment. But frankly, I’d be happy with an übore draw. Cricket, lovely cricket, is back!

Updated

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