England vs India discussed: Gill's glorious batting, series predictions – and can Archer bounce back?

New York Times

a day ago

It has been an enthralling start to England's much-anticipated five-match series with India, and the 1-1 scoreline sets up the third Test at Lord's perfectly.
Jofra Archer is set to make his long-awaited return for England, so will his pace finally trouble Shubman Gill, who has been sublime in his first two Tests as captain?
Advertisement
And there's the prospect of Jasprit Bumrah returning, too, after Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj bowled beautifully in Birmingham.
The series is beautifully poised, so it's time to ask The Athletic's writers for their thoughts…
Paul Newman: Absolutely fantastic. Two brilliant, absorbing examples of five-day Test cricket at its best. There's nothing like it. For England to make 371 on the last day at Headingley with 14 overs to spare was amazing. This England side can make what seemed impossible a few years ago commonplace. Then, just when I thought India were in disarray, they produce an outstanding performance at Edgbaston to completely outplay England. And without Bumrah. It's the narrative of a great five-Test series. Full of ebbs and flows. That's what we're going to get now.
Anantaajith Raghuraman: Neither Test has seen a particularly equal contest between bat and ball, apart from bursts with the new ball. India's decision to improve their lower-order batting after Headingley paid dividends, but the key difference is in both teams' top orders. India's top five have scored seven centuries between them in the first two Tests, England's has scored three.
India's fielding improved, but it was their tactics — specifically, tempting England with wider balls in the first innings before attacking the stumps in the second — that proved definitive, a promising sign for Gill.
Dominic Fifield: That last-day chase by England at Headingley and the wonderful partnership between Jamie Smith and Harry Brook at Edgbaston mask the reality that India have been the better side in both games (and, had they held their catches, might have been 2-0 up). In that context, it is remarkable to contemplate that the tourists looked like a team in crisis going into the second Test.
I suppose we should be grateful that we've had two matches that have gone to five days, but the benign nature of the pitches — those footmarks in Birmingham aside — has provoked frustration. Particularly early on in each game. Oh, for a bit of pace to enliven the first three days' play. That all said, it's an intriguing match-up between the teams and the cricket has been brimming with twists and subplots.
Craig Chisnall: India have been the better side for nine of the 10 days. Look back to Headingley and it was only their final-day bowling performance that let them down.
England have a lot to ponder as they head to Lord's — and the bowling attack is under the pump, which worries me before the Ashes. India left out their best bowler in Bumrah at Edgbaston and still won.
Advertisement
Richard Sutcliffe: Hugely entertaining and a great advert for the long-form of the game. India have been the better team across both Tests but England delivered when it mattered in key sessions at Headingley. I can see this ebb and flow being maintained across the rest of a series that is shaping up to be a classic.
Newman: The batting of Gill. He came into the series averaging 35 and as a novice leader needing to replace Rohit Sharma as captain and a legend in Virat Kohli at No 4. Look at him now! He could break one of the unbreakable records in Test cricket and score more runs in a five-Test series than Don Bradman's 974.
Another highlight is that morning session at Edgbaston, when England lost two wickets in consecutive balls to be five down, and Jamie Smith came in and hit a century before lunch.
What a talent he looks. In all, there were 172 runs in that session when England were in trouble. Brilliant — and one of the reasons we have to take the rough with the smooth with this England side.
Raghuraman: Some of the pace-bowling spells, despite the pitches offering close to nothing. Akash Deep on day five at Birmingham and Siraj late on day two were fantastic, as was Bumrah in the first innings of the first Test. Carse has had a few impressive bursts, too.
Fifield: The exhibition of cover driving. England have produced fine examples, most notably from Smith, who arguably looks the most technically accomplished of their batters. But the real masterpieces have been Indian. The drives summoned by Gill and KL Rahul have been things of beauty, caressing the ball to the fence with such effortless ease. Sublime. Or, as Mark Butcher put it on Sky Sports, 'It's just naughty.'
Chisnall: Both matches going five days — proper ebb-and-flow Test cricket. Four-day Tests, no thanks.
Sutcliffe: The Western Terrace at Headingley may not be for everyone. Not for nothing has this seething mass of boozy humanity been renamed twice by Yorkshire to try and distance this side of the old ground from its notorious heyday. But there was something life-affirming about joining the Bharat Army, India's supporters' club and effectively their answer to the Barmy Army, who follow England around the world, in one of cricket's more famous enclosures. The noise, the colour, the fervent support for their team made for a memorable afternoon, as did the couple of pints we shared.
Newman: England's bowling has long been a concern and Edgbaston showed why. Everything England have done since losing 4-1 in India last year is to try to produce an attack that could win in Australia, hence the jettisoning of James Anderson, the quest for faster bowlers, and the Shoaib Bashir project.
Advertisement
But to do that, they need everyone fit and they will not win this series, let alone the Ashes, with the attack that played at Edgbaston. As it stands, England desperately need a fit and firing Archer and Mark Wood, but history tells you their fitness should be treated as a bonus rather than a given. It's a big worry.
Raghuraman: No 3 still seems a worry for India. While the rest of the top five have scored runs in at least one innings, Karun Nair and Sai Sudharsan scored just 87 runs across four innings.
Ravindra Jadeja made two half-centuries in the second Test and bowled well on day five, but he has not exhibited the kind of control over line, length and pace that could give this attacking England setup some headaches.
Fifield: Apologies for echoing the above, but England's bowling attack. We knew life after Stuart Broad and Anderson was going to be a challenge. That has been compounded by the injury issues suffered by Archer, Wood, Olly Stone, Gus Atkinson et al. But even so, the lack of bite has been troubling with this series in mind, let alone the Ashes in the winter.
Chris Woakes has looked horribly ineffective and, in truth, knackered. Carse has promise, as does Josh Tongue, but their inexperience brings inconsistency. And Ben Stokes, quite rightly, appears wary of overbowling himself. As for poor Shoaib Bashir… a victim of England's eagerness to chase in the last innings rather than exploit what might be a worn pitch.
There is so much to admire about the team's approach under Stokes and Brendon McCullum. It is just a shame we may never see Bazball in action with as attacking a bowling unit as a batting line-up.
Chisnall: England's bowling attack. Yes, they've asked for flat pitches, but Woakes, apart from his first spell at Edgbaston, looks like a 36-year-old without much cricket and Tongue has been expensive. I feel for Bashir — he's being asked to bowl at the best players of spin in the world on these pitches. Is he really ready for it? Zak Crawley remains a worry — Siraj was all over him in Birmingham.
Sutcliffe: England's bowling attack has been second-best. This was understandable at Headingley when Bumrah was roaring in from the Kirkstall Lane End. But, with the world's No 1 bowler absent at Edgbaston, India yet again got far more out of a docile pitch. An SOS to Archer seems the only option to pep up a misfiring attack, but he's only recently played his first red-ball game for Sussex in four years.
Advertisement
With one eye also on this winter's Ashes series, England being so reliant on not only Archer but also Wood, who is targeting a return for the final Test, has to be a huge concern.
Newman: It was always the plan to freshen up the bowling after two Tests, particularly with Lord's coming three days after Edgbaston, and the England bowlers have had a lot of work to do. England are convinced Archer is ready to return, so he has to play, but it's a gamble. The same with Atkinson after six weeks out. I'd stick with Woakes as long as he's not in the red zone because he is such a Lord's specialist. The alternatives in Sam Cook and Jamie Overton are not convincing.
England made a big mistake in allowing Jacob Bethell to stay at the Indian Premier League rather than play against Zimbabwe in the first Test of the summer. That allowed Crawley and Ollie Pope to fill their boots and their places appear more set in stone than ever. India would be a stronger side for picking Kuldeep Yadav, but they just don't seem to want to.
England: Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Root, Brook, Smith, Stokes, Woakes, Atkinson, Archer, Bashir.
India: Rahul, Jaiswal, Nair, Gill, Pant, Reddy, Jadeja, Deep, Bumrah, Siraj, Yadav.
Raghuraman: Archer seems an obvious selection ahead of Tongue. I can't see England picking Atkinson or Overton over Carse given he has been one of their only real threats across the two Tests unless there are fitness concerns. If Carse is rested, Bethell should play, with England's pace department boosted either way by Stokes bowling 15 more. Woakes' Lord's record — 32 wickets and 340 runs in seven Tests — should see him get another crack.
For India, swapping Bumrah for Krishna is the obvious change. With the surface at Lord's usually offering some turn and grip on the final two days, I expect to see Jadeja and Washington Sundar both picked, while Nitish Reddy will likely be given another chance.
England: Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes, Smith, Bethell, Woakes, Archer, Bashir.
India: Jaiswal, Rahul, Nair, Gill, Pant, Reddy, Jadeja, Sundar, Deep, Bumrah, Siraj.
Advertisement
Fifield: Judging by the panicked nature of his three innings since that Headingley century, Pope is likely to lose his place at No 3 to Bethell at some point. Just not yet. And this setup will not drop Crawley. Yet crowbarring Bethell in at the expense of Bashir just seems far too defensive a move for Stokes' England. And the notion that the Barbados-born youngster or the captain might have to bat at No 8 just feels nonsensical.
So Bethell may just have to wait for his chance, ruing that decision to play in the IPL a bit longer. The seam department needs a complete overhaul, even if that means picking players with fragile bodies at Lord's.
It all looks a lot rosier for India. Bumrah for Krishna is an obvious change. It would be brilliant to see Kuldeep involved, perhaps instead of Reddy, but Old Trafford may be his opportunity.
England: Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes, Smith, Atkinson, Overton, Archer, Bashir.
India: Jaiswal, Rahul, Nair, Gill, Pant, Reddy, Jadeja, Sundar, Deep, Bumrah, Siraj.
Chisnall: If Archer is ready, which England clearly believe he is, he has to play. He'll bring pace and threat — I just hope his body holds up — and will come in for Tongue.
I'm picking Woakes because of his Lord's record, but I'm not too sure how much more he plays in the series — and at all.
Carse probably makes way, too, given fitness concerns, so Jamie Overton comes in. Atkinson surely needs some overs for Surrey before returning, given Archer needs easing back in. I'd also like to see Bethell replace Bashir, despite McCullum saying it won't happen. Hampshire all-rounder Liam Dawson, a fine left-arm spinner, should really be in the mix but has been ignored. Again.
For India — I can't wait to see Bumrah come back in. Alongside Siraj and Deep, that looks a strong unit. I wonder if Sai Sudharsan comes back in for Nitish Kumar Reddy, too.
England: Crawley, Duckett, Pope, Root, Brook, Stokes, Smith, Bethell, Woakes, Overton, Archer.
India: Rahul, Jaiswal, Nair, Gill, Pant, Sudharsan, Jadeja, Sundar, Deep, Bumrah, Siraj.
Sutcliffe: Despite misgivings about that lack of playing time, Archer has to come in. Atkinson, too, if he's fit after a hamstring problem. Taking Shoaib Bashir out of the firing line seems sensible, too. Back when selectors paid heed to the county game, Jack Leach might have been in line for a recall after taking six wickets against then-leaders Nottinghamshire in a high-scoring encounter played on the sort of track that, together with the Kookaburra ball, is killing the Championship. But those days seem to be over, so expect more of the same.
Advertisement
As for India, Bumrah returns feeling refreshed for what is likely to be a pivotal Test.
England: Duckett, Crawley, Pope, Root, Brook, Smith, Stokes, Woakes, Atkinson, Archer, Bashir.
India: Jaiswal, Rahul, Nair, Gill, Pant, Reddy, Jadeja, Sundar, Deep, Bumrah, Siraj.
Newman: I said 4-1 to England before the series, then got carried away with it all after Headingley. I don't like changing my mind after one bad performance, so I will stick with that. But I'd be equally happy if we see a classic, close series won by either side.
Raghuraman: A 2-2 draw, with at least two more closely fought games.
Fifield: 2-2, with one Test washed out just as it was coming to the boil.
Chisnall: 3-2 to England, but that could easily be the other way round.
Sutcliffe: Momentum feels to be with India now. 3-2 to the tourists.
Click here to follow cricket on The Athletic and see more stories like this.