Tired England endure ugly case of the drops without superego Stokes in the field

The Guardian

a day ago

Fielding is an attitude, Shane Warne would often say. To the extent it could be tempting at times to conclude Shane Warne didn't have 37 different nuggets of well-thumbed cricketing wisdom, he just said the same nugget of well-thumbed cricketing wisdom 37 times. But Warne was of course right, as he was about all cricket things, as you might expect from any self-respecting genius-level leg-spin, poker-playing, bikini-magnate-squiring wunderkind.
What attitude was expressed by England's fielding on day three of this fine-margins final Test, as India batted their way to a lead of 373? What kind of vibe, aura, energy is being projected by a unit that dropped a total of six catches in India's second innings at the Oval, the most by any England team in almost 20 years?
Judging by the current range of go-tos, the obvious choices range between super-cool, jocular moralising and inexplicably pissy. Maybe England were just jaded by repetition. In the absence of Chris Woakes, Ollie Pope spent almost all of the first two sessions rotating his three tall, bang-it-in right-arm quicks, in what was surely one the most jarringly samey England bowling attacks of all time, death by right arm bang-it-in.
For long periods this induced a kind of dog days late-summer ennui. It was at least a chance to experience in real-time the exact meaning of of the English word 'overton', which describes a state of glazed and sated melancholy induced by watching excessive amounts of lumbering fast-medium bowled by a man in a visible black nylon under-vest. As in, by 2pm the entire Oval crowd was languishing in a state of deep Overton.
It has felt at times in this Test as though Jamie Overton has been picked purely for his air of menace at on-field flashpoints, like a doorman or a bailiff's assistant. But he found some rhythm before tea and seemed to swing the ball more than anyone else. Otherwise it was tempting to wonder if Pope might opt for plan B: Harry Brook bowling lobs, with added shame-chat from the infield. 'You're going to build an unassailable third innings lead against this?'
In the event the drip-drip of drops did provide a punctation to the afternoon as India progressed to 396 all out. The final list began the day before, and reads like this.
4.5 overs Yashasvi Jaiswal dropped by Brook off Gus Atkinson. Edged, second slip, travelling, burst the reverse cup. Drop rating: medium.
12.2 overs Jaiswal off Josh Tongue, dropped by Liam Dawson. Hard flat hook shot that travelled 40 yards straight on to Dawson's clavicle. Drop rating: lost it in the lights. Mild. With notes of village.
14.3 overs Sai Sudarson dropped by Zak Crawley off Overton. Third slip, wide, good height, parried. Drop rating: regulation bad.
25.3 overs Akash Deep, Crawley again, off Tongue, diving to his left, hit him on the wrist. Drop rating: oh ffs.
53.4 overs Karun Nair off Overton by Brook at second slip. Tough one, Crawley super-manning across, low out of the fingers. Drop rating: I might go home.
57.4 overs Jaiswal dropped off Overton by Ben Duckett at leg gully, fingertips, full stretch. Put there for the purpose: England's tiniest man. Drop rating: hold me, I'm cold. So … so cold.
The first of Saturday's misses set the tone for what followed, spur for a thrilling nightwatchman's half century. The combined run cost of all six was 127 runs. The last of them was England's 20th of the series.
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In between Jaiswal was given space to compile an assured century. This was defined by his super-strength square cut, which ranges from the beautifully sculpted lift, arching his body into an S and deflecting over slips and sometimes the rope; and the more violent sabre-slashing fours and twos. Deep kept him company, standing tall and clumping it like a tribute Crawley act. The last time he'd got past seven was December 2024 in Brisbane.
Shubman Gill glittered briefly. His dismissal, as in the first innings, seemed to be a function of simply being too good to score runs, dangerously in form, too perfect, upright, balletic for this world. Gill was lbw playing across a straight one and reviewed because it seemed impossible he hadn't actually hit it.
England stuck to the task gamely but were walloped on to the back foot by Washington Sundar's stunning 39 ball 50, Sundar taking the drop out of the equation by lifting some short stuff with the new ball into the crowd. Why did this happen? There is always talk of the 'bad seeing ground'. But this has not notably been the case here. You cannot do that, Ben Stokes! That was on a dark day at the Oval. Seemed OK.
We also know that nobody wants to drop a catch. Is this helpful? Nobody wants to nick behind either, or averge 29.9 as an opener. Cricket is basically made out of things nobody wants to do. Take those away and what you have left is: no cricket.
But England are less focused in the field without Stokes. That bristling ginger-bearded superego at cover does make a difference, real and intangible. There were other moments of sloppiness. Jamie Smith has had to perform a rhythmic gymnastics routine behind the stumps. Overton bowling outside off stump with five fielders on the leg side. Is the problem here a drop?
Plus England look understandably tired. It is an overlooked aspect of the modern schedule that, while five Test series have always happened, players often do this now with zero cricket either side, a sudden brain-mangling burst plonked between periods of rest. The schedule is year-round. Levels of focus, intensity and load come and go. Players are rested, then hammered. Nobody really knows what the effects of this are on body, sinews and mental reserves.
England took the final Indian wicket here in non-drop double fielder mode, Pope and Crawley circling together under Sundar's skied hoick, reaching up and taking it, somehow, in their combined 20 fingers. There will be a result now with two days left and England needing 324 runs to win with nine wickets remaining. By the end of Saturday those extra 127 runs felt like a product of gravity, fatigue and wear-and-tear. Also, it has to be said, collateral to a great but deeply gruelling series.