Day 37: England look in control

When I realised I slept through the first session this morning, there was possible that I would have woken to a collapse that England has been famous for over the years. My best thoughts were that two or three wickets would inevitably have fallen. It was a pleasant feeling to see that Joe Root and Ben Stokes had batted out the first two hours of the day.

Stokes hasn’t played any cricket in months and see him slot back into the line-up with ease was reassuring. The way that he scored his 82 was as if he had never been away. Root who impressive again took a back seat to Stokes and the two played England into a strong position at Lunch.

England built partnerships around Root, Ollie Pope replaced Stokes and dug in for 34 from 89 balls.

What will be interesting to see is how long England bat on for on the third day. The conventional wisdom would have said that England has a quick blast at India’s openers late in the day and start day three with a relatively new ball.

That is not how England want to do things. They want to get as many first innings runs a possible, Dom Bess unbeaten on 28. With England on 555 for eight, they will be targeting a lead of 600.

There was evidence that the pitch was starting to offer some assistance to the bowlers and with the majority of the wickets falling either bowled or lbw that will encourage England’s bowlers.

Channel Four broadcasting the Test series has raised questions of the best way to make sure the sport reaches the biggest audience and encourages new people to the game.

I don’t think it is an easy fix. When I was growing up, I saw cricket when I visited my great-grandma. It was always on her television. Most of my generation that fell in the game was through someone else in the family with an interest. Or through a friend.

I went to a state school that was at the time, failing. It was turned around by a headteacher with a passion for cricket, but I left before I had time to get to know him. I was the odd one out for liking cricket. I went to county games on my own. There was no desire for the others to play in the park, although I did get friends to play a couple of times it wasn’t the norm.

There are many ways to promote and get people interested in the game and not just the same old faces. We need to ask the younger generations how we can interest them in the game that we love.

FTA is only one portal and not the silver bullet. There are many discussions to be had, and I’m sure many will disagree.