Cook has got this declaration spot on. If Buttler is scoring runs for fun you let him go for his century, it just means you can set crazy attacking fields with the surplus runs he's acquired. The main thing is our bowlers haven't had to waste energy batting and now they get two bites with the new ball tonight and tomorrow morning.
Where's these crazy attacking fields please?
New ball, no leg gully, no gully, no forward short leg…are we defending sub 350 here with this field
This was the time for Cook to be ultra aggressive with the field. Even if India managed, say, 70 off their 14 overs they wouldn't have been able to use that momentum because the day will have ended. Two wickets down will have been very disheartening, but they can probably live with one and that being Dhawan rather than Vijay. Yep, I don't understand the lack of a gully, a lack of aggression here I fancy.
This has been a relief so far.
Cook and Bell showed the importance of taking advantage of your chances. Cook should have been caught early, Bell was out on nought. They both go on to make significant scores with Bell in particular being a joy to watch (as usual against average attacks.) Buttler as well should have been out without scoring
Though he's yet to be exposed to a great deal of pace or mystery spin, Ballance has made an outstanding start to his test career and looks every inch a Test Match number 3 at the moment. However, the tough bit starts now - both Bopara and Morgan made good starts to their test careers to then get found out between tests 10 and 20. However, he's looking like he could be an upgrade on Trott.
Mooen against the short ball looks worrying, that is a serious deficiency and I'm staggered that someone can get picked with a flaw that obvious. Hopefully he can work it out with the coaches because he won't score many runs in Test Cricket taking his eyes off the short one.
I've still got problems with the last hour or so. I thoughtbn the declaration was right, had Buttler gone to 100, it was going to be quick so we wouldn't have taken much time out of the game. However, England bowled poorly, Anderson came closest to getting it right and was rewarded. The other three appeared to lack plans or if they did have plans didn't stick to them. I'm not sure what's to blame here, we've bowled well beneath outrselves for a while now.
We had enough runs on the board that Cook really didn't need to check if it swung, we should have had 4 slips, a gully and a short cover from the start. It will be interesting to see what field he starts with today.
I can see Anderson picking up a few this morning and leaving India in serious trouble if he just gets his length right. Hopefully he'll get the support.
This is where the lack of a test quality spinner will cost us.
For me this match now is all about Jimmy Anderson. His number of wickets puts him up there with the all-time greats but in terms of wreaking havoc you don't expect it like with him you did with Botham, Willis, a Wasim Akram, a Malcolm Marshall or a Curtley Ambrose.
Broad seems to be below par and jaded, while Jordan and Woakes are both raw and not the finished article - ditto Plunkett. If we're going to win this match Jimmy will probably need to lead the way with a 5 or 6 wicket haul, otherwise it could be a bore draw.
For me this match now is all about Jimmy Anderson. His number of wickets puts him up there with the all-time greats but in terms of wreaking havoc you don't expect it like with him you did with Botham, Willis, a Wasim Akram, a Malcolm Marshall or a Curtley Ambrose.
Broad seems to be below par and jaded, while Jordan and Woakes are both raw and not the finished article - ditto Plunkett. If we're going to win this match Jimmy will probably need to lead the way with a 5 or 6 wicket haul, otherwise it could be a bore draw.
It's so rare for a bowler to win a test match on his own. Glenn McGrath was obviously a quality bowler in that fantastic Australian side, but that's primarily because it was usually kept tight at the other end. It's no good relying on Anderson if Plunkett and Jordan serve up a buffet at the other end.