The sun may be shining but the outfield is still a little wet.
That means we’ll have the toss at 12:45 with play underway at 13:15.
What did you make of Harry Brook’s seemingly blasé comments after their heavy defeat on Tuesday?
The skipper said: “Not ideal. Not a great start to the series – one of those bad days and we have to move on as soon as possible.”
Look, I get that players shouldn’t dwell on disappointing results. And that looking forward is healthy. But wouldn’t a little apology to the paying public have been welcome? Couldn’t he have acknowledge that an international game is expensive and time consuming, that many people would have taken a day off work, that some kids might have been watching England live for the first time?
I’m not saying Brook should serve jail time. It’s only cricket after all. But some sort of recognition for their abject show would have been welcome.
The covers are on after some heavy, but brief showers. So while we wait for things to get underway, why not tuck into this week’s Spin.
It’s from yours truly on the magic of cricket scorecards. I’ve always loved them. I love looking at them. I love filling them with little names and numbers. So I decided to write about them with the help of two legends of the craft.
Hope you enjoy it:
Ready or not, here comes another one! England were rubbish two days ago. After getting bowled out for 131, they got tonked by Aiden Markram in a seven-wicket rout.
The good news is that there’s little time to contemplate that result as the boys are back. It’s a mad schedule, one that flogs players, tests journalists and asks so much from the paying public. But that’s the modern game and on we go.
England need to improve in just about every department at the Home of Cricket today but its their batting that needs a serious rethink. As Mark Butcher said at Headingley on Tuesday, they fail to recognise that putting the brakes on for a little bit in the innings isn’t a sign of weakness but is often the sensible thing to do. When they’re rolling they look unstoppable. But when they need to take stock and consolidate they’re a shambles.
Can they rectify their mistakes today? If not they’ll lose the series with a game to spare.
There’s a bit of mizzle in the air around west London but we should get a full game on.
I’m excited to kick things off today. If you’d like to get in touch please drop me a mail. Reckon this England team can show a bit of humility and common sense? Or is that just woke nonsense in the age of Baz? Let me know.
Play gets underway at 1pm BST.
Toss, team news and other bits to come.