England opted not to train on Tuesday but Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum still made a beeline for Lord’s. Two days out from the third Test – a pivotal match with the series locked at one apiece – they were keen to speak to the groundstaff to express their hopes for a pitch with pace, bounce, and a bit of sideways movement.
It was too late to be making demands and like the disappointed customers of Mr Tourette, signwriter extraordinaire from the Modern Toss cartoons, England’s captain and head coach had to settle for a slow, occasionally two-paced surface. Throw in a sluggish outfield – plus an Indian attack buoyed up by the win at Edgbaston and augmented by Jasprit Bumrah – and run-scoring was far from straightforward.
