England and India face red-hot series opener and Jasprit Bumrah conundrum
If there was an enduring image from the last Test series between India and England, it was probably that of Jasprit Bumrah detonating Ollie Pope’s stumps in Visakhapatnam – a feet-seeking yorker so ridiculously sweet that the Food Standards Agency could have marked it red on their traffic-light system.A year and a bit on from England’s 4-1 defeat in India on Friday, Bumrah remains the standout in the two attacks going into the first of five blockbuster Tests, beginning at Headingley on Friday.Even saying this sells him a bit short.Of the 86 bowlers to go past 200 Test wickets, none have done so at a lower average than Bumrah’s 19.4.
Only Kasigo Rabada, with a strike rate of 38,9 to Bumrah’s 42, takes his wickets more regularly,The numbers only improved during Bumrah’s last outing with a red ball, too, with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia last winter returning 32 wickets at 13 runs apiece – one for every 28 deliveries he lashed down,His remains one of the most remarkable actions in the sport, a gentle trot of a run-up followed by a slingshot explosion that asks the batter an absurd number of split-second questions,“It’s awkward to face,” said Ben Stokes on Thursday.
“Especially when you first go in, for those first couple of balls,”If there is something England can take from that BGT series it is that India still lost 3-1,And though something no one likes to see, Bumrah broke down midway through its Sydney finale when the burden of carrying an attack eventually told,The upshot of that experience, going by the interview he gave to Dinesh Karthik for Sky Sports, is that playing three out of the five Tests this summer is the target,So cricket-lovers hoping to watch Bumrah in the flesh over the next six weeks will have fingers crossed that theirs is the lucky Wonka ticket.
For Shubman Gill, a young captain leading a reboot post-Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, it will be a case of trying to coax more out of the support cast,India are seeking their first series win in England since 2007 and their second in a five-Test series away from home,This being the 20-year anniversary of the 2005 Ashes, thoughts go back to the similarly great Glenn McGrath and the fact that England capitalised on the Tests he missed for their two wins,Not that Stokes and his players will be content to take a lead and park the bus,The England captain accepted his team need to be a bit “smarter” than in the recent past but draws are still very much not his thing.
Neither is talking about the Ashes, which can only be good news.When India were here in 2021, Chris Silverwood, then England’s head coach, spoke of the series “galvanising” his players for the tour of Australia that winter and watched a fatigued, confused side fall 2-1 behind after four Tests.Had India stayed in the country that summer, rather than push the fifth Test back a year due to Covid and then lose at Edgbaston, they may well have got the job done.Sign up to The SpinSubscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers' thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week’s actionafter newsletter promotionAs Mark Ramprakash has noted, England have a more settled top six these days, even with Jacob Bethell snapping at their heels.And, now that Kohli has hung up his boots, the premier batter across the two sides is unquestionably Joe Root.
There are 373 runs between the fourth-placed Yorkshireman (13,006) and second in the all-time Test charts, after which only Sachin Tendulkar’s 15,921 will sit higher.Bumrah has taken Root’s wicket nine times – the batter he has dismissed most – and will try to stymie this march.With the newly minted Anderson-Tendulkar trophy on the line – and this the start of the next World Test Championship – perhaps the biggest question for England surrounds the bowling since the former’s retirement.Chris Woakes, who has claimed 36 wickets at 20.9 since his return in 2023 and is yet to lose a Test under Stokes, leads an attack that has grunt but is notably raw.
Among the head-to-heads that could prove decisive is when Rishabh Pant inevitably tries to take down Shoaib Bashir.However, this role may be something that Karun Nair also takes on, having utterly marmalised England’s spinners nine years ago during a remarkable unbeaten 303 in Chennai.The 33-year-old never kicked on from that match but has forced his way back through Kohli’s exit and some stellar domestic returns that included two spells at Northamptonshire.Of the many storylines in this series, his is one of perseverance.Like Nair’s recent form, the weather at Headingley is set to be red hot and sets up a tricky toss.
The old saying in these parts is to look up, not down – ie bat under clear skies, bowl under cloud cover – but there will surely be a temptation to go the other way,In recent times, the pitch has tended to improve as the match has progressed, with the past six Tests here won by the side that has bowled first,For England, another subplot will also unfold 90 miles further north when Jofra Archer makes a first-class return – his first red-ball appearance since 2021 – for Sussex at Durham with an eye on playing the second Test in Birmingham,Archer is possibly the closest thing England have to Bumrah by way of unique attributes, although there really is only one,
Thames Water renationalisation plans being stepped up, says minister
The environment secretary, Steve Reed, has said the government is stepping up preparations for temporary nationalisation of Thames Water, indicating it will reject pleas from the company’s creditors for leniency from fines and penalties.Thames Water’s largest creditors control the utility and have made a bid to cut some of its debts and provide £5.3bn in new funding to try to turn it around.However, the creditors have said their plan needs considerable leniency from the water regulators Ofwat and the Environment Agency over fines for environmental failings.The Guardian this month revealed that the creditors had asked for immunity from prosecution for serious environmental crimes in return for taking on the company
Ministers set out plans to spend £725bn on UK infrastructure over 10 years
Ministers have pledged to spend £9bn a year on fixing crumbling schools, hospitals, courts and prisons over the next decade as part of the government’s infrastructure strategy.Darren Jones, the chief secretary to the Treasury, set out plans on Thursday to spend a minimum of £725bn over 10 years to boost UK-wide infrastructure and achieve a “national renewal”.Jones announced that £6bn a year would go to repairing hospitals in England, £3bn to fixing and upgrading schools and colleges in England and £600m to courts and prisons in England and Wales.The money will fund building improvements including removing crumbling reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac) in hospitals and strengthening safety and security in prisons.Jones told MPs: “Done properly it will result in tangible improvements to the fabric of our country, our local roads and high streets renewed so communities are even better places to live
UK Uber drivers’ earnings cut after changes to secretive algorithm
Many Uber drivers are earning “substantially less” an hour since the ride hailing app introduced a “dynamic pricing” algorithm in 2023 that coincided with the company taking a significantly higher share of fares, research has revealed.The findings are in a study released on Thursday by academics at the University of Oxford. They analysed data provided by 258 UK Uber drivers responsible for 1.5m trips.Having initially taken a fixed 20% cut of the UK fares charged, which subsequently rose to 25%, Uber introduced dynamic pricing in 2023, an algorithm that variably sets pay for drivers and fares for passengers
Garmin Forerunner 970 review: the new benchmark for running watches
Garmin’s new top running watch, the Forerunner 970, has very big shoes to fill as it attempts to replace one of the best training and race companions available. Can a built-in torch, a software revamp and voice control really make a difference?The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.The new top-of-the-line Forerunner takes the body of the outgoing Forerunner 965 and squeezes in a much brighter display, useful new running analytics and more of the advanced tech from Garmin’s flagship adventure watch the Fenix 8
Carlos Alcaraz beats the heat in epic comeback against Munar at Queen’s Club
On a day of hot heads and high emotion, Carlos Alcaraz proved once again to be a master of escapology in the longest match at Queen’s Club for 34 years. With temperatures hovering over 30C on Andy Murray Arena, the Spaniard was 4-2 down in the final set, having lost four games in a row. To add to his sense of peril and woe, his serve was also misfiring and he had just hit his 50th unforced error. Yet he found a way – just as he had during the French Open final earlier this month.A few minutes – and a series of inspired winners – later Alcaraz was shaking hands with his compatriot Jaume Munar having won 6-4, 6-7 (7), 7-5 in an epic that lasted a little under three hours and 30 minutes
Trawlerman races away to take Gold Cup at Royal Ascot
It was simple but ruthlessly effective as Trawlerman and William Buick made all the running to win the Gold Cup on Thursday. The Gosden stable’s seven-year-old faced two four-year-old rivals with a touch more class but no experience of racing at two and a half miles and when Buick challenged them to catch him with a quarter of a mile to run, neither Illinois nor Candelari could summon a response.Candelari was a spent force with half a mile left, while Illinois’s brief effort in the home straight scarcely made an impression on Trawlerman’s lead as he galloped on relentlessly for the line. He had a seven-length advantage at the post and it was seven more back to Dubai Future in third.“It was the only way we were going to win,” said John Gosden, who has won the feature event on the first three days of the meeting
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