LORD’S TEST
England need 6 wickets to win, India 135 runs © Getty
England batting coach Marcus Trescothick has called on the Lord’s crowd to fuel the team’s one final surge on the fifth day of a pulsating Test match. As India and England head into Day 5 with each team harbouring hopes of a win, Trescothick hopes the famous old ground brings its full voice to tilt the balance the home team’s way.
On a fourth evening crackling with tension, England had pushed back hard – four wickets snatched late, including that of the in-form Indian captain Shubman Gill – bringing the game alive again. Now, with 135 runs still needed by India and six wickets standing between England and a memorable win, Trescothick said the mood could turn on the very first exchanges.
“It will revolve around the first hour of the day and how positive India can be or how dominant we can be and how many wickets we can get,” he said. “We are desperate to win. It’s going to be amazing.
“We’ve seen four amazing days of cricket and two games which have been well supported. The last hour, with the energy around the ground was amazing. Everybody was invested. From an England point of view, it was brilliant. We love those situations where the crowd is really behind the team. Hopefully we get more of that and push on to win the game.
“If we can create an atmosphere like that – it might take a wicket to get it like that or for Joe [Root] to wind them up again – but the support has been brilliant throughout. And we will have a full house which gets to see the finale of an amazing Test,” Trescothick added.
Trescothick confirmed off-spinner Shoaib Bashir was fit to bowl in the fourth innings after suffering an injury to his non-bowling hand, but expected the seamers to carry the main load, especially with uneven bounce off a good length becoming a decisive factor from the Nursery End.
“I think the majority of what we have seen is variation in bounce from quick bowlers and people who can bowl wobble seam… that’s the talk of the town,” Trescothick said. “It’s a dangerous ball on this pitch. We’ve seen a bit more bounce from the Nursery End than the Pavilion End. Hopefully it seams everywhere and we get six wickets in the first hour,” he joked.
As for the rising needle between the teams, barbed exchanges and simmering flashpoints late on Day 3 and Day 4, Trescothick felt things hadn’t boiled over too far.
“Both teams are passionate about playing the game and it is understandable that at times it gets to a boiling point,” he said. “There will be things that happen between the two teams but both teams know there’s a line you can’t cross but it’s not really been troubled too much. It helps the atmosphere in the series.”
Washington Sundar shared the same sense of edge without overstep. “Aggression is always inside of us, in both dressing rooms I’d say. There was an incident that happened and it came out last evening. It came out quite a bit today as well. This is sport, everyone is quite aggressive and quite intense in their own way. No matter the sport, if you’re an athlete it’s a common factor I’d say,” Washington said.
For Washington and India, the view is clear: a final day to seize. Despite the late stutter, he believes they remain primed to pip England at the post to claim yet another Lord’s win. “I mean, we want so many things the way we expect it to be, but yes, we’ll take it any day. I mean, we’ll really come out positive tomorrow. We’ve got some solid batsmen in the dressing room, and yeah, it’s exciting in every way. You know, winning a Test in Lord’s is going to be amazing, so I think we’re sitting pretty,” he said.
© Cricbuzz
