England vs India: Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain on how third Test at Lord’s could be the next 2005 Ashes | Cricket News

Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain feel a Herculean effort from England helped them deliver another classic Test finish against India in a series which is beginning to mirror the 2005 Ashes.

The former England captains have compared the duel to arguably the most iconic and influential summer in English cricketing history when a titanic tussle with Australia enthralled a nation.

England, with a team captained by Michael Vaughan, and Kevin Pietersen, Marcus Trescothick and Freddie Flintoff all in a star-studded line-up, went on to capture the famous Urn for the first time since 1986-87.

England famously edged Australia by just two runs at Edgbaston in 2005 to draw level in arguably the greatest Test series of all time and with Old Trafford and Kia Oval Tests to come, the excitement levels are ratcheting up.

“You’ve got it as the next 2005 Ashes,” Hussain told the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast. “It was just like Edgbaston. You’ve gone on about how you and Richie [Benaud] were great in the commentary box and called every moment brilliantly.”

England stayed calm under intense pressure to beat India by 22 runs on a final day of simmering tension and drama in the third test at Lord’s to move 2-1 up in the series with Shoaib Bashir stepping off the injured list to deliver the decisive wicket.

The 21-year-old spinner has barely been seen since suffering a suspected fracture to the little finger of his left hand but he removed number 11 Mohammed Siraj with the penultimate ball of his sixth over to spark riotous celebrations.

The ball was defended off the face of Siraj’s bat but had enough spin on it to rip back off the pitch and into leg stump, flicking the bail off in what felt like slow motion.

Atherton said: “Well, actually, there was a similarity that struck me when Siraj went down on his haunches at the end and [Zak] Crawley and [Joe] Root, initially, and then others came over to shake his hand. There were some similarities.

“I was only talking about it a bit because it’s 20 years, isn’t it? We’re right on the anniversary of that unbelievable ’05 series, but there’s a little bit of that. We’ve had a lot of good test series since then. But this is shaping up to be one of the better ones, you know, the teams seem very evenly matched. They are led by very contrasting characters.

“There’s now a bit of tension and a bit of niggle in the series and still all to play for.”

Things were already heated at the end to day three, caused by Crawley’s time-wasting, ensuring there were only six deliveries from Jasprit Bumrah before stumps, adding further spice to a gripping game at Lords.

On the fourth morning, pace bowler Siraj celebrated on dismissing opener Ben Duckett after he was caught at mid-on.

Siraj extended his follow-through to scream in his face, with the two then brushing shoulders as the batter left the field.

‘I love that tension’

Hussain had no qualms about the flare-up, calling England “very street smart” in their approach.

“The fact that we’re still talking about it and the fact that one over was one of the highlights of the Test match, the way India went at Crawley,” he told the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast.

“They were very street smart in the way they slowly walked down the stairs and pretended to get lost in the long room and got out to the middle. They were smart and India rightly went at them. And that obviously fired everyone up and then Siraj was fired up.

“I think Siraj is a better cricketer when he’s fired up. You’d love to have Siraj in your side. I didn’t think he should have been fined. He went close to the line. He was right in Duckett’s face. He didn’t barge Duckett. If anything, Duckett went in that direction to get off the pitch. If there was a shoulder barge, as there has been with [Virat] Kohli you mentioned at the end of the game the other day, but it wasn’t.

“I think it’s a game of emotion and you don’t need 22 robots. I love that tension. We play with people who don’t give it out because they know they’re going to get it when they go out to bat. If you give it out, you’re going to get it when you go out to bat.”

Atherton said: “England kind of were fired up, but also that’s going to now play out for the rest of the series, which is the beauty of a five-test match series that allows kind of subplots and personal rivalries and animosities to develop. You get a sense of it, but they won’t be forgetting what was said on the field.”

Would Dawson inclusion benefit England?

Spinner Liam Dawson is in line to play his first Test for eight years after being called into the England squad for the fourth Test after off-spinner Bashir was ruled out of the rest of the series with a broken finger.

Hussain thinks it will make England’s batting line-up much stronger for the crucial clash at Old Trafford.

“I was thinking if Dawson comes in, that would be, say [Chris] Woakes doesn’t play, he looks a bit knackered. You’d have Dawson at eight, you’d have [Gus] Atkinson if he comes in nine, you could have [Brydon] Carse at 10 and [Jofra] Archer at 11 or [Mark] Wood when he comes in. That’s a good lower order.

“And obviously Dawson is a very, very useful left arm spinner as well. I think that’s the right way to go.”

England vs India – results and schedule

England lead five-match series 2-1 (all games at 11am UK and Ireland; all live on Sky Sports)

Watch the fourth Test between England and India at Old Trafford, live on Sky Sports Cricket and Sky Sports Main Event on Wednesday, 23 July, with coverage from 10am ahead of the first ball at 11am, or stream without a contract.