Good morning! And welcome to the day after The Big Calamity, the Glorious Shambles, the lowest scores at Trent Bridge by a side choosing to batting first since 1967.
It was a pretty disastrous day for England, bowled out for a song. But could it be that all the hot air is overblown? That England bowl India out for 150 today, squeak 200 in their second innings and go on a remarkable win? Unlikely. Yet possible.
But…all the reasons why the scheduling this summer looked so wonky have come to pass. With Test players saying how “unusual” and “different” the summer had been before the Test started, it really can be no surprise to anyone that England’s batsmen struggled out of blocks – Joe Root, Zac Crawley, Jonny Bairstow, who I thought played with great restraint, and Sam Curran excepted.
India, though, were excellent – as befits the second best Test side in the world. Tight, probing, good enough to leave R Ashwin on the bench. There is no shame in coming second to them, the only question is how.
At Trent Bridge, this morning, for the Indian batters, the sun is out.