I understood Ben Stokes’ large name however his seamers let him down on first day of England’s crunch Check sequence towards India, writes NASSER HUSSAIN

If proof was required that it wasn’t a simple resolution for Ben Stokes on the toss, it got here from India’s new captain Shubman Gill who confirmed he was additionally going to bowl.

Fifteen years in the past, if you happen to’d seen the blue sky and that pitch, in fact you’d have batted first, however current historical past tells you Headingley is a bowl-first floor.

The final six Check matches right here have resulted within the facet bowling first successful, and the statistics over this previous decade present that via on daily basis of a five-day match, the pitch just about will get higher to bat on.

Consider Stokes’s extraordinary, unbeaten hundred within the 2019 Ashes, of a Shai Hope-inspired West Indies knocking off a goal of 322 5 down eight years in the past or England scoring at 5.4 runs per over to chase down 296 towards New Zealand in 2022.

To be honest, the ball did a bit within the morning session too, swinging a lot sooner than regular. It usually takes 12-15 overs for the lacquer to return off, however right here it was swinging after half an hour. England simply acquired their strains and their lengths flawed and India’s batsmen might depart comfortably.

At Headingley, your size must be immaculate as a bowler for 2 causes. One, it is the place in England it’s important to bowl fullest to hit the highest of the stumps. 

Gill raises his bat to the gang after reaching three figures on his first day as India Check captain

Chris Woakes feels the warmth as England battle for breakthroughs on a flat Headingley pitch

It is also a really quick-scoring floor due to its lightning outfield, so if you happen to err barely, and the margin actually is minuscule, you go for runs. 

England’s seamers had been both too full or too quick after they over corrected and fabulous gamers like Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul and Shubman Gill will punish you in these conditions.

It was additionally an indication of the assault not having bowled right here a lot. Brydon Carse and Josh Tongue had not performed a first-class match in Leeds between them.

Neither had Shoaib Bashir, however the off-spinner carried out properly, providing good management and giving the ball some air in a bid to get it to drop.

If you’re taking part in towards world-class gamers like the 2 younger centurions Jaiswal and Gill, and the tempo of the pitch is nice, you will get hit round a bit, however at instances, I might prefer to have seen extra management from different members of the assault.

For all of the talent Jimmy Anderson supplied – in swing, out swing, wobble seam – he gave you that.

Yashasvi Jaiswal scored 712 runs towards England after they toured India in early 2024 and the fashionable left-hander confirmed that kind once more as he introduced up a wonderful hundred on day one

Stokes was the choose of England’s bowlers however he was let down by the remainder of his tempo assault

Offspinner Shoaib Bashir supplied good management and did an excellent job on an unresponsive wicket

I do know it is a facet that likes to assault and Stokes has requested them to seek out methods to get wickets, however when it’s flat the seamers have to mix with Bashir.

It got here right down to Stokes himself to try this on day one, holding the run price down and ready for a mistake – as occurred for the dismissal of Jaiswal.

Stokes was England’s finest bowler. Sensibly, he restricted his first spell to 6 overs and acquired the ball transferring greater than the remainder of England’s seam assault because the day progressed.

By its finish, India had been effectively and actually within the ascendancy and naturally the choice by Stokes eight hours earlier regarded doubtful – however current historical past explains his reasoning.