the times | Monday July 27 2020 2GM 61
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to the openers’ scoring rate. They took
tea at 86 without loss off 32 overs, Burns
on 38 from 100 balls, Sibley 40 from 95.
There was an acceleration of sorts in
the evening session, 28 in 8.5 overs and
looking more energetic before Sibley
was out leg-before to Jason Holder.
Burns reached his second half-century
of the match off 111 balls, and added 40
off the next 52. England are now eight
wickets from victory when they return
to the field, whenever that may be, with
an imposing 399 the target. This is a
strong position, whichever way you
look at it.
These two are not the finished arti-
cle, and stern tests await in India and
Australia. But Chris Silverwood, thehead coach, promised attritional Test
cricket after years of false dawns and
that is what they are providing. Faster
run rates are always preferable and that
ability to go through the gears will be
what they can work on next. Mother
Nature may scupper England today but
she will not sweep away the founda-
tions their openers are building.Rory Burns has admitted that he was
fretting about becoming Roston
Chase’s bunny, having been dismissed
three times this series by the innocuous
off spinner.
The 29-year-old opener has spent a
lot of time in the nets with Graham
Thorpe, the assistant coach, trying to
come up with a game plan to counter
the threat posed by Chase, who avera-
ges 41 with the ball in Tests.
“I had got into a decent rhythm and
Thorpey threw some offies at me so I
could work out some different game
plans against the spin,” he said. “I was
trying not to fret about it but when
someone keeps getting you out you do
think about it. But that is part of the job,
you have to try and shut out that noise.”
It is a tactic that seemed to have
worked as Burns added the sweep shot
to his repertoire as he made 90 in En-
gland’s second innings yesterday, his
highest Test score since England’s
match against New Zealand in Novem-
ber last year,
Burns has developed into a dependa-
ble batsman for England and has scored
1,213 runs from his first 18 Tests. He is
generally solid against spin and, indeed,
was first picked for England for the tour
of Sri Lanka towards the end of 2018. He
acknowledged that he prefers to try to
work the ball around rather than go
against his natural instincts in using his
feet to try to get to the pitch of the ball.
“I probably don’t use my feet as much
when it’s turning away from me, that is
more of a challenge. I am just trying to
manoeuvre the ball where I can, find
the gaps and try and change the field.”
In Burns and Dom Sibley, England fi-
nally seem to have found two openers
who can bat for long periods and take
the shine off the ball, but Burns was
happy to force the pace once he and
Sibley had laid another solid founda-
tion.
“Around tea we changed the pace,” he
said. “Initially, it’s about getting a plat-
form and Sibley did that very nicely but
at tea we talked about how we wanted
to push it along, tick along at four an
over and leave ourselves ten overs or sowhere we could try and put our foot
down.”
“If the forecast is true, tomorrow
[Monday] doesn’t look great so obvi-
ously we’ve taken a bit of a punt on the
declaration.
“But we have put ourselves in a good
position, especially taking a couple of
poles tonight.”Root went past Ian Bell and Mike Atherton
yesterday in the list of all-time England Test
run-scorersM Inns Runs Avge
1, Alastair Cook 161 291 12,472 45.35
2, Graham Gooch 118 215 8,900 42.58
3, Alec Stewart 133 235 8,463 39.54
4, David Gower 117 204 8,231 44.25
5, Kevin Pietersen 104 181 8,181 47.28
6, Geoff Boycott 108 193 8,114 47.72
*7, Joe Root 94 173 7,729 48.30
8, Mike Atherton 115 212 7,728 37.69
9, Ian Bell 118 205 7,727 42.69
10, Colin Cowdrey 114 188 7,624 44.06
*Includes present Test match v West IndiesOf England Test captains, only Graham
Gooch has scored an innings of fifty or more
at a faster rate than Root yesterday (Gooch
54 off 42 balls at a strike rate of 128.57,
versus Australia 1991; Root 68 not out off 56
balls at 121.42)Root on the rise
Root raised the pace to grab a fiftyThe England Lions batsmen had such a
good time of it in a warm-up match
against Ireland at the Ageas Bowl that
Phil Salt was retired after smashing 100
off 58 balls yesterday.
Eoin Morgan’s side comfortably
chased down Ireland’s total of 296 all
out to win by seven wickets with 15.2
overs remaining, having reached their
target with a run rate of 8.56.
James Vince and Salt, the Sussex
opener, put on a second-wicket part-
nership of 141 in 14 overs before Morgan
decided he fancied a bat, calling Vince
off the pitch. The captain scored 22 off
20 balls before retiring himself.
England were not at full strength and
the team were billed as an England Li-
ons XI, although made up of players
from within the 22-man white-ball
training squad.
It is unusual to have warm-up match-
es against the opposition you will be
facing in the series but because of the
biosecure protocols, there was no possi-
bility of providing Ireland with a differ-
ent opponent.England’s only concern is Jason Roy.
The Surrey opener has not played in ei-
ther of England’s intra-squad warm-up
matches because of a sore back and was
out first ball yesterday. This means he
has now faced only one-ball in the six
months before the three-match series
gets under way on Thursday.Meanwhile, Salt, 23, hit 14 fours and
two sixes in his first century in England
colours. Sam Billings, the Kent wicket-
keeper-batsman, eased the Lions home
on 54 not out. There were also three
wickets apiece for the young Warwick-
shire pace bowler Henry Brookes and
Middlesex fast bowler Tom Helm.England’s Test series in India next
March could be cut from five matches
to three in an effort to fit ten limited-
overs games into the tour.
The two sides were due to play three
one-day internationals and three T20
matches in September and October,
before the start of the T20 World Cup,
which was last week postponed until
- But the coronavirus pandemic
and the rescheduling of the Indian Pre-
mier League for October is now likely
to lead to the two limited-overs series
between India and England being
moved into the spring, and extended to
five matches each.
The reduction in Tests would help to
keep the tour to a manageable length,
with any decision to favour more
limited-overs matches over Tests likely
to be influenced by the greater appetite
in India for shorter forms of the game,
and the higher broadcast revenues.
The Test series will still form part of
England’s Test series in India
may be cut to three matches
Elizabeth Ammon the ICC World Test Championship
even if the scheduled is reduced. Under
the Test championship points system,
all series are worth a total of 120 points.
Each match in a three-Test series is
worth 40 points rather than 24 for a
five-match series.
The final of the Test championship is
scheduled for July 2021 at Lord’s
between the two teams with the most
points at the end of the present two-
year cycle of matches, and England are
still in the hunt for a place in that final.
Each country plays six series across a
two-year period and England have
three to play after the West Indies — at
home against Pakistan next month; a
re-arranged two-match series against
Sri Lanka, likely now to be played in
January 2021 after it was aborted this
year; and the series against India.
India lead the Championship table
with Australia second and England
third. Playing in the inaugural Test
championship final is one of England’s
stated aims for 2021.
the match himself. It was only the second time an England opening pair had recorded a century stand since 2016
Salt is retired for being too good
Elizabeth AmmonSalt scored his first
hundred in England
colours by smashing
of 100 off 58 balls.
The opener has put
his name in the
frame to win a first
cap for England in
the one-day series
against IrelandI was fretting about
getting out to Chase
again, admits Burns
Elizabeth AmmonSport
MARTIN RICKETT/AP