England v India

Game on - what a difference a bit of solidity at the top makes for England.  Still fancy India though but they need to take wickets in the morning.

Looks like a great match with a good atmosphere. Not sure England can win this. At the moment the run rate is just over 2 an over. There will need to be a large increase in it to win. 9 wickets left but India have just dropped a dolly. Kohli not happy!

Ah well Root has gone for 36, should be the game now, Woakes, Overton, Robinson and Anderson have to survive over 40 overs.

We are not even half way, 183-7 a further 185 to win.

England were 100-0 and have lost 7 wickets for 83 runs.

I can't think of many players who are good enough to play test cricket having barely hit a red ball in three years. When he was playing regularly and not shunted up and down the order, he was a decent option for England. Same with Bairstow, and Buttler has done well in the past after an extended run too.

Our middle order was our strength a few years ago. Now it's as flakey as our top order. That is not entirely the fault of the batting unit.

We could move on from Bairstow and Moeen but what then? Without Stokes we're probably left with Woakes at 7 and then Robinson, Leach, wood and Anderson. Looks pretty flakey to me, and I'm yet to be convinced that leach is a better option, especially on flat pitches or when it's doing a bit for the quicks.

I notice Parkinson hasn't played for Lancs in this round. I wonder if we might pick Mo, Woakes, Wood, Anderson and Parkinson for the 5th test? They clearly don't rate Leach

5th Test England v India at Edgbaston, Birmingham - England won the toss and decided to field - India lead series 2-1

India 134-5 (35 overs) Jadeja 20no, Pant 25no, Anderson 3-41 & Potts 2-39

Rain Delayed

Close: India 338-7 (73 overs) Jadeja 83no, Pant 146, Anderson 3-52 & Potts 2-85

Partnership of 222 for the 6th wicket stand is an India record for the sixth wicket in Tests against England.

The efforts of Pant and Jadeja have kept India in the hunt for a first Test series win in England since 2007.

Day 4 - Today's Summary (14.40pm)

India 245 all out, Pujara 66, Pant 57, Stokes 4-33, Broad & Potts 2 each.

England 58-0 (11 overs) Lees 36no, Crawley 21no.

With about 48 overs to the end of play England need another 320 runs to win.

Plus all day on tuesday.

120 to win, D5 is all "sold out"volountray donations to the Bob Willis charity in lieu of normal payments..... i think had Root not been to careless England may still only be 2 down and Lees would most likely had his ton, but you got to give it to England the mentality is there in their 4th innings charges this summer....sort out the 1st innings and they may be on to something

" both not out batters should get their 100's." - You know who we will blame if this doesn't happen don't you ! You do know where the Mess Webley and the bottle of whisky are stored if you need them?

First off a big shout out to the ECB and the groundsmen. The Test pitches this summer have been magnificent. Offering good batting conditions where we have seen a shedload of runs but still offering something to the bowlers. Even on the fifth days the wickets have held up and not become minefields. Nobody wants to see Test matches finish inside three days, and these wickets have ensured that the games last much longer and therefore become more enthralling. These games against NZ and India have been exactly what Test match cricket needed to combat the T20/One Day formats. Fantastic entertainment. Test match cricket is not dead.

Next, the new mentality being attempted by England. You can see what they are trying. Remember it was probably a year ago (or so) that England batted out against NZ when offered 270 to win the Test? How boring was that? Historically, when a team were presented with a largish total in the fourth innings they would 'bat carefully', take runs when they could, and wait to see how the innings developed. This allowed the fielding team to set an attacking field with many players in catching positions as the batsmen were not really looking at scoring runs (as such). In effect, this increased the chances of getting out. The new England approach is to attack and score quickly. This forces the fielding team to take fielders away from catching positions to stem the flow of runs and in effect, reducing the chances of the batsmen getting out. It's not rocket science, but before now no team has had the nerve to attempt it. This appears to be England's 'new way'. They are attempting to change the way/attitude/mentality that has historically been the case. Look at yesterday as a prime example. The England openers came out and India set an attacking field. They knocked up a 100 run partnership in 114 balls. Fielders were in attacking positions leaving gaps everywhere in the field. Suddenly, England were back in the game and India were on the back foot. It will not work every time, and in some cases will end in complete disaster but you have to applaud and support what England are attempting to do.

This last morning will be epic, no matter which way the game goes. Another full house on day 5 of a Test match. That doesn't happen very often nowadays.