England v India: fourth men’s cricket Test, day one - live

Key events 26m ago England win the toss and bowl

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31s ago 05.58 EDT Our players come out, and it’s anthem time. There are better voices in the world than Zak Crawley’s, but the camera getting close enough for us to hear individual singing is a pleasing development. Share

2m ago 05.57 EDT Email! “The weather forecast looks OK,” begins Andrew Goudie, “so we should get a full day of 60 overs.” I find the prescriptive nature of over-rates a bit odd. As Stokes has noted, the rules need to be different depending on location as on the subcontinent, there’s more spin bowled, which obviously takes less time. It’s rare I finish watching or attending a day’s play and consider myself cheated, and though it’s true that in England the summer light means we could easily finish off the allocation, I’m also conscious of how mentally and physically demanding the game is and that, after a long day, the players need some respite. Share

7m ago 05.52 EDT Is this the best series in England since 2005? To borrow Shenseea’s line, “that’s a no for me” – I’m going for South Africa 2012, as that was two great teams playing for the mace, not to fine teams playing for the trophy – but it was only three matches, and we’ve got two more for this to usurp it. Share

19m ago 05.39 EDT On Kuldeep, Athers notes that England were always going to bowl – and when did describing it that way replace calling it fielding in the cricketing lexicon –if they won the toss, so Gill could’ve guaranteed having him wheeling away in the fourth innings. I bet England are pleased he’s not there. Share

22m ago 05.37 EDT India have lost 14 Test tosses in a row. The odds of that are, apparently, 16,384-1. Share

22m ago 05.36 EDT Gill was confused as to what to do, so thinks it’s a good toss to lose. He’s happy with how India have played, winning more sessions and days than England, they’ve just lost a few “crunch moments”. The surface looks “nice and hard” and he makes three changes": out go Karun Nair plus the injured Akash Deep and Nitish Reddy; in come Sai Sudharsan, Shardul Thakur and Anshul Kamboj, making his debut. He is not asked what the point of bringing Kuldeep Yadav on tour was; Old Trafford accepts wrist spin, India are behind in the series, and he’s still sat at the side. Share

26m ago 05.33 EDT England win the toss and bowl Four our of four for Ben Stokes, who thinks the overhead conditions will be good for bowling and everyone’s had a good opportunity to relax and recharge. Everyone left everything out on the field at Lord’s, both sides have been excellent with little between them, and he thinks the wicket is typical Manchester, quite firm with a bit of grass coverage. It’s been a while since dawson played a Test, but he’s thoroughly earned his chance. Share

29m ago 05.30 EDT Do England even need a spinner? I can’t say I’ve no visions of either Dawson or Bashir getting hit all over the show in Australia, and it might be that an all-seam attack is currently England’s best option. It won’t happen, I don’t think, but if you’ve constantly got a pair of fresh quicks, that’s not a lot of respite for opposition batters. Share

31m ago 05.28 EDT So what do we make of Liam Dawson’s return? His batting and fielding are obviously like the Swiss flag – England have been uncharacteristically lax in the latter department this series – but I’m mainly looking forward to seeing how his bowling holds up. He might not have Bashir’s raw talent, but his nous, variety and comfort with his game make him an interesting addition. Share

39m ago 05.19 EDT It’s overcast in Manchester – [insert gag here]. I remember staying in Broughton Park with my gran as a young child and noting that a) it was always raining and b) the chat was always about who’d died recently. I’ve been more popular. Otherwise, the pitch looks like it’s pretty dry, so there should be a bit of uneven bounce and perhaps something for the spinners later; the outfield is lush, so boundaries might be harder than usual to come by. Stuart Broad would bat but thinks Ben Stokes will want to bowl. Share

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