England have made a straightforward request to the MCC ground staff: a Lord’s pitch with pace, bounce and a hint of lateral movement. Head coach Brendon McCullum confirmed the message 48 hours after India’s emphatic 336-run win at Edgbaston levelled the five-match series.
“We’ve asked for ‘something with a bit more pace, a bit more bounce, and maybe a little bit of sideways’,” McCullum said. “It’ll be a blockbuster either way, but I think it’s going to set up for a cracker – especially if there’s plenty of life in it [the pitch].”
Key facts first
• Series score: 1-1 after two Tests.
• England’s last Test: heavy defeat on a slow, low Edgbaston surface.
• Third Test starts Thursday at Lord’s.
• Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson back in a 16-man squad.
England felt the Edgbaston pitch – termed “subcontinent-style” by Ben Stokes – blunted their attack and exaggerated their error at the toss. They now hope a more traditional English surface will bring their fast bowlers into the game and, crucially, suit a fit-again Archer.
Selection puzzle
Archer has not played Test cricket since February 2021, elbow and back problems keeping him to white-ball duties and rehabilitation. Over the past fortnight he has bowled at increasing intensity in the nets, carried drinks in Birmingham and, by all accounts, looked sharp.
“He’ll certainly be available for selection,” McCullum explained. “Our seamers have gone two Tests on the spin and we’ve got a short turnaround before we head down to HQ. We’ll let the dust settle on this one, but Jofra is looking fit, he’s looking strong, he’s looking ready to go, and he’ll come into calculations. It’s hugely exciting.”
McCullum added: “He’s loving being around the group, and it’s great to have him. He’s obviously been through his injuries and his time out of Test cricket. But we all know what he’s capable of achieving in Test cricket, and we hope that when the opportunity does arrive for him, he’s able to recapture and also improve on what he’s been able to do already in that form of the game.”
Gus Atkinson, out since straining a hamstring against Zimbabwe, also returns to contention. Managing workloads remains a priority: Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Chris Woakes have delivered 443 overs between them across the opening Tests. With only one full practice session scheduled, recovery is front and centre.
India’s view
India, for their part, are relaxed. Captain Shubman Gill expects a different challenge but sees little point second-guessing the surface. “Let’s see what wicket they give us at Lord’s,” he said. “My guess is that it won’t be a flat one.” Jasprit Bumrah, rested at Edgbaston, is back to lead India’s seam attack on a ground where he bowled India to victory in 2021.
Recent Lord’s evidence suggests fast bowlers will be in the match. The World Test Championship final last month offered Pat Cummins and Kagiso Rabada healthy movement throughout. England would not object to a repeat.
Analysis without the jargon
If the pitch does have the bounce England seek, Stokes can rotate his quicks in short, hostile spells rather than the ambling, holding patterns forced upon them in Birmingham. Archer, even in limited-overs cricket, has shown he can hit speeds north of 90mph with accuracy; combine that with Lord’s familiar slope and he becomes a genuine point of difference. Atkinson’s high arm and heavy ball offer something similar.
India, though, possess arguably the world’s most complete pace battery. Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Mukesh Kumar thrive on surfaces that reward seamers, so the request for extra life could backfire, as happened at Headingley in 2021. The toss again looms large.
What next?
England’s selectors meet tonight. Forecasts suggest mixed weather but no prolonged rain, meaning result cricket is probable. If Archer plays, one of Carse or Tongue is likely to make way. A left-field option would be resting Woakes after back-to-back shifts on energy-sapping pitches.
Whichever combination takes the field, the wider strategy is clear: attack with pace, make the ball talk, and trust the batting to adapt to livelier conditions. Whether that is enough to swing momentum their way will be known soon enough.
