England v India - as it happened

Preamble Preamble? Preamble?! It's the Saturday of the Lord's Test, the sun is shining, Sachin Tendulkar is on 99 Test hundreds and England are trying to become No1 in the world. There's your preamble! ( NB: The nature of this preamble in no way reflects the fact that the writer is late and winging it, nor does its ostensibly peculiar use of one-line paragraphs reflect the fact that, for SEO purposes , all articles must contain at least four paragraphs ) Riff thing Cricket films trending on social-networking fiasco Twitter . My offering is the pathetic Cabaret Lindwall. But, as nobody will ever say again, a trend ain't a trend until Mac Millings has been involved in it. So come on Millings, and the rest of you, send in your cricket films. 7th over: India 17-0 (Mukund 8, Gambhir 7) There will be 98 overs today, which with contemporary over-rates means the day's play should end tomorrow. Anyway, here's Jimmy Anderson, and his third ball is a gorgeous, booming outswinger that beats Gambhir. That, you don't need me to tell you, is a very good sign for England. An excellent, accurate maiden to start what could be a cracking day's play. "Please advise if in your opinion Pietersen was out on 49," says Farooq Mirza, inexplicably offering me something resembling respect. "If yes it has made a very big difference." No, I don't. But I wish he had been out because it would have been the moment of the summer had Dhoni taken a wicket. 8th over: India 17-0 (Mukund 8, Gambhir 7) Tremlett, his Popeye forearms bursting out of his shirt, charges in to Mukund. He has three slips, a fifth slip and Ian Bell behind square at short leg. There's a fairly big LBW shout from the fifth ball when Mukund gropes around his front pad at a good inswinger. It was going over the top, however, and Asad Rauf rightly said not out. Another challenging maiden, and early impressions are that England are right on it this morning. They have that look in their eyes. They must take wickets with the new ball, because batting will get much easier as the day progresses. "I'll kick us off with a few obvious ones starring Christian Bails," says Anil Haji. "Umpire of the Sun, Batsman Begins, The Dark Nick Knight." 9th over: India 17-0 (Mukund 8, Gambhir 7) For the first hour or so, India's batting will build their innings on a need-to-play basis. Quite right too. Gambhir is able to leave five consecutive outswingers from Anderson – but the last ball is a marvellous lifting outswinger that beats the bat. That was a snorter. "There's something about Murali?" says Jay Hoffman. 10th over: India 19-0 (Mukund 9, Gambhir 8) Mukund pushes Tremlett into the off side for the first run of the morning from the 19th delivery. Gambhir then squirts a single through Trott in the gully. "The stump-back of Notre Dame?" apologises Richard O'Hagan. This is going to deteriorate quickly, isn't it? The only one I can think of is Chungking Forwardpress. I'm sorry. Whose bright idea was this riff? 11th over: India 25-0 (Mukund 12, Gambhir 11) A nice shot from Gambhir, who pushes Anderson down the ground for three. That brings Mukund on strike to Anderson for the first time today, and he is beaten by another storming outswinger. Anderson slips in the surprise inswinger, and Mukund times it nicely down the ground for three more. This is such an important passage of play, because there will times later today when England will be chasing leather. They must take wickets now. "Gone with the Windies," says Gary Naylor. "Bannedrunner, Australian Pie." How about '10 Things I Hate About Yousuf Youhana'? Oh. Let's move on. New riffs please! 12th over: India 31-0 (Mukund 15, Gambhir 12) This has been an impressively purposeful start from both sides. Mukund fends an excellent lifter from Tremlett this far short of Trott in the gully. Tremlett follows up with a full inswinger, and Mukund flashes it urgently through extra cover for three. That's a good response. Later in the over Tremlett knocks Mukund off his feet with a superb short ball that hits him in the grille as he shapes to hook. Mukund even lost his shoe as he fell over, and ran a single while holding his shoe in his left hand. 13th over: India 39-0 (Mukund 23, Gambhir 12) A streaky boundary for Mukund, who chases a very full, very wide delivery from Anderson and edges it right between the men at third and fifth slip. That rough stuff from Tremlett appears to have unsettled Mukund; later in the over he edges an attempted drive not far wide of point. "Neil Fairbrother, Where Art Thou?" says Andi Thomas. "I did this one on Twitter yesterday, but I'm recycling material like a proper comedian." 14th over: India 39-0 (Mukund 23, Gambhir 12) Gambhir pads up on a length to an inswinger from Tremlett, whose resulting LBW appeal is caught in the throat. A maiden. "Good morning Rob," says Kulveer Taggar. "It's Kulveer from San Francisco and it's 3.25am here. I stayed up last night following the game online only to fall asleep frustratingly moments before Dhoni decided to ball. I hope today is as entertaining. I have my Coco Pops to keep me going for a few hours yet." Isn't 3.25am more of a time for kebabs rather than Coco Pops? Some chip shop must sell deep-fried Coco Pops. 15th over: India 44-0 (Mukund 27, Gambhir 12) Stuart Broad is going to replace James Anderson. It'll be interesting to see what length he bowls. Surely he has to be good-to-full in this spell. His length is pretty full in that over, but the line is poor and Mukund is able to flick one of several leg-side deliveries for four. "Fourth by Fourth Test," says Guy Hornsby. "(Viv) Richard(s) III, Room With A Review, Turner and Gooch, Monster's No Ball, Mr and Mrs Robin Smith, Right Arm Medium Fast and Furious." 16th over: India 56-0 (Mukund 36, Gambhir 13) Life is getting a bit easier for the batsmen. Mukund is playing positively and forces Tremlett off the back foot through midwicket for four. Fine shot. The next ball also goes for four, this one flicked extravagantly through square leg. As Sir Ian Botham says on Sky, England should probably bowl fuller to Mukund, who is going back in the crease all the time. Mukund then takes a desperately tight single to Pietersen at mid off, although he would have been home even if Pietersen's underarm throw had hit the stumps. "Surely Coco Pops are too effete to be deep fried?" says Ryan Dunne. "Here in Glasgow, only proper foodstuffs such as sausage, Mars bars, kebabs etc warrant such treatment." Of all the words I thought I might hear used to describe Coco Pops, 'effete' is not one of them. What next: androgynous Frosties? Impudent Weetabix? 17th over: India 60-0 (Mukund 40, Gambhir 13) Mukund is trapped LBW by Broad – but England don't appeal. How weird was that? It was a brilliant inswinging yorker that hit Mukund on the toe a fraction before it hit the middle of the bat, but England thought it was bat first and didn't appeal. Had they done so it might have been given not out anyway. Replays showed that – had they appealed in the first place, had Billy Bowden given him out, had DRS been available and had at least four hats in the crowd been worn at a jaunty 14-degree angle – the original decision would have stood. It hit him on the line of off stump and would have had the outside of off. An excellent second over from Broad ends with a strangled shout for LBW. 18th over: India 63-0 (Mukund 41, Gambhir 15) Anderson has switched ends and will replace Tremlett. With every passing over the feeling grows that this will be a very long day in the field for England, although a lot will depend on whether they can get the ball to reverse. Either way, India's openers have done superbly this morning. "Good morning Rob," says Mark Taylor. "My friend Abigail has never seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Jaws, or Dirty Dancing. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? She is 25 and has nothing wrong with her eyesight. Preposterous. There are other films on her Not Seen list which almost as ludicrous but how is it possible to have gone through life without seeing any of those three?" Isn't leaving certain classic unwatched an essential part of cinephilia? I still haven't seen Police Academy 6, for example. WICKET! India 63-1 (Gambhir b Broad 15) What a beauty from Stuart Broad! That's the length. It was full and swung back through the gate to clatter into middle stump as Gambhir leaned into the drive. It wasn't a great shot, in truth. Shades of Hayden v Hoggard on this ground in 2005. Broad looks lost for a second or two, like he's forgotten what you're supposed to do when one of these wicket things happen. He'll get plenty of practice if he keeps bowling like that. 19th over: India 63-1 (Mukund 41, Dravid 0) "Is it too obvious to have Charlie Shreck starring as, well, Shrek?" says David Horn. "How about Kill Bill Athey? 20th over: India 64-1 (Mukund 42, Dravid 0) Rahul Dravid averages 65 in Tests in England, mainly because of the summer of 2002, when The Wall was at its firmest. He defends carefully against Anderson, and it's a maiden. "I think the e-mail earlier about MO was referring to whether Dravid cleanly took the catch at leg slip as opposed to the Dhoni referral," says Dan Lucas. Ah, I didn't see much of the cricket yesterday so am not sure. Was it out? 21st over: India 69-1 (Mukund 47, Dravid 0) The risk of bowling full, of course, is that occasionally you will be driven for four. Mukund proves the point by push-driving Broad delightfully down the ground. "Don't fret about the runs," says Nasser Hussain on Sky. Mukund flicks another single to move to 47. I like the cut of this kid's jib. "Easy enough for Broad to learn this 'wicket celebration' thing," says Dan Smith. "He just needs to duplicate what he does when he's supposed to be appealing." 22nd over: India 74-1 (Mukund 48, Dravid 4) Dravid gets off the mark from his 14th delivery, leaning into an outswinger from Anderson and square-driving it classily for four. "If I read 'impudent Weetabix' on the first page of a novel, I would continue reading (e.g."Still nursing a grudge over the impudent Weetabix served at the Ambassador's Reception, he reached for the Walther PP, whilst last night's blonde stirred demurely" etc," says Ryan Dunne. "Coco Pops might be ironically cool, but the butchest of cereals are surely Porridge, aforementioned Weetabix or, of course, Shredded Wheat." Oh my, that advert is magnificent." 23rd over: India 74-1 (Mukund 48, Dravid 4) The camera cuts to a chap in the stand with a four bottles of wine and champagne in front of him. "Name 'em David," says Nasser Hussain to David Gower. "Such-and-such is a mid-range champagne" he sniffs, prompting some hearty cackling at the back of the commentary box. Now Gower is discussing the correct technique for holding a champagne glass. Great stuff. In the background Mukund plays out a maiden from Broad, who has a nice rhythm. "They serve Fried Green Coco Pops at the Whistle Stop Cafe," riff-mashes James Blake. 24th over: India 76-1 (Mukund 49, Dravid 5) Anderson hasn't quite been at his best this morning, not that he has bowled badly or anything. Maybe he could have pitched it up a bit more. Two from the over. "Big Trouble in Little Chinaman: The Paul Adams Story," says Ant Pease. "I thank you." Don't mention Chinamen; Bull will come out in a cold one. ( Read the comments here .) WICKET! India 77-2 (Mukund b Broad 49) After playing so well, Mukund's inexperience brings him down. He was so keen to get his fifty that he started chasing wide balls; having been beaten by one, he dragged another back onto the stumps. It was really full but there was no need to play, and that's a disappointing end to a spiky, fearless innings. Its also another wicket for Stuart Broad, who switched to around the wicket at the start of the over and was rewarded almost immediately. 25th over: India 81-2 (Dravid 5, Tendulkar 0) Sachin Tendulkar, on 99 international centuries, receives a wonderful ovation as he walks to the wicket. Dravid and Tendulkar, the most productive middle-order partnership of them all . England have a leg gully in place for Tendulkar, but Broad gets carried away and swings the first delivery down the leg side for four byes. "Wasn't there a centre spread photo in the Guardian a couple of weeks back of a fast food stall at a county fair in San Diego that sold deep-fried butter?" says Lord Selvey. "And something called a Coronary Combo?" Madon, look at the state of this . 26th over: India 85-2 (Dravid 9, Tendulkar 0) Dravid, opening the face with soft hands, edges Anderson low through the slips for two. "The Cook, Hanif, Vishy's Wife & Terbrugge," says Mac Millings. I knew Millings wouldn't disappoint. I knew he'd do much, much worse. 27th over: India 91-2 (Dravid 9, Tendulkar 6) Tendulkar gets off the mark with a lovely stroke, easing Broad through extra cover for two. The leg gully has gone now. England can save the short stuff for later, when the ball is older and Tendulkar's eye is in. For now they want to pitch it up, and Tendulkar is beaten by a good one from Broad that moves away off the seam. Broad has figures of 7-2-17-2. Make that 7-2-21-2, after four overthrows from Pietersen. Broad, you don't need me to tell you, has the face on. 28th over: India 96-2 (Dravid 10, Tendulkar 10) Tremlett is back on in place of Anderson. Tendulkar pushes a defensive stroke into the ground, and for a split second it looks like it might deflect from the pad onto the stumps. It doesn't. Tendulkar waves the next ball thrillingly through the covers for four. He looks in ominously good touch on a ground where, absurdly, he has never made a Test fifty. "I guess," says Chris Brock, "that Gowering Inferno is taking things a little too far?" I think we reached that level a while ago. 29th over: India 100-2 (Dravid 14, Tendulkar 10) Brilliant batting from Dravid, who reaches outside off stump to fizz a full outswinger from Broad through the covers for four. Then he does well to dig out an excellent delivery, fractionally short of yorker length and delivered from wider on the crease. The next ball is very similar and brings a big shout for LBW as Dravid falls over towards off stump. It was swinging comfortably down the leg side, and the excellent Billy Bowden says not out. That was a lovely over. This has been a belting morning's play, a pleasure to OBO. "I've just worked through my hangover sufficiently to look through the OBO,' winces Jonathan Cousins. "Has no one yet tried Dial M for Murtagh?' 30th over: India 101-2 (Dravid 14, Tendulkar 10) Tendulkar is beaten three times in a brilliant over from Tremlett, which also included a strangled LBW shout when Tendulkar jammed the ball into his pads. "In that Coronary Combo picture ," says Mac Millings, "Joseph-Gordon Levitt looks like he really misses Zooey Deschanel." 31st over: India 102-2 (Dravid 15, Tendulkar 10) Andrew Strauss is going to give Jonathan Trott the penultimate over before lunch. It's not a bad move. The ball is swinging, and Sachin Tendulkar used to have all sorts of problems with the not dissimilar Hansie Cronje. No problems in that over, however, which passes without incident. "Hi Rob from sunny Newfoundland, Canada, where I get married at 5.30pm your time, thus missing most of the afternoon and all of the evening session for the preparation and the event itself," says Richard Woods, who just has no bloody commitment to the OBO. "Can it be true that no one has yet mentioned 'The Third Man?' I also offer 'The Seven Year Pitch' for the proposed timeless Test." Arf. Many congratulations; I hope the day goes brilliantly and that you return to find Tendulkar 101 not out and India 220 for nine. 32nd over: India 102-2 (Dravid 15, Tendulkar 10) This has been a fine second spell from Tremlett, and now he beats the groping Dravid with a storming leg-cutter. It's a maiden to finish a cracking session of unyielding Test cricket, in which Stuart Broad rediscovered his length and possibly his mojo. Thanks for your emails; Simon Burnton will be with you for the afternoon session. LUNCH 1.35pm: We'll be back under way in a few minutes. But before we are, it's admission time: I was in Sussex last night, checking out the new hotel attached to the English Wine Centre (I'll be writing up a review for next Saturday's Guardian). Which is why, as the players were taking to the field this morning, I was neither at Lord's nor in the office, eyes fixed on the TV. Instead I was at Polegate station waiting for a train. I made it into the office an hour ago. There you go, my cards are on the table. It was one of those completely packed trains, with people cluttering the doorways and gangways. So my wife and I sat in the totally empty first class bit, and remained there totally undisturbed either by ticket inspector or fellow passenger until we pulled into Victoria. Any guilt I felt about breaking the rules was easily assuaged by the very obvious relative comfort enjoyed by my arse, compared with everyone else's. I think it's important to have a comfortable arse, whenever possible. Sure, there are things I wouldn't do for a train seat – I wouldn't kill anyone, lie to anyone or forcefully place anyone on the overhead baggage shelf against their will, but evidently I will ignore a "first-class ticket-holders only" sign. Clearly most people, though, value the rules over the comfort of their arse. So I guess what I'm asking is this: OBO readership, am I a bad person? Should I be feeling guilty? 33rd over: India 110-2 (Dravid 15, Tendulkar 18) Eight runs, but no running: Tendulkar edges Anderson's first delivery away for four, and rolls the fifth delicately, deliciously through square leg. "I'm not sure whether you're a bad person," writes Phil Sawyer, "but given the motley crew that make up the OBO readership I'd say you've probably now got the best first class average." 34th over: India 116-2 (Dravid 15, Tendulkar 22) A leg bye and a harsh no-ball bookend the over, with another delicious Tendulkar boundary in the middle. So far, consensus is that I'm not a bad person (good), but that I don't know Suffolk from Sussex, where the English Wine Centre is genuinely located (bad). I've now updated the original reference, so the only way a future reader of the OBO would know about the mistake is by reading this big paragraph blathering on about it right here. 35th over: India 120-2 (Dravid 19, Tendulkar 22) There's boundary from Anderson's first ball, guided off the face of the bat through third man. Looked fine to me, but Atherton and Botham both thought it suggested imminent doom for the batsman. I'm still accepting cricket films, if you'd like. Shane Harry proffers Bodyline of Evidence and a very creative The Nawab-ending Pataudi. JK Barnes adds the inevitable Saving Ryan Sidebottom. 36th over: India 125-2 (Dravid 19, Tendulkar 27) Yet another boundary through third-man, this time the ball flying low off the edge of Tendulkar's bat. "I think your arse could make itself feel better about itself by thinking of your act as a piece of noble self-sacrifice for the greater good," reassures Robin Hazlehurst. "If the cheap bit of the train was that crowded, then by removing yourself from it you created a bit more space for everyone else, even if only a few square inches per person. Not only that, you were forced to suffer the torment of knowing that you had broken the rules, a terrible torture for an Englishman." It is, though. It really is. 37th over: India 132-2 (Dravid 19, Tendulkar 32) Another early-in-the-over boundary, pushed by Tendulkar through point. He's now five runs away from equalling his all-time best-ever score for his country at Lord's, but it's Dravid's defensive strokes to the last two balls that have the commentary team really purring. "I'm not sure it makes you a bad person exactly but it does set a dangerous precedent," writes Nick Killick. "Imagine if we all thought our arses were above the law, then where would we be? A country governed by arses. Perish the thought." 38th over: India 138-2 (Dravid 24, Tendulkar 32) After another Dravid boundary, 53% of all runs since lunch have come through third man. Mac Millings has sent in the train-related story of the day. If you can beat this, I'd like to know about it. "Many years ago, I was on a train in China during Spring Festival (around Chinese New Year), a time when it seems that everyone in the country is on the move. The train was packed, and, just when you thought no one else could get on, we'd pull in at a station and more people would climb in through the windows, after first handing up baggage and children. It was fun for me until the food poisoning I'd unknowingly contracted eating dodgy train station food kicked in. I struggled over the mass of humanity to the toilet (a little room with a hole open to the tracks below as they chugged past), to find 3 people asleep in it. So I hiked back to my seat (held for me by my wife). As time went by, I kept getting worse. I tried to hold it in, really I did. First, I threw up out of the window. Then I took out my travel-convenient lunch pail, lowered my trousers and, in front of 100s of surprisingly nonchalant fellow passengers, emptied my bowels into it. Wish I'd taken First Class." 39th over: India 150-2 (Dravid 36, Tendulkar 32) Just as people were starting to grumble about his strike rate, Dravid lashes three boundaries off a single Anderson over. 48 runs in seven overs since lunch. 40th over: India 150-2 (Dravid 36, Tendulkar 32) A good over from Tremlett to Tendulkar, and a maiden. Graeme Swann is preparing himself now. And here's Marie Meyer's #cricketfilm collection: Hooray for Collingwood, Collingwoodland, Back to the Future England Captain, Raiders of the Lost Art of Leg Spin Bowling. 41st over: India 151-2 (Dravid 37, Tendulkar 32) One run off the over, pushed through square leg by Dravid. "Nice story from Mac, but it doesn't surprise me," writes Gary Naylor. "He has been treating his keyboard the way he treated that lunch pail for some years." Miaow! 42nd over: India 154-2 (Dravid 38, Tendulkar 34) Tendulkar finally scores a 33rd run (and a 34th), from the final ball of Tremlett's over, but it's not a good shot. He's been very quiet indeed these last five over or so. And this, from Phil Sawyer: "How about that famous documentary by the Coen brothers of the Oval match in 1882, Burn After Losing?" 43rd over: India 158-2 (Dravid 42, Tendulkar 34) Another Dravid boundary, through deep point – another lovely stroke. Broad coming on now, from the Nursery End (not the one he got his wickets from). WICKET! India 158-3 (Tendulkar c Swann b Broad 34) And he's gone! Tendulkar, having looked out of sorts for the last half-hour, edges low to Swann at second slip – and his best score at Lord's remains 37. 44th over: India 158-3 (Dravid 42, Laxman 0) A wicket maiden! It took an excellent slip catch to deal with Tendulkar, taken perhaps an inch from the ground, Tendulkar having been bewitched by a little outswing. Excellent stuff, and also: The Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless White Flannels, moots Kim Thonger. 45th over: India 158-3 (Dravid 42, Laxman 0) Swann's getting plenty of movement, and Dravid was really struggling there. An excellent over, and England seem invigorated by Tendulkar's departure. 46th over: India 159-3 (Dravid 42, Laxman 0) Two dropped catches! The first is the worst, utterly ludicrous, off the first ball of Broad's over, the ball finding the edge at the top of Laxman's bat and flying straight to Strauss, waist high. He gets it all wrong. Hopelessly wrong. The ball gets nowhere near his palm, bounces off his fingers and falls to the floor. That was straight from the Burnton schoolboy highlights reel, that was. Rubbish. Then the last ball comes off Dravid's bat and flies towards Swann. It's a harder chance, Swann dives and gets there easily, but it's fumbled again. 47th over: India 164-3 (Dravid 46, Laxman 1) The over is largely spent watching close-ups of a basically grieving Broad, though Dravid does get a boundary off the last ball. Time for a drinks break, and another train-related tale. "I was on a train from Moscow to Prague in 2002," writes Martin Burley. "A couple of hours into the journey, the guard came into our compartment, and put two carrier bags on the floor, each containing several bottles of vodka. "Here," he said, and left. We were a bit bemused by this, but all became clear when the customs official came through the train ten minutes later. After they'd been and gone, the guard returned to retrieve his vodka from our compartment, and similar stashes of vodka from every other compartment in the carriage too." 48th over: India 164-3 (Dravid 46, Laxman 1) "Broad has bowled as well as we've seen him by quite some distance," gushes Gower, slightly confusingly. The point is, though, that he's bowling much fuller than he did against Sri Lanka, and he's doing rather well too. Strauss and Pietersen were both replaced for that over, but have returned. 49th over: India 168-3 (Dravid 50, Laxman 1) A very tasty stroke from Dravid sends the ball through long on and brings up his half-century. He's faced 100 balls so far. "In recent memory, has there been an over that feels like it could have turned the entire Test? Strauss misses a sitter, and while Swann's catch was tough, he has made them frequently in the past. Eliminate Laxman and Dravid in the same over, a win is definitely on the cards," writes Scott Woods. "By the way, Strauss pulling the 'injured finger' trick to go to the locker room and scream out some obscenities in private? Is the cricket equivalent of a tennis player playing with the racket strings after putting a volley in the first row, implying its the fault of the racket, taking the focus away from the player's error?" Possibly, but if Strauss's finger was hurt, it wasn't the cause of the fumble but the result of it. 50th over: India 169-3 (Dravid 50, Laxman 1) Just a single leg bye off the over, in which no easy chances were dropped at all. In the previous over Dravid overtook Ricky Ponting as the second-highest run scorer in Test history – 12,364 (and counting) to the Australian's 12,363. 51st over: India 169-3 (Dravid 50, Laxman 1) And that was one of those overs of spin bowling that just whoosh by while you check your emails, without any commentator getting sufficiently excited for your eyes to flick back to the television. 52nd over: India 170-3 (Dravid 51, Laxman 1) This is good stuff from Broad and Swann, keeping the pressure on. Another train story, from Gareth Evans. "En route to see Italy v Wales in a World Cup qualifier in San Siro, me and a few boys flew in to Pisa and took a rickety old train up the coast to Milan. We found the only available seats; a small, filthy compartment with just enough room for 4. It was stifling hot, the windows didn't open and there was nothing to eat or drink. As we sat there sweating and dehydrated the guard came in and intimated in broken English that we couldn't sit here. 'Why?', we asked. 'Wrong tickets', he said, "You're in First Class'." 53rd over: India 176-3 (Dravid 52, Laxman 6) Laxman gets his first boundary, pinged out of the middle of the bat without apparent effort and zipping through extra cover. And another #cricketfilm from Kim Thonger: Bowling John Malkovich. 54th over: India 178-3 (Dravid 53, Laxman 6) Ooooooh! Broad tempts Laxman into throwing his racket at a ball he really should have left alone, but fortunately he narrowly fails to make contact. Ian Botham is sitting directly behind Eric Clapton, the pair of them having obviously shared a beard-trimmer this morning. They could almost be related. Though, thinking about it, you don't really inherit beard length. 55th over: India 178-3 (Dravid 53, Laxman 6) A maiden from Swann, and Tremlett is now taking over from Broad. "A couple of years ago I was on a sleeper train in Scotland, minding my own business in the saloon car (what they call the bar). On the next door table two ageing Scotsmen sat there getting drunker and drunker off a pot of tea," writes George Woods. "After about 2 hours I clocked that they had emptied the teapot and filled it with whisky. I winked at them and was met with a drunk attempt at a sly nod and a slurred answer that it was awful dear to buy the broon water on the train. What geniuses." WICKET! India 182-4 (Laxman c Trott b Tremlett 10) Laxman flicks the ball away off his hip but he catches it too well, and it flies straight to Trott at square fine leg. 56th over: India 182-4 (Dravid 53, Raina 0) Tremlett's first ball is delicious, jagging away from the batsman at the last as Laxman took a swing, but when one sails towards the pads Laxman leans back, rolls his wrists and sends the ball trundling away through square leg. Confidence boosted by that tasty stroke, he's out two balls later. In comes Raina – Raina Man? The Mighty Morphin' Power Raina? WICKET! India 183-5 (Raina lbw b Swann 0) Off the first ball of the over India might have had two runs, but Raina turned down the second and thus stayed on strike. Bad move, chum. Next ball, he's out. 57th over: India 183-5 (Dravid 54, Dhoni 0) Fielders at both short leg and silly point for Dhoni, plus a slip. England on the attack. And the #cricketfilms continue to drip in, with our own Mike Selvey suggesting East of Eden Gardens and Lord's of the Rings. 58th over: India 183-5 (Dravid 54, Dhoni 0) Maiden over from Tremlett to Dravid. 'Songs are surely much better than films for Raina puns," opines Ryan Dunne. "It's Raina Men, A Hard Raina's Gonna Fall, I'll Take the Raina." Yes, but we're not doing songs, are we? Are we? 59th over: India 187-5 (Dravid 54, Dhoni 4) Dhoni gets off the mark off his 10th ball, slapped through cover for four. 60th over: India 189-5 (Dravid 55, Dhoni 4) The over starts with yet another no ball. And it ends with a train-related story from Sean Kilgannon: "Having recently broken up with a lady, I found a new friend on the internet, and we agreed to meet up in Shibuya. (I was living in Tokyo at the time). After crossing the famous crossing, the one you always see on TV, we found a restaurant with a happy hour. Lovely, decent food and 300 yen balloons of wine. But happy hour was drawing to a close, and hard up Sean was getting nervous, until he remembered the pub round the corner. Sunday happy hour. Wa-hey!!! (Most impressive was that my new Japanese lady friend was as appreciative of the booze as I was). Anyway, after hours of "bonding" with beer and wine, we decided, at 9pm, that karaoke time had arrived. Settled in our karaoke room, (not love hotel), I perused the songs on offer, while she prepared to order the drinks."What do you want?""A glass of shochu", said I, worried about gout. The next time I looked up, there was a bottle of shochu. Why? "They don't do shochu by the glass."I could have sent it back, or drunk some of it, but instead, decided, this was a challenge. "I only have an hour to drink this bottle!" Yes, I was already pissed. The next thing I remember is waking up in a cold, quiet place. When I opened my eyes I realised that I was lying on my back on a station platform, surrounded by anxious Japanese people, peering down at me. Not feeling very dignified, I thought I ought to bestir myself, only to hear 'Don't move! Don't move!' from one of the spectators." Crikey! What a cliffhanger! It's like something out of Penelope Pitstop! 61st over: India 193-5 (Dravid 59, Dhoni 4) Dravid's 11th four is lazily swatted through cover, a very classy effort and the only runs from the over. "I'm surprised nobody's mentioned The Magnificent Six yet. Or indeed The Fantastic Four," writes Chris Bourne. 62nd over: India 193-5 (Dravid 59, Dhoni 4) Anderson bowls the final over before tea, and entirely uneventful it is too, until Dhoni nicks the last ball to first slip – not much of a chance; it bounced a yard short. Sky use the time to show us some celebrities in the audience. Michael Parkinson! Benedict Cumberbatch! TEA Rob Smyth will be back to look after you in the final session. A really good couple of hours that. Thanks. Hello again . This England team are half decent, aren't they? Something to do during the tea break Watch this catch . And then watch it again, and again, and again, and again, and again, and wonder how the hell. 63rd over: India 195-5 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 60, Dhoni 5) There will be 42 overs in this session, and Graeme Swann begins the first from around the wicket to Rahul Dravid. He works a single to leg, and Dhoni does likewise. "After they'd patched me up at hospital, me unconscious, I woke up, and they told me I could go home," says Sean Kilgannon. "Waking up on Monday, with pains everywhere, and a comedy bandage on my head, I first called in sick, then phoned the hospital. (The number found on the bag of medicine they gave me.). "I'm the foreigner who was brought to your hospital last night. Can you tell me what happened to me?" You fell down at the station. "Fell down what? The steps?" Yes, you fell down the steps. So, lurching around Tokyo, I told everyone I'd fallen down the steps at the station. Until, I went to have the stitches taken out. The doc, who'd trained at the MRI in his youth, and later wanted to discuss yachting in the Mersey estuary, greeted me with a huge smile. Remember, I thought I'd fallen down the steps at Shibuya station. "So", he beamed, "you were hit by a train!" What the !!!!!!!!!!!ck." 64th over: India 196-5 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 60, Dhoni 5) Stuart Broad starts with a no-ball to Dhoni, who then charges halfway down the wicket before being sent back by Dravid. It doesn't bother Dhoni, whose heart wouldn't skip a beat if you dropped 15 marmots into his bath. The next delivery bothers him though, and brings a huge shout from LBW from Broad. It was full and angled in to hit Dhoni on the pad when he missed a whip to leg. Broad started to celebrate and then realised it might be a good idea to appeal. Asad Rauf said not out, and replays showed he was right to do so; it was going down leg. "I really don't care about others saying that it's the fault of the Future Tours Programme," says Gary Naylor. "Everyone knows that what the BCCI says goes, so that could have been dealt with, Duncan Fletcher has repeated his hubris from 2006-7 by delivering a Test team undercooked into a big series in foreign conditions. Fletcher has (obviously) plenty of good points, but he has blind spots too and the need to play cricket outside the international game is surely one." The general point is a fair one, but didn't he inherit this itinerary? 65th over: India 198-5 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 61, Dhoni 6) " Alastair Cook, Rashid, Nick Knight and John Lever ," says Harry Tuttle. "Four gritty tales from the underworld of English cricket, starring a golden boy on the rise; a flamboyant outsider fighting for acceptance from the establishment; a permanent prospect struggling to realise his potential; and a bowler accused of ball-tampering." 66th over: India 198-5 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 61, Dhoni 6) No sign of a counter attack yet from Dhoni, who defends a maiden from Broad. He has six from 40 balls. 67th over: India 202-5 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 64, Dhoni 7) It's been a pretty sedate start to the session. Dravid will just play, of course; he's a master of the dying art of batting time. Swann almost slips a quicker one through him from around the wicket; Dravid reacts smartly to skip to leg and jab the ball away. In other news, has anyone been here ? Is it bad? I have to go there this evening. They made me do it. 68th over: India 205-5 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 65, Dhoni 9) Three from Broad's over. The new ball is due in 12 overs' time, so presumably Swann will bowl through at one end. Not sure how they will juggle it at the other, though. "Re cricket films," begins Gary Naylor, "is there any truth in the rumour that the Australian release of The Ashes 2010-11 DVD was titled Apocalypse Now?" Ho-honk! 69th over: India 211-5 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 65, Dhoni 15) Pietersen is moved from deep mid on to mid on for Swann – so Dhoni slaps the first ball right over his head for two. Then he gets his second boundary with a decisive, fast-handed cover drive. Dhoni looks in the mood for business. 70th over: India 213-5 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 65, Dhoni 16) Dravid digs out a yorker from Broad, who has figures you'd be happy to take home to meet your Mama: 18-6-33-3. "I notice you've started the follow-on countdown," says Will Jones. "In a frankly absurd need for detail, how do you decide when to start this somewhat over optimistic mathematics? Is it purely on a whim or do you wait for the TMS to start discussing whether Strauss would risk facing Tendulkar again tomorrow?" We have an official Guardian follow-on correspondent, on a rumoured salary of 12 figures, who analyses these things. (Yeah, on a whim, like everyone else in the over-by-ovI HATE CRICKET.) 71st over: India 215-5 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 66, Dhoni 17) Two from Swann's over. "Interesting 'What's On' section at the Kings Cross Social Club," says Dan Smith. "Nothing. I find their lack of effort quite encouraging." I assumed that was a philosophical statement about my anticipated arrival." 72nd over: India 220-5 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 71, Dhoni 17) Jonathan Trott is coming on for a few overs before the second new ball. I thought this might happen, which is why I'm now going to go back and amend the entry for the 69th over to make it look like I said this was going to happen. Will Dhoni go for him? No idea yet, but Dravid has just eased him through extra cover for four with stunning timing and placement. Man, what a beautiful shot that was. He bisected short extra cover and mid off perfectly. "Cover Driving Miss Daisy," says Nick Blake. "C'mon Rob, these are class!" Well... 73rd over: India 222-5 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 72, Dhoni 18) MS Tavare drives Swann for a single. He has 18 from 63 balls. "Late in the day to join the fun (?)," says Chris Langmead, "but can I suggest 'Frost/Nixon' – I think our friend Paul would have had some choice replies for Sir David." Any excuse to post this link . 74th over: India 224-5 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 73, Dhoni 19) Trott gets one to lift a little and hit Dhoni in the facilitators. 75th over: India 226-5 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 74, Dhoni 20) Dravid flicks another single to leg. "Trott to Dravid is one wall to another!" says Anand. "Considering that the follow on is only 60 runs or so, shouldn't Eng try to bowl their best bowlers although the new ball is due soon?" I don't think England care about the follow on – they won't take it even if they have the opportunity. In the context of the game it makes sense to hurry through a few cheap overs and get the new ball as soon as possible. 76th over: India 226-5 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 74, Dhoni 20) Trott beats Dhoni with a lovely delivery that nips away past the edge. Where did that come from? A maiden. In other news, here's an inspired offering from Dan Lucas: "Millings' Crossing." 77th over: India 228-5 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 75, Dhoni 21) Swann has now switched, so he is going around the wicket to Dhoni and over the wicket to Dravid. I don't know what else to say. Everyone is just waiting for the second new ball. 78th over: India 230-5 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 75, Dhoni 23) ... and then she told me the injunction was still live! 79th over: India 233-5 (Dravid 77, Dhoni 24) Kevin Pietersen will bowl the penultimate over before the second new ball wakes us all up. His third ball dips and spins sharply off the pitch onto Dhoni's inside edge. "Just to annoy MSD a bit (although I don't think anyone apart from Sreesanth can do it), Prior should take off his pads and bowl an over before the second cherry is due," says Anand. 80th over: India 235-5 (Dravid 78, Dhoni 25) A quiet over from Trott. New ball please! "England are definitely missing a trick here by not going for the jugular," says Shyam Sandilya. "Think India from the end of day one have been looking for a draw and its up to England to force a victory in this Test. If England aren't aggressive and give themselves enough time to bowl India out twice, 2007 will be repeated again with Zak back for the next Tests." 81st over: India 237-5 (Dravid 78, Dhoni 27) James Anderson sizes up the new red cherry. Over his shoulder, a man in the Pavilion is fast asleep on his shoulder. Watch out for that drool spot. Anderson's first over is a slightly rusty affair, with Dhoni steering a couple to third man. 82nd over: India 239-5 (Dravid 79, Dhoni 28) According to Twitter (I know), Amy Winehouse is dead. Blimey. I didn't really notice what was happening in Tremlett's over; not much, I assume, as only two runs was added to the score. 83rd over: India 239-5 (Dravid 79, Dhoni 28) That's the first jaffa with the second new ball, a seductive leg-cutter from Anderson that lured Dhoni into the drive and then zipped past the edge. "That's a good delivery" purrs Michael Holding. A maiden. WICKET! India 240-6 (Dhoni c Swann b Tremlett 28) This is a lovely bit of work from England. It was a fine delivery from Tremlett, a lifting leg cutter that found the edge as Dhoni fiddled outside off stump, and Swann at second slip moved sharply to his left to take an excellent two-handed catch. WICKET! India 241-7 (Harbhajan c Prior b Tremlett 0) Two in three balls for Tremlett! Harbhajan has a feeble, leaden-footed swish at a shortish delivery well wide of off stump, and the ball flies through to Matt Prior. Harbhajan didn't fancy that. The first ball had followed him, and then he went looking for the second. That's a big wicket for England, because Harbhajan is a very dangerous counter-attacker at No8. 84th over: India 241-7 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 80, Kumar 0) "Will Dravid hit four consecutive sixes to avoid the follow-on?" says Anand. If that happens, I really will run down Oxford Street naked. 85th over: India 254-7 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 85, Kumar 4) Dravid opens the face to glide Anderson to third man for four, and then Praveen Kumar plays an hilarious shot, dumping the first ball he faces for Anderson over mid on for four. Anderson looks like he's seen a ghost. Four leg byes make it 13 from the over. "I notice you stopped the follow-on countdown in the 79th over, Rob," says Phil Sawyer. "Two wickets later, was that a clever piece of psychological jinxing on your part or did you just get bored of counting?" It wasn't even a countdown – I just had the overall target of 275. But yeah, cutting and pasting can be an exhausting business. I needed a break. 86th over: India 264-7 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 91, Kumar 8) Kumar is in feisty mood and slaps Tremlett's short ball over mid off for three. Then Dravid moves into the nineties with a wonderful on-drive. India are racing towards the follow-on target, although I don't know that England would have enforce it anyway. I think they should enforce it if they get the chance, mind. "I'm not one to cause some Vietnam style flashbacks by mention of Ad-----e," says Ryan Dunne, "but don't you have OBO previous in promising naked runs if a particular event happens and then not following through?" I sacrificed my reputation as an honest man in the name of the greater good. 87th over: India 272-7 (need 275 to avoid the follow-on; Dravid 92, Kumar 15) Kumar misses a violent slap at Anderson, and then clatters the next delivery over mid on for two. This is great fun; he's playing a shot a ball. Later in the over he rolls the wrists like Azharuddin in his pomp to flip an outswinger over backward square leg for four. That was a magnificent stroke! "Call me stupid," says Joseph Matthes, "but I don't quite understand why the draw on this Test is such an odds-on favourite result? The weather looks clear for the next two days." The Lord's pitch tends not to deteriorate, and it's really hard to force victory on the last day. I wouldn't have the draw as odds-on favourite, but I would have it as favourite. 88th over: India 274-7 (Dravid 93, Kumar 16) Tremlett restores order with an accurate over to Dravid. India need one more to avoid the follow on. WICKET! India 276-8 (Kumar c Strauss b Broad 17) Kumar's jaunty cameo of 17 from 13 balls comes to an end. Broad replaced Anderson and rammed in a very sharp short ball that Kumar could only glove up in the air. Strauss ran round from slip to take a comfortable catch. 89th over: India 276-8 (Dravid 94, Zaheer 0) "Are you still taking train stories Rob?" asks Patrick Curry. "I was travelling in Italy with a mate. Bought tickets, caught train. Didn't realise you had to validate tickets on train platform before boarding. Clearly an honest mistake. Ticket inspector charges 100 euros penalty fine each to be paid at destination, reduced to 50 each if pay in cash on the spot. Despite protestations he insists (in front of entire onlooking carriage) that we pay up. Got to Rome and disembarked to see him smirking and counting cash with his inspector cronies. Clearly a common ruse. The bastard." On that subject, this is a terrific book . The story at the end of the review is quite amusing, although I can't found the full version with Matthew Engel's perfect pay-off. 90th over: India 283-8 (Dravid 100, Zaheer 0) Dravid moves from 94 to 98 with an exquisite back-foot cover-drive off Tremlett. And there's his hundred! He times Tremlett through midwicket for two to reach his 33rd Test century – and his first at Lord's, 15 years after he was out for 95 here on his Test debut. In a perverse reversal of basic DIY principles, The Wall is on the Honours Board. He raises his right hand and then repeats Kevin Pietersen's celebration with an underarm punch of the air. It's a spine-tingling moment, and so richly deserved by one of the true gentlemen of sport, never mind cricket. He has played quite beautifully. 91st over: India 283-8 (Dravid 100, Zaheer 0) A maiden from Broad to Zaheer. What an innings this has been from Rahul Dravid. WICKET! India 284-9 (Zaheer b Anderson 0) Zaheer is bowled neck and crop by a majestic outswinger from Anderson that pitches middle and hits middle-and-off. A ball like that is wasted on a No10. 92nd over: India 284-9 (Dravid 101, Sharma 0) If England score at around four an over tomorrow, they should be able to set India something like 440 in 120 overs. That's a long time to survive, even at Lord's, if the ball is swinging. 93rd over: India 284-9 (Dravid 101, Sharma 0) Dravid turns down a single from the third ball of Broad's over. He can't get one later in the over, so Anderson will get to bowl at Ishant Sharma. 94th over: India 284-9 (Dravid 101, Sharma 0) Sharma survives Anderson's over. "I must confess to a dose of man-love for Dravid," says Phil Sawyer. "Yes, maybe he's sometimes eclipsed by the other Indian superstars, but he just looks so damn noble. He looks like he's the one who would take control if, say, your plane crashed in the jungle. And you'd follow him, believing every word he said that you'd all get through it." The phrase 'class act' could have been invented for Dravid. He's an almost flawless human being, which is quite an achievement given that he's a) human and b) a sportsman. You'd have to be a desperately gormless Englishman not to be utterly thrilled for him. 95th over: India 286-9 (Dravid 103, Sharma 0) Dravid works Broad through midwicket for two. As Nasser Hussain says on Sky, he's not exactly Mike Hussey when it comes to batting with No11. He's so elegant that you almost don't want him to start slogging; it'd be like seeing Cate Blanchett in hotpants. WICKET! India 286 (Sharma c Prior b Anderson 0) Ishant Sharma edges Anderson to the keeper, so England have a mighty lead of 188 as reward for a seriously good bowling performance. Rahul Dravid walks off to a standing ovation after a divine unbeaten 103. You wouldn't believe how classy an innings that was. England will be back out in a few minutes, with play going on until 7pm. INNINGS BREAK 1st over: England 1-0 (Strauss 0, Cook 0) Zaheer Khan is not on the field, as expected, so Praveen Kumar takes the first over. It's a quiet first over to Strauss, who is content to leave everything outside off stump. "How I wish Sehwag was playing this game," says Anand. "Would have pushed England's declaration thoughts further. Would be a mouthwatering prospect if India had to chase 350 on the last day." The first Test of 2008-09, when India chased 387 at a canter , will certainly be on England's mind. There is absolutely no chance of an 'open' declaration, nor should there be in this particular situation. 2nd over: England 1-0 (Strauss 0, Cook 0) Ishant Sharma has a risible LBW appeal turned down by Billy Bowden when his first ball hits Alastair Cook on the pad. It pitched miles outside leg stump. Cook is then beaten by a storming lifter, angled across him from over the wicket. 3rd over: England 3-0 (Strauss 2, Cook 0) Strauss gets the first off the bat with a clip through midwicket for two. "Amy Winehouse joins the 27 Club then," says Lord Selvey, "which includes Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Brian Jones, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and a whole heap of other musicians." Crikey, look at the list . 4th over: England 4-0 (Strauss 2, Cook 0) England are batting for the close, not playing any attacking strokes at all. That's fair enough really. 5th over: England 5-0 (Strauss 3, Cook 0) That's the end of a cracking day's play, defined by the performances of Rahul Dravid and Stuart Broad. England lead by 193 and will hope to declare sometime after tea tomorrow. Night.