"Who is running this game?", David Llyod hits out at umpires for letting Indians dictate terms

Former England cricketer and now a prominent voice of the game, David Lloyd has hit out at the two on-field umpires of first England- India Test at Trent Bridge, Nottingham. Lloyd considered Richard Kettleborough and Michael Gough as not being tough enough on Indian batsmen. He has said that it was not the umpires who were calling the shots, rather Indian batsmen KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant were taking decisions on their own.

Lloyd was referring to the stoppage of play late on the third day of the first Test between India and England when Rahul and Pant were reluctant to bat under what he calls “squally showers” which were not to last long.

He said that James Anderson did something out of his role on the field by intervening and asking the Indian batsmen to stop from going off the ground.

"Who is running this game? The umpires or the players? We had a squally shower come over Trent Bridge that clearly wasn’t going to last long but India refused to bat. Michael Gough was just letting them walk off until Jimmy Anderson intervened and they carried on. It’s not his job! The umpires need to be much, much firm," Lloyd wrote in the Daily Mail.

Lloyd has had some strong words for the Indian team in the recent past. Earlier, during England’s tour of India, he had criticised Indian team management for the quality of pitches used in that series.

India were in pursuit of 209 runs to win the first game of the series and they finished the fourth day at 52/1 after Joe Root and Jasprit Bumrah’s brilliant performances kept the game in the balance.

Discover more

Felt real benefit from playing some white-ball cricket against Sri Lanka: Joe Root

England Test skipper Joe Root notched up an important century against India in the second innings of the first Test in Nottingham. The right-handed batsman talked about his knock after the day’s play and revealed that playing the white-ball fixtures against Sri Lanka helped him in his red-ball game as well. “It felt pretty good to get a big score and get us into position to give us a chance of winning this Test,” Root said in a virtual press conference. “I’ve actually felt a real benefit from playing some white-ball cricket (in Sri Lanka),” he added. Riding on Root’s ton, the home side notched up 303 in the second innings before they were bundled out and handed India a target of 209 runs. The right-hander was eventually undone by Jasprit Bumrah after he was caught by Rishabh Pant for 109. Bumrah returned with a fifer while Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur picked up a couple of wickets each in the second innings. Earlier, the visiting team had taken a lead of 95 runs in the first innings after they scored 278 in reply to England’s 183. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja scored individual fifties for the team while the tail-enders also chipped in with some valuable runs at the end. India were 52/1, needing 157 more to win this match when the stumps were called on Day 4.

Just trying to improve my game all the time: Jasprit Bumrah after taking 9-wicket match haul

India pacer Jasprit Bumrah has had a good time at the office in the first Test match against England in Nottingham after he bagged a total of nine wickets in the game that included a fifer in the second innings. Talking about his performance, the right-arm bowler said that he didn’t really have any special preparations for the series but admitted that a bit of “mindset adjustments” did work for him. “Not a lot of adjustments to be very honest, just the mindset adjustments. Probably not looking at the end result, being in the moment, trying to back your skills and enjoy the game of cricket,” said Bumrah about his improvement at the post-day press conference. “There are not a lot of changes that I have made. I am just trying to improve my game all the time and trying to add new things, at the same time carrying the things that I still have,” he added. India bowled out England for 303 in the second innings to fix themselves a target of 209 runs to chase in the fourth innings. The visitors were 52/1 with Rohit Sharma and Cheteshwar Pujara at the crease when the stumps were called on Day -4. England captain Joe Root was the pick of the batsman for the hosts as he scored a fine century in the second innings. Virat Kohli-led side had earlier taken a lead in the first innings after scoring 278 in reply to England’s 183. While KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja notched up individual fifties, the tailenders chipped in with some crucial runs at the end.

Match between Gloucestershire & Middlesex cancelled due to Covid-19

The One-Day Cup match between Gloucestershire and Middlesex was cancelled after an outbreak of Covid-19. A number of Gloucestershire players were infected and forced into isolation. “We are extremely disappointed to announce that tomorrow's Royal London Cup match at Radlett against Gloucestershire has been cancelled by the ECB, due to a Covid outbreak in the Gloucestershire squad,” Middlesex said in a statement. “We have tonight heard from the ECB and Gloucestershire that the scheduled visitors tomorrow are unable to field a side for the clash as the majority of their squad are self isolating after Covid tests in the camp returned positive,” it further added. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had confirmed the cancellation of the fixture after there were instances of positive Covid-19 cases within the Gloucestershire team. Earlier, a county match between Essex and Derbyshire was called off midway while Kent had to field their second XI for a match after one of the players of the first team had tested positive. Middlesex have only managed to win two out of the seven matches that they have played and have five points under their belt. On the other hand, Gloucestershire have clinched wins in three of the seven matches that they have featured in and have six points in their kitty.

The Hundred | Oval Invincibles vs Trent Rockets: When & where to watch match Live, Probable XI, Fantasy XI

As things have started to tighten up for the Playoffs in The Hundred Men’s competition, Oval Invincibles, who started well, but have lost both their away games with another one of it getting washed out, would be looking to bounce back once again at home when they face Trent Rockets. Sitting at the top of the points table, Trent Rockets have lost only one game and are looking like the firm favourites to lift the inaugural title. However, their loss against Birmingham Phoenix at Edgbaston was more than suggestive that they are beatable and if the right tactics are applied, the Rockets could actually be fused before taking off. But will Sam Billings and his team, which has struggled with ball and in the field be able to pull off a perfect sow to humble the Table toppers and keep their Playoffs hopes alive? Oval Invincibles vs Trent Rockets: Match Details Match Number- 22 Date and Time: 08 August 2021, 11:30 pm IST, 07:00 pm Local, 06:00pm GMT Venue: Kennington Oval, London Live Stream: FanCode Pitch Report The pitch at Oval has been a sporting wicket with help for the bowlers and still flat enough to give batters and boost and make short format match interesting for the audiences. Weather Forecast With only 16% chances of rain at the start of the game at 07:00 pm local time and decreasing with the passage of time, audiences in London could be in for a full-fledged game of The Hundred. Oval Invincibles Probable XI Jason Roy, Will Jacks, Sunil Narine, Sam Billings (c & wk), Colin Ingram, Laurie Evans, Jordan Clark, Tom Curran, Tabraiz Shamsi, Reece Topley, Saqib Mahmood Trent Rocktes Probable XI D Arcy Short, Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Tom Moores (wk), Steven Mullaney, Lewis Gregory (c), Samit Patel, Rashid Khan, Luke Wood, Matthew Carter, Wahab Riaz Fantasy XI Will Jacks, Sam Billings (wk), Colin Ingram, D Arcy Short, Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Lewis Gregory, Samit Patel, Rashid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Tabraiz Shamsi Captain Sam Billings Vice-Captain Samit Patel