Key events
It looks like play will start on time. As I type, Kumar Sangakkara’s lustrous hair is being buffeted while he chats with Nasser Hussain and Ian Ward on the outfield, but it doesn’t seem too bad. No such problems for Nasser.
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Preamble
As a great man once said: there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that it’s dry at Old Trafford and should stay that way. The bad news is that there could an outside chance of wind stopping play this morning. Oh, behave.
There’s a yellow warning for wind in Manchester, specifically the beast known as Storm Lilian. We know for sure there are no cricket fans at the Met Office, because the urge to christen it Storm Lilian Thomson would have been irresistible.
At some stage, hopefully 11am, England will resume on 259 for six, a lead of 23, with the impressive Jamie Smith needing 28 for his maiden Test century. Smith’s last two innings have had an undeniable aroma of Gilchrist. Dynamism is one thing but Adam Gilchrist’s greatest quality was his ability to seize the initiative before the opposition knew what day it was.
In his last two innings Smith has arrived with England in bother and left with them in the ascendancy; he made 95 from 109 balls at Edgbaston and 72 not out from 97 yesterday. It’s important we don’t get carried away, as tougher challenges await. But nor should we sit still and act like nothing is happening.
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