ENG vs IND 2025: ‘Not a surface to come out swinging’ – Ollie Pope explains Bazball’s no-show on Day 1 in Lord’s Test

England batted with an unusually conservative approach on Day 1 of the third Test against India at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on Thursday, July 10. This was after Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bat first. After batting 83 overs, England posted 251/4 at a run rate of just over 3.

Ever since head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Stokes joined forces, England have been known for batting aggressively in Test matches, an approach that is fondly termed as ‘Bazball’. They have often scored more than 400 runs in a day but Thursday was a completely different story.

Ollie Pope, who has a career strike rate close to 65, batted 104 balls to score 44 runs. His partnership with Joe Root frustrated the Indian players in the second session and the likes of Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj even tried to tease them into playing aggressively. At the end of the day, Pope, who was dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja off the first ball of the final session, said that the surface wasn’t ideal for playing attacking cricket and also praised the Indians for the way they bowled.

“This wasn’t a surface where you could come out swinging. The Indian attack held their lengths and made it hard to score. It’s not necessarily the way we’re used to going about putting together a first innings, but I think 250 for four is a pretty good score, obviously would have liked some more runs. But the nature of the surface and the way the Indian attack bowled was pretty good throughout,” Pope said in the press conference.

“Sometimes you might see some more aggressive shots on a pitch that’s really moving and nipping around — because that’s your best way of putting pressure back on the bowlers. But today called for a different approach,” he added.

The first hour of play on Day 2 is going to be very crucial for both teams. India have just taken the new ball and would like to make early inroads. Joe Root is unbeaten on 99, and all eyes will be on him, as he looks to score his 37th Test century.