By India News Newsdesk
Birmingham, July 4 (IANS) Former England cricketer Mark Butcher believes if England decide to score big runs on day three of the second Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy Test, they should look to emulate what was done by India skipper Shubman Gill, who hit a masterly career-best score of 269.
Harry Brook (30 not out) and Joe Root (18 not out) took England to 77-3 at stumps and trail India by 510 runs, after Gill鈥檚 magnificent knock took the visitors to 587. 鈥淭here is a patch of rough for the spinners but it is very minimal and not particularly inviting for the bowler. It is a little on the full side. England鈥檚 batters should look at Gill鈥檚 innings 鈥 play tight and then make plenty of runs.鈥
鈥淚t is a good deck and should be a good day. It is slightly cooler with a breeze from the west but the surface hasn鈥檛 changed a great deal. There is a bit of linear cracking starting to appear down the middle but I don鈥檛 think that will have much of an impact,鈥 said Butcher on Sky Sports鈥 broadcast ahead of day three鈥檚 play.
England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who bowled 45 overs and took 3-167, sounded upbeat about the mood in the dressing room after being made to toil hard by Gill. 鈥淚t was a tough day yesterday, due to a lot of toil and hard work. But I think the mood鈥檚 alright. We have Rooty and Brooky, two of the best batters in the world in my opinion at the moment, and we are backing them to do what they do best. We are excited to see what today brings.鈥
Asked about his bowling form in the series so far, Bashir said, 鈥淚 feel really good actually. I feel in quite control of what I鈥檓 trying to do. I鈥檝e been working on a few things, building up into this Test series. I feel like my consistency is getting a bit better. Again, the more I bowl, the more experience I鈥檒l get. That鈥檚 what I鈥檝e been working on.鈥