Tom Hartley’s 7-62 ensured England completed the unlikeliest of comebacks to win the first Test against India by 28 runs in Hyderabad.
Hartley’s figures were the second best for an England spinner on Test debut, made even more extraordinary given the struggles he faced earlier in the game.
His first delivery in Test cricket was met with disdain, with Yashasvi Jaiswal clearing his front leg and depositing it into the stands for six. After his first three overs, he had gone for more than 30 runs and a familiar story of the young, untested English spinner failing in India appeared to be emerging.
Embed from Getty ImagesHartley has a modest first-class record, only picking up one other 5-wicket haul, but the England selectors identified qualities in him that they felt would enable him to succeed in Indian conditions. One is the pace he bowls, and another is his release height – given he stands at 6 ft 4.
In those opening overs, this ‘hunch’ looked like it couldn’t be further from the truth, and this is where credit must go to Ben Stokes’ captaincy. Rather than taking him off (as many others would have done) and banishing him into the field to ruminate on what had unfolded, he cajoled, encouraged, and most importantly showed faith. The more Hartley bowled, the more relaxed he looked, allowing him to take his first two Test match wickets in the process.
Despite this, England trailed India by 190 runs in the first innings – for context India had never lost a test at home when leading by more than 65. Had Bazball reached its limitations? Up step, Ollie Pope, who swept, lapped, and reverse-swept his way to a magnificent 196 to set India a chase of 230 to win – his previous best in India was 34.
The fourth innings is where the faith Stokes showed in Hartley, really paid off. Yes, Bazball is about attacking cricket, but it is also about having an unfaltering belief in the team and its players regardless of the circumstances. Hartley was able to harness the confidence gained in the first innings, thanks to Stokes, and used his height and guile to bowl England to victory.
The dismissal of the determined Srikar Bharat was a beauty, pitching outside the leg stump and turning past his defences to hit halfway up the off-pole. It was then fitting that the final wicket of Mohammed Siraj would fall to Hartley, having experienced the lowest of lows of Test Cricket on day one to the highest of highs late on day four.
Embed from Getty ImagesShoaib Bashir has now arrived in India, following his visa issues, and is available for the second Test in Visakhapatnam, which starts on February 2. Brendon McCullum has said that there is a good chance that he will play and that England could well field an all-spin attack at some point on the tour.
India will be without talisman Ravindra Jadeja and KL Rahul through injury and have called up Washington Sundar, Sourabh Kumar, and Sarfaraz Khan as replacements.
Whilst we get giddy, we must remember that England also won the first test on their last tour to India, when they were comprehensively beaten 3-1. But if Stokes and McCullum believe, why can’t we?
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