The third Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy is poised for an intense finish. With six wickets in hand and 135 more runs to get, the game is virtually on a knife-edge. With the possibility of either side claiming victory, England's assistant coach Marcus Trescothick fired a warning shot at team India. He urged the Indian team not to take things lightly, even though there may not be enough runs to play with. 

Earlier on day four, England suffered a horrendous collapse after lunch and lost their remaining six wickets for just 38 runs. Troubled vastly by Sundar and Bumrah, England imploded for 192, thus giving India a realistic 4th innings target of 193. The England response with the ball was beligerent as Carse and Stokes launched a late assault to have India reeling four down for just 58 by stumps. 

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Advantage for England feels Trescothick

The pitch has offered an invariable bounce on day four, and with India batting last on day five, the surface is likely to deteriorate further. The England assistant coach feels England has a strong chance of outplaying India in this match and believes they have got the resources at their disposal to make that happen. 

Speaking at a press conference following the end of the day's play, Trescothick highlights that Archer and Co can certainly exploit the bouncy nature of the pitch to their advantage. He feels the nursery end offers more bounce as opposed to the pavilion end. This very factor could help England define the course of the Test match in the early few minutes of the day. 

“You kind of see a bit more bounce bowling from the nursery end while bowling from the pavilion end, maybe a bit more use of the slope where it angles back towards the stump. That's hopefully what we'll see again tomorrow and hopefully it'll seam everywhere and we'll get 6 wickets in the first hour. A couple of late wickets in the day gives them that hope that, we're bang on the money, so it will revolve around the first hour of the day tomorrow. How positive India can be, how dominant we can be with the ball, and how many early wickets we can get.”

In addition, he also gives an update on Shoaib Bashir, who got himself injured while trying to stop a shot against Ravindra Jadeja on day three. Much to the relief of the home side, he confirms that the tall off-spinner is fit to bowl in the match. 

India are chasing glory at the Lord's. Their only successful run chase at this venue came in the 1986 Test during the Kapil Dev era. Besides, India have a poor record while chasing in England, winning only three out of 23 run chases. While the target of 193 may not seem like a big one, with the surface playing all sorts of tricks, India may find it very difficult to get close to their target. 

Due to a shortage of players, England had to bring in assistant coaches Marcus Trescothick and Paul Collingwood to serve as substitute fielders in the current fifth Test against India at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.

In response, Trescothick and Collingwood, former players themselves, were drafted in as substitute fielders. This move mirrors a similar instance in 2020 when New Zealand enlisted an assistant coach as a fielder during an ODI against India.

Opting to bat first after winning the toss, England, led by Ben Stokes, made a solitary change in their playing eleven for the final Test, with Mark Wood stepping in for Robinson.

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Assistant Coaches Trescothick and Collingwood Sub in as England’s Fielders

Despite a victorious start to the tour with a win in the first Test in Hyderabad, England succumbed to India’s resurgence, losing the subsequent three matches, which led to India securing an insurmountable 3-1 lead.

Stokes, acknowledging the challenges, emphasized the significance of representing the country and commended the team’s resilience, stating, “It’s another opportunity to represent our country. Great experience for the boys to be part of this series and they have shown great character in their fight.”

England’s Playing XI for the fifth Test comprised Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow, Ben Foakes (w), Tom Hartley, Shoaib Bashir, Mark Wood, and James Anderson.