ENGLAND FACING ULTIMATE TEST OF BRAVADO

ENGLAND’S belief in miracles will be tested to its limits after India left them in an apparently unwinnable position heading into the final day of the second Rothesay Test at Edgbaston.

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In the three years since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took the reins of the Test side it has become a guiding principle that their team do not do draws a rain-ruined Ashes clash at Old Trafford the only one in 37 matches of the ‘Bazball’ era.

Now they may be forced to accept that avoiding defeat is the only route out of Birmingham that keeps their series lead in tact.

Chasing a colossal 608, almost 200 more than the world record, they found themselves 72 for three at the end of day four. With an inconceivable 536 to win in 90 overs, a challenge of their bravado awaits.

India, riding on the coattails of yet another century from their insatiable captain Shubman Gill, raised eyebrows by delaying their declaration well beyond expectation and they must now hope the weather does not leave them short of time.

By the time Gill finally pulled the plug at 427 for six, a packed crowd had stopped singing Oasis songs and started chanting “boring, boring India”.