There was a time back in the '80s and '90s when England's opposition always seemed to raise their game at Lord's and come away with victory, even if they got hammered elsewhere. India did it in 1986 when a combination of Dilip Venhsarkar's unbeaten century, Kapil Dev and a mean spin spell from Maninder Singh secured a five-wicket win.
However, until this week's encounter, the home team had turned things around and contrived to lose only once in sixteen attempts, since the heady days of McGrath, Lee and Warne. Is it the pitch, England getting better or a greater familiarity with HQ making it less of an event? I don't know, but after all the criticism of the Trent Bridge groundsmen preparing a five-day batting paradise, the greentop seemed ready-made for Anderson, Broad, Plunkett and Stokes. A shame that quartet didn't fulfil the roles set out for them!
On the first morning, they were pilloried for bowling too short instead of going fuller to invite the edged drive. Four days later, it was short-pitched stuff which won the match - for India. Delicious irony there, I feel. Nevertheless, without Ajinkya Rahane's excellent 103 - ended just as magnificently by Anderson's caught-and-bowled - things may have panned out rather differently. He helped add 150 crucial runs for the last three wickets. On Friday and Saturday, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was supreme, yet Yorkshire duo Ballance and Plunkett somehow earned England a slender first-innings lead.
Three partnerships dominated India's second outing: 78 for the sesond wicket (Murali Vijay and Pujara), 79 for the fifth (Vijay again and Jadeja) and 99 for the eighth (Jadeja and Kumar). The only real triumphs for England came when Plunkett bowled Kohli for a golden duck, but that Jadeja-Kumar effort really kicked Cook and co in the teeth.
The 319-run target would, if successful, have been England's best ever at home. They had four sessions in which to achieve it but, remember, the Lord's pitch was not prepared for a fifth day runfest. This was surely the stage for Alastair Cook to demonstrate why he has been, until recently, one of the world's best Test batsmen. Could he, Ian Bell and Matt Prior, with that wise head on young shoulders, Joe Root, play sensibly and marshal the less experienced players and sneak that much-needed triumph?
Sam Robson fell early but Cook and Ballance seemed to be sticking to the script. Then came the first horror show, as they and Bell were each despatched for just two runs. Root and Moeen Ali proceeded to steady the ship and even contributed a three-figure partnership. Then came arguably Ishant Sharma's greatest spell of his career. In terms of numbers, anyway. That he ended up with a remarkable 7-74 owed more to cretinous playing of bouncers by batsmen who frankly should have known better.
After being softened up by Mitch Johnson last winter, you'd have thought the array of coaches would have ensured England had practised against the short ball in the intervening period. Perhaps they could be forgiven for thinking Shami, Kumar and Sharma offered little danger in that area but this was not the time to put on your Twenty20 brain and swing the bat instead of ducking or swaying away from the ball.
The Jadeja-Anderson 'handbags' sideshow delivered an appropriate denouement as the Indian fielder ran out the England number eleven to wrap up a 95-run win and hammer another nail into the captaincy of Cook. Prior was so shell-shocked by his own performance that he made himself unavailable for the Third Test. A genuine injury or a touch of the Swanns? To their credit, Cook and Peter Moores stood their ground and declared their faith in the squad (Kerrigan apart). The opener has endured poor sequences before and was very nearly dropped for the Ashes series which ultimately made his name. That he is now the skipper makes him a little more secure, and axing him mid-series would surely signal a white flag to MS Dhoni.
I can't imagine Cook's future and the series result resting on Jos Buttler's call-up. He may be an aggressive batsman but then so is Prior. There's no evidence from Lancashire that Buttler's keeping has noticeably improved either. However, the media are playing up his talismanic qualities although if Cook and Bell play it cool and do what they have done so many times before, the turnaround will come. If India go 3-0 up by next month, or two up with one to play, that will probably be the time to sign the death warrant of Cook's leadership, but not before.
Instead of Anderson and Broad it has so far been all about Kumar and Sharma, and Dhoni must be laughing. Something tells me he won't be quite so celebratory by the end of next week.
