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’s magnificent knock took the visitors to 587. “There 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’s batters should look at Gill’s innings – play tight and then make plenty of runs.”

“It is a good deck and should be a good day. It is slightly cooler with a breeze from the west but the surface hasn’t changed a great deal. There is a bit of linear cracking starting to appear down the middle but I don’t think that will have much of an impact,” said Butcher on Sky Sports’ broadcast ahead of day three’s 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. “It was a tough day yesterday, due to a lot of toil and hard work. But I think the mood’s 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.”

Asked about his bowling form in the series so far, Bashir said, “I feel really good actually. I feel in quite control of what I’m trying to do. I’ve 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’ll get. That’s what I’ve been working on.”

–IANS

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