First hour folly and Ollie Pope's home comforts... ENGLAND V INDIA TALKING POINTS

NICK HOWSON AT THE KIA OVAL: Surrey make a bold pledge, there is another unwelcome visitor and the hosts are left to rue missed opportunities

Pope and Bairstow give England the edge and show why Test cricket is the best

Carbon neutral

Surrey have announced their intention to make The Kia Oval a carbon neutral venue.

The south London club has been better than most with regard to sustainability, having using recyclable cups, introduced a brand-new compostable waste system, banned plastic straws and bags in the club shop, and have installed solar panels at the top of the new Galadari Stand.

The MCG has been carbon neutral since September 2018 while Lord's have taken several measures in recent years including switching to wind power and cutting single-use plastic.

There is a regrettable irony that while cricket is the pitch sport most threatened by climate change due to extreme heat and rising water levels, it has been among the slowest to react.

Since the UN asked organisations to sign up to a five-point plan to reduced the impact of environmental change none of cricket's most influential decision-makers has responded. Only three clubs have agreed, with Gloucestershire being the only English county. 

Minds have been sharpened by the strong warning made by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in August, but there is still plenty to be done.

^{The second day was polluted by an unwelcome, yet familiar, individual}

Crucial first hour?

Heavy ball. Tennis ball bounce. Meat of the bat. Rhubarb. Wheels. Buffet ball. Brand of cricket.

Everyone has their own least favourite cricketing cliche.

Mine happens to be 'first hour', in reference to the start of the following day of Test cricket.

Indeed, it is the most important period of the game. Until the next hour. And the one after that.

We can't help but try to whittle down this wonderful sport into an increasingly shorter period, can we?

However, if we take the logic that the first hour of each day is absolutely vital in shaping what follows then it creates a confusing picture of this Test.

During the opening 60 minutes on the second morning, having seen off nightwatchman Craig Overton and Dawid Malan, India took out two batters for the addition of just 25 runs to the total.

Virat Kohli's men took drinks having very much earned them. With England at 76 for 5, the tourists were ahead according to Winviz (49 per cent).

Yet what followed showed the folly of piling too much significance on that initial period.

Ollie Pope and Jonny Bairstow settled things underneath clear skies and put on 89 in 134 balls either side of lunch on a flattening surface and an increasingly tired-looking India attack.

And then came a cameo from Moeen Ali as the hosts went into a lead.

But the first hour, yeah?

We need to talk about safety

If you are reading this, it means I have successfully submitted this piece without putting my head through my screen while typing it out.

I was very much in two minds over whether to write this particular talking point, fearing I would be giving more oxygen to a lamentable individual posing as a YouTube sensation.

However, there is a serious point which is worth making in light of this latest incident.

I have often been described as a bore for detesting pitch invasions, in any sport. They're antisocial and dangerous. Yet, they are too often glorified by broadcasters and supporters. I've even seen coaches standing by touchlines laughing as stewards attempt to gobble them up.

There is nothing to laugh about here. These are people who claim to love the sport so much they can't help but make it all about them. It's utterly pathetic.

This episode raises an alternative, but not altogether different, question. How was a man known to the authorities allowed to enter a third ground in as many weeks?

He has already stormed the outfield at Lord's and Headingley, been kicked out and duly reprimanded. And that was only a few days ago.

I have plenty of sympathy with the stewards. The individual at hand is a big, intimidating lad as Jonny Bairstow discovered. They're employed to ensure the safety of the crowd and players but not necessarily to accost men twice their size. Even once apprehended they struggled to keep him at bay.

Unless we're asking those same security officials to have eyes in the back of their heads, they can't monitor everyone in a 25,500 crowd. If someone wants to get on there is little that can be done until they're over the advertising hoardings. The question remains how was he allowed within the grounds in the first place.

Once is unfortunate, twice is careless but a third-occasion is simply negligent. The Kia Oval has developed into a classy venue and is decked in history but this was an oversight.

A statement read: "The ECB works closely with all our venues to share information and enhance their security operation."

^{Rory Burns joined an unwanted list of England players to have let a catch go by in this Test}

Pope's home comforts

Pope's first-class average at The Kia Oval dropped from 100.71 to a modest 99.40 after being dismissed for 81 on day two.

It was another landmark score to add to his outstanding record on his home ground, where he has two double tons and five centuries.

There has been so much made this summer about the right amount of practice, the right type of practice and the right amount of rest.

Who knows where Pope sits is that shapeshifting definition. He has endured a bizarre summer, dogged by injury and not a lot of cricket.

After a substandard New Zealand series, Joe Root wanted his batters to go away and find some confidence against the white ball.

Two fifties, a duck and six failures to score more than 23 in five T20s and three List A games was hardly a morale-boosting run for the youngster.

Add in a thigh injury which ensured he sat out the start of the series (and the whole of The Hundred) and it has been a rather curious period.

Back among familiar surroundings and you'd never know Pope had ensured such a chastening two-and-a-half months.

Granted, these were fine conditions in which to bat. India's quicks looked a bit jaded and the pitch showed few demons but that doesn't mean automatic success.

The tell-tale signs that Pope was comfortable were evident from the start. He looked quick on his feet, he drove with impeccable timing and he darted between the wickets.

This was not the peppering of the rope that you might normally expect. Just six boundaries came from his 159 deliveries. Of the seven occasions he has passed 50 in Tests, his boundary per cent of four was the lowest among those innings - according to CricViz.

Rather than being particularly free-flowing, Pope was stubborn and determined, clever and canny. He'll make more entertaining runs on this ground, but it was an assured response given what has gone before.

And yet it could have been many, many more. Having watched Chris Woakes fail to take Shardul Thakur's bait, the 23-year-old had a dab and was bowled.

😶 EDGED... AND DOWN! 😶

Superb from Anderson, genuine nick from Rohit but Burns doesn't even see it at second slip and it runs away!

India 15-0, trail by 84 | #ENGvIND | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🆚🇮🇳

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— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) September 3, 2021

Five down

Not wishing to take anything away from a day in which England again edged, they left enough time in the mini evening session to drop another catch.

James Anderson bowled, Rohit Sharma edged and Rory Burns booted it to the boundary.

In isolation, it is harsh to point the finger too squarely at the Surrey batter who with the sun in his eyes couldn't lay a hand on the ball.

But it was another occasion that while England again had the better of the day, they missed the chance to close the door on India who are still part of the conversation with three days left.

It was the fifth time a chance has gone down in the Test after a first-innings where Bairstow, Craig Overton (twice) and Joe Root put down opportunities.

Coupled with some wasteful batting when conditions were good, how much will these mistakes cost them come the final outcome?