TEST MATCH TALKING POINTS: Malan's problems, getting the dates wrong and are India a one-man batting line-up?

SAM MORSHEAD reflects on a dramatic first Test between England and India at Edgbaston...

MALAN IN TROUBLE

Time has surely run out for Dawid Malan in England’s middle order.

It must have been a lonely place, walking out to bat on the third morning knowing that he was already 128 runs in the red, having dropped Virat Kohli on 21 the previous day.

If that task wasn’t daunting enough, 22 yards away was a spinner with extraordinary control of the cricket ball, turning the thing at obtuse angles away from left-handers.

In the end, it wasn’t Ravi Ashwin who did for England’s No.4. Instead, the Middlesex man got a nibble on one from Ishant Sharma and trudged off, head bowed, Test career all but over.

There is too much riding on England’s middle order to keep Malan in the team now. For all the arguments against keeping the home side’s batting lineup in a perennial state of flux, the statistics still shout the loudest.

One score above 28 in 10 innings, an average that you would hope to see from your bowling allrounder, a bout of dropsy in the slips (though he did also hold onto three chances at Edgbaston)… you get the picture.

There are plenty of batsmen around ready to step up and fill the void and, depending on Ed Smith’s preferences, any one of Joe Clarke, Ollie Pope, Rory Burns and Nick Gubbins could slot into that top order.

Clarke, who has netted with Mark Ramprakash - the England batting coach - this week, looks highly likely to get a call-up which, at the ripe old age of 22, still seems a tad overdue.

The Worcestershire batsman has a formidable record in first-class cricket for someone of such tender years - 3,604 runs from 94 innings at a shade under 42 - and his conversion rate is equally impressive (12 centuries and 13 50s).

Behind him, Pope might still be a season or two away from being considered truly ready but the Surrey starlet has had an absolutely sensational Championship season and is not being talked about out of hype and hyperbole alone.

If Smith goes for a different approach, Burns or Gubbins, though left-handed, could slot in either as openers, with Keaton Jennings dropping to three, or in the No.3 position itself. Both have a gluttony of runs to their names these past few years. Both provide more convincing cases than Malan. And that’s before we talk about James Vince…

^{Dawid Malan's place is under threat}

CATCHES WIN MATCHES… OR DO THEY?

India’s slip cordon went into this Test the subject of intense scrutiny but it was England’s butterfingers which ended up being the centre of attention.

Four dropped catches - three in the first innings and one in the second - could have totally changed the complexion of the game (cough… Virat Kohli on 21… cough). Since the start of 2014, England have spilled 30 chances off the quicks, and have a success rate of around 70 per cent. It’s far from the worst worldwide but it’s still a concern. After all, in matches like this, those small margins can make big differences.

So what can be done? It’s not as though England’s slips go into the game unprepared.

As Jimmy Anderson said after day three: “All we can do is work extremely hard at it and hopefully improve.”

Anderson spoke honestly about the problem, saying “the amount of drops in the last two years, or maybe longer, have not been up to the standard” and harking back to the world No.1 side of which he was a part in 2011.

“We caught everything. We had an amazing cordon,” he said.

The flip-flopping of personnel - Alastair Cook aside - in that string to each side of Jonny Bairstow cannot have helped, and it would benefit England to keep some sort of consistency in that respect. However, with the imminent exit of Dawid Malan from the team, it will be a case of all change again at Lord’s.

One solution would certainly be for Joe Root to restore himself at second. The skipper has a decent track record behind the wicket and, though his reasoning for taking his place at mid-off is sound, England have two vastly experienced seamers in Anderson and Stuart Broad who can do all the coaxing, cajoling and tactical thinking for their junior team-mates.

Regardless, its an alarming trend that needs arresting. And fast.

^{England's slip catching was been under intense scrutiny}

HONESTLY, JUST START THE THING ON A THURSDAY

Edgbaston is one of those sporting arenas which offers a little bit of everything.

The madcap antics of the Hollies, the calmer hush of the West Stand, a glorious higgledy-piggle of structures and architecture which only just piece together - like a toddler’s first attempt at Lego - yet when seen as a whole somehow appear a perfect fit.

Watching cricket at this wonderful venue is as enjoyable a cricketing experience as you’re likely to get in this country. England’s players love playing here, and their performances on the pitch often reflect that.

Major occasions here should ALWAYS be sell-outs. Sadly for everyone involved - supporters, players, Warwickshire and the rest - for the first two days that was not nearly the case.

The host club can’t be blamed. It was not their choice to begin the series on a Wednesday. According to sources at Edgbaston, it was not the ECB’s either. Playing the blame game is a bit of a waste of time, however. One thing is certain… the scheduling for this Test (and this series as a whole), is a jumbo bungle.

Brilliant drama demands capacity crowds and the men and women at the top of cricket owe it to both the sport and those who love it to ensure that as many people as possible can be there in person to experience it, in be enthralled by it, to fall in love with it.

On Wednesday, Edgbaston was 5,000-odd below capacity. On Thursday it was more like 7,000. Only on Friday did the ground rediscover its pugnacious, vivacious aura.

Saturday - the self-determined fancy dress occasion here - was reduced to a session. A memorable session, no doubt, but only a session.

But for Sam Curran’s bold defiance, it would have been all over before the weekend, just in time for the football season to start.

And that’s plain daft.

^{Murali Vijay is one of several out-of-form Indian batsmen}

PAPERING OVER THE CRACKS

Virat Kohli was the reason India almost won this Test match.

Adding 53 to his first-innings 149, the India captain ended the Test with more than 46 per cent of his team’s overall run return.

While his team-mates came and went, Kohli had it in him to weigh anchor and hold his own. It was magnificent.

However, the question should be asked ‘what if Malan had hung on with Kohli on 21?’ or, more pertinently ‘what happens if he goes cheaply?’.

Kohli aside, India’s top individual score in this Test was the 26 made by Shikhar Dhawan in the first innings.

Whether you’re ahead in a series or not, that is a major worry for selectors.

Murali Vijay has gone past 50 once in 2018 (nine Test innings), Shikhar Dhawan similarly (five innings), with both making their solo big score of the year against Afghanistan.

Ajinkya Rahane looked horribly out of nick in the middle order. His best return in 11 Test knocks, stretching back a year and a day, is 48, while KL Rahul’s efforts since the Nagpur Test against Sri Lanka in November read 7, 10, 4, 0, 16, 54, 4 and 13.

Cheteshwar Pujara must be itching to get a gig, and India’s selectors must be ready to pick him.