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England 224 for four at stumps on first day of third Test• Stokes unbeaten on 39 and Pope 38 not out overnightThis was a slow burner of a day – except for those spectators foolish enough to stay out of the shade as a fierce sun blazed out of a cloudless sky. The pitch was slow, the band was surprisingly slow to play their trademark “Stand By Me” and for much of the time the batting was slow, until Ollie Pope launched a mini-assault against the second new ball in front of an admiring Ben Stokes. Yet it would be foolish to conclude that in the 21st century it will stay as serene as this. Matches tend to accelerate on this ground. Despite a bland, innocuous-looking surface draws are now a rarity here.
When the players left the field England, after winning the toss, were 224 for four and, oddly enough, both sides could feel content with their efforts. The batsmen had battled away but only the best of them, which included Pope, could score with any freedom. None of them could post a half-century but the unbeaten partnership of 76 between Pope and Stokes in the final 90 minutes gave England the edge.