Leeds’ chief curator expects 300 to be ideal total in first innings for opening Test between India and England

Leeds [UK], June 17 (ANI): Leeds chief curator Richard Robinson is contemplating various measures to ensure the pitch holds together for five days in a bid to prevent the highly anticipated contest between two behemoths, India and England, from settling in three, reported

The countdown is well underway as India and England apply the finishing touches to their intense preparations for the five-match Test series opener at Headingley on Friday.

Four days before the opening Test, Robinson and his crew were seen working on the lush green strip of Headingley, which held moisture, to offer a good battle between the bat and ball. He ensured he left enough prospects open to tweaking it according to England’s demands.

“It’s supposed to be quite a hot forecast, so we’ve got to leave a little bit of moisture in to start with and see how it goes nearer the time, see what the England team wants. It will look a lot different, probably even by this afternoon," Robinson told RevSportz.

“It’s been a very dry summer for us, using a lot of water, trying to get a lot of water into the depth of the pitch, just so it holds together. Hopefully, it will hold together for the five days, and we won’t have a three-day Test match!" he added.

Considering the past Tests at Headingly, a total of around 298 has been the go-to score in the first innings. Robinson expects the trend to continue and maybe see more runs piled up on the board after two innings.

“I think if they get 300 in the first innings, they’ll be good, maybe the two innings after that might be slightly higher, we’ll see how it goes. I’m hoping it’ll just be good for both bat and ball. Hopefully, there’s a bit in it for everybody. It’s supposed to be like 27-28 degrees, which is very hot for here, so it’ll probably flatten out as it goes on," he said.

“It’s always a great atmosphere at Headingley anyway, but especially with the Indians here, it’s going to be a fantastic atmosphere, especially if both are going at it, really attacking play, it’ll be good to watch," Robinson added.

India Squad: Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Karun Nair, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav.

England squad for the first Test against India: Ben Stokes (Captain), Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes. (ANI)

(The story has come from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by the Tribune Staff.)

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