56th over: India 197-3 (Rahul 76, Pant 46) “Nice to see some admiring light being shed upon Bumrah’s off-bail clipping nip-backer,” writes Robert Wilson. “I’m fond of those. We all are. It’s the apex of clean-bowled excellence, a mix of sociopathic superbity, carnivorous malice and a sniper’s thoroughgoing cold-bloodedness. There have been many deft practitioners before Bumrah (Brett Lee’s interpretation was chillingly cruel – he eviscerated Flintoff with a memorable one that Freddie would never have laid a bat on if he had spent the rest of his career trying). But Bumrah does it more than anyone I remember. “What makes it unbearable for the snakebit batsman is the unmistakable mockery contained, the absolutely understood sous-entendu that the batter is a bit of a chump. I know this because of the two occasions I remember Gladstone Small doing it. Small was a notoriously sweet-natured and gentlemanly figure. But both times he did it, he actually tittered. It was like seeing Eeyore cackling in sadistic glee. That’s gonna leave an indelible mark on someone’s soul.” If you have a spare hour, better still a day, go down a Malcolm Marshall rabbit hole on YouTube. Still the most skilful fast bowler I’ve seen, though Bumrah makes me doubt that on occasion. Old Trafford 1988 is a good place to start – England prepared a spinning pitch for the West Indies’ quicks, so Marshall routed them for 93 with pure skill.