Back-to-school day for Stokes and Buttler hit by lack of homework | Andy Bull
Seems new dawns last longer in the Arctic winter than they do in English cricket. At Lord's their latest broke at around 3.30pm, when Jos Buttler walked out to join Ben Stokes in the middle, then set again 40 minutes later when Stokes was dismissed leg-before and Buttler was caught at second slip. By 4.30pm, England were all out for 184. They had lost six wickets for 35 runs in 63 balls. Sudden and short as it all was, the mayhem lasted long enough to make one thing clear - whatever was wrong with the team's batting in the winter, it hasn't been fixed in the spring.
It was the seventh time England had been dismissed for under 250 in the 14 innings they have played since they were last at Lord's, when they beat the West Indies here in September. So much for home comforts. The green, green grass here wasn't any easier or more forgiving than the hard surfaces of Brisbane and Perth, or any of the other spots where they were routed last winter.
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