cricket on five: england v india
third one day international

Mark Nicholas presents highlights of the third one-day international between England and India, from Edgbaston in Birmingham. Commentary and analysis comes courtesy of Geoffrey Boycott, Simon Hughes and Ian Bishop.

England’s record in one-day cricket has been poor over the last few years, and recent history against India has been no different. They were hammered 5-1 on their last tour of India, and lost the last one-day series against them on home turf in 2002. England’s only recent success was a 2-1 overhaul in a three-match home series in 2004.

However, the two sides have a habit of battling out nail-biting one-day encounters. In India in 2002, the six-match one-day series ended in a 33 draw after England squared the series in the final ODI at Mumbai. Andrew Flintoff took the last Indian wicket –that of Javagal Srinath –with the hosts only needing five more runs for victory with three balls left, sparking wild scenes of celebration. A jubilant Flintoff stunned the crowd by tearing off his shirt and haring around the outfield, his overjoyed teammates in hot pursuit.

The Lord’s one-day final of 2002 was no less dramatic. After hundreds from Marcus Trescothick and Nasser Hussain took England past the 300 mark, they looked favourites to win – but the tourists won with only three balls to spare after Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif all made scores of 50 plus. This cued famous scenes of then-captain Ganguly ripping off his shirt on the Lord’s balcony and beating his chest in a victory dance –revenge for Flintoff’s antics in Mumbai!

This series is lining up to be another thrilling encounter, as a new-look England aim to taste some one-day success. Join Mark Nicholas and the team at midnight on Thursday for highlights of the 4th ODI from Old Trafford, Manchester.