On Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, and the failures of the Indian batting lineup.

All went smoothly in the test today for England, except perhaps the weather. Rain forced Andrew Strauss into making *shock horror* an attacking declaration (relatively speaking, they were still almost 600 runs ahead) and then India were five down by the end of the day. Pretty darn good then.

Ian Bell brought up his double century before too long in the morning, smoothly making it from 199 to 203 with a nice boundary. Three years ago, when he got his previous highest test score, it was 'typical Ian Bell' not to make it up to the double century, but he has improved so much as a player since then that it was never in any doubt. Back then he was the player who'd make runs when the team were doing well, looking pretty but crumbling under pressure. Now his technique is as pretty as ever - his classic late cut being particularly beautiful - but he has added the mindset needed to be a top player and to bat in tough situations, as well as appearing to have cracked the number three spot where he has underperformed in the past.

This brings me to Ravi Bopara, the 'old Ian Bell'. I like Bopara, I find him entertaining and he's fun to watch, but man he is frustrating. He definitely has the talent to succeed, and has been working hard to try and do so, but mentally it hasn't clicked for him yet. It's unfortunate that he's come into the team in a lose-lose situation - his main rival Eoin Morgan scored a century immediately before he came in to bat in the last test, and the man he's replacing is one of England's most successful batsmen of the past year. So if he fails, he can't win a place and if he scores runs, well everyone else in the team has before him. Today though, Morgan was out for one and so Bopara had a chance. After struggling at first - getting off strike with a streaky two - he did get better and made his way to 44* before rain triggered a declaration from Strauss. It may not be a world-beating innings - we've already had Pietersen and Bell before him - but it will show to him and the selectors that he can still compete at this level. He's unlikely to replace Morgan yet however, and will still be in close contention with James Taylor for the place as back up batsman. It's one thing to score runs when there's already 500 on the board but when you're struggling at 30-3 it's different. So it's a start, but he's still got a way to do to prove he deserves a regular spot, but more batting competition around the team can only be a good thing - just look at the pace attack.

Once again India's magnificent batting line up failed. Sehwag, still in desperate need of match practice, lasted longer than in the previous match, but only by five balls before falling to Anderson. Gambhir was out with concussion after nastily hitting his head attempting a catch yesterday, and so not available to bat. Laxman, normally a fighter, also fell early. Tendulkar seemed distracted throughout his innings, holding up play because of issues such as the reflection of a steward's badge. It was the sign of a man out of form. Maybe the 99 centuries is affecting him, it's such a huge landmark that may never be repeated, but he soon fell to Swann. Raina seemed to forget about scoring runs and just focused on not getting out. Not a good ploy. Swann dismissed him for a 29-ball duck. The nightwatchman Ishant Sharma also went before the end of the day. Dravid as ever remained fighting, still in on 57* on the end of the day. Dhoni was also in at the end after finding form in the past test through luck rather than anything. They are two batsmen to be showing any sign of form, so let's hope they can keep on battling for a while in this test for cricket's sake. Because the way things are going for England, it could easily be all over tomorrow.