England encouraged by sight of seaming ball and green pitch in practice ahead of third Test against India

All of England’s pace bowlers have zipped the pink ball round in their first net-session at the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad, in a highly encouraging sign for England ahead of the third Test, a day-nighter starting on Wednesday.

“The wickets in the nets have been a bit green and had good pace and carry too,” said Mark Wood, who has returned to the England squad after a two-Test break. “I don’t know if that’s anything to go by or whether it’s a bit of a trick.”

Nets at the reconstructed Ahmedabad stadium, now the biggest in world cricket in seating capacity, are not on the ground itself but behind the stand which contains the players’ dressing-rooms. Their greenness might be a red herring, as Wood suggested, but the Test pitch is also green and evenly covered in grass - for the time being.

“With the (pink) ball, as soon as it moves, every one of the bowlers from the past couple of months is dying to get it in their hand,” Wood said. “As soon as the ball moves we know how good our seam bowlers can be. We’ve got good depth there, good skills and two of the best ever at that,” he added, referencing James Anderson and Stuart Broad.

But whereas India’s senior players stood up in the second Test at Chennai, England’s did not, notably Broad, who was wicketless and listless. Anderson for Broad would maintain England’s rest-and-rotate policy.

Ollie Stone, in Chennai in his second Test, did nothing to merit being dropped or rotated for the third. Excellent pace, accuracy, and a sharp bouncer - Stone supplied everything England could have wanted from Broad, or Jofra Archer had he been fit.

For their third seamer in a day-night Test - when seamers are more effective than usual, and spinners less so - England can hardly rely on Ben Stokes, who has managed 12 overs in the series so far. Chris Woakes could play instead of the second spinner, and Moeen Ali has already left for his break at home.

Ahmedabad, though, so early in the year, is already pretty hot, and the pitch could well be shaved bare by Wednesday afternoon when the game starts. But the fact that the SG pink balls have been swinging in the nets, as well as seaming, suggest at this stage that England might go with an attack of Anderson, Woakes, Stone and Jack Leach, supplemented by Stokes and Joe Root.

Zak Crawley has resumed netting and will be closely monitored in England’s second session at the Motera which will be under lights, to see if his right wrist has recovered from his accident in the changing-rooms in Chennai when he slipped on the marble floor. If Crawley’s wrist stiffens up, Rory Burns and Dom Sibley would be able to continue their opening partnership, leaving Jonny Bairstow to replace Dan Lawrence at number three.