Tom Hartley endured a difficult start to his Test career, after he was hit for two sixes in his first over by Yashasvi Jaiswal and finished Day One in Hyderabad having conceded 63 runs off nine overs.
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After England were bowled out for 246, Hartley was entrusted with opening the bowling alongside Mark Wood. England selected three specialist spinners and only one seamer for the first Test, and despite previous suggestions from Ben Stokes that Joe Root may open the bowling against the left-handed Jaiswal, Hartley was thrown the ball.
He was immediately put under pressure from Jaiswal, who heaved him over wide long-on for a six off his first ball. Hartley followed up with three dot balls to the opener but his fifth ball was once again sent over the boundary rope for another six. Coming back on for his next over, Jaiswal hit him for two more boundaries, fours this time, with Hartley having conceded 25 runs by the end of his first two overs in Test cricket.
At the end of Hartley’s sixth over of the innings, he’d conceded 51 runs out of India’s total of 80 and had been hit for at least one boundary in each over. Although Hartley found slightly more rhythm towards the end of his spell, and produced some half-chances, the damage was largely done, Jaiswal having reached a rapid half-century and 119 runs taken off England’s total in less than a session.
I thought Stokes allowed India to get off to a great start with his faith in Tom Hartley. The young man had landing problems and while the captain’s backing was admirable, maybe it went a tad too far.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 25, 2024
With Wood only able to bowl in short bursts on a pitch that India’s spinners found sharp turn on, Hartley’s spell sets an ominous tone for the rest of the the innings. Following the end of play, Ben Duckett said of Hartley’s spell: “I thought they [India] played him really well. They were positive and they looked like they were going to put him under pressure. He nearly took a pole at the end there but you know what Stokesy’s like, he’s going to throw him the ball tomorrow and back him all day and hopefully he gets a few poles.”
Hartley was selected for the series off the back of only 20 first class games, in which he’s taken 40 wickets at 36.57 an over. Aside from Jack Leach, England’s three other specialist spinners in their squad (Hartley, Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir) had one Test cap between them coming into the series.
