They beat India by 22 runs while defending 192.
July 14, 2025, at Lord’s. Six years apart. England with another moment of glory. Ben Stokes and Jofra Archer, the two protagonists of the Cricket World Cup in 2019, starred on the fifth day of the third Test against India. With this victory, England took a crucial 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
𝗨 𝗡 𝗙 𝗜 𝗟 𝗧 𝗘 𝗥 𝗘 𝗗 📽
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 15, 2025
A unique look at a truly staggering final day that had it all 😱 pic.twitter.com/gFTivcvW55
England came out on top by just 22 runs in what felt like a long, long Test, which saw players from both teams participating in heated exchanges. After the scores were levelled in the first innings, Indian bowlers managed to rip through the English line-up inside 63 overs.
The hosts had only 192 runs to defend, but a fiery Brydon Carse spell gave them some hope as they took four wickets before the end of the fourth day. On the fifth day, England reduced India to 112/8 before resistance from Ravindra Jadeja and the tail put their victory in jeopardy. They eventually got over the line with the ball rolling onto the stumps off Mohammed Siraj’s defence.
We take a look at three takeaways from England’s victory in the Lord’s Test.
England fans will be delighted by what they saw from Jofra Archer in the Lord’s Test. It was an emotional ride for the 30-year-old pacer as he made his Test return after four years. During that period, Archer had to go through multiple injuries. But he finally seems to be in a good place with regards to his fitness.
Archer looked in great rhythm with the ball, barring occasionally straying down the leg. He bowled at a rapid pace, clocking in mid to high 140s consistently. He bowled two of the fastest spells of his career in this game. On the second day, he bowled one spell at an average speed of 89.78 mph. The next day, he bettered it with a spell of 90.28 mph. He bowled a total of 39.2 overs in the match, of which 41 deliveries were above 90 mph.
Jofra Archer’s 73rd over speeds:
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 12, 2025
1. 92.7 mph 🔥
2. 93.1 mph 🔥
3. 92.0 mph 🔥
4. 90.5 mph 🔥
5. 91.9 mph 🔥
6. 91.4 mph 🔥
The 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 spell of his career 😱 pic.twitter.com/FgbLmBCpJS
Archer didn’t just bowl fast. He made a huge impact in the fourth innings, removing Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, and Washington Sundar. To Pant, it was a peach of a delivery while he dismissed Sundar with a stunning return catch diving to his right.
Whether he plays the next Test in Manchester or England rests him remains to be seen. But one thing we can say is Jofra Archer is truly back.
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It is no secret that the top order has been a major issue for England for a long time. It failed to deliver once again at Lord’s as the trio of Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, and Ollie Pope managed only 123 runs in the match. Crawley and Pope, in particular, have been the weak links in this batting line-up.
Since the start of 2024, Crawley averages just 29.59 in Test cricket. If you remove that one century against Zimbabwe, the number drops to 26.54. Pope has a different problem. He plays a big knock every once in a while, but then goes on a long streak of poor outings. Since making 171 against Zimbabwe and 106 in the first Test of this series, he has returned with 8, 0, 24, 44, and 4.
With Jacob Bethell waiting in the wings, England must take the call. Bethell is young and has a much better upside than either of the above two. The 21-year-old has shown that he can hold his own in international cricket.
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Chris Woakes has played three Tests on the trot but hasn’t looked much of a threat. In six innings of this series, he has managed to pick only seven wickets at 56.42 runs per wicket. That is way below average.
Lord’s was supposed to be his best chance of proving the faith of the captain and the coach. It’s the venue where Woakes has had the most success. But he couldn’t do much. He picked four wickets across two innings and scored 0 & 10 with the bat.
Woakes doesn’t have the pace to make things happen. His stronger suits – swinging the ball and control – seem to have deserted him. Given his age and bowling form, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Lord’s Test ends up as Woakes’ final. Especially with England quicks Gus Atkinson and Mark Wood recovering from injuries.
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