England v India - live! | Rob Smyth and Rob Bagchi

England's Stuart Broad acknowledges the applause of the crowd after his hat-trick against India at Trent Bridge. Photograph: Jon Super/AP"Good morning," says John Starbuck. "It's been announced that Trott will bat though no-one knows what position yet." Crikey, that is a surprise. No10 or 11?

Thought for the day This series is going to kick off very soon, isn't it?

Trottwatch He faced only two balls in practice this morning before going off for an injection. It seems very unlikely he will bat.

Preamble Morning. These days everyone wants to be FIRST! We're a culture obsessed with the first: first impression, first match of the season, first meal (Paulie Walnuts says breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and wise men don't argue with Paulie), first date, first injunction, first pint after eight hours kissing the feet of The Man. In some contexts, however, the second is far more important. For example, a monstrous slab of lunchtime meat at The Hawksmoor trumps Frosties anyday, although you can tell Paulie that. Similarly, the second set of a tennis match is surely the most significant, when the contest is almost completed at 2-0 or comes alive at 1-1.

That's the scenario we have at Trent Bridge today, where an excellent Test match will probably be decided, if not actually completed. Either England go 2-0 up or India level it at 1-1 with power, Sehwag and Zaheer to add. The English cricket lover in me is desperate for England to win; the Test cricket lover in me is equally desperate for India to win. Think about how empty 2005 would have been had Australia gone 2-0 up at Edgbaston, and not just because England were losing.

Six years ago we had the best of both worlds – an epic series and an England win. So this time we want India to win here, England to win by one wicket at Edgbaston and then by one run at The Oval, thus clinching the series 3-1 and going top of the Test Championship. Is that so much to ask?

All that said, I suppose we could live with England winning by 114 runs here after a staggering 121-ball 132 from Eoin Morgan.

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