Nerdy points from day one

Jadeja V Root, Jos' long duck, England's par total and Ashwin's absense

Ravi Jadeja V Joe Root

I am going to start with such a nerdy point that even I can't believe it. But this series has one of the great contests in cricket, and it's so delightfully weird. 

Ravi Jadeja is an outstanding fielder. He's got a great runout rate, and some of that is because he's a left-arm thrower. That's a problem if you're a batter and you always hit to the left of a fielder and take a single. So it means that Jadeja's natural gifts are even handier. That makes him essentially the most likely fielder to run someone out. 

Joe Root is a brilliant batter. While many talk about his incredible play of spin or his timing, his biggest skill is his incredible ability to turn the ball from just outside off stump. The kind of ball that most batters only defend, he opens the face, hits it either side of point, and takes an easy single. If you can do it - and it's difficult - it means that no bowler can trap you facing for a long period. 

And early on, Root was hitting the ball to Jadeja'…