The weather in England often dictates how the pitch will play. It isn’t just clouds that define how the ball will behave. Temperature, moisture in the pitch, and the amount of grass on the surface are some of the other major factors. Since 2025 has been one of the hottest English summers in a long time, no one can really predict how surfaces for the India vs England Test series will play.
We saw in the World Test Championship (WTC) Final that the surface helped the fast bowlers for the first two days as 28 wickets fell. Then it became a batter’s pitch and spinners also got some help. This isn’t how surfaces in England generally behave. With the India vs England 1st Test just three days away, what can one expect from the Headingley pitch?
Early help for pacers?
Chief curator Richard Robinson has offered some insight as to how the surface might play in Leeds. While talking to RevSportz, he thinks that to start with, there will be moisture in the surface, which means help for the pacers. He hopes the surface will hold up, but he doesn’t expect spin to play a part in the last few sessions. Just like it happened at Lord’s.
“It’s supposed to be quite a hot forecast, so we’ve got to leave a little bit of moisture in to start with and see how it goes nearer the time, see what the England team wants.
It will look a lot different, probably even by this afternoon. It’s been a very dry summer for us, using a lot of water, trying to get a lot of water into the depth of the pitch, just so it holds together. Hopefully, it will hold together for the five days and we won’t have a three-day Test match!”
2nd & 3rd innings for batters
Robinson expects the side batting first to score 300-odd. That’s pretty much consistent with the average first innings total in Headingley (298). But he thinks the pitch in Leeds will turn better for batters after that. The second and third innings average scores are 291 and 239 but from what Robinson says, it might be higher.
“I think if they get 300 in the first innings, they’ll be good; maybe the two innings after that might be slightly higher; we’ll see how it goes. I’m hoping it’ll just be good for both bat and ball. Hopefully, there’s a bit in it for everybody.
It’s supposed to be like 27-28 degrees, which is very hot for here, so it’ll probably flatten out as it goes on. It’s always a great atmosphere at Headingley anyway, but especially with the Indians here, it’s going to be a fantastic atmosphere; especially if both are going at it, really attacking play, it’ll be good to watch.”
Headingley Pitch for India vs England 1st Test: Curator offers hint at what to expect Inside Sport India.
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