Why the second new ball changes everything

Eighty overs of graft can be undone in six, and both captains know exactly when the clock runs out.

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Why the second new ball changes everything

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For twenty overs before it becomes available, the second new ball is the only thing anyone in the ground is thinking about.

The waiting game

Batters try to survive to the eightieth over without giving anything away. Bowlers try to keep the run rate down with an old, soft ball that does very little.

It is one of the few passages in cricket where both sides are openly playing for a moment in the future.

Six overs that decide a session

A hard ball, a bit of shine and a fast bowler with fresh legs will take wickets or it will not. There is very little middle ground, and the next hour of the match follows from those six overs.

More coverage of this story, and of everything else happening in the world of cricket, is published in our news section as it develops.

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