A grim, grey day, a bit of grim, grey cricket and only the hope of better things to come. But even with play restricted to the morning session, England were able to continue their domination of the tourists. Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook went off to lunch on 75 without loss, so it was business as usual for the most business-like of opening pairs and they never returned. But they will be hungry to resume on Friday morning when better weather is forecast. Already the portents are not so good for India's footsore bowlers; the pitch is dry and true, offering only moderate bounce. Once the sun comes out there are runs out there. The so-called galácticos may have to wait awhile for their turn.

Strauss had one nasty moment when the peak of his helmet was damaged by a bouncer from Ishant Sharma. This is always a disconcerting experience for a modern batsman (but a terrifying one for an old, pre-helmet one). Having spotted the length of the ball (short), Strauss seemed to lose sight of it completely. This incident prompted the umpires to reach for their light meters and Strauss, as phlegmatic as ever, to call for a replacement helmet. Otherwise it was a gentle stroll for England's captain and vice-captain, neither of whom can do much wrong at present.

Strauss even succeeded in winning the toss and for the first time in the series a captain said: "We'll bat," his only reservation being the overcast skies, which were bound to produce rain at some point. India were without Praveen Kumar, who has an injured ankle. This may well have brought a smile to Graeme Swann, who was slogged all around Edgbaston last week by one of India's more characterful cricketers.

Strauss and Cook may not have regretted Kumar's absence either. He has troubled both openers in this series with his gentle-paced swingers, although Cook may have begun to come to terms with the problem at Edgbaston. Kumar would not have hit Strauss on the helmet.

The replacement was the left-armer RP Singh, who joined the tour only recently. He had not propelled a ball in Test cricket for three years; nor had he bowled one on this tour so far. So it may have been forgivable that he began proceedings as if he was bowling to a pair of right-handers.

The opening over of the match, delivered by Singh, set the lacklustre pattern of the morning. The first ball whistled down the leg-side; there were two prolonged stoppages as Strauss spotted movement from VIPs behind the bowler's arm. A few more leg-side deliveries and after 10 minutes it was the time for the second over to commence. ticket-holders will get a better deal.

Thereafter, Strauss and Cook pottered along happily enough. There was one vintage straight drive by Strauss back past the bowler, Sreesanth, which suggested that the England captain was close to his best. Cook's old leg-clip was working as well as usual. Occasionally he was crabby in defence. He was constantly imperturbable. So what's new? Another single allowed his Test average to creep above 50.

In between the odd boundary, England's openers ran between the wickets hungrily. They are very good at this. As an opening pair they have never been involved in a run-out when batting together in Test cricket. A nod is sometimes enough and they obviously trust one another, which is the secret.

This is the one virtue of Cook's batting that we may not have touched upon over his prolific last nine months. He has never been run out in Test cricket, which is remarkable after 124 innings. Strauss, who has batted 156 times, has been run out twice. The first occasion was memorable. It was at Lord's in May 2004 against New Zealand, when a second century in his first Test match was on the cards until Nasser Hussain, never the most reliable of runners, intervened.

Strauss's second run-out was in 2006 at Edgbaston, against Sri Lanka. Cook was involved, but he was batting at three for England in that match (yes, this was the sort of dire, damp day when the pursuit of a seemingly inconsequential occurrence was irresistible: five years ago Strauss, having hesitated, was run out at the non-striker's end after glancing the ball to fine-leg off Muttiah Muralitharan). This pair do not hesitate very often now.

For India, Sharma was the likeliest bowler, not only to hit the batsmen but to dismiss them as well. He beat the outside edge several times and shrugged. He has not bowled too badly in this series, but has 10 wickets at 56 apiece to his name. And he has a lot more work to do on Friday.