Fuming Ben Stokes refuses to play as England vs India match interrupted

The opening day of England's third Test match with India was disrupted by a swarm of ladybirds as Ben Stokes and team-mate Joe Root were stopped in their tracks. England finished day one 251-4, with Joe Root stuck on 99 not out overnight.

After being slammed for their poor performance in the second Test, England got off to a difficult start when openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett were dismissed for 18 and 23 runs respectively. Ollie Pope and, as he has far too often been forced to do during his England career, Root, steadied the ship and got the hosts back on track.

Pope was dismissed for a helpful 44, but Harry Brook managed just 11 runs alongside the ever-impressive Root, with concerns about another middle-order England collapse starting to grow. Those fears were put to bed when Stokes waltzed out to the crease, with the England skipper digging deep to make a gutsy 39 not out at stumps.

However, during the dying embers of the final session, play was briefly brought to a halt when a loveliness of ladybirds, as they're collectivley known, descended on the players. Stokes, who was also battling a minor injury concern, wasn't best pleased by the impromptu invasion, with the 34-year-old spotted deep in conversation with the umpire.

Play did continue thereafter, with Root going on to add an extra six runs to his tally before the umpires called an end to proceedings for the day. The crowd packed into a sun-cast Lord's were greeted to a chuckle when Root, having sneaked a run to take him to 99, was trolled by one of his Indian counterparts.

The tourist jokingly waved his hand as if to allow Root to secure his century before going on to drop the ball on the floor - another mischievous attempt to tempt Root and playing partner Stokes through for a run. He didn't oblige, with the 34-year-old forced to wait for his 37th Test century.

It was a very un-Baz Ball day all things considered, with England scoring at just 3.02 runs an over during a sluggish and sweaty day at the Home of Cricket. Reacting to the day's play, Pope told BBC Sport: "I just got asked what par was and I have no idea. Pretty slow pitch, not one that you always felt in on. I think ending the day 251-4 is pretty good. Slightly different to the way we usually put together an innings, but we'll take it.

"I managed to face 100-odd balls, but made a pretty annoying error after tea. It's annoying not to be 90-odd not out with Joe at close, but I can take positives. We want to be a team that is positive and entertaining, but we want to play to the situation. Our order is pretty fast scoring on our good days, we all know we can score hundreds off 120 balls, but we need to dig in off this sort of surface."