I'm really enjoying these updates. I hope everyone else is.

BBC Two

You can catch highlights of all of the action from day one at The Oval on Today at the Test.

Throughout the fifth Test, highlights will be shown on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer at 19:00.

Thanks Will. Keep us posted.

Weather watch (off the TV): the cover removal operation is ongoing, the sky is looking brighter, and the ominous grey cloud has drifted away.

Weather watch (from you lovely lot): no rain in East Dulwich or Tooting (although someone has heard what could be thunder), it's dry on Liverpool Street, Holborn and in the city. It's sunny in Southampton and Corfu, and there's great bowling conditions in Harrogate. However, there are grey skies over Luxembourg and a passing shower in Dusseldorf.

BBC Sounds

If you’re following England v India at home you can listen to us on your smart speaker. To tune into Test Match Special live, just ask your smart speaker to ‘play Sports Extra’.

Then Aggers and Co will be broadcast straight into your home. Seamless.

There's plenty of cricket taking place up and down the country with all 18 counties in County Championship action.

You can follow coverage of all nine matches here.

Phew. Good to know.

My geography of London is almost non-existent.

If someone would like to plot the various Get Involved entries on a map and mark them as 'rain' or 'no rain', I would be thrilled.

A welcome weather update - there will be a pitch inspection at 14:00.

However, that ominous grey cloud is still looming.

Several people have been in touch with weather updates.

Eddie hasn't seen much rain in Brixton but apparently it's pouring down in Richmond.

At the ground, there are rain ponchos aplenty, and about half of the sky above The Oval is dark grey.

But a large chunk of the crowd have remained in their seats and the ground staff are peeling off some of the covers.

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Sport's Timothy Abraham has taken a deep dive into the story of Hansie Cronje.

You can read his article - Hansie Cronje, match-fixing and a plane crash that left a complex legacy - here.

Image source, BBC Sport

Out now on BBC Sounds, Sport’s Strangest Crimes returns with Hansie Cronje: Fall From Grace which tells the story of the scandal that changed cricket forever.

He was the golden boy of South African cricket. Captain of the national team. Trusted by Nelson Mandela and idolised by millions. But behind the clean-cut image, something darker was brewing.

Sport’s Strangest Crimes - Hansie Cronje: Fall From Grace is the latest gripping six-part podcast from BBC Radio 5 Live, delving into one of the biggest sporting scandals of the modern era.

Hosted by former England cricketer Mark Butcher, this series retraces the rise and fall of Hansie Cronje - from his glory days on the pitch to the secret deals, damning confessions, and an untimely death that left more questions than answers.

Sai Sudharsan (25 off 67) and Shubman Gill (15 off 23) have put on 34 (47) for the third wicket.

Gill, India's skipper, is the runaway leading run-scorer in the series, with 733 runs and counting.

Let's have a look back at what happened in that ever so slightly truncated first session, shall we?

After being asked to bat, India are 72-2 off 23 overs.

Gus Atkinson struck in the fourth over to remove Yashasvi Jaiswal (2) and Chris Woakes bowled KL Rahul (14) in the 16th.

Ask Me Anything

The weather has brought play to a halt at The Oval but why isn't cricket played in the rain?

BBC Sport's Ask Me Anything team have been on the case and you can find the answer here.

Thanks Matt.

The plan is for play to resume after lunch at 13:32 but given how damp it looks at The Oval, that might be a bit ambitious.

The groundstaff are still battling the elements to protect the playing area as the players tuck into their lunch. I'm going to do the same.

Here's Elizabeth Botcherby.

Ebony Rainford-Brent
Former England batter on Test Match Special

England are missing a bit of pace. There's been a bit of swing when you get it nice and full.

But it's looking like India are settled and in there now, so it might take a bit more than expected.

That is officially lunch, by the way.

It has probably come at a decent time for England who were just drifting towards the break amid a mix of half-trackers and glares at footholes.

It's pretty even but England could have had a few more had they bowled better.