Today was the first day of the Ashes this series that I have actually watched some of it on the TV - give the D/N nature of it, I took half a day and a group of us went to a sports bar for breakfast and watched the evening session. My companions left before the first Australian wicket fell, so I was alone, in a rather empty bar, with a Spanish waitress bemusedly asking whether I wanted anymore coffee whilst this strange Englishman watched this nonsensical sport that’s on first thing in the morning. Still, 4 wickets fell, and we looked somewhat threatening. What I have taken away from this experience is that, clearly, England’s fortunes here are entirely my fault: at minimum, I should have tried to watch every session, alone, up until now. I may need to go to this sports bar for the rest of the series and try and clear the bar of patrons to have the full effect though. It’s obviously not that England have bowlers who can exploit those sort of conditions better than “usual” Aussie conditions and finally used them well enough. Anyway, every Australian can rest assured that my own effort towards England’s success will not be replicated again this series, so it’s obviously 5-0 all the way from here.
More seriously, I think, had he made the decision again, Smith would have been better enforcing the follow on - but it is hardly likely to matter, since this game is already all but out of reach. Our bowling attack is pretty toothless (ignoring the exceptional nature of the conditions under lights that they managed to use today) and unlikely to take 20 wickets in a match for the rest of the series. The batting unit doesn’t look like scoring enough runs to bring a draw into the equation. Some of the shots that England got out today were poor in the extreme - Malan got a good one that sawed him in half but the rest of them, even those that fell to damn good catches, need a good long look at themselves. 5-0 looks increasingly likely.
Stumps Day 3
Australia 8 (dec)-442 (Marsh 126, Paine 57, Khawaja 53)
England 227
Australia 4-53 Lead by 268
Australia had England prone on the deck with their collective feet on collective necks at 7-142 and then decided to indulge in bouncing Woakes and Overton to an extent none of the top order copped and with a bit of application it failed. Bloody good stuff.
England deserved to get past the follow-on which would have made the question of who faced the Kookaburra music academic. When it was 7 down the thought was whether Australia could forfeit it’s second innings and try to win the game (and effectively secure the series) in the evening session.
Smith was correct to bat again, his bowlers were cooked. Too much effort spent fruitlessly on chin music.
The night session showed what happens when you combine the nouce that has taken 500 Test wickets with the physical effort which made it possible. Anderson bowled a very long spell of wizardry in his art but still missed a chance to fillet the entire Aust top order. Probably his last chance to so. With the ball doing a alarming stuff off the pitch and through the air his line & length were not right. Why didn’t Root direct & support him?
Why was it so short so consistently? Why was bugger all directed to force batsmen to come forward to defend and bring the catching cordon more often into play?
Playing and missing 4-5 balls and over, Warner & Khawaja looked like they would escape in a severe Test of the art batsmanship for survival. Khawaja in particular was very good in the conditions. But losing them meant batsmen with less conventional techniques were going to have hells job trying to get their eye in and make it to stumps. Smith looked unconvincing, following something similar in his first dig. Hopefully it’s an aberration, not the consequence of reading all the publicity.
You couldn’t back England to win from here and another 100 would just be an excessive use of nails in the lid. Fair squeeze, none the less.
And as for using Lyon as a nightwatchman to protect Marsh. Fuck, somebody find me a pitchfork.
This is a message board, not a confessional, my son.
We are nicely poised once again. But I refuse to admit to any optimism - poised for the inevitable batting collapse, I think.
Still, even when England do eventually lose this, they will at least be able to take some positives through to the rest of the series (even though this test’s helpful bowling conditions are unlikely to be replicated).
It’s not the despair. I can take the despair. It’s the hope I can’t stand.
Fucking James Vince. What a surprise that he nicks off driving. I moaned about this right at the top of this thread. TMS said he’s been out 15 times in Tests. 9 are caught in the slips. FFS. Root at 3. Bairstow higher up. Foakes with the gloves. Just get it done. Our selectors have a lot to answer for.
Did Lou Vincent retire? I thought he was chucked out of cricket?
Actually, update on Vince from CricViz - it’s 12 times out to pace bowlers in Test cricket, 9 caught, all behind the wicket to variously the wicket-keeper, the slips and at gully. This was and is his obvious weakness. He’s as much a Test match batsman as I am.
Surely the best CricViz stat of all time is Joe’s Root’s test average through backward point off the seamers: once out for an average of 706. And that before he brought up his 50 belting Starc behind point.
The frustrating thing is that Vince made a very competent 83 at the Gabba. I had hoped - there’s that word again - that he’d made some sort of mental breakthrough about driving in Test matches. But no.
One of the big differences between the sides at the Gabba on the first four days was the performance of the two captains. Smith got a big and crucial century. Root got to 50 and got out. Now is Root’s time to show he can do it too.
It is, indeed, the hope that gets you. Australia have used all their reviews, Root is still there, and the nightwatchman can actually bat a bit. I suspect it’ll all be over bar the shouting by the time I get up and check the score tomorrow, but even if England lose (and I think I still put Australia ahead), it’s been a much needed fightback in a test that was looking like a rollover.
Retired (or was dropped, I honestly can’t remember) from internationals in 2007, drummed out of the game in 2013 after admitting to rampant match-fixing.
Stumps Day 4
Australia 8 (dec)-442 (Marsh 126, Paine 57, Khawaja 53)
England 227
Australia 138
England 4-176 (Root 67*) requiring a further 178 to win.
Glory, glory, the Poms are not taking it lying down.
One poor session can be enough to lose a Test.
Australia has had 2 already (both on Day 3) and one more could see an improbable victory to the tourists and a series revitalised, if it’s not already.
Will do naught but the most jingoist Ockers any material harm at all.
Still think it’s a bridge too far myself but …
I couldn’t fathom the criticism of Smith for not enforcing the follow on. He could hardly known that Australia would go for a low score (although with Australia that is always possible) and in any case he had adequate runs in hand.
England were always going to find it difficult on a 4th and 5 th day pitch. Root has a very poor conversion rate of 50’s to 100’s so last night I wasn’t extremely pleased but not prepared to declare for England.
So hopefully Australia have had their collapse and probably Marsh has his only century of the series.
I’m with you. I assumed that he wouldn’t enforce the follow on for several perfectly sensible reasons not least that the ball hadn’t done much in the other evening sessions. Jimmy Anderson admitted that England were surprised that it did so much. And the English bowlers still had it doing things on the fourth day “morning.” The Aussie bowlers got nothing like that movement until they got some reverse swing today. But Jimmy Anderson is Jimmy Anderson.
The history of these kinds of fourth inning chases is that teams look like they are cruising and then suddenly they aren’t. Three years ago on the same ground India were 2 for 242 chasing 364 with Virat Kholi 102*. They were all out for 315.