52/5. They’re actually going to have to play well to get to tomorrow, it’s not tea yet.
Bleaurgh. Awful test match for England, and it’ll be interesting to see how well they respond in the next text.
Possibly harsh to single out any particular player for this debacle. None of the top order are having a particularly good series, although Root is still out there batting and may still bring some respectability to the absolute hammering we’re getting.
Nope, not even Root could do that. What a disgrace.
In other news the Pakistan-Sri Lanka match got delayed because of crowd trouble and a fielder was hit by a projectile.
No? How about Ben Stokes, who managed to get run out due to not grounding his bat, AND having his foot over the crease but in the air when the ball hit the stumps? Either would have done. Kindergarten stuff, really.
I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this test match. 
Wonder if Jimmy Anderson was lurking round seeing if any of the Aussie team fancied a beer after the game given his comments after Cardiff.
Had I been the Aussie captain I’d have gone to England team dressing room and knocked on the door. "We’ll have that beer now lads!
oooof, that was a poor performance. Still, it is all to play for and it will be very interesting to see if the England team’s new found positivity can survive that spanking.
True, but it was all but over by then.
If I had to pick someone it would be Adam Lyth.
On Friday after tea he threw his wicket away with a ridiculous stroke when all he had to do was stay in. Granted, England had spent the best part of two days in the field and were obviously tired and demoralised, but what on earth was he playing at waving his bat at a delivery not too far off from being a wide? He’s an opener, his job is to stay in. That’s all he needed to do, block or leave - as Cook did. The problem England have is with the top order, Stokes, Buttler and Moen Ali are all good for putting quick runs on, but they need a base to build on.
Which approach would have made Anderson’s point about obnoxious sore losers even more emphatic. Now if Lyth and Anderson (who’d both had 4 hard days at the office) has gone to the Aussie rooms after stumps that would have been a point worth making.
Personally, I think they should intermingle after each days play as in days of yore.
Yeah but that’s unbalanced expectations.
If the top fail and 6/7/8 succeed (against tiring bowlers, older ball, more benign pitch) it’s “They can, why can’t the top?”
If the top fail and 6/7/8 fail it’s “You can’t expect them when the top can’t”
If the top succeed it doesn’t usually matter what 6/7/8 do.
Gary Ballance has been dropped, bringing Bairstow into the squad. The suggestion is he will bat at 5, with Bell moving up to 3.
I think it’s unfortunate for Ballance, but he hasn’t had a great time of it since they had the 8 month break in test cricket for the world cup (and he had a terrible world cup). He started well against the West Indies earlier this year, but since then he’s faded away.
Ian Bell has been equally awful since the break (with just the hundred in the WI of real note this year - the 60 at Cardiff was welcome, but problematic in itself.) but I suspect he stays in because of his past record, which I think is fair enough - an in-form Bell would be a major asset.
Potentially kill or cure for Bell, this move, I think. He doesn’t look confident coming to the crease at the minute and his recent record is atrocious. Lyth and Cook really need to help him out by staying at the crease for a bit and putting together a decent opening partnership - something that the top 3 have failed to do at all recently.
Bairstow deserves his shot though. He played what must have been the innings of the county season the other week - even better than he who shall not be named’s 355* that I saw 198-310 of at The Oval (Bairstow scored a ton in the first innings in a game where no one else on his side scored more than 28 and the opposition were shot out for double figures). Bairstow’s form has been excellent all through the summer. I’d even consider him with the gloves, to be honest.
Shame Alex Hales recent form hasn’t been great to be honest. He got off to a good LVCC start but since going to the IPL has been relatively poor. He’s the one I would want in the top 3 to be honest. Right handed and attacks, so a different beast to the Lyth, Cook, Ballance axis that we’ve had up there.
Lyth has been especially disappointing thus far, for more esoteric reasons. Wearing the Number of the Beast on his chest, I was rather hoping he would be a destroyer of worlds. Thus far, not so much.
Third Test, Edgbaston begins tomorrow.
In the first two Tests both teams showed signs of invincibility and mortality. Wire brushes have been applied to reputations and more than average have fallen under the scrutiny. They are both one batsman and one line & length bowler short of Test class.
May not be of a particularly high standard, but it is an interesting contest.
Story on the news here that in an effort to get the grass to grow the ground staff were using heat lamps. (The lamps have been loaned by West Midlands Police after being confiscated in raids on cannabis farms)
Now I applaud the notion of Test pitches being of Test standard. The problem being that neither of these sides were capable of batting out 5 days on the feather beds served up so far. It would seem possible that if there is a bit of juice in the deck it might be all over by tea on day 3.
England seem to be going to promote the out-of-touch Bell to #3 in the hope that the greater pressure will assist him regaining form. Go figure.
Conversely, given a bit of lateral movement, Anderson is capable of slicing right through the Australian batting card.
The Aussies are playing like millionaires, scoring at 5 runs per over, conceding 5 runs per over. I’d address that by dropping Starc and bringing in Siddle, though that won’t happen. They also need another batsman so I’d switch the Marshs, which won’t happen either.
Might be one of those games where whoever wins the toss will bowl and inflict a train wreck.
Apparently, the selectors believe that the following is a train of thought they might plausibly have:
“Bugger, Cook’s gone for 10. But it’s OK - here comes Ian Bell.”
If the first sentence comes true, it’s not a train of thought they’ll be sharing with many. It’s not a train of thought they’ll be sharing with Ian Bell.
I hope there is a decent pitch - the negative approach at Lord’s did no one any favours, least of all England. At the least the concentration required might stop batters lazily mowing at balls they could easily leave.
Australia win the toss, bat and… 98-7 and Anderson has five before 30 overs are up. Finn bowling well too, to claim the other two wickets.
Looks like the conditions are favouring England a bit - they’re getting something out of the pitch, it’s overcast, so there’s a little air movement and, perhaps crucially, all these little rain breaks are keeping the three strike bowlers reasonably fresh. No one has bowled outside Anderson, Broad and Finn thus far - by now, you’d probably have had an over or two of Moeen before lunch or a little spell of Stokes whilst one of the three were resting up and, looking at it, those two are the ones Australia would likely score off today (both have relatively high econ rates).
So as it turned out we skittled them without needing more than 3 bowlers. A good toss to lose, perhaps? So far England are making a better fist of it, assisted by a little waywardness from the Aussie quicks. Cook a bit unlucky to be out but surely he could have aimed to miss the fielder right under his nose?! Decent scoring rate, well over 4 an over. Apparently they can play until 7.30 to try to reclaim some of the overs lost earlier, England will be looking to just bat these out without losing another wicket (109/2 as I write). If they can do so, they are in a strong (but not yet match-winning) position. Either way they will be disappointed unless they post a first-innings lead of at least 150.
Bell gets a 50 and gets out, but it was an important 50 - England need to make this first innings count, or they could be chasing a tricky total batting last.
No need for pessimism, though, we bat deep, Root is still in, and the Aussie quicks don’t look particularly threatening. They could get 400 here.
And on comes the Brumbrella. 19 overs left today, but there’s no way we’ll get all those in. England will want the rain to continue until 7, so they don’t have to come out again.
Wow, that’s quite a form reversal after the Lord’s test. England trail by three with seven wickets in hand. This series is shaping up to be one of those twisty-turny thrillers.
Quoted for easier eating.
Possibly the only way Australia can win this match now is if Root is gone within the first 10-15 overs tomorrow. That gives them a chance to run through England’s middle order, restrict their lead and post some sort of defendable target. If Root gets set then he should get enough support from Bairstow through Ali to make a big score and set up the win. Australia could go down by an innings here.
Wow, there’s only been one day’s play and I’ve already forgotten about Lord’s and almost abandoned all hope. I must have been scarred by the last three English tours more than I realised.