3rd Test, Day 2: Australia 371 (91.2 ovs) (A Carey 106, U Khawaja 82, M Starc 54; J Archer 5-53) lead England 213-8 (68 ovs) (B Stokes 45no, H Brook 45, J Archer 30no; P Cummins 3-54) by 158 runs
On a sweltering second day in the so-called city of churches, faith appeared to evaporate. Faith in technology, certainly, a sentiment shared by both sets of players. But for England there was a broader loss of belief in their attacking philosophy after having it systematically dismantled by Australia.
This could have been the day that England finally made a statement with the bat in this Ashes series. It was a 40 degrees furnace out in the middle for the bowlers, the breeze akin to a hairdryer. And the pitch, bone dry, had none of the bounce that proved their undoing during those sorry defeats in Perth and Brisbane.
And yet by stumps England had crawled to 218 for eight from 68 overs, still 158 behind, and a 3-0 scoreline in Australia’s favour was loading. Ben Stokes was unbeaten on 45 following three hours of bullish defiance but only one captain glowed with authority. Pat Cummins had led a remarkable display of bowling by the hosts with figures of three for 54 on a stellar comeback.
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Indeed, for all the talk of England’s problems with the bat – and minds are now seemingly scrambled – the biggest difference has surely been with the ball. Even with key men missing Australia have been relentless all series and here, despite the sapping heat, they stuck their guests in a straitjacket of nagging lines and lengths, extracting every shred of movement on offer.
The contrast was on show first thing. Archer claimed the final two wickets to finish with a much-deserved five for 54. But plenty of loose stuff in tandem with Brydon Carse had also allowed Australia to add 45 runs to their overnight stash as Mitchell Starc brought up the second half-century of his personally golden series.
When it was Australia’s turn before lunch they proved everything England were not, with the dual threat of Cummins and Nathan Lyon inducing a collapse of three for five in 14 balls. But for Joe Root surviving a caught behind on one – a low pouch by Alex Carey surprisingly deemed to have brushed the grass – England’s 59 for three at the break would have been worse.
Cummins was the catalyst here, showing no rustiness from his five-month lay-off as a pearlier squared up Zak Crawley for an edge behind. Lyon’s first over on his return then compounded it, the off-spinner moving past Glenn McGrath’s 563 Test wickets by making Ollie Pope and Ben Duckett look foolish in contrasting ways.
Pope is surely at the end of the road, his swipe to midwicket betraying a brain that appears to now be in the bush. Duckett was bowled by a bit of beauty, Lyon getting drift in and turn away that beat the left-hander’s prod. Overall Lyon performed a stellar role, figures of two for 51 from 22 overs which, held up against Will Jacks taking two for 105 a day earlier, underlined another of England’s problems.
After switching to the Cathedral End in the afternoon, a probing line and a hint of nibble from Cummins was all it took for Root to edge behind on 19. Thereafter Harry Brook did his best to strike a balance between attack and defence alongside Stokes, waiting 34 balls before pushing England past three figures with one of his trademark inside-out sixes off Scott Boland.
Eventually a stand that lasted 20 overs was broken before England reached tea on 132 for five, after Cummins finally turned to Cameron Green. The all-rounder comes across as a reluctant bowler at times. But here he diligently followed the example set by his seniors, with his second legal delivery teasing an edge off Brook on 45 to start eight thrifty overs of heft for his captain.
So much headspace in the final session was taken up by yet more confusion over Snicko. Carey’s day one reprieve en route to 106 was followed by two similar incidents during a frenzied 10-minute passage of play. It ended with Jamie Smith given out for 22, England flailing at 159 for six, and Stokes head bowed to the floor.
The first underlined the issues with the tech after Smith possibly gloved Cummins to slip yet was given not out on the field. Cummins reviewed but the now all-too-familiar syncing issues meant the third umpire, Chris Gaffaney, could not be certain whether Smith’s helmet was, in fact, what had caused the deflection.
The catch may well not have carried either but Australia were fuming regardless. Starc stood close to the stump microphone and barked: “Snicko needs to be sacked. That’s the worst technology there is. They make a mistake the other day and they make another mistake today.” Lyon offered words of agreement.
Yet two overs later England were the ones chewing on a wasp when an apparent toe-end behind was sent upstairs by the standing umpires. Again the murmur did not tally up but Gaffaney was happy to factor in the lag permitted by the protocols. It was probably the right call, even if boos still rang out from England’s supporters on the hill when “OUT” flashed up on the big screen.
Smith’s first tour of Australia has been a grim one so far – the polar opposite to that of Carey, all told. And with the South Australian once again moving up to the stumps to keep batters in their crease, the wily Boland removed Jacks and Carse in quick succession to leave England 168 for eight.
Stokes and Archer (30 not out) held firm in the final hour, moving past the follow-on that Australia would probably have eschewed and safely through to stumps. Drained by the heat at this stage, and having earlier worn a blow to his head from Starc, Stokes was probably questioning his faith in his players. – Guardian
