Jonathan Liew on Ben Duckett
Geoff Lemon on Australia's day
Which means that is us. Thanks for your company and comments – sorry I couldn’t use them all – and join us again tomorrow at 10am BST for the next thrilling instalment. Peace out.
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And here’s our report of another magnificent day.
“I’m mystified by the short memories of all the people who have fallen out of love with Bazball at the first whiff of trouble,” reckons Tom Whitehead. “All this talk of game management, building a score etc forgets that England have proven time and time again over the years that they aren’t able to do any of that, especially against Australia. It’s precisely the reason why McCullum has told them to play this way. They were crap at the old-fashioned approach to test matches, so going back to it now, when they couldn’t do it before, makes no sense. I suspect that the overall results are likely to be pretty much the same playing this way, but it’s much better to watch them going out looking like they think they can win, rather than peeking between your fingers as they are meekly ripped to pieces.”
Also, I keep saying this, but it’s early days. Last summer, we could see that Stokes was going hard at everything to set an example; to tell his players he was serious about what he was saying. But now the method is established, we’re watching him refine it depending on the situation, and I’m sure his teammates will do that too – or not, if they think it works better for them not to. So far, things are working pretty well.
“Is it a valid point to suggest,” wonders Paul Prowse, “that at least part of this is that they aren’t in it for our mental health but preserving their own? Removing that intense pressure/fear of losing can only be good after all surely…”
Er, sometimes, I’d say. I don’t know how you break it down, but pressure can also bring out the best in people – it’s not always best to compete on a chill, sometimes you’ve got to compete on a buzz. And there’s no one better at judging these things than Ben Stokes.
“‘At what point this afternoon should England have relaxed themselves, given it was the Bazball method which put them in such a strong position?’” begins Stephen Davenport, posing my question back to me. “At the point, I’d suggest, when it was obvious that Australia were bowling continual short balls and setting the field accordingly. Which was at least as soon as Pope had been suckered by the tactic. The previously strong position came from positive batting that suited the (different) circumstances. The Bazball philosophy and strategy is highly enjoyable but it need not have such a one-tracked tactic.”
As I mentioned below, I think we’re seeing it refined on the fly – Stokes knew he needed to be there at the end tonight, so he made sure he was. And on Pope, Duckett just said that all the batters have a different method against the short stuff; Pope wanted to go after it as he did, it just didn’t work for him on this occasion.
He backs himself to deal with the short stuff and references Stokes’ composure letting the ball hit him or go by. He thinks that wouldn’t work for him – he’s better at playing his game – everyone has a different method, and Australia want them to stop playing scoring. But they didn’t, they’d have taken where they are now at change of innings, and though you never want to see anyone get hurt, England trust themselves to chase on this pitch, especially in his absence.
Duckett explains that if he’d hit the ball that got him properly, he’d have got runs for it, and would prefer to get out as he did than gloved one behind. Last match, he felt he missed out on playing to his strengths, getting out where he scored his runs by trying to steer through gully rather than slash over point, and today he thinks he sorted that. The way Crawley played allowed him to settle, and the bowlers dragging their lengths back to stop him driving helped Duckett to cut and pull.
There are few batters better at pacing an innings than Ben Stokes. I wonder if, in the fullness of time, we look back at his knock this evening as the moment Bazball changed from a whack everything ideology to a whack everything most of the time ideology. He knows how important his partnership with Brook is and that if the two of them just bat, the score will necessarily climb, so refused to give his wicket away and will hope to cash in sometime tomorrow.
That was a lot of fun; of course it was. England bowled much better this morning than yesterday, got their rewards, and batted pretty well too. In sense, though, the big news today is none of this, rather Nathan Lyon’s injury. It looked a nasty one – given how quickly the matches come now, if it’s enough to keep him out of what remains here, he’s struggling for at least the next one, perhaps worse – and might deny Australia their principal point of difference.
Close of play, day two: Australia lead England by 138 runs; England have six first-innings wickets intact
61st over: England 278-4 (Brook 45, Stokes 17) Bit of drift for Smith, Brook defending, then taking a single as Strauss walks the boundary thanking the crowd for their support. It’s the only run from the over and another banging day of Bazball cricket comes to a close, tomorrow perfectly set up.
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60th over: England 277-4 (Brook 44, Stokes 17) This may be the final over of the day but more likely there’s another to come after it – Australia are looking to get through it quickly. And after two singles, Brook comes down only to drag into the ground for one more to long on, then Stokes has a cut stopped a point. Steve Smith will now bowl the final over of the day…
“Maybe I’m missing the point,” begins James Bolle. “Sure, it would be nice to win the Ashes but two years ago these exact players (almost) were playing conservatively, to match conditions, to try and win and were ... losing! Complaining about their current performance beggars belief in my opinion.”
59th over: England 274-4 (Brook 42, Stokes 16) A wicket here would massively alter what – for now at least – has been England’s day. They’d have taken Australia all out for 416 and two set batters returning tomorrow, the lead under 150, but with Robinson batting eight know that this pair and Bairstow will have to get most of however many runs they end up with. A single to each batter raises a very useful fifty partnership then Brook who’s been much more circumspect in recent overs, takes one more past mid off.
58th over: England 271-4 (Brook 40, Stokes 15) Head’s bowling a decent spell here, not threatening much but holding down an end; this latest over, his fourth, yields two singles, making it seven runs conceded in total.
57th over: England 268-4 (Brook 39, Stokes 13) Hazlewood returns and Brook opens the face to guide four between slip and gully. A single follows, then a two, and it feels like Stokes has decided this is his time – he knows the importance of this partnership, and he’s not letting it slip away this evening.
“Easy to say,” says Daniel Shiels, “but fans want England to win the Ashes first and entertain second. When these players have their feet on the throat of the opposition’s throat they have to make it count. With Lyon injured they could have carried on scoring quickly, taking their ones and twos as they had earlier and basically batted the bowlers out of the match and potentially the series given how quickly these matches will come on top of each other and how many overs you could have had them bowl in accumulating 600. This is brainless machismo or sticking to a philosophy when a professional should read the situation and kill off an opposition when the opportunity presents itself rather than telling that opposition they’ll always be in a game irrespective of the situation. Sorry to vent but I’m a massive England cricket can in a house that couldn’t care less so someone had to get it.”
I don’t think it’s about machismo, though, just a call they’ve made about the best way to play, and captains can’t decide what a team does according to what fans want. At what point this afternoon should England have relaxed themselves, given it was the Bazball method which put them in such a strong position?
56th over: England 261-4 (Brook 34, Stokes 11) It’s funny, relative to other matches I actually think England have been relatively circumspect this innings, and I understand why they’re attacking the short stuff because if they stop its use as a tactics, Australia, without Lyon, have massive problems. And with 15 to the close, the home batters look resolved to be there at the start tomorrow, Brook’s single to extra the only run off this latest Head over.
55th over: England 260-4 (Brook 33, Stokes 11) Hazlewood replaces Cummins, goes around, and I think he might be establishing himself in this series; as I type that Stokes, who’s already allowed one to clobber his shoulder, opts to wear another in the ribs. Sport hurts, maiden over.
54th over: England 260-4 (Brook 33, Stokes 11) Head continues and England milk him for four singles. Amusingly, Ben Stokes is playing with the kind of restraint that would’ve kept his mates who’ve already batted out in the middle.
“Having vented my spleen at length,” returns Brian Withington, “I see that your defence is that we can’t have one without the other. That in effect the win in Pakistan and the last hour or so at Lord’s are unavoidably, inextricably linked. Well I’m sorry but that defence was a cop out for KP and it’s the same here. It smacks of the sort of polarisation that is the curse of the modern age. Whatever happened to a bit of nuance, a little intelligence and adaptation? For goodness sake, Brook is potentially a batter for the Ages, as I suspect he may go on and demonstrate now. But his first 15 minutes at the crease was utterly brainless.”
It’s not about a defence. I’m just saying that the team are still working out how the strategy suits each circumstance and how to assimilate it into their own game.
53rd over: England 256-4 (Brook 31, Stokes 9) Brook creams Cummins through square leg for four, then takes a single into the on side.
“I’m sorry but this is just ridiculous,” fumes Brian Withington. “I don’t care if Brook goes on to score 150 in record time, and I’m frankly glad that Duckett missed out on his 100 and Pope on his 50; and that Root was given out even if it was a close call. This isn’t an exciting new brand of positive cricket. Its egotistical self-indulgence puffed up as ‘playing with freedom’ and ‘saving Test cricket’. With the opposition denied their best bowler and the wicket offering nothing, England have turned what should have been a desperate and forlorn attempt to turn the tide into a potentially decisive Ashes winning breakthrough. Hoist with their own B**B*** bo**ocks, the quintessential example of roping the dopes where the latter pop their heads willingly into the noose and pull the trapdoor release. Pitiful test cricket. And how interesting that Stokes as a batter is having no part in the nonsense at the other end.”
I think it’s fair to be patient with the team – remember where they was a year ago, look where they are now, and tell me there’s not been massive progress as a direct result of the style that’s causing minor aggravation this evening. They’re still nicely placed to win this match.
52nd over: England 251-4 (Brook 26, Stokes 9) Head into the attack which reminds me of how David Warner summed him up yesterday: “Trav’s Trav”. Can’t argue with that one – it is what it is – and he beats the bat to hit Stokes’ pad; there’s an appeal, but the ball was sliding down. Maiden.
51st over: England 251-4 (Brook 26, Stokes 9) Red face for Marnus! Brook waits, again hits hard and flat, picks out square leg … and Labuschagne isn’t quick enough to it, wearing a sore one on the wrist. He thinks he should’ve grabbed that, but in his defence it came at him so quickly and he just couldn’t get hands to ball. They run one, Stokes takes two to point, and the 150 is raised thanks to four byes.
“Pleased to see the voice of reason is manning the OBO at the mo,” emails Tom Nolan. “BBC commentators are infuriating with their criticism of England’s tactics which, one hour ago, they couldn’t get enough of. England got themselves into this position with positive, attacking batting. That’s the culture and it’s been working incredibly well. I hope the naysaying does not creep into the England camp. This positivity is our best chance of winning the series.”
I also think it’s worth noting that Bazball is in its infancy – the team are still working out how to play it best, the various batters trying to assimilate it into their game.
50th over: England 243-4 (Brook 25, Stokes 6) Brook misses a heave across the line, then backs away to swat three into the off side – he’s got an MLB sticker on his bat and he’s playing baseball-style, hitting cross and flat. We learn that Lyon has hurt his calf – we could see that – but won’t know how badly until tomorrow.
49th over: England 240-4 (Brook 22, Stokes 6) Brook pulls to backward square for one, then Stokes plays down into the off side and they run another. So Brook takes another single then the captain – who could really use a score here – glances off the pads for four before wearing a bouncer on the shoulder – electively. Some people are built differently.
“I thought the umpiring debate and confirmation post the Gill catch at the WTC Final,” says Dominik Hindal, “was that as long as the fielder is in control it doesn’t matter if the ball grazes a few blades of grass as the catch is completed.”
Yeah, and Smith’s looked a good take to me – you can even see him bringing his hands up to keep the ball off the ground.
48th over: England 233-4 (Brook 20, Stokes 1) Green opens the over with another no ball, then Brook steps away again, opening everything off side of him, and splatters through mid on for four. Then he goes again, showing the whole wicket, whiffing at another swipe and missing; the ball misses leg stump, just. Brook, of course, finds this hilarious, likewise his captain at the other end, and a single follows. My inbox, meanwhile, is full of people aggravated with England’s short-ball behaviour, especially given Lyon’s injury. I get that, I really do, but I’m not grasping the alternative and England are trying to score quickly so they’ve a chance at taking 10 more wickets.
47th over: England 227-4 (Brook 15, Stokes 1) This has been yet another ridiculous hour of Bazball Ashes CricketTM – Lyon’s injury, three wickets, a no-ball wicket – and now Cummins, who’s not bowled in a while, returns for a burst. He cedes one, Brook to deep square, and this last hour is going to be intense.
“When Lyon’ went off with England at 180-1,” writes Tim Doyle, “a sensible team would have realised they had the foot on the Australian throat and that 600 plus was there for the taking. Not England. So intent on showing intent that common sense and sensible game-management flies out of the window. They would still have scored four an over against tiring seamers. Brainless!”
I know what you mean, but I’m also not sure what the alternative is. They’ve decided to play a certain way, and they can’t be right to play it apart from when playing it goes wrong.
46th over: England 226-4 (Brook 14, Stokes 1) I doubt the short stuff stops with Stokes, and when his first ball sticks in the surface, refusing to lift as expected, he edges to third man for one. Then Brook backs away to leg and swats down the ground for three, which is to say he’ll not be altering the way he plays; problem for England is that Australia are a better bowling side than New Zealand and Pakistan, which is why we’re seeing them unable to cash in their starts.
OUT IS THE CALL!
It’s so so hard to tell with these but looking again, you can see Smith curls hand and wrist up to keep the ball raised off the ground. Brilliant work.
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BUT DID HE TAKE IT CLEANLY?
The ball might’ve touched the grass through his fingers…
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WICKET! Root c Smith b Starc 10 (England 222-4)
And there it is! England just cannot stop losing wickets and this time, Root swipes to that man at backward point, Smith scrabbles along the ground, launches himself underneath it, and takes a fine catch, fingers sliding between ball and turf.
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46th over: England 222-3 (Root 10, Brook 11) Punter doesn’t fancy Brook against quality short stuff, but it’s Root on strike when he takes a single down the ground…
45th over: England 221-3 (Root 10, Brook 10) Hazlewood continues and continues banging it in, ceding a pair of singles turned into the leg side. In comms, Punter says he wants Smith, at backwards point, in a bit closer, and shonuff when one kicks up a bit more than Root expects, he goes through with the shot anyway, can’t control it, and the ball drops just short of the man. Brook then takes one to backward point, and this is a really good contest. By the way, we’ve had no news on Lyon, but I’d surprised if he bowls again in this match and given how quickly they come after it, he might be struggling for the series
44th over: England 217-3 (Root 8, Brook 8) Starc continues, following Brook when he backs away, and a glove over the keeper yields one; then a bit of extra bounce introduces cork to finger, but Brook is fine. That’ll be drinks.
“I cannot believe anyone is still persisting with winviz,” emails Jamie Lennon. “How is it possibly useful, ever. Last test was a perfect example, it swinging around until when Australia had only a few runs to get it switched to show Australia might win. No shit? The way it swings on who is to win after a few quick wickets, as if a quick procession of wickets was never a possibility in its little equations. I know the broadcasters paid a lot of money for it and the people behind it ran a great campaign to get the buy in from the public, but please OBO, spare us. You could walk up to anyone at the pub and ask ‘who is going to win’ and it would be just as useful – and much more engaging.”
I guess the point of it is talking points during long hours of broadcast, but the problem is it’s just a number. We need to see its working, and also for it to tell us whether The Bends is better than OK Computer.
43rd over: England 215-3 (Root 7, Brook 7) Haw haw, even when he’s not trying to hit boundaries, Brook hits a boundary. Hazlewood, who really put it all into the wicket-taking delivery, hurls down a yorker and Brook blocks it at his feet, the connection so true it sends ball into ground, over bowler’s head, and away for four. You’ve got to laugh, all the more so when he backs away and slaps cross-batted over the off side for two; a single follows, and this match has sped up the last 20 minutes.
WICKET! Duckett c Warner b Hazlewood 98 (England 208-3)
The short stuff works! Duckett doesn’t get into position to hook, unable to manage a full extension, goes anyway, and top edges to fine leg where Warner holds on well. Duckett falls two short of a ton and suddenly England have two new men at the crease! This final hour 22 is going to be something…
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42nd over: England 207-2 (Duckett 98, Root 6) Duckett turns off the hip for one, then Root gets onto tippy-toes to ease a bouncer towards third man for one more. Two more singles follow and Duckett is two away, the roar of the crowd and his teammates licking at his cochleas.
41st over: England 203-2 (Duckett 96, Root 4) It’s a weird thing the Win Predictor, because all it really does it change its mind every time the match changes and make out like its clever in the process; can it do the OBO by any chance? Hazlewood returns and further singles follow – England have done well to keep the scoreboard ticking – though Duckett does splice a pull, lucky to see it land safe. He’s four away from a ton at haitch cue, and I’ve not a clue how he’ll be feeling in that context, seconds from the realisation of a dream.
@DanielHarris
— Dimmo (@peterdymoke1) June 29, 2023
Afro Beats - the Bhundu Boys - the original and besthttps://t.co/ZNStKUW3Sj
40th over: England 200-2 (Duckett 94, Root 3) I’m still struggling to process Green’s devastation so goodness knows how he’s feeling – I guess he’s built differently to me, given his ability to do his job well, under pressure. England take Starc for five singles, raising their 200, and they now have a 50% chance of winning, Australia 37% with the draw 13%.
39th over: England 195-2 (Duckett 92, Root 1) This is now a crucial part of the match – and series. If Root gets in, England will have a great chance of squaring things, but if one brings two or three, it’ll be hard for Australia to lose the match … and have an absolute look! Root tries a pull, gloves behind … and it’s a no ball, the fifth of the spell! Oh Cameron. Oh mate. Ohhhh maaaaaate. You can’t be handing Joseph Edward Root chances, but that’s what he’s done and he’ll be feeling exceedingly poorly; rightly so. In co-comms, Tubby wonders if he’s not in the greatest physical nick, so is trying to force things, but at the moment it’ll be his heart that’s aching.
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WICKET! Pope c Smith b Green 42 (England 188-2)
It doesn’t fail! Another short one, this time from Green, and Pope gets out of the road to help it around the corner, looking to clear the rope. But it’s a toe-ender and backpeddling, Smith takes a superb catch like it’s the most piddlingly easy trifle going – which it is now. Man, Australia needed that.
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38th over: England 188-1 (Duckett 90, Pope 42) When Joe Root took those two wickets last evening, there was laughter in the ground because it felt like the match wasn’t that serious, such was Australia’s control of it. But 24 hours later, if feels like it might’ve been the match’s turning point, because it gave England a dart at clearing up this morning – they did – and now with Lyon looking in serious trouble, they’ve a chance to exploit the break they were handed. Back in the middle, Duckett takes one to backward square then Pope ducks under a nicely-directed bumper and cuts to point for one. So Starc goes again, Duckett pulls for a single, and Pope does likewise. England are wearing the short stuff well, and I’m not sure what Australia try if this short-pitched tactic fails.
37th over: England 184-1 (Duckett 88, Pope 40) Back in comms, Strauss is talking about a tough, uplifting emotional day – my eyeballs are sweating just thinking about what he’s feeling – and Green again no-balls, then in the process of appealing for lb, learns he’s done it again. England compound his aggravation by running a leg bye, then he goes short knowing Duckett won’t leave it, and he top-edges a pull that lands just short of Lyon. AND WHAT’S THIS? I’m reminded of something Michael Vaughan said about “the low-fives going around the dressing room” when Glenn McGrath trod on that ball because Lyon has hurt himself! Oh man, he seemed to hurt his calf and what a key piece of fortune that might be! The Gazzler takes a bit of treatment over the rope and now has an arm around the physio as he makes his way towards the pavilion, head bowed – this is brutal to watch, the body language not good at all; godspeed, old mate. six off the over.
“Not just a great bowler, also a lovely gent,” returns Jeremy Boyce on Underwood. “I had the pleasure of his company for five minutes as an 8-year-old nipper at my first ever Test match at t’Headingley, playing the Windies. I was sent off to get some autographs at the close of play, and managed to get Deadly, he was sitting in the stand just next to the old pavilion, signed my book and actually HAD A CHAT! Asked me what I thought about the match, that kind of thing. A also got G. Boycott that day too, but that was all I got from him.”
It’s so nice when people go beyond the minimum; asking an eight-year-old what he thinks of the match, beautiful.
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36th over: England 178-1 (Duckett 86, Pope 39) In comms, Nasser and Straussy reckon it’s time Australia bowled to Duckett’s strengths, heavily populating the off side, bowling and inviting him to try piercing the field. In the meantime, Pope, who’s slowly accumulating despite his shoulder injury, takes a single, and if England maintain their current rate of just below five, they’ll be pretty close to Australia at stumps, though we won’t get all 36 of the overs remaining.
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35th over: England 177-1 (Duckett 86, Pope 38) The luck is with England at the moment, but they’re earning it: Green goes short and wide and Duckett, preternaturally unable to let anything go, opens the face, slashes and the ball goes over gully for four. Two to mid off follows, Cummins diving to avert a boundary and taking a bump on the head; he jogs off for a routine concussion test, then Green dangles one outside off and Duckett waits … before punishing a lovely cover drive to the fence for four. Gloriously done, and a top edge off a no ball – they run two – means that in the five overs since tea, England have added 32. They’re in control of this innings now, and I can’t wait to discover how they manage to toss it.
34th over: England 164-1 (Duckett 74, Pope 38) Pope comes down to drive Lyon towards long off and send Cummins away on the chase; they run three. Next, an appeal, ball hitting pad, but there was a significant edge there so nothing doing – though when short leg goes out to point, Duckett loses another scoring shot. It looks like Australia want to make him force things.
33rd over: England 160-1 (Duckett 73, Pope 35) Duckett misses a pull – he’s been sent three bouncers since tea so this must be a change in tactic – gloving over slip and for four. He then guides two through point as we see the Win Predictor has England as favourites; I’m not sure about that, but in the meantime Duckett punches down the ground for three and I wonder if his name counts as an ironic one, given he’s probably not called upon to duck anything very often.
This feels like a pretty unique cricketing feat - can anyone help? https://t.co/kvRrEZOLtD pic.twitter.com/Ot9SIEmqsP
— Jamie Bowman (@JamieBowman77) June 29, 2023
32nd over: England 149-1 (Duckett 64, Pope 34) Four dots, then a single apiece. This is going to be a long bowl for Lyon.
“You were born too late Daniel,” chides Jeremy Boyce with regard to our Swann discussion earlier. “I had the pleasure of watching Deadly Derek in my youth. Not just economical, but quirky, left-arm, off a medium pacer’s run-up, nasty on a decent pitch, absolutely unplayable on a ‘sticky’.
Yup, I had a Sunday Times wall-chart which of Deadly said “would’ve played for England even if he’d never turned the ball”.
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31st over: England 147-1 (Duckett 63, Pope 33) Green begins with a bouncer then Duckett cuts for one – he’s really good square of the wicket – then after a single to Pope, Green gets one to climb and nip in, beating the outside edge.
“Although Zak Crawley didn’t get his fifty,” says Andy Flintoff, “he still scored higher than his average, which is really quite low (less than 30). Other openers have been discarded with similar averages over the same number of innings. Is it because he scored that 267 in 2020 that he has so much credit in the bank?”
I don’t think so. I think management like his tempo and fearlessness, so are happy for him to thrash a quick 41 and rely on the others to get the scoreboard somewhere good. The idea seems to be for most of the batters to make something which collectively adds up to something, rather than someone to get a start and cash in.
We go again, Green poised to bowl his first over of the match.
Teatime email: “More afrobeats, amapiano and gqom on the OBO please” asks Gil, attaching the below link. Why, I thought you’d never ask! Here are two playlists, the sounds of Accra Detty December 21-22 and Detty December 22-23.
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Don’t worry though – to sustain you through the break, here’s my tune of 2023 so far.
30th over: England 145-1 (Duckett 62, Pope 32) Duckett tickles finest for four – he’s got lovely hands – raising the fifty partnership in the process. A single follows, and England have the tempo of this innings just right, I think … but as we know, they enjoy losing wickets at regular intervals. So, though that is tea, we’ve not a clue what’ll happen after it. Join me in 16 or so to find out!
29th over: England 140-1 (Duckett 57, Pope 32) We see Andrew Strauss walking around the balcony, the crowd giving him the ovation he deserves – I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anyone talk about grief with greater measure, sensitivity and insight. His boys are very lucky to have him, and so are we. Anyhow, Pope gloves a pull for one, then Starc strays straight – try saying that after a few tins of Personality Creator – and Duckett swings him away for four through midwicket. That’s his 50, but can he turns it into more? He begins nicely, cutting hard for two then glancing for two more, and this is why Starc wasn’t picked in Birmingham – a single off the final ball of the over means he’s 0-55 off seven. Thinking for him and Cummins to do.
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28th over: England 130-1 (Duckett 48, Pope 31) Lyon begins his ninth over with a no ball, then after a single to Pope he sees Duckett coming down and fires in wider; the batter james into the on side, and they don’t run.
27th over: England 128-1 (Duckett 48, Pope 30) Starc returns and offered width, Pope takes one then Duckett does likewise … then Pope gets lucky with an inside edge, avoiding leg stump and scrounging four. Then he compounds the bowler’s pain by whipping to the fence at deep backward square, then driving beautifully through cover – three boundaries on the spin – then when Starc fires in a yorker, another edge is too good even for Green in the gully, and they run two more. Sixteen off the over, and England have built themselves a platform here.
“I had to pop out and post a package a little while ago,” boasts Chris Harrison. “On the way home I heard a frustrated Irish voice bellow ‘You feckin’ eejit!’ through an open pub window. How did I instinctively know that Zak Crawley had just been dismissed?”
It’s a real head-scratcher! In fairness to him, he’s in decent nick at the moment, but I wonder if all the batters might benefit from some guidance about balancing the Bazball approach with making starts count. What would the rules be, though? Don’t get out to the ball that gets you out?
26th over: England 112-1 (Duckett 47, Pope 15) Lyon teases through another maiden.
“Interested to hear your take on KP’s shambolic comment on the England bowling yesterday,” emails Aeddan Shaw. “Seems a bit harsh but they surely need more variety – Robinson doesn’t really seem to offer much offensively apart from being offensive. Think the third Test might consider a belated call up for the unique Ramon Schindler. An (or probably the, as I can’t think of any others) English-Polish-Jewish off spinner who is still taking wickets at 70 (age, not average) in the flourishing Krakow league (6 teams and counting). They play their games at the former home of Makkabi Krakow FC and I’m sure would be up for hosting visiting teams.”
Shambolic was maybe a bit much, though the no-ball count was a lot. I did wonder if the way England play, everyone relaxed and easy about the result, makes it hard for them to bring requisite intensity – the intensity you need when trying to beat a superior team in an Ashes series – these players have mongrel in them, but we’re not seeing much of it so perhaps there’s a balance that’s yet to be found.
25th over: England 112-1 (Duckett 47, Pope 15) Pope’s using all of his bat here, offering a couple of leading edges earlier and here squeezing one to point; they run one. So Cummins goes again with the yorker, Duckett doing really well to dig it out at the last second; he misses and his stumps splatter. He then takes two to mid on, gets on top of a short one to pull for a single, and he’s batting really nicely here.
24th over: England 108-1 (Duckett 44, Pope 14) Duckett’s doing well to rotate – sorry, rotate strike – and he turns another single behind square on the on side. Pope then flicks to backward square, they take one more, and it feels like England are laying the foundations for an onslaught in the final session of the day once the bowlers have a few more spells in their legs.
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23rd over: England 106-1 (Duckett 43, Pope 13) Yesterday, it felt like a good toss to lose, but this afternoon it feels like a good one to win because Australia are struggling to find movement off pitch or through the air, and the track has quickened up a bit. As I type that, though, Pope tries to jam out Cummins’ inswinging yorker – it’s such a weapon – missing the drag-on by fractions and the ball missing off-stump by a similar margin. Maiden.
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22nd over: England 106-1 (Duckett 43, Pope 12) Lyon floats up a wide one and Pope makes sure not to miss out, down on one knee and stretching to flat-bat four through cover. A single follows, then Duckett defends positively, and he’ll know this is a chance for him to cement a spot for the rest of the series; initially, it was felt that he might be a specialist pick for Pakistan but now he’s established and looking good.
“England’s fourth stumping of the series already,” says Max Williams, “and three of those batters were well set. Surely there’s a line between positive intent and handing your wicket and the initiative to the opposition?”
There is, but it’s an imaginary one, like the equator, and if you enjoy the heat, you enjoy the heat. It’s a tricky one really, because if we’re on board with the Bazball affair, we can’t enjoy it when it works then complain when a similar shot we’ve just cheered brings about a dismissal. Ultimately, we’re only a year into this thing, so I guess it’s not surprising that the players are still working things out.
21st over: England 101-1 (Duckett 43, Pope 8) Cummins replaces Hazlewood and Duckett flicks him to backward square; they run one, then after three dots it looks like the ball’s being changed. While that fiddling goes on, we see Smith raising his ton, and I can only think of Jaques Kallis and Rahul Dravid who looks as impossible to get out once in. If you’ll forgive the namedrop, KP once told me that when England played SA once, they tried to come up with a plan for Kallis, and the best they could do was run out threat early in his innings. Ridiculous. Anyhow, Pope hauls a further single around the corner and he’s settled in well.
“I’m flabbergasted (stumped?) by the England batters insistence on trying to come down the wicket to Nathan Lyon,” emails Colum Fordham. “Moeen Ali and others made the mistake in the first test and Crawley has wasted an opportunity to make consecutive Test fifties. Lyon gets loop and dip through his use of overspin, making it hard to get to the pitch. Plus he gets revs on the ball and turns it considerably. Play him late.”
I mean, in the age of DRS pretty much every spinner needs playing late, and for all the Edgbaston talk around Stokes’ declaration, the way I see it, Root getting himself out charging in the second innings was the turning point of the match.
20th over: England 99-1 (Duckett 42, Pope 7) Having a spinner able to block up one end this early in the match is great, but having one who’s a wicket-threat is even better as England discovered when they have Graeme Swann. He’s their only elite-level tweaker of my lifetime, which is why he’d be the first name I’d pick in any XI of that period – anyone else can be replaced with similar. One off the over, Duckett driving to point, and Pope plays out the four remaining balls well enough. Him v Lyon could be a very contest.
19th over: England 98-1 (Duckett 41, Pope 7) Hazlewood, who might well have been removed from the attack – he’s 0-31 off four – is given a go at the new man, who milks three twos which do nothing for his ailing figures. In other news, we have, over the last few years, discussed that food in the ground, now copious, varied and, most importantly, hot, has compromised the cricket picnic. However, the below accompanied me to HQ yesterday, and four of the five will be returning tomorrow.
18th over: England 94-1 (Duckett 41, Pope 1) Australia badly needed that breakthrough, and Nathan Lyon was their man once again, a dit of dip and flight giving Carey the chance to do what he does. He liked it, a lot and rightly so; Pope, allowed to bat as his injury came on the park, gets away with a flick to sqaure leg.
WICKET! Crawley st Carey b Lyon 41 (England 91-1)
England’s batters love a start but this is terrific work, Crawley coming down as the ball spina past his pads and clips one; Carey moves with it way outside leg, then sweeps back in to remove the bails!
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18th over: England 91-0 (Crawley 48, Duckett 41) It was meant to rain most of the morning; England will be pleased it didn’t, because they’ve fought back well here. Duckett shoves three through mid on – they run them well – but….
Thanks Geoff and afternoon everyone. This is set up!
17th over: England 88-0 (Crawley 48, Duckett 38) Hazlewood continues. Crawley flicks a run, Duckett lays into a pull shot for four! Muscles it really, in front of square. Then goes the other side of the ground, through point with a cuffed cross-bat shot for three. Another lucrative over, as this union blossoms.
In fact I’m browsing the list of England opening partnerships at Lord’s. This pair made 109 against Ireland a couple of weeks ago. Apart from that one, this is England’s best start here since Strauss and Cook made a few century stands around 2008 and 2009.
The drinks break has arrived. And with that, I’ll hand over to Daniel Harris. Thanks for your company and correspondence today.
16th over: England 80-0 (Crawley 47, Duckett 31) Lyon bowling, and Duckett again throws his whole body into a shot, slog sweep but the ball is outside off stump and turning away, and he’s nowhere near it in the end. They go upstairs to check his back foot, but there’s no stumping. Another slap follows, one run to the point sweeper. Three out on the leg side for Crawley who takes a single easily to square.
15th over: England 78-0 (Crawley 46, Duckett 30) Now Ben Duckett is climbing into Hazlewood now, two runs through midwicket, two with a lot of slap in the shot through cover, angled bat thrown wide. Not clean enough contact to beat the sweeper. One more to keep strike.
14th over: England 72-0 (Crawley 45, Duckett 25) Osh, kosh, and bosh: Duckett goes down and whacks the slog sweep from Lyon for four.
@GeoffLemonSport Where does Ben Duckett spend his holidays? At the Hotel California. Why? Because while he can check out any time he likes…..
— Geyv Kathoke (@GKKCMG) June 29, 2023
13th over: England 68-0 (Crawley 45, Duckett 21) Hazlewood to Crawley… who thumps a pull for four, then blocks a single! Serve and volley. Gets strike back, leaves a tight line by the off stump. Then his shot of the day! Straight drive, back under the bowler just about, to the on side of straight by a couple of feet. Spanked. There was the quiet start, but then 47 runs in the last six overs.
12th over: England 58-0 (Crawley 35, Duckett 21) Nathan Lyon comes into the fray, the off-spinner with 495 Test wickets… and it’s almost 496. Dropped catch, technically. A hard one, Crawley tries a reverse sweep and hits it firmly at slip. To Smith’s right hand, which he throws out and can’t make contact, the ball ricochets off his body away for a run.
As we’re chewing over the big issues, it’s worth publishing this in full from Robert McLiam Wilson, our OBO Parisian correspondent who has written for the Guardian before as well as many other places.
“The Equity report is unquestionably important. All questions of access, egalitarianism and decency are always a work-in-progress. Adjustment and improvement should be permanent. I always found cricket to be significantly and unmistakably more progressive and accepting than most sports (and many other parts of society). When I first came to England, I was particularly struck by how often I played with women in proper, organised cricket and how blindingly normal everyone found that. Completely unworthy of comment, just the way things were. I’ve never played organised football with a woman in my life. Not once.
“There are, of course, problems (though many of the newer ones are about class and income in an expensive sport no longer available on free-to-air TV). For the last few months, I’ve been running around the right-wing internet for work (no deep-dives necessary, all upfront, widespread social media stuff). Compared with the reactionary convulsions that are so dominant online, cricket, even at its worst can still seem sylvan and utopian. If you don’t believe me, just clear your internet history, click on a few YouTube videos about Phoebe Waller-Bridge or Brie Larson and let the algorithm do its ghastly work. You quickly end up in a nightmare morass of cruelty and stupidity. It’s so much worse than most of us realise. And distressingly large numbers of people are lapping it up like nectar.
“It’s a depressing lesson but salutary. And the algorithmic echo never really leaves your computer. What do you learn? Well, racism and homophobia are more popular than ever but jubilant misogyny is where you make the big bucks and everything everywhere is still the fault of the Jews. Cricket will never be perfect but in the churning moral pandemonium of the post-Trump and BoJo era, it’s still one of the best things going for all its flaws and failures.”
11th over: England 54-0 (Crawley 32, Duckett 20) Starc is done for now, after a dozen from his last over, with Josh Hazlewood asked to pump the brakes. But somebody has cut the cable! Just wide, and Duckett dunks it through cover point for four. Then takes a ball from a similar line but jams it into the leg side for one. A fifty partnership for the openers, going well.
10th over: England 47-0 (Crawley 31, Duckett 14) Three more for Crawley, as Labuschagne at extra cover fumbles a well struck drive. Duckett on strike, a noise as the ball goes down leg. The slips go up, Cummins follows them. So he’s not convinced enough to review. Duckett jams another ball out of his thigh pad and gets a run.
A clarification from Edward Collier on Jeremy Boyce’s mail, on the arcania of Lord’s. “The Grand and Mound are public stands (apart from the boxes and debentures), available to all, including plebs as well as toffs and MCC members (toffs and members pay the same price as the public). The Tavern is for MCC members and members’ friends - it’s not available to the public.”
9th over: England 42-0 (Crawley 28, Duckett 12) Welcome to the jungle. Crawley has got the whips out. First for two runs, midwicket, then squarer for four! Starc adjusts his line so it’s outside the off stump, and Crawley lashes it through extra cover for another! McCullum doing fist pumps to Sandstorm on the balcony while snorting some powdered Tang, probably.
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8th over: England 30-0 (Crawley 17, Duckett 11) McCullum jolts awake with a snort! Crawley has played a straight drive to the rope. Nice shot, just to the on side. A little less timing on the less shot, muscles a drive with bottom hand through mid off, and it slows up enough for Labuschagne to make it three. Cummins zeroes into Duckett’s pad but it only yields an extra. Bouncer! Crawley swivels but drops his gloves late having moved across, as the goes over about leg stump. Crawley gets another run driving back past Cummins via a deflection from the bowler’s hand.
7th over: England 21-0 (Crawley 9, Duckett 11) The runs coming in singles rather than boundaries, England’s openers just knocking the ball around from Starc. Only one four in the first 21 runs. Brendon McCullum throwing things around the dressing room, presumably. Or fast asleep.
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6th over: England 18-0 (Crawley 7, Duckett 10) Leg bye from Crawley’s pad. Inside edge from Duckett past leg stump, he does a 360 looking for the ball before responding to Crawley’s call for one. Cummins to Crawley who drives a run. So much Crawley chat over the past year: he looked good in Birmingham, wonder if he can come good today. Cloud has come back over the ground but it’s higher cloud letting more daylight through, not the thick heavy stuff.
5th over: England 15-0 (Crawley 6, Duckett 9) Starc gets another burst after lunch, and Duckett plays at all six balls, getting a couple of runs from a clunky drive, missing the next outside off stump, then getting in a tangle playing the ball to Lyon at square leg.
Food for thought, after food for lunch. We’re back for more play.
Here’s an email with some good observations from Jeremy Boyce.
“The situation that English cricket finds itself in with regard to all its prejudices, affiliations, bias, old boys club and Public School heritage is not something that has happened overnight, it is the product of well over a century of evolution that can not be got rid of overnight with a few apologies, contrite words, promises, and a few token new rules to try and ensure a level playing field for all. Just look at Lords itself, it’s built on a slope. The toffs up top in the Pavillion, Ground and Mound stands, the plebs in the Tavern and in the cheap seats under the media stand, facing afternoon sun, while the yellow/orange tie mob enjoy the cool shade of the pavillion to keep the ice in their G’n’Ts cold. Like climate change (and its orange powder people), it is the product of a long evolution and it will not be an overnight solution that will fix it. It will require a huge collective action to change anything, but are we ready for that ? Or won’t we more be happy to drink our G’n’Ts in the Pav and pints in the Tav and wait for someone else to come up with the solution while we enjoy the cricket?”
An interesting email from Robin Durie.
‘Mostly, the media commentary on the Report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket seems to have been balanced & constructive. But the image of the Sky commentary team at the top of the page today shows how deeply the issues raised by the Commission run: one person of colour, who also happens to be the only woman in the team. No criticism of Sky here - as the feature during the lunchtime break on TMS showed, this situation is more or less replicated in the TMS comms box, & even more so, amongst the media at large. But it does raise the question of how Sky, as the main provider of live cricket coverage, & the wider cricket media, can authentically hold English & Welsh cricket to account in the wake of the Commission’s Report, when they so manifestly remain part of the problem (however admirable their efforts to diversify thus far, may be).”
First up, I really don’t agree with this part. Sky have a range of voices: off the top of my head, Mel Jones, Isa Guha, Ebony Rainford-Brent, Mark Butcher, Nasser Hussain, Kumar Sangakkara, Lydia Greenway, Charlotte Edwards, others as well.
And most of those were developed as callers with TMS, where the producer Adam Mountford has made a real point of opening up the club over the last decade – to much criticism along the way. Mel, Isa, Ebony all started on BBC radio, along with those like Alison Mitchell, Alex Hartley, Melissa Story, plenty more.
Broadcast media being public-facing makes the lack of diversity more glaring, so for those organisations the need for change is more imperative. The real lack of progress is in the written press. The Mirror correspondent Dean Wilson went on TMS yesterday to talk about the ICEC report – and rightly made the point that the reason he was invited was because he is the only Black cricket writer regularly covering England.
I’m looking around the press box now, which is packed, and can spot… maybe four women, four or five men of colour, and another hundred or so faces not too different to mine. Most tellingly, it’s no different to the way it looked when I first came here for an Ashes tour in 2013.
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Michael Cameron-Mowat: “Sometimes I have nightmarish visions that the human race will turn on itself and when the dust settles after the nuclear apocalypse there are just two men standing: Keith Richards swigging from a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and Steve Smith occupying the crease at Lords.”
Lunch - England 13 for 0 trail Australia by 403 runs
First job done for England: get through the *cliche klaxon* tricky little session. Have a sandwich, mix some cordial, do some calf stretches. Whatever. A big job ahead of England through the rest of the day, but the sun is out, the forecast morning rain did not transpire, and it might just be a splendid afternoon for batting.
4th over: England 13-0 (Crawley 6, Duckett 7) Beaten by Cummins! Good ball on that off-stump line, just past Crawley’s edge. Then gets a ball to seam in and Crawley just gets bat down in time to protect his off stump. He’s coming across the ball from his high backlift, and it nearly sneaks through. He leaves the last ball, and that’s lunch.
Rowan Sweeney writes in. “They say not to evaluate a series until both teams have squandered opportunities for commanding first innings; game on!”
3rd over: England 13-0 (Crawley 6, Duckett 7) Width from Starc, Duckett reaches for it and carves it away for four! They do have the deep backward point but that goes finer, even though it’s square of gully. Then Duckett, the perennial bat-on-ball man, edges one on the bounce into the cordon, then skews a dicey single to point. If you wanted to marry Ben Duckett, at least you’d be sure that he would never leave.
Good shot from Crawley to end the over, uses his height to get on top of Starc’s bounce and punch through mid off for three.
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2nd over: England 5-0 (Crawley 3, Duckett 2) Cummins with the new ball from the Nursery End. I thought they might have started with Hazlewood and gone to Starc once the lacquer had worn a bit, but Starc had the new ball swinging. Duckett places Cummins through mid off, wonder how long before the bowler changes the field there. The deep square leg has come up for Crawley, saving one. Only two men back.
1st over: England 4-0 (Crawley 3, Duckett 1) Mitchell Starc with the new ball, straight into the action from the Pavilion End. Crawley off the mark first ball with one, not four, bunted to the leg side. Duckett rides the bounce and places a run through point. Crawley gets a leading edge that rolls through a vacant mid off for two.
Field: three slips, gully, deep point, extra cover, mid on, deep forward square leg, fine leg. Unusual.
Starc nails Crawley on the pad and pleads for the decision, bobbing his knees and waving his arms. Not out, his inswing to the right hander taking that just down the leg side. Carey and Cummins talk him out of the campaign for a review.
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Here we go for the second innings.
While we’re on stats, Pat Cummins has 104 runs in the series for once dismissed. You know what that means…
Australia men reach 393-8 today. Australia women were also at 393-8 in the first innings last week. Just how common is 393-8 in the first innings of Test cricket? @bbctms @ZaltzCricket @GeoffLemonSport @collinsadam @AWSStats
— Anna (@toastteacake) June 29, 2023
Smart from Nick Wills. “I think Broad’s celebration appeal should be referred to as a ‘Zat’sHow!’ As he is making a statement, rather than asking a question.”
“Given the pace at which they now like to bat, I fully expect England to have caught up with Australia’s total by 6pm this evening. The only problem is that it could be for 16 wickets down.”
That’s how you win by 150 runs while bowling first, Jonathan McKinley.
Australia all out for 416 after being sent in to bat
It hasn’t been a successful first innings for England, but it has been a successful morning. Getting through Australia’s last five for 78, considering that the day started with Smith and Carey, is a success. Tongue with 3 for 98 has been important, Robinson swooping in to make his figures look more flattering with 3 for 100. Anderson 1 for 53 from 20 overs was impressive in keeping the scoring in check, and looked more himself today than yesterday. Broad with 1 for 99 was much more expensive, but got an important one to start the day. Root’s 2 for 19 was from last night, not required this morning.
Australia will be happy, with a ton for their key player, 66 for Warner up top, 77 for Head and 47 for Labuschagne. Important players bringing themselves into the game.
WICKET! Hazlewood c Root b Robinson 4, Australia 416-10
It comes to an end in time-honoured style. Actually a really nice shot in that over from Hazlewood, cover-driving along the carpet for four, but he aims for a repeat against a ball that’s too short for it, slashing a top edge into the cordon.
100th over: Australia 412-9 (Cummins 22, Hazlewood 0) Tongue looking for a fourth wicket, two slips and a gully to Cummins, wide and left to pass. Rinse, repeat, until Cummins can’t help himself and pokes at one. No contact. Had enough of that, so he plays a lofted back foot square drive for four! That is audacious. Leans back and pulps it, Roy Fredericks kind of stuff.
“Lovely gesture by Smith in the Long Room. Gave a little wave to the ovation and then kept on chuntering to himself about the edge all the way up the stairs,” reports James Byrne. Thanks, I missed that on the coverage. And can’t see through the Pavilion windows from this end of the ground.
99th over: Australia 408-9 (Cummins 18, Hazlewood 0) Here comes the No11, one of those right-arm bowler, left-hand batter combinations like James Anderson or Kagiso Rabada. He swishes at one, leaves one, and the over ends.
WICKET! Lyon c Tongue b Robinson 7, Australia 408-9
You bowl ‘em, I hit ‘em. The Lyon philosophy to short balls. The first one from Robinson he gets well in front of square, bouncing out to the midwicket boundary like the cards when you win a game of Solitaire. The second one he gets more top edge, and it sails down to fine leg for a catch. Lyon’s method really is the most unintelligent approach – after seeing what he could do in the second innings at Edgbaston, he goes right back to this nonsense for his next hit.
England nearly through…
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98th over: Australia 403-8 (Cummins 17, Lyon 3) Cummins gets an imperfect run out through the gully, then Lyon decides to take on the bowling, smacking a straight drive that nearly wipes out Umpire Gaffaney. Good evasion. Lyon gets two. Did the bowler get a fingertip to that?
“Should we expect an Australian declaration? Somehow I suspect not.” Christopher Pickles, always good to meet a fellow person whose name is a food. Fitting that this is a Tongue over.
97th over: Australia 400-8 (Cummins 16, Lyon 1) Two fielders out on the hook for Lyon, who does get on the front foot a few times to Robinson but eventually takes on the short ball. Gets almost none of it. Manages a single. Cummins plays him better, a drive straight for three! There’s the 400.
96th over: Australia 396-8 (Cummins 13, Lyon 0) That was unexpected. Smith looked booked in today. Time for the Cummins & Lyon Show to resume. A leg bye to the latter, a drive through cover worth two runs for the former.
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WICKET! Smith c Duckett b Tongue 110, Australia 393-8
Tongue slurps up another! The tastiest morsel on the smorgasbord, too, the wicket of Steven Smith. First over after drinks, a lavish drive, a thick edge into the gully and Duckett does well launching to his left. Smith gets a standing ovation as he walks back through the Long Room, and probably doesn’t notice, given how disappointed he looks.
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95th over: Australia 393-7 (Smith 110, Cummins 11) Ollie Robinson on for a bowl, one Smith run from the over is all, and that’s drinks.
94th over: Australia 392-7 (Smith 109, Cummins 11) It’s time for Tongue. Young Josh takes the ball from the Nursery End and hurls it down wide of off stump repeatedly. Smith leaves repeatedly. Eventually lays into an off drive, last ball of the over, and a sprawling Broad at mid off half stops the ball and keeps them to one run.
@GeoffLemonSport re: a word for Broad appeal, isn't this simply "centrist"?
— 🐻🦵 (@MrLandslide) June 29, 2023
This is very good. (Except that nobody likes centrists.)
93rd over: Australia 391-7 (Smith 108, Cummins 11) The batting pair trade singles into the leg side, then Cummins nicks Broad safely for four. Fortune with him so far, and again as a very good delivery straightens off the seam from an angle in, beating the edge. Cummins gets well forward to cover the next, which is fuller.
Stat alert:
Reaching 108 today, Steve Smith goes past Steve Waugh's mark of 3173 Ashes runs.
— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) June 29, 2023
Only Allan Border, Jack Hobbs, and Don Bradman have more. #Ashes
Century! Steve Smith 103 from 169 balls
92nd over: Australia 385-7 (Smith 107, Cummins 6) That’s sharper from Cummins: on the front dog to Anderson first ball of this over, playing a block shot into the gap between cover and mid off and darting through. Smith tries something similar but the field has tightened fractionally. Fine leg the only player back. Two slips gully, backward point. Ring field otherwise. Anderson gets one hooping! Looks like it’s straying down leg before it swerves back late. Smith barely keeps it out. But eventually, Anderson overpitches with just enough width, and Smith drives through cover for four!
That is Test century #32 for Smith, doubling his lead over Joe Root on that measure, after Root halved it at Edgbaston. Smith’s second at Lord’s after his numerically apt 215 here in 2015.
He celebrates once with a wave, then celebrates again with another whip shot for four more.
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91st over: Australia 376-7 (Smith 99, Cummins 5) Australia’s captain on strike facing Broad, the bowler with the Pavilion at his back, striding up and beating the edge. Cummins eventually works the ball leg side, but comes back for a second. Then finds the single fifth ball of the over! Gives Smith one to face… and Broad bowls it very wide, while Smith walks so far across he’s batting on about an eighth stump and still reaches for the ball, nearly nicking it!
90th over: Australia 373-7 (Smith 99, Cummins 2) Strange shot! Smith jams down on a Broad yorker outside off stump, and trampolines it into the ground and then over Joe Root’s head at second slip. Benefits by four runs. Then reaches out and guides a ball past gully – deliberate? accident? – for four more! He’s on to 99!
Brian Withington emails. “As an Oxbridge graduate I’m chortling via the internet at your teasing portmanteau reference to Stuart Broad’s celebrity appeal whilst eating brunch with my spork watched keenly by a labradoodle. Nope, I can’t figure out a good word for it either.”
Red for Ruth, Brian, now that’s a celebrity appeal.
89th over: Australia 364-7 (Smith 91, Cummins 1) Inside edge past the stumps! Cummins gets off strike facing Broad, and off the mark, in dicey style. Leans on his bat at the far end as Smith whips, brilliantly, through midwicket for four! The power on that shot, all from his wrists. You could almost hear the whipcrack. Like a millennial who never reached cultural maturity, he’s into the 90s.
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88th over: Australia 359-7 (Smith 87, Cummins 0) Nicely bowled by Anderson to Cummins, a curving ball, whispering past the outside edge. Two right-handers at the wicket now. Two wickets this morning and Smith has only added that many to his overnight score. Cummins runs a leg bye to a ball angling across him.
Ann Webber writes in. “As we were driving from Sydney to Bermagui today, my partner John and I were discussing the slow over rates and that no approach, carrot or stick, seems to have changed any team’s behaviour. We tossed around ideas and decided we would take away reviews, the number based on the number of overs not bowled.”
I like the idea of losing fielders as you fall further behind. That would address it quickly. But any such penalty also has to account for the time wasted by batting teams: the change of gloves every two overs, getting drinks run out whenever they feel like it, fussing over someone sitting ten rows above the sight screen.
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WICKET! Starc c Bairstow b Anderson 6, Australia 358-7
Anderson is in the book! Doing what he has done for so long: pitches up but not all the way, maybe a bit of movement on the way down, and Starc aims a big drive on the up and only gets a fraction of contact sending the ball to the left of Bairstow. Cleanly taken.
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87th over: Australia 358-6 (Smith 87, Starc 6) Broad to Starc, who crisply drives to mid off for none. Tries the shot again, then in struck on the pad as the ball angles in. Gets off strike eventually to point, and Smith fishes and misses outside off stump.
86th over: Australia 357-6 (Smith 87, Starc 5) Oof, Smith smacks a cover drive with nice timing but straight at the fielder. Retreats to taking a single to leg instead. Starc skews a drive off the outside half through point, the bat twisting in his hands, gets a run.
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Mixed responses on Andy Bull from earlier. Jane Evans:
“Loved Andy’s piece today - English cricket, like most things, is many things. Walt Whitman: ‘Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.)’. I also enjoyed your price on David Warner and am glad he did well opening yesterday. I am sure he cannot possibly be the pantomime villain we seem to require of every sporting contest.”
I’m never entirely sure myself, on the latter. Also a fair comment from Alison Scott:
“Andy Bull’s piece on ‘English Cricket’ in light of the inquiry report manages to not mention one single woman, thereby neatly underscoring a major finding of the inquiry without necessarily even trying to.”
85th over: Australia 355-6 (Smith 86, Starc 4) A fast start for Carey, and a fast finish. Mitchell Starc does at least the first part in the same way, having reclaimed his spot at No8 from Birmingham match-winner Pat Cummins, and gets going first ball with a lofted on drive for four, wide of mid on.
Twelve runs and a wicket? Move the game on…
WICKET! Carey lbw Broad 22, Australia 351-6
Well! Unfortunately for Stuart Broad, he starts the day with absolute dross. Double dross. Twice spearing down the leg side, and twice Carey helps it on its way with a glance for four. But was it all part of A Cunning Plan? Probably not, Broad just bowls a good ball, and goes up in his patented celebration appeal. If only there were some way to make those words into a portmanteau. He’s around the wicket, it’s cutting back in sharply to the left-hander, and the umpire might have thought a) inside edge or b) going down. It’s neither, as Broad gets his way on the review and it shows three reds.
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84th over: Australia 343-5 (Smith 86, Carey 14) After a long pause to get things quite to Steve Smith’s specifications near the sight screen at the Nursery End, James Anderson starts the day with the ball, and Smith quickly gets across and nudges a single to start his own. Carey does similarly for two, then Tongue misfields at mid off to give Australia’s keeper another one.
The players are on the field, let’s do it.
And here is the Test Match Special overseas listening link.
Red for Ruth Day
It’s fundraising day at Lord’s in memory of Ruth Strauss, who passed away in 2018. The funds will contribute to lung cancer research and supporting families whose loved ones have the disease. Most people are wearing red today in honour of the project.
Here is the donation link if you’re so inclined.
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You can email or tweet us using the contact details in the sidebar. It’s a lucky dip as to what we can publish, but I promise we’ll read them all.
Finally, Jonathan Liew with an impassioned appeal to the fates and their involvement with one James Anderson – still a piece more optimistic than some of the correspondence we got yesterday.
Andy Bull has a good piece sourced from wandering around the Lord’s Pavilion and overhearing bits and pieces, in the context of the ICEC report and yesterday’s recurring Long Room footage of people of a very consistent appearance and social status.
I wrote about everybody’s favourite neighbourhood scamp, Little Davey Warner, and his propensity to look for a scrape and a scrap.
There’s a bit about Jonny Bairstow and his human haulage sideline. Acting against orders, tsk.
Simon Burnton got the quotes, including Josh Tongue with the interpretation of luck that is usually used by teams that haven’t bowled very well.
Let’s play our favourite game of What Was Written Yesterday?
Starting as usual with the Guardian match report, by Ali Martin.
Preamble
Hello again from Lord’s, the place that they love to talk about. I don’t know if any of you noticed yesterday, but there’s actually something of a slope to the ground, including the pitch. Nobody mentions it. But don’t let them fool you with their conspiracy of silence.
England … made rather a hash of it on day one, didn’t they? Picked four frontline quicks. Won the toss and bowled first. Bowled badly, for enough of the day that it mostly got away from them. Pulled it back late in the piece with a couple of wickets to the part-time spinner. Australia could get run through this morning and from 339 for 5 they would still have a decent score on the board.
Australia meanwhile had a largely positive day. Usman Khawaja didn’t make many but batted through the first session to help lay the base. David Warner made a half-century, and his highest score in England since 2015. Travis Head did Travis Head things, namely making a bunch of fast runs and getting out in an outlandish way. And Steve Smith is still there, eyeing off another entry on the honour board.
England need to get through him and Alex Carey urgently to get this match back on track. Of course, given Zak Crawley said they would win by 150 runs, they will then need to be bowled out short of the follow-on, make about 500 batting third, then run through Australia bowling last. Don’t rule it out. Brendon McCullum might have planned it exactly that way.
Updated
