25th over: Australia 65-2 (Khawaja 36, Smith 16) Ben Stokes is having a bowl! It’s been a long time coming, but he’s giving it a go. To celebrate, in scenes that will surprise everyone, England succeed in lobbying to get the ball changed. The umpires swap it over. They do call him for a no-ball though. Rusty beard, rusty bowling. Two slips only for Smith now. Cover has been included. So of course he plays off the hip to backward square for a run. Stokes looks to be walking back to his mark freely. Khawaja leaves. Two slips for him as well, with a catching cover and catching midwicket.
24th over: Australia 63-2 (Khawaja 36, Smith 15) Smacked off the back foot through cover, and a brilliant diving stop saves a boundary. Smith has to content himself with nudging Moeen to leg for a single.
23rd over: Australia 62-2 (Khawaja 36, Smith 14) Stroked by Smith down the ground, lovely off drive from Robinson’s fuller pitch. Broad chases and slides to save to the delight of the crowd.
Robin Walters: “Isn’t the whole point of ‘And did those feet’ that it is saying “‘this country’s a bit crap, let’s make it a place worth living’? That seems to me to exactly fit what you look for in a national anthem.”
Quite agree. That would be the good kind of patriotism, which does exist even if it’s derided by the plastic kind. I’d also say that is not what’s reflected by triumphalist renditions at sporting events. But hey, just one opinion.
22nd over: Australia 59-2 (Khawaja 36, Smith 11) Across the stumps, shovel to leg… the Smith method works against off spin as much as outswing. Gets a run past the short leg. Khawaja tries to do likewise but finds midwicket. So he skips down, tries to loft, and is nearly caught. Stokes loses the ball in the backdrop! Khawaja isn’t to the pitch, hits it too early and so it goes flat towards mid off. In the end it goes to one side of Stokes, and maybe a bit too high to catch, but he can’t even attempt the catch because he doesn’t know where the ball is. Just holds his arms out helplessly. Moeen follows with a ball the keeps low, like Lyon did a few times yesterday, that Khawaja jams out.
21st over: Australia 54-2 (Khawaja 32, Smith 10) More shuffling across for Smith, blocking Robinson with a straight bat, then playing the pull to a rare short ball. One run. That brings Khawaja on strike, and there’s that pull to the length ball again! Played that three times today, nailed all of them. This is already Khawaja’s fourth highest score in England.
If you’re confused by the Smith technique, this might help a bit. Turn down the dial on the headline by about 200% before reading.
20th over: Australia 49-2 (Khawaja 28, Smith 9) Moeen turns the arm over, as the sun comes out for the first time today through high patchy cloud. Khawaja blocks away, then decides he’s had enough and skips down the track, driving stylishly through extra cover for four. Two fielders there for the shot and he goes right between them.
19th over: Australia 45-2 (Khawaja 24, Smith 9) Nice bowling from Robinson, getting that movement away, but Smith gets across so far that he can leave anything outside his pads without concern. He’s soaked up 33 balls now.
18th over: Australia 45-2 (Khawaja 24, Smith 9) Moeen Ali to bowl from the City End. Drops short a couple of times, and Khawaja is going too hard and miscuing. One is a top edge landing safely at 45 for two runs, the other gets none as he underedges hard into the ground to the off side. Interesting.
17th over: Australia 43-2 (Khawaja 22, Smith 9) Ollie Robinson gets over the shock of being bumped behind Brook in the bowling order and begins his day. A bit of swing, making Smith play to the off side more than leg. Smith adds two runs with a straight drive.
Andy Flintoff (not that one, he clarifies) writes: “It’s not that the words of Jerusalem are patriotic, it’s more that the music (by C Hubert H Parry) sounds much more triumphant than the usual dirgey way that God Save The King/Queen is played.”
For sure, not hard to exceed an anthem that rivals Australia’s for drabness. But that’s the point and the problem – the poem despairs of what the nation has become, the despoliation of the earth for a few to profit, in a way that is even more markedly relevant now. But somehow people went, “Well it says England in it,” and decided it’s a patriot’s hymn.
16th over: Australia 41-2 (Khawaja 22, Smith 7) Anderson resumes after his hydration interval, bowls three more balls that Khawaja blocks, and an unusual over comes to an end in this unusual Test match.
We’re taking drinks halfway through an over because Khawaja wanted to trim a loose bit off his bat and called for the runner. That’s a new one.
15th over: Australia 40-2 (Khawaja 22, Smith 6) It’s been an hour without any Stokes-induced madness, so he decides to introduce… Harry Brook to the attack. Five overs from Broad, including two in two, and he gets replaced by a middle-order bat who runs in off a long approach and bowls a twisty frog-footed Virat Kohli kind of stuff that is notionally medium pace but comes out at around 65 miles an hour and seems to loop as though he has an off-spinner’s grip. Smith clips one to midwicket on the bounce, which gets the crowd excited, but more impressive is Bairstow’s take about two metres down the leg side to some proper club-level dross. Smith gets a run to fine leg.
14th over: Australia 39-2 (Khawaja 22, Smith 5) Anderson ticking away. A couple of singles to the leg side, Smith continues to quiet things down after the Broad intervention.
“Totally agree with your reservations about the singing of Jerusalem. It kicks off with a series of contrived questions, the answer to all of which is no,” writes Freddie Simon. “I want to make a plea for poor Dom Bess – best haircuts in the county championship and a pretty decent/lucky international record. He was broken by pre-revolutionary England and if any spinner deserves a second chance, it’s Dom Bess. Such a fan of The Final Word and your OBOing. Thrilled to see you on duty today. All the best from Berlin.”
Thanks Freddie. I should clarify, I’m an admirer of William Blake. The lavishness of language, and that hallucinatory vision burns with the brightness of the true mystics. Less on board with shoehorning his great work into an attempt at a patriotic symbol, especially when the meaning of the text is anything but.
And yes… Simply Dom Bess, better than all the rest? Could have done alright in the current environment.
13th over: Australia 37-2 (Khawaja 21, Smith 4) Very happy to take his time, Smith is almost deadbatting the ball, playing as softly as he can at Broad to bat out a maiden.
12th over: Australia 37-2 (Khawaja 21, Smith 4) With a very open stance, Smith places a full ball from Anderson to midwicket for one run. Three slips, backward point, short cover, mid off for Khawaja… who whacks another pull shot for four! Now, that’s just rude. It wasn’t even slightly short, he’s hit that off a length outside the off stump, angled across him. Not a high-percentage shot, I would suggest. Cue joke about Usball.
Just another quiet little Ashes over for Stuart Broad, then…
11th over: Australia 32-2 (Khawaja 17, Smith 3) Had Stuart Broad got that third wicket, it would have been one of the best hat-tricks ever by calibre of player. Instead he bowls one of the worst hat-trick balls ever, wide down the leg side. Smith half does the splits and watches it pass by. Plays the next similarly, then shovels a ball out through midwicket, making the ageing legs of Moeen Ali chase back to the Hollies Stand boundary to great encouragement to keep the scoring to three.
STUART BROAD IS ON A HAT-TRICK. First ball for Marnus Labuschagne, who starts his very slow trudge off the field. Outside off stump, a bit of movement away, a fiddle at the line from Labuschagne when it wasn’t needed, and Jonny Bairstow is off balance but throws out his right glove, folds his knee under his body to get down low enough, and takes it one-handed above the turf.
Ohhhh dear! It’s happening again! Nothing like 2019, no unplayables here. Warner just can’t help himself. Has only added one run to his overnight score. Sees width, throws the bat, and gets the fattest of inside edges back onto his stumps. That’s poor batting, and Broad will take it gleefully.
10th over: Australia 29-0 (Warner 9, Khawaja 17) Warner starts the over with a single, his first run of the day. Four runs for Khawaja through midwicket, then a couple of braces through cover. Anderson the bowler, erring in line with that boundary ball.
Sam Glover refers back to the point about Australia’s batters setting their own pace.
“England’s bowling is just as aggressive as their batting, it’s just not as obvious… usually once a batter is on top there is a quiet spell where, essentially, the plan hasn’t worked. You don’t get that with England at the moment. They just keep trying to just pick up a wicket in whatever way they can with no consideration given to runs conceded or anything else.”
Conventional for now – four slips is positive but not wild. The point is that however England bowl, the other team can play each ball as they choose, with whatever tempo they prefer. Whereas when the other team bowls to attacking batters, those bowlers do need to take it into account.
9th over: Australia 19-0 (Warner 8, Khawaja 9) A fourth slip in for Broad’s first ball to Khawaja. Substantial swing, but after the bat, going way down leg. Bairstow gets across to it. Cover is up, cordon stacked… and Broad goes short. Khawaja puts it away, pulling from waist height through midwicket even though the line was outside off. Four. Broad corrects, then decides to come over the wicket and scuffs at his landing spot to prepare. Warner at the non-striker’s end is buzzing around him like a bluebottle. The fifth ball crashes off Khawaja’s thigh pad and away to slip, drawing an unsure prod at the sixth that beats the edge.
8th over: Australia 15-0 (Warner 8, Khawaja 5) Pearler from Anderson, over the wicket and past the outside edge of Khawaja. The batsman gets moving across his stumps in response, playing to the leg side. First run of the day from the 24th ball, as he manages to create enough room to glance to fine leg.
7th over: Australia 14-0 (Warner 8, Khawaja 4) Warner isn’t shy about playing at Broad – he aims at point a couple of times when there’s width, but finds the fielder with both. England had 18 off their first 18 balls of the day yesterday, Australia none today.
“Morning Geoff. It’s the old ‘triumph and disaster’ thing, innit? Play as though it means everything, but understand that in the end it means nothing. Who wants it more, or should that be less? Either way, it’s gonna be fun finding out…”
Morning to Simon McMahon. I linked that very quote to Cummins in a piece during the last week. Can’t remember which. A line oft used, which generally means that the original writer was onto something.
6th over: Australia 14-0 (Warner 8, Khawaja 4) No Jersualem from the crowd. I can’t keep track of the convention any more. Is it only when England bat? The complicated journey of everybody’s favourite song about the ills of the Industrial Revolution, incorporating the vivid religious hallucinations of a poet with some version of psychosis.
Anderson to Khawaja, starting over the wicket to the left-hander despite those warm-ups around. Angles across, bowls in at the hip. Khawaja leaves and defends with some assurance. Doesn’t score.
5th over: Australia 14-0 (Warner 8, Khawaja 4) Warner survives! A leading edge first ball, into the ground in front of point. Three slips, no gully but a deeper set backward point for a full-blooded slash. Short cover, Stokes at mid off.
Three on the leg side: mid on, midwicket, long leg set quite square.
Khawaja is in the long-sleeved cricket knit, Warner just a shirt. Well, and some trousers. Shoes. Socks and pants, presumably. Gloves, helmet.
He’s mobile at the crease, getting across his stumps each time, well forward at Broad to get right on top of the ball and smother it. Sees off the over!
Stuart Broad with the ball, David Warner with the bat. A redux of yesterday’s skirmish, that Warner had the better of in the end. Shall we?
Jerusalem on the PA before a ball is bowled? Come on, surely that’s stealing the thunder of the crowd waiting for the second ball.
Here come the players onto the ground. They’re all wearing light blue caps, as part of Blue for Bob, the fundraising campaign for prostate cancer research in honour of former England skipper Bob Willis. The crowd offers a minute of applause rather than silence.
While we’re talking about Australia’s No6: “I’m really looking forward to watching Green this summer but surprised he only had a few overs. Are they saving him or does he have a bit of a niggle?”
Morning, David Brown. No injury, I think they were just happy to lock in Lyon at one end and use the others on rotation. So Green wasn’t much needed.
“I’d love to know what the Aussie batsmen have been told or how they’ve been preparing to face down Bazball,” writes Eric. My guess for the Aussie bowlers was, ‘Your numbers will suffer, just bowl, forget about the score.’ With the top 3 ranked Test batsmen yet to step out and if yesterday was anything to go off of it should be a cracker of a day 2.”
As far as batting goes, they don’t have to think about England’s style at all. I expect they’ll just do their regular thing. Warner, Head, Carey will be more attacking, Labuschagne, Smith and Khawaja will take their time. Green is the unknown given he’s the youngest and trying to adjust from a long IPL campaign.
Mitchell Starc is having a chat to Ricky Ponting on the field before they both stride off, Ponting dressed up in his sports coat for TV, Starc spinning a Sherrin football in his hands.
The rope is going around the outfield strung between two tractors. The covers are long gone, the hovercraft is off the pitch but still in the centre. Anderson bowls another practice delivery, around the wicket, imagining left-handers.
“Lots of us trying to get into the heads of the Australians and how they approaching this whole thing,” writes Peter Salmon. “For me the best insight was from Josh Hazlewood, when he said 400 is still 400, whether it takes 80 overs or 160. Seems the bowlers have been told to ignore strike rates and only look at the total. Seems a good plan to me.”
That’s it. Making 400 in a day doesn’t trump making 600 in two. There is cloud cover for England’s bowlers this morning, as Anderson and Broad warm up on the practice pitches, so the lower light and higher moisture content might make things tricky for Australia. Who knows, they could be knocked over for 200 and everyone will be celebrating England’s boldness. Or Steve Smith might check in for a two-night stay at the Edgbaston Hotel.
Ah, my favourite part of England OBOs – people asking for the TMS overseas link. A tradition that soothes my soul and gives me a sense of stability in a changing world, in much the same way that retaining a monarchy seems to do for others.
Here it is, for Damien and company.
Tim Gilkison is concerned. “Hello Geoff, we’re off to meet my dad for an early pre Father’s Day Father’s Day lunch. Your OBO will be my lifeline (you’re more important than you could ever imagine). I hope someone lends you a nice warm cardie, one that doesn’t cramp your undoubted sartorial style.”
You’re more important than you could ever imagine. Lines that a smiling narcissist might hear in their sleep. Thankfully my colleague Bharat Sundaresan has ferried some layers to the ground. Mine, not his, though borrowing from his wardrobe would make for a vibrant day.
“Amongst all the hoopla, do you think we’ve been underestimating Cummball? The Aussie skipper seems to be quietly confident.”
I’m not having this terminology, Patrick O’Brien. Not having it.
But yes, that’s the general thesis of my article below. The thing that Cummins shares with Stokes is removing the weight placed on results. He seems to genuinely believe it when he says that you want to win, you try as hard as you can, and you also accept that it doesn’t ultimately matter. If you lose, you smile and go on with your life. Enjoyment of a game is the thing.
Robert’s email, I should add, had the subject line “Nobody knows anything.” Which I like as a summary of the didactic efforts of humanity.
Blue ribbon stuff from Robert Ellson to start the day’s mail.
“‘England scored fast enough to win a game yesterday, but they also scored fast enough to lose one, and the delirium surrounding their exhilarating slogathon obscures the fact that, at best, [407] is a par score.’
“Which ‘philosopher’ said that? Some OBO guy at Edgbaston in 2005. Feels a bit like that, doesn’t it? If Josh Hazlewood gloves one down the leg side on Monday morning with one hand off the bat and Australia two runs short, let’s hope they’ve used up all their reviews…”
You might like to know that when we add Australia’s 14 for 0, there were exactly 407 runs scored at Edgbaston yesterday too.
You know the deal. If you have something to share that other people might enjoy reading hit the email via geoff.lemon@theguardian.com, or the creaking and spluttering tweet machine @GeoffLemonSport.
Lastly, there’ll be this over-by-over report, with me now and Tanya Aldred for the second half of the day. You can’t say we’re not giving Ashes value.
… and ended with the more powerful intoxicant of another artist’s chanceless day.
Then there’s Barney Ronay, whose day started like this…
… funny that he’s writing in the third person, but you know how creative types can be…
I was tasked with the Australian angle, for some reason. And from that perspective, as entertaining as England’s day was, I reckon the Australians will be very happy with bowling first and ending up conceding less than 400. They have they opportunity to control the match from here if they’re good enough with the bat.
I’m also doing a daily wrap podcast, if you’re audio inclined.
Yesterday, though, Andy knew what he was writing about after the first ball of the day.
And Simon also had the day’s Ashes Diary. Andy Bull will be doing that one today.
Simon Burnton meanwhile was on quotes duty.
Catch-up time! Given we have an entire squadron of Guardian writers at this match, let’s work through it bit by bit. To begin, Birmingham’s own Ali Martin with the match report.
Hello all, from the aficionado to the dilettante. It’s that time, it’s Ashes time, when anyone and everyone can plough through the turnstiles and get involved in The Great Game of Cricket(TM). We’ve had Test cricket for 146 years now, and it has thrown up plenty of twists and variations along the way. Yesterday’s exhibition, with all of the breeziness of England’s new don’t-worry-be-happy style was a lot of fun.
Joe Root played beautifully, Moeen Ali gave some reason for hometown cheers, Harry Brook gave us an immensely replayable moment, and amid all of the claims that Test cricket had been totally reinvented, a humble off-spinner whirled away at one end for most of the day in a display of one of the oldest crafts of all.
England declared shortly before the close last night on 393 for 8, and Australia got through four overs unscathed.
Today, it dawns cool and cloudy. Unexpectedly cool, for those of us on autopilot who arrived at the ground in our shirtsleeves and then had to send out an SOS for more garments. And here’s an early exclusive, given that the press box is mostly empty this long before the scheduled start: a sprinkling of rain out there. The covers are coming on. Presumably they’ll be gone by 11am.
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