Scott Boland has come in as nightwatchman. I thought there were 45 minutes of play remaining, but that can’t be right because they wouldn’t send him in for that long.
Broad has got Steve Smith with a brilliant piece of bowling! He almost had him earlier in the over with a huge inswinger that shaved the outside edge, hit the pad in front of off stump and bounced just short of Bairstow. No matter: two balls later he produced another booming inswinger that found the edge as Smith lunged into the drive. Bairstow took a comfortable catch. That is just magnificent from Broad.
Stuart Broad + Ashes cricket = theatre and majesty.
25th over: Australia 89-2 (Khawaja 29, Smith 6) Just one over for Joe Root, with Jimmy Anderson returning to the attack. He bowled a shoddy first spell by his standards (5-0-23-0), but all will be forgiven if I can pinch a wicket or two here. All will be forgiven anyway; he has nearly 700 credits in the bank.
His first over is harmless, and he’s not happy with the footholes. Anderson even bowls a no-ball, which hardly ever happens. He’s got his grump on.
“Amazing to see how quickly people are jumping on Stokes – he may not have got the calls right this match, but how many times were people moaning and groaning about his predecessors’ rote captaincy, timid declarations and passivity in the field,” says Will Vignoles. “We did tried and tested and it got us extreme mediocrity. I’d much rather a captain and team who don’t look scared to win, even if that means they lose sometimes. Plus let’s not forget that the Aussies are a champion team and are allowed to play good cricket too…”
And they haven’t even lost! I can understand the criticism, and I didn’t like the declaration at all, but I still think he’s touched by genius as a captain.
24th over: Australia 84-2 (Khawaja 27, Smith 4) Broad has kept the umbrella field for Khawaja, and puts his hands to his head when Khawaja inside-edges his first ball into the leg side. This is a tricky spell for Australia, more because of the mood than the pitch. Khawaja works a single into the off side, then Smith gets off the mark with a handsome pull for four. The fielder at deep backward square lost sight of the ball, though I’m not sure he’d have stopped it.
Broad is England’s leading wickettaker against Australia, and surely their greatest Ashes competitor since Lord Beefy. And not even Ian Botham was man of the match in three Ashes-clinching victories, as Broad was in 2009, 2013 and 2015.
“I wonder how many generations of Bazball would be necessary to instil positivity into England supporters!” writes Ian Copestake. “Grind the good Aussie players out then work on the long tail. Is a tad early to be calling it!”
23rd over: Australia 79-2 (Khawaja 26, Smith 0) Well, Moeen is back on the field but he’s been replaced by Joe Root. A quiet first over, which is to say I’ve been looking up a Stuart Broad stat.
22nd over: Australia 78-2 (Khawaja 25, Smith 0) Broad whips up the crowd before his first delivery to Steve Smith. It’s angled in from wide of the crease and Smith defends confidently.
We’ve just seen a few replays of Labuschagne’s dismissal. Broad might be in his head because that was the kind of ball he ignores all the time. He was beaten earlier in the over and seemed unsure as to the whereabouts of his off stump. In this match Broad has bowled four balls to Labuschagne, conceded no runs and dismissed him twice.
Stuart Broad does it again! Labuschagne feels tentatively for a full, widish delivery that he had no need to play, and Jonny Bairstow takes a comfortable catch. Broad doesn’t go wild, instead celebrating as if it was all part of the plan. I suppose it was: he’s been working on that outswinger with Labuschagne in mind.
21st over: Australia 77-1 (Khawaja 25, Labuschagne 13) Moeen starts with a low full toss that Labuschagne whacks straight into Pope at short leg. He’s okay. But Moeen isn’t: a horrible long hop is pulled almost apologetically for four by Labuschagne.
Moeen is really struggling with his finger, and he leaves the field at the end of the over. The poor guy has had a difficult match: scores of 18 and 19 and match figures of 39-5-170-2.
“Rob, you say the field for Labuschagne’s first ball was pure funk,” says Andrew Hurley. “May I disagree and say it’s all about Stokes drawing attention to himself, it’s not a field designed for anything other than for people to say ‘Look how clever that Stokes captain is’. He has already cost England probably up to 50 runs if not more, now, to use an Irish expression, he is acting the maggot with his field placements. For the good of England, or for his own ego?”
I take your point, and I do think there are times when he has got a bit carried away, but I don’t see him as an egotist at all. And we can’t ignore that a number of these funky fields have worked. Anyway, let’s save the postmortems until it’s 3-0 rather than 0-0.
20th over: Australia 72-1 (Khawaja 25, Labuschagne 8) Khawaja looks comfortable against Robinson, umbrella field or not, and gets two more with an open-faced steer. Australia are 201 runs away from a 1-0 lead.
“England have probably lost this,” says Fran Collins. “Needed a couple of earlyish wickets at least. How’s the weather tomorrow?”
Gloomy in the morning, so the lights may well be on if England bowl. As we saw yesterday, that would make life tricky for the batters. But after lunch it’s supposed to be much brighter.
Read Simon Burnton’s Ashes diary: day four
19th over: Australia 70-1 (Khawaja 23, Labuschagne 8) Khawaja turns Moeen off the pads for a single; he’s now scored 164 from 376 balls in this match. Labuschagne pushes awkwardly at his first ball from Moeen and is hit on the pad, though he’s well outside the line. He addresses the next two deliveries more decisively, reverse-sweeping both for four. Fine batting.
“Everyone always focuses on the runs Bairstow scores in the Bairstow vs Foakes debate,” says Oliver Smiddy. “But he’s cost us an awful lot this game through missing some pretty regulation chances. Leftfield suggestion – ask Foakes to open and keep, if Jonny is too scared to bat above 7, and drop Duckett (if you want Crawley to be the swashbuckling opener)? It’s sufficiently wacky to align with Bazball. He could be the new Alec Stewart!
“Any chance of a charity plug too? We’re trying to raise ?150,000 for seven charities by successfully conveying a bunch of colleagues up and down some mountains in the Chamonix valley. Any generous OBOers can donate here. If it makes any difference, I’m going to run halfway up Mont Blanc first to make life a bit harder.”
I wondered about Foakes opening but I don’t think he could do it. One point in defence of Bairstow is that this is one of his worst keeping performance for England. He’s usually a lot more reliable than this, though not in Foakes’s class, and he is coming back from a horrible injury.
18th over: Australia 61-1 (Khawaja 22, Labuschagne 0) The field for Labuschagne’s first ball is 100 per cent pure funk: slip, gully, leg slip, short mid-on, leg gully and short leg. He defends solidly and a couple of those fielders scatter.
“It’s reached that time of day where my patient non-cricket-watching wife gets to have Pointless on TV, whilst I switch to the iPad in forlorn search of a wicket,” says Brian Withington. “Invited to name the Italian director of such films as ‘8 1/2’ and ‘La Dolce Vita’ with initials ‘FF’, I’m guessing that for all you post-neorealism cinema buffs the name ‘Franz Ferdinand’ didn’t immediately spring to mind, he chuckled pompously.”
‘Yes, here it is: 9 1/2 Weeks with Mickey Rourke. That would be in the … erotic drama section.’
Drinks The new batter is Marnus Labuschagne, who is on a king pair.
Goddim! That’s a vital wicket for England. Robinson, slammed for four earlier in the over, found Warner’s outside edge with a textbook wobble-seam delivery from round the wicket. Jonny Bairstow did the rest and Warner is on his way for a purposeful 36.
17th over: Australia 57-0 (Khawaja 22, Warner 32) Stokes positions himself right behind the bowler Moeen, two-thirds of the way back to the boundary. After a couple of balls he walks in maybe five yards. Khawaja resists the temptation, and it’s another maiden.
“Drinking game suggestion,” says Darren Hall. “Have a gulp every time a commentator says ‘finger’.”
16th over: Australia 57-0 (Khawaja 22, Warner 32) Moeen’s pain is becoming more obvious as he gets into his spell. It’s a problem for England, because the ball is doing very little for the seamers. A shortish delivery from Robinson is belted through midwicket for four by Warner, who then beats the cover ring with a cut stroke for two more. He’s playing superbly.
15th over: Australia 50-0 (Khawaja 22, Warner 26) Khawaja skips down the track to crash Moeen down the ground for four. That’s beautiful batting, both in execution and intent, and it brings up a fifty partnership that has quietened the crowd.
It’s nearly 6pm, and it’s easy to forget that there are nearly two hours remaining tonight. Bowling conditions may well be friendly in the morning, but that won’t be much good to England if Australia are 150 for none.
“If we stick to tradition, Bairstow will play as a keeper in the next Test,” says John Starbuck. “Should he have another shocker (and continue to miss chances here), he might then be replaced by Foakes, but under B*zball, who knows?”
Injury aside, I can’t see a way Foakes gets into the team this summer. Maybe if Harry Brook has a shocker and they go back to last summer’s middle order.
14th over: Australia 45-0 (Khawaja 18, Warner 25) No umbrella field for Warner, who cuts Robinson witheringly for four. Khawaja then gets his first runs off Robinson in this innings, and his first boundary, with a classy square drive.
Since we’ve left an important part of our brain somewhere in a field in Hampshire in Edgbaston 2005, Australia were 47 for none after 12 overs when Andrew Flintoff came on to bowl the over of his life.
“Greetings from a parallel universe,” writes my erstwhile Wisden.com colleague Tom Bowtell. “Am listening on a train in Filey with dodgy reception and somehow switched to the TMS commentary replay from day 2 without knowing. Screamed with loud astonishment as history repeated with Warner playing on to Broad and Marnus going first ball. Sheepishly disappointed to discover the more mundane realty of the score. Fellow travellers, Yorkshirefolk all, eyeing me suspiciously.”
And most of them don’t even know there’s a game on, har har.
13th over: Australia 36-0 (Khawaja 14, Warner 20) Nathan Lyon got a few to turn sharply, particularly to the left-handers, but then his spinning finger wasn’t seeping. Moeen gets one to turn away from Khawaja, who bats it slightly cautiously into the leg side, and then beats him with a nicely flighted delivery. Khawaja, who has now gone 23 balls without scoring, tries to cut the last ball and is beaten the lack of bounce. That was a risky shot on both line and length.
“Greetings from a parallel universe,” writes my erstwhile Wisden.com colleague Tom Bowtell. “Am listening on a train in Filey with dodgy reception and somehow switched to the TMS commentary replay from day 2 without knowing. Screamed with loud astonishment as history repeated with Warner playing on to Broad and Marnus going first ball. Sheepishly disappointed to discover the more mundane realty of the score. Fellow travellers, Yorkshirefolk all, eyeing me suspiciously.”
12th over: Australia 35-0 (Khawaja 14, Warner 19) Robinson bowls another maiden to Khawaja, who is a little becalmed: 14 from his first 16 balls, 0 from the next 18. He looks secure, though, and that’s Australia need him to be at this stage. Robinson is also bowling well, with a fullish length and a bit of movement into the left-hander, so there aren’t many runs on offer.
“Speaking of people jettisoned too soon, as a neutral, I am still bemused about what happened to Steve Finn,” says Digvijay Yadav. “He was rampaging in 2015. Bowled well against Pakistan the following year, particularly at Edgbaston. And then got dumped.”
It’s a complicated story, and I really hope he writes an autobiography because he talks so well about the mental challenges he faced, but I think it was a combination of injury and loss of confidence. The interesting thing, as you say, is that he bounced back thrillingly from Finn’s Law and his Ashes horribilis; I’ve rarely been more thrilled for an England cricketer than I was for him when he came back with a six-for in the 2015 Ashes.
He also bowled beautifully when England won in South Africa that winter; I remember thinking that, at the age of 26, he had cracked it and would be an unplayable monster for the next few years. But then he had an inexplicably poor series against Sri Lanka at the start of 2016 – a cousin of Graeme Hick’s unforseeable loss of form against India in 1996 – and that was pretty much it.
11th over: Australia 35-0 (Khawaja 14, Warner 19) This is a big moment: Moeen Ali, blistered finger and all, is coming into the attack. Australia will surely go after him straight away. Actually, they don’t. Warner is content to work a pair of twos and defend the rest. Moeen didn’t seem in too much pain during that over, though he is looking at his finger as he walks back towards the boundary.
“Perhaps to help calm the sphinctal motions of the faithless,” interjects Ian Copestake. “England should take a leaf out of the baseball book and assign a designated hitter to play time and drop anchor.”
10th over: Australia 31-0 (Khawaja 14, Warner 15) Warner has seen off Broad, who is replaced by Robinson after a spell of 4-0-8-0. Robinson starts with his umbrella field to Khawaja: three short extra covers, a short midwicket and a shortish square leg. After two balls, Stokes adds another man at short mid-on. Somewhere in the next life, Keith Miller has a big smile on his face.
Robinson pitches everything up to Khawaja, with a hint of shape back in. Khawaja’s judgement of what to play and what to leave is immaculate, and it’s a maiden.
“Khawaja,” says Simon Gates, “is in with a chance of batting on all five days.”
That’s a great spot. It’s a pretty short list, and I’d completely forgotten that Rory Burns was on it.
9th over: Australia 31-0 (Khawaja 14, Warner 15) A short ball from Anderson, who is going at five an over for the first time in years, is swivel-pulled sweetly for four by Warner. This has been a perfect start for Australia.
8th over: Australia 27-0 (Khawaja 14, Warner 11) On Sky Sports, Nasser Hussain argues that England’s bowling has been a bit too straight. The number of runs scored on the leg side – 20 out of 25 off the bat – would support that argument.
Warner is beaten on the inside by a beauty from Broad, and England plead desperately for a caught-behind decision. It’s not forthcoming and they wisely decide against a review. It hit something, possibly Warner’s elbow, but it wasn’t the bat.
“I’m a convert to the One True Faith of Bazball, with all the zeal that comes with such a status,” writes Gary Naylor. “But even I’m having doubts about the declaration, some of the shot selections and the ultra-attacking fields. I guess I’m asking myself, ‘Is it cowardly to pray for brain?'”
7th over: Australia 26-0 (Khawaja 14, Warner 10) Two more to Warner, worked behind square off Anderson, and he repeats the shot for a single off the penultimate ball. Warner knows, with the ball not moving, he has a real chance here. From England’s perspective I think it’s time for Ollie Robinson in place of Anderson, who isn’t quite at his best.
6th over: Australia 23-0 (Khawaja 14, Warner 7) Warner’s resists a wobbling tempter from Broad. But he knows he’s safe with anything on the pads, and another crisp clip through midwicket brings him three runs. This is good stuff, a rugged arm-wrestle between three 36-year-olds and a quadragenarian.
Australia need another 258 to win.
5th over: Australia 20-0 (Khawaja 14, Warner 4) Khawaja is beaten, chasing a wide delivery bowled from round the wicket by Anderson. The next ball is fractionally short, no more, and Khawaja pulls for four with a flourish. He is ruthless with that shot. An eventful over concludes with another play and miss outside off stump.
“Skulking in a basement in southwestern Ontario, and remembering Belly at his cover-driving best,” says Alex McGillivray. “Jettisoned at 33 – seems way too early for a batsman of his talents. Wonder why?”
I suspect that when they dropped him for the South Africa series in 2015-16, a fair enough decision on form, they expected him to be back the following summer. We all assumed Bell would score millions in county cricket, but it didn’t happen – from memory he struggled – and the door never opened again. There was a vacancy in the team in 2016 because of the shock retirement of James Taylor. With Bell not scoring any runs for Warwickshire, they gave it another glorious cover-driver: James Vince.
4th over: Australia 16-0 (Khawaja 10, Warner 4) Stuart Broad is sticking two fingers to the data by bowling round the wicket to Khawaja as well as Warner. It’s another purposeful, accurate, aggressive over from Broad, but it’s met with secure defence from the Australian openers. There hasn’t been much movement for England.
3rd over: Australia 14-0 (Khawaja 9, Warner 4) England have four men in the covers for Warner, but he has more joy on the leg side when Anderson drifts onto the pads. A crisp clip brings him two runs. Warner is looking good, busy and light on his feet.
“If we’re even in vague danger of going down that nail-chewing route again during Australia’s fourth innings…” says Boris Starling, referring to the joyous torture of Edgbaston 2005. “I can never think of that match without remembering my friend Tom, who on that final morning as the target came closer and closer sent me a series of staggeringly offensive and beautifully inventive texts raining down invective on Australians (for obvious reasons), England cricketers (for equally obvious reasons, plus having had the temerity to invent the sport which was causing us such conniptions), Welshmen (Simon Jones spilling the catch at third man which would have won the match), and so on. A few weeks later, he and I were in the crowd at Trafalgar Square to salute Our Ashes Heroes(TM).
“Tom died a few years ago, and when the Ashes come round I always think of him and his three non-negotiables for life: a cigarette, a glass of red, and laughter.”
2nd over: Australia 12-0 (Khawaja 9, Warner 2) Warner clatters Broad’s first ball into the covers, where Pope does well to save four runs. It’s also a no-ball from Broad. Australia have started with intent – but so has Broad, whose last ball kicks encouraingly Warner’s off stump.
“England have scored 666 runs in the match,” notes Christopher Phillips, “but is it enough to beast the Aussies.”
1st over: Australia 10-0 (Khawaja 9, Warner 1) A chance straight away! The ball after pulling Anderson round the corner for four, Khawaja edges straight between Bairstow and Root at first slip. They left it to each other. It was a beautiful delivery from Anderson, and it cost him four runs.
Replays show it was closer to Bairstow than Root; it was his catch. The poor guy is having a bad game with the gloves.
“The downside of England scoring so quickly in the new exciting era is the pitch hasn’t deteriorated as much as you’d expect for a fourth innings,” says Mark Hooper, “so record run chases aren’t that informative.”
Indeed. I think that applies generally over the last 20 years or so, not just to this England team. For reference, though, here are all Australia’s successful runchases in England.
Jimmy Anderson is happy with his new new ball, and he’s going to open the bowling.
England aren’t happy with the new ball. Stuart Broad is peering at it quizzically, and a few of the players are in conversation with Marais Erasmus. Mike Atherton thinks that England chose a different ball to the one they’ve been given. Whatever the reason, it’s going to be changed.
The commentators are discussing how dangerous one of the Australian openers could be tonight. It’s not the man who scored 141 in the first innings; it’s the guy who scored nine.
Here come the players. Buckle up, buttercup.
This will be an extended evening session, just under three hours. Not quite Melbourne 1998 but that’s still a lot of cricket. There are 42 overs remaining; we should get at least 35 of them.
“Those extra runs from Robinson, Broad and Anderson might mean England get a second new ball tomorrow,” says Phil Harrison. “I reckon those two partnerships have won England the game. Fancied Aus to chase anything up to about 250. 280 feels like a lot though.”
I suppose you can argue it both ways – the relative comfort with which they got the runs will make Australia’s top order feel good about life.
As is this from Mr Bazball
This is a good point from Brendan Murphy
“England’s frenetic pace means that they spend far more time on the field than Australia, with their more methodical approach,” writes Brendan. “Australia batted 116 overs, England’s two innings lasted 144 overs. Cummings, Hazlewood etc. will be getting more rest in this series than Anderson and Broad.”
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