Reaction and analysis
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That’s it for today’s blog. I’ll leave you with Vic’s match report and Geoff’s piece on Joe Root’s weird escape. Thanks for your company and emails - night!
More from Rory Burns
“I haven’t faced Nathan Lyon before. I just wanted to see what his variations were and how he was gonna try to move me around the crease. I felt most comfortable staying a little bit leg side of the ball. You could almost see him go up and try to hit the shit… sorry, hit the rough a little bit, and then when he was trying to slide one on to hit the pad.
“They’ve still got a newish ball and we’re still behind. If we get our noses in front we’ll try to make it as big as we can.”
The centurion Rory Burns is chatting on Sky Sports
“Quite an enjoyable experience, that. It was awesome. The Hollies Stand was rocking and it was quite an experience. There’s been a lot of hard work from a lot of people – not just myself but also coaches, parents and other people. That’s for them.
I was wrestling with myself on 99, telling myself not to sweep. I was just waiting for something in my arc. For me that’s probably quite an emotional response – I don’t think I’ve ever thrown my hands in celebration.
“There was something there for the bowlers all day. It’s quite a slow, sticky pitch. The ball change helped them as well, when it started swinging. You have to wait to get something in your area.
“I’ve been trying to embrace opportunities as they come, and I wanted to put myself in a better position to do that here. I was struggling with my rhythm and balance against Ireland at Lord’s. Sometimes it just takes a couple of hours at the crease to get that good feeling back.”
England trail by 17 runs with six first-innings wickets remaining
That was an old-fashioned opener’s Test hundred from Burns, who showed a lot of mental clarity, never mind strength. Australia’s bowlers didn’t do much wrong, but there was little assistance apart from a short period after the old ball was changed. They had no luck, either - Root was bowled without the bails coming off, Burns survived an LBW appeal that would have been out had they reviewed, and the ball went past the edge at least 50 times.
Close of play
90th over: England 267-4 (Burns 125, Stokes 38) That’s the end of a fine day for England, and especially Rory Burns. He batted throughout to make his maiden Test century, and a number of the Australian players congratulate him before he walks off to a standing ovation.
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89th over: England 265-4 (Burns 125, Stokes 37) Siddle looks weary. It’s been extremely hard work for the Diet Coke men, Cummins and Pattinson, so it must be even tougher for a 34-year-old grimacer. He should be happy with his day’s work, though: he has figures of 21-5-43-1, and the one was Joe Root.
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There are four overs remaining, but we won’t get them all because play will finish at 6.30pm. This over, from Peter Siddle, might be the last of the day.
88th over: England 265-4 (Burns 125, Stokes 36) Breaking news: Rory Burns will sleep well tonight. He must have expended so much mental energy. He is beaten by yet another jaffa from Lyon. According to the Sky Sports scorer Benedict Bermange, that’s the 34th time he’s played and missed today.
“Hope you’re enjoying this as much as I,” says Bill Hargreaves. “I can’t believe how little work I’ve got done today. The dogs are unwalled and the floors unhoovered, never mind very little actual work done. It is, however, only the bloody second day of a new Ashes series and the place is rocking.”
It shows how long a day it’s been that I spent around five minutes wondering what walling the dogs means before I realised the L and K are next to each other on the keyboard.
87th over: England 263-4 (Burns 123, Stokes 37) Siddle replaces Pattinson, who has figures of 17-2-54-2 on his return to Test cricket. Stokes, on the walk, works Siddle round the corner for four. It might be an illusion, because I can’t get the bloody World Cup out of my head, but it feels like Stokes is batting with greater assurance and authority than in recent Test series.
“The World Cup was incredible,” says Guy Hornsby, responding to my response in the 79th over. “Honestly still get my head around it - as you know - but I’m not sure I could handle one for at least another 47 months. And I can’t listen to that song again. For all sorts of reasons.”
Maybe a blast of Pharrell over the tannoy instead? Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth?
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86th over: England 259-4 (Burns 123, Stokes 32) With seven overs remaining, Nathan Lyon returns to the attack. Burns tries to cut a wide grubber and bottom-edges it between Paine’s legs for four. A few deliveries from Lyon have kept low, which is unusual on the second day of a game. England trail by 25 runs.
“Inspired by the story of Sarah O’Regan at 16:35, here’s one about cricket in Berlin,” says Milind Pania. “I fell back in love with cricket during the World Cup. Cricket fever was back and I taped up a couple of tennis balls and got together some friends to play cage cricket. A couple of Englishmen, an Aussie, an Italian and a German, the latter two having never played before.
“It was such a hit that the Italian bowled out one of the Englishmen at the end of a brilliant over of spin and he scored a fair few runs to boot. As for the German, she was an enthusiastic fielder, with pinpoint throws, always backing up at the bowler’s end and scoring lovely boundaries off straight drives. She and I both do HEMA (Historical European Martial Arts) with the longsword and it turns out that an Unterhau is pretty much a drive from cricket. The only difference is the footwork, since feet first when wielding a longsword means that your opponent chops off your knee.
“All in all a brilliant morning session of cricket that ended when yours truly tried to bring up his century with a six and launched the ball out of the football cage and onto the local train passing nearby.”
That last scene is straight from Wes Anderson’s next film.
85th over: England 254-4 (Burns 119, Stokes 31) The crowd are cheering every defensive stroke - or, to put it in layman’s terms, booze sales have been good today. England have generally looked comfortable against the second new ball, although Burns is beaten when he tries to drive Pattinson. Australia’s bowlers have been excellent today.
84th over: England 250-4 (Burns 117, Stokes 30) Stokes walks down the track to Cummins and is beaten by a monstrous seaming lifter. His response, later in the over, is a glorious, hold-the-pose straight drive for four. This is a superb contest between world cricket’s premier indefatigables.
83rd over: England 243-4 (Burns 117, Stokes 23) That was a relatively poor over from Pattinson, who didn’t make Burns play enough.
Here’s John Starbuck. “Presumably, if it isn’t already, Rory Burns’ new nickname must be Slow.”
In more ways than one.
REVIEW! England 243-4 (Burns not out 117)
It pitched well outside leg, so Australia lose a review. They have one left.
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Australia review for LBW against Burns!
Burns survives a huge LBW appeal from Pattinson. I reckon this pitched outside leg - but Tim Paine goes for the review with two seconds remaining.
82nd over: England 242-4 (Burns 117, Stokes 22) Pat Cummins takes the new ball. Burns leaves on length a ball that hits the flap of the pad and flies to the boundary. Not that Englan get any runs: it’s a dead ball, as he wasn’t playing a shot. Burns has faced 258 balls in this innings. Not many England openers, Sir Alastair Cook aside, have done that since Andrew Strauss retired. Only three, in fact.
Here’s your friend and m- here’s Mac Millings. ““You will be pleased to know, Rob, that a review of ‘Kaiser!: The Greatest Footballer Never to Play Football’ has just been submitted to Amazon, describing you as ‘the Wodehouse de nos jours’.”
81st over: England 242-4 (Burns 117, Stokes 22) Burns survives a precautionary run-out referral after being sent back by Stokes. That’s the start of a tricky over for England. Burns, done in the flight, gets a leading edge short of cover before Stokes just jabs his bat down on a grubber. And I mean just. That was very close to another comedy LBW.
Meanwhile, here’s some news on England’s ever-depleting seam-bowling pool.
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80th over: England 241-4 (Burns 116, Stokes 22) A maiden from Head. The new ball is available, but Lyon will continue with the old one for now.
“Hi Rob,” says Nico Bentley. “All this talk of Brendon McCullum reminds me of when I first saw him play back in 2004. I was a young student in Leeds with an already long history in club cricket and a Test match-obsessed father. Being the dutiful son I am, I purchased two tickets for the second day of the Headingley Test in my first year against New Zealand. What followed was one of the worst days of Test cricket I have ever seen with an absolute abomination of a hundred scored by a young Kiwi upstart. It was a truly awful knock. He didn’t middle one all day and both myself, and my father, walked away from the ground drunk hoping to never have to watch that poor excuse for a cricketer again. That cricketer was you-know-who and we still have the taste of humble pie in our mouths.”
79th over: England 241-4 (Burns 116, Stokes 22) Burns mistimes a slog-sweep off Lyon, but it clears mid-on and runs away for a couple. The second new ball will be available in one over’s time. There’s a storm a-comin.
“We all loved the outrageous, what-the-eff-just-happened adrenaline shot of the World Cup, but this is sipping a fine claret with a plentiful cheese selection great,” says Guy Hornsby. “It feels so absolutely right. And we’re only two days in, and it feels like about five matches in one. I guess the next one happens a few overs time, with Aussies desperate to get back into it. The best games are the ones you never really know if you’re ahead. Well, best unless you’re the captain.”
A few months ago I’d have agreed with you, but the World Cup changed me. Any chance we could have a blast of Loryn feat. Rudimental between overs?
78th over: England 239-4 (Burns 114, Stokes 22) Wade is replaced by another part-timer, the offspinner Travis Head. Burns belts a piece of filth for four.
“Ah, really feeling like the Ashes now,” says Matt Dony. “Sunny Friday evening, a week’s work behind me, and an exciting Test match. Brilliant. The last series was slightly ruined for me by the fact that I started a new job, meaning I had many nights of trying to decide just how irresponsibly late I should stay up, trying to make sure I wasn’t leaving myself too exhausted to make a good impression on my new employers. (By now, of course, my feet are suitably under-the-desk enough that I can lock my office door, put on TMS, read the OBO, and plod through my work.) But now, I have a free weekend, and the Ashes shall be enjoyed. Happiest of happy days.”
Richie Cunningham over here.
77th over: England 232-4 (Burns 109, Stokes 20) Stokes, who is playing nicely, laps Lyon for four more. This game is beautifully poised. There are 15 overs remaining tonight, and if Australia pick up two wickets with the new ball I think they’ll be fairly happy.
“I too was intrigued by the Cremation promo flashing up opposite us earlier (Matt Bell over 58),” says Brian Withington. “I can second your observation that a funeral business can indeed screw up. Our West Midlands service provider went bust, retaining possession of my Dad’s ashes. After much fruitless pursuit we finally got a call from a friendly neighbourhood bailiff who had entered the premises on behalf of the landlord. He didn’t find much worth seizing but did discover half a dozen urns of which Dad’s was the easiest surname to locate locally.”
76th over: England 228-4 (Burns 109, Stokes 16) Matthew Wade, one-time wicketkeeper, comes on to bowl an over or two of medium pace. His first-class record is reasonable (eight wickets at 32). And although his first over is a bit of a mess, he almost bags a bonus wicket when Burns clunks a pull over mid-on for two. For a split-second that looked like it might go to hand.
75th over: England 221-4 (Burns 104, Stokes 15) Stokes sweeps Lyon firmly and authoritatively for four. It’ll be fascinating to see whether his Test batting, which hasn’t been great in the last couple of years, is empowered by all those superb innings he played during the World Cup.
“Absolutely chuffed to bits for Rory Burns,” says Phil Sawyer. “Also, according to TMS, that century means that Surrey now draw level with Yorkshire in terms of number of England test centurions (22, I think they said). Boycott didn’t sound too pleased at the prospect. As a Lancastrian, this makes me very happy.”
When you say ‘also’...
74th over: England 216-4 (Burns 103, Stokes 11) Burns is beaten, flashing very loosely at a wide tempter from Siddle. That was the shot of a man who’s just made his maiden Test hundred, and whose mind is playing Hall & Oates.
“How good is proper cricket?” asks Jason Ali. “Alongside Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Wren’s St Paul’s, Guinness, and rhubarb crumble and custard it has to be one of mankind’s greatest creations.”
73rd over: England 215-4 (Burns 102, Stokes 11) Stokes, trying to cut Lyon, edges just over the head of Bancroft at gully and away for four. Bancroft responds by putting on a helmet.
“What’s the score,” says Paul Godfrey, “since they changed the ball?”
It is... 30 for two from 13 overs.
72nd over: England 210-4 (Burns 101, Stokes 7) Stokes gets his first boundary with a stylish, wristy back cut off Siddle. That’s drinks.
“Plenty of Australian players applauding Rory Burns which, given how much luck he has enjoyed, was pretty decent,” says Gary Naylor. “I suspect they recognise something of their own much vaunted ticker in that knock. I hope Chris Rogers, another left-handed opener who scored plenty of Ashes runs and didn’t care for Impostor Syndrome, had a wry smile too.”
I suspect Graham Gooch does. It’s not how…
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71st over: England 205-4 (Burns 100, Stokes 3) There was a lovely roar from the crowd when Rory Burns made his hundred, while Jason Roy on the balcony could not have looked happier had he scored a century himself. Burns has achieved something that will make him happy for the rest of his days, because you are never a former Test centurion. That’s in the Wisden Almanack forever. Until they put it all online and get rid of the records section completely. Bloody progress.
“Hi Rob,” says Jessica Morgan. “Should Australia, or anyone, be allowed to change the ball when the new ball is soon due?”
They are only allowed if the umpires decide the old ball has gone out of shape. It’s all a bit of a lottery, but cricket is full of such variables – England, for example, benefitted from helpful overhead conditions yesterday.
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RORY BURNS MAKES HIS MAIDEN TEST CENTURY!
As they say in the leafier parts of Surrey, ya dancer! Rory Burns works Lyon for a quick single to reach his first century in his eighth Test. It’s been a triumph of patience, self-awareness, mental strength and, yes, good fortune. It’s hard not to be utterly thrilled for a bloke who had to wait so long to play Test cricket, and who a week ago would have been dreading a call from Ed Smith.
There was actually a run-out referral when Burns reached his hundred, but he knew he was home and he celebrated long before the third umpire gave him not out.
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70th over: England 203-4 (Burns 99, Stokes 2) Stokes works Siddle’s fourth ball for a single, but Burns can’t get a single off either of the last two deliveries.
“Hello Rob,” says Geoff Wignall. “Wasn’t that Amazon review referencing Barbara Wodehouse?”
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69th over: England 202-4 (Burns 99, Stokes 1) Burns stays on 99 after a maiden from Lyon. He was beaten twice by delicious deliveries, both of which had the spinner’s hat-trick of drift, turn and bounce.
68th over: England 202-4 (Burns 99, Stokes 1) Cummins goes around the wicket to Burns, who touches a poor delivery off the pads for four. A single takes him to 99. Ninety-nine. Ninety-nine. We take sporting achievement for granted, but just imagine his internal monologue right now. He’s one away from a maiden Test century, on his Ashes debut, barely a week after many people said his Test career was over.
Here’s Savraj Grewal. “That sequence of events described by Sarah O’Regan in the 63rd over was pretty much the only thing missing from the last 20 minutes of the World Cup final.”
67th over: England 197-4 (Burns 94, Stokes 1) Nathan Lyon replaces Pattinson, which is a surprise given how much the replacement ball is doing. There are two left-handers at the crease, which must be the reason. His first ball is too short, which allows Burns to cut his first run in 19 deliveries. He gets it spot on later in the over, beating Burns with a seductive, dipping off-break. That was gorgeous bowling, though the rest of the over was pretty ordinary.
66th over: England 194-4 (Burns 92, Stokes 0) We’re into phase three of this fascinating match. Since the ball change, England are 9-2 from six overs. In that time, Cummins has figures of 3-3-0-1.
“Hello Rob,” says Dave Seare. “I like this new ICC initiative to spark the game into life with an extra new ball after 60 overs.”
WICKET! England 194-4 (Buttler c Bancroft b Cummins 5)
This is magnificent stuff from Pat Cummins, who has gone up 5mph since the ball change. Buttler, squared up by some sharp movement, edges low towards gully and is beautifully caught by Cameron Bancroft. That was a classic fast-bowler’s dismissal - the line and length were immaculate as well - and Buttler was blameless.
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65th over: England 194-3 (Burns 92, Buttler 5) Ah, apparently the replacement balls are also from this year’s batch. Either way, Australia have picked a good one. Pattinson continues to probe outside the off stump of Burns, who leaves as often as possible. He’s been stuck on 92 for 17 balls, though he doesn’t look particularly perturbed.
“You should NEVER trust online ‘reviews’,” says Martin Coult. “They are often ‘planted’ (often by robot) to boost the service/trader’s ratings OR They originate with the service/trader’s competitors who want to show them in a poor light.”
You say that, but the Amazon review describing Rob Smyth as the Wodehouse de nos jours was from a verified purchase, so.
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64th over: England 193-3 (Burns 92, Buttler 4) Burns, lunging forward optimistically, is beaten on the inside by Cummins, who then goes past the outside edge on a couple of occasions. That was a brilliant over. This ball is doing a lot more, in the air and off the pitch. Nasser Hussain reckons the replacement balls are from last year’s Duke batch, which moved a lot more; if that’s the case, both teams will be at the umpires throughout the series.
63rd over: England 193-3 (Burns 92, Buttler 4) I think it was seam movement rather than swing that did for Denly. Either way, Pattinson has got this replacement ball chatting. This is a dangerous time for England because he has the ability to take wickets in clusters. Whatever the match situation, however, a half-volley is a half-volley, and Buttler gets off the mark by lacing Pattinson to the cover boundary.
“Speaking of over rates, recently I played an innings of exactly one ball,” says Sarah O’Regan. “We were out in the back field under a blistering French sky. One bowler (boyfriend), one batsperson (me), two fielders (one Frenchman, one dog). Boyfriend bowls me a yorker which, being a tennis ball, bounces handily up. I give it a good smack across the field. Watson (dog, not Frenchman) goes sprinting after it - great fielding, we all thought - but then he snatches it up, crosses the boundary, runs into the house and gets straight into bed. The question is, did I score four runs or not?”
According to Law 19.2.4, that’s four runs for the batsperson and a Cumberland sausage for Watson.
WICKET! England 189-3 (Denly LBW b Pattinson 18)
Joe Denly is on his way. He played around a superb, full-length nipbacker from Pattinson and was given out LBW by Joel Wilson. Denly was angling for a review but Burns persuaded him otherwise. It looked plumb.
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62nd over: England 189-2 (Burns 92, Denly 18) No swing for Cummins in that over, and Burns defends solidly. A maiden.
“The ball is 62 overs old and the bowlers are tired,” says Hugh Molloy. “That’s when Jason Roy should be unleashed.”
Yes, I think he and Denly should swap places. But this innings isn’t particularly representative of England’s batting. There are some recent Tests in which, if Roy wanted to come to the crease around the 60th over, he’d have needed to bat at No17.
61st over: England 189-2 (Burns 92, Denly 18) The Aussies have convinced the umpires to change the ball in the hope the replacement will swing. And it does, instantly, for Pattinson. Although Denly drives impressively through mid-off for four, that was a very encouraging over for Australia.
60th over: England 185-2 (Burns 92, Denly 14) Burns lunges at Cummins, his feet skittering around with the same elegance and purpose you’ll see on high streets up and down the land at 11.30 tonight, and is beaten. But he moves into the nineties - the nineties, against Australia - with a nice push drive through extra cover for four. That drum-and-bass track you can hear is Rory Burns’ heartbeat.
“Starc’s red ball form has declined since the middle of that series vs. South Africa,” says Marie Meyer. “Can’t think why...”
59th over: England 179-2 (Burns 86, Denly 14) “You brought a huge smile to my face with those Brendon McCullum stats,” says Ryan Price. “I used to spend hours on this site going through iconic players stats and making them as favourable or as bad as I could whether I liked them or not to justify my bias…”
Statsguru is great. You can prove anything, even that Bradman was rubbish. That said, those McCullum stats cover his career after the death of Phillip Hughes, which had a profound impact on the way he played.
58th over: England 178-2 (Burns 85, Denly 14) Burns drags Cummins into the leg side for a single, which makes this his highest Test score. For all the imperfections and idiosyncrasies, he has shown admirable mental strength. He went into this match with everybody assuming he would be the next cab back on the rank.
Denly is beaten on the inside by a good delivery from Cummins. This is his fourth spell and his pace is down to around 82-84mph, but he is still bowling some jaffas.
“I just saw a sideboard at Edgbaston with ‘Simplicity Cremations’ on it,” says Matt Bell. “Have you noticed? That’s dark even if a pun on The Ashes. I looked them up to see if they were real and, it turns out, there are local branches. They didn’t have very good reviews and I thought, ‘How do you screw up that business?’”
There are ways. You don’t wanna know about it, believe me.
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57th over: England 177-2 (Burns 84, Denly 14) Lyon starts after tea to Burns, who should be refreshed after a break and a nice cool glass of pleasemothercricketletmegetanother18runs. He works a couple of singles off Lyon, equalling his highest Test score in the process, before Denly thwacks a boundary through the covers. There are no guarantees - not in this world, not with this England team - but this is a great opportunity to put Australia away. I doubt conditions will be friendlier for batting throughout the series.
“Afternoon, Rob,” says the OBO’s resident bohemian, Phil Sawyer. “Have to agree on the inclusion of Pattinson and Siddle. Both have had lethal spells in the county championship; Pattinson took a bucket full of wickets for me in the fantasy cricket during his first spell with Notts. Also, if the Aussies had left either of them out and been looking at the same scoreline right now, you’d be being bombarded by emails from county cricket followers decrying the decision. So at least you’ve been saved that. PS. It’s Friday night in Penang and I’m in my hotel room drinking a warm beer and listening to TMS. I know.”
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This is a hard game to appraise. We’ve already had two Tests in one: 122 for eight in helpful bowling conditions until around 3pm yesterday, 332 for four on a flat deck since. Australia will hope there is a third Test to come, in which the ball turns square and Nathan Lyon wins the match.
I’ll be back in 15 minutes for the extended evening session. In the meantime, why not say hello to the man who invented liveblogs, Scott Murray? Yeah, nice one, Scotty. Thanks, pal.
Tea: England trail by 114 runs
56th over: England 170-2 (Burns 82, Denly 9) Gorgeous batting from Denly, who drives Siddle classically between extra cover and mid-off for four. That’s the shot of the day so far. His defence has been less assured so far, however, and he survives an LBW appeal off the final ball of the session when Siddle gets one to nip back from outside off stump. It was going over the top. That’s tea.
55th over: England 164-2 (Burns 82, Denly 3) Burns cuts Lyon for another single, which takes him to within two of his highest Test score and 18 of you-know-what. Denly has a couple of hairy moments later in the over, bat-padding short of silly point and flicking wide of short leg.
“I agree with Pete,” says Graham O’Reilly. “Cummins ahead of Starc seems very weird. There’s not enough variety or aggression.”
That’s interesting. Cummins would be my first choice, although he has looked slightly flat in the last few months.
54th over: England 162-2 (Burns 81, Denly 2) Burns, trying to leave Siddle at the last minute, unwittingly deflects the ball just wide of off stump. A single takes him to 81 before Denly is beaten by a beautiful outswinger, delivered from wide on the crease. Lovely bowling.
“Siddle going for 1.7 rpo, keeping a lid on it,” says Jack Jorgensen. “No problem with the selection, has Root’s wicket. Pattinson and Cummins going above 3, and Siddle provides control. Lyon can also attack from the other end with Siddle bowling.”
It’s a good debate. All five seamers are superb, so I think you could pick any three. (I’m sure Michael Neser is good, too, I just haven’t seen much of him.) Generally, in these conditions, I’d have Cummins plus Starc or Pattinson and Hazlewood or Siddle. That said, I do have lascivious daydreams about watching Starc, Pattinson, Cummins and Hazlewood on a Perth trampoline.
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53rd over: England 161-2 (Burns 80, Denly 2) “I’ve been playing a fair bit of Cricket 19 recently,” writes Max Cornell. “I’m not very good at it so I just play it on easy, but it’s given me the false belief that batsmen should be swinging at absolutely everything and that an over with fewer than three boundaries is, quite simply, a failure. That probably also explains why my player has a strike rate of 300+ but an average of about 30.”
Is he called B McCullum? Jeez, I love that man. For the last 15 months of his Test career, he turned into Biggles.
52nd over: England 160-2 (Burns 79, Denly 2) Joe Denly, making his Ashes debut at 33, gets off the mark by flicking Siddle through square leg for a couple. That’s your lot, although there were another couple of confident strokes for no run.
“I do think you should let up on Burns,” says Romeo. “He’s doing what no England opener for ages has been able to do: stick in there and grind it out, making ugly runs while riding his luck. (I wrote this before Sanga said much the same thing on commentary.) And please put up this link for poor Ravikiran.”
51st over: England 158-2 (Burns 79, Denly 0) Lyon beats Burns with a ripper that turns and bounces - but when he drops short later in the over, Burns slams it emphatically through the covers for four. This is a vital little spell before tea; Australia will fancy their chances of picking up one or even two more in the next 20 minutes.
50th over: England 154-2 (Burns 75, Denly 0) That’s the first time in the last 22 innings that Root has been dismissed between 50 and 100. His problem, in recent times, has been getting to fifty rather than converting.
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WICKET! England 154-2 (Root ct and b Siddle 57)
Brilliant! Peter Siddle has dismissed Joe Root with a superb reaction catch off his bowling. Root played a lofted drive back towards Siddle, who thrust out his right hand to grab the ball in his follow through.
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49th over: England 153-1 (Burns 75, Root 57) Nathan Lyon, Australia’s likeliest matchwinner, returns to the attack. He beats Burns with a beautiful off-break that just misses the off stump and bursts through Paine for a bye. England will want a big first-innings lead as Lyon insurance, as he’ll be a handful in the fourth innings.
“Wanting to get in first with this, but leaving out Starc and Hazlewood, wtf?” says Pete Salmon. “This has been sold as a terrific paradigm shift by Australia, but it seemed nuts at the toss, and even more nuts now. And do I remember rightly how cross they both were after Warner fingered them for sandpaper-gate? Kicked out of their WhatApp group etc. Will this be one of those things where when Aus lose the series 3-0 we find out how ugly it was in the dressing room? When it’s no longer useful for us to know?”
I can see the logic, personally. Starc’s red-ball form has been mixed, Hazlewood is coming back from injury (and didn’t bowl that well in 2015), and Pattinson and Siddle have form in English conditions. There’s also rotation to consider. I think they’ve been a bit unfortunate, too - had Siddle bowled in yesterday’s conditions, for example, he could have run riot.
48th over: England 152-1 (Burns 75, Root 57) Root tucks Cummins to the fine-leg boundary to reach an important, controlled half-century from 110 balls. The Edgbaston crowd respond by booing Steve Smith, which is disappointing. He limps away in pain after inside-edging the next ball onto his knee. There was an LBW appeal too, as it was pad first, but it hit him well outside the line of off stump.
An eventful over continues when Burns survives a run-out chance. He had given up and was well short of his ground when Khawaja’s throw from backward point missed the stumps. That was a strange incident, in that it was a dreadful call and also a peculiarly tame throw from Khawaja.
#Ashes After watching Steve Smith make one of the all-time best Test hundreds, Rory Burns has set his heart on making one of the worst
— Tim de Lisle (@TimdeLisle) August 2, 2019
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47th over: England 144-1 (Burns 75, Root 49) Root thick edges Pattinson between second slip and gully for four. On reflection, he may have meant to steer it into the gap. He certainly softened his hands to ensure it would go along the floor
This is hard yakka for the Australian fast bowlers on a slow pitch, but Cummins and Pattinson are going about it with almost masochistic relish. It’s so good to see Pattinson playing Test cricket again. It’ll be even better to see him on a flyer.
“While we are thinking of Root’s records,” begins John Starbuck, “how does he feature in the list (there must be one) of batsmen with innings containing the most DRS-overturned out decisions?”
Statsguru doesn’t offer that information yet.
46th over: England 137-1 (Burns 74, Root 44) Thanks Geoff, hello everyone. Cummins produces a very good ball that follows Root, takes the glove and flies between second and fourth slip for three runs. Burns is then beaten twice outside off stump. Australia have had no luck at all today.
45th over: England 134-1 (Burns 74, Root 41) Pattinson to Root, that pace and lift has Root hopping and dropping the ball away towards point. Bright sunshine has swept over the ground after a cloudy start to the day. Pattinson nearly sneaks through onto Burns’ pad, but the bat just gets down. Then Burns flirts with the line outside off stump but withdraws.
And it’s time for me to withdraw. Thanks for your company, it’s been a great time. I’m back on Day 4. I’ll leave you with a man who always has the TMS link, Rob Smyth.
44th over: England 133-1 (Burns 74, Root 40) Another streak from Burns, who swings at Cummins and edges four through the cordon again. Good grief. Finally he gets one out of the middle, driving straight and teasing Wade all the way into the fence.
“I believe Joe Root just surpassed Graham Thorpe on the all-time list. Ken Barrington is 59 runs away.” Thanks, Michael Meagher, from a couple of overs ago. It’s now Root 6757, Barrington 6806.
43rd over: England 124-1 (Burns 66, Root 39) Pattinson. Three slips, gully, point. Wastes a ball down the leg side. Moves the line across. Burns is thinking about it, watching, finally shuffling across to nudge a run through a midwicket misfield. Root takes a single before drinks.
42nd over: England 122-1 (Burns 65, Root 38) Cummins is indeed back at the other end, Australia champing for a wicket. Not this time! Root square drives four! Paine shifts his field, moving Lyon from point to more of a deep second gully, with Khawaja at a regulation gully and two slips.
Ravikiran Ramakrishnan writes in, disconsolate. “Why is Joe Root sporting the number 66? Everywhere I read about it it seems obvious to everyone why, but i can’t figure it out. It’s genuinely distressing.”
Ravi, this is adorable, but it’s also so funny that I’m not going to tell you.
41st over: England 118-1 (Burns 65, Root 34) Pattinson is back, and he slips full to Root, who is up and purring now. Lovely shot through midwicket for four. Knocks away a single, and then it’s Burns doing Burns things. A skewed outside edge after being squared up, no control whatsoever, and two runs through gully. Then a proper outside edge pushing outside the line, and four!
“Ok, Mr Burns, where were you trying to hit the ball?”
“I... don’t know.”
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40th over: England 107-1 (Burns 59, Root 29) Ohhhh, Good Lord! How is Rory Burns not out by now? He’s been out about 16 times. He’s played every bad shot in the book. But someone somewhere has left a cigarette for an obscure god at the right roadside shrine. Burns throws the bat at a wider ball from Siddle, gets a thick outside edge, and it flies between slip and gully for four.
39th over: England 103-1 (Burns 55, Root 29) The hundred comes up for England (and I don’t mean that in the ECB sense). Lyon strays onto leg stump and Root is quick to glance it away for four, very fine. Good control. Follows it up with a straight drive past the bowler, and Siddle has to chase back to save two.
Steve Smith set the standard in 2017-18 and Root wasn’t able to match it. England’s main man looks like he’s starting to take control today.
38th over: England 97-1 (Burns 55, Root 23) Four slips and point for Burns. Cover is open. Warner at mid-off. Cummins wide at mid-on. No midwicket. Deep square and long leg for the short ball. Acres ahoy in front of the wicket in either side, then. Siddle around the wicket to the left-hander, right arm and angling in and seaming away. Lovely bowling. Burns leaving. Four maidens for Siddle, 18 runs from 11 overs.
37th over: England 97-1 (Burns 55, Root 23) That bottom-handed whip across the line from Root can’t beat the field this time against Lyon, so he tries a gentler version and gets a single. Burns gets a stride in and defends. With his head bobbing about like that, he plays a forward defence like he’s trying to watch a movie on a plane over the seat of the person in front.
Dan Johnson has a lovely take on recent events. “The thing about that typo was the fact that the score was so perfectly placed in the sweet spot of England collapses. I left the room for 20 minutes and came back to discover 71-7, but my brain accepted it without question. It was a few seconds later, scanning down the page to review the carnage, that I discovered it didn’t actually happen (yet) and felt that euphoric relief, equivalent to 6 successful DRS reviews at once.”
36th over: England 94-1 (Burns 53, Root 22) One of the slips has come out for Root against Siddle. We’re down to three. Then a point and a cover. It’s not like Root is hitting out though. He stays at home for another maiden over. Time for Cummins or Pattinson to earn their keep?
35th over: England 94-1 (Burns 53, Root 22) Using his feet against Lyon is Joe Root. Good positive stuff. Probably not going to rebound a six off the fourth tier of the grandstand a la Jason Roy, but he can defend from down the pitch and also flick a boundary through midwicket.
34th over: England 89-1 (Burns 53, Root 17) Siddle seams the ball, strikes Root on the pad, but the wicket is overturned! Umpire Dar says out, Root reviews, and there’s a nick from the inside edge before the ball hit him plush in front of middle. The umpires are having a torrid time, Siddle has his joy taken away, the Hollies has its say. Booming cheers follow as Root drives a couple of runs behind point. Australia can’t find that breakthrough.
Half century! Rory Burns 53 from 110 balls
33rd over: England 84-1 (Burns 53, Root 12) A nice shot there against Lyon, with the ball straightening down the stumps but a bit short, so Burns hangs back and turns it away off his hip for four. He’s done exactly what his team needed from a player battling with form: he’s just found a way to stick around, and the runs have come as a by-product. A brave day’s work.
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32nd over: England 80-1 (Burns 49, Root 12) Siddle probes away, and the batsmen only take a couple of singles, leaving and watching and blocking.
31st over: England 78-1 (Burns 48, Root 11) For a moment you think to yourself, maybe Burns has figured out this off-spin lark, as he skips back to carve a cut shot for four as Lyon drops short. Then Lyon beats him on the inside edge and only a nick saves him from being out leg before wicket.
30th over: England 74-1 (Burns 44, Root 11) And we’re back after lunch. I managed to find a chunk of honeycomb the size of my first, so I’m sorted. Siddle begins and finds the outside edge of Burns, but it runs along the ground and goes for three. Hot tip: if you ever want to detonate your inbox, typo the score at the lunch break of an Ashes Test. Several readers are recovering in hospital as we speak. Mea culpa.
And Vic Marks wrote the match report, in his usual lovely way.
I took a perilous journey into the heart of the Hollies to meet some fellow travellers.
Ali Martin also wrote a nice bit on Good Old Woakesy.
I’m going to hunt down a sandwich. In the meantime, read Barney Ronay why not?
Lunch – England 71-1
There we are. England’s session, in that they’ve worn through Australia’s bowlers and lost only one wicket for their trouble. But not a dominant session because it was so low-scoring. Only 61 runs added in 27 overs, so if Australia get a couple of wickets they’ll be right back on top. England’s batsmen have to press home the advantage as the bowlers tire.
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29th over: England 71-1 (Burns 41, Root 11) Cummins with the finale, but Burns gets off strike and Root sees out the final four balls, ducking a high bouncer and blocking on off stump. It’s lunch! They survive.
28th over: England 70-1 (Burns 40, Root 11) Lyon races through a maiden over so that Cummins can bowl one more before lunch. Root blocks, except the ball where he plays a massive sweep shot and misses completely, surviving the appeal because he was hit outside the line of off stump.
“Thank you, Geoff,” writes William Hargreaves. “I’m in a place where I can’t listen to what you can listen to, but I can listen to what you can’t, so just to confirm, I can hear it. Who’s on first base?”
27th over: England 70-1 (Burns 40, Root 11) Is this the day that Rory Burns comes good? He’s very comfortable against Cummins, who usually tests most batsmen. Burns plays a luscious on-drive for four as lunchtime nears.
“Now that replays can prove absolutely everything, how is it that removing the bails is still the only proof of being bowled?” writes Graham O’Reilly. “It’s an analogue solution in a digital age.”
I tend to agree, after all those non-bowled episodes in the World Cup. Time to reword the Laws. You give an lbw based on whether the ball would have hit the stumps, not whether it would have hit them hard enough to knock the bails off. If the stumps are hit then the bowler has won and the batsman hasn’t protected his wicket.
26th over: England 66-1 (Burns 36, Root 11) Lyon to Root, a maiden technically. A couple of byes are scored as Paine misses a ball down leg.
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25th over: England 64-1 (Burns 36, Root 11) Cummins returns exactly the way he started, serving up a half volley on the pads for Burns to clip for four. Start as you mean to go on doesn’t apply here.
Richard Harman has sent me the TMS link for today. Right, so this will be the daily strategy going forward. People overseas will email me asking for a link that they can listen to but I can’t. I will post the wrong one because I can’t hear it. Richard Harman will see the post and send me the link. I will post it without being able to check it, and you will all be able to hear it as long as you’re not where most of our readers are. It’s the most efficient way.
Updates, updates! From Ali Martin. Who is sitting five seats down and frankly could have just told me this rather than going the circuitous route of writing an article and posting it on the website that we both work for. Passive-aggressive housemate politics at their finest.
24th over: England 59-1 (Burns 32, Root 10) Burns is doing alright against Lyon now, leaving a couple and defending, before bunting a brace through midwicket.
I’ll especially send a greeting to Georgie Clay, who was far more polite than me when seeking out the TMS link. Is this it, or is it yesterday’s? I can’t listen to it because I’m in the UK.
23rd over: England 57-1 (Burns 30, Root 10) Pattinson keeps wearing away at Root as we trend towards lunch. Root watches everything keenly and remains circumspect, after Burns picked up a couple of leg byes and then a single.
We’ve had a lot of people emailing this morning to ask for the TMS link for overseas listeners. This is a phenomenon that its quite fascinating: when people clearly have internet access given they’re using it to communicate, but their choice of communication is to ask other people to send them things that are also on the internet.
Maybe I just don’t understand British politness. So I won’t just post the link to Let Me Google That For You.
22nd over: England 53-1 (Burns 29, Root 9) Siddle sends down another maiden to Burns, who has done his job here this morning and found a way through some tough bowling. Alex Smith makes the distressing observation that nobody as yet has suggested Travis Headphones. I’m not angry but I’m disappointed.
Bowled! But not out
21st over: England 53-1 (Burns 29, Root 9) Last ball of the over, Joe Root survives. We saw this a lot in the World Cup, but it’s continued here with what I think are regulation wooden bails. Pattinson bowls an absolute peach. Some movement in towards Root’s pads, some seam away after pitch. Beats the groping outside edge, nearly clips the pad, then hits the outside of the stump. But the bails don’t fall. The umpire thinks it’s a nick, and fair enough, and gives Root out. The DRS review confirms that the off stump was hit right on the outside at the top, and moved substantially inward, then back again. The angle of movement meant that the bail spigot just slid along the groove. Pattinson can’t believe it, and inspects the bails for foul play. What can you say?
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20th over: England 51-1 (Burns 29, Root 7) Burns brings up the first score milestone for England by opening the face and steering a full ball from Siddle square of third man. Burns knelt towards that ball as though offering it his sword.
Wrap it up folks, Mac Millings has won the game.
“What with all this talk of electronic earwear, please allow me to present my all-time Headphones XI, or, as I like to call them, Bangladesh & Olufsen.”
Alastairpods Cook
Hitachi MacLaren
Sir Donald Walkman
Greg ChApple
Kevin Beatsersen
JVC de Villiers
Hardik Skullcandya
Rishabh Pantasonic
Andy Flower & Wilkins
Samsung Curran
MS Sony
Fine work, Mc. Though there’s plenty of Bang and not much Bowlufsen.
19th over: England 49-1 (Burns 27, Root 7) Pattinson is back, and he looks dangerous immediately. He’s switched to the City End. Threatens the outside edge, seams the ball. The batsmen each get a single but nothing looks comfortable.
18th over: England 47-1 (Burns 26, Root 6) Both batsman very happy to be watchful against Siddle. They don’t want to see that smile light up the cloudy Edgbaston noon. Why do they hate joy? A single from Root to backward point is all from the over.
Jonathan Oliver, who I assume is not the one who had that television program as he’s probably busy, writes in. “Am I stretching things too much to post the following scenario: England vs India 1974. Chris Old bowls to Mr Gavaskar who edges one but stays at the crease. Old, infuriated, bellows at him: “Sunny, walk man!”
17th over: England 46-1 (Burns 26, Root 5) The Rory Burns Firewalk against Nathan Lyon continues, this time nicking a ball away to the fence. I’m trying to remember the last time I’ve seen a top order player look this bad against a bowler and survive for so long. It’s perversely impressive.
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16th over: England 42-1 (Burns 22, Root 5) Another maiden for Siddle, this time to Root. Good to see some more headphone enthusiasts popping into the correspondence. “Would you buy your speakers from Richer Sounds Richardson?” asks Boris Starling. “If I recall correctly Richie does know his music: he and Curtly Ambrose were once in a band called Big Bad Dread and the Bald Head.”
Having commentated on TMS alongside him this summer I can confirm that Curtly Ambrose is so large as to terrify neighbours into near silence. He’s very nice though.
“Assume we should be doing Beats By DRS?” asks Paul Griffin, who is especially apt given the state of the umpiring in this match.
15th over: England 42-1 (Burns 22, Root 5) Burns should be gone! But he’s still there. Lyon around the wicket, straightens it down the line, and struck in front. Joel Wilson says no and the Australians don’t review it. But the technology says it would have been gone. Burns celebrates by nearly getting bowled next ball.
I haven’t seen Burns bat live before, and... I knew in theory that his technique was weird, but it really is a chiropractor’s wet dream. What’s your head doing all the way over there, mate? Is it popping into the Hollies to jump in line at the bar?
14th over: England 38-1 (Burns 19, Root 4) A bit more comfortable against pace for Burns, driving Siddle hard on the bounce back past the bowler for three, with Wade doing some serious miles to stop the boundary. Last ball before drinks, Siddle goes up for a Siddle special appeal against Root, arms wide and backpedalling, but the ball had struck too high on the pad.
13th over: England 35-1 (Burns 16, Root 4) Nathan Lyon comes on early in the day. Burns can be a duck in a shooting gallery against off-spin at times. Root is facing first though, and he’s nearly bowled! Absolute beauty from Lyon, it pitches miles outside off, but turns in like Murali! Misses the off stump by an inch perhaps. Travis Head though messes up by allowing Root off strike with a fumble next ball. Though that brings Burns on strike, and his most memorable shot for the over involves charging down the wicket and then doing the splits in a desperate attempt to reach a ball that dips on him, and managing to squeeze it away so he’s not stumped.
12th over: England 33-1 (Burns 15, Root 3) Here we go. Peter Siddle, the beaming assassin. On to bowl to Burns and to produce the most Siddle over imaginable. Around the wicket to the lefty, angling in at him, and Siddle is bang on. Makes him play at every ball. Right on the off stump. Drawing a thick outside edge for two lucky runs, then a thin inside edge that saves Burns from leg before.
11th over: England 31-1 (Burns 13, Root 3) Now Cummins gets into the groove! Lovely ball outside off stump that draws Burns into a shot and then beats the edge by a micron. Then Burns is hit! Ducking, the bouncer doesn’t get up, and as he leans forward to get under it, the ball skims the back of his helmet and bounces up over Paine behind the stumps. Four leg byes, no damage to Burns, and that’s exactly the kind of blow that some readers are advocating Jimmy Anderson to seek out.
On a more serious note, various people have been emailing on a theme like Nicholas Clark. “The difference with concussion is the risk to long term health. If somebody has concussion then another head injury can be extremely risky as the brain is already damaged. It’s like hitting a bruise, it hurts more and causes more damage to the brain so they need taking out of the game entirely. Having a concussion substitute means a team is less likely to risk carrying on with a player at higher risk of long term brain damage. Aggravating a muscle injury isn’t as severe and the player can often carry on in some way (eg Anderson is likely to be able to bat).”
Which is all true, it’s just less funny.
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10th over: England 26-1 (Burns 12, Root 3) James Pattinson has been run through the hot wash, given a fresh coat of wax, and he’s absolutely gleaming. He zooms one past Root’s outside edge again. Then draws a skewed shot through midwicket that picks up two lucky runs for Root. Then a mistimed defence that nearly pops back a catch to the bowler. Root taps away a single and runs for it. This is some spell.
9th over: England 22-1 (Burns 12, Root 0) Burns blocks out another maiden from Cummins. His morning is going ok. He’s still there.
8th over: England 22-1 (Burns 12, Root 0) The sound around the ground is quite similar when Joe Root comes out to bat as it is for Steve Smith. Crowds are strange things. Pattinson is getting into his work now. Has a word to Root after beating the edge. Gets an ovation from the Australian fans as he goes back to field on the rope.
Apologies for the slow updates at times, the website is lagging pretty hard. Must be the millions of readers loading the page.
WICKET! Roy c Smith b Pattinson 10 (England 22-1)
Welcome back to Test cricket, James Pattinson! It was starting to look like a matter of time against Roy, and the third is the charm. Back of a length, angled in at the batsman but perhaps moving a touch off the surface. Roy tries to defend with his weight back, and gets struck towards the shoulder of the bat from where it carries low to Smith.
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7th over: England 22-0 (Burns 12, Roy 10) Cummins is not at his best today, and gives Burns another freebie on his pads that Burns duly cashes.
6th over: England 18-0 (Burns 8, Roy 10) This is fine stuff from Pattinson. Moves the ball enough to take Roy’s edge but it bounces on its way to Smith at slip. Then the other way, past the inside edge and leaving a juicy Dukes bruise on Roy’s thigh. He survives with wicket intact, a maiden over.
William Matthewman continues on the headphone theme: “I assume Skull Candy will be the name of the opening batsmen for the Kolkata Knight riders in 50 years’ time when T20 players are rock stars enough to have stage names.”
William, that’s almost Kerry O’Keeffe’s nickname from the 70s. Way ahead of that curve.
5th over: England 18-0 (Burns 8, Roy 10) There was only room for one Burns in this Ashes Test, and it was Rory. Lovely shot from the Surrey skipper as Cummins errs with a full wide ball, allowing a square drive behind point. Classy, on the grassy, rolled like it was on glassy. Burns banks his good fortune first ball and sees off the rest of the over.
“With the new concussion rules coming in allowing a like for like replacement, why not send Jimmy in to bat with the specific instructions of getting hit in the head? That way we can swap Jofra in for the second innings.”
Cunning. If anyone can see any flaws in Tom Briggs’ master plan, please fill them out in triplicate and staple them to Tom.
4th over: England 14-0 (Burns 4, Roy 10) Swing, swing, edge! Four! Pattinson into the attack, and bowling very attractive outswingers at pace right away. Jason Roy flings his hands at one and his lucky number comes up, into the gap in the slip cordon before the gully. Pattinson beats him with another, then nails a yorker. The switch is flipped to ‘on’.
3rd over: England 10-0 (Burns 4, Roy 6) And we’re away. First of the day, third of the match. An uneventful first over after all the build-up, as the England fans sing Jerusalem and Rory Burns blocks out Pat Cummins around off stump. Uneventful will be a delight to Rory Burns.
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“Your comment re concussion injury substitutes is spot on. Considering Test cricket has the longest playing time of any professional sport (probably!) surely at least one substitute should be allowed? If one tactical change could be made when would you use it?”
It’s an interesting one, Neil Bowen. There are lots of reasons why it doesn’t happen, which I’m sure readers can number off. The Supersub (remember that) failed in one-day cricket because it could be made useless depending whether teams batted second or first. Maybe if there was a bench to choose from. But the ramifications for the structure of the game could be immense.
Steve Hudson is taking care of the pessimist side. “I saw Roy bat at Lord’s when he made 50 and I really don’t think he has the game when the ball is moving and there isn’t much pace in the pitch. (I think we might lose a few early on too.)”
“Not sure about heaphones,” writes Richard Williams, “but I’m pretty sure Bang & Olufson were a great dual pace/spin attack in the 50s and 60s. Bowers & Wilkins probably the opening batsmen that handled them the best.”
@GeoffLemonSport if Anderson doesn't bowl another ball this test (or even series) where does the blame fall? Anderson or the selectors?
— Christopher Shank (@cmshank) August 2, 2019
I don’t think there’s any blame anywhere. He thought he was fit; he could almost have played against Ireland. He went through his paces like any other time. You just don’t know if injuries are going to happen, and sometimes they do. Every team has these moments. It does raise the question of why you can now have substitutes for concussions when you can’t for any other kind of injury.
Hooley cheeses, I just noticed that the main pure for the blog had updated. That Ben Stokes mask montage is a truly haunted image. Someone please do an exorcism on whichever editor chose that.
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“I may have forgotten to charge my wireless earphones overnight so I’m relying on you to keep me updated,” writes Max Cornell. “I just hope England are still batting at the end of the day.”
Surely the only cricket writer who could replace headphones would be... Mihir Bose?
England’s players are gathering out in the middle now, kicking the football around lackadaisically. Ben Stokes finishes his throwdowns and wanders over, his clean white socks pulled up nerd-high over his black compression tights. Now they’re all lying down on their backs doing Bertie Beetle impressions, waving their legs in the air. “Oh, I’ve been sprayed with insecticide, ohhhhh!” That’s how professionals do it.
The Australians are all throwing down practice stumps and doing their best to look purposeful and stern and imposing.
“Virender Sehwag for all his qualities could never make a smooth transition to the ODI side,” writes Amod Paranjape. “He was lethal in Tests but I think he thought he had to go even faster. Interesting to see what the reverse transition holds for Jason Roy.”
I’m watching Jason Roy taking some throwdowns out in the middle at the moment. The sun has burst through and all looks joyful. A big day for Roy and Burns, the England openers have to offer something. I’m not sure they will – my pointless prediction is that two or three cheap ones will fall, then there’ll be runs from the middle order. It’s a nice day for batting, and you’d think England will need 350 at least with Lyon to bowl last on this surface.
Moeen is having a trundle himself for now, and he’s literally landing the ball on a tea towel. They’ve spread out a small white cloth on a good length and he’s trying to hit it. Joe Denly has actually landed a couple more than Mo.
Get in touch
I don’t really need to encourage this, because my email inbox is bracing itself for the Ashes deluge, but you can get in touch using geoff.lemon@theguardian.com or you can join me in the sunlit uplands of Twitter using @GeoffLemonSport.
Preamble
Good morning from Edgbaston. It’s a pleasant sort of day so far here in Birmingham, some cloud about but some blue sky as well. And what a day of Ashes cricket we have for us. You know those Test days that end at just the right time? We’re so evenly poised now. Some wins for England yesterday with Stuart Broad’s five-for and the first eight wickets, then that extraordinary batting fightback from Steve Smith and Australia’s two least likely, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon.
Smith’s hundred was one of the best the game has seen, given his personal circumstances mixed with those of the match, and Broad did what he has done against Australia so many times.
Now we have one of those matches where we have no idea what is ahead. Australia, bowled out for 284. By day’s end that could look like a very middling total if England bat well, or imposing if Australia’s bowlers do the business. James Pattinson and Pat Cummins operating at pace, Siddle with smarts, Lyon to extract turn from a pitch that did spin yesterday. England with three of their top six yet to prove themselves at this level, and one or two of them hovering perilously near the drop.
Everything is set up to be a brilliant day at the Ashes. Let’s go.
