Vic Marks' report from Old Trafford
Close of play That, officially, is that for the day. We’ll have a match report from Old Trafford shortly. Thanks for your company - goodnight!
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Despite the irritating end, that’s been another excellent day for Australia. Pat Cummins’ immense 10-over spell either side of tea increased the pressure on England, and Josh Hazlewood reaped the rewards with three late wickets. He took all four wickets to fall today, in fact. England, who need a further 98 to avoid the follow-on, are in serious trouble, again.
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“Sport on TV being that nebulous, fuzzy thing in the 80s, I didn’t get to watch Abdul Qadir “live” - only in highlights on World of Sport or similar,” says Ben Heywood. “My brother and I were so amazed by Qadir’s loopy deliveries that we resolved to teach ourselves leg spin in the back garden, bowling at two flowerpots stacked on top of each other with a tennis ball. My attempted leg-breaks flew straight up in the air. My brother’s, upsettingly, seemed to unerringly bounce and spit out of the rough that comprised most of my Dad’s lawn, but he did slightly ruin the effect by running twice around the greenhouse first in an attempt to emulate that famous run-up. I’m not sure that’d have been allowed on a cut strip... RIP Abdul. Gorgeous action.”
Bad light stops play Australia aren’t happy. Tim Paine was told he could bowl spin at both ends, but the umpires changed their mind after checking the light meter.
74th over: England 200-5 (Stokes 7, Bairstow 2) With the forecast good for the next two days, England are in the nasty stuff. It’s no good just avoiding the follow on, because that would leave Australia with plenty of time to win the match. It’s hard to see a way out. Let’s be honest, Australia fully deserve to win the series, never mind retain the Ashes.
“No bowler made a batsman look a mug the way Abdul Qadir did,” says Gary Naylor. “He attacked with every ball and bowled about as dry as me. So very sad.”
Yes, it’s the deception that made him so bewildering.
73rd over: England 198-5 (Stokes 5, Bairstow 2) It was an ugly lunge towards the ball by Roy, which left a big gate for Hazlewood to burst through. It was a brilliant delivery.
“Two things in that Abdul Qadir clip,” says Kristian Petterson. “Firstly, I love Richie saying ‘Oh, what a Bosie!’ Shameful that Bosie has gone out of fashion. Secondly, Gabriel appears to get out exactly the same way twice - going back to try to cut the wrong ‘un - in the same ODI series. What a dummy!”
Hazlewood gets his fourth wicket, knocking Roy’s middle stump out of the ground with a big nipbacker. Roy played some nice strokes, including a lovely back-foot drive for four off the previous delivery, but Hazlewood ended the argument in the most emphatic manner.
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WICKET! England 196-5 (Roy b Hazlewood 22)
And it’s goodnight from him.
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72nd over: England 190-4 (Roy 18, Stokes 3) Stokes survives an appeal for caught behind after an impressive bit of juggling from Paine. It missed the edge.
“It’d be wrong to say I’m looking forward to reading Abdul Qadir’s obituary in tomorrow’s Guardian, but I’ll be disappointed if there isn’t one,” says John Starbuck. “He was one of the greats and should be recognised as such.”
Yes, agreed. He was a genius.
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71st over: England 190-4 (Roy 18, Stokes 3) An excellent short ball from Hazlewood is gloved round the corner for a single by Stokes; Roy then misses a swipe across the line. He has 18 from 29 balls, and there have been signs of encouragement amid the false strokes.
“As a nine-year-old watching his first ever Test series on TV in 1982, I remember being mesmerised by Qadir’s whirling action and finger-licking,” says Paul Callinan. “I was also confused and a bit upset that our batsmen were unable to lay a bat on him. I don’t think that any bowler since then has amazed me in quite the same way as he did back then.”
70th over: England 189-4 (Roy 18, Stokes 2) Roy drives Lyon crisply through extra cover for three; Stokes is then beaten by a jaffa. If England lose any more wickets before the second new ball, they will be in serious bother.
69th over: England 183-4 (Roy 14, Stokes 0) Roy is starting to look a little more confident. He played a nice stroke for four off Lyon a couple of overs ago, which I forgot to report after reading about Abdul Qadir.
“I’m sad to see that Abdul Qadir has died,” says Chris Howell. “It’s something of a mystery to me that I grew up on the late 80s to become a huge cricket fan, since my earliest cricketing memory is of losing to India and NZ at home in the summer of 1986, followed losing to pretty much everyone else until 1990. But I remember being enchanted watching Abdul Qadir bowl in 1987, and taking myself into the back garden to try to teach myself how to bowl legspin. I suspect that he as much as anyone made me want to watch and learn about this great game.”
I think Graham Gooch said he was the best spinner he ever faced, even ahead of Shane Warne.
Here’s a small sample of Abdul Qadir’s genius. His googly, in particular, was a thing of beauty. Man, this is awful news.
68th over: England 180-4 (Roy 12, Stokes 0) Awful news from Pakistan: Abdul Qadir, the legspin genius of the 1980s, has died at the age of 63. That’s shocking news.
67th over: England 175-4 (Roy 7, Stokes 0) Roy got off the mark in style earlier in the over, driving Hazlewood sweetly to the extra-cover boundary. Incidentally, there was a typo in the 63rd over - I should have said that it’s only the second time Root has faced at least 150 balls in consecutive Test innings.
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We’ve seen that dismissal before with Root against Australia, trapped LBW as he falls over towards the off side. The ball nipped back and maybe kept a bit low. Root was so plumb that he barely even considered a review.
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WICKET! England 175-4 (Root LBW b Hazlewood 71)
Root has been pinned LBW by Hazlewood!
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66th over: England 167-3 (Root 70, Roy 0) Roy gropes hopefully at his first ball from Lyon, inside-edging it back onto the body. He shapes to hammer the last delivery of the over through the off side, sees it start to turn big and aborts the shot. Lyon looks at him with contempt.
“Fine,” says Sumit Rahman. “Broad as captain, but Buttler in charge of reviews. Now everyone has a role.”
And a specialist DRS coach in the dressing-room.
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65th over: England 166-3 (Root 69, Roy 0) Jason Roy inside-edges his first ball back onto the pad. He is under so much pressure, having made 19 runs his last four innings. His joyous evisceration of the Aussies in the World Cup semi-final must feel a long time ago.
Rory Burns’ fine innings is over. He edged a good delivery from Hazlewood towards second slip, where the inevitable Steve Smith took a sharp tumbling catch. It was a really good piece of bowling from Hazlewood - a perfect length, and with just enough movement off the seam to take the edge.
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WICKET! England 166-3 (Burns c Smith b Hazlewood 81)
A big wicket for Australia!
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64th over: England 166-2 (Burns 81, Root 69) Burns flat-bats Lyon this far short of Wade, swooping forward at cover. At first I thought it was a dropped chance, but replays suggest it bounced a fraction in front of Wade.
“I wonder,” says Geoff Wignall, “was 67 all out the salvation of this England side?”
I’m not sure they are good enough to make it a salvation, but there has been a notable change of approach.
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63rd over: England 165-2 (Burns 80, Root 69) Cummins is replaced by Hazlewood, who bowls a maiden to Root. He has 69 from 161 balls. This is only the second time in Root’s Test career that he has faced at least 150 balls in consecutive Test innings, a reflection of his increased resolve. Runs are not coming easily, which in many ways makes his performance even more impressive.
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62nd over: England 165-2 (Burns 80, Root 69) A top-edged sweep from Burns teases fine leg before dropping well short. England take a single, the first of four from the over. They need another 133 runs to avoid the follow-on.
“Can we stop with the captaincy hot takes?” says David Hart. “Root is still our best bat, he’s a decent leader, respected by the players, and his overall record is good (we drubbed India last year - Kohli still seems to be hanging on). People who want to humiliate him by making Eoin Morgan - a guy who barely plays red ball cricket - captain are eating the sky-iest pie ever. It’s not Root’s fault England can’t find two openers, Anderson spangled himself and Buttler seems to have lost his bottle, any more than Tim Paine is a great leader if/when Smith wins them the series. ROOOO-OOOOT.”
You’re not looking at the whole pie.
61st over: England 161-2 (Burns 78, Root 67) Cummins continues; this is his 10th over in this spell. The man’s an animal. Burns defends most of the over before turning a single off the pads. England may have seen Cummins off.
“I’m sat in my office in Manchester looking out over a very grey sky over Old Trafford in a funk after a few days in Paris eating my body weight in patisserie and cheese washed down with heavenly red wine,” says Guy Hornsby. “The comedown is real, almost as difficult as being in the field yesterday when a week earlier it was The Headingley Experience. It would SO English to give us that miracle then fritter away the Ashes in the next 24 hours. Surely an incentive in itself for stubbornness?”
60th over: England 160-2 (Burns 77, Root 67) A maiden from Lyon to Root. Thanks for all your pitch suggestions, which I’ve forwarded to Sam.
59th over: England 160-2 (Burns 77, Root 67) Root is beaten again by the luckless Cummins, who follows up with a big inducker that Root gets a bat on at the last minute. Cummins’ figures in this spell are 9-2-21-0.
58th over: England 159-2 (Burns 77, Root 66)
57th over: England 158-2 (Burns 77, Root 65) Burns survives a run-out chance after taking a dodgy single off Cummins. He would have been well short had Head’s throw hit the stumps. Burns then fences another nasty lifter in the air on the off side, but it falls short of Lyon. Cummins doesn’t deserve a wicket in this spell; he deserves two or three.
56th over: England 154-2 (Burns 74, Root 64) “I like a bowler as captain,” says Sam Collier, “but do we really want Broad in charge of DRS?”
Now that’s what I call a fair point.
55th over: England 151-2 (Burns 73, Root 62) Root continues, and Cummins continues to rough him up. The first ball after the break thuds into the glove, with Root taking his eye off the ball. This is blistering Test cricket.
“The way things are going,” says Bobby Dunnett, “Jason Roy could still be facing the new ball early in his innings.”
#Ashes Since his winning hand at Edgbaston, #NathanLyon has taken his wickets at the rate of one every 20 overs. All the other specialist bowlers apart from Overton are doing twice as well
— Tim de Lisle (@TimdeLisle) September 6, 2019
Help! department
“Dear Rob,” says Sam Wrighton. “Our final league game of the year is tomorrow. We’re (Hackney CC) 2nd, playing 1st (London Fields CC). Winner takes the league. We’ve just got an email from the council saying some Travellers are on the pitch and our game is in danger of being cancelled. Anyone know of a pitch we can use in London please?!”
If anyone can help, please get in touch and I’ll forward it on to Sam.
54.4 overs: England 151-2 (Burns 73, Root 62) Root edges Cummins wide of second slip for four. I think it would have dropped short but it was another sharp delivery from Cummins, who has bowled gloriously either side of tea. The harder the yakka, the higher he rolls his sleeves. He’s a captain’s dream.
There’s a break in play while Root receives treatment, having been hit on the knee by Cummins. He’s in a fair bit of pain.
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Root is not out! Bumble knows. It was a fine delivery from Cummins, which turned Root round and rammed into the back pad as he pushed down the wrong line. It does look too high – and it also hit him outside the line. Australia lose a review.
Root survives a huge LBW shout - but Australia review! Bumble reckons it’s too high; I reckon it’s very close.
54th over: England 147-2 (Burns 73, Root 58) Burns dumps a slog-sweep to the midwicket boundary to move into the seventies. There has been so much to admire in this partnership, even though they have both had moments of fortune. Burns’ shot selection has been almost immaculate.
53rd over: England 143-2 (Burns 69, Root 58) A big let-off for Root! Cummins found the edge with a gorgeous outswinger that Root tried to flick to leg, and the ball went straight between Warner at first slip and Paine for four. They both left it to each other. This is a sensational old-ball spell from Cummins.
“Captaincy,” says Kristian Petterson. “I know it’s almost heresy but might it be worth considering a - whisper it - bowler?”
Yes, I think Broad for a couple of years isn’t a terrible idea, but there would be issues with rotation. I haven’t a clue. Sod it, give it to Rob Key.
52nd over: England 135-2 (Burns 69, Root 50) Root works Lyon for a single to reach a dogged half-century from 117 balls. It’s the first time since the 2017-18 Ashes that he has reached fifty in consecutive Test innings; a reflection, perhaps, of a greater over-my-dead-body mentality since the 67 all out fiasco.
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51st over: England 133-2 (Burns 68, Root 49) “I know it is Manchester & all,” says Marie Meyer, “but what is the prospect of play on days four and five?”
The forecast is pretty good, with little or no rain expected. It’s so easy to be lulled into a false sense of security when Tests are rain-affected, but England still have loads of work to do to save this match.
50th over: England 131-2 (Burns 67, Root 48) A ripper from Lyon beats Burns’ defensive push. Paine appealed for caught behind but there was nothing from Lyon.
49th over: England 130-2 (Burns 67, Root 47) Burns is beaten by a spectacular delivery from Cummins, which seams and lifts extravagantly past the edge. This bloke is an awesome bowler. Another maiden gives him figures of 11-4-17-1.
48th over: England 130-2 (Burns 67, Root 47) Lyon starts after tea to Burns, who cuts the fourth ball emphatically through the covers for four. He’s played so well today, probably better than during his century at Edgbaston.
There are 41 overs still to be bowled, and play can continue until 7.30pm.
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Captaincy department
“It just seems to me that Jos is perhaps the only person in the team who doesn’t have a defined role,” says Graham Currie. “The captaincy would do that for him and a little reshuffle of roles and places might mean that suddenly everyone knows what they are there to do. Currently it’s all a bit mixed up and that lack of clarity seems to come through on to the field?”
My main concern with Buttler is that he will soon be needed to captain the white-ball teams, and I’m not sure it’s a good idea to ask him to do all three. There’s also the fact his Test place isn’t guaranteed, although that’s the case for most of the team. Rory Burns might be an option in a year’s time; but he might also be back playing county cricket, after averaging 7.25 in South Africa. Nobody knows anything. But in the time I’ve been watching English cricket, 31 big ones, I can’t remember a time when there were so few persuasive options for the Test captaincy.
“Re: Simon Gates’ email in the 45th over,” begins David Horn. “Clearly Mr Broad shared the common view that he was not going to be there long enough to break sweat, and indeed he was extremely prescient!”
Tea
47th over: England 125-2 (Burns 62, Root 47) Pat Cummins is so good at cranking things up when Australia really need a wicket. His pace has gone from 85mph to 90mph+ in the space of two overs, and he almost finds the edge with a superb full-length delivery that beats Root’s attempted drive. The next delivery also beats Root, who is hanging on for the tea break. And he makes it. But that was a majestic over from Cummins.
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46th over: England 125-2 (Burns 62, Root 47) Nathan Lyon returns in place of Josh Hazlewood, which means huge cheers every time he catches the ball or picks it up. It was gently amusing the first time. Burns cuts for two, which brings up a vital century partnership from 204 balls.
45th over: England 123-2 (Burns 60, Root 47) Burns does well to drop a vicious lifter to safety on the off side. Cummins is bowling with menacing intent, particularly to Burns. Ten minutes to go until tea.
“As everyone’s still talking about Headingley, something in England’s second innings puzzled me,” says Simon Gates. “Stuart Broad appeared to be batting in a T-shirt, shirt and sweater, on one of the hottest days of the year. I know he’s pretty cool, but does he actually have his own microclimate?”
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44th over: England 122-2 (Burns 59, Root 47) This is fascinating stuff; there’s no doubt England have tried to play with more patience and discipline since the 67 all out. And when Hazlewood drops short, Root slams a beautiful swivel-pull through square leg for four. Apart from that hairy spell against Lyon, he has played superbly.
43rd over: England 118-2 (Burns 59, Root 43) Starc off, Cummins on, which means some rough stuff for Rory Burns. He ignores a couple of short balls, defends the fuller deliveries, and I don’t know what else to tell you.
42nd over: England 117-2 (Burns 59, Root 42) Root tries to glide another boundary to third man, this time off Hazlewood, and Harris swoops to his left to make a good stop. Although England are still a long way from safety, their approach so far has been spot on.
“After the histrionics of Headingley Sunday, this Friday at Old Trafford is developing with a pleasing tranquility, almost deliciously dull by comparison,” says Brian Withington. “I am tangentially reminded of Catch-22’s Dunbar explaining why he loved the tedium of skeet shooting (which he hated) because it made time pass so slowly. When challenged by an incredulous Clevinger about why he would want a life extended at the price of long periods of boredom he replies, ‘What else is there?’ Fortunately we have the OBO to enliven proceedings ...”
Boredom or suffering, those are the options.
41st over: England 116-2 (Burns 59, Root 41) That’s a lovely shot from Root, who deliberately guides Starc to third man for four. He’s nowhere near his best, but his focus and determination in the last two innings have been very impressive. I think a switch went off in his head after the 67 all out.
Burns survives an LBW appeal later in the over after walking across his stumps to a full delivery. It was missing leg.
40th over: England 111-2 (Burns 59, Root 36) Hazlewood, on for Lyon, is flicked behind square for two by Burns. A quiet over ends with a false stroke from Burns, who fresh-airs an attempted hook stroke.
“Just wanted to build on your earlier point about Burns appearing better than his average,” says Phil Reilly. “Although this is his 11th Test, the first 6 were played away from home, and he’d never played any cricket outside England before. Lots of good batsmen have ordinary records away from home, so I think that average is reasonable. Since his failure against Ireland, he’s averaged over 45. Small sample size, but he’s shown in the last few matches why he’s made so many runs at county level. Hopefully, a run in the side will help him add a bit of consistency and improve his overseas form.”
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39th over: England 109-2 (Burns 57, Root 36) “Good morning/afternoon from Colin’s father (over 24),” says Dominic Madigan. “The wonderful thing about a new cricket fan is the hope. He was glued to the last day at Headingley, when his Bad Englishman father was mowing the lawn until nearly the end. And with that, a question - on our next trip back, what’s the best cricket ground for Colin’s first match?”
Well, Canterbury’s my favourite ground, but that’s just nostalgia. All the Test grounds are great in different ways.
38.4 overs: England 109-2 (Burns 57, Root 36) Starc is always a wicket-taking threat, even when he’s bowling poorly. He threatens something else when he hits Root flush in the box, knocking him off his feet. There’s a break in play while Root waits for a new box to be brought onto the field.
@collinsadam Rory Burns is the first England opener to make three or more 50+ scores in a men's Test series since Alastair Cook vs Pakistan in 2016.
— hypocaust (@_hypocaust) September 6, 2019
The last England opener to do so in the Ashes was Cook in 2013/14.
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38th over: England 109-2 (Burns 57, Root 36) The crowd are roaring every time a fielder returns the ball to Lyon. It’s just banter; nothing vicious. One from the over. Ordinarily, Lyon would want to bowl to the left-hander, but he’ll want Root on strike as much as possible in the next hour.
Here’s Graham Currie. “It seems that we have a struggling captain that wants to play at No4 and has the potential to be one of the top three batsmen in the world but is having to play at No3 because there is no other No3; a wicket keeper who isn’t the best wicket keeper and actually was pretty bloody good at No3 when he wasn’t doing the thing he isn’t the best at; the best wicket keeper not playing despite having a pretty handy Test average and finally Jos Buttler in the team, struggling a bit to justify his inclusion, but apparently being regarded as a very good cricket captain? I dunno, seems like there might be a solution in there somewhere?”
There might be a needle in that haystack, too. A few months ago I liked the idea of Buttler as captain, but now he can’t buy a run. I’ve no idea any more. If Eoin Morgan had a better back, I’d give it to him in a heartbeat. Of course, England might win the Ashes 2-1, in which case Root will definitely continue.
37th over: England 107-2 (Burns 57, Root 35) A better over from Starc, just one from it.
36th over: England 107-2 (Burns 57, Root 34) Root inside-edges Lyon for four, just past off stump. It was another big off-break from Lyon, and a lazy dab from Root. He was so lucky to get away with that.
Burns wanted to steal a single off the next ball but was sent back by Root. He was home when Lyon collected Warner’s throw, a clean take that brought a huge, sarcastic cheer from the home fans. Lyon held the ball up to acknowledge the recognition of his Headingley cock-up.
35th over: England 102-2 (Burns 57, Root 29) This is crap from Starc, who has conceded 22 in two overs since returning to the attack. Burns forces him for three; Root tucks a poor delivery off the hip for four and clips three more off the pads.
34th over: England 94-2 (Burns 54, Root 22) Root sweeps Lyon round the corner for a couple. He’s straining to find some safe release shots against Lyon, and later in the over he takes a quick single on the off side.
“Hi, Rob,” says Smylers. “Congratulations on your ‘prediction’ towards the end of the Saturday at Headingley of England winning by one wicket at 4.21pm the following day — within five minutes of what did transpire! How did you do it, and care to make a similar prophecy for this match?”
Crikey, I don’t even remember that.
33rd over: England 88-2 (Burns 53, Root 19) Starc, on for Hazlewood, is square-driven emphatically for four by Burns. That was a beautiful back-foot stroke, which he follows with an edge to the third-man boundary to reach an excellent half-century. That last shot was safe enough, played with soft hands so that it dropped well short of the cordon. Burns’ stats are modest - he averages 30 from 11 Tests - but he’s got the temperament of a Test batsman and he’ll surely stay in the team for the winter.
32nd over: England 76-2 (Burns 41, Root 19) Root is struggling against Lyon. He inside-edges an attempted slap through the covers, with the ball whistling just past leg stump. Lyon gives him a knowing look; he’s all over Root just now.
“I know some might consider it techno cricket,” begins Jeremy Dresner. “However, my local ten-pin bowling alley has the ability to monitor feet over the line using some sort of computer device since the 1990s. Perhaps this wizardry could be the answer for cricket!”
Or we could just get Walter Sobchak to do some umpiring. (NB: Clip contains adult language.)
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31st over: England 75-2 (Burns 40, Root 19) Burns is beaten, fencing at a back-of-a-length delivery from Hazlewood, and then he wears a short one on the body. He’s a fighter, though, and that’s the best England have got. He works Hazlewood off the pads for three to bring up a dogged fifty partnership.
Thanks Adam, hello everyone. This is a compelling struggle, especially between Lyon and Root. The pitch is already turning appreciably, so Lyon has a great chance to turn his Headingley mess into nothing more than a detail. Root, meanwhile, might be batting for his job.
30th over: England 70-2 (Burns 35, Root 19) Burns pushes the first ball of Lyon’s over to cover, Root getting to the drinks break after prompting some activity around the bat when his inside edge is found. This contest has been the highlight of the session so far.
“100 e-mails about Tendulker and Kohli? I’d be surprised if it was that few,” notes Pay Stephen, before the kicker: “And now you are going to get one about I.V.A. Richards and Brian Lara.”
The debate that will roll on forever. And with that, I’m handing the baton to the best in the business: Rob Smyth. Have nice weekends!
29th over: England 69-2 (Burns 34, Root 19) Not Hazlewood’s best set, a couple of times misdirecting into Burns’ pads, but the opener doesn’t take advantage. They clearly think the short ball is going to sort him out, and maybe they’re right, but he wants none of it. The data from the county championship says that he doesn’t fancy the hook. Oh, I neglected to note that England went beyond 67! Hurrah!
28th over: England 68-2 (Burns 33, Root 19) Lyon better; Root watchful. He gets one to really bite at the start of the over, so the England captain elects to go back to full-defensive mode. Maiden.
27th over: England 68-2 (Burns 33, Root 19) Hazlewood is brought back after a fairly short break, following Cummins from the Statham End this time around. But Burns picks up where Root left off in the previous couple of overs, taking a ball from his armpit down to the long-leg boundary. Nothing wrong with that. Of course, Hazlewood is immediately back to where he does his most dangerous work.
“What if,” Richard Woods poses, “the umpire had not called Mohammed Amir’s no balls?” Good point. Although, the issue with them not watching the front line as they once did is a more modern problem. The Voges no-ball that wasn’t - costing New Zealand 200ish runs - must have played a role in how umpires now operate.
26th over: England 64-2 (Burns 29, Root 19) Lyon misses his mark to Root as well, turned very fine for a third boundary in eight balls for England. That helps. The hosts aren’t going to win this Test but they will probably need to bat a great many overs to save it.
25th over: England 59-2 (Burns 28, Root 15) Cummins slips here, undoing quite a lot of good work since he and Lyon patnered up. First, he misdirects a full ball at Root, deflecting fine for four leg byes. He then feeds him a half volley on leg stump, from which the captain helps himself to another boundary. The crowd are involved.
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24th over: England 51-2 (Burns 28, Root 11) Yep, Lyon is on it here. Nice drift, enough turn, hitting his length. Root has to get well forward to make sure he doesn’t get himself into strife and does it handily before keeping the strike with a tuck into the legside.
“I am a 16 year old from America who is just getting into cricket after watching the World Cup and the match in Leeds last month,” writes Colin Madigan. WELCOME TO THE FAMILY! “As a relatively new fan, I’m curious to see what are your thoughts about how Steve Smith matches up against some of the best batsmen of all time? Would he make your top 5 list? On a second note, my dad got into the blog 10 years ago, would I become the first legacy to make it?”
Not sure if you are the first legacy but let’s say you are. Well done. As for Smith, he is statistically the second best player of all time. That’ll do for me, given this has overwhelmingly been a bowling era. I’m now going to get 100 emails about Virat Kohli and 100 more about Sachin Tendkular, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. But overall, Colin, I would caution against comparing players across eras.
23rd over: England 50-2 (Burns 28, Root 10) What do you know, a no-ball called when Cummins is seen to overstep by Umpire Dharmasena. He’s keen on the short ball to Burns, the man he had out at Leeds hooking in the first innings there. Australia have a leg gully and a short leg in for that but the left-hander now wants nothing to do with it, getting under each bumper. Good cricket.
22nd over: England 49-2 (Burns 28, Root 10) Back to back maidens; that’s the ticket. Lyon v Root should again be a good contest.
21st over: England 49-2 (Burns 28, Root 10) Two maidens on the bounce from Cummins to begin, this time to Burns. In addition to attacking the channel outside the off-stump, he’s also got the short ball in operation for the first time today, causing the opener a spot of bother from the final ball when it spit back towards his chest.
“TV just showed a replay of Cummins bowling to Burns,” says Ian Forth. “What do you know - a big and uncalled no-ball.”
The same old problem with the umpires no longer checking, and fair enough too given the slack way it is all handled. Thankfully, the ICC are going back to the well with their plans to improve the process with the third umpire, in keeping with their 2016 trial. At last!
Posting the overseas TMS link again. A reminder that the easy way to find this if we aren’t around on the OBO is going to the BBC cricket commentary page and clicking on “listen to TMS overseas.”
20th over: England 49-2 (Burns 28, Root 10) Nathan “Nathan” Lyon into the attack for the first time today, from the Anderson End. They like the match-up with the off-spinner bowling at Burns with a relatively new and hard ball. Within two deliveries he finds the edge, albeit played down with soft enough hands. Silly point is in the game soon enough too - a couple of times. He keeps the strike with a tickle behind square. No issues with Lyon finding his range there.
19th over: England 48-2 (Burns 27, Root 10) Cummins is immediately where he needs to be, in keeping with the plan that Australia took to Edgbaston. He’s giving Root nothing to begin before finding his inside edge then beating him on the outside of the bat. Class.
18th over: England 48-2 (Burns 27, Root 10) Hazlewood doesn’t suffer from the same impatience, banging away at Root just outside the off-stump before bringing one back that spits off the pad for a leg bye. His first misdirected delivery of the day to finish, down the legside at Burns. Looks like Paine is dragging Starc for Cummins.
17th over: England 47-2 (Burns 27, Root 10) A window into why Starc hasn’t played until now, backing up an excellent previous over with a loose one. Burns makes no mistake when receiving a shin-high full toss, smashing it away to the cover rope, then clipping a ball from outside leg for two more. In response, instead of going back to the length that served him well in the previous set, he has a pop at two yorkers, one kept out then the other tucked away for another couple.
Updated
16th over: England 39-2 (Burns 19, Root 10) Hazlewood’s interrogation of Root continues, the England captaining dealing with the first half of the over conservatively then backing his quick hands to steer a boundary past point, moving him into double figures. The big quick bounces back with a ball that jags back but is sliding down.
15th over: England 35-2 (Burns 19, Root 6) Starc’s best over so far, breaking Burns’ concentration when beating him early in the over with a good’un. He took a swipe at one he needed to leave from the penultimate ball then was sorted out with another to finish.
“I suppose you could call that nightwatchman’s innings Overton’s Window,” says John Starbuck. A lot bigger than it once was.
14th over: England 35-2 (Burns 19, Root 6) Oooh, Hazlewood is right on the money here. He has Root driving to begin, a ball he should have left well alone and was fortunate not to edge. He leaves the next two very close to that off-stump, the second of which sailed just over the off-stump. Good batting, really. Or judgment, at least. Root is back on the drive later in the over, recording an all run four out to the western stand. Sure enough, Hazlewood beats him again to finish, a delivery that keeps a fraction low if anything.
“I’m enjoying these Office comparisons but surely Broad is Ricky Howard, the intern?” says James Butler. I had Ricky as Ansari due to their big brains, but I can see the likeness.
13th over: England 31-2 (Burns 19, Root 2) Beautiful shot, Burns stroking Starc through cover point for the first boundary of the day. Lovely balance. Another pretty good over from Starc, though, beating the opener early on and keeping him playing straight.
12th over: England 26-2 (Burns 15, Root 1) As Nasser notes on telly, the captain Root is back where he likes to bat : No4. He is off the mark first ball, albeit off an inside edge. Burns is beaten by a very handy delivery to finish, moving away a treat from the southpaw.
“One fast bowler who did not do the job as captain regularly, but was rather successful when he did, was F S Trueman!” recalls Ian Andrew. “His successes included beating Australia!” Tour game, 1964 or something like that?
What a brilliant stat this is on Rory Burns, which says a lot about this very weird series for batsmen from both sides.
😲
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) September 6, 2019
The nightwatchman is caught quickly and England are on 25-2!
Follow over-by-over commentary and in-play clips from the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford. Watch on Sky Sports Ashes 👉 https://t.co/QLuuUFrKrf #BringItHome pic.twitter.com/HMm2ke5999
WICKET! Overton c Smith b Hazlewood 5 (England 25-2)
It takes Hazlewood only three balls to locate Overton’s edge, taken with ease by Smith at second slip. He did his job as nightwatchman.
Updated
11th over: England 23-1 (Burns 15, Overton 3) Starc’s first ball is on the legside and his second Burns has ample time to leave well short of a length, outside the off stump. His third ball is up near 90mph, closer to that off-stump. Forced to play, Burns pushes with soft hands to backward point. There’s a shout for leg before with a ball that is a bit quicker and swings a tad as well, but it’s going down the legside. Burns defends the final ball, right on the mark. A much better over from Starc than what he sent down to begin last night.
The players are back on the field! Mitch Starc has the ball in his hand, he will be bowling from the Statham End. Rory Burns (15) is on strike, England resuming on 23/1 in pursuit of Australia’s 497-8 (dec). He has the nightwatchman Craig Overton (3) with him. PLAY!
We’re nearly there. I can see kids with flags beneath my position in the front for of the press box, which means the players can’t be far away from running out for what I assume will be a long session.
“Just wanted to drop you a message whilst on holiday in Riga,” writes Alasdair Robinson. “Thanks for the great coverage, I don’t think cricket is on the radar in Latvia so nowhere to watch. I think my girlfriend Kate appreciated the rain delay as I haven’t had my eyes glued to the phone for the entire holiday.”
All part of the service.
“On the subject of captains, I just hope that steve Smith never gets offered the captaincy again because one gets the feeling his batting will only improve over the next year or so without any further distractions. We can count ourselves lucky to be able to watch him improve in real time.”
Yes to all of that. Let him bat. Just let him bat. But they won’t.
“England’s morning,” notes Adam Hirst. It sure was.
Mark Gillespie wants justice for Ben Foakes. “They missed the trick a second time in the winter in SL and the WI. While the two changes didn’t completely overlap, he played a number of games at 3, while Foakes kept wicket. Bairstow averaged ~40 from number 3, with a century and a half century. Foakes batting record was roughly the same in both respects, and he kept impeccably. I’ve yet to hear any reason whatsoever why they reverted back, although one rumour/perception (for which i have no evidence) has been that he threw his toys out of the pram. Whatever the reasons, Foakes (who is a superior keeper) was treated abominably.”
The most balanced England side surely has him in it. Who knows.
Meanwhile, a very Australians-on-tour moment just then.
A lovely email from Konstanze Kwiet. “I teach History and Legal Studies at a Western Sydney high school and my cricket-mad students are trying to distract me.
Me: “What regional and global situations threaten peace and security?
Yr 12: “Broad to Warner?”
Me: “What did Britain fear in the pre-WWI period?”
Yr 9: “Steve Smith batting.”
Love reading the OBO. All the best.” Thanks for being part of it!
I’m giving Scott Roberts a right-of-reply because Richard Dennis gave him a clip. But this is my last Pippen-related email. Today, at least. “Firstly, I didn’t say that Pippen wasn’t a great defensive player, and he’s jumped to the conclusion that my only criteria for being a great player is being able to score, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Pippen clearly was a great defender, but he couldn’t carry a team. You can’t argue with the fact that when he lost MJ he didn’t stand a chance of winning, and clearly didn’t win, even with those stacked Houston & Portland teams he played with after the Bulls.”
Moving back to Warnie, here is Ian Forth. “Is it a fevered dream or do you recall the poolroom mural of his in which he can be seen in deep conversation with The Boss about his flipper? A naked Angelina Jolie, a left handed Elvis and Mad Jack with a slab of VBs also featured from tortured memory (don’t make me look it up). And Chris Martin playing poker, just to take things up to the next level.”
What, you mean one of the best days of my life on the internet? OBO-regular Nick Toovey unlocked this at the time, his video going uber-viral of the clip on Sky Cricket. Tom Cowie, of The Age and White Line Wireless then worked out every participant. Wonderful times.
“Rather than MJ/Pippen,” begins Norval Scott, “a better comparison for Broad/Anderson is another great combo: Glenn McGrath and Dizzy Gillespie. One partner is the metronome that gives you nothing, while the other is streakier, could still run through you on their own on a good day, but also could lose their line or length and get hit about a bit when they tried to do too much. Broad and Gillespie’s bowling and batting averages aren’t that far apart either (obviously I’m not claiming Anderson was as good as McGrath).”
I can’t sign up to that. Data like this wasn’t kept then, but Gillespie was one of Australia’s most accurate bowlers. He was faster than McGrath, and fell away suddenly in 2005, but he was never streaky.
“I remember talking recently about Stokes being unable to take on the Captaincy because of the Bristol incident,” says Robbie Chedburn, “but I would argue he has redeemed himself with the World Cup and Headingley performances. If Rooty does end up going Stokes could be the man, couldn’t he?”
A little bit like Warner: he’s the best available option but has all that baggage. I would actually decrease Warner’s leadership life ban to the same two years that Smith is serving. But it will never happen.
1:30pm re-start!
Great news. The sun has been shining throughout the lunch interval, the cover are off and now the two teams are quickly warming up.
“*cough* Bob Willis *cough*,” replies Mark Slater to my comment about Imran and Kapil. “Certainly no worse than any other England Captain of that era, except for the ultimate specialist skipper Michael Brealey.” Free the fast bowling captains! Free them all!
“Sat here outside the ground waiting to go in,” says Mark Carrington. “My mate Graham has just pointed out if play finishes at 8PM (7:30 official close + 30 mins) which is 15 minutes after sunset.”
That won’t be quite right. The scheduled close will be 7pm, which becomes 7:30pm after the inevitable extra half an hour.
Richard McConnell’s perspective is in line with mine. “I am always minded of the old adage about the folly of making your best operator in a factory the manager. They may not be cut out for the job, and you have also lost your best operator. The added burden of captaining does take focus from your primary role in the side. You can also see this with Bairstow when he has the gloves.”
They missed a trick in 2016 with YJB, for mine. That summer - his best, by a mile, with the blade - he kept poorly. This was the time to give him the big batting promotion and move the gloves elsewhere. It’s difficult to see how they manage that transition now, isn’t it? He’s an excellent ‘keeper and wants to keep things are they are.
“Graham Currie (12:14) wonders why teams keep giving the captaincy to the best player,” writes Andrew Cosgrove. “Surely it’s not so much that they give it to the best player, but to the player least likely to be dropped? I suppose you could have a series with a different captain each match, but some stability is surely desirable.”
Yes, that’s definitely part of it. It’s why Australia might have a problem as Khawaja could have been a temporary fix but he’s found himself out of the XI now and, in turn, a fair way back in the pack.
“Nine in Australia is gracing us with highlights from the 1st 1994 Test in Brisbane,” reports Thomas Chick. “Back in a time where shadows on text thicker than the text itself were in fashion, and when a change from, say, a score of 49 to a score of 50 would sometimes display 59 for a frame or two.” Simpler times.
Craig McEwan is reading in from Lima. He reminds us that in Mike Brearley’s day “talk about his selection for his captaincy, not his batting. Of note, Paine has a similar Test record to him with the bat.
Matt Dony, on the same topic. “Pretty much every Australian I’ve heard on the matter has said that they hope, even if Smith was offered the captaincy, he’d turn it down. I don’t know his character as well as you, but if the offer was made, do you really think he’d say ‘No’? In general terms, elite sportsmen aren’t exactly well known for an ability to recognise their own limitations, or to turn down extra prestige. And in specific terms, he’s come back and proven his point (fairly emphatically!) with the bat, might he be tempted by the redemptive arc of a second term of office?”
If they ask, I suppose he would accept? Nobody has put that to him yet but I’m sure it’ll become a talking point. He averages 74 since August 2013, all his 26 tons coming in his last 99 innings. Just let him bat, I say. Leave him to finish with a Test average of 70-something.
The stumps are in. The formal inspection isn’t scheduled for another ten minutes but the umpires are currently out there for an ~informal~ look, Trevor Bayliss too. It feels like they’ll be out there very soon.
Lunch. With the weather here improving rather rapidly, I’m going to take this opportunity to grab some food myself. Back soon.
Lunch is scheduled now for 12:30pm...
... and the covers are slowly coming off again. In theory, we could see some action at 1:10pm, David Gower reckons. In reality, given how much rain there has been so far this morning, it would have to be 1:30pm at the earliest. Then again, it’ll surely rain again soon.
“Scott Roberts obviously knows nothing about Scottie Pippen,” slaps Richard Dennis. “He is (and rightly so) regarded as one of the all time best defensive players in basketball history, there’s more to the game than scoring buckets. And, also, Broad has been immense in this series, so even the attempted analogy makes little to no sense. Oh, and also again, 8/15. No?”
To quote from a terrible Australian television show, I’m going to take that as a comment.
“Has there been an Ashes (in the covered pitches era) in which the opening batsmen on both sides have performed so poorly?” asks Gavin Byrne. “An early wicket or two has seemed almost mundane in this one.”
You can extrapolate that to batting across the Test-playing world, according to the data. Scores haven’t been this low since the 1950s.
It is quite sunny at Old Trafford. Maybe we will play at 1:10pm?
“England’s top order play the Slough roundabout from the original series’ opening credits,” says Mick Collins on our earlier topic. “Everyone gets a turn.” Excellent. Would you believe I took my girlfriend to Slough for a Bank Holiday last year? With Dulwich Hamlet playing there, I couldn’t help myself. Took her to Pizza Express (Beer Express) for lunch. We’re still together and she is now pregnant with our first child. Wonders truly never cease.
“I would really like some cricket,” pleads Jane Evans. “Amusing as all the OBO chat always is. It’s my birthday on Sunday. Please may I have an Australian win? I have my English brother-in-law the World Cup for his birthday in August.”
HBD! The radar says we should be up and about by the middle of the day, just when Rob Smyth will arrive to take over from me.
Shane Warne is discussing the tradition musicians and cricketers spending time together. “Having a drink with them and just hang.” David Gower is telling stories about Elton John and George Michael.
“The next Australian captain should be Marnus,” suggests Anthony Noel, “who will do a Graeme Smith and get the job early in his Test career and keep on doing it for a decade. Wonder how many English captains he’ll see off?”
I truly hope they don’t do that to him. The story of Steve Smith should be etched into the brain of board members forever.
“Just following up on John Cox’s email discussing Tim Paine,” writes Graham Currie, “I constantly wonder why teams DO continue with the standard protocol of making the best player the captain. It does seem rather old fashioned? It might be that the best player IS the best captain, but really you want people doing the thing that they are best at.”
There’s also the moolah and superior hotel rooms. Not to mention the fact that, in the Australian context, you have a job commonly referred to as the second most important after that of PM.
Anyone else watching this Ashes in the 1980s doco on Sky Cricket as they pass the time? Outstanding television.
In Test cricket that is on at the moment. Bangladesh are in a lot of strife at Chattogram, 170/8 with half an hour to go on evening two after Afghanistan tallied 342. Could they get a win in their third ever start? Away from home, no less? What a story that would be.
This is a very good email from Scott Roberts.
“Following on from Neil Harris’s excellent point (10:39) about how much we miss Jimmy Anderson (and maybe as crucially as Australia missed Glenn McGrath for those key games in 2005), I have a theory that the symbiotic relationship between Jimmy and Broady resembles that of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in the 90s.”
Oooh, please continue.
“I personally think we overrate Broad in much the same way that Pippen was lauded as one of the best players in the NBA at the time (and was voted as one the 50 greatest ever), as both Broad and Pippen rely/relied on and benefitted from playing with those legends. It’s noticeable, to me at least, that when Broad doesn’t have Jimmy controlling the other end, he becomes less effective because batsmen take fewer risks against him, because they don’t have to anymore. So when Jimmy does retire I will be interested in how Broad fares (although he could then also have the assistance of Jofra Archer in that role), as Pippen was exposed as not being the all-round great player he was supposed to be when MJ retired (both the first and second time).”
What works against this (nice) theory is that Broad has a top record when Anderson isn’t in the XI. He tends to enjoy the added responsibility of being the legitimate attack-leader. Has he ever bowled better across a series than what we’ve seen so far here?
“I was interested watching the highlights to see how many chances (including play-and-misses) Smith offered,” sniffs David Murray. “While a great innings, it wasn’t flawless. It makes me curious how many chances and balls beating the bat does a good century normally include? How many does a bowler need on average to get a wicket? We see some batsman beaten over and over again but surviving (e.g. Burns in this series). Is there somehow some skill in this or is it just luck?”
Playing and missing isn’t always due to batsman error - bowlers are allowed to beat the bat. There’s a skill in not following the ball with your hands, which Warner showed quite well at Leeds last week. On your question about chances per ton, I reckon that’s something CricViz probably keep an eye on, but it’s very subjective. As Michael Vaughan said in his spot with me last night, those who can’t appreciate the artistry in what Smith is doing are missing out.
Off come the covers again. I’m not sure why, given they are going to push for an early lunch. The wind is blowing more than day one.
“The comment that the ECB picked very tall fast-medium bowlers illustrates a common error that bowlers bowl faster according to how tall they are,” argues John Starbuck. “It simply isn’t so. Larwood (the Wrecker) stood barely 5’4” and was probably the fastest ever produced by England, thus showing it’s all about natural talent and economy of movement. The ball doesn’t have to come down from a great height, as we can’t all be Joel Garner or Curtly Ambrose; anyway, good though they were, other West Indians were quicker, more accurate bowlers. A good little’n will usually beat a moderate big’n.” I’ll have both, thanks! Take Josh Hazlewood. Swoon.
“Taking about ‘specialist captains’ if you will,” tweets Alicia Daly to me. “Are there other examples and how successful have they been? George Bailey comes to mind.”
Sadly, George is probably two years beyond the point where it’d be realistic for him to come in and do this job if Paine went. I’d like Pat Cummins to be invited to do it, but he won’t. You know how it is: fast bowlers can’t possibly captain because they are fast bowlers. Forget about Kapil Dev and Imran Khan.
The covers are now back on. Why did they bother taking them off?
Inspection at midday, which suggests they will call an early lunch.
“Quick word of thanks to the sporting Gods,” writes Peter Salmon, “for allowing me to watch Collingwood beating Geelong in the footy. Rain in Old Trafford til about 2pm thanks.”
Approximately 15 of my colleagues are huddled around a handful of iPads doing exactly the same thing. After last night’s result, I’m feeling very full. I don’t need to see any more this weekend.
On TMS, they are passing the time in the usual way: discussing the 2005 Ashes. There’s nothing easy about rain fill on radio, I can tell you that much. They don’t have the wonderful OBO emails. I’ll take this moment to go the BBC website for the overseas TMS link.
“Good morning, Mr Collins.” and to you, Mike Wrocock. “Is it cowardly to pray for rain? You bet it is! As an Aussie, I may be likely to say that, but this is a contest - you don’t want to draw, thanks to an act of God. Stokes showed if you’ve got the ticker, you can beat the odds. Be brave, Root and co!”
The positive from this rain is it increases the likelihood of us going to South London with everything to play for. That’d be pretty fun.
Matt Potter is with us as well. “Was thinking yesterday as Starc and Lyon were having a lovely old time in the evening session, that maybe the pitch is actually a complete road and England could bat for two days themselves? Or is it wishful thinking?”
I can’t imagine a scenario - any scenario - where England bat for two days. They’re no good. Nor are Australia, mind. But they have Smith.
Updated
It’s raining again. Told ya. All the covers, all the wind. Horrid.
Updated
Ummm, the covers are coming off? At least a couple of them. I was under the strict impression from my rain app that we wouldn’t be seeing any cricket until much later today. I’m sure we’re being gaslit and it’ll pour down again soon enough. But this is where we’re at.
“On the subject of Tim Paine,” begins John Cox. “He may make enough Test runs or he may not, but it was pretty obvious from his press conference after Headingley that he’s an excellent captain, which is worth a lot.”
This is lost a bit in the discussion around the Australian captaincy. My press box colleague Dan Brettig wrote nicely about the topic last week, arguing that it doesn’t work that well making the job a lucrative prize for the best player. There’s more to it. Not least, serving as spokesperson, which is a bigger role than it used to be.
If Paine pulls the pin at The Oval - and look, if they win in England for the first time since 2001, could you blame him for going out on top? - it will signify the end of an important period of leadership. It also puts the Australians in a tough spot for the summer, with Smith still banned from leadership until March. And would he even want to be considered for that gig again? For his sake, I hope not. We’ll see.
Zafar Ansari is Ricki, of course. Big brains. James Sutherland was Finchy a couple of years back - reads a book a week, don’t you know.
Kim Thonger has lit up my inbox for the first time today. “I’ve never seen The Office but I see that Jack Leach resembles Colin Robinson,” he writes. “The energy sucking vampire from What We Do In The Shadows. Have they ever been seen in the same room?”
Very tidy. However, I’m going to urge emailers not to put generic cricket lookalikes to me because we did that recently on the OBO and we all know Joe Root used to resemble Ellen DeGeneres.
The sun is out at Old Trafford. Which means absolutely nothing, of course. But it’d be wrong of me not to relay this information.
You and me for a rainy OBO? Thank you, JP, for steering us through the tricky first hour. There won’t be one of those here until deep into the afternoon. I can count 47 people toughing it out in the Temporary/Permanent Stand to my left. Good morning to you all.
Ok, that’s enough from me for now. Adam is in his seat in the Old Trafford media centre and he’s eager to narrate rain for your delectation. I’ll see you again tomorrow.
Remember to retune your dials to adam.collins.casual@theguardian.com and @collinsadam.
Gareth adds to the chorus of confusion over Overton’s inclusion. “It reminds me a lot of the misguided selection for the 13-14 Ashes squad, where we picked medium pace tall bowlers who were apparently going to rattle Aussie helmets. Tremlett and Rankin were too slow, and Finn couldn’t land it on the strip and was deemed unselectable (despite being selected). I don’t understand how in Manchester, in September, with clouds all over the shop, England didn’t pick a pitch-it-up specialist swing bowler when they had two (Woakes, Curran) in the squad.”
James Debens has offered a candidate for The Office remake. “Jason Roy as Lee. Not in it much, yet swaggeringly confident.”
Jadam Buck emails an interesting observation from the ground. “Anyone else notice how many times Jofra had to pick the ball off the floor because of a poor throw when it was being returned to him at the start of his run up - mostly by Broad? One throw was so bad he even made Broad retrieve it for him. Sat in the ground watching it yesterday it was obvious that there was something amiss in how he was being treated.” I missed it, but happy to take your word for it.
It feeds into this Tweet from Gary Naylor:
A philosophical point @JPHowcroft. I don't think England lacked motivation yesterday, but they certainly looked like they did and the impact on the opposition surely amounts to the same thing. And why, with all those support staff, can't they be shown how to fake it if necessary?
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) September 6, 2019
Boris Starling is sadly on the money (see here). “Joe Denly as Gareth, slightly out of his depth but manfully refusing to recognise it.”
This is not cricket-related (unless you want to draw a long tenuous bow to the St Lawrence Lime) but it is a pleasant way to spend a few seconds while it rains in Manchester.
Fun fact: I once flew to Klagenfurt with no intention of remaining there, and with no onward destination planned.
Updated
Speaking of Mr Collins:
No cricket here for quite a while. #Ashes pic.twitter.com/GTfzFOjhOG
— Adam Collins (@collinsadam) September 6, 2019
Oh Ian Forth, you are going to have to refashion this email and send it again when Adam Collins is on deck. He lives for this. “I take no pleasure in raising this but Craig Overton is reminding me of Finchy from the Office. Physically and in terms of his role in the series. Who else? Jason Roy as Dawn, daydreaming of a better world where his talents are recognised. Joe Root as Jennifer Taylor-Clark, frustrated by his direct reports’ wilful lack of responsibility. Ed Smith as Neil - turning up in a nice suit from Swindon. Jack Leach as Keith from Accounts, obviously.” Stuart Broad: Oggy.
Neil Harris makes an excellent point. I, for one, am definitely guilty of underestimating the loss of James Anderson. “In response to Barney’s column (and Scott’s rant) are we underestimating the impact of missing Anderson ( I don’t believe it was mentioned) he is not only the most skilful bowler we’ve had in decades he is also the leader of the attack who can keep the bowlers in line.
He may not have had much personal success against Smith but I’m sure he’d have ideas. I watched some highlights of the Adelaide second innings from 2017 and as soon as Smith came in Anderson went around the wicket and got him out LBW (it was overturned by the slightest of margins) – yesterday the bowlers took an age to try this. Maybe in Anderson’s absence they forgot or perhaps don’t feel they have the skill.
I’m not looking to offer an excuse but I believe us missing Jimmy has cost us victories at Edgbaston and possibly Lord’s. And who knows what at Old Trafford, maybe the Ashes?”
Tim Paine’s position in Australia’s side was questioned before this fourth Test but as Geoff Lemon writes, his value lies in more than just peeling off runs at no.7.
Much is made of Paine’s first‑class record, most notably the lone century all the way back in 2006. English press colleagues have enjoyed bon mots about his last hundred coming before the invention of the iPhone. The Paine of those young years was a stylish batsman who was expected to make big runs. The later model with his rebuilt fingers does a different job: stitching together innings that are in trouble, working with the lower order, putting together some impressively brave innings since his Test recall in late 2017.
Kim Thonger logs on in all kinds of weather. “In sheer desperation I’ve been looking through a list of Harry Potter spells (isn’t t’internet marvellous?). Some or all of these ought to work on Steve Smith: Avifors: Turns things into birds; Confundus: Confounds your target, or makes them temporarily confused; Evanesco: Causes an item to immediately dissolve away, as if it had never existed; Imperio: The third unforgivable curse, allows the user to assume complete control of another person. I particularly like Locomotor Mortis: (useful combined with legspin) The Leg-Locker Curse; locks an opponent’s legs together. The rest are here.
The covers are still on, by the way, so don’t feel you have to rush to finish whatever it is you’re doing before 11am BST. I can also report it’s sympathy raining at the MCG.
“Much as we might pray for rain today the forecast suggests Saturday and Sunday will be mostly fine – Australia should feel confident they have plenty of time to get 20 wickets especially against this brittle England batting line up,” I agree Paul Frangi. “If I was Tim Paine I’d have declared on 400 yesterday and laid down the gauntlet to England.” I disagree with that Paul. I think batting once was the smart play.
“I’m still confused by the Overton selection – this is not a hard pacy wicket so who exactly has been giving pitch misinformation to the England management team? And don’t the selectors still have some say over what type of pitch is prepared for a Test?” The inquest into that will not reflect well on the England hierarchy should they lose at Old Trafford.
While we all rack our brains to figure out how to unsettle Steve Smith, the man himself goes about quietly unstitching Englands best laid plans, as Ali Martin reports.
I faced a lot of short-pitched bowling and haven’t had too many issues. The opposition bowling there means they can’t hit my pad or nick me off. It softens up the ball too and that plays into my hands.
“Hi Jonathan,” hi Sam Hey. “It is indeed a typical Manchester day as I’m sat here in a quiet moment in my GP clinic. It seems that this is almost becoming a battle of the heroes: Stokes v Smith. There doesn’t seem to be any consistency anywhere else in either team and the two sides are just trying to outdo each other in terms of heroics. Is this a fair evaluation? Granted I’ve only properly got into cricket this summer.” Its not an unfair evaluation Sam, although we have seen a consistently high standard of bowling throughout the series too - yesterday notwithstanding.
“Sorry about the long rant here,” begins Scott Roberts (who I suspect is not really sorry at all) but I have to agree with Barney’s piece in that the 90s was exactly the same comparison I made in my mind given the utter ineptitude of the bowling and fielding plans yesterday. I really don’t wish to sound like a broken record, but why we have such a mental block that creates such brainless bowling at Steve Smith baffles me.
Look (to paraphrase an Australian), it’s unlikely, especially on a flat pitch that you’re going to get Smith out using conventional methods such as bowling in the channel, as he obviously has a great eye and defence and is not going to go chasing the ball to create nicks. He uses the leg-theory law to his advantage (much like Graeme Smith, who we also bowled dreadfully at), as he knows that he can walk across his stumps and flick the ball behind square on the legside with a maximum of three fielders back there, meaning that the danger involved is minimal (yes, you could have a leg slip, but the downside of a leg slip is that they are unsighted until the ball suddenly flies at them). So what is Steve Smith’s weakness? He hates not scoring. You could see it late yesterday afternoon when Craig Overton, briefly, decided to bowl wide of off stump; Smith hated it and started playing wild shots and was walking way across to the offside to try to manufacture something, suddenly becoming vulnerable. But then we suddenly decided to not do that anymore. Why? Why such lack of patience from an international team? Either bowl wide of off stump with an offside field OR bowl very straight with a strong legside field, but either way, STICK TO THE PLAN!! I would even ask Leachy to bowl very wide over the wicket in the footholes with a packed legside field. No, there’s no chance of lbw, but can Smith really resist taking a huge risk and not trying to smash the ball for a boundary when his scoring rate has come to a halt?”
“Hi Jonathan,” hi Peter Bellew. “The stars have finally aligned and I have managed be working from home this Friday. This means I can feign working through the day while enjoying the 3rd day of the Ashes and England vs. Italy in the evening. This does all however rely on us not giving up all 20 in the two days. Bon Chance England!” Good to have you on board Peter. And an excellent distraction suggestion for when England are three-for-not-very-many in a few hours from now, just focus on the rugby.
While many with a soft spot for the England cricket team might beg to differ, there’s something reassuring and orderly about reading how ineptly they’ve played. Barney Ronay gets into a Madchester vibe with his take on yesterday’s miserableness.
Squint a little and the picture began to dissolve. Baggy-jeaned ghosts shuffled at the edge of the stands. Jangly guitar music seemed to float across the Manchester skyline. And for two and a half hours between lunch and tea on the second day of this fourth Test England went back to the 90s. In Ashes terms that was the decade of sessions from hell, of howlers and shockers, of bursts of defining English ineptitude. Proper Cricket Men will say you can’t win the Ashes in a session – but you can lose them.
Updated
The weather
The Met Office forecast indicates rain is more likely than not up to 2pm, after which dryness should prevail for the rest of the match. It’s rained overnight and this morning, and with overcast skies and showers drifting along play looks set to be intermittent at best before lunch. It remains to be seen if we’ll start on time but I wouldn’t bank on it.
The current scene @EmiratesOT.
— Lancashire Cricket (@lancscricket) September 6, 2019
Prospects for Day Three do look better as the day progresses! 🤞 #Ashes pic.twitter.com/w2KCbzwspC
Updated
Hey everybody, let’s listen to New Order.
Yesterday, Vic Marks watched Steve Smith bat and bat and bat and bat, and England go through the motions. In return, he brought you this report.
By Thursday afternoon Smith had delivered a double century, the third in his Test career, all of which have been against England. It may not be a match-winning innings, though there is a strong likelihood of it. It certainly ensures that Australia will not lose this contest. It was not a flawless knock. Unusually he needed some assistance from his opponents. On 65 he offered a tough return catch to Jofra Archer from a low full-toss; on 118 he was caught at slip by Ben Stokes off Jack Leach but then came the realisation that the left-armer had overstepped.
Preamble
Hello everybody and welcome to live OBO coverage of day three of the fourth Test from Old Trafford.
Not for the first time this summer the day begins with players and staff craning their necks and studying the sky, wondering when play might begin and how many overs might be possible. This is a very Manchester day. The clouds are gunmetal grey and hanging patiently, like an insistent parent holding a damp flannel in the direction of a toddler’s mucky face.
England won’t mind if time is taken out of the Test. Surely they are in no position to contemplate winning, regardless how vivid the memory remains of Ben Stokes’s heroics at Headingley. After two days of sub-optimal bowling and fielding, and ten overs of predictably questionable batting, England will do well to leave Lancashire with the Ashes alive.
If they don’t it will be largely down to Steve Smith. Once again the Australian elevated his craft to levels not seen for 70 years. This is his series, and we are lucky to be around to witness greatness. But cricket being cricket, somehow he may still yet fly home without the urn.
I’m going to be around for the next hour or so to keep Adam Collins’s seat warm. If you would like to keep me company during this time please feel free to drop me a line on Twitter or by email.
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