Here’s a report from Adelaide:
Here ends Test two, day one. A day when Marnus Labuschagne played and missed 20 times, was dropped twice, and which he ends unbeaten on 95. Australia are 221-2, England’s seam bowlers have all bowled between 13 (Stokes) and 18 (Anderson) overs, with very little reward. Tomorrow it’s going to be 36C in Adelaide, and hard work in the field.
Still, sunset was nice.
That’s all from me. We’ll be back for more tomorrow. Bye!
Now BT Sport are interviewing a knackered student who hasn’t slept for 28 hours and has basically lost the power of speech. He’s not happy.
Matt Prior on BT Sport says Jos Buttler became a bit “lazy” in the final hour, looked tired, stopped moving his feet, and hence the drop.
An abysmal day for England, who saw their WinViz fall from 33% at the start of the day, to 8% at the close. Two dropped catches off Marnus Labuschagne, and some questionable selection calls, have left them with a win very unlikely after just one day of play. #Ashes
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) December 16, 2021
Labuschagne is grabbed on his way from the field for his instant reaction:
That was massive for the team. Just getting through that really sets us up well for tomorrow. Probably the last bit I wavered there with that shot and got dropped - a few prayers up there, I don’t know how that happened. A bit of disbelief, but my job is to make sure I capitalise on that now. I’ve got to make sure tomorrow, no chances.
STUMPS: Australia 221-2
89th over: Australia 221-2 (Labuschagne 95, Smith 18) Broad’s second ball is a cracker, Labuschagne pushes at it and it beats the edge. The fifth is full and straight, but this time Labuschagne does get an edge - into the pads. He deals with the next, and that’s stumps, with England knackered and disheartened by that late drop, and Australia on top.
Updated
88th over: Australia 221-2 (Labuschagne 95, Smith 18) Robinson to Smith, who leaves the first, and the second, and the third, and the fourth, has a little half-nibble at the fifth as it angles across him and down the leg side, and leaves the sixth. Not good enough from the bowler.
87th over: Australia 221-2 (Labuschagne 95, Smith 18) Broad to Labuschagne who twice leaves with ostentatious full-body twists, still with energy to spare at the end of a long day/night. Maybe two overs to go?
86th over: Australia 220-2 (Labuschagne 95, Smith 17) Good stat: Before this series Buttler had taken 118 catches and dropped 10; in this series he’s taken three and dropped three. Today started with a brilliant catch to get rid of Marcus Harris, but since then he’s dropped Labuschagne twice, and the second was as bad as it gets. Now Labuschagne raises arms to one from Robinson that comes in, and only just misses off stump.
An absolute sitter hits the deck as Labuschagne gets another life #Ashes pic.twitter.com/QI3bDaIRRO
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 16, 2021
Updated
85th over: Australia 217-2 (Labuschagne 95, Smith 14) HIDEOUS DROP! The moment arrives, the one England have waited and worked for! Labuschagne edges, it’s a regulation catch, completely straightforward, just to Jos Buttler’s right and chest high. And somehow it goes down! That will be a hammer blow to England’s morale. Labuschagne leaves the next couple, and there are ironic cheers from the crowd as Buttler collects those.
England's new ball length:
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) December 16, 2021
At Adelaide in 2017/18: 7.4m
Today: 6.7m#Ashes
84th over: Australia 217-2 (Labuschagne 95, Smith 14) Smith pushes wide of cover and gets Australia’s first boundary in a little over 15 overs.
83rd over: Australia 212-2 (Labuschagne 94, Smith 10) Another maiden, but Anderson sends a couple harmlessly down the leg side, a couple more are too short, and having pinned their hopes on the new ball England haven’t made best use of it so far.
82nd over: Australia 212-2 (Labuschagne 94, Smith 10) Broad comes on, and crashes his first delivery into Labuschagne, off the elbow into the thigh. That’s going to be sore. Then two swing away and just past the bat. Labuschagne has played and missed 20 times now, and is cashing in all his lucky chips. “New ball or bust here,” writes Guy Hornsby. “A couple of wickets before the close or we’re in the deep stuff. A scene so typically wintry for us England fans. I’ll have a pint of hope with a chaser of desperation, please barman.”
Updated
81st over: Australia 212-2 (Labuschagne 94, Smith 10) Anderson takes the new ball and gets a bit of movement out of it, but no instant reward.
80th over: Australia 212-2 (Labuschagne 94, Smith 10) Another Woakes maiden, ending with a beauty to Labuschagne that rears off the pitch and just past the shoulder of the bat. England have been unlucky not to take another couple of wickets so far. But is their luck about to change with the sounding of the new ball claxon!
79th over: Australia 212-2 (Labuschagne 94, Smith 10) Crawley is on the field at the moment, I’m not sure who for. Root rips through another over.
78th over: Australia 211-2 (Labuschagne 93, Smith 10) A maiden from Stokes to Smith, starting with a cracker that moves away.
77th over: Australia 211-2 (Labuschagne 93, Smith 10) Root keeps bowling wide of leg stump, and keeps leaking singles to backward square leg.
76th over: Australia 208-2 (Labuschagne 92, Smith 8) Woakes to Labuschagne, who takes two from the last.
Love a bit of cat and mouse in Test cricket but apart from Stokes channeling his inner Harold Larwood with some bodyline England forgotten the Cat bit.....
— Derek Pringle (@derekpringle) December 16, 2021
75th over: Australia 206-2 (Labuschagne 90, Smith 8) Four singles this time from Root’s over. There will be lots of talk about the slow over rate, and clearly England haven’t been in any kind of hurry, but if you’ve got an all-seam attack and spend most of a day bowling to a right/left-hand combination, you’re going to go a bit slower than normal for entirely acceptable sporting reasons, surely?
74th over: Australia 202-2 (Labuschagne 88, Smith 6) A Broad maiden. It certainly helps to get the over rate ticking when neither batter hits the ball off the square.
73rd over: Australia 202-2 (Labuschagne 88, Smith 6) Three singles off Root. We are in a holding pattern.
Updated
72nd over: Australia 199-2 (Labuschagne 86, Smith 5) Broad to Labuschagne, and what would have been a third successive maiden is spoiled by a single off the last.
Updated
71st over: Australia 198-2 (Labuschagne 85, Smith 5) Another maiden, from Root to Smith. We are nine overs from a new ball.
70th over: Australia 198-2 (Labuschagne 85, Smith 5) A big appeal for lbw against Labuschagne, but England decide not to review. It looks probably high, and almost certainly wide. A maiden from Robinson, and that’s drinks, and a chance for the players to calm down from the dizzying pace of this game.
“While we’re putting up random stats, when did Australia last have three different captains in three successive Tests?” wonders Max Bonnell. “I suspect it was in the 1950s: in India in 1956-57, Ray Lindwall was captain in the second Test before Ian Johnson, the regular captain, returned for the third; but when Australia next played a Test, in South Africa in 1957-58, Ian Craig had taken over from Johnson. It may have happened since – can anyone recall?”
Updated
69th over: Australia 198-2 (Labuschagne 85, Smith 5) England, and Stokes in particular, just keeps banging it short against Labuschagne, and quite often against Smith. Perhaps the ball would swing under lights, but it’s not really being given a chance. Smith fends the last, but it falls short of Hameed at short leg.
68th over: Australia 192-2 (Labuschagne 80, Smith 5) There’s a fabulous scarlet sunset over Adelaide Oval now. Robinson bowls seven times to Smith, one a no-ball, and the seventh is dispatched past square leg for four.
Updated
67th over: Australia 188-2 (Labuschagne 80, Smith 1) Edged! Labuschagne edges a short ball but his own shoulder comes to his rescue, sending the ball looping up and dropping short of Buttler. He’s got away with a few today, has Labuschagne. He had started the over with a couple of pulls, the second of which found a gap.
The holy grail, for sportsmen and women, is consistency. And Marnus #Labuschagne has found it. For the first half of every Test he plays, he’s Bradman @Simon_Burnton pic.twitter.com/T3NV9g2FDl
— Tim de Lisle (@TimdeLisle) December 16, 2021
66th over: Australia 180-2 (Labuschagne 72, Smith 1) Robinson to Smith, and one goes just past the edge, another clips something on its way through - just a pad, it turns out - and the last couple square him up but Smith, a little awkwardly, survives.
Updated
65th over: Australia 178-2 (Labuschagne 71, Smith 1) Stokes to Warner, who ignores fact that two fielders have been placed on the boundary for precisely this shot and pulls anyway! It’s not well controlled, but it does go into the gap and away for four. Emboldened, he ignores the field again next ball, and hits it straight to Broad. There is a no-ball here from Stokes, but fortunately it’s not the one that brought the wicket.
Warner in 2019 Ashes: 95 runs, 184 balls, 10 dismissals
— Matt Roller (@mroller98) December 16, 2021
Warner in 2021-22 Ashes, 1st Test: 94 runs, 176 balls, 1 dismissal
Warner in 2021-22 Ashes, 2nd Test: 95 runs, 167 balls, 1 dismissal
WICKET! Warner c Broad b Stokes 95 (Australia 176-2)
Warner is out in the 90s again, after slapping the ball straight to cover!
Updated
64th over: Australia 172-1 (Warner 91, Labuschagne 70) Root bowls. They could do with him ripping through a few overs of spin to get them to the 80-over mark and the fresh cherry while they’ve still got enough time to do something with it this evening.
63rd over: Australia 169-1 (Warner 89, Labuschagne 69) Stokes comes on, and is almost into his delivery stride when Warner puts up a hand to tell him to pause. “Oh no, David!” the bowler cries. And he might be thinking something similar as a couple of deliveries later he lifts the ball over point for four. Australia look to have finally located second gear here. Labuschagne then takes a step back to spank one through the covers, so to speak.
The last time Day 1 of a Test in Australia had less sideways movement than today, David Warner made 335* against Pakistan - also a day-night Test, also in Adelaide. #Ashes
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) December 16, 2021
62nd over: Australia 160-1 (Warner 84, Labuschagne 65) Warner pulls Anderson for four, after one ball short of 17 boundary-free overs, and then Labuschagne does it too! England’s bowlers have all put in a good shift today, but as a group they are looking short of spark and variety.
61st over: Australia 151-1 (Warner 79, Labuschagne 61) Warner hits Woakes down the ground, and Stokes sets off again.
60th over: Australia 148-1 (Warner 76, Labuschagne 61) Anderson’s first ball moves sharply away from the bat, and Labuschagne watches it go. Later the bowler drops down to field, and almost literally creaks as he gets back up again. If he felt fresh after being rested for the first Test, it’s probably a distant memory by now.
59th over: Australia 146-1 (Warner 76, Labuschagne 59) A couple of singles off Woakes. Almost the entire ground is in shadow now, and we’re waiting for the magic to happen. Something like this, perhaps.
58th over: Australia 144-1 (Warner 75, Labuschagne 58) Anderson bowls a maiden to Labuschagne, notable mainly for this puzzling hand signal from Stokes:
The 12th and 13th men also have to be good at charades these days #Ashes pic.twitter.com/WXPnzooDiR
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 16, 2021
57th over: Australia 144-1 (Warner 75, Labuschagne 58) Poor Ben Stokes twice has to sprint from mid-on/off to the boundary to save a run. He’s puffing after the first run, and then a dot later he’s got to do it again. He does so, though, with a smile.
56th over: Australia 136-1 (Warner 70, Labuschagne 55) “Once again baffled by England’s apparent belief that there are only five sessions in pink-ball tests rather than the usual 15,” sniffs Will Vignoles. “Not quite as odd as the selection for the India pink-ball test earlier this year, and injuries to Archer and Stone haven’t helped, but I don’t understand why England seem to think that they need to put all their eggs in the swing basket when even in England, where the ball moves a lot more than Australia, you still want a balanced attack. The thinking in the camp just seems so muddled under Silverwood.” I’ve got some sympathy with England, who would have picked a very different group of bowlers if they were all injury-free, but there has been some very rum selection decisions in both Tests this series. For all Shane Warne’s grumbling on commentary I don’t think I’d have picked Leach for this one, though.
55th over: Australia 133-1 (Warner 67, Labuschagne 55) Labuschagne inside-edges Woakes’ first delivery, but well wide of the stumps. That yields a couple of runs, and no more follow.
54th over: Australia 131-1 (Warner 67, Labuschagne 53) Anderson gets us restarted. As England toil in the field it’s worth noting the weather forecast: after peaking at 31C today, tomorrow temperatures are expected to reach 36C in Adelaide, an absolute scorcher, and stay in the 30s until midnight. They then drop to 27C on Saturday and 22C on Sunday and Monday. A full day in the field tomorrow will be a grind.
Updated
The players are on their way back out. Will the ball move? Will England bowl the 27 overs they require to get their hands on the new ball before the day’s out? The answers to these questions and more will come in the next couple of hours.
Some interval reading for you. I’ll be back shortly:
Curious statistic alert: Australia average 49 in the middle session of home day/night Tests:
Here's why Australia have won all eight day/night Tests they've hosted.#Ashes #AUSvENG pic.twitter.com/v9IghvFiuV
— Edmund Bayliss (@EdmundBayliss) December 15, 2021
53rd over: Australia 129-1 (Warner 65, Labuschagne 53) Root ends the session, with five balls of spin and one surprise unexpected faster ball to close. Four runs off the over, and England need a refresh. 84-0 across the session. “So, it turns out the time between hope and despair is 4 hours and forty minutes,” writes Phil Withall. “It’s the misplaced expectation that does you.”
Updated
52nd over: Australia 125-1 (Warner 63, Labuschagne 51) Lovely ball from Robinson to Labuschagne! Somehow he doesn’t get anything on it, and then he drives past mid-off for a few to bring up his half-century, off 156 balls. He has played and missed plenty, and been dropped by Buttler, along the way.
51st over: Australia 119-1 (Warner 61, Labuschagne 48) Root does some spin - and it does spin! That will be massively encouraging for, um, teams with spinners! Labuschagne works one round the corner, just wide of Stokes at leg slip, diving to his right. Then Warner tries a reverse sweep - apparently just the second reverse sweep he has attempted in Test cricket - which flicks off his bat, goes up onto his right shoulder, rolls down his back and heads towards the stumps, but doesn’t quite get there.
A full list of the batters who have reached 3,000 runs in fewer innings than Labuschagne:
22 innings – Don Bradman (Australia)
32 innings – George Headley (West Indies)
33 innings – Herbert Sutcliffe (England) and Michael Hussey (Australia)
34 innings – Marnus Labuschagne (Australia)
Updated
50th over: Australia 113-1 (Warner 60, Labuschagne 43) Alastair Cook pipes up with a bit of match analysis. “They’ve got to keep going. If it does start nipping around and they get Australia five down on what looks a pretty good wicket, they’ve had a good day.” That is one very busy if there.
Meanwhile Labuschagne hits straight for three to pass 2,000 career Test runs, in just his 20th match.
Only four players in Test history have reached 2000 runs in fewer innings than Marnus Labuschagne 🙌 #Ashes
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) December 16, 2021
49th over: Australia 107-1 (Warner 58, Labuschagne 38) Warner clips past point for a couple to bring up the 100 partnership, 101 off 249 to be precise.
48th over: Australia 103-1 (Warner 56, Labuschagne 37) Robinson to Labuschagne. “No run!”
47th over: Australia 103-1 (Warner 56, Labuschagne 37) Labuschagne gets three after Hameed dives over the ball at square leg, not his first misfield of the day. England are keeping it tight, patiently waiting for the moment the ball starts to hoop around. Or for bedtime, whichever comes sooner.
46th over: Australia 100-1 (Warner 56, Labuschagne 34) Beauty! Labuschagne plays and misses as Woakes gets one to leave him. Warner starts the over with a bit of aggression, even if his drive is cut off at the rope. He’s been a different batter since drinks, when he has gone full-on attack at the first scent of a hittable delivery: 4 . 4 . . . . 3 . 3 . .
The swing movement we've seen so far today is the lowest for a day of Test cricket in Australia since 2014. #Ashes
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) December 16, 2021
45th over: Australia 96-1 (Warner 53, Labuschagne 33) Hello! Broad’s back, and Warner biffs his first ball down the ground! The ball plugs when it returns to earth and they run three, but smell that intent! Labuschagne then faces the last five, without scoring.
“I have a lovely memory of taking my very bright eight-year-old son to the 1994-95 Ashes game at Adelaide Oval,” writes Don. “An English batter hit a ball racing to the boundary with the Aussie fielder chasing it. The crowd was calling out and he asked me why. I said because they are encouraging him to get the ball. He looked at me and said, ‘But surely he is already running as fast as he can.’ England won that game. And he is now an anaesthetist.”
Updated
44th over: Australia 93-1 (Warner 50, Labuschagne 33) Woakes finds Labuschagne’s edge this time, but it goes low to third slip with a bounce or two along the way. The next is a slow full toss which the batter clips square for four. The next is pushed gently back to the bowler. “No run!”
“England’s dismal (and entirely predictable) over rate suggests that they’ll lose five or six new ball overs tonight,” writes Gary Naylor. “That really will be unforgivable if it transpires.”
43rd over: Australia 87-1 (Warner 50, Labuschagne 27) Stokes to Labuschagne, with a silly mid-off and a short leg waiting in case he fends one of the many short balls being sent his way into the air. He doesn’t. Five more dots, another loud shout of “No run!” as the ball rolls gently to midwicket, which seems mainly of comic value, and then a single off the last.
Updated
42nd over: Australia 86-1 (Warner 50, Labuschagne 26) Woakes to Labuschagne, who gets one to leave the right-handed Labuschagne nicely, even if the batter isn’t that close to getting anything on it.
A battling half-century for David Warner. His third slowest in Test cricket, he's actually played a fairly high number of attacking shots (27%), but his false shot percentage (17%) is reasonable. The chance for acceleration will soon come. #Ashes pic.twitter.com/iqyCIRM69y
— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) December 16, 2021
Updated
41st over: Australia 85-1 (Warner 50, Labuschagne 25) Hello everyone! During the drinks break Stuart Broad gives a little on-field interview, looking forward to the time twilight hits, “it starts moving and we can put the slips back in and take some wickets”. We’ll see about that. Warner, having taken on some fluids, converts it into liquid cricket and hits Stokes for two boundaries, including a super back-foot hoist over cover, to reach his half-century off 108 balls!
Updated
Therein lies the drinks break. And that is my signal, after 40 overs of enthrallment, to reluctantly hand over the OBO (don’t say that with the acronym fully enunciated) to Simon Burnton.
40th over: Australia 77-1 (Warner 42, Labuschagne 25) Chris Woakes is back. Hasn’t looked like a great threat today. He isn’t helped by a misfield at point that lets Warner off strike, after Warner has just punched two.
Ian Walton has some questions about Buttler. “How many chances does he get as both wickey and bat? Pick the best keeper, can’t do much worse as a bat either and Ben Foakes can wield a decent willow. He’ll make up for any perceived weakness by being a proper wickey. Maybe I’m old-fashioned and want red ball players for red ball (and pink, ok!) and white ball players for pyjama cricket. Buttler only committed to the tour late anyway.”
I can’t disagree with much of that. Buttler in about 2017 looked like he could be transformative in Test cricket in the way he was in one-dayers. It hasn’t panned out though.
Updated
39th over: Australia 74-1 (Warner 39, Labuschagne 25) Here’s a hot stat: only once has Warner played a slower innings than this having faced over 100 balls. (Obviously this can change if he speeds up, but still.)
Labuschagne, similarly, sees off another Stokes over.
Updated
38th over: Australia 74-1 (Warner 39, Labuschagne 25) Warner opens up a bit against Root. First he goes over mid-off for a couple, Stokes chasing back and then asked to stay halfway back to the fence by Root. Warner goes again through cover, and there’s a rider on that rope to keep the scoring to one.
37th over: Australia 69-1 (Warner 36, Labuschagne 23) Stokes short, Labuschagne rides the bounce and glances fine for one. Three fielders out on the rope for Warner on the hook, plus three closer to the bat on the leg side, but he sways away from the bouncer. Pulls a slightly less short ball, trying to go in front of midwicket but can’t elude Broad there. Stokes bowls another proper bouncer that has Warner bailing out of the shot, then bluffs with a full ball that misses off stump.
Updated
36th over: Australia 68-1 (Warner 36, Labuschagne 22) Root to try to burn through some overs, but Warner fires him to the cover boundary instead. A couple of singles follow. That must be the biggest over Australia has had all day.
35th over: Australia 62-1 (Warner 31, Labuschagne 21) Ben Stokes with the short-ball barrage approach again, and it nearly works!
England drop another catch.
Oh, this team. Rory Burns in Brisbane, Jos Buttler in Adelaide. The ball is about ribcage height, tending towards leg. Labuschagne steps across and swivels to try to catch it up. Gets a fat chunk of glove on it. Buttler has to go high to his left, but not outrageously so in either aspect. That’s regulation for a keeper. He gets it in his left palm, then somehow it pops out again.
Marnus is nailed on for a big score now.
34th over: Australia 61-1 (Warner 30, Labuschagne 21) Another Anderson over for one run to Warner. The bowler taking a very leisurely approach to getting back to his mark.
“Any chance that England might try and bowl more than 26 overs in the last session, given that their entire test cricket strategy for the last three years has been built around exploiting the pink ball at Adelaide?”
I doubt it, Peter Salmon, I doubt it.
33rd over: Australia 60-1 (Warner 29, Labuschagne 21) Just over, this time! Marnus hooks Robinson just over square leg, who is up about 30 paces from the bat. Broad under the sunhat, who leaps up one-handed, back-handed, but it’s a metre too high for him.
This is a weird old innings from Labuschagne. Gets four for another streaky shot, in between impersonating a traffic island.
32nd over: Australia 56-1 (Warner 29, Labuschagne 17) An edge from Labuschagne! That’s the most eventful thing we’ve seen in a while. Anderson draws the nick but Marnus has soft hands and the edge dies in front of the cordon. He pushes a single to point next ball.
31st over: Australia 55-1 (Warner 29, Labuschagne 16) Robinson gets back in the channel for this over, settling in at Warner and doing it nicely. Slips too short once and is cut, but saved at point. Otherwise, it’s another quiet one.
The sun is getting lower, the shadows of the billowing roof of the stand are reaching across the field, and it’s still very warm out there.
30th over: Australia 55-1 (Warner 29, Labuschagne 16) This is a real bunker innings from Labuschagne. Gets beaten once by Anderson, past the edge again, while defending the rest. No attempt to score. Recognising that this is good bowling and all he has to do is wait it out.
29th over: Australia 55-1 (Warner 29, Labuschagne 16) The discipline has been good from England’s seamers, so Robinson is the one who has been noticeable having strayed too straight a few times. Not often, but here and there. Labuschagne gets a leg bye to one of these balls, and the change in target makes Robinson stray wide outside Warner’s off stump, cut behind point for four.
28th over: Australia 50-1 (Warner 25, Labuschagne 16) Warner kicks away! He has a few looks at Anderson, shouldering arms when he doesn’t like the length of the delivery. But when Anderson gets fuller, even though the line is tight around off stump, Warner drives with a flourish through cover point for four. Open blade, swishing.
At long last, Australia reach the first milestone score.
Updated
27th over: Australia 46-1 (Warner 21, Labuschagne 16) Ollie Robinson from the Cathedral End, seeing Warner get off strike first ball with a clip that is half stopped at mid-on. Once again Labuschagne drops anchor.
26th over: Australia 45-1 (Warner 20, Labuschagne 16) James Anderson to commence proceedings, as expected. His weary walk to the top of his mark. His economical run in. Labuschagne is happy to camp on the front foot and send everything back down the pitch.
We’re back. After a particularly dour first session and an extremely confusing meal break. There are people eating hot dinners around me. It all feels wrong.
If you want something to do during lunch, here is yesterday’s Final Word podcast, in which Adam and I absolutely did not anticipate Cummins being isolated out of the match, but we did get some good insight from Ali Martin about some of England’s broader problems.
Here’s Sarah Jane Bacon, “from balmy west London”, by her account.
“Upon learning that Our Dear Leader, Pat Cummins, has to self-isolate for the Test, I couldn’t *not* get up at stupid-o-clock to see the ramifications (and get the BT Sport’s pundits’ reactions to the news). Suffice to say: Cook et al are frothing with joy. I know Adelaide is a different prospect to the Gabbatoir, but I do hope there are some surprises in store for everyone.”
Not much yet, aside from the scoring rate. I don’t think we’re going to see this ball start to swerve once the sun dips.
David Shepherd (not the Reverend) writes in. “Look, I’d be as happy as anyone if Marcus found his range, but as of now he’s had 1.5 Marshes worth of chances with far less to show for it. I’m sure Usman is very sorry for whatever he’s done, so can we let him have a bat soon?”
Lunch - Australia 45 for 1
Some would call that an absorbing session, but bear in mind that toilet paper can also be absorbing. A strange exercise of the two teams testing one another out. All dance.
Honours probably to Australia, having just killed the most shiny and lacquered part of the ball’s lifespan, but the data analysts say there was no swing at all on offer out there. England haven’t given away runs, so if they manage to find a wicket after the break then they could still take ascendancy quickly. The bowling approach though seemed to be that they had to use everyone they had picked, because they had picked them.
I can’t recall Warner ever batting a session for such a low score, but jog my memory if that’s wrong.
25th over: Australia 45-1 (Warner 20, Labuschagne 16) Stokes bowls another over of short stuff, and that is lunch. Or effectively lunch. They will call it dinner even thought it’s 4:30pm local time.
A few correspondents have enquired about my earlier comments regarding Marcus Harris. I will say this. There are 274 players in men’s Test cricket who have made more runs than Harris opening the batting. There are seven of those who have done so at a worse average.
Currently he’s at 22.15 after 22 innings.
24th over: Australia 44-1 (Warner 20, Labuschagne 15) England supporters, it is 23 overs into a Test match and Joe Root is bowling. Not too badly, because he’s not too bad at it, but... this doesn’t feel like something that happens when things are going right. He does beat the top edge of a Warner cut, and gets a leading edge to lob into the off side. Maybe he was the secret weapon all along.
23rd over: Australia 42-1 (Warner 19, Labuschagne 14) At last a shot from Labuschagne, who has been quiet: he backs away from Stokes and ramps his short ball over slip for four. Streaky shot, Root thinks he’s in the game but there’s too much height and it’s a bit square of him.
22nd over: Australia 38-1 (Warner 19, Labuschagne 10) Warner takes on Broad! First ball of the over, whack, over the leg side. Pulling a short ball. Settles down for the rest of the over, defending and leaving.
21st over: Australia 34-1 (Warner 15, Labuschagne 10) Deep square leg in for Warner, who pulls there for a single. Stokes in going to try the short strategy then. A big change in the field for Labuschagne, going leg theory. Mid-on, midwicket, deep forward square, regulation backward square, and long leg.
On the other side, two staggered slips, point, mid-off.
Stokes bowls over his head, called wide. Gets him another shot at Labuschagne. Plus another with a no-ball - the technology is working in this match, and it picks up the front foot this time. Jon Lewis gets an automated pay cut.
Around the wicket, Stokes. Another no-ball. A foreclosure sign is hammered to the door of the Lewis residence. Stokes in the end gets eight short balls to Labuschagne after one at Warner.
None of them look very effective, and it’s a strange use of an outswing bowler with a ball that doesn’t age, after 20 overs on day one.
20th over: Australia 30-1 (Warner 14, Labuschagne 10) A boundary for Warner from Broad! Pitches full, Warner leans over his front leg and times it beautifully through wide long-on.
We’ve heard a lot about Broad’s dominance of Warner in 2019. In the Ashes before that, in Australia, Broad didn’t get Warner out once while Warner averaged 66.
Swings, roundabouts.
19th over: Australia 25-1 (Warner 9, Labuschagne 10) Bingo, full set, we’ve cycled through all five England seamers. Ben Stokes on for his first over. Bowling from the Cathedral End, loping in.
I saw him doing a lot of work on landing his front foot in the nets yesterday. After each delivery, bowling coach Jon Lewis would move the marker for Stokes’ run-up. Meaning the bowler randomly started at different spots and had to land on the front line.
One run for Warner behind point.
18th over: Australia 24-1 (Warner 8, Labuschagne 10) Broad returns. Warner facing. Immediately something happens again: Warner lashes wide with a cut shot, hitting on the bounce straight to point. He’s tucked up and defending the next on leg stump. Then Broad has it tailing into leg stump, letting Warner drive through mid-on, that long chase down Adelaide Oval that has them thinking of a fourth run, deciding against it due to Stokes being the fielder with the throw.
Broad looks good against Labuschagne, too. Tests his outside edge a couple of times.
Warm day in Adelaide, lovely afternoon. Very full in all of the western stands, empty tranches on the eastern side.
17th over: Australia 20-1 (Warner 5, Labuschagne 10) Robinson to Labuschagne, who also bats out the set. Australia very happy to wait out the even vaguely newish ball.
Updated
16th over: Australia 20-1 (Warner 5, Labuschagne 10) Another maiden from Woakes to Warner, who is now 5 from 44. Broad has only bowled four overs, and is the one to have made things happen.
Updated
“I sympathise with that review process taking so long, although it’s infuriating,” writes Robert Speed. “The ICC want a clear protocol for how LBW reviews are undertaken, only going to ball tracking once its is established there was no bat involved. Unfortunately it cost us 5 minutes of nothing happening, but I can understand the protocol.”
I see where you’re coming from - the protocol was largely so that umpires didn’t forget anything and audiences knew what was happening. But I’ve been in the truck where the tech guys are, and they know almost everything simultaneously. Aside from sometimes a processing delay for 20 seconds or so with ball-tracking.
There is someone running the audio waveform, someone on Hot Spot, someone on ball-tracking, all separately.
As it stands, they get no input to the third umpire, who sits upstairs and goes over each thing in order. But it seems absurd that one point of the process that would obviate the need for the rest can’t be put in front of the adjudicator.
15th over: Australia 20-1 (Warner 5, Labuschagne 10) This would have been a much better story had England batted first, the new Australians pushed immediately into the spotlight. This way around it gives the home team time to settle without feeling the loss of a captain.
Robinson is testing out Labuschagne, who is doing Tony Hawk Pro Skater moves while leaving the ball outside off stump. Do a 720, dude.
Updated
14th over: Australia 20-1 (Warner 5, Labuschagne 10) Warner hits a four! Finally, after 13 overs of largely suffocating bowling, Woakes dishes him up a short wide one and Warner has both feet off the ground as he makes contact with the cut shot, slamming it through cover. Emphatic.
Woakes follows with a genuine wide, called by the umpire.
Updated
13th over: Australia 15-1 (Warner 1, Labuschagne 10) Drinks break after 12 overs, which augurs well for England’s run rate. Wonder if they’ll be playing for free again, after losing 100% of their match fee in Brisbane? And yes, if you’re wondering, they did lose a review for that last effort, so they have one left for the innings and Australia three.
Robinson resumes to Labuschagne, who keeps him out.
12th over: Australia 15-1 (Warner 1, Labuschagne 10) Another review down. Ok, this one will cause some consternation. Woakes, over the wicket to Warner. Pitched up, swing into the lefty. Hits him in line, but he’s pushing forward at the ball at the same time. Not 100% sure it was going on to hit, might have gone over, he’s a fair way down the wicket. But all of the DRS analysis is on the inside edge. Like Kohli the other week, it’s bat and pad at the same time. But not really. I’m pretty sure that’s pad first. The leg is pushed forward, the bat is angled back. But the third umpire says he can’t tell what was first, thus the review is void.
Wait. Aaaaah ha ha! It was pitching outside leg. By a fraction. So the umpire just rock-and-rolled the inside edge for about six minutes, instead of looking at the pitch map for 0.04 seconds.
Cricket, you are a foolish sport.
11th over: Australia 15-1 (Warner 1, Labuschagne 10) Young Marnus is in serious touch. Scoring from the get go. He’s helped by Robinson starting rustily, two straight balls that Labuschagne can tuck away for two runs apiece.
10th over: Australia 11-1 (Warner 1, Labuschagne 6) Broad goes off the field for a minute, then back. Chris Woakes gets a bowl for the first time today, the specialist No8 in this side. He’s right-arm over, angling across the left-hander, so Warner is pretty happy to leave him alone.
9th over: Australia 11-1 (Warner 1, Labuschagne 6) How often would David Warner have got into the 9th over of a match without scoring? Anyone want to work that out for me? He finally gets moving here with a driven single, after Labuschagne eases another drive from Anderson through mid-off.
8th over: Australia 7-1 (Warner 0, Labuschagne 3) You can’t say that the early wicket of Harris is exactly a surprise, given his entire Test career has been comprised of the early wicket of Harris, but at least it means the match can start for real. Marnus Labuschagne gets going immediately with a push for three runs past the bowler. Bringing Warner on strike, who is immediately prompting an England review after walking at a ball and fencing as it cut back in off the seam. England’s players all think or hope there was an inside edge, but no, and it’s clearing the stumps on ball-tracking. Review lost. Broad one wicket for four runs from four overs.
WICKET! Harris c Buttler b Broad 3, Australia 4-1
That one can’t be overturned! Not a great ball from Broad, short and angled across the left-hander from around the wicket but Harris hooks, gets nothing but glove on it, and Buttler side-steps before completing a very fine diving catch down the leg side. Broad is away.
Updated
7th over: Australia 4-0 (Harris 3, Warner 0) Three runs off the bat in 42 balls thus far, the opening bats taking their task of survival seriously as Warner defends Anderson.
“Morning Geoff, from a very dark south London,” writes Andrew Cosgrove. “Are you in Adelaide? I spent a few months there many years ago, and absolutely loved it, so it’s always my favourite Ashes test. Is the British pub still there in North Adelaide? On the edge by the parkland. You can probably see it from the Oval.”
I am indeed in Adelaide, beautiful city that it can be in summer. Walked down the river here this morning, the gardens are bursting, the markets are full with fruit, life is good for anyone who didn’t get contact-traced in a restaurant last night.
Haven’t got to North Adelaide yet, so can’t offer a recce. Outings limited to the Exeter thus far, fine institution that it is, plus a live podcast at the UniBar.
6th over: Australia 4-0 (Harris 3, Warner 0) Stuart Broad so nearly has the early influence on this match. The ball did hit Harris around the knee roll, but he had that front leg straightened and he isn’t very tall. Quite the reprieve. He carefully sees out the over - which includes a late no-ball.
Updated
Wicket overturned!
Looked very out live, and still looked out on the front angle. But the ball-tracking shows that given Broad’s angle at delivery, the ball would have missed down the leg side.
WICKET! Harris lbw Broad 3 - reviewed
Given, and sent upstairs! Looks good.
Updated
5th over: Australia 3-0 (Harris 3, Warner 0) Anderson to Warner now, another good looking ball that leaves him and beats the edge, but again too short in pitch, too far from that edge. Tries a proper short ball to follow, then at last pitches up and draws a forward defensive. One scoring shot in 30 balls now. Only one attempt, too.
4th over: Australia 3-0 (Harris 3, Warner 0) Now it’s Harris who has to deal with Broad, and he too faces a big lbw shout early in the over. Might have been a little inside edge, might have just hit outside the line. Harris gets the line to allow a few leaves. Tight start.
3rd over: Australia 3-0 (Harris 3, Warner 0) Anderson keeps angling across Harris, trying to draw him across, then bowls straight at the stumps and gives up the first runs of the Test, Harris clipping him away through midwicket and hustling for three runs.
2nd over: Australia 0-0 (Harris 0, Warner 0) Here comes the contest, Broad to Warner, first ball...
Huge appeal, not out! Warner leaves the ball! Seaming into him, he leaves it alone on length, and it crashes into his thigh pad, just above the flap. Going over, but he didn’t read that. Broad from around the wicket, of course, using that angle to work the ball in. Slips one down leg side looking for inswing. The radar is being generous to Broad, claiming he’s 141 kph. Three slips, gully, point, mid-off, mid-on, deep square, long leg. Short ball but Warner rocks back and leaves. No run in two overs.
1st over: Australia 0-0 (Harris 0, Warner 0) Anderson with the new ball, Harris on strike, and Anderson is looking good! Starts with a wider one across the left-hander, but follows it with one that snorts off a length and beats the outside edge of an unsure defensive push. Probably pitched it too short though, it was no chance of taking that edge. A bit of an Anderson theme early in spells. Harris sees out the rest of the over.
Apparently the stump mic just picked up Broad from mid-on asking Warner if he still takes an off-stump guard.
Ready? Let’s play a little game we like to call Test match cricket.
“Did no one give any thought to viewers in Dallas when they planned a day-night test? The first ball isn’t going to be bowled until 10pm my time. How can I force my six year old to like cricket if he’s already asleep when it starts? Bah humbug.”
Ben Mimmack, I can assure you that viewers in Dallas are actually relatively high on the agendas of people at the ICC.
Before the anthems though, there’s a tribute to Keith Bradshaw, the pioneer of the game, with the inaugural ringing of the Bradshaw Bell - symbolic of the tradition Keith established at Lord’s. The Welcome to Country follows, and then the national anthems.
Here they come. “And Australia, led by captain Steve Smith” the stadium announcer booms over the tannoy, to what sounds like pretty enthused applause from the stands.
Today’s field umpires are Rod Tucker and Paul Wilson, the third and fourth umpires are Paul Reiffel and Sam Najoski, respectively. And match referee is David Boon.
Updated
The start of play is not too far away now and that means the prospect of Broad to Warner looms. The players are about to come out for the anthems.
The weather? Have we talked about the weather yet? It’s currently 28C in Adelaide and it looks quite glorious out there. Not a chance of rain , and we’ll have a full day of play.
With Stuart Broad in the England side, it’s spinner Jack Leach who misses out.
“Made a brave call,” says Root. “But we said we’re going to do that from the outset. It’s a good opportunity for our seamers to hopefully make use of a fresh wicket.”
#Ashes team changes:
— ESPN Australia & NZ (@ESPNAusNZ) December 16, 2021
🇦🇺: Richardson and Neser in for Cummins and Hazlewood.
🏴: Anderson and Broad in for Wood and Leach.
MORE 📝: https://t.co/OvHgF7l7Jy pic.twitter.com/7lG5cSBKU6
Updated
Root says: “It looks a good surface. As you would expect here. But the one thing we will have is that pink ball in hand early on, especially with the glare, could work in our favour. We will have to wait and see.”
On the big news of the day: “It’s unfortunate, it’s the world we’re living in. It’s one of the things you’re obviously very wary of as players. It’s one of those very unfortunate set of circumstances where he has had to miss out. But we fully respect the rest of their squad and we know what they’re capable of. So we just need to play well. Especially first innings, make a big score and hopefully first up take some early wickets and drive the game there.”
Smith says it was a straightforward decision to bat.
“I think you can control the game and sometimes when you want to bowl at certain times if you bat first. So hopefully we can put some runs on the board and control the game.”
On taking on the captaincy again, he says: “It’s a huge honour, obviously. It’s been a pretty interesting morning. A bit been going on, but, yeah, feel for Patty. Obviously missing this game. But I will try and lead on the way he started last week, and hopefully he can have a really good week.
“He just said “Good luck, go for it, it’s your team this week, control the boys and just keep moving forward.”
Updated
Australia win the toss and bat first
Steve Smith, back as captain for the first time in three years, wins the toss. His counterpart Joe Root says he would have batted too.
Updated
“Weren’t Smith and Warner ruled never to be allowed authority positions in the Oz team after sandpapergate? Has that been overturned or overlooked or did I dream it?”
You didn’t dream it, Clive Darwell, you just embellished it. Warner is banned for life, Smith was banned for two years.
“Let’s not ask why some idiot was at a restaurant when he should have been in quarantine awaiting his test results,” writes in Peter Hutchinson.
I’m not sure what the details around the rules and the case are there, so I’ll hold fire before I start sledging anyone.
Less involved warm-ups for the Australians. Nathan Lyon is twirling down a few on one of the practice wickets. A few others are wandering about, taking a few high balls in fielding drills, that sort of thing. Carey is rehearsing some squats and sidesteps, getting his frog muscles warmed up. Pretty casual stuff.
Anderson has given Broad his 150th cap, that’s how Ali knows that. So Broad will play. Anderson will play. Mind you, Jack Leach is out in the middle warming up with everyone else. So is he playing after all? That could only happen if Woakes (the only No8) or Robinson misses out. They’re both in the middle too. Maybe England have dropped a batter. Maybe it wouldn’t make much difference.
Ali Martin, my colleague in the next seat, suggests that yesterday’s speculation at the nets is all thistledown on the winds of time.
England going all seam, it seems
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) December 16, 2021
Updated
Short break there, I’ve just been listening to Nick Hockley, the CA boss, who stopped by to give us the update. A fairly comprehensive non-answering of questions, as ever, aside from confirming what we already knew from the press release about how Cummins got implicated (and how Starc and Lyon didn’t).
He doesn’t answer a question about whether they went up the chain to the prime minister’s office in an effort to get Cummins cleared to play. He doesn’t answer whether the protocols for players will change in the wake of this. He does say that everyone should accept Steve Smith’s return because he’s a changed man.
What about England? I just watched Stuart Broad walk across the ground in the arriving stream of players. He was with Anderson, Stokes and Robinson. My analysis of body language is: inconclusive. He was wearing blue sneakers. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
If the Adelaide Strikers were out of town today, Australia would have been grabbing someone from first-grade cricket. My colleague Bharat Sundaresan, an Adelaide local, suggests that Tim Oakley would have been the frontrunner for an emergency baggy green.
Speaking of Starc, he was at the same restaurant last night, with Nathan Lyon. By fortune they were at an outside table, so they weren’t near the problem case and they’re free to play. Imagine if Australia’s whole Brisbane bowling attack got wiped out? Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Swepson are the only remaining players in the squad.
Well! Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser are both very good operators, but if England can’t win this match then they can’t win anything. What an opportunity. The effect of losing a captain isn’t necessarily the most influential, but the discombobulation of losing the team’s pace spearhead is much bigger. In Brisbane, as per usual, Josh Hazlewood had the new ball and Cummins took it over from Mitchell Starc after two overs.
This time, both Hazlewood and Cummins are gone.
Preamble
Hello from Adelaide! Just a quiet, uneventful morning, the long build-up to an afternoon Test match...
No, who am I kidding. The Australian captain has been close-contacted out of the match thanks to South Australia’s rules. Patrick Cummins was out to dinner last night, Australian time. I’m reliably informed it was at the Little Hunter Steakhouse. They have a home-made royal blue potato gnocchi that looks worth a lockdown. Someone at the next table then got a health department message that they had tested positive for Covid, and told the diners around them. Which meant that Cummins was now a close contact. (Phone check-in data would have pinged him on this anyway, but maybe not for a few more days.)
So, protocol says he has to isolate for seven days. He can’t play here. Michael Neser will make his long-delayed Test debut. And Steven Smith is now captaining Australia once again.
Updated
