The England team are still – optimistically – digging deep. The tunnel for their great escape is nowhere near complete. They have not yet reached the woods, let alone started contemplating coming out of them. But there is still just a glimmer of light.
The pitch remains true; on Saturday they managed to bat long enough to dissuade Michael Clarke from enforcing the follow-on. And, on a sunny day, the England players contrived to prevent the two major Mitchells from taking a wicket until 4.35pm, when Johnson finally took the last man to fall, Stuart Broad.
That is the good news. More worrying for brave new England is the stark match situation. Australia had a first-innings lead of 254 runs and by the close of play this had been extended to 362. England will have to bat for at least a day and a half to retain their lead in the series. The damage was done on Friday, when four of England’s top order were blown away by the Australia pacemen bowling fast and predominantly full.
To reach 312 from the depths of 30 for four is not a bad effort, even on a benign batting surface. The resistance came from the two overnight batsmen in their contrasting styles. Ben Stokes batted with an assurance that makes his all-rounder status an irrelevance. On this evidence he would get into the England side even if his bowling was on a par with that of David Gower (probably the worst bowler I’ve glimpsed among professional cricketers, albeit very infrequently). Meanwhile, Alastair Cook played with the wonderful predictability of a couple years ago. There was the old leg clip, the propensity to pull, the occasional cut – the Aussies do not allow him many of those – and the odd very careful cover drive. But most often came the dead-straight bat, patting the ball down the pitch before he set off for a recuperative wander to square leg.
Yet neither could reach three figures. Both were bowled off the inside edge by the least exalted of the Mitchells – Marsh, that is, son of the former Australia opener Geoff, who was watching in the stands.
Marsh Jr was more anonymous in the field than the man he has replaced, Shane Watson. There was always an early warning system with Watson. There would be a sequence of painstaking loosening exercises, which often seemed to take several overs to complete before the Watson torso was permitted to spring into action. It’s rather different with the stripling Marsh. It appears to be: “Have a bowl,” followed by: “OK, skip,” and off he goes, propelling honest, lively medium pace.
Clarke gave Marsh only eight overs, but the newcomer’s contribution was vital. Perhaps the batsmen sensed respite when he had the ball. In both instances drives were attempted but the ball seemed reluctant to arrive and the ensuing ricochet disturbed the stumps.
No other Englishman could produce an innings of significance.
Jos Buttler, shackled by the situation, attempted the responsible innings, but he is less threatening in these circumstances, with his footwork more tentative. He prodded forward to Nathan Lyon, who was bowling around the wicket, and the ball brushed his outside edge, something the batsman recognised more readily than the umpire. No matter, Buttler was already walking off.
Moeen Ali delivered a typically mellifluous cameo before he was lbw to a fine delivery from Josh Hazlewood, who also clean-bowled Mark Wood. Broad displayed some grit against the second new ball – he managed to avoid betraying an air of resignation that his arrival at the crease coincided with the advent of Johnson and Mitchell Starc armed with a hard, new ball. In the end he swished and was caught at slip by Shaun Marsh, substituting for Adam Voges, who has a sore hip.
The Australians had to work hard for their wickets, but not hard enough. So far they have dominated this match as emphatically as England did in Cardiff. They have caught most of their catches; Clarke has shuffled his bowlers brightly and they have bowled with discipline and purpose on an unresponsive track.
The perception is that this is the sort of pitch upon which England want to play Australia since it negates the impact of the tourists’ fast bowlers. If that really is the case then it is a most misguided strategy. All the evidence of this game is that England find it practically impossible to bowl sides out on such a bland surface, which takes the victory, if not the draw, out of the equation. They could not make much of an impact in Australia’s second innings when Chris Rogers and David Warner calmly added 108 together. By contrast, we have seen here how the Australians can prevail if their pacemen, bowling fast and full, strike early.
Moreover, how can a team newly committed to playing a brave, aggressive brand of cricket, logically crave a bland surface for their Test matches? Maybe it is sheer coincidence that this track has none of the vim or verdancy of the one produced for the New Zealand Test in June. Taking the broadest perspective, there is much to be said for the cricketing showpiece of the summer to be played out on a track that can provide vivid entertainment.
Not that England’s upper order, who will have to perform so much better in the second innings if the great escape is going to be anything more than a fiction, currently crave more spice in the pitches. They have been struggling enough on flat ones since the start of the West Indies tour – and that is with Cook returning to form.
Neither Adam Lyth, Gary Ballance nor Ian Bell is provoking much confidence at the moment. It is very tough to compile a list of credible alternatives to bat at the top of the order.
Jonny Bairstow is the man in form, but he could not be expected to bat in the first four. So if he were selected, some juggling would be required. First, though is the opportunity for the troubled trio to make themselves undroppable. That will commence sometime on Sunday afternoon.
