The Australians could not have had a more gentle, genteel welcome to these shores. There was a moment on Friday when one punter on the balcony of the Leslie Ames Stand, having succumbed to an extra glass of Pimm’s, inquired the name of the fieldsman in front of him – rather brusquely. But that was as impolite as it got. This is not Bay 13 territory.
The Australians have been delighted by the reception granted by such decorous hosts and they have responded by mingling with the crowds on the outfield before and after the start of play. Take away the new floodlights and we might have been in a time warp as the tourists embark upon their campaign to retain the Ashes. All was tranquillity again on Saturday except when Mitchell Marsh was smiting the ball over the boundary late in the afternoon as he raced to a 94-ball hundred, which included five sixes.
On Thursday, Kent even chose to invite the Australians to bat on a benign surface – not an entirely altruistic act since they yearned for four days of cricket, not three, a goal comfortably achieved. They presented a bowling attack that was respectable, but none too challenging and as a consequence all the Australian batsmen have notched some runs. Meanwhile, the home batsmen provided sufficient resistance for the Aussie bowlers to clock up some overs without being overly inconvenienced. As Pop Larkin might have observed somewhere in these parts: “Sounds perfick.”
The upshot of all this has the Australians leading by 549 runs after three dreamy days. They now have a day to bowl out Kent before heading off to Essex for their final warm-up before the Cardiff Test.
No great selectorial issues have been decided. Instead, all those battling for a place in the Australia Test XI have delivered. There has been a glimpse of Ryan Harris, who has not played a first-class match since the Sydney Test in January. On Friday, he had been wicketless partly because Brad Haddin and Shane Watson stood statuesque as an edge flew between them. On Saturday morning, Harris delivered the ball of the match to the unfortunate Sam Billings. It leapt from a length, brushed the edge of the bat and, after a glance at this treacherous surface – it had behaved so obligingly for two days – Billings withdrew to the pavilion as if cuckolded.
Harris also dispatched Adam Ball not quite so classically as a pull shot sped into the hands of Peter Siddle on the leg-side boundary. Given such a long lay-off, Harris looked in good working order. The Australians could draw the names out of a hat and still be sure of a fine pace attack. Instead, they will, no doubt, study the data because that’s what all the teams do now.
There is another internal duel taking place between old Watson and young Marsh. Both batted effortlessly though Watson was a little grumpy to hole out against Adam Riley for 81 after Marsh, having overtaken his senior partner in the final session, had retired himself out with his century.
The critical issue is their bowling capacity. Watson has not bowled in this match. He has had a dodgy hamstring since the second Test in the Caribbean, which has been described as “sore points”. He will have to bowl at Chelmsford to be selected for the Cardiff Test because the Aussies require a bit more ballast in their bowling attack. In this match Marsh has bowled adequately.
It has not been a bowler’s match, especially if you happen to be a Kent bowler. On Saturday, Riley, the promising young off-spinner, was the only one to take wickets, albeit at a cost.
As well as Watson, Riley managed to persuade Chris Rogers and Michael Clarke to drive in the air. But it is wishful thinking to believe that he has uncovered the tourists’ achilles heel.
