“There are lessons to be learned from today,” was the assessment of England’s opening batsman Mark Stoneman, with seven days of cricket left before the Gabba, and he was right.
Three of the top five, including Stoneman himself, had fallen between 58 and 63, and three were dismissed for seven runs to the new ball, which nipped around under lights, at the end of the day to significantly damage their position against mighty raw opposition. It was a reminder of the perils of that period of any pink-ball game but it will not have gone unnoticed that England lost at least a wicket at the end of each session as they reached 278 for 8 by the end of day one of four. They must tighten up.
Daniel Fallins, a 20-year-old leg-spinning first-class debutant, did much of the damage for the Cricket Australia XI, with four for 71. He bowled neatly enough but all four wickets came with balls that would not traditionally be considered wicket-takers. Also among the wickets was Jackson Coleman, another debutant, who had Alastair Cook caught behind (again) early on and was at the heart of the late fightback. He is a big-hearted, heavy-footed left-armer whose debut came late after time out of the game playing Australian rules football.
The pair’s inexperience was in keeping with their team’s, who England play again next week in Townsville. Coleman is willing but he is not Mitchell Starc nor bowls his searing yorkers. In the low-80mph, he was the quickest of the attack on a dreadfully slow drop-in surface and an even slower outfield. There was one memorable short ball all day, from Coleman to the then scoreless James Vince, and it was such a surprise that he became tangled and it clobbered him on the shoulder. Stoneman described the attack as a “step up” from the one that England faced in Perth over the weekend but “pretty similar” to the grade attacks he faced across seven summers in Sydney, and he accepted England would have to prepare for the fury, pace and intensity expected in Brisbane in other ways.
Furthermore, there is an international rules game here this weekend – a hybrid of Australian rules and Gaelic football. For the Adelaide Oval, that is a far bigger event. “It wasn’t great for free-scoring and putting the bowlers under pressure,” Stoneman said. “We were never able to draw the game back or get away from them, punishing the bad balls.” The upshot was a ground that looked pretty throughout but cricket that did not.
The bad balls actually tended to pick up wickets. Coleman’s to dismiss Cook – who got a duck in the opening match in Perth – was decent, “doing just enough” according to Stoneman – who was standing at the other end – to draw the edge. Stoneman was given a reprieve, dropped on 17 by the wicketkeeper Tim Paine (who had earlier put England in) cutting – a strength both England’s opponents so far have seen as a potential weakness. Two gullies were again employed and Steve Smith will surely have taken note.
Vince, having battled through a tough early period, fell in Fallins’ first over (with the opening session moments from ending), yorked attempting to heave a full toss to leg. In the opening first-class game of the tour, he made 33, his average in the County Championship this year. That gave us a first look at Fallins’ signature “double-dab” celebration in which he crosses his arms before his face and dips his head.
Stoneman and Joe Root, having reached pleasing half-centuries in a stand of 70 in the attritional afternoon period, fell in equally impetuous fashion. Stoneman also received a full toss but his bat turned in his hand and he was taken brilliantly at midwicket – England’s young opponents were excellent in the field – while Root got a hefty leading edge to mid-off when attempting to cart Fallins to cow corner. Jonny Bairstow edged cutting a half-tracker not long after the 40-minute dinner break and Fallins improbably had four.
From there, Dawid Malan – who again looked as comfortable as any England batsman – and Chris Woakes cruised towards twilight, milking spin in anticipation of the new ball. Woakes was caught well at first slip off Coleman, then Craig Overton – with an over to survive before stumps – slashed Gurinder Sandhu straight to point. Play ended with Malan caught at gully via the hands of third slip but not before he, like Stoneman, had recorded his second half-century of the tour.
It had been a careless end and one that left England “fractionally disappointed”, according to Stoneman. They have hammered away in interviews about the need to start watchfully, and respect the first 30 balls, but make hay when set and “score big hundreds”. They are doing the former but not the latter.
