It was a bowler’s day. So let’s dwell upon the batsmen who managed to score some runs. It was two half‑centurions as contrasting as Corbett and Cleese – Ian Bell and Chris Rogers – who troubled the bowlers.
They are cut from different cloth. Bell can ooze class with cover drives of such purity that even the raucous Edgbaston crowd was moved to sigh with delight at the beauty of the stroke. Rogers is the artisan. After a variety of jerks and prods he somehow manoeuvres the ball to the cover boundary. This is not so pretty but, whichever way they play the shot, it’s worth four.
This was a special occasion for both of them. Rogers was returning after the unnerving experience of retiring ill at Lord’s. Bell, given the responsibility of batting at three, is the poster boy of Birmingham. His picture is everywhere at his beloved ground. That brings an additional pressure, as does the ubiquitous observation that Warwickshire batsmen seldom flourish for England at Edgbaston.
In Ashes cricket since 1961 only one Warwickshire player had hit a half‑century here and that was Bell in 2009 when he scored 53. Neither Dennis Amiss nor Mike Smith could match that – in fact they failed to reach double figures. Nor could Bob Willis or David Brown, which may not be so surprising.
Here Bell hit 53 again. This time he purred to his half-century in a manner that had us puzzling why he has not been the automatic No3 for a decade. It was tricky when he started. The sky was dark, so too the ball, and the slip cordon was on constant red alert. Yet in only 51 balls Bell posted his half-century. Here he was playing the pivotal role like all the great No3s of the past, setting the tone with an impish delicacy that had Michael Clarke changing tack quicker than Ben Ainslie in the days when he was helming dinghies.
First he left the ball discreetly but it did not take long for the Australia bowlers to grow impatient. Defending such a small total they chased the game whereupon Bell shredded them, mostly with an exhibition of the most graceful English cover drives since the retirement of David Gower.
Then came the return of Nathan Lyon and Bell reminded us of his capacity to exasperate as well as enchant. England currently play off-spinners dreadfully. Yet Bell – like England – ended the day much in credit. For the moment the No3 slot is sorted.
Apart from Lyon’s bowling figures there was one other plus for the Australians: Rogers has clearly recovered from the dizzy spells that afflicted him at Lord’s. However, this piece of good news was countered by the rest of the Australia lineup appearing to have been overtaken by mass dizziness when confronted by a red ball that has the temerity to move off the straight and narrow. Rogers had to battle away for two and a half hours for his 52.
Of his colleagues only Adam Voges, another Middlesex captain, could last for more than half an hour. Rogers produced a doughty innings and a brave one. It must be disconcerting to take to the crease against a ball travelling at almost 90mph in the knowledge that the last time this activity was undertaken the stand at square-leg was swaying to and fro.
Rogers stood alone and in this respect he lived up to his latest nickname in the Australia camp. “The White Lara” was on song again. It is an affectionate, mischievous moniker in the manner of calling the taciturn off-spinner of the 70s Ashley Mallett “Rowdy”. However, Rogers has scored more runs than anyone in the series (379 after five innings), he bats left-handed and he finds the gaps on the off side on a regular basis. It’s just that he does not make the onlooker gasp with wonder at the completion of his cover drive as Lara used to do.
Batting was never straightforward in these conditions but Rogers soldiered on. England’s bowlers were transformed by the presence of so much life in the pitch, which was in stark contrast to their experience at Lord’s.
Last week there was a hasty denial from Andrew Strauss, the ECB’s cricket director, that he had sent emails to the Test grounds about pitches. This was an alarming revelation. For if anyone should be communicating with those Test grounds it should be Strauss, who is far more likely than anyone else at the ECB to understand what constitutes a good pitch – from an England perspective. So far this one seems to suit them quite well.
