Things have been tough enough for the Australians over the past fortnight without one of their own putting the boot in. Steven Crook, a son of Adelaide, provided the evening entertainment with a career-best unbeaten 142, awash with boundaries.
His 20th, a short-arm jab backward of square leg had the 3,000 crowd on their feet to acclaim a 77-ball hundred. The fun did not end there, however.
When Pat Cummins somersaulted Maurice Chambers’ off-stump, Northamptonshire’s innings was on the brink at 344 for nine but it lasted another half-hour. Crook has a reputation as one of the cleanest ball strikers in county cricket and showcased it by following the four that took him to three figures by crunching two fours straight down the ground and swatting a six over long leg in an over that cost 18.
His successful farming of the strike alongside debutant Richard Gleeson saw himHe match his previous best of 131 with a couple of huge sixes off spinner Nathan Lyon immediately after surviving a straightforward stumping chance to Peter Nevill. His final scoring shot, a flashing square drive, brought up the half-century stand for the 10th wicket.
It certainly brought Steve Smith, leading the side with Michael Clarke absent, down to earth following the news on a washed out opening day that his position as Australia’s 45th Test captain was to become permanent at the end of the Ashes.
With a green tinge to the surface he opted to give Australia’s reserve pacemen the chance to stake their claim for its finale. However, detecting juice is one thing, exploiting it another, and neither Pat Cummins nor Peter Siddle produced compelling cases for inclusion with their performances against a makeshift Northants top order.
Ben Duckett, the in-form batsman of the County Championship’s second division, set the tone by easing the first ball he faced off Cummins through the covers for four in cantering to a half-century in the company of David Murphy, opening the batting just two years after coming in at number 11.
Duckett became one of four victims for Mitchell Marsh, who is set to return to Test duty at the Kia Oval at the expense of his brother Shaun after the Australian selectors conceded dropping the all-rounder for Trent Bridge had been an error.
Earlier this week he revealed a desire to play county cricket in future seasons and showed he can be more than useful with the ball in uprooting Rob Keogh’s off-stump and having Josh Cobb taken in the cordon next ball.
The 17-year-old Saif Zaib survived the hat-trick but batted with fluency as, surprisingly, did Kyle Coetzer, a batsman who came into the contest with a first-class average of 5.28 this season.
A crisp 86 – including a six to welcome leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed’s mid-afternoon introduction – addressed that.
