Daily Mail - 17.08.2019

QQQ Daily Mail, Saturday, August 17, 2019

THE ASHES

PAUL

NEWMAN

Cricket Correspondent

at Lord’s

126 THE ASHES SECOND TEST

THE ASHES

@Paul_NewmanDM

First blood: Archer

celebrates the wicket

of Bancroft and

(below) is mobbed by

team-mates REUTERS/AFP

Cricket’s new superstar

takes first scalp... and

there’ll be many more!

I

t was shown to only

just be clipping the

bails but what will

surely be the first of

many test wickets

for Jofra Archer ignited

England’s challenge on a

day when they could easily

have squandered perfect

bowling conditions.

Australia had doubled their over-

night score of 30 without alarm

yesterday under leaden skies and

with the floodlights shining down

on Lord’s as England strained to

make the most of what play was

possible on the third day before

the inevitable rain.

But, just as it seemed Australia

would provide a lesson in applica-

tion so lacking in most of Eng-

land’s batting, one of the most

heralded debutants in test history

stepped up on the ground where

last month he won the World Cup.

Cameron Bancroft had been

grimly hanging on without ever

looking fluent as England’s

three-pronged pace attack pitched

just a fraction too short to take

advantage fully of the movement

will be able to prove to Australia

coach Justin Langer that he has

‘another think coming’, as Archer

put it before this test, by being

just as potent in his third and

fourth spells of a day as his first.

Archer’s first wicket also brought

to life the Lord’s crowd, who urged

Archer on as his next delivery, to a

certain Steve Smith, was clocked

at 93.5mph.

England finally found the right

lines and lengths to penetrate

Australia’s defences. Usman

Khawaja had provided the bulk of

Australia’s runs but he prodded

uncertainly at Chris Woakes

outside off-stump in the over

following Bancroft’s departure

and gave Jonny Bairstow a

straightforward catch.

then Stuart Broad, who had

made the initial breakthrough by

dismissing David Warner in the

hour afforded Australia on thurs-

day, brought England right back

into this second Specsavers test

by reducing them to

71 for four.

travis Head

looked absolutely

plumb when Broad

struck him in front

but umpire Dar had

heard two noises

and turned down

England’s impas-

sioned appeal.

Fortunately for

Broad technology

showed the ball had

struck both legs

rather than bat.

Perhaps a bigger

howler was to come

from Dar’s partner

Chris Gaffaney when

he gave Matthew

Wade out to a ball the

naked eye knew must

have pitched outside

leg-stump. the review

confirmed what should

have been obvious to the

umpire.

through it all the immovable and

ever more idiosyncratic figure of

Smith stood firm to continue

where he left off at Edgbaston by

frustrating England.

Archer took up a duel that should

go a long way towards deciding

the destination of the Ashes dur-

ing a spell of seven overs in which

he conceded just eight runs for the

wicket of Bancroft. But he was

never really able to trouble Smith.

Only when the former captain

played and missed at Stokes’s first

ball did he offer England a smidg-

eon of encouragement, while he

did his best to drive the bowlers to

distraction with leaves that were

more pronounced than ever.

At least this time England stuck

to what must surely be the best

plan for Smith by bowling a

disciplined line outside off-stump

while setting a leg-side field and

settling for containment rather

than aiming straight and feeding

his strengths.

When the rain came on the stroke

of lunch Australia were 80 for

four, still 178 behind, and England

had given themselves a chance of

forcing a result even with the bulk

of two of the first three days lost.

the forecast is now for dry

weather the whole weekend and if

England can gain a decent first-

innings lead they have a big chance

of levelling the Ashes before the

teams head to Leeds for a third

test that begins next thursday.

For that to happen they must

find a way of getting through

Smith, who was able to leave 43

per cent, according to the analysts

CricViz, of the 40 deliveries that

were propelled at him yesterday.

He reached 13 by the premature

close. But where there is Archer,

now there is hope.

STUART BROAD has called for a

match-winning effort from

England’s bowlers today as they

seek to make up for lost time in

the second Ashes Test.

After two sessions were rained

out on the third day, Australia

resume on the fourth morning

178 adrift on 80 for four. And with

196 overs still to go, Broad has

not given up hope of victory.

‘Our bowling unit’s aim is to get

the next six wickets by lunch and

then ideally bat until an hour or

half an hour before lunch on day

five and try to force a result,’ he

said. ‘This pitch has got 10 good

balls in it in each day. Hopefully

we’ll be bowling last, and there’s

a bit of dryness, so Jack Leach

could come into the game with

good footholes. I think there’s a

chance of a result.’

Broad also praised Jofra Archer

after he picked up his first Test

wicket, saying: ‘What impressed

me was his nagging line, and the

fact he can bring all dismissals in.

He’s aggressive with his bouncer

and this is only his first Test.’

JOFRA GEM IGNIT

that was absent throughout most

of thursday.

then Archer nipped one back

down the slope and struck

Bancroft a little high on his right

pad but close enough for Aleem

Dar to raise his finger.

It was a dismissal that came from

the Pavilion End as opposed to the

Nursery where he made World Cup

history with his super over but for

Archer it must have meant almost

as much.

In truth it was a decision that

would probably not have been

given before the Decision Review

System but the ‘umpire’s call’ was

enough to send Bancroft on his

way and prompt jubilation at the

latest milestone for cricket’s new

superstar.

the first of how many test

wickets? Well, there has already

been enough in this performance

from Archer to back up his

pre-match suggestion that

red-ball cricket is his favoured

format so it feels safe to predict he

should be able to manage 300.

Providing, of course, there is

enough test cricket over the next

10 years for Archer to do so.

And there seems little doubt he

BROAD: WE CAN STILL WIN

IF WE COME OUT FIGHTING

By LAWRENCE BOOTH

SECOND TEST MATCH

England v Australia

(Day 3 of 5)

LORD’S: Australia, with six first-innings wickets in

hand, trail England by 178 runs.

ENGLAND — First Innings 258

(Burns 53, Bairstow 52)

AUSTRALIA — First Innings

(Overnight 30-1)

C Bancroft lbw b Archer ........................................ 13

U Khawaja c Bairstow b Woakes ........................... 36

S Smith not out ...................................................... 13

T Head lbw b Broad .................................................. 7

M Wade not out ........................................................ 0

Extras (b4, lb4) ...................................................... 8

Total (4 wkts, 37.1 overs) .................................... 80

Fall: 11, 60, 60, 71.

Bowling: Broad 13-3-26-2, Archer 13-6-18-1,

Woakes 9-3-27-1, Stokes 2.1-1-1-0.

SCOREBOARD

TODAY

Sunny and dry

throughout,

peaking at 22 degrees.

TOMORROW

More good weather with

temperatures in low 20s.

ASHES WEATHER

TV: LIVE on Sky Sports

Cricket from 10am

(play starts 11am).

Radio: BBC 5 Live Sports

Extra, 10am. Highlights:

Channel 5, 7pm.