Section:OBS 2S PaGe:2 Edition Date:190804 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 3/8/2019 19:24 cYanmaGentaYellowblac
- The Observer
2 04.08.19 Cricket
Subhead Here
The Ashes
England attack strives in vain
to dislodge immovable Smith
Yet again Steve Smith is the obstacle
driving the English to distraction.
While he is still at the crease nothing
can be guaranteed. In front of another
packed house here England made
some solid progress: a fi rst-innings
lead of 90 and three early scalps when
Australia batted again. But Smith,
who reminded us on the fi rst day
how he can transform an innings,
remained.
Smith cruised through the final
session, picking up runs at will, which
meant that Australia’s response sped
along at four runs per over, a rate well
in excess of anything achieved in the
match. By the close they were 124 for
three from 31 overs and with Smith
still at the crease there is no limit to
what England’s victory target will be.
The series is three days old and the
threat of Smith has already mangleda few minds. Upon his arrival at the
crease England reverted to funkiness,
self-defeating funkiness at that. The
fi eld placements changed incessantly.
For the seamers there might be two
men on the leg side one moment, fi ve
the next, maybe with a cunning leg
slip and short mid-on. As a conse-
quence Smith gently tapped the ball
into one of several gaps.
The exasperation was greatest
when Moeen Ali, some way from the
top of his form, was bowling. The fi eld
was spreadeagled in such a way that
it became practically impossible for
him to deliver a series of dot balls
even on the assumption that he was
bowling well.
Smith was in clover as England for-
got one of the basics: that even the
great batsmen, a category in which
Smith obviously belongs, do not like
being tied down and compelled to
work for their runs. Martin Crowe
used to explain how he hated facing
a Glenn McGrath style of bowler not
because he feared being dismissed
at any moment but because he wasnot sure where the next run was
coming from. If Joe Root thinks
about that he might share that opin-
ion. In which case why offer Smith so
many easy options to jog off strike?
Forget about all those pre-delivery
contortions, hide your eyes if nec-
essary and try a length just outside
off stump along with the occasional
bouncer. So Smith was there unbeaten
on 46 at the close and Australia’s lead
was 34, a disappointing outcome for
England given the start they had in
the fi eld.
David Warner had inadvert-
ently edged a lifter in Stuart Broad’s
second over and the early introduc-
tion of Moeen paid dividends when
Cameron Bancroft was caught at bat
and pad by Jos Buttler at short-leg.
Then the runs fl owed too freely in the
partnership between Usman Khawaja
and Smith.
With Australia under pressure to
stay in the game 48 came in nine overs
before Ben Stokes found Khawaja’s
inside edge. Thereafter they still came
all too swiftly for Smith and TravisScoreboard
Australia First innings 284 (SPD Smith 144; SCJ Broad
5-86).
England First innings (overnight 267-4)
RJ Burns c Paine b Lyon ....................................... 133
BA Stokes c Paine b Cummins ................................ 50
†JM Bairstow c Warner b Siddle ............................... 8
MM Ali b Lyon ......................................................... 0
R Woakes not out ................................................. 37
SCJ Broad c Pattinson b Cummins .......................... 29
JM Anderson c Cummins b Lyon ............................... 3
Extras (b10, lb11, w2, nb1) ................................... 24
Total (135.5 overs) ............................................. 374
Fall cont 282, 296, 300, 300, 365.
Bowling Cummins 33-9-84-3; Pattinson 27-3-82-2;
Siddle 27-8-52-2; Lyon 43.5-8-112-3; Wade 1-0-7-0;
Head 2-1-7-0; Smith 2-0-9-0.
Australia Second innings
CT Bancoft c Buttler b Ali ........................................ 7
DA Warner c Bairstow b Broad .................................. 8
UT Khawaja c Bairstow b Stokes ............................. 40
SPD Smith not out ................................................ 46
TM Head not out ................................................... 21
Extras (b1, nb1) ...................................................... 2
Total (for 3, 31 overs).......................................... 124
Fall cont 13, 27, 75.
To bat MS Wade, *†TD Paine, PJ Cummins,
JL Pattinson, NM Lyon, PM Siddle.
Bowling Broad 6-0-26-1; Woakes 6-1-20-0;
Ali 9-0-47-1; Root 3-0-12-0; Stokes 7-2-18-1.
To s s Australia elected to bat.
Umpires JS Wilson (Trin) and Aleem Dar (Pak).
TV umpire CB Gaffeney (NZ).
Match referee Ranjan Madugalle (Sri).Bowlers prise out
three wickets before
Australia clear the
defi cit but stubborn
batsman once again
frustrates hosts
with unbeaten 46
Vic
Marks
EdgbastonSteve Smith
crashes a shot
to the boundary
before bad light
intervened
shortly after
6pm at
Edgbaston
MIKE EGERTON/PAРЕЛИЗ
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