Section:OBS 2S PaGe:3 Edition Date:190804 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 3/8/2019 19:40 cYanmaGentaYellowblac
- The Observer
04.08.19 3
Head. England’s progress had been
much stickier in the fi rst half of the
day. Their remaining six wickets com-
piled another 107. They would have
hoped for more. Yet when Jonny
Bairstow became the eighth wicket to
fall with 300 on the board they would
have feared that their lead would be
considerably less than 90. A grafting
65-run partnership between Chris
Woakes and Broad ensured a lead of
some signifi cance.
Batting was slow and tricky for
England. The Australia attack was on
target and combative; the pitch was
losing pace, sucking the energy out
of batsmen and bowlers. There was
some turn for Nathan Lyon but it was
usually slow.
Stokes hinted at something spe-
cial with a thumping straight drive to
the boundary off James Pattinson.
With Rory Burns digging in as
if he was just starting his
innings rather than resum-
ing with three fi gures to his
name, only Stokes offered
the prospect of any swift
advancement. He posted
his fi fty from 95 balls. Then
he attempted to pummel a
delivery from Pat Cummins
square on the off-side but only
succeeded in edging to the
keeper.
Burns fi nally square-drove a
boundary to bring his tally in
the fi rst hour to seven, where-
upon Lyon found the edge of
his bat. Out came Moeen against
his tormentor of old. He kicked
four leg-byes and defended three
deliveries successfully. Then he
shouldered arms and lost his
off stump.
Not every ball was turning.
Moeen remains consistently relia-
ble and trustworthy as a characterThe series is
three days old
and the threat
of Smith has
already mangled
a few minds
1 k
Steve Smith
has now
scored more
than 1,000
runs in Ashes
Tests in
England.65
The 65-run
ninth-wicket
partnership
between
Chris Woakes
and Stuart
Broad helped
England
recover from
a middle-
order collapse.312
Rory Burns’s
133 came
from 312
balls with
17 fours –
the longest
innings by
an England
opener other
than Alastair
Cook since
Marcus
Trescothick’s
219 at the
Oval in 2003
against South
Africa.2
It has
happened
twice before
that a team
with a
fi rst-innings
lead has
gone on to
lose a Test at
Edgbaston:
Australia in
1981 and
Pakistan in
2016.Match
numbersJofra Archer
featured as
a substitute
fi elder to cheers
from the crowd.
England’s World
Cup hero was
briefl y fi elding in
the deep before
going offLook, no sandpaper
Cheeky Warner’s riposte
With Stuart Broad on strike, David Warner was sent out to the
boundary in front of the Hollies Stand at deep square -leg and,
predictably, was on the receiving end of some hearty barracking
over his role in the Cape Town sandpaper scandal that cost him a
year out of the game. “We saw you cry on the telly” to the tune of
Guantanamera was one popular chant. Warner, however, showed
the fans some true Aussie bluff , blowing his haranguers a kiss
and, with a toothy grin on his face, turning out his empty pockets.Moeen could still be
a matchwinner after
enduring day to forget
When Ed Smith, James Taylor,
Trevor Bayliss and Joe Root sat
down to pick their squad for this
fi rst Ashes Test and considered
their best spinner for the job, they
decided, not unreasonably, to plump
for the world’s leading wicket-taker
in the last year.
Moeen Ali has never needed a
number on his back to be spotted
on a cricket fi eld and yet 45 victims
at 23 since his return to the side
last summer appeared to be lost
on a gaggle of supporters if much
of the response to his inclusion- admittedly in the binary world
of social media – was anything
to go by.
Jack Leach was fresh from
an unlikely 92 against Ireland
as nightwatchman-opener – in
contrast to Moeen’s fl atlining form
with the bat – and on a Lord’s pitch
that made both spinners redundant,
this was enough to blind many to
the primary consideration of the
spot in question.
Moeen looked to make this point
in his column for the Guardian
before the Test match. And amid an
honest appraisal of his current funk
as a batsman, pointing to fi ve years
of yo-yoing up and down the
order that saw him – a
player with fi ve Test
centuries – accepting his
role as a bowler fi rst.
His batting, he
insisted, needed to
rediscover a sense of fun
and adventure. But by 12.15
on the third day at Edgbaston any
joie-de-vivre was over before it
began. Nathan Lyon, his tormentor
in Australia 18 months ago, was the
last man he wanted to face upon
replacing Rory Burns in the middle
and fi ve balls later England’s No 8
was on his way.
Now Lyon is master of his craft.
He may not boast the pipes, the
rig or the salad that the Grade
Cricketer podcasters joke about
when lampooning Australian cricket
culture (biceps, chest and hair to the
rest of us).
But with 340 Test wickets, Lyon
has long been his country’s most
prolifi c off-spinner.
He doesn’t need gifts but after
four solid defensive shots suddenly
Moeen offered his wicket wrapped
up with a ribbon, shouldering arms
to a ball dipping into the line of
middle-and-off only to hear the
dreaded death-rattle behind him.
It was heartbreaking viewing for
anyone who has drunk in those
laconic drives and insouciant pull
shots over the last fi ve years.
The turn Lyon had extracted from
his very fi rst ball of the Test, albeit
on a slow surface, at least offered
encouragement for Moeen, whose
own performance during a day one
that offered more for the seamers
was respectable enough (not least
with Jimmy Anderson crocked just
four overs into his work).
And so trailing by 90 runs,
Australia began their second dig in
the afternoon with Anderson still
absent, despite a spot of gun boat
diplomacy while trying to bowl
during the intervals. Joe Root was
looking to Moeen the spinner to
come alive.
Tossed the ball in the eighth
over, Moeen’s second delivery was
a beauty.
Flighted with a heavy rip, it beat
Cameron Bancroft on the drive and
missed the stumps by a whisker.
And then fi ve balls later Moeen
had his man, as Bancroft danced
down the pitch, stopped as if he
had walked out the front door with
his keys and dabbed meekly to Jos
Buttler at short-leg via pad.
But in the same over, with
England looking to swarm, came a
sliding doors moment for MoeenAli Martin
Edgbastonthat appeared to affect what
followed.
Usman Khawaja, whose
reputation as a poor player of spin
turned a signifi cant corner against
Pakistan in the UAE last October,
propped forward and an edge fl ew
low to Buttler at gully this time, only
to burst through his fi ngers.
From there, what could have
been two for 10 in his fi rst two
overs ended up as one for 47
from nine across two spells. Root
appeared to lose patience with
Moeen leaking runs but by the same
token had set fi elds that offered
easy release points for Steve Smith
in particular.
With Smith’s bat looking as wide
as ever, and Anderson surely ruled
out of bowling, England need the
spinner of the last 12 months to fully
reassert himself on day four.David Warner’s edge from Stuart
Broad was yet another case of umpire
Joel Wilson fl uffi ng a crucial decision.
It marked seven overturned decisions
in this fi rst Ashes Test, equalling the
record in an England match.in the dressing room and utterly
frenetic and unpredictable as a bats-
man in the middle. He tends to get
dismissed memorably and this was
another such occasion.
Next, Bairstow wafted against
Peter Siddle to be caught at slip and
England had lost four wickets for 18
runs. The response of Woakes and
Broad was impressive. Often Broad
swishes in these circumstances
but he buckled down, defending
against Lyon, nudging singles and
occasionally slog-sweeping. Woakes
was also an exemplar of orthodoxy
though he found time to hit the soli-
tary six of the innings over midwicket
off Lyon.
Eventually Broad was caught at
long-leg off a short delivery from
Cummins. It was surprising how
sparing Australia were in their use of
the short ball to Broad. Presumably
the sluggishness of the pitch was the
decisive factor.
Jimmy Anderson surfaced for long
enough for everyone to see that his
calf injury would prevent him from
bowling despite being sighted bowl-
ing in the nets during lunch.
The challenge ahead was clear:
England were going to have to win
this match without the assistance
of their champion bowler, a circum-
stance that is bound to be repeated at
Lord’s next week.some turn for Nathan Lyon but i
usually slow.
Stokes hinted at something
cial with a thumping straight dr
the boundary off James Pattin
With Rory Burns digging
if he was just startin
innings rather than re
ing with three fi gures
name, only Stokes of
the prospect of any
advancement. He po
his fi fty from 95 balls.
he attempted to pumm
delivery from Pat Cum
square on the off-side but
succeeded in edging to
keeper.
Burns fi nally square-dr
boundary to bring his ta
the fi rst hour to seven, wh
upon Lyon found the edg
his bat. Out came Moeen ag
his tormentor of old. He ki
four leg-byes and defended
deliveries successfully. The
shoulderedarms andlost
off stump.
Not every ball was turn
Moeen remains consistently r
ble and trustworthy as a charggoing offРЕЛИЗ
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