The Times - UK (2021-12-18)

ineffectual this time around as he did

four years ago.

It was the turn of the tailenders, and

Australia’s new boy, Neser, to have

some fun after tea, and to ready them-

selves for the twilight tango with the

pink ball. Neser and Starc added 58 in

nine overs, swiping with such intent

that Root, at times, had as many as eight

fielders on the boundary.

It was a terribly tame dismissal, the

result of a technique whereby

Hameed does not move much from

an initial trigger movement that

brings his front foot barely beyond

the popping crease. If the ball is very

full and straight, he can flick to the

leg side, but this was a better length

and should have been defended. It

was no time for such frippery. These

were the toughest conditions any

opener could face, so to gift one’s

wicket away in such a scenario was

deeply disappointing.

All the promise shown in Brisbane

(when he made 25 and 27) dissipated

in that one moment, with Hameed

left to reflect that he is now only

averaging 19.33 in this series.

Twenties do not make Test careers.

As for Burns, he is under the most

extreme pressure. He desperately

needs a score in the second innings.

His Test career may depend upon it.

heading towards fine leg, requiring a
bat path that came across the line of
the ball. It might have been a ball he
could have left on bounce too.
Hameed was soon driving nicely
through the covers off Starc again,
but it was the introduction of
debutant Michael Neser that did for
him. Neser played for Glamorgan last
summer and is very much like one of
their former Australian overseas
players, Michael Kasprowicz, in
character (the soundest of men) and
bowling modus operandi (skilful and
unstintingly accurate).
Neser’s run-up for his first ball
rushed Hameed so much that the
opener wasn’t ready and pulled away.
The first ball proper rushed him a
little too, squaring him up as he just
about defended his stumps. The next
ball was straight again, if a touch
fuller, but all Hameed could do was
chip it to mid-on.

piled on 473 for nine before declaring

early in the final session.

Having toiled in the Adelaide heat

throughout the day, England were

ground further into the dirt as Austra-

lia’s tail added 83 runs in ten overs

before Steve Smith called his players in,

leaving the touring side to face the new

ball under lights at the end of the day.

Rory Burns, who is having a night-

mare tour full of dropped catches and

low scores, lasted just three balls for

four runs before falling victim to Mitch-

ell Starc. Haseeb Hameed followed for

six, becoming Michael Neser’s first Test

wicket. Dawid Malan and Joe Root,

who put on a century partnership in the

first Test, held on before play was abort-

ed early because of an electrical storm.

Ben Stokes, who took three wickets,

was typically bullish and refused to

believe his side are beaten. “If we don’t

Stokes: It’s tough but we must believe

believe, we’re beaten already,” the all-

rounder said, in something of a rallying

cry to his team-mates, “It’s been a tough

two days. It’s never ideal [being in the

field for 150 overs] but you’ve just got to

love the dirt when you get that deep and

understand what you’re playing for.”

Stokes had been called upon to act as

England’s enforcer with a barrage of

short balls. The tactic was questioned

by Smith, Australia’s stand-in captain,

and David Warner but Stokes defended

the strategy which was deployed in the

absence of an out-and-out pace bowler.

“I was just trying to create a different

environment for the batters,” Stokes

said. “It does look odd when you’re try-

ing to run in and bowl 11 overs of short

stuff. But the first couple of spells I felt

like it created chances. We haven’t

batted that long and losing two wickets

isn’t ideal. But tomorrow is going to be

a good day for batting. There will be no

lights and Australia showed that once

you get in, it’s pretty hard to get out.”

Sir Alastair Cook advised struggling

Burns that he may need to adjust his

quirky technique if he is to overcome

his terrible run of form that has brought

him only 17 runs in three innings.

Speaking on BT Sport, Cook said:

“You’re always told in international

cricket, ‘Do what you do in county

cricket, you don’t change how you play,

you’d be mad to change it.’ This does

work for Rory Burns on occasion but to

be more consistent early in his innings,

I think he really needs to think about

how he gets that bat coming down

straighter.

“With that perfect Mitchell Starc

angle, to hit the ball perfectly with it

coming away and his coming across,

your timing has to be absolutely spot

on. If it’s not spot on the face of your bat

is slightly closed as you come to hit it.

He now has to decide what he’s going to

do because Starc, for the next four Test

matches [including this one], it’s almost

the perfect combination against him.”

CONTINUED FROM FRONT

extension of the arms, suggested that
he was seeing the ball well and getting
into better positions. With no Mark
Wood to make him hop around, Smith
bedded in.
Local boy Carey got off the mark
with a sweetly timed pull for four and
brought up his maiden Test half-centu-
ry in a partnership of 91 with Smith that
stretched through the afternoon

session. James Anderson had looked

unthreatening but, as always, refused to

let his figures get away from him, so

when he trapped Smith on the back foot

seven short of a century and then en-

couraged Carey to chip to cover on the

stroke of tea, those figures took on a

more impressive glow. The same could

not be said for Woakes, who conceded

103 off 23.4 overs and has looked as

himself in knots again

The fielding became scrappy, with

overthrows and a difficult chance

missed by Ollie Pope at deep mid-wick-

et. With the declaration in hand, the

crowd became increasingly raucous,

revelling in the misfortunes of an

England team who continue to make a

difficult task even more so, by dint of

some woolly thinking and elementary

mistakes.

clouds settling over his reign

the times | Saturday December 18 2021 1GS 3

The Ashes Sport

Scoreboard

AUSTRALIA First Innings R

(overnight 221-2)

M Labuschagne

lbw b Robinson

Nip off seam, back into knee-roll

103

*S P D Smith

lbw b Anderson

Good length ball that nipped back

93

T M Head

b Root

Full toss, played over the top of it

18

C J Green

b Stokes

Cracking delivery, hit the top of off

2

@A T Carey

c Hameed b Anderson

Fuller outside off, sliced it to cover

51

M A Starc

not out

39

M G Neser

c Broad b Stokes

A high and mighty towards long-off

35

J A Richardson

c Buttler b Woakes

Swished across the line, a thin nick

9

Extras (lb 9, nb 11, w 5) 25

TOTAL (9 wkts dec, 150.4 overs) 473

N M Lyon did not bat.

Fall of wickets 1-4, 2-176, 3-241, 4-291,

5-294, 6-385, 7-390, 8-448, 9-473.

Bowling Anderson 29-10-58-2; Broad 26-

6-73-1; Woakes 23.4-6-103-1; Robinson 27-

13-45-1; Stokes 25-2-113-3; Root 20-2-72-1.

Umpires P Wilson and R Tucker.

TV umpire P Reiffel.

ENGLAND First Innings R

H Hameed

c Starc b Neser

Full and angled, chipped to mid on

6

R J Burns

c Smith b Starc

Edged straight to second slip

4

D J Malan

not out

1

*J E Root

not out

5

Extras (lb 1) 1

TOTAL (2 wkts, 8.4 overs) 17

B A Stokes, O J D Pope, @J C Buttler,

C R Woakes, O E Robinson, S C J Broad,

J M Anderson to bat.

Fall of wickets 1-7, 2-12.

Bowling Starc 3-1-11-1; Richardson 4-3-1-0;

Neser 1.4-0-4-1.

DAVE HUNT/AAP VIA EPA