“Aussies take charge after day 1 in London”
The “Spirit of Cricket” Sessions
“Well I’ve just been stung on the neck by a wasp!”
“How’s your day going?”
Welcome, to another edition of the “Spirit of Cricket” sessions and a Youtube channel reading of a chapter from a book I’m immensely proud of and all whilst accompanied by some sunshine from Shrewsbury in central England, and in April of 2023.
Thursday 27th July 2023
“Aussies take charge after Day 1 in London”
Ashes Day 20: The Oval, London
England 283 all out
Australia 61–1 (trail by 222 runs)
Prologue: Scurrilous Rumours
After calling “Tails” for the fifth consecutive time, Australian captain Pat Cummins finally called the pre-game coin toss correctly and had no hesitation whatsoever in asking England to bat first. Perhaps it was the muggy and cloudy overhead conditions so conducive to swing and fast bowling that swayed his decision, but rather I believe it to be a decision born out of the frustration of England constantly being able to bowl first, setting the tone for the match and ultimately the run chase for victory.
Surprisingly, there was only one team change from the washed out draw of Old Trafford last week with Aussie spin bowler Todd Murphy replacing the all-round talents of Cameron Green whilst England remain unchanged for a game and a Test Match everyone is seemingly desperate not to label this game the “dead rubber” it clearly is. With Australia holding a 2–1 lead entering this fifth and final Test Match and being the holders of the precious urn of ashes, they will retain ownership come what may in five days time. If we have another washed out draw (the long range weather looks horrendous come Sunday into Monday), they win the series 2–1. If they win here at The Oval (and they’ve made an incredibly positive and big first step in doing so today), then they win 3–1, but even if England can winkle out their batting line-up twice (looking highly unlikely) and chase down the required runs for victory (which I hope they do), the series will still be tied 2–2 and Australia will still be in possession of the smallest trophy in all sports.
So it’s not a dead rubber of a Test Match.
But it is really.
Anyway, talking of scurrilous rumours, the sexiest voice in all of cricket returned to the Sky TV microphones today and for that, I’m truly thankful. Don’t believe the rumours that I and I alone have circulated that Mel Jones missed last week’s Test Match at Old Trafford so we could be together for a long awaited love tryst on a remote island off the coast of Malta. Rather than watching the rain fall in Manchester we were in fact basking in the Mediterranean sunshine, laughing away our cares amid a temperature rising love affair which I believe has skirted under the radar of English and Australian tabloid newspapers alike. By the time this becomes public knowledge, Mel and I will no doubt have run away from the media glare of publicity and set up a love-nest on the island of The Azores and I’ll radiate not in the glow of constant sunshine but in the sexiest goddamn voice cricket has ever had, even usurping her compatriot from Australia, the one and only, Jim Maxwell.
I could listen to Mel reading the Wisden Almanack and if the scurrilous rumours that I’m circulating are true, maybe one day I will.
Just keep this trusted information under your baggy green caps until at least the end of this Test Match please?
Act One: An even-steven first session in London
For the first hour of two this morning, England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett made light of the gloomy, darkened overhead skies and were solidly approaching the mid-session drinks break unbeaten in a partnership of 62 runs. It was at this point in the day that I confirmed to my Social Affairs Editor Dr Horseman, and I quote, “there are big runs to be had on this wicket”.
It’s just a shame that England missed out on those runs!
Either side of the drinks break, the hosts collapsed from 62–0 to 73–3 losing both openers in the process as well as Joe Root for a paltry 5. Duckett was the first to go for a run-a-ball 41 after receiving a cricketing “life” when on 30 and David Warner dropped the first of five (five!) catches the Australians would spill today. Whereas Duckett was more than a little unlucky wafting at a leg-side delivery from Mitchell Marsh, Crawley fell to a brilliant catch from Steve Smith at 2nd Slip 10 runs after being granted a “life” by the Aussie vice-captain when on 12. Smith dived full length and goalkeeper style but just failed to hold on to a very difficult chance, the second catch spurned by the visitors this morning, but soon after Crawley, Root “chopped on” to his own stumps from the bowling of Josh Hazlewood and in a matter of minutes, England had tossed away a fine opening advantage amid the profligacy of their visitors usually perfect record in the field.
The template for the day had been set as will be demonstrated immediately and further on throughout the day. From 73–3, Harry Brook dominated a 58 run partnership with Moeen Ali that saw England reach the Lunch Break on 131–3 with Brook himself on 48 not out from just 41 balls received, one of which was tamely edged into the gloved hands of a sprawling Alex Carey behind the stumps only for the Aussie wicket-keeper to spill the easiest of regulation catches. Brook was granted this “life” when on just 5 runs and 43 runs later, he remained unbeaten at the break in an opening session that had seen two large batting partnerships (62 and 59), three quick wickets, three dropped catches and an easy run-out chance wasted by Aussie skipper Pat Cummins.
An even first session of play but it could and should have been a lot worse for an England team desperate for victory to stave off the possibility of losing an Ashes series to Australia on home turf for the first time in over two decades.
Act Two: “England are falling apart”
Returning to commentary duties, Mel Jones shattered what’s left of my broken heart by confirming she’d spent a few days in Norway recently rather than the love tryst on our island idyll in the Mediterranean and those scurrilous rumours that will sadly never be true are now extinguished. Alas it rather set the tone once more for a session of cricket in which England did indeed fall apart amid yet more injury scares, batting partnerships, batting collapses, and stumps clattering clean out of the ground.
Harry Brook and Moeen Ali’s pre-Lunch partnership of 59 quickly escalated to the unlucky cricketing number of 111 but with Ali incurring a seemingly innocuous looking groin strain he had no option but to endeavour to score quick runs before his incoming demise. He could have, in the beautiful vernacular of this great game “retired hurt” and returned once he’d received a lengthy bout of treatment but instead crashed some quick runs on his way to 34 before being tamely clean bowled by Todd Murphy. Whilst Brook remained not out at the other end, England collapsed once more, this time from a healthy position of 184–3 to 208–6, with all England batsmen losing their cricketing “castle” in the process. Ali was clean bowled middle stump by Murphy, 9 runs later captain Stokes had his off stump smashed from the ground by a brilliant delivery from Mitchell Starc before just 15 runs later, Jonny Bairstow “chopped on” in the exact same manner as his Yorkshire teammate Joe Root. England had lost 3 wickets for just 24 runs, a position made gravely worse by the fall of Harry Brook’s wicket just 4 runs after the demise of Bairstow, leaving the home team on a precarious 212–7 after seemingly cruising at 184–3. Brook had cashed in on the life given him when on just 5 to rampage his way, with a little luck, to a half century from just 44 balls received and ultimately a very well crafted 85 runs from 91 balls before edging a sharp chance to Steve Smith who this time made no mistake.
“England are falling apart” lamented Ian Ward on TV commentary duties and they were indebted to a 38 run partnership late in the afternoon session from the 2 W’s, Chris Woakes (15 not out) and Mark Wood (23 not out) as they rather limped to 250–7 at the Tea Break.
There are huge runs to be made on this wicket, and England simply haven’t scored enough.
Act Three: Australia take the honours on Day 1
The pattern of batting partnerships and dropped catches continued throughout the final session of play. Chris Woakes would be the last man out on a run-a-ball 36 but not before receiving a reprieve on 15 when challenging a LBW decision via the TV umpire, then a dropped catch from Mitchell Marsh when on 24 and another from Todd Murphy a run later. Mark Wood was “cleaned up” by the bowling of Murphy shortly after, Stuart Broad out for 7 chasing quick runs and when Woakes had finally used up all his cricketing lives, England were all out for a very below par total of 283, easily 100 runs short of a par score on a wicket I’m convinced has a bagful of runs in it.
With an hour and 40 minutes to bat until the close of play, Aussie openers Usman Khawaja and David Warner easily saw off the opening attacking salvo of Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson, brilliantly described by Mel Jones as the “Benjamin Button of cricket”, to coast their way to an opening partnership of 49 before Warner, having yet again completed the hard yards of getting himself in and “set”, nicked a sharp chance from the bowling of Chris Woakes which Zak Crawley snaffled at 2nd Slip. Warner was gone for a well played 24, but Khawaja looms large on the horizon and stubbornly resolute on 26 not out, accompanied by Marnus Labuschagne who has yet to kick start his innings on 2 not out overnight.
It was Australia’s day, and England should be counting themselves lucky to still be in the contest even at this very early stage of the Test Match.
Epilogue: Down by the riverside
All in all, Australia created 16 wicket taking chances in just over 2 sessions of play and had they held on to any number of the five catches they dropped, they could have bowled England all out for a lowly 200. Every Australian bowler grabbed a wicket today, one each for captain Cummins and all-rounder Marsh, two for Murphy, two for Hazlewood and four wickets for a marauding Mitchell Starc who’s delivery that ripped Ben Stokes’ off stump clean out of the ground was a cricketing “Peach” or “Jaffa” of the very highest order.
England meanwhile looked rock solid, twice, until two batting collapses ripped the guts out of a 1st innings display hanging on the brilliance of youth in Harry Brook and the dogged bloody minded determination of veterans Chris Woakes and Mark Wood. 283 all out doesn’t look anywhere near enough on this wicket but time, as ever, will tell. What tomorrow in particular will tell is whether or not England have the firepower to bowl Australia all out once let alone twice, a prospect I deem highly doubtful with the loss to injury of Moeen Ali and the ineffective (though may the cricketing Gods bless his genius) James Anderson. Here’s hoping Mark Wood has another of “those” special bowling spells in him tomorrow, otherwise I foresee Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne or Steve Smith making those big runs I keep predicting.
Four days remain in this Summer’s Ashes and England look as though they’re backed into an impossible corner, but none of these thoughts clouded my mind as I ambled along the River Severn in the early evening sunshine of Ironbridge. The small riverside toy town looked a picture in the evening sunshine overflowing with patrons, residents and tourists enjoying some late day sunshine as the bells from St Luke’s Church high atop the hill rang their chimes of freedom.
Fish and Chips beside the river in some beautiful early evening sunshine?
And why not?
See you tomorrow.
“Aussies take charge after Day 1 in London” also moonlights as chapter number 37 within my second of three self-published books on the grandest of all games, “The Spirit of Cricket”. Here’s my cricketing hat-trick and pride and joy together with her stable mates all available for purchase on Amazon or free to read should you have an Amazon Kindle “Unlimited” package.
Thanks for reading. I hope this message in a bottle in The Matrix finds you well, prospering, and the right way up in an upside down world.