Tea and Biscuits at The Ashes
The Gabba, Brisbane, Day 2: Australia 343–7, leading by 196 and running hot, whilst England are running dangerously lame.
The Gabba, Brisbane, Day 2: Australia 343–7, leading by 196 and running hot, whilst England are running dangerously lame.
Before I commence with the day’s play, can I please direct you to the following two links that hopefully give you a flavour for your sofa bound, sleep deprived and biscuit munching narrator:
A cricketing journey
Why I’m going to Australia at 2am this winter for lunch and why cricket memories never fail to make me smile.medium.com
Tea and Biscuits at The Ashes
The Final Countdown. 2 sleeps. 3 days. 2 nights? I’ve lost count as the battle for the Ashes begins to flicker into…medium.com
Writing this at 11pm UK time and 30 minutes before the earlier start due to yesterday’s rain storm, England’s task this morning is a simple one considering yesterday’s calamity. The mindset must be: Brand new day, ball one, and indeed a brand new ball, or cherry as I prefer to call a new cricket ball. Two hours, the opening morning session, and England must attack as if the game is starting today. As if they won the toss and inserted the Australian into bat first. Today. Forget yesterday. It’s gone. Attack. Have attacking fields. And keep them! Don’t retreat at the first sign of a David Warner attacking stroke. All of this is seemingly against the England cricketing “grain” and indeed the polar opposite of the Australian team and mindset. Alas.
Anyway, to the morning session, and England (and Captain Root), attack please.
MORNING SESSION: Australia 113–1 at Lunch
For the regulation 2 hours of play this morning in Brisbane, England were exceptional, attacking, a threat and incredibly competitive. The impressive Robinson had Marcus Harris caught at 3rd slip with the score at just 10 and with the probing line and length bowling from Woakes and in particular a very impressive Mark Wood, and backed by attacking fields from Captain Root, England had the Aussies at 10–1. David Warner was scratching around and now joined by Marnus Labuschagne, the two chirpy, scatty, jittery and street fighting alley cats went to work at a Gabba cricket ground they both adore. With the score at 31 England struck again, with Ben Stokes clean bowling the busy and bustling Warner only to wildly overstep on the crease and bowl a no ball. Warner was reprieved (for the 6th time in his Test career in such circumstances) and resumed his partnership with Labuschagne and they dug in again, rarely scoring and repeatedly having fantastic English deliveries whistle past the outside edge of their bats.
Then, in the extra 30 minutes of play to make up for yesterday’s early close of play due to rain, the wheels didn’t exactly fall off for England, but two cogs are rattling and I already fear for them both. Ben Stokes pulled up lame when chasing a four ball to the boundary and appears to have twisted his knee and limped around the infield until Lunch. Of equal concern was the utter disdain with which both Warner and Labuschagne took apart English spinner Jack Leach. The spinner bowled three overs pre the lunch break and was smashed for 3 sixes and conceded a costly 31 from just 18 deliveries and the two Australian alley cats have now established a century partnership, Labuschagne has reached 50 and if Warner digs himself both in and out in the afternoon session, he could pass both the half and century mark, and England could be toiling come the Tea break.
AFTERNOON SESSION: Australia 193–3 at Tea (Lead by 46)
Today’s “Tea Time Tale” is a trio of players from either side of The Ashes divide. For the hosts, Marnus Labuschagne was in complete control and seeming dominance of the first of England’s hat-trick of players, spinner Jack Leach. Labuschagne became more and more expansive as the afternoon wore on but took one liberty too many against the English spinner and looped a simple catch to Mark Wood to fall for 74. Ollie Robinson has continued to be a thorn in the Australian side (1–30 from a brilliant 14 overs) but can’t dismiss David Warner, who stands at 94 Not Out at Tea and has now had three “lives” today (1) bowled on a no ball on 17 (2) dropped by Burns in the first over after Lunch for 48 and then (3) should’ve been run out by Hameed when on 60. Warner, the archetypal street fighter and previously termed Alley Cat has seemingly 6 more lives yet. And finally we have the even more skittish Steve Smith, Australian Captain if you believe the rumours I’m circulating, and master batsman, destroyer of opposition attacks too. He made a sketchy and twitchy 12 before “nicking off” to Buttler behind the stumps, giving Mark Wood, the continuingly impressive Mark Wood, his deserved first wicket of the match.
If the full quota of the day’s overs are bowled by stumps (and bad weather avoided), the Hosts should be near 300 runs. The visitors will be summoning up one last effort to take 2/3 prized wickets and keeping the score below 270.
Stumps on Day Two: Australia 343–7 (Travis Head 112 Not Out)
As I remarked to my cricketing mole (codename Horseman) during the morning session earlier, the reason why I love Test Match cricket, love, is because there is always the chance of there being “all four seasons in one day”, the batting side on top, the bowlers take a new cherry and suddenly the sands of victory in the hourglass fall a little quicker in favour of one side or the other. Rinse and Repeat. A side can dominate one session, maybe even two, but if their opponents dash a quick 100 in the final session, or take 5 or 6 wickets, then the match is completely changed in 90 minutes, 15 overs, and England’s Ollie Robinson threatened to do such a thing as he finally eked out Warner 6 short of a century (he ran out of cat lives obviously) and then clean bowled Green next ball to set up a possible hat-trick. In two balls, Australia went from 193–3 at Tea to 196–5 and their visitors were well and truly back in the game.
That’s the reason why I love Test Match cricket. And that’s the reason why I’m writing this immediately after the close of play, the walls are bending, I’m seeing ghosts of Chris Broad, it’s 7.42am, daylight is breaking, and we’ve had another not quite incredible day of Test Match cricket, but an absorbing one.
And a worrying one, which I’ll get to.
But first, with every chance of a hat-trick comes the possibility of a thrust and counter thrust from the batting team and, with England really back in the game at 196–5 and Robinson on a hat-trick, Travis Head dug in, barely scored in his first 20 balls before smashing his way to an eventual 85 ball century and the third quickest in Ashes history. Partnerships with Carey (41) and 70 with Skipper Cummins, Head took an ailing and completely out of gas England attack apart, taking his side from the precarious score of 196–5 to the eventual close of play score of 343–7 and a huge lead of 196 runs and with 3 first innings wicket still in hand. Head’s innings was incredible and twisting my own narrative logic above, it was also absorbing too as he closed in on his century and the English bowlers wilted all around him. The Hosts have a lead of 196 runs and will no doubt return in the morning to try and pile on more first innings runs, and they will, as the English attack is spent, and this first Test, just two days in, is already over.
Now, this concluding chapter may well read as pessimistic or reactionary or plainly absurd as there are still 3 days to go in this Test Match, and the first in a 5 Test Match Series. But there’s the rub right there:
Two days in, and via the vagaries in the Australian weather they’ve played zero competitive cricket and living inside a “bio bubble” and all the restrictions that come with that package, the English players are not only undercooked but perhaps, in Shane Warne’s own words, actually “cooked”. Done. This is in no way a criticism, just plain facts. Ollie Robinson bowled his heart out today, took 3 brilliant wickets, passed the outside edge countless times, but then limped off with cramp and when he returned he was stiff as the proverbial board. Ben Stokes manfully bowled at half pace because of the size of his competitive heart, but he’s tweaked a knee/pulled a muscle and is clearly injured and struggling to hobble around the infield.
At one stage Captain Cook had to continue bowling himself and Jack Leach, even though poor old Jack was carted around The Gabba for nearly 9 runs an over. But Cook had little alternative as Robinson was off the field, Stokes had bowled one over and was similarly smashed around the park and he had to turn to an exhausted Mark Wood. Again. Wood bowled brilliantly today. He took the new ball, despite being “done” for the day. And in all likelihood he’ll take the slightly new ball when the Aussies return in the morning to heap more misery on a tired, dangerously tired, England side. I don’t use the word “dangerously” lightly either. There was some dangerously lame horses out there this evening, wilting under the Brisbane lights. I seriously fear a serious injury in this Test Series. And I sincerely hope I’m wrong.
Considering the background to this Ashes Series, today was in fact an incredible day of Test cricket. It made for some absorbing viewing in the dark, drinking tea, and seeing the clock at 4.28am. But we’re only in day 2 of a maximum 25. And I seriously worry that an English cricketer is going to succumb to a serious injury. I also worry that England are going to be, in a sporting sense, ground into dust.
Because if Cummins doesn’t get them. Hazlewood surely must.
See you at 11.30pm!
If you’ve enjoyed this ramble through Day 2 of “Tea and Biscuit at The Ashes”, can I direct you to yesterday’s run down of events:
Tea and Biscuits at The Ashes
The Gabba, Brisbane, Day 1: England win the unwinnable toss and are bundled out for just 147. Australia on top.medium.com