A Series-defining Session Coming Up

 

 

Ashes 2013

 

England need a big day today

 

August 11^th

 

[10:00 CEST] Yesterday England showed that 300 would have been a good total to defend in their first innings. Even 250 would have probably been enough to win a valuable first innings lead had Jimmy Anderson been rested and replaced with Graeme Onions as I suggested before the match. As Stuart Broad had grown in confidence, Jimmy Anderson has started to tire and, unsurprisingly after his huge efforts in the first two Tests and, here, a back-to-back Test was just too much for him. There is no shame in a compressed five-match series in just accepting that you need a match off to be at your best to the end of the series. Undoubtedly Jimmy Anderson was willing to play and happy to do so for the side but, deep down, he must have known that something is missing.

Stuart Broad bowled with vim and venom and, had his support been stronger, Australia would not have found it so easy to recover from another top-order collapse. The truth was that at 49-3 and 76-4, Australia were there for the taking. Once again England had as much bad luck with DRS as they had had good luck in the first two Tests – these things always even out in the end – but you also make your own luck and a couple of difficult missed chances also contributed to letting Australia escape.

There was also an element of Alistair Cook being outdone by Michael Clarke in the field: where Clarke was always trying something new, pushing, exploring, suffocating the batsmen with pressure in the field, Cook seems more prone to let things drift. There were three overs from Jonathon Trott, but it might have been worth trying an over or two of Root or Pietersen to run-saving fields as the ball got soft, to see if the batsmen could be coaxed into doing something silly. As Geoff Boycott always said when Larry Gomes or Viv Rchards came on and not just did not concede runs, but also nipped out a vital wicket as a batsman tried to break the shackles: “you look daft not scoring off them, but you look even dafter when you try to hit them and get out – it’s amazing how daft you can look trying not to look daft”.

This morning England have the new ball early and may still have the lead when it arrives. Two quick wickets and things will start to look very different, particularly if one of them is Rogers. This is not an easy pitch to bat on and Rogers has finally produced the innings that he was brought in to play: nothing flashy, just fight hard and see it through. It was the innings that England so obviously lacked. Had it not been for Rogers’ grit Australia would be in a real hole.

If England have a good morning session, this match is still very much alive. If Australia can see off the new ball, they will have a real chance of a lead of 100+ that would probably win the match.

Whichever way you look at it, the morning session will be crucial in deciding whether England go 3-0 up – if the lead can be kept to 30 or 40 they will feel confident of setting Australia a tough target – or Australia pull back to 2-1 and keep the series live at The Oval. For Australia that would be almost as good as a series win, because it would show that they are very much in the ascendant.

 

[13:20 CEST] Job done for England, even if they will feel disappointed to have let Australia get as many as 32 ahead. Now, if they can get to lunch without losing a wicket, England will win, but they have had awful starts so far. England need an opening partnership of more than 50 and, if they do not get it, must start to re-think the opening pair and consider very seriously bringing back Nick Compton.