Third Test, Day 2: Repent! The End Is Nigh!

 

 

Ashes 2015

 

Third Test: Day 2; The End is Nigh!

 

July 30^th 2015

 

 

Before the Test started I suggested the following revolutionary thought that, despite England’s miserable capitulation at Lord’s:

“Australia are still vulnerable”.

Two truncated days of cricket later – only 158.5 overs of a potential 188 have been bowled, equivalent to a fraction under 5 sessions – and the match would have been over already without a valiant rearguard action from a player who many of the Australian team reportedly did not want to see in the side and another who every Englishman loves to hate. Without it Australia would have lost in two days for the first time in over 120 years and, most likely by an innings.

It is not quite what you would have predicted when England staggered drunkenly to 190-7 about 40 minutes before Lunch, with Australia apparently right back in the game.

It all looked so easy before the start of play. Take advantage of excellent batting conditions. Grind Australia down. Score 400.

Enter Mitch…

Exit Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes in a single, supercharged over.

It was the sort of devastating response that Australia had required the previous afternoon instead of when England were already ahead.

Then, something unexpected happened. In came Stuart Broad. A fired-up Mitch Johnson with the ball. How long would it take him to deliver a straight one? Somehow Broad survived and runs started to flow more quickly. And then, after Lunch, a fully-fledged and brutal counter-attack: 37 runs from the first five overs.

Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad undid all Australia’s good work of the morning and showed that the talk about attack was not just talk. Australia looked very ordinary. Heads dropped. Australia looked defeated.

A lead of 145 was far fewer than it should have been but, even so, was a mountain to climb. Logic though has been out to lunch in this series.

Lose Chris Rogers early? No problem! David Warner smashed the ball to all parts. Australia were scoring at 5-an-over and looking at a substantial lead by the Close and setting England a challenging target on the third day.

Expect the unexpected. Most England fans thought that picking Steve Finn was a terrible risk, so he proceeded to wipe out what most consider to be the best batting line-up in the world: Smith, Clarke, Voges, Marsh. 5-45. Merci beaucoup.

Well as Finn and England bowled, you had to think that Australia’s batting showed all the strength and character of melting ice cream, as Neville and Mitch Johnson demonstrated by batting solidly for almost eighteen overs and putting Australia into the lead.

Effectively 23-7, Australia need at least one hundred more from the tail in the morning. All logic says that England will win before Lunch but, then, logic hasn’t had a great match so far, has it?

Mitch-watch: 3, 16-2-66-2 and 14.

It has been an odd match for Mitch. An amazing over early in the morning that got Australia back into the match. Sensible batting in the evening that saved them from a likely innings defeat. And not much in between.