Ashes 2017/18: 4th Test Days 1 & 2 - What On Earth… Back to 2002?

 

Ashes 2017/18: 4^th Test Days 1 & 2

What On Earth… Back to 2002?

December 27^th 2017

It is Monday December 30^th 2002. England are 3-0 down in the series… again. The series is lost… again. And a tour that began with high hopes of at least putting up a fight, has ended with another awful beating. It started with such an awful insertion by Nassar Hussain in Brisbane that he must still wake up in the night sweating about it. Simon Jones was horribly injured on the first morning of the Test series and young fast bowler Steve Harmison has been unselectable after a 14-ball over in one of the early tour games but, such is the injury crisis facing England that he has had to take the new ball in this Test and racked up figures of 0-103 as Australia finished the first day on 356-3.

Yes, England disasters in Australia are nothing new.

That fifth morning started with Australia needing a token 107 to win, having made England follow-on, 8-0 and looking set to win long before Lunch. I remember tuning-in to Test Match Special. Andy Caddick took a quick wicket, but then Langer and Ponting set about the bowling with gusto and it looked as if the end would be swift. Suddenly Steve Harmison got Rickie Ponting to edge through to James Foster. 58-1 after 11.1 overs became 58-3 in four balls and, amazingly, Caddick and Harmison tore into a terrified Australia. If a catch had not gone down that would have made Australia 94-6 (if memory serves), it is even possible that England might have won.

And, of course, the final Test was won to make the final scoreline 4-1. This was an old tradition in the old years of total Australian dominance, that England would win the final test of a series to add a little respectability to the result. Modern tradition has been that the last two Tests of a series in Australia have been even more excruciating to watch than the live matches.

All through this series there has been a suspicion that the gap between the sides is smaller than has appeared and the Australia’s strength in depth is suspect. For the first time Australia have been unable to repeat their #1 attack of Hazlewood, Starc and Cummins and have had to dip into the reserves. England have lost yet another bowler and are exploring the reserves of County players, with Tom Curran the latest beneficiary.

The first session of the opening day was painfully bad. What do you say when the opposition are 102-0 from 28 overs on what appears to be a perfect batting strip?

Then, England turned-up. The rest of the day saw Australia score 142 runs for the loss of three wickets in 61 overs. It was a different game.

Still, with Steve Smith and Shaun Marsh purring along, the Australians were confident of scoring 500+, as in the corresponding game in 2002 and then letting Cummins, Hazlewood and Bird show that there was plenty in the pitch for their attack.

What happened must have had a lot of fans rubbing their eyes in disbelief. Tom Curran – son of Gloucestershire stalwart, Kevin – may have missed David Warner’s wicket with a no ball, but he made no mistake with Steve Smith who helped the ball onto the stumps with an aggressive shot.  What a debut for the Surrey lad, who has taken to Test cricket like a duck to water and who could well  (and maybe should) have played the 3rd Test too. Then Woakes did for Mitch Marsh the same way. Surely not?

Paine and Shaun Marsh started to build a stand and you instinctively thought that those two early wickets were just sent to build up hope so that it could be crushed by a big stand. 314-5 and 400, 450, maybe even 500 beckoning still. In nine overs, 54 balls, 314-5 became 327 ao. And, more gloriously still, Stuart Broad looked set for a 5-for until Jimmy Anderson nipped out Nathan Lyon for a ten-ball duck.

Australian fans were gloating. The performance of England’s pop-gun attack showed that the pitch, far from being flat, would have plenty of demons for Cummins and Hazlewood and that Jackson Bird’s height would make him unplayable.

Reality was different. England have lost just two wickets and both were unlucky: Stoneman fell to a tremendous catch from Lyon off his own bowling and Vince clearly edged the ball that got him LBW, but did not review. Even better, an over of filth from Steve Smith allowed Cook to race through the 90s to a century from the last over of the day, with Joe Root one short of his own 50. Pat Cummins has a dickie stomach and has been on and off the pitch and Jackson Bird is showing no great resemblance to “Big Bird” Garner, despite averaging 27.5 with the ball from his first eight Tests.

Of course, we have been here before, most notably in the 3^rd Test, when Malan and Bairstow threatened to take the match away from Australia before the most diabolical collapse set in. However, the first big score by Alistair Cook in an Ashes Test since 2010/11 has heartened the side. If Cook and Root can keep batting on the third morning, who knows what is possible? It is Christmas and a fan can dream...

Afterthought: I wonder what Alice Cook said to her husband on Christmas Day to buck him up? Whatever it was, she should get a tour bonus!