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An exciting opening day saw Australia reach 326 for 8 at Stumps, driven by a gritty, counterpunching ton from local lad Alex Carey. England, trailing 2-0 in the series and staring at a must-win fixture to keep their Ashes hopes alive, face an arduous challenge today.
England’s underperformance in the Ashes continues. The conditions haven’t been extreme, opportunities have been there, and yet none of their batters have displayed consistency across the five innings so far. That lack of sustained output is alarming. Harry Brook, in particular, has let his team down so far.
Interestingly, Starc, who was the standout performer across the first two Tests with 18 scalps, has toiled fruitlessly in this Test. It’s been an unusually quiet outing by his standards. Hopefully he can break the jinx with the wicket of Stokes – that would feel fitting, given the colossal impact he’s had on this series overall.
Cleaned up and Carse is on his way. That nipbacker from Boland is all class. Flicks the back thigh and may have been a feather of an inside-edge too, through the bat and pad gap, Carse went deep inside his crease to block and the shiny side was inside, the ball crashes into the middle-stump.
Carey has been keeping up to the stumps for a while now and Jacks’ dismissal vindicated the move. The aim was to catch it off the thick inside-edge. it’s a nipbacker on a short of length and Jacks gets forward to push, the inside-edge goes to the left pad, lobs to Carey’s right, simple catch. Fine bowling from Boland too, he concentrated on a line and length and that inward movement bamboozled Jacks.
My word! What a shot. The field is positioned for the short ball but Jamie Smith takes them on and smashes the ball over deep square-leg. A short delivery on off, Smith rocks on the back foot and nails the pull, there was deep backward square-leg and deep mid-wicket but it sailed over.
Australia bag another session. Two wickets claimed, that of Root and Brook, both caught behind by Carey. Brook’s was an immaculate delivery while Root pushed at a tempter that he could have left alone. Stokes is grinding hard and is resolute in defence. Green almost had Jamie Smith, however. He is posing problems with his tall frame banging it on a length. England have a massive task ahead.
Another hydration break. The second one this session. Understandable considering it’s close to 40 degrees in Adelaide. This has been a pacifying stand for England. Both batters have been willing to put a price on their wickets. Australia are shuffling their bowlers around.
Meanwhile, a note of appreciation for Nathan Lyon. In an era obsessed with mystery spin and myriad variations, Lyon remains one of the most underrated bowlers in Test history. Excelling in conditions that rarely aid finger spinners, he has built an illustrious career through accuracy, patience, and guile. Over 500 wickets define true greatness.
Finally Brook has broken out of the jail. Charges at Boland, lovely lofted drive and it’s all the way over sweeper cover, clean hit. His partnership with senior pro Stokes is now approaching fifty, and boy England needed that stabilizing alliance after an early wobble.
Superb off-drive. Fullish on off, Stokes transfers his weight onto the front-foot and drives handsomely wide of mid-off, races away to the ropes.
Cummins nets the big fish. On a length outside off, Root is half-forward in defence, the outside-edge carries to Carey who dives forward to snaffle the ball. The uncertain prod has caused his downfall. A slight shuffle across made Root play at that inviting delivery. The seam came out wobbled and that’s a perfect line and length. England are in choppy waters after that wicket as Root is the one who has the potential to bat big.
Time for spin. A short leg and slip in place. Voila, the dividends come right away. Back into the team and Nathan Lyon strikes in his very first over. Absolute legend. Tossed up delivery by the ace off-spinner and Pope whips it straight to mid-wicket. Inglis, the fielder stationed there, takes a sharp low catch and Pope’s fallow patch extends.
Lyon on fire! He has gone on to strike twice in the same over. Was a brute of a delivery that takes him past Aussie great Glenn McGrath as he now has 564 wickets in Test cricket. Duckett is beaten on the defence and the off-pole has been knocked over.
Edged and taken! The Australian skipper takes his first wicket of this Ashes after missing the initial two Tests. Back of a length delivery around off, the ball jags away to kiss the outside edge as Carey completes the job behind the wickets. Cummins is pumped up as the opening partnership doesn’t last long. Crawley didn’t look at his fluent best today; departs for 9 off 19 balls.
England are off to an encouraging start. Their openers have continually shown positive intent at the top, but the issue has been converting those starts into match-defining scores, save for the Crawley knock in Gabba. They’ll be hoping this Test tells a different story, with one of the left-right combo going on to make a big contribution and lay a solid platform for the rest of the innings. At the moment, Duckett seems to be that guy as he flicks the ball away to the deep mid-wicket fence with a hint of nonchalance.
If England can weather Mitchell Starc’s initial burst with the new ball, this Test could scale back into even territory. Starc’s opening salvo often dictates the tone of an innings, and surviving that spell would allow England to settle, build partnerships, and prevent Australia from tightening their grip on the match. So far so good, as Ben Duckett is leading the charge for the visitors with four boundaries to his name.
Down the order, Mitchell Starc once again showcased his ability with the bat, registering his second half-century of the series and adding handy runs when they mattered the most. Nathan Lyon and Scott Boland chipped in too, so those combined efforts have ensured Australia closed out the innings with a respectable total on the board. Jofra Archer returns a five-wicket haul.
Following a flurry of boundaries this morning against Archer and Carse, he clips this back of a length delivery through square leg and rustles up his fifty. Raises his bat to ackowledge the crowd that is giving him a round of applause. Has taken wickets, has been sharp in the field, has scored runs – he’s been at his all-round best in the ongoing Ashes.
