After seeing an incredible 20 wickets fall on a packed Day 1 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, most wouldn’t expect a repeat of the same. The trend continued in great fashion, championed by a firing English bowling attack looking to prove a point.
Australia opener Travis Head and night watchman Scott Boland took to the field at 4/0, leading England by 42 runs. Boland struggled to put bat on ball, while Head hit a few boundaries to take the total into the twenties. However, the pacer could not survive beyond the sixth over.
Gus Atkinson looked sharp and picked up the first wicket of the morning with a good length delivery that drew the batter into the drive. The surface helped the bowler as the ball took a faint edge off the bat, with Jamie Smith taking a good catch behind the stumps.
Next in was Jake Weatherald, who tried to steady the innings and blocked several deliveries to settle in. England captain Ben Stokes came into the attack and put tremendous pressure on the Australian batters, and eventually got his reward. He bowled a lovely ball that nipped off the surface, with Weatherald caught at the crease, and the ball hitting the top of off stump.
The hero of Day 1 for England then came into the attack as Josh Tongue looked to carry forward the magic he produced yesterday. His awkward-looking action allowed the seamer to bring the ball in to the Australian right-hander Marnus Labuschagne, who was not allowed to settle in the middle.
After hitting one boundary and defending a few, the batter was dismissed in near identical fashion to his first innings dismissal. Tongue bowled the ball on a fuller length, catching the edge off Labuschagne’s bat, with Joe Root taking a simple catch at second slip. At that point, the hosts were 61/3 and captain Steve Smith walked into the middle.
With Travis Head looking sharp at the other end, the pair looked to score at a good clip and put the pressure back onto England. The explosive lefty nearly reached his half century before being castled for 46 by a determined Brydon Carse, who showed great discipline with his lines.
The next two wickets fell in a fashion rarely associated with this Australia side. Usman Khawaja’s stint in the middle was short-lived as he skied one off Tongue’s bowling and departed for a duck from just two deliveries. Just eight deliveries later, Alex Carey’s short stay in the middle ended after he was caught by Harry Brook for Carse’s second wicket of the innings.
Meanwhile, skipper Smith has looked to take the attack to the England bowlers as he will continue to fight at 16 off 19 deliveries, with one lovely boundary straight down the ground. He will be accompanied by Cameron Green, who has the perfect opportunity to put up a respectable score and justify his place in the side.
On the other side of the coin, the English bowlers will look to wrap up the tail within the second session. With the lead already at 140, allowing the hosts to score freely will result in a mountain of a chase for the fourth innings. The pitch does not seem to be getting better as a batting surface, so Ben Stokes and co. will be wary of the fact and will look to restrict Australia for a target of under 200.
Join us for the second session shortly!
