England ’s Ashes hopes are already dangling by a thread after a day of Aussie dominance on their green and pleasant land.
One by one, England’s four right arm medium-fast seam bowlers lined up to take advantage of the even covering of grass on the pitch, under cloudy, leaden skies. One by one they were driven, cut, pulled and flicked to every part of this famous old ground by an Australian top order who have learnt to cope with this English tactic time and again.
None more so than Steve Smith, who remains 85 not out and was locked into his bubble of fidgety concentration as he moved past 9,000 Test runs and took his side to 339-5 at the close. He has been battling with James Anderson and Stuart Broad for Ashes supremacy for what seems like an eternity and the war will soon be over.
