More reaction and analysis
Andy Martin’s report has landed, and here it is. Goodnight!
Here’s Geoff’s take on Australia’s day
More from Moeen Ali
I’ve very proud [to take 200 Test wickets]. I know my dad will be watching and he’s very proud. As a youngster I was mainly a batter, and never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d get 200 wickets for England. To get two very good players out was nice. The wickets was gifted, as they were from full deliveries, but generally I felt like I bowled quite well today.
[Who sets the fields, you or Ben?] Most of the time it’s him, but if I feel like I want something he’ll accommodate that. We’re on the same wavelength as players. I know it’s only been two games but I love playing under him. The person that is, he just brings out the best in players.
[On his soft dismissal] The problem was I tried to keep it down. I should have tried to smash it. Baz said to me, “Just do what Woody did!” I actually felt alright today until that dismissal, I felt like a bit of a Test batter. Hopefully next innings I’ll try and hit it.
Sometimes before you play the shot, you’re thinking, ‘Should I or shouldn’t I?’ [because of the criticism if you get out]. I don’t feel like that with this team. I know I got out to that shot but I was clear that I wanted to hit it down. The gameplan should have been to try and hit it more in front. It was a techniacl issue more than anything.
[What’s chaseable?] I dunno. It’s still a good wicket. The heavy roller has made it die a bit but it’s a good wicket and a fast outfield. It’s the kind of team where anything is chaseable. They’ve done it in the past, but I know it won’t be easy against a world-class bowling attack. [Smiles] I dunno.”
Moeen Ali, who took his 200th Test wicket, Steve Smith no less, talks to Sky Sports
When Robbo had a spasm in his back I thought [here we go!] The body is surprisingly good, not too bad. I’ll be stiff tomorrow. The finger is sore but it’s not impossible for me to bowl now. It’s just a case of getting through the first few overs, then it settles in nicely. It’s not too bad.
I couldn’t grip it at Edgbaston because of the blood and stuff. I need that solid grip. I’ve tried everything apart from weeing on my finger! I’ve really enjoyed being back in the Test team. The environment is amazing and Stokesy is a perfect captain for someone like me. He knows I bowl my best when I try to take wickets.
We were struggling this morning and then Stokesy played another amazing innings. It put us in a position where we’ve still got a great chance. That last session was really good – they’ve four down and they haven’t got away from us. A couple of poles early tomorrow would be great because Woody’s pace isn’t easy for any lower order.
Moeen Ali reached 200 Test wickets today 👏 pic.twitter.com/LxqWNcOTIx
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 7, 2023
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Stumps: Australia lead by 142
Brilliant, bonkers, astonishing, and that was just Mark Wood’s innings straight after lunch. Overall there were 285 runs, 11 wickets, nine sixes and enough outrageous plot twists to fill a week in Albert Square.
Australia are slightly ahead, but England, a very weary England, are brawling.
47th over: Australia 116-4 (Head 18, Marsh 17) The heroic Wood charges in for the final over of the day. Head flicks a single, then Marsh makes Wood feel like Sisyphus with some empathic defensive strokes. And that, dear reader, is the end of another intoxicating day of Ashes cricket.
46th over: Australia 115-4 (Head 17, Marsh 17) Marsh continues to play watchfully against Moeen, who ends an absolutely crucial spell with figures of 17-3-34-2. His shot this morning was awful; he has more than made up for it.
“I haven’t had one conversation with a ‘Foakes in’ supporter where they’ve been prepared to admit that with Foakes in the team, it’s a straight shootout between Bairstow and Brook,” says Alex Burchill. “Stokes is crocked so we need an extra bowler. Pope is the vice captain. The openers are immovable, unless they’re switched for other proper openers. That leaves you two out of Brook, Foakes and Bairstow. Hellish decision.”
In hindsight, England’s best option was pick Bairstow at 5 and Foakes at 7. But imagine the abuse had they left out Brook when he had a Test average of 81 and a strike-rate of 99.
45th over: Australia 115-4 (Head 17, Marsh 17) Mark Wood dusts himself off for a very short burst before the close. He looks utterly shattered, but nobody in this team embodies Brendon McCullum’s philosophy quite like Wood: “Plan like you’ve live forever, live like you’ll die tomorrow.”
It’s a weary over from Wood, a bit left and right, though he does nail one bouncer that whistles past Head’s, well, head. He played that well, snapping his noggin out of the way. The last ball was good too, with Head fencing it on the bounce to gully.
44th over: Australia 113-4 (Head 16, Marsh 17) Marsh has gone after Broad this evening, but it looks like he’ll be taking no risks against Moeen until tomorrow. He inside-edges a single off the fifth ball, then Head works another to mid-on.
43rd over: Australia 111-4 (Head 15, Marsh 16) Marsh gets some width from Broad and blazes a square drive for four. He’s batting on a different pitch; he’s made 134 runs from 143 balls in the match. Nobody else comes close, yet.
Broad might be getting a bit of reverse inswing – a suggestion, perhaps even a soupçon – but Marsh, who was honest about his defensive limitations in an endearing interview this morning, is up to it.
42nd over: Australia 106-4 (Head 15, Marsh 11) A rare loose ball from Moeen is worked through square leg for two by Head. That’s all, folks. Eighteen minutes to go.
41st over: Australia 104-4 (Head 13, Marsh 11) Marsh inside-edges Broad onto his back leg. He picks the ball up and hands it to Broad, who resists any temptation to appeal for Handled the Ball. This is Broad’s 112th over of the series, the most on either side, but he’s charging in like his dignity depends on it. Another maiden. Australia lead by 130 runs.
“As an Aussie, I desperately hope Stokes and McCullum stick to their guns,” writes Oliver Jawara. “The way they have gone about Test cricket in the last year has been amazing to watch. I agree with you that they’ve probably gotten a little caught up in the emotion/pressure of the Ashes and gone harder than they really intended to but it’s been close.
“Australia are just a cut above the teams they’ve played so far - and when that happens, the little things stop going your way and it forces the approach changes we’ve seen. I’ve loved this series and hope England keep going and get more success like this in the future (though not against Australia please and thank you!).”
It would be interesting to see Bazball in Australia. I suspect Australia would win comfortably – as in margins of victory, not series score. It’s a shame we probably won’t find out, as the next series isn’t till 2025-26.
40th over: Australia 104-4 (Head 13, Marsh 11) Travis Head hasn’t really taken Moeen on, at least not aerially. He punches a couple of nice drives without piercing the field, and it’s a maiden. Moeen has done a marvellous job for England: 14-2-30-2.
In other news, it’s been lovely to see Emma John back in our team for this Test. Here she is on England’s anticlimactic morning session, which also feels forever ago.
39th over: Australia 104-4 (Head 13, Marsh 11) Stuart Broad replaces Chris Woakes, who has bowled well to take 1-28 from nine overs. Marsh plays his first dominant stroke of this innings, driven handsomely for four. He inside edges the next ball short of Bairstow, who saves another boundary by deflecting the ball into his phizog.
I wish there was a red button that allowed you to hear a certain player’s internal monologue; Bairstow’s must be a treat right now.
It looks like Marsh is going to twist, certainly against Broad. He ends the over with a muscular back cut for four.
“Surely the moment to bring Foakes back into the team was the injury to Pope?” asks Robert Jenkins. “Bairstow would have moved up the order to play as a specialist batsman, and Foakes would have come in. Why was this not an option for England?
Three reasons, I’d imagine. 1) Stubborness; 2) Fairness to Dan Lawrence, who was the reserve batter in the original squad; and 3) They wanted (and, as it turned out, needed) an extra bowler.
38th over: Australia 96-4 (Head 13, Marsh 3) Marsh knocks Moeen into the off side and sets off. Head is having none of it, and for a split-second it looks like there might be a run-out chance for England. In the end Marsh has plenty of time to get back in his crease.
Marsh savaged Moeen , and everyone else for that matter, during his fearless masterpiece yesterday. The team score is similar; the big difference is that there is only half an hour to go before the close, so he has the age-old dilemma about sticking and twisting.
“You’re right Stokes hasn’t done it in first-class cricket,” says Andrew Millington, “but then Pope had never batted in the top three for Surrey before England made him do it, and Brook isn’t a No3 either, so this England side aren’t afraid to get funky… except when it comes to finding room for Foakes!” says Andrew Millington.
Touché. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not anti-Foakes, and the way he has been treated throughout his Test career has my justice senstivity doing laps. But to me there was no even vaguely satisfactory solution to the problem created by Harry Brook’s winter rampage. (I don’t love the idea of Brook at No3 by the way, I would put Root or Woakes there in the second innings, but that’s another story.)
37th over: Australia 95-4 (Head 13, Marsh 2) Marsh survives a big LBW shout after walking across his stumps to Woakes. Not out, and no review from Ben Stokes. It looked close, though it was umpire’s call at best for England so they were right not to review.
Replays show it was missing leg stump anyway.
“Who cares if Atherton looked disgusted?” sniffs Niall Mullen. “Bazball is pretty sick of experts. Let’s just get cricket done.”
It’s time for Harry Brook…
36th over: Australia 91-4 (Head 11, Marsh 0) Head plays and misses at Moeen, then lasers a drive that doesn’t beat Stokes. One from the over. We’re about to find out whether Mark Wood has one more spell in him today.
“G’day Rob,” writes David. “Brought my 74-year-old dad over here for the Ashes, bucket list stuff. Was a bit worried about the reception we’d receive after Lord’s but everyone we’ve met at the ground has been brilliant. And not one of the Yorkshireman I’ve met has had a problem with the dismissal of Bairstow last week. Perhaps the non-cricketing commentariat blew it up? Anyway love to the Yorkies, they’ve been great hosts.”
Proper creekit fans, as Geoffrey might say.
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35th over: Australia 90-4 (Head 10, Marsh 0) The new batter is the second coming of Keith Miller, also known as Mitch Marsh. I’m not jesting – his performance yesterday was exactly how I used to imagine a typical Miller innings.
In other news, Chris Woakes – the poster boy for unobtrusive excellence – has quietly had a terrific game on his return to the side. Australia lead by 116.
“On Bairstow, surely part of his issue there must be the physical demands of his recovery?” says Will Vignoles. “His footwork has been really sluggish and clumsy, whereas previously it was sharp enough. His leg break really was terrible and maybe it was a season too early to expect him to keep.”
Totally agree with that. It would be interesting to know whether England/Bairstow had doubts at any stage, or whether they’re even having them now. All these subplots and stories will make for a cracking book in about a decade’s time.
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WICKET! Australia 90-4 (Khawaja c Bairstow b Woakes 43)
A huge wicket for England, and a very good catch from Jonny Bairstow! That was the kind of Khawaja dismissal that an analyst dreams of: a defensive push at a ball angled across him from (crucial, this part) over the wicket. He edged to the left of Bairstow, who took an excellent tumbling catch and celebrated with a mixture of glee and relief.
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34th over: Australia 86-3 (Khawaja 42, Head 9) I’m spending far too long looking at my emails and not enough time watching Moeen bowl. That said most of his overs have been pretty quiet, as figures – outstanding figures given England’s predicament – of 11-1-28-2 would suggest.
Still 50 minutes until the close.
33rd over: Australia 86-3 (Khawaja 41, Head 8) It sounds like Bairstow said “Seeya later, Smudge”, which lead to Smith turning round and having a word on his way off. It was all pretty harmless.
"See ya, Smudge!" 👋
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 7, 2023
"What was that, mate?!? HEY!" 😠
Jonny Bairstow getting in Steve Smith's head 👀 pic.twitter.com/PyTKFuaC4s
England would love to bid farewell to Khawaja, who is slowly grinding them down. He’s beaten by a nice delivery from Woakes that bounces from a length.
“A lot of us felt the solution was obvious even at the start of the series – Foakes to play instead of Crawley, with somebody else (Stokes in my view) moving up the order,” says Andrew Millington. “A better keeper and stronger top seven.”
The problem is that Stokes has hardly opened in his life in first-class cricket. Apparently when the idea was suggested to Mike Atherton, whose judgement I’d trust when it comes to opening the batting, he has rarely looked so disgusted. But we’ve done all this earlier in the series, so let’s not dig up old raves.
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32nd over: Australia 84-3 (Khawaja 40, Head 7) Travis Head played second fiddle to Mitchell Marsh yesterday, a selfless innings in the circumstances. Today, with Khawaja batting in his bubble, Head gets to lead the charge. He crashes Moeen inside out through extra cover for his first boundary, and it might not be long before he starts going downtown.
31st over: Australia 78-3 (Khawaja 39, Head 2) Head misses a pull at Woakes, who is on for Wood, with the ball this close to brushing the back of the bat. Two from the over.
30th over: Australia 76-3 (Khawaja 38, Head 1) Moeen’s finger is starting to cause him some bother, and he feels it gently at the end of the over.
“He may well cost us the Ashes but it’s hard not to feel sorry for Bairstow. Poor guy’s confidence in bits,” says Max Williams. “Must be affecting his batting as well. Ironically England’s refusal to pick Foakes has arguably weakened their batting as well as their bowling attack. Took a wonderfully balanced team and broke it.”
Yeah, I can understand the criticism – the poor guy has had a nightmare - but the way he has been dehumanised by some people is bang out of order. The shocking breaking news about Edwin Van der Sar being in intensive care is another reminder of what’s coming for all of us one day, and it makes some of the Bairstow abuse look a bit pathetic.
As for the selection, I still don’t know what England could have done. I still think that – at the time, when Harry Brook averaged 90 in Tests and the top three was almost a separate team – it was the toughest selection decision I’ve known as an England fan.
That said, my main concern about Bairstow going to No7 was the impact it would have on his batting; I couldn’t have imagined he would keep so poorly, because for most of his England career he has been very reliable. We now realise he just hasn’t kept enough in the past few years, and he may not be the same keeper because of his fitness and leg injury.
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Mark Wood left the field at the drinks break. He gave everything he had, and what was left after that too, in a spell of 5-0-8-0.
As Nasser Hussain notes on Sky, Mo probably owes one of those wickets to Wood, whose threat made the other batters do strange things. Not just any batters, either; Labuschagne and Smith are possibly the two greediest runscorers in the world.
29th over: Australia 73-3 (Khawaja 36, Head 0) Another over for Wood, who is suddenly bowling like it’s Thursday 6 July 2023. Khawaja is hit on the back by a brutish bouncer, then misses a windy woof outside leg stump. Even Khawaja, the calmest man in Yorkshire, is threatening to lose his cool.
Khawaja avoids another bouncer, then waves a single down the ground. It should probably have been two but Khawaja wasn’t entirely enthused by the idea and stayed at the non-striker’s end.
Wood has two balls at the new batter Travis Head. The first is defended well, if a little awkwardly, off the back foot, and then he jumps inside a bouncer. Drinks. Mark Wood needs one of Novak Djokovic’s concoctions.
28th over: Australia 72-3 (Khawaja 35, Head 0) Moeen Ali, who is only really bowling because of the injuries to Stokes and Robinson, has figures of 8-1-17-2.
Steve Smith is Moeen Ali’s 200th Test wicket. He clipped a simple catch straight to midwicket, where Ben Duckett held on and clenched his fists in glee. Smith was walking off in disgust even before the catch was taken, and he had words with Jonny Bairstow on the way off. Pretty sure Bairstow instigated that.
Smith’s 100th Test has been a great disappointment: 22 and 2. He did take five catches in the first innings, mind, and that will surely provide absolutely no consolation whatsoever.
🚨 WICKET 🚨
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 7, 2023
"Steve Smith! What are you doing?!?"
Smith makes it easy for Ben Duckett, and Moeen Ali gets his 200th Test match wicket! 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/wbCVqv2EHq
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WICKET! Australia 72-3 (Smith c Duckett b Moeen 2)
What the absolute nonsense is this?!
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27th over: Australia 70-2 (Khawaja 34, Smith 1) This is the fourth over of Wood’s spell. It feels like he’s finding a decent rhythm now, late in the day, and Smith is close to being trapped LBW. He jumped across his crease and got a late touch to fine leg. Wood puts his head in his hands; that was close, but Smith’s freakish hand-eye co-ordination saved him again.
“Mention of Graham Gooch’s comment after the 1990/91 Ashes Tour has me wistfully recalling that Innings at Headingley against West Indies the following summer,” says Brian Withington. “A truly stirring performance (with nary a six in sight) against the collective might of Ambrose, Patterson, Walsh and Marshall on a difficult track on a cold day whilst all about him perished.
“See also his fourth innings hundred in Barbados after the shocking sudden death of beloved tour manager and batting great, Ken Barrington, also covered in a fine piece by Phil Walker last summer. Includes another great comment when discussing his run record: ‘But it’s not about stats, OK? It’s never about that. It’s about when you supply that contribution. That’s what you should remember.’ Who could ever forget, who watched on in awe that day.”
I’d still put it a nose above Stokes at Headingley and Lord’s, largely for three reasons: the state of the pitch, the quality of the opposition attack and the weight of history.
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26th over: Australia 68-2 (Khawaja 33, Smith 0) Bairstow’s drop didn’t cost England any runs but it will still gnaw at him. The vicissitudes of cricket are endlessly fascinating. Last summer Bairstow was batting like a berserk Bradman; I’ve never seen an England batter play as well in a concentrated period of three or four Tests. Then he went for a round of golf, and things changed forever.
Anyway, Steven Smith is the new batter, and Moeen widens his eyes with a bit of extra bounce. On Sky Sports, the ever excellent Mel Jones has just produced an extraordinary statistic. In his Test career, Labuschagne has played six slog-sweeps, and been out to three of them. What was he doing.
WICKET! Australia 68-2 (Labuschagne c Brook b Moeen 33)
Oh, Marnus, what have you done. That is such a bonus for England, who were on the canvas and panting furiously. Out of nothing – and from his first delivery after being dropped by Bairstow – Labuschagne clouted a slog-sweep towards deep midwicket. Harry Brook ran in and swooped forward to take an excellent catch.
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25th over: Australia 67-1 (Khawaja 32, Labuschagne 33) Wood’s a different bowler today – down on pace but also rhythm and movement. He’s still bowling a few jaffas, like the vicious bouncer from around the wicket that Labuschagne has just ducked underneath.
His follow through is taking him into the danger area, so he moves back over the wicket and zings another bouncer past Labuschagne’s noggin. Labuschagne shaped to hook before changing his mind.
Oh my word, Bairstow has dropped another chance! Labuschagne gloved an attempted pull to the left of Bairstow, who dived across and put down a tough one-handed chance. Both Wood and Bairstow ended face down on the turf in distress.
24th over: Australia 66-1 (Khawaja 31, Labuschagne 33) Nothing much is happening at Moeen’s end, just a few easy singles for Australia. He’s bowling perfectly well; the problem is there’s nothing in the pitch. Even so, figures of 6-1-14-0 are okay. England need to get out of this evening session relatively unscathed and hope all the quick bowlers wake up with new bodies in the morning.
“I think the thing about Bazball is that it amplifies the differences between the two sides,” says Steve Colwill. “England used it to crush arguably weaker sides, however, now that they are facing a very strong side they are getting crushed themselves.
“The other aspect of Bazball is that it puts every game on a knife-edge and makes mistakes such as dropped catches very costly. If you like Tests that are like five one-day games then Bazball is for you, otherwise it sucks.”
I can appreciate that viewpoint, though I’m not sure England have been crushed in this series. (Yet.) In my opinion the cricket England played last summer would have been too good even for Australia, certainly when you consider the advantages England have had with the tosses and Nathan Lyon’s injury at Lord’s. I’m not sure they were playing Bazball in the first two Tests. But let’s not get into all that again, we covered it when I started prematurely obituarising Bazball last Saturday.
23rd over: Australia 63-1 (Khawaja 29, Labuschagne 32) The Headingley crowd are well pissed now trying to get England going with some lusty chants. Root encourages them between deliveries.
Wood’s pace is down on yesterday. He still in the high 80s, but those 5-7 mph make a difference and Labuschagne has enough time to clatter a pull to deep midwicket for a single. Khawaja squirts another to bring up a quietly ruthless fifty partnership from 121 balls, and there are two more singles in the over.
There are still 31 overs remaining tonight and England are starting to look weary. I’m afraid they need to go to the well.
“Rob,” says John Starbuck. “Re: your question in the 20th over. What comes after All Sorts is liquorice sick.”
22nd over: Australia 59-1 (Khawaja 27, Labuschagne 30) “How many times was Darryl Cullinan dismissed by Warne?” asks Richard Mansell. “I’d also love to see which bowlers got Lara and Tendulkar out the most.”
Warne only got Cullinan four times in seven Tests (I think). I’d love to see the head-to-head average, mind. Lara’s nemesis was, by some distance, Glenn McGrath, though he also destroyed McGrath and Australia on a number of occasions. Pretty sure Tendulkar was Jimmy Anderson. Edit: yes it was.
McGrath’s record against the best player in each team is a powerful argument for him being the best of all those great fast bowlers in the 1990s and early 2000s. But let’s not get into that, they were outrageously good.
21st over: Australia 57-1 (Khawaja 25, Labuschagne 30) Ben Stokes goes back to Mark Wood, who maybe tried a bit too hard in his three-over spell before tea. He’s straining now as well, and a loose over – “he bowls to the left, he bowls to the right” – passes without incident.
In other news, here’s Simon Burnton’s Ashes diary from Headingley.
20th over: Australia 56-1 (Khawaja 25, Labuschagne 30) Labuschagne back cuts Moeen stylishly for four, then tries again and is denied by a good diving spot. Looks like this is the start of Operation: Moeen. If Australia hit him out of the attack, England are in all sorts, or whatever comes after all sorts. More sorts?
“Re whether people will remember the closeness of the games - probably not?” suggests Will Vignoles. “Nobody seems to remember that in the 2013/14 series the Australians relied on Haddin and the tail bailing them out a number of times, or that in the 2018 England - India series the matches were much closer than the 4-1 scorecard would suggest! All feeling a bit grim but hopefully Mark Wood can blast a way back in.”
The India series is an excellent reference point, though I thought people did remember how close it was. I guess we live in different WhatsApp groups.
19th over: Australia 50-1 (Khawaja 23, Labuschagne 25) Maybe Gary Naylor was right about this pitch. Broad beats Labuschagne with the kind of delivery Curtly Ambrose bowled twice an over towards the end of his career. An 80mph legbreak, essentially.
For the second time in three overs, Labuschagne thick-edges Broad between slip and gully for four. This outfield is so fast that you get value for your false shots, never mind the good ones. Australia lead by 76. They’ve done an admirable job of silencing the crowd.
“Australia in the nineties must have either taken pity on us or really celebrated hard once the series was won,” says Bobby Dunnett. “They were better then than they are now, and we were worse, but we had a few joyous dead rubber wins both at home and away. But since we’ve had the audacity to win a series or two, the whitewashes seem to just keep coming!”
I suppose that vengeful 2006-07 team normalised the whitewash. It helps that there are fewer draws nowadays. As you say England had six memorable dead-rubber wins between 1989-2005, but only the last two occurred when a whitewash was still on.
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18th over: Australia 45-1 (Khawaja 23, Labuschagne 20) Moeen is bowling around the wicket to both batters, with just a slip in place. Khawaja is surprised by a delivery that turns bounces grotesquely and aborts his attacking stroke. That’s the first ball that has really gripped.
Moeen freely admitted before the series that he can’t hold up an end, but he has started well today: 3-1-3-0.
“Thanks for the list of batsmen most often dismissed by a single bowler,” says Nick Parish. “Fascinating. Also exposed my faulty memory – I was expecting to see Gooch and Alderman on there, but it seems that only happened seven times. It seemed a lot more often at the time! I had forgotten that Alderman missed the 1985 series because of a rebel tour of South Africa, so I guess that explains some of it.”
Yes exactly. Gooch played him well in 1990-91, and got out to the other Australian bowlers during a poor 1981 series. It was only in 1989, with those two short midwickets, that he kept falling over his front pad. Hence the apocryphal ‘THATCHER OUT! LBW b Alderman’ graffiti.
17th over: Australia 44-1 (Khawaja 23, Labuschagne 19) Broad overpitches and is rifled through the covers for four by Labuschagne. He struggled at Edgbaston but has looked on the cusp of a score since then: 47, 30, 21 and now 18 not out.
Australia’s run-rate is around 2.5 per over, which is fine in the circumstances. The long game suits them more than England, especially as there has been a bit of uneven bounce today.
Talking of which, Labuschagne edges a sharp lifter from Broad onto his body, with the ball looping to safety on the off side.
16th over: Australia 39-1 (Khawaja 23, Labuschagne 14) Apologies, I missed that Moeen Ali because I was faffing around in my inbox. Two runs from it, it says here.
15th over: Australia 37-1 (Khawaja 22, Labuschagne 13) Broad’s first ball is thick edged wide of the slips for four by Labuschagne. The rest of the over is defended with calm control.
“This is starting to feel a bit eggy now,” retches Robbie Chedburn. “Very much like last chance saloon for England. Good session or we are in danger of producing a new series for the Ashes of Bazball! Nine quick wickets would do very nicely.”
I wonder whether, if Australia win 5-0, history will remember how close the first half of the series was? It’s hard to know. For example, England were humiliated 3-0 in Australia in 1990-91 – “a fart competing with thunder,” was their captain Graham Gooch’s verdict – yet they took a first-innings lead in the first two Tests. (They then went on to lose by eight and ten wickets, which is a helluvan achievement.)
14th over: Australia 33-1 (Khawaja 22, Labuschagne 9) Moeen Ali replaces Broad at the other end, and starts with an accurate but unthreatening maiden to Khawaja. He may have a lot of bowling to do this evening.
“My goodness, Woakes is a handsome chap!” swoons Tom Van der Gucht. “I know Foakes receives the plaudits for his long lashes and chiselled features, whilst Cummins has a sort of Boys’ Own hero quality to his lantern jaw and Colgate smile. Yet, Woakes seems to have made the difficult transition from boyishly handsome to young George Clooney slightly silvery fox hunkiness. It’s challenging to do: many young guns don’t seem to translate their youthful prettiness to manly handsomeness, such as Leo DeCapari.”
He never looked as beautiful after that name change.
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13th over: Australia 33-1 (Khawaja 22, Labuschagne 9) Joe Root opens the bowling after tea, probably so that Stuart Broad can switch ends. No turn for Root, and four easy singles from the over.
“At lunchtime I was composing the post-mortem email in my head,” says Max Williams. “We’re still a fair bit in the red but hope yet springs. So, the obvious question – what’s the most England will want to chase? Last summer – 378-3 and all that – they would have fancied any number under 400. Hell, maybe any number under 500. But this is a different time, a different opposition, a different England.
“My head says any more than 250 and we’re in trouble. But it’ll be a day three pitch (you would hope), there’s no Lyon, and surely the top order can’t go any worse in the second innings (ahem). Plus, there’s the Headingly factor. So now I’m thinking we can reel in 350, no bother. Or maybe they’ll bat all day tomorrow and that’ll be that.”
It’s quite complicated, not least because the forecast for tomorrow is dreadful. Full disclosure: I have not a solitary scooby. If they are in the last-chance saloon, which they will be, this lot could chase 500 or fail to chase 50.
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Here come the 13 players, including Ollie Robinson. It’ll be a big boost for England if he can bowl.
“Are there many sportspeople in the world who just make things happen more than Ben Stokes?” muses Matt Dony. “His ability is unquestionable. His game-intelligence and management are unbelievable. His force of personality is magnetic; it’s not just that he does ridiculous things, it’s that he causes ridiculous things to happen around him. Yes, we can all point fingers at choices and decisions made in these two and a half tests, but from an England point of view, Stokes is still just being Stokes. He’s astonishing, in so many ways.”
I thought the World T20 final last year confirmed him as England greatest-ever cricketer. The last six days have made me absolute certain of it. I think the Carlos Brathwaite over has been one of the best things that happened to him. Aside from the Nietzschean stuff, it taught him that if you hang around and take a game deep, the weirdest things can happen. That knowledge has led to some of the most astonishing sport we’ve ever seen.
Teatime reading Our friend Steven Pye has been reliving Headingley 1981, written from the perspective of an England fan at the time. Read all about it.
Tea: Australia lead by 55 runs
Since driving his fourth ball for four, Labuschagne has scored 2 from 29 deliveries. That’s not a criticism. After the chaos of England’s lower-order rampage, and the seemingly inevitable early wicket of David Warner, he and Khawaja calmly doused England’s fire. It’ll be raging again after tea – but probably not all evening, given the infirmity of England’s attack.
It was England’s session, no question. But Australia are still on top in the game, and some would even say the series.
12th over: Australia 29-1 (Khawaja 20, Labuschagne 7) Labuschagne defends solidly against Broad, then tucks the last ball of the over, and indeed the session, off the pads for a single. That’s tea.
“Take the point about Athers copping plenty from McGrath, Donald, Ambrose, et al,” says Dave Adams, “but by having no tours of Pakistan in the 1990s, he was effectively shielded from dealing with prime Wasim and Waqar on their home turf. He could’ve been bunny to them too...”
He could, though I was talking sheer volume of dismissals. If you’re playing five- and six-Test series against Australia and West Indies, you’ll be playing two- or three-Test series against Pakistan. Also, I would politely dispute that Atherton was anyone’s bunny except Glenn McGrath. He played some exceptional innings against Ambrose and Walsh, Donald and Pollock.
11th over: Australia 27-1 (Khawaja 19, Labuschagne 6) Time for two more overs before tea, three at a push. Wood has a strangled LBW shout against Khawaja, with the ball pitching outside leg. He isn’t bowling badly – he’s conceded only one run in three overs – but the ball isn’t moving quite as much as it did in the first innings. Yet. (NB: link contains adult language.)
Saying which, Wood jumps wide on the crease for the last ball, a full, wide outswinger that beats Labuschagne’s loose drive. An in-form Labuschagne goes nowhere near that.
“I reckon we can expect to see Root bowling at some time today,” says John Starbuck. “It’s his home ground, we are two bowlers short (Robinson and Stokes) and one needing kid-gloves treatment (Wood), so Broad, Woakes and Moeen will have to do the bulk. One assumes there aren’t any more of the batters who can turn their arms over but they ought to able to, if only to make up for their shortcomings in front of stumps.”
To quote Athers during that heart-stopping climax at Edgbaston, “it’s time for Harry Brook”. The ball is swinging a little, so it might happen. It feels forever ago that Brook bowled to Steve Smith at Edgbaston; it was 17 June.
10th over: Australia 26-1 (Khawaja 19, Labuschagne 6) Broad can’t bowl yet because of how long he was off the field. That means an unplanned fifth over for Woakes, and an animated discussion between Broad and the umpires. By the end of the series he’ll be picking fights with the boundary sponges.
Woakes’ over is a quiet one, with Labuschagne ignoring a couple of tempting outswingers – the kind that led to his dismissal YESTERDAY.
Leicestershire have chased down 389 at Headingley this season, Yorkshire have made 412-9 for a draw batting last (T492) … and these are the last three fourth innings chases in Test cricket here. Australia need plenty. pic.twitter.com/j9aC6Zd6AV
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) July 7, 2023
9th over: Australia 25-1 (Khawaja 18, Labuschagne 6) Labuschagne is reluctant to get forward, understandably enough, but he is defending very solidly off the back foot. Wood doesn’t yet have the same rhythm as yesterday (yesterday!), with a couple of deliveries sliding down the leg side.
Hang on, did Labuschagne nick that? There was no appeal as Bairstow took a decent catch down the leg side, but there was a noise. We haven’t seen UltraEdge yet. It’s gone now anyway.
“I have a bit of a thing about pundits declaring a pitch to be good to bat on before the start and then clinging to that opinion for at least two days,” says Gary Naylor. “This surface has seen balls leap on to shoulders (bats and batters) and others squat, bouncing twice on the way to the keeper. The ball hasn’t spun, but it has seamed, the odd one jagging. It’s not an impossible surface, but it’s hardly Ahmedabad with India 1-0 up.”
I know what you mean but I still think that if – and this is a Brobdingnagian if – you can get past the new ball, there are loads of runs out there. Most of the top-order batters have been out to imperfect shots – not unforced errors, but still errors.
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8th over: Australia 25-1 (Khawaja 18, Labuschagne 6) Too straight from Woakes, and Khawaja does the necessary to the fine leg boundary. You’d rarely describe him as a dangerous batsman but in the context of this match I think he’s exactly that for England.
Woakes almost gets him with a nice delivery, angled across and beating Khawaja’s attempted drive. That kind of ball screams of data analysis. Australia lead by 51.
7th over: Australia 21-1 (Khawaja 14, Labuschagne 6) Mark Wood replaces Broad, and his second ball is a hot, hot yorker that Khawaja defends expertly. Khawaja knows from yesterday morning (yesterday morning!) that Wood is best played from the non-striker’s end, so he tucks the next ball off the pad for a single.
Labuschagne sways outside a beautifully directed bouncer, Robin Smith-style, then blinks a few times in an attempt to sharpen up even more. This is so good.
“One of my favourite cricketers of all time, Michael Atherton, was the chief bunny of many a wonderful bowler, not just McGrath but Ambrose, Walsh and Donald,” says David Horn. “He was unfortunate / blessed to be operating at a time of wonderful fast bowlers. He kept good company, certainly.”
Funnily enough I was discussing this with a mate last night. It’s no reflection of Atherton, who had plenty of glory of his own against those bowlers. You’re right, it’s a reflection of the quality of the fast bowling in that era. The other big factor is England’s schedule in the 1990s. They hardly ever toured the subcontinent and often played five or even six-Test series against Australia, West Indies and South Africa. Of Atherton’s 115 Tests, 78 were against those three countries.
6th over: Australia 20-1 (Khawaja 13, Labuschagne 6) My word, where did that come from. Woakes gets one to rear from a length at Labuschagne; it hits the shoulder of the bat and loops through the vacant gully region. This is pulsating stuff, and yet another reminder that the Waca was the greatest Test pitch of them all.
“There was plenty about that innings that disturbed/horrified me in terms of tactics, shot selection and execution,” says Brian Withington. “But for pure, ludicrous, jaw-dropping entertainment it would be hard to imagine it being matched … until the second innings? Let’s hope England’s walking wounded can still muster a full team by then.”
It reminded me so much of The Oval 1994. England were mad as hell and they weren’t gonna take it any more. The second innings is even better. Spoiler alert: chasing 359, England fall agonisingly short after making 350 all out in 31.2 overs.
5th over: Australia 19-1 (Khawaja 12, Labuschagne 6) Khawaja is a key man here, because he’s the one person you know for sure will not be drawn into a masculinity-waving contest. He also bats time, which will put pressure on England’s weakened bowling attack. Khawaja flicks a single off Broad’s last ball, and then Broad leaves the field for something or over. Suspect Wood will be on at that end.
“Looks like you will be having Sunday and Monday off,” says John Jones. “What do you plan to do?”
Give thanks to Saturday’s weather for earning me a few extra quid.
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4th over: Australia 18-1 (Khawaja 11, Labuschagne 6) England only have three seamers plus Moeen Ali, which is another reason for Australia to try to survive this new-ball spell rather than get drawn into a brawl.
Mind you, on this pitch you can easily score at four an over without playing an attacking. Labuschagne, turned round by Woakes, thick edges through the slips for two.
“Warner heads off for just one run after falling to Broad for the 17th time,” writes Lis Fraser. “Should he have been smiling all the way back to the pavilion?”
I thought there was something endearingly human about that smile, which was both wry and vulnerable. His face seemed to acknowledge that, after such a promising start of the series, he was back in the hellish summer of 2019. I’ve really warmed to the old boy in the last few years.
3rd over: Australia 15-1 (Khawaja 10, Labuschagne 4) Warner smiled on his way off the field. He’s played extremely well at times in this series, but in this game the DeLorean has taken him back to 2019.
Labuschagne leaves his first two deliveries from Broad, is beaten by the third and punches the fourth superbly through mid-off for four. I would get Mark Wood right now.
Stuart Broad is now two short of equalling Glenn McGrath’s record as Test cricket’s ultimate nemesis. Warner was turned round by a textbook delivery from round the wicket and edged to the right of first slip, where Crawley took a very sharp catch to his right. That was pretty similar to his first innings dismissal, and quite a few of the 17 against Broad. Two more and they will be alongside McGrath and Mike Atherton. “I hope they keep picking him…” deadpans Athers on Sky.
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WICKET! Australia 11-1 (Warner c Crawley b Broad 1)
And that’s No17.
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2nd over: Australia 11-0 (Khawaja 10, Warner 1) Warner is beaten by his first ball and tucked up by his second, which hits him in the stomach and loops to a limping Stokes in the gully. England went up for a catch but there was no inside-edge. Stokes was wincing and appealing simultaneously, like somebody suffering a sudden shot of cramp at the exact moment of… well never mind.
Khawaja is hit in the delicates, then returns the compliment in a metaphorical sense with consecutive boundaries. The first was flicked sweetly through square leg, the second pull witheringly to deep midwicket.
“Surely it’s time to roll this clip out again?” says Simon Cook. “The clip that sums up the series (from an England perspective). Always behind but moments of individual brilliance keep us clinging on and dreaming... until the inevitable happens.”
Indeed. The clip that sums up this Ashes series, the entire history of English cricket, and life itself.
1st over: Australia 2-0 (Khawaja 2, Warner 0) Ben Stokes is on the field, Ollie Robinson is not. Dan Lawrence, who won and then almost lost a Blast quarter-final last night, is on as substitute.
Stuart Broad starts to Usman Khawaja, with three slips waiting in anticipation and probably with a bit of trepidation. Khawaja repels a ball that keeps a bit low, then works two off the pads.
Mark Wood doesn’t like the new ball, but in these unique circumstances I would definitely give it to him. Ben Stokes, the greatest English cricketer of all time and one of the smartest, disagrees. With Robinson off the field, Chris Woakes is the man.
Thanks Geoff, hello everyone. I had a freelancer’s nap at lunch, did I miss owt?
Ho ho ho. England’s last three wickets added 95 in 10.2 overs of uniqueness. Mark Wood smeared 24 from 8 balls, including 16 from the first three after lunch, and Stokes ignored a nasty buttock injury to swing from the backside and hit 52 from his last 37 balls. By the end – and I’m not joking – sixes were being greeted like fours, an almost everyday occurrence. Stokes has hit 14 Ashes sixes in the last week. Sir Ian Botham hit 20 in his career.
This match, a bare-knuckle brawl on an equally fast pitch, is the precedent that should sustain England. One difference: Mark Wood has to play both Phil DeFreitas and Devon Malcolm. England trailed by 28 in that game after some savage lower-order hitting; they are 26 behind here.
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As the innings changes over, it’s a good time for our OBO teams to change over. Here is Rob Smyth.
Steve Smith with 5 catches for the innings, a Test record with 13 other instances (including Smith again).
— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) July 7, 2023
He goes past Brian Lara's 164 to go into the top ten all time.
And with 54 Ashes catches he has now equalled Ian Botham's record.
England all out for 237, trailing on the first innings by 26 runs
What a wild half session. England scored 95 runs in 62 balls after lunch, even with runs turned down for tactical reasons. They’ve closed the gap right up. From the position they were in when Woakes got out, it’s a triumph. From the position they were in when Root and Bairstow resumed this morning, the scoreboard alone is a failure. They needed a lead.
But what they do have is energy, momentum, they’ll be feeling good. And if Wood can come out and blaze through a couple at the top, well, this game could quickly tilt England’s way.
52.3 overs: England 237-10 (Robinson 5) Well.
WICKET! Stokes c Smith b Murphy 80, England 237-10
It’s still Murphy! Goodness me. With nine on the fence. He bowls a couple wide of the off stump, Stokes unable to line them up. Then the line drifts straighter and Stokes belts him into the terrace again, over square leg. Finally, after taking his punishment, Murphy gets his reward. Miscued towards long on, Smith comes in, waves everyone else away, settles under the ball and takes his fifth catch of the innings.
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52nd over: England 231-9 (Stokes 74 Robinson 5) Tenth-wicket Ben Stokes partnership at Headingley on a sunny afternoon, is it? Cummins bowling. Robinson backs away and pumps it for four! Short, pulled, but the field isn’t back so that’s a safer option than it was for Moeen, Broad, Wood. So they drop back deep midwicket, long leg, four out on the leg side. Robinson dinks it to gully and Marsh saves a boundary but gives up a single as the ball bounces clear. Stokes takes the single fourth ball.
Thoughts and prayers to Adam Horridge, who wrote me an email 38 minutes ago about “not holding out much hope for anything particularly exciting to happen this afternoon”.
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51st over: England 225-9 (Stokes 73, Robinson 0) Murphy carrying on. That’s either brave or foolish. Stokes pumps it to Starc at long off, on the bounce. No run. So he gets down for the slog sweep and hits it for six. Australians standing on the boundary rope despairingly watching the ball sail over, it’s a Headingley thing.
Goes again next ball, over wide long on! Six more. Two fielders out there, they converge to watch it go over.
Wider and slower, Stokes can’t connect with a cut. Wide and fast, darted, and Stokes leaves. Field comes up, one ball left. Stokes can’t dig it past the bowler! He’s sore, stiff, hobbling. Still hitting bombs. England only 38 behind. Robinson will be on strike.
50th over: England 213-9 (Stokes 61, Robinson 0) Cummins to Stokes, who has a couple of swings that he can’t time. Bouncer, goes under it. Three to come. Everyone back except for Smith at midwicket. Smith has levelled Brian Lara on 164 catches, equal tenth of all time now. And he’s one catch away from the Ashes record. Cummins bowls short down leg, giving Stokes no chance to hit it. Last ball of the over Stokes walks to leg to get in the way, shovels a run to keep the strike.
“If I have followed it correctly, Mark Wood faced 8 balls and is now the fifth highest scorer in this match, Australia or England?”
Quite right, Alan Williams.
Half century! Ben Stokes 53 off 86 balls
49th over: England 212-9 (Stokes 60, Robinson 0) Murphy continuing, and first ball Stokes hits him for six. Long launch, straight. Second ball, six more, this time skipping outside leg stump as he comes down, giving himself a huge swinging arc.
Drives to long off, glances to fine leg, says no run both times, charges Murphy next ball to defend. The field comes up. But they charge a single on a fumble from Cummins at midwicket.
England are only 51 behind.
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48th over: England 199-9 (Stokes 47, Robinson 0) Again, why couldn’t Broad just put the shot away and let Stokes do his thing, like Broad did a few days ago at Lord’s? Robinson ducks a bouncer, leaves a ball down leg.
From the DMV, it’s Michael Bate.
“It’s one thing to say England players are being ‘given licence’ to play their shots and we’ve all enjoyed watching them use that licence of late. But that doesn’t mean they have to use that licence. I mean, I’ve got a licence to drive, but I’m currently on a train. I’m drinking beer, the baby seems to be charming/bothering other people, I’m relaxed. On this occasion, not using the licence, seems the smart choice for me. Do England have that choice? If so, why don’t they take it?”
WICKET! Broad c Smith b Cummins 7, England 199-9
Four catches in the innings for Smith, six wickets for Cummins, and that is another brilliant piece of fielding. Broad hooks, huge top edge going all the way out to the rope, nearly carrying for six, but sprinting around from long leg comes Smith, having to worry about whether the deep midwicket will crash into him coming the other way, and nonetheless he dives forward, sliding laterally to the rope, and hangs on!
47th over: England 198-8 (Stokes 46, Broad 7) Back to spin, Murphy with only three fielders anywhere near the bat. Stokes hits it high towards mid off… and he’s missed. Starc comes charging in, has a long way to travel, and slides forward but the ball pitches just before his fingers I think. Maybe not technically a drop, but a chance gone.
Next ball is dropped though! Stokes hammers it back at Murphy, who can’t react in time. The ball drilled at his midsection. Stops it but doesn’t catch it. Finally Stokes takes a run to keep strike, Broad drives to deep cover but they don’t take the run.
46th over: England 197-8 (Stokes 45, Broad 7) A gully, an extra cover, and a square leg for Broad, the three not on the boundary. And Broad gets it just over that cover fielder for four! Boland tracking back can’t get there. Gloves a single away and brings back Stokes.
Who has flicked the switch. Perfect timing. Deep backward point and deep third are out, and he places his late cut right between them for four!
Cummins tries to avoid the swinging arc, tries to bowl the wide yorker, but it swings further away and almost lands off the pitch, scudding past Carey for five wides!
The deficit is down to 68. This has been an astonishing few overs. Stokes chops a single to deep point. And it’s a no ball, which gives Cummins an extra short ball that Broad defends with gloves at face height.
55 runs in four overs since lunch. Not quite four overs. 3.5 overs.
45th over: England 181-8 (Stokes 40, Broad 1) Field back for Broad, who pulls a run. Gives Stokes the chance to tee off. Smites a hit at midwicket but Warner stops it. Glances one fine and it beats the fielder for four. Then Stokes lays into another, and this time Warner’s dive can’t get in the way! Smashed for four. Then the other side of the wicket, and he beats gully for four more!
They’ve added 39 in three overs.
44th over: England 168-8 (Stokes 28, Broad 1) Bouncer field is out, but surely you still need a slip for Broad. He nicks one through there, down to a very fine boundary rider at deep third. Too far back to be called a fly slip, figure. Gets a run, the slips come in for Stokes, but Cummins bowls down leg.
Even so, that completes a second Ashes five-fer for Cummins. He’s got 5 for 67.
That’s a new Guardian style guide rule, by the way. Five-fer. Not five-for. Areet feller?
WICKET! Wood c Marsh b Cummins 24, England 167-8
Whoosh. Stokes on strike, gets a single and puts Wood back on strike. So what does Wood do, Why, he pulls the ball for six. More of a deflection than a connection this time, over fine leg. He’s 24 off six balls! Then he leaves one, outside off stump. Then goes to the well once too often, the ball goes a mile up, and underneath it Mitchell Marsh makes a sandwich, cleans up the spilled mustard, carefully licks the knife, then takes the catch. Party time is over.
43rd over: England 160-7 (Stokes 27, Wood 18) It’s not Robinson, so his back must still be a problem. It’s not Broad, still tenderised from Lord’s. It’s Wood, facing Starc.
First ball, backs away, heaves it for six! Baseballs it over the leg side.
Second ball, top edge for four! Down to deep third, fine, beats the man.
Third ball, six again! Same route, same acceleration. From outside leg stump he booms it right outta here.
Fourth ball, plays from outside leg stump and Starc remembers to try to hit them, just misses off stump, can’t believe it.
Fifth ball, connects with a cover drive for two.
Only five in the over, because it started before lunch. So that over yields 1 for 18.
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We’re coming back for the second session.
Some pretty unhappy correspondence. Here is Simon McMahon.
“For all the talk of a close series, and that England could just as well be 2-0 up, I think that’s misleading. Australia are just, well, better, and certainly smarter than England. Maybe not by much, but enough. As we know, international sport at the highest level is all about fine margins. The record books don’t say ‘Yeah, but it was close, and if England had held their catches and not thrown away their wickets’ etc etc. I mean, I love this England side, but Australia are doing a number on them.”
“I’m turning off all coverage for the summer,” says Kevin Grey. “I’ve become used to England being rubbish over the decades I’ve followed them, but not rubbish by design. Embarrassing.”
“We’ve all done stupid things on cricket pitches, I played for 25 years at various levels and did plenty,” writes Andrew Small. “But for a pro to spoon one to the same spot twice in the over is unacceptable. The goodwill built up over the last year is being frittered away by this asinine cricket.”
Jonathan McKinley emails. “It looks as though Bairstow, Stokes, Ali, Woakes and go have been given licence to go for their shots, whatever the situation. When it comes off, like it did with Stokes taking on the short stuff at Lord’s, it’s exciting. When it doesn’t it’s bound to look daft. I guess we can’t be too cakeist about it.”
Don’t agree with this. Stokes at Lord’s had nothing to lose with a long tail, he had to score quickly to have any chance. Even then he made tactical choices about which side of the ground to target and which ball, while knowing everyone was on the fence so a miscue might land safely. This is more like England’s first innings at Lord’s, with the field set for cross-bat shots with some closer catchers, while players refused to put those shots away and were indiscriminate. With patience you can nullify that mode of attack, but England haven’t bothered trying.
I’m normally something of a stat-badger, but didn’t notice that during the Lord’s match, Mitchell Starc went past 310 and then 311 Test wickets. Those marks belong to Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson. Which leaves Dennis Lille and Glenn McGrath as the only Australian quicks ahead of him, with Nathan Lyon and Shane Warne the only other Australian bowlers. Starc is on 317 as of lunchtime today, a huge achievement for a bowler who is still at times underrated and undervalued, even being left out of the first match this series.
Lunch - England 142 for 7, trail Australia by 121
42.1 overs: England 142-7 (Stokes 27) That concludes a dreadful first session for England. They resumed full of hope. That lasted two balls until Root edged a ball, a quality piece of bowling and the kind of thing that can happen. But Bairstow, Moeen, and Woakes all got out to poor decision-making, and the main difference between the teams has been that the Australians have caught like a dream. Everything into the slips has been held, including some really tough ones, and Stokes will only have the support of Robinson, Broad and Wood.
WICKET! Woakes c Carey b Starc 10, England 142-7
That comes as no surprise whatsoever. Getting Woakes back on strike looked a bad option with one over until lunch. Short from Starc, outside off, and Woakes is determined to slog at everything. Could have just left that. Instead he gets a little top edge, so fine that he’s not sure if he hit it. He asks Stokes, who says to go for it. But the review shows a small spike.
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42nd over: England 142-6 (Stokes 27, Woakes 10) There’s a shot! Woakes goes back and pulls Cummins for six! Wants a riposte to the short ball. I wonder how much control he was in. Underlines that by backing away and wafting an uppercut at another short one, and misses. Then slogs across the line and gets a huge top edge that lands safely at mid on, giving time for two runs. Looking a bit desperate. Next ball, short just outside off, he ducks and flails the bat at the same time. Make that very desperate. Finally makes clean contact with the following ball, out to deep midwicket for one.
41st over: England 133-6 (Stokes 27, Woakes 1) Big appeal as Starc smashes the pad, Stokes survives and gets off strike. Then a worse smash as Starc hits Woakes in the helmet. Turns his head, the batter, and wears it near the back of his head. A long delay as he gets checked, gets a drink, gets a new helmet, finally takes strike again, and gamely pulls a single. Glad that he’s ok. Stokes is hit again on the thigh and falls over, like he did a few overs ago.
40th over: England 131-6 (Stokes 26, Woakes 0) Bouncer field out, and Chris Woakes tries to murder a pull shot regardless. Misses it.
WICKET! Moeen Ali c Smith b Cummins 21, England 131-6
Cue the jinxing emails. That is daft, daft, daft cricket. The over starts with luck for Moeen. He plays a pull to a ball that isn’t short enough for it. One knee raised. Big top edge from Cummins, and it lands safely out at square leg through accident rather than design. He gets a run, then gets back on strike. Australia add to that leg-side field. Short leg, deep square, long leg about three quarters back, fine leg.
So what does he do? Plays the pull shot again. Top edges it. Steve Smith, who has just been moved into that three-quarter position, takes the catch. He has 52 of them now in Ashes matches, only two short of the record held by Ian Botham.
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39th over: England 129-5 (Stokes 25, Moeen 20) Starc on for Murphy, and a full ball tests him out but he digs it out for a run. Moeen chases a wide ball for a run.
“Not to be precipitate or anything, but how many do they need to avoid the follow-on? Planning to watch the remaining Brits in Wimbledon on Monday? I’m English and been around for a while. My deja vu is bad today.”
They’re doing a good job so far, Michael Peel.
38th over: England 126-5 (Stokes 24, Moeen 18) Cummins on for Boland, with the spinner in operation, and Moeen plays a portrait of a shot. Stands up tall, drives off the back foot through extra cover for four. Stokes jams down on a straighter ball and manages to get that away through midwicket, less elegant, same result.
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37th over: England 116-5 (Stokes 19, Moeen 13) Tries the reverse sweep, does Stokes. Straight to point. Digs out a run from the next ball. It is fascinating watching him play. Someone who can click into gear so savagely, as at Lord’s, but can also creak and stall so awkwardly at other times. But as a bowling team, you don’t want to leave him there for long enough for one state to become the other.
36th over: England 115-5 (Stokes 18, Moeen 13) Another stonker from Boland. Inches too short as it swings and then seams away, just past the edge as Stokes is rooted to the spot, playing a straight bat. Moeen gets a big leading edge to square leg, but the fielder is back so there’s no one to take what would have been a simple catch. Then there’s an edge in front of slip! Smith across and takes it cleanly on the half volley, a good save in the end from stokes. Boland has been dangerous but hasn’t had returns in the wicket column.
Colum Fordham is showing off about his summer days, probably wearing linen and writing a few thoughtful paragraphs in a notebook. “Wandering round the historic centre of Naples with a friend, admiring the stunning though rather dilapidated palazzi. We’re consulting the OBO for updates on the cricket and it would appear the England team are also crumbling. Just hope Stokes and Ali can save our bacon. An illusory hope methinks.”
35th over: England 112-5 (Stokes 16, Moeen 12) Huge swipe from Stokes at Murphy, starts as a slog sweep but ends up as a flatter swing, over the ball, and he’s sore again down on one knee. “Getting up in instalments,” says Daniel Norcross on the radio, aptly. Another hard swing digs out a ball to deep cover for one run. Stokes stretching and fussing at the non-striker’s end. Moeen nearly prods one to short leg, but the ball dies.
34th over: England 111-5 (Stokes 15, Moeen 12) Not the knee, it’s buttock related. Gets some prodding from the physio, a delicate situation for all involved. Moeen ducks a Boland bouncer, then steps into a gorgeous flowing square drive, on the up. Four.
“I can confirm for Joe Roberts that every park cricketer’s stocks rise exponentially the longer they stay away from the park,” writes Patrick O’Brien.
33rd over: England 107-5 (Stokes 15, Moeen 8) Miscues off Murphy. Under edge for Moeen, out to square leg for Stokes. The former gets a run, the latter not. Smith in at short midwicket races across to cut off a third shot. Stokes advances to defend the final ball. He’s proppy, could be that knee that’s bothersome, and he’s walking with the gait of an animated clothes rack.
32nd over: England 106-5 (Stokes 15, Moeen 7) Settling into their work, these two, they manage to knock around Boland for a couple of singles, a two. This is the least Baz batting you can get. And it’s working.
31st over: England 102-5 (Stokes 12, Moeen 6) Speaking of the next rank of spin, here is Todd Murphy! Excelled in his debut series in India earlier this year. His first ball in England is less eventful than Warne’s, turned to short leg for no score. Stokes gets off strike. Moeen has a slip and a short leg. There’s a short fine, deep square, mid on, long off, extra cover, deep cover point, backward point. In and out. Drinks.
30th over: England 101-5 (Stokes 11, Moeen 6) A single clipped to midwicket by Moeen. Stokes takes another, and Moeen is nearly run out! His bat catches in the turf, Harmanpreet Kaur style, but Cummins’ throw is just wide of the stumps.
Joe Roberts is back at the selection table. “It feels that, in general, selection is a persistent issue for this new England setup. Ali in the first Test; Robinson pulling up in his first spell here, especially when he looked fairly pedestrian at Lords; seeing what Woakes did in the first innings makes you wonder what he could’ve done last week, too.
“Getting increasingly hard to ignore that Foakes-sized elephant in the room after another Bairstow failure with the bat (not that I have ignored it, I’m sure my friends will attest). I firmly believe England are, at worst, 1-1 in this series if he plays. Was wondering if you/the OBO crew can think of such a clear-cut example of a player’s stock rising so exponentially by not playing?”
One for the crowd. In post-Warne Australia until Lyon settled the debate, and on various subcontinent tours, there have been a lot of ordinary spinners who were supposed untapped world-beaters after being left out.
29th over: England 98-5 (Stokes 10, Moeen 5) Tough over facing Starc. Moeen clips him in the air just short of mid on. Stokes gets smashed on the thigh so hard that he falls over, toppling forward. A leg bye the only score.
28th over: England 97-5 (Stokes 10, Moeen 5) Boland comes back to replace Cummins, switching to the Kirkstall Lane End. Two slips and a gully for Stokes, whips off his pads but can’t beat the field. Cover is quite short, Khawaja there. Boland has overstepped again, no balls have flowed today.
Australia go upstairs for a review… and Stokes survives! By a rollie paper. Boland around the wicket, the ball pitches in line, hits him halfway up the pad, and is smashing the top of off stump. But the umpire has given it not out on the field, and it is umpire’s call for impact outside the line of off stump. Stokes had moved down the crease, and that saves him.
I’ve said it many times – that’s a nonsense part of the Laws. Impact outside off stump should mean nothing in the ball-tracking era. That’s stone dead hitting middle stump and yet not given because of some 1880s hangover.
“Ship needs steadying. A couple of nice measured, controlled innings from Stokes and Mo coming up…” Matt Dony, fortune teller.
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As for the other footy, quality work here from the NRL.
Jonny Bairstow's Lord's dismissal clearly made its way to Canberra's English contingent.
— Lachlan McKirdy (@LMcKirdy7) July 7, 2023
Some celebration this. #Ashes pic.twitter.com/EUzgzZbh9W
27th over: England 95-5 (Stokes 10, Moeen 4) Starc continues, a wicket already in his pocket. Lovely shot off the pads from Moeen, graceful AF, but fine leg fields. Three singles from the over.
Julia Jackson writes in. “Loving the coverage so far, and The Final Word podcasts. I’m at my local RSL tonight enjoying the footy and cricket in a convivial atmosphere. Lovely stuff from Australia in this innings. Really showing strengths with ball and in the field: Slips Fielding 101! What a great Test this is shaping up to be.”
What’s happening in the footy tonight? The Bulldogs are out to an early lead against Collingwood. But the Magpies always win from behind this season, so…
26th over: England 92-5 (Stokes 9, Moeen 2) Stokes gets a run, Cummins oversteps. Moeen predictably gets the short ball. Great keeping from Carey, as a Cummins bouncer goes rogue in bounce. Carey somehow gets a glove to it to save four byes. In skill terms, his keeping has been quite the contrast to England’s. Moeen drops a single.
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25th over: England 89-5 (Stokes 8, Moeen 1) A short leg in place for Moeen Ali, he flicks Starc just past Travis Head in that position.
The Headingley internet connection picked a good time to crash…
WICKET! Bairstow c Smith b Starc 12, England 87-5
There’s the other one! The two Yorkshiremen who started the day have both gone. That’s catch 162 for Steve Smith, and a sloppy shot from Bairstow. Mitchell Starc into the attack, bowls a couple of warm-up balls, then slips a wide one across the right-hander in his time honoured fashion. Likewise, Bairstow thrashes an angled bat at the ball with no balance. Attack it, sure, but that’s a badly played shot.
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24th over: England 87-4 (Bairstow 12, Stokes 7) A Bairstow run through square leg. Lift and carry from Cummins, across Stokes. Call him Carry Grant. Zinging into Carey’s gloves. Three slips, Marsh in the gully, thankfully there’s still a wingspan talking point with Green out of the team. Second biggest going around. Second heaviest head in the WA squad, too, after Cameron Bancroft. There’s one for the ultras.
“Looks like decent bowling conditions. Time for England to declare, surely?” Now, now, Thomas Booth.
23rd over: England 86-4 (Bairstow 11, Stokes 7) Reasonable ball from Boland, but Bairstow hurls his hands at it like he’s chopping wood. “Slathering” is the word that Phil Tufnell uses on the radio, then has to spend the over defending his verb choice. It works for me.
22nd over: England 81-4 (Bairstow 6, Stokes 7) Cummins to Bairstow, defending, inside edging into pad, mistiming a drive… this is good bowling.
“After putting up with 30 mins last night of the crowd being in ecstasy after every ball,” writes Keith Shapley, “I’m looking forward to the crowd at Headingley showing the Wimbledon lot how to behave properly.”
Here’s the TMS overseas link, they were late in posting it today.
21st over: England 80-4 (Bairstow 5, Stokes 7) Scott Boland from the Football Stand End, and Stokes nicks him for four! Nice piece of bowling, but the edge goes flat and fast into the gap. Stokes defends carefully, glances two, then is beaten again on the forward defence, the ball moving away, the scrambled seam coming up as a straight seam after it hits the pitch! What a ball. It swings away late. There’s a no ball in that over too.
20th over: England 73-4 (Bairstow 5, Stokes 1) Warner explaining to his teammates that the ball swerved in the air, gesticulating as though it were a Roberto Carlos free kick. Ben Stokes to the middle, once more into the breach. Starts with a single to cover. Bairstow starts with a back-foot punch for four! Quality shot.
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WICKET! Root c Warner b Cummins 19, England 68-4
Second ball of the day! And what a catch from Warner! It’s classic Cummins, the ball that angles in, decks away just a whisper, and it’s on the length to draw Root forward and then take the edge rather than beat it. A little poke, flies towards slip. Warner is set quite deep and the ball dips on him late. He takes it down by his right shin, having to suddenly dip his weight to get down there, and it’s almost past him by the time he gets hands to it. Looks like it’s going to be a drop but he clings on. Sensational catching, quality delivery, and England’s best is gone.
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Here we go…
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“Can I ask why has England’s fielding been so poor of late?” asks Stef B. “Do they not practice catching enough or due to their new way of thinking are they too relaxed to be on the ball, so to speak?”
There are suggestions that the McCullum style views fielding practice as boring, and better replaced with golf. I don’t know how strictly true or fair that is. McCullum once he got out from behind the stumps was an incredible fielder.
Brian Withington is bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. “Great day’s entertainment yesterday, starting with the amazing century by Bas de Leede for Netherlands in their crucial WC qualifying win over plucky Scotland, and culminating in a nerve shredding penultimate ball win for Essex against Birmingham to secure a place at T20 Finals Day. (Dominic Drake’s successful body check of Simon Harmer to facilitate a scandalous run out amongst the desperate 19th over mayhem would surely have put any lingering resentment about ancient genteel stumpings completely in the shade.) In between times I gather that two long-lost strangers turned up for a game in Yorkshire and one of them bowled quite fast and the other biffed the ball about a bit?”
“I shall be watching/reading the OBO throughout the day both hoping and fearing for the same kind of excitement as yesterday,” writes Mark Slater. “One thing I would say, that if you had offered Ben Stokes an Australian score of 263 all out before the end of the day he would have taken it. Now we need a dour century from each Yorkshireman at the crease, preferably at around 5 runs an over...”
Ha! On the way to Romeo & Juliet there.
“Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health,
Still-waking sleep that is not what it is!”
“Looking forward to today, any news on Ollie Robinson?” asks Shaun Holmes. He was on the field doing some stretches of his back just now, so looks like he’s trying to come good. He could do with not having to bowl until tomorrow, I’d say. Memo to England’s batting.
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And at the front of the queue, fittingly, pace, pace, pace. Yesterday was fast, proper fast, and it thrilled everyone except those facing it. Maybe even including them. Andy Bull has the tale.
I’ve been watching Mitchell Marsh play for a long time, and yesterday was by far the most dramatic and impressive chapter.
There’s also an Ashes Daily podcast from me and Adam Collins if you’ve got your headphones in.
Tracking back to the previous Test at Lord’s, strong words from the MCC chair about the damage some members have done the club’s reputation. (Though the club still hasn’t done more than suspend three members.)
Emma John spent yesterday down in the Western Terrace, which spiritually remains the Western Terrace, even if they’ve tried to rename it the West Stand.
Simon Burnton has been bowerbirding again for his Ashes Diary.
Mark Wood, after all of that, reackons that he’s just warming up.
Time for Day 2 catch-ups? Let’s start with yesterday’s match report from the man for detail, Ali Martin.
Preamble
Hello from Headingley. Question one, as always at the cricket: how is the weather? Looks decent, a mix of cloud and blue, and that’s forecast to clear further. Conditions falling in the favour of England, then, who have Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow to resume at 68 for three.
What a day we had yesterday. Hasn’t been a bad day’s cricket in the series so far, but that one was high octane. Mark Wood returning from a long lay-off and blazing through the lower order, taking five wickets with one of the fastest spells in England. And Mitchell Marsh returning after an even longer layoff and countering with a (deserving this overused word) truly brilliant century.
Parry and thrust. Australia got to a reasonable total of 263 but would have wanted a hundred more. The pitch was fast and offered bounce. As Marsh showed, there are runs for someone who gets the pace of it. But he also got swing with the ball to find Zak Crawley’s edge, and Pat Cummins bowled well on this surface.
All in the balance then, with England needing their main men to put together something substantial.
