| 0.0 : A glorious afternoon in Adelaide today. The venue makes history yet again - It was host to the first ever Day/Night Test between New Zealand and Australia back in 2015. And now, it will play out the introductory Day/Night Ashes Test in history. The crowd lined up outside is excited, awaiting to just grab their seats and watching the excitement that's going to be on display. The warmest of welcome to all of you who've tuned in today for this thrilling contest. |
| Australia will welcome this situation, having taken a 1-0 lead at the 'Gabba and brimming with self-confidence at the moment. What will encourage them even further is that they've won all their pink ball encounters (3/3), while also winning their last 4 here at the Adelaide Oval. England did lose the series opener, but the scorecard doesn't exactly paint an apt picture. If they can remain unfazed and produce a similar performance, then this could be a real show for everybody watching. The possib |
| The conditions are relatively cool and there's a nice, cool breeze blowing, something which the Englishmen will welcome. If they win the toss, you can be a fifer that they'd like to have a go with the ball first. Despite Australia's immaculate record here, what they can take heart from is that they're the ones who handed the hosts their last defeat at this venue. There's an air of anticipation around, you can feel it. The crowd is probably more excited for this than the first one. The pinnacle o |
| Toss - England win the toss and elect to bowl first! As expected, the conditions are there for them to exploit and that's just what they're doing. An interesting little stat is that this is the first time any team has elected to take the field in a Day/Night after winning the toss. England got what they wanted, and so have Australia. They'd have preferred to do that. Should be interesting to see how it all unfolds. |
| Craig Overton will be making his Test debut. He becomes the 681st English player to do so in men's Test cricket. Overton likes to bowl full, so the conditions here should suit him well. It's lush green and the lights will come into play as well. Perfect for someone like him to make his start. |
| The players are out in the middle along with the match officials for their respective National Anthems. We'll begin with the hosts' first. |
| We are now ready to begin. This is going to be a crucial first session for England. They need to be on top going into the break, because the runs will be flowing from the second session onwards. David Warner and Cameron Bancroft will try to survive this first hour to begin with, as James Anderson take the pink cherry first up. It's overcast and he'll be raring to go. Three slips and a gully in place. Here we go... |
| 0.1 : J Anderson to Bancroft, Bancroft is away wasting no time at all. A back of a length delivery outside off, he pushes it into the covers and hares across to the other end. Always good to get off the mark on the first delivery, he'll be feeling good about that. |
| 0.2 : J Anderson to Warner, Good carry. That's a superb delivery, good sign for the bowler. Lands it on a good length around off, great seam position and it nips back in just a touch. Warner shoulders his arms as the ball whizzes past him. |
| 0.3 : J Anderson to Warner, Short of a good length close to off, Warner hangs back and taps it down right under his nose. |
| 0.4 : J Anderson to Warner, Goes fuller this time and it's swung a long way down leg, Jonny Bairstow moves swiftly to his right and takes it well. Anderson just needs to get his length right here, should go full and exploit the conditions here. |
| 0.5 : J Anderson to Warner, There it is... The sucker ball! Full and hurled outside off, Warner has a tame poke at it without much foot movement. Almost edges it behind, he'll feel lucky he didn't. More of that, Jimmy. That's what you want to do. |
| 0.6 : J Anderson to Warner, Rising at a nice height from a good length, in that off stump channel, David Warner lets it be. Tidy first over from Anderson, just 1 off it. |
| Stuart Broad will bowl from the other end. He too will have three slips and a gully in place. |
| 1.1 : S Broad to Bancroft, Broad comes steaming in and immediately goes full. Just outside off as Bancroft leans ahead and meets it with a straight bat. |
| 1.2 : S Broad to Bancroft, On the fourth stump line, good length delivery from Broad as Cameron Bancroft leaves it. |
| Quite windy out there. So much that umpire Aleem Dar's hat and glasses at square leg just blew right off. A sight which will encourage the visitors. |
| 1.3 : S Broad to Bancroft, Length ball aiming the top of the off stick, Bancroft from within his crease offers a firm punch down towards mid on. |
| 1.4 : S Broad to Bancroft, Slightly ahead of a length around off, pushes straight to short extra cover. |
| 1.5 : S Broad to Bancroft, Cutting back in on middle and off, Bancroft is hit in the mid-section as he looks to work it on the leg side. Not sure if cutting his fingers across the seam this early is a good idea. Broad is a seam bowler, must play to his strengths. Bringing Cameron Bancroft forward and making him drive should be his objective, bowling just a tad short. |
| 1.6 : S Broad to Bancroft, Fullish in length outside the line of off stump, blocked with the full face of the bat. |
| 2.1 : J Anderson to Warner, Just down the leg side from Jimmy Anderson, Warner looks to get something on it but doesn't. |
| 2.2 : J Anderson to Warner, Fires it full but well outside off, Warner has nothing to do with it. |
| 2.3 : J Anderson to Warner, Full in length, just a shade straighter in line, Warner brings bat in front of his pads and blocks it out. |
| 2.4 : J Anderson to Warner, Good leave. An impressive leave by David Warner. Fuller in length and around off, moves away as the southpaw makes a late leave. Judged it well on that occasion. |
| 2.5 : J Anderson to Warner, FOUR! First boundary of the innings and that's come off David Warner's bat. Anderson is short with his length so the left-hander puts it away. Crashes it through the left of point and sends it across the boundary line. |
| 2.6 : J Anderson to Warner, Back of a length again, kept out off the back foot to end the over. |
| 3.1 : S Broad to Bancroft, Nice length delivery on the fifth stump line, Cameron makes a decent leave. |
| 0.0 : Anderson and Broad are just a tad short with their lengths here. Need to go fuller, use the seam well. It will trouble the batsmen and eventually, with some luck, reap the rewards. |
| 3.2 : S Broad to Bancroft, Shaping away from around off, Bancroft has no trouble leaving it alone. |
| 3.3 : S Broad to Bancroft, Movement into the batsman this time, the batsman leans across a touch and works it through mid-wicket for a couple of runs. |
| 3.4 : S Broad to Bancroft, Plays this on the up. Bancroft punches it to the left of short extra cover and calls Warner for a quick single. |
| 3.5 : S Broad to Warner, Switches the angle to around the wicket and it's the perfect delivery with three slips and a gully in place. It's full and swinging away late around off, Warner covers the line and makes a leave. |
| 3.6 : S Broad to Warner, Oh dear, oh dear! What a jaffa from the big man Stuart Broad. David Warner is a lucky man to have survived that. The pacer runs in hard and lands it around off, it cuts back in sharply as Warner leaves. Dangerous thing to do, he didn't expect it to come back in that much. The ball barely misses the off stump as it goes past him. Wow! Terrific delivery to end a good over. |
| The silent observer: My gosh, it is so windy out there that the boundary ropes have actually been held back! There was a moment before when Aleem Dar's hat flew off. |
| 4.1 : J Anderson to Bancroft, Inward movement for Anderson as he bowls it on off, Bancroft is once again hit high on the thigh pads as he looks to play at it. |
| 4.2 : J Anderson to Bancroft, Outside off on a good length, left alone for the keeper to collect. |
| 4.3 : J Anderson to Bancroft, Beautiful! What a ball. Length ball around off, moves away late as Bancroft has a push inside the line. Is beaten past the outside edge as it thuds into the keeper's gloves. |
| 4.4 : J Anderson to Bancroft, Stays back to this length ball and keeps it out. Still bowling a touch short here, Anderson. Should rectify that. |
| 4.5 : J Anderson to Bancroft, And boom! He's right on the money. Full and swinging away on middle and off, Bancroft brings a straight blade down in defense. He shouldn't mind even if he gets hit for a boundary. That's what he should be doing more often. |
| 4.6 : J Anderson to Bancroft, Full and attacking the stumps, driven just wide of mid on for a run. |
| 5.1 : S Broad to Bancroft, Well done, Stuart Broad. That would have been a boundary had he not stopped it. Full outside off, Bancroft drives it straight back, the bowler dives to his left quickly in his followthrough and gets a hand on it. |
| 5.2 : S Broad to Bancroft, Nice. Full once more, good seam position and outside off, forces Cameron to let it be. |
| 5.3 : S Broad to Bancroft, Nicely done. Negotiates the swing well by taking a step out of his crease, pushes it into the gap in the covers and scurries across. |
| 5.4 : S Broad to Warner, Around the wicket to Warner, comes wide of the crease and angles it in on off, Warner punches it firmly straight to mid off. |
| 5.5 : S Broad to Warner, That's the downside to this field and coming from around the wicket. Fraction straight in line and you're going to go for runs. It's happened here, Warner clips it through square leg and runs hard to come back for the second. |
| 5.6 : S Broad to Warner, Outside off, sixth stump line, left alone by David Warner comfortably. |
| 6.1 : J Anderson to Bancroft, Good length delivery around the off stump line, Cameron Bancroft produces a tight defensive shot in response. |
| 6.2 : J Anderson to Bancroft, Marginally fuller in length this time, defended well down on the track. |
| The Adelaide Oval is packed. Barely any seats empty, which sure enough will be filled at the minutes tick by. That's what you like to see in Test cricket, makes it all the more awesome. |
| 6.3 : J Anderson to Bancroft, The change-up from Anderson. Bangs it in short outside off, easy enough for Bancroft to sway away from the line and evade. |
| 6.4 : J Anderson to Bancroft, Length delivery on the stumps, guarded well from within the crease. |
| 6.5 : J Anderson to Bancroft, Much better. Fast and swinging in, takes the inside edge of Bancroft's bat and goes behind square leg. Single taken. |
| 6.6 : J Anderson to D Warner, Full ball swinging in from around off, Warner has a loose drive thrown at it and he's lucky he gets an inside edge on the leg side. Could have just as easily been bowled. A single results and that'll be the end of the over. |
| Chris Woakes is the first bowling change for England. Three slips and a gully set for him as well. |
| 7.1 : C Woakes to Warner, Full inswinger from Chris Woakes, Warner defends it off the front foot with the full face of the bat. |
| 7.2 : C Woakes to Warner, Well played. Sees the ball pitched a little straight and he flicks it through mid-wicket. Two runs come for him. |
| 7.3 : C Woakes to Warner, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 7.4 : C Woakes to Warner, Closer to off stump, on a short of a length, Warner leaves it alone seeing the ball moving away late. |
| 7.5 : C Woakes to Warner, Into the body from Woakes, David Warner nudges it down towards fine leg and takes two. |
| 7.6 : C Woakes to Warner, Similar delivery, helped in the same region by David Warner for two more. Good over for Australia, 6 runs off it. |
| 8.1 : J Anderson to Bancroft, Fuller delivery which is swinging away from Cameron Bancroft, it goes off the outer half towards covers and a run is taken. |
| 8.2 : J Anderson to Warner, Back of a length outside off, solid punch offered from the crease a bit square on the off side. |
| 8.3 : J Anderson to Warner, Good line, good length, good leave. In the channel outside off, arms are shouldered for the keeper to collect. |
| 8.4 : J Anderson to Warner, That's the perfect length draws David Warner forward and almost takes the edge. The line might not look too threatening, but since it's cutting across the left-hander it's difficult not to be tempted to play at it. Fuller and outside off, Warner is forward to push it towards mid off but is beaten. |
| 8.5 : J Anderson to Warner, Angling across just outside off, this time Warner has no trouble leaving it alone. |
| 8.6 : J Anderson to Warner, Good ball. This one holds its line, maybe moves just away enough across the batsman. David Warner hangs a straight bat in defense and gets it off the outer half towards gully. |
| 9.1 : C Woakes to Bancroft, Good length delivery outside off, Bancroft this time lets it be. Good line to bowl to the right-handed opener, he has a tendency to play on the up. Keeping the pressure on him is key. |
| 9.2 : C Woakes to Bancroft, Wider outside off, Bancroft has nothing to do with it. |
| 9.3 : C Woakes to Bancroft, Short from Woakes, easy enough for the batsman to let it sail over his head. |
| 9.4 : C Woakes to Bancroft, Nicely played. Length delivery around the off stump, played in front of covers by moving across a step. |
| 9.5 : C Woakes to Bancroft, Outside off again, Bancroft once again taps it down, this time square on the off side. Cameron has this habit of opening his body up on most occasion, thereby allowing the opportunity of a edge being drawn. He realizes that, maybe telling himself not to repeat it. |
| 9.6 : C Woakes to Bancroft, Jaffa! Excellent delivery to end the over. Good length delivery rising off the surface, Bancroft is almost undone as the ball whiskers past the outside edge. |
| 10.1 : J Anderson to Warner, Back of a length delivery outside off, Warner punches it through the gap in the covers and takes two as Woakes runs after it and throws it back in. |
| 10.2 : J Anderson to Warner, Bit short outside off, left alone. |
| 10.3 : J Anderson to Warner, Short delivery outside off, Warner rises and keeps it down. Quickly shouts 'wait on' to his partner as he does so. |
| 10.4 : J Anderson to Warner, Much better. Full and outside off, Warner covers his sticks and lets it go. |
| 10.5 : J Anderson to Warner, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 10.6 : J Anderson to Warner, Oh wow, how close was that? Calling Warner brave will be understating it. Length ball with some extra bounce around off, comes back in and just about goes over the off stump as David Warner makes a leave. |
| Jimmy Anderson has some taping on his right shoulder. He got hit on it in Brisbane, and had some bruising on the muscle. Probably that's still niggling at him. |
| 11.1 : C Woakes to Bancroft, Just outside off on a good length, left alone for Jonny Bairstow to take in his safe gloves. |
| 11.2 : C Woakes to Bancroft, Back of a length delivery angling in, Bancroft is on his toes and misses his flick. It goes off his thigh pad on the leg side as a leg bye is taken. |
| That's an unfortunate sight. It's raining in Adelaide and the groundstaff is out to do its work. Just a strong drizzle for now, doesn't look very threatening. Hopefully the breeze blowing across takes the clouds away from the ground. |
| Not the ideal start for England after opting to bowl on a good batting surface. They needed wickets early on but their experienced bowlers surprisingly were unable to take full advantage of the windy conditions. Their lengths weren't too great and that's allowed the Australian openers to get their eye in. This break is something that they will welcome, they will want to reload and start fresh. |
| Update 1450 local time - That was a short one. The covers are already off and we're getting ready for play to resume. Good to see. |
| That was not a big break. The PLAYERS ARE BACK ON. The clouds seem to have been blown away. Nice bright sunshine as of now... |
| 11.3 : C Woakes to Warner, Full and wide outside off, much better length, Warner lets it go. |
| 11.4 : C Woakes to Warner, FOUR! Fine shot! Full and outside off, Warner gets into his groove, does not let it go and drives it sweetly through the covers. James Anderson starts to jog from mid off, then gives it up. That was a boundary but England should not be disappointed with this length. |
| 11.5 : C Woakes to Warner, Wide outside off, left alone. |
| 11.6 : C Woakes to Warner, Outside off, David taps it towards gully where James Vince dives to his left but is able to make only a half-stop. A single conceded. |
| Stuart Broad will have a change of ends. |
| 12.1 : S Broad to Warner, Starts off from around the wicket and almost does David Warner in. Oh, that's so risky, Davey. Has a wry smile on his face. Fuller outside off, swinging away ever so late as the left-hander looks to leave it, but does so really, really late. It goes off the bottom part of the bat behind towards the slip cordon. |
| 12.2 : S Broad to Warner, Length delivery in the off stump channel, tapped down in front of point for a brisk single. |
| 12.3 : S Broad to Bancroft, Fullish in length outside off, left alone by Cameron. |
| 12.4 : S Broad to Bancroft, Overton overdoes his underarm. Bancroft pushes it just wide of the debutant at cover. He gets to the ball, looks to hit the stumps at the striker's end but ends up throwing it way above the batsman's head. Single completed. |
| 12.5 : S Broad to Warner, From around the wicket to Warner, outside off and straightening up a shade, it's worked square towards point. |
| 12.6 : S Broad to Warner, Beautiful. Full and on the stumps, Warner gets right behind the line and pushes it towards mid on. |
| 13.1 : C Woakes to Bancroft, Bancroft with another single in the covers. Maybe Root should be blocking that area. Tap and run stuff and a single is earned. |
| 0.0 : It was bright and sunny when play was resumed after that brief rain interruption. It's gone quite overcast out there again. It's drizzling again... |
| 13.2 : C Woakes to Warner, Cutting back into David Warner, the flick is missed and it goes off the thigh pads. Leg bye taken on the leg side. |
| 13.3 : C Woakes to Bancroft, Stays right behind the line of this length delivery as it's blocked with a straight bat. |
| 13.4 : C Woakes to Bancroft, Moving off the seam away from the batsman, outside off, Bancroft doesn't fiddle with it. |
| 13.5 : C Woakes to Bancroft, On a good length closer to off this time, Bancroft stands tall and defends it back down the track. |
| The covers are back on! The drizzle is quite steady now, slightly heavier than the last time. The pitch is covered as is a good chunk of the outfield. We could be in for a longer delay this time. |
| Update 1530 local time - Good news! The rain has stopped, the covers are off and the supersoppers are doing their thing. It's still a bit dark and overcast out there, but for now, we should have action again soon enough. |
| Nice interesting chat between Mark Nicholas and Michael Clarke on air. Nicholas asks Pup (Clarke) as to why is there such a big fuss about Root electing to bowl. Clarke says that it is too early to say anything right now. However, if England do end up not winning this game or losing the same, questions will be asked about the toss. It is about ownership and accountability and one has to face it. The same thing happened to Nasser Hussain way back in 2002 while Ricky Thomas Ponting faced a similar |
| 1545 LOCAL - 'We are 10 minutes away from resumption' were Mark Nicholas' words with just the Hessian in place. 10 minutes after his words, the Hessian has been replaced by a bigger cover. The drizzle has returned and it is hard to see any play happening before Tea now. |
| It's happened as predicted. Tea has been taken. The first session marred by rain has seen Australia hold the upper hand for the time being. A vital advantage in the grand scheme of things. England went against the norm at the Adelaide Oval and opted to bowl. Early wickets were the need of the hour but the English bowlers couldn't make use of the swinging conditions. Short lengths and a lack of discipline, coupled with inconsistency to keep it full has led to them wanting more. The second session |
| Update 1611 local time - We're past the scheduled time, which can only mean the rain is back. That means the covers will be too, and it looks unlikely it's going to start now. |
| Update 1625 local time - The rain has lessened out, almost stopped in fact. The square is still covered but the groundsmen have got down to clearing the outfield of the water. News from the middle is that play will start in about 30 minutes. |
| Excellent news! Seems play will start earlier than expected. We are ready for action as the English team takes its place on the outfield. David Warner and Cameron Bancroft walk over to the square. Chris Woakes to bowl the final ball of his pending over... |
| 13.6 : C Woakes to Bancroft, Served on a length in the corridor of uncertainty, Cameron Bancroft covers the line and makes a watchful leave. |
| Stuart Broad to continue from the other end. Interestingly, there's a deep point and a deep square leg in place. Not sure what the plan is here. |
| 14.1 : S Broad to Warner, From around the wicket, length ball well outside off, Warner watches it go past him and into the keeper's gloves. |
| 14.2 : S Broad to Warner, Angling in a first but then straightens up considerably, Warner pushes it out on the off side. |
| 14.3 : S Broad to Bancroft, RUN OUT! Oh, can you believe it? Exactly the thing you don't want when play starts again after several breaks. Is that the spark England needed? Horrible mix-up in the middle. David Warner pushes it towards Moeen Ali at cover, who misfields. Upon seeing this, Warner calls for the run, Bancroft responds and halfway out, the southpaw retreats, leaving his partner in no man's land. Chris Woakes from short extra cover takes the ball and scores a direct hit at the bowler's |
| Usman Khawaja walks in at No.3. |
| 14.4 : S Broad to Warner, Loud, loud lbw appeal! Suddenly the energy flows through Stuart Broad. He comes charging in and spears a full ball on leg and it's angling down. Warner looks to flick it away but misses and is hit on the pads. Big shout, Broad as always wants the review but Jonny Bairstow behind the stumps indicates it's missing leg stump. Good call too, it's missing by a mile. |
| 14.5 : S Broad to Warner, Stuart Broad is breathing fire now. The wicket has breathed life into the English team, especially the big pacer. Lands it on a good length outside off, Warner looks to have a push inside the line but is beaten. |
| 14.6 : S Broad to Warner, Keeps it fuller and around off, met with the full face of the bat to end an exceptional over from Broad. |
| James Anderson back into the attack. |
| 15.1 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Off the mark. Khawaja moves inside the line and works it with a closed face through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 15.2 : J Anderson to Warner, On the stumps, stays perfectly behind the line and blocks. |
| 15.3 : J Anderson to D Warner, Makes great connection but it's straight to the man at short extra cover. Warner drills this full ball outside off right into the fielder's hands. |
| 15.4 : J Anderson to Warner, Pitched on a length on middle and off, moves off the seam into the batsman. Warner is caught high on the thigh pads as he attempts to put bat on ball. |
| 15.5 : J Anderson to Warner, Good leave, that's a good leave. The previous one came back in, now it goes the other way. Around off, length delivery, Warner picks it up and lets it go by him. Wasn't too far from the off stump, that. |
| 15.6 : J Anderson to Warner, Around off again but it's slightly farther away than the last ball, easy leave for the opener. |
| Four slips from Broad for Usman Khawaja. |
| 16.1 : S Broad to Khawaja, Length delivery outside off, placed square through point for a brace. |
| 16.2 : S Broad to Khawaja, Shaping back in on middle stump, Khawaja stays back and nudges it in front of mid-wicket. No run taken on that occasion. |
| 16.3 : S Broad to Khawaja, Straightening up after hitting the deck, around off, Khawaja stands firm and defends it right under his nose. |
| 16.4 : S Broad to Khawaja, Kicking up off the surface from around off, the batsman is up for it as he manages to block it on the off side. |
| 16.5 : S Broad to Khawaja, Comes wide of the crease and angles it around off, kept out safely with an opened-face blade. |
| 16.6 : S Broad to Khawaja, Full outside off, pushed straight to short extra cover. |
| 17.1 : J Anderson to Warner, Length ball targeting the top of off stump, pushed away in front of covers from within the crease. |
| 17.2 : J Anderson to Warner, Beaten! What a peach. Angling across David Warner, he's completely undone for pace as he hangs his bat out to this. Gets beaten past the edge as the keeper takes it. Warner isn't looking too hot for the moment, the run out of his partner has seemingly got under his skin. Needs to shake it off quickly. |
| 17.3 : J Anderson to Warner, Anderson once again makes it go across, Warner with a solid defensive shot. |
| 17.4 : J Anderson to Warner, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 17.5 : J Anderson to Warner, Full ball which is pushed through the covers. Almost immediately after completing the first, Warner with a big shout of 'NO'. Doesn't want Khawaja to suffer the same fate as his opening partner, at least not because of him. |
| 17.6 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Swinging away from around off, Khawaja with no foot movement pushes from inside the line. Is beaten all ends up. |
| 18.1 : S Broad to Warner, Skidding off the surface, coming from wide of the crease. Catches Warner on the thigh pad, missing the edge of the bat. Leg bye taken as a result. |
| 18.2 : S Broad to Khawaja, Short of a good length close to off, Usman keeps it out off the back foot. |
| 18.3 : S Broad to Khawaja, Over the wicket to Khawaja, Broad drops it around off and gets it to come back in marginally. Usman comes half-forward and lets it be. |
| 18.4 : S Broad to Khawaja, Length ball around off, from the outer half of the willow Khawaja plays it towards point. |
| 18.5 : S Broad to Khawaja, On a good length once more, draws the batsman slightly forward. Played back down the track past the bowler. |
| 18.6 : S Broad to Khawaja, Around the wicket for the final ball of the over, the no.3 batsman leaves the full ball wide outside off. |
| 19.1 : J Anderson to Warner, It's skidded off the deck a bit, on off on a length, Warner plays this late, with soft hands. It goes off the outer half past backward point for a double. |
| 19.2 : J Anderson to Warner, Angling away, left alone for the keeper to take. |
| This is much better field set from Joe Root. Deep point is brought inside the circle now. This will make David Warner think about playing his favourite cut shot, and also allow Jimmy Anderson to bowl a touch straighter. Should have been done much earlier in the game, better late than never though, eh? |
| 19.3 : J Anderson to Warner, Hangs back deep inside his crease, waits for the length ball before blocking it out. |
| 19.4 : J Anderson to Warner, Just ahead of a length, outside the line of off stump, kept out presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 19.5 : J Anderson to D Warner, FOUR! It's gone all the way but still not exactly a free-flowing drive from David Warner. Still dwelling upon Bancroft's run out, probably. Full outside off, Warner drives it through the covers for a boundary. |
| 19.6 : J Anderson to Warner, Back of a length on the stumps, a touch straight in line, Warner clips it through the leg side and will keep strike. |
| 20.1 : S Broad to D Warner, Bit overpitched from Broad, bowls it on off, David Warner drives it wide of mid off and comes back for the third with some good running. |
| 20.2 : S Broad to Khawaja, Seaming away from a good length outside off, over the wicket, no shot offered to this one. |
| 20.3 : S Broad to Khawaja, One more delivery outside off, another one left alone. |
| 20.4 : S Broad to U Khawaja, Short delivery banged into the body, Khawaja pulls it off the inside half down to fine leg for a couple. The 50 is up for Australia with that. |
| 20.5 : S Broad to Khawaja, Fuller length ball which is blocked solidly. |
| 20.6 : S Broad to Khawaja, On the fuller side of things again, drilled to mid off for nothing. |
| Debutant Craig Overton is into the attack. He's accurate and gets good bounce, let's see how he fares now. |
| 21.1 : C Overton to Warner, Just behind a good length close to the off stick, Warner safely guards it from inside his crease. |
| 21.2 : C Overton to Warner, There's that extra bounce. Ooofff... Back of a length outside off, keeps rising and goes past the edge of David Warner's bat who tries to punch it through the covers. |
| 21.3 : C Overton to Warner, Makes it go across the batsman who doesn't bother himself with it. |
| 21.4 : C Overton to Warner, On a bit of a shorter length on off, Warner wrists it over mid-wicket for a single. |
| 21.5 : C Overton to Khawaja, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 21.6 : C Overton to Khawaja, Extra bounce again for Craig Overton, shorter outside off which catches Usman Khawaja by surprise. He still somehow manages to dodge it safely. |
| 22.1 : S Broad to Warner, Lands it on a good length just outside off, not much movement on this occasion, easy leave to make for the opener. |
| 22.2 : S Broad to Warner, Angling and swinging in heavily on middle and off, Warner goes deep inside the crease before working it to the man at mid-wicket. |
| 22.3 : S Broad to Warner, Bringing David forward again, keeps it outside off with that fullish ball. Driven to the cover fielder. |
| 22.4 : S Broad to Warner, Really wide and full, but there's some good bounce for Stuart Broad. The idea isn't bad, he's keeping it tight for the most part and baiting Warner every now and again with a loose one. Outside off, Warner throws his bat at it in an attempt to hammer it through the cover, only to miss. |
| 22.5 : S Broad to Warner, On off, Warner meets it with a straight bat in defense. |
| 22.6 : S Broad to Warner, Good delivery to end the over. Fired full, on off, David Warner positions himself perfectly behind the line and blocks on the off side. |
| 23.1 : C Overton to Khawaja, Full and wide outside off, moving further away, Khawaja drives it straight to the man at covers. |
| 23.2 : C Overton to Khawaja, Outside off without much movement, on a good length, left alone. |
| England need to keep this up. There's a packed off side field and the Aussie pair out there are finding it difficult to score. They shouldn't start experimenting any time soon and persist with this for longer. A wicket can result off it. |
| 23.3 : C Overton to Khawaja, Usman Khawaja lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| 23.4 : C Overton to Khawaja, A non-threatening delivery outside the off stump line, left alone. |
| 23.5 : C Overton to Khawaja, FOUR! Rare boundary in this innings so far, that's very well played by Usman Khawaja. Sees the ball pitched a little short and he's on to it in a flash. Rocks back and pulls it well in front of square for a boundary. |
| 23.6 : C Overton to Khawaja, Just back of a full length, moving away outside off, no shot offered. |
| Seems the call has been heard. Moeen Ali is brought on into the attack. It's a known fact Usman Khawaja has trouble against spin bowling, good move by Joe Root to bring him on. |
| 24.1 : M Ali to Warner, Straighter one on off stump, defended well down the track. |
| 24.2 : M Ali to Warner, On a flatter trajectory, full in length, blocked again by David Warner. |
| 24.3 : M Ali to Warner, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 24.4 : M Ali to Warner, That's bounced! That's bounced a lot. Immediate effect from the offie. Dropped around off and it shoots off the surface, Warner is taken completely by surprise as the ball takes the edge. There's a slip in place but much to Warner's delight, it goes past him. |
| 24.5 : M Ali to Warner, Sliding in with the arm, on middle and off, works it away on the on side by moving inside the line. |
| 24.6 : M Ali to Warner, Darts it full on the stumps, defended off the front foot easily. |
| 25.1 : C Overton to Khawaja, Full ball outside off, driven through the covers by Khawaja for a couple of good runs. |
| 25.2 : C Overton to Khawaja, Movement off the seam from a length, around off, plants his front foot forward to block it out. |
| 25.3 : C Overton to Khawaja, On the fuller side of the length, just outside off, pushed in front of covers off the front foot. |
| 25.4 : C Overton to Khawaja, Off cutter outside off, Khawaja picks it up and leaves it alone. |
| 25.5 : C Overton to Khawaja, FOUR! Not in perfect control, but the placement is good enough to fetch himself a boundary. Short ball which Khawaja pulls, off the top edge and over backward square leg. Moeen Ali in the deep can't get to it, just a little too far away from him. |
| 25.6 : C Overton to Khawaja, Overton with a full delivery, blocked by the batsman. |
| 26.1 : M Ali to Warner, From around the wicket, floats it up on off, David gets close to the pitch and defends. |
| 26.2 : M Ali to Warner, Full again, quicker in pace this time from Moeen. Warner blocks comfortably. |
| 26.3 : M Ali to D Warner, Quicker through the air outside off, drilled to the man at cover. |
| 26.4 : M Ali to Warner, David Warner has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 26.5 : M Ali to Warner, Quicker on the stumps, almost a yorker, dug out past mid-wicket for a quick run. |
| 26.6 : M Ali to Khawaja, Khawaja comes forward and meets the ball with the full face of the bat. Keeps it out easily. |
| 27.1 : C Overton to Warner, Pounded in short on off, Warner looks to play the ramp shot but the bounce is too sharp for him. Taken by Jonny Bairstow behind the stumps with ease. |
| 27.2 : C Overton to Warner, Fraction straight in line, on middle and leg, worked away on the leg side for a comfortable run. |
| 27.3 : C Overton to Khawaja, Shaping away after landing on off, the batsman ensures he has not bothered himself with it. |
| Two men out in the deep on the leg side for Usman Khawaja. He's played a couple of uncontrolled pull shots, so this is a good field change from the English skipper. |
| 27.4 : C Overton to U Khawaja, Fired full around off, with the away movement but Khawaja has done well here. Plays it with soft hands, off the outer half towards backward point. |
| 27.5 : C Overton to Khawaja, There's the extra bounce again for Overton, you can expect more of that from him through the course of the game. Big lad, bowls it on a back of a length and gets it to rise more, beats the outside edge of Khawaja's bat as he looks to play it on the off side. |
| 27.6 : C Overton to Khawaja, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 28.1 : M Ali to Warner, Slower through the air from Ali, Warner places it into the gap in the cover region and takes one. |
| 28.2 : M Ali to Khawaja, Adds a little pace this time, bit quicker on off as Usman meets it with his bat. |
| 28.3 : M Ali to Khawaja, Makes use of his feet to get close to the pitch of the ball and blocks. |
| 28.4 : Ali to Khawaja, Shouts for an lbw but that can't be given out. Khawaja jumps out of his crease to defend but is caught on the pads. He's too far out though to be given out by the umpire. |
| 28.5 : M Ali to Khawaja, Hangs back behind the line and defends it out. |
| 28.6 : M Ali to Khawaja, Flighted delivery on the stumps, eased out on the off side by Khawaja. |
| 29.1 : C Overton to Warner, FOUR! Overpitched and Warner has dispatched that. Around off, the southpaw opener drills it beautifully through the covers and earns himself a boundary. |
| 29.2 : C Overton to Warner, FOUR! Back-to-back boundaries, albeit this isn't under his control fully. Shortish outside off, Warner glides it off the outer half through point for a boundary. |
| 29.3 : C Overton to Warner, Full outside off, driven through the covers for one. |
| 29.4 : C Overton to Khawaja, Straight in line, extra bounce extracted from the surface. Khawaja takes his bottom hand off as he works it 'round the corner for one. His footwork was once again susceptible while playing that, hence couldn't do much else. |
| 29.5 : C Overton to Warner, Bit fullish in length outside off, pushed away defensively for no run. |
| 29.6 : C Overton to Warner, Angling in and then going away late outside off, not bothered with by the batsman. |
| 30.1 : M Ali to Khawaja, In the air... But it's landed safe! Tossed up from Moeen Ali on off, Khawaja gives the charge and lofts it over mid off. Not in control, but it's enough to clear the infield and fetch him a couple of runs. |
| 30.2 : M Ali to Khawaja, What was he doing there? Unbelievable choice of shot from Usman Khawaja. Khawaja premeditated the lap shot, but he didn't pick up the loopy full toss which should have been sent out of the park. It takes the inside edge, lobs off his pads and flies through leg gully safely. Yikes! |
| 30.3 : M Ali to Khawaja, FOUR! Good shot, that. Dropped short and flat outside off, Khawaja smacks it through the cover area and sends it across the boundary line. |
| 30.4 : M Ali to Khawaja, Straighter one on the stumps, the batsman defends it from within his crease. |
| 30.5 : M Ali to Khawaja, FOUR! Another boundary, via a misfield from Stoneman this time. Khawaja cuts it towards short third man where Mark sloppily lets it through his legs. Nobody behind him to cover, so that will run away for a boundary. |
| 30.6 : M Ali to Khawaja, Fuller length ball from the spinner, kept out by coming well forward. |
| Chris Woakes back into the bowling attack. |
| 31.1 : C Woakes to Warner, Gets off strike on the very first ball. Fuller ball which is driven through the covers for one. |
| 31.2 : C Woakes to Khawaja, Camps back, waits for the length ball to come to him and blocks. |
| 31.3 : C Woakes to Khawaja, Chooses the leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 31.4 : C Woakes to Khawaja, Going away again, outside off, another leave. |
| 31.5 : C Woakes to Khawaja, Length ball on off, Khawaja is well forward as he defends. |
| 31.6 : C Woakes to Khawaja, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| Drinks break! The Aussie pair looks nervous out there in the middle, especially Usman Khawaja. England sort of have them on the ropes, but aren't capitalizing by putting enough pressure. Joe Root has been somewhat defensive in his approach. A couple of men around the batsmen, along with bringing them inside the ring is something he should consider. The time is ripe to do it too. If Warner and Khawaja survive this, chances are high they will carry on and score big ones. The pitch is starting to e |
| 32.1 : M Ali to Warner, Continues from around the wicket and tosses it up on off, David Warner is forward to block. |
| 32.2 : M Ali to Warner, Floated just outside off, driven to the left of short third man. Good effort there from Stoneman to move swiftly and cut it off. |
| 32.3 : M Ali to Warner, Straighter one on leg stump, Warner keeps his bat right behind the line and defends it under his nose. |
| 32.4 : M Ali to Warner, Plays with the spin and dabs it just wide of short third man to get off strike. |
| 32.5 : M Ali to Khawaja, Extra bounce as it zips off the deck, outside off, Usman stands tall and taps it down on the surface. |
| 32.6 : M Ali to Khawaja, Good over from Moeen Ali. Ends it by landing it around off on a bit of a shorter length, Khawaja comfortably guards it out. |
| 33.1 : C Woakes to Warner, OUT! Caught behind and Woakes strikes for England! A wicket after 498 balls for a bowler. Remember, England were wicketless in the second innings at the 'Gabba while the first wicket today was that of a run out. What a timely strike. Things were just looking to go pear-shaped for the bowling side and then Woakes produces this. It is more of a bad shot though but the persistent lines and lengths have brought about that dismissal. It is pitched on a length, in line of the |
| 0.0 : Skipper Steven Smith walks in at number 4, replacing Warner. |
| 33.2 : C Woakes to Smith, A length ball again, outside off, Smith walks across to tuck it away but misses and is hit on the thigh pads. The ball rolls towards square leg and Khawaja wants the run, hence keeps on running. However, Smith puts up his hand at the right time, asking him to stop and Usman turns. He tries to get back to his end before the fielder from short mid-wicket can get to the ball and throw. The throw does come but it hits Khawaja on his legs. |
| 33.3 : C Woakes to Smith, A sharp bouncer, around off, Steven ducks. |
| 33.4 : C Woakes to S Smith, FOUR! FLAMBOYANT! What a way to get going! Half volley, yes. Wide, yes. Scoring opportunity, yes. Off the mark, yes! Smith just leans into this one and caresses this through the covers. No soul moves. |
| 33.5 : C Woakes to Smith, Similar line, this time it is left alone. |
| 33.6 : C Woakes to Smith, One more leave outside off to end the over. Terrific start from Woakes after the break. |
| STUART BROAD is back on as Root aims to prize out his opposite number. |
| 34.1 : S Broad to Khawaja, Full and around middle, Khawaja looks to drive this down the ground but instead, skews it off the inner half of the bat towards mid-wicket. Takes a single. Has not got his feet moving at all this innings. |
| 0.0 : Short extra cover, short cover, two short mid ons, short mid-wicket, three slips and a gully. Square leg is back on the fence. Very funky field set for Smith. |
| 34.2 : S Broad to Smith, Wide outside off, let through. |
| 34.3 : S Broad to Smith, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 34.4 : S Broad to Smith, Exaggerated leave. A length ball outside off, Smith walks across, shoulders arms, then takes his bat in a circular motion. Broad is not short of words and greets Smith with a friendly question. Or perhaps, not so friendly because Smith retorts angrily. |
| 34.5 : S Broad to Smith, Outside off, left alone again. More chirping from Broad. England are trying to get under the chin of the Aussie captain and he is not liking it one bit. |
| Now Aleem Dar gets into the action. He warns both, the instigator and the retorter, saying the chatter is getting a bit too loud for his liking. |
| 34.6 : S Broad to Smith, Around off, angling in, tucked through the leg side for a run. |
| 35.1 : C Woakes to Smith, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 35.2 : C Woakes to Smith, Full and wide outside off, left alone. Woakes is trying to sledge Smith too... |
| 35.3 : C Woakes to S Smith, Full and outside off, Steven is squared up, looking to defend and gets an outside edge which rolls along the ground towards the slip cordon. |
| 35.4 : C Woakes to Smith, Full on off, SS drives it straight back but the timing is not the best and mid on cuts it off to his left. |
| 35.5 : C Woakes to Smith, A short ball, outside off, pretty high, let through. Surprised not being wided. |
| Shane Warne is not too offended by England's current tactics. In fact, he believes this should have been the attitude right from ball 1 in this Test. |
| 35.6 : C Woakes to Smith, Fine stop by Broad! England are up and running. That wicket of Warner has lifted their spirits. Full and outside off, Smith plays a lovely cover drive but Stuart Broad at short extra cover dives to his left and makes a great stop. What is more, gets up in a trice and has a shy at the striker's end. |
| 36.1 : S Broad to Khawaja, A bouncer outside leg, Khawaja ducks. |
| 36.2 : S Broad to Khawaja, On middle and leg, watchfully defended back. |
| 36.3 : S Broad to U Khawaja, Banged in short, around off, pulled comfortably but straight to Moeen Ali at deep mid-wicket. Just a single. |
| 36.4 : S Broad to Smith, Wider ball, on a length, outside off, left alone. |
| The two short mid ons are actually having a good time. They are constantly chirping with one another. They are right in the ear of Usman Khawaja and trying to irritate him. Meanwhile, a fielding change. Gully comes out and drops back to the point fence. |
| 36.5 : S Broad to Smith, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 36.6 : S Broad to S Smith, Double bluff from Broad. Steven probably expected a short and wide ball given that gully was shifted to deep point but the bowler smartly slips in a fuller ball. Smith is caught in his crease, trying to play that one and gets squared up again. The outside edge does not carry to the slip cordon. |
| 37.1 : C Woakes to Khawaja, FOUR! A rare bad ball amidst all the applied pressure. Woakes bowls a half volley on the pads and Khawaja does not miss out. Tickles it towards fine leg. Normally in Test matches, we don't have fine leg manned. It is not in this case either. The stand moves to 11. |
| 37.2 : C Woakes to Khawaja, Outside off, left alone. |
| 37.3 : C Woakes to Khawaja, Gets right behind this one and blocks. |
| 37.4 : C Woakes to Khawaja, Another back foot defense from the southpaw. |
| 37.5 : C Woakes to Khawaja, A short ball, around middle and leg, Usman nails his pull shot towards deep square leg and gets a run. |
| 37.6 : C Woakes to Smith, Nicely bowled, a straightish line, pushed to one of those two chirping short mid ons. |
| James Anderson is back into the attack. Good move from Joe Root. Get your premier bowler on against the world's premier batsman. This is where Jimmy needs to step up and improve his poor record Down Under. |
| 38.1 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Outside off, angling away, shouldered arms to. |
| 38.2 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Full and straight, Khawaja looks to defend but is late. Is pinged on the pads but the contact of the cherry with the willow beforehand saves him. Inside edge onto the pads, in plain words. |
| 38.3 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Landed outside off, left alone. |
| 38.4 : J Anderson to U Khawaja, 100 UP FOR AUSTRALIA! Not in the most convincing fashion but they will take it. A length ball in line of the stumps, Khawaja feels for it but gets squared up a touch. However, he plays that with soft hands and hence, the ball runs down on the ground, between the slips and gully. Smith pushes Khawaja into the third as the fielder mops it up with a slide near the third man ropes/ |
| 38.5 : J Anderson to Smith, That is a jaffa. Just what Anderson needs to do consistently. A length ball, angled in from wide outside off, Smith walks across to defend but then the ball shapes away a touch. Beats him. |
| 38.6 : J Anderson to Smith, Gets behind the line this time and blocks it confidently. |
| 39.1 : C Woakes to Khawaja, FOUR! That is through! Again, that one bad ball which lets loose the pressure. Short and outside off, Khawaja punches it on the up, past a diving point and gets a boundary! |
| 39.2 : C Woakes to Khawaja, No run. |
| 39.3 : C Woakes to Khawaja, FOUR. |
| 39.4 : C Woakes to Khawaja, No run. |
| IamShirke: The whole world is focussing on Smith and warner but tell you what, this Uzzie lad might just score a century in no time and no one might notice. |
| 39.5 : C Woakes to Khawaja, DROPPED! Oh dear o dear... |
| 39.6 : C Woakes to Smith, FOUR. |
| 40.1 : J Anderson to Khawaja, No run. |
| 40.2 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Full again, driven straight back. |
| 40.3 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Down the leg side, played straight to square leg. |
| 40.4 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Shorter in length, punched straight to point. |
| 40.5 : J Anderson to Khawaja, The batsman gets an inside edge and the ball hits him on the pads. |
| 40.6 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Full on middle, flicked straight to mid on. |
| CRAIG OVERTON to bowl again. |
| 41.1 : C Overton to Smith, A length delivery around off, watchfully defended. |
| 41.2 : C Overton to Smith, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 41.3 : C Overton to Smith, An LBW appeal, but nothing in it actually. Overton slips in another length ball, angling it from wide outside off. Smith gets across, looking to tuck but misses and is hit high on the pads. Overton puts in a loud shout but the umpire calms him down. The bowler asks his captain for a review but Root indicates height. And that does seem to be the case. |
| 41.4 : C Overton to Smith, Goes right back in his crease and blocks again. |
| 41.5 : C Overton to S Smith, NEARLY CARRIES! Things are happening at the Adelaide Oval. Full and outside off, Smith plays a loose straight drive and it nearly carries to the bowler. Overton tries sticking out his left hand but it just misses his attempt by a whisker. Slows down near the long off fence and the batsmen return for the third. The stand moves to 31. |
| 41.6 : C Overton to Khawaja, A bouncer, but well outside leg, ducked under. |
| 42.1 : J Anderson to Smith, Oohhh... prodigious movement. Full and outside off, swinging in a long way, Smith looks to flick but gets it off the inner half towards mid-wicket. A small moment as silly mid on nearly collides into Usman Khawaja. Seemed pretty deliberate, as in no way would he have got to the ball. A single taken to deep mid-wicket. |
| 42.2 : J Anderson to Khawaja, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 42.3 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Outside off, punched off the back foot. |
| 42.4 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Full and outside off, pushed back to the bowler. |
| Round the wicket now... |
| 42.5 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Outside off, left alone. |
| 42.6 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Full and outside off, Usman looks to defend but misses and is hit on the pads. Anderson appeals but the impact was outside off. |
| 43.1 : C Overton to S Smith, Full and outside off, driven straight to cover. |
| 43.2 : C Overton to Smith, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 43.3 : C Overton to Smith, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 43.4 : C Overton to Smith, A short ball, extra bounce, tucked to the leg side. |
| 43.5 : C Overton to Smith, FOUR! GORGEOUS! Ah... that SSCD. A Steven Smith Cover Drive. Brilliant to watch. Half volley outside off, pretty wide, Smith leans and drives it through the covers for a boundary! Ian Chappell on air feels there were shades of Mark Waugh in that cover drive. |
| 43.6 : C Overton to Smith, A length ball, tucked through square leg for a single. |
| Three slips in place now for Anderson against Smith. A catching mid on and a wide mid on as well. Allows Anderson to bowl more straight to Smith. |
| 44.1 : C Overton to Smith, Full and outside off, defended from the crease. |
| 44.2 : C Overton to Smith, Rides the bounce nicely there. This one kicks off a length, outside off, Smith gets on top of the bounce and plays it past a diving third slip. James Vince gets to it, from gully one guesses, slides near the third man fence and saves a run for his side. |
| 44.3 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Back of a length, tucked through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 44.4 : J Anderson to S Smith, A length ball outside off, nips back in a long way, Smith looks to flick but gets an inside edge onto his pads. Anderson is frustrated while Smith is smiling. |
| 44.5 : J Anderson to Smith, Outside off, left alone. |
| 44.6 : J Anderson to Smith, WHERE IS SHORT LEG? WHERE IS SHORT MID-WICKET? Unmanned. That is precisely you need those players. Anderson bowls it really full, outside off and Smith looks to flick. But he is done in by the bounce and the ball goes off the inside edge, onto his pads and lobs up into.... space. Not a soul at short mid-wicket or short leg. Would have gobbled it. A run taken. |
| Spin is back on. MOEEN ALI to have another go. |
| 45.1 : M Ali to Smith, On middle and leg, flicked towards short mid-wicket. |
| 45.2 : M Ali to S Smith, Comes down the track, gets to the pitch of the ball and flicks it past that short mid on wide of the conventional mid on for a single. |
| 45.3 : M Ali to Khawaja, In line of the stumps, watchfully defended. |
| 45.4 : M Ali to Khawaja, FOUR! Uppish but safe! He has been lucky today. But that does not mean he has not played well. Brings up his 9TH TEST FIFTY. Short and outside off, Khawaja looks to cut but is too close to the ball. He ends up being defeated by the bounce and gets a thick outside edge. Luckily for him, the ball flies past backward point to the third man fence. |
| 45.5 : M Ali to Khawaja, Short and around off, punched straight to cover. |
| 45.6 : M Ali to Khawaja, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| CRAIG OVERTON gets a change of ends. |
| 46.1 : C Overton to Smith, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 46.2 : C Overton to Smith, A length ball, tucked towards square leg. |
| 46.3 : C Overton to Smith, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 46.4 : C Overton to Smith, Full and straight, Smith gets across and flicks it towards deep backward square leg for a single. |
| 46.5 : C Overton to Khawaja, Works it towards square leg for a run. |
| 46.6 : C Overton to S Smith, Full on middle, pushed straight to mid on. |
| 47.1 : M Ali to U Khawaja, Full and outside off, Khawaja comes down the track and drives it through mid off for a single. 50-RUN STAND is up. Consecutive ones too. Australia need this to be BIG. England need to cut it short. |
| 47.2 : M Ali to Smith, Tossed up outside off, now Smith dances down and flicks it wide of mid on for a run. |
| 47.3 : M Ali to Khawaja, Short and outside off, punched straight to cover. |
| 47.4 : M Ali to Khawaja, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 47.5 : M Ali to U Khawaja, Gives this plenty of air, outside off, Usman drives but finds short extra cover. |
| 47.6 : M Ali to Khawaja, A touch short, worked towards short mid-wicket. |
| A pretty spread out field for Craig Overton now... |
| 48.1 : C Overton to Smith, A length ball, tucked towards short mid-wicket. |
| 48.2 : C Overton to Smith, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 48.3 : C Overton to Smith, A bouncer around off, Smith ducks. |
| 48.4 : C Overton to Smith, Full and around off, flicked towards short mid-wicket. |
| 48.5 : C Overton to Smith, Another length ball, forcing Steven to flick, he does play that shot but finds short mid-wicket again. |
| 48.6 : C Overton to Smith, Action replay of the previous delivery. |
| 49.1 : M Ali to Khawaja, Full on middle, defended to the leg side. |
| 49.2 : M Ali to Khawaja, Similar line and length, watchfully blocked. |
| 49.3 : M Ali to Khawaja, Third forward defense in a row. |
| 49.4 : M Ali to Khawaja, On middle and leg, flicked to the leg side off the back foot. |
| 49.5 : M Ali to Khawaja, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 49.6 : M Ali to Khawaja, Gets it past mid-wicket and earns a single. |
| 50.1 : C Overton to Khawaja, A short ball, bowled from around the wicket, goes down the leg side, intentionally. Khawaja thinks about tucking it away before pulling his bat away. |
| 50.2 : C Overton to Khawaja, A bouncer again, Usman ducks. |
| 50.3 : C Overton to Khawaja, A short ball again, defended from the crease. |
| 50.4 : C Overton to Khawaja, Bouncer! The batsman does well to evade it. |
| 50.5 : C Overton to Khawaja, Brain fade? Jokingly, yes. A short ball, angling into Khawaja, he shoulders arms and gets hit on the thighs. The ball rolls towards square leg and now Smith wants the single. He then asks Aleem Dar whether he could run and on receiving the shake of the head, gets back into his crease. One cannot run if he is hit on the body while shouldering arms. |
| 50.6 : C Overton to Khawaja, A bouncer to end the session and UK ducks. DINNER ON DAY 1! |
| Enthralling session of cricket. 105/2 in 37.1 overs. Australia were rocked early via the Bancroft run out, then they bounced back, before being pegged back again, only to finish the session on top. |
| Both teams had their moments in the topsy-turvy session. England came out firing after Tea, using some juice on the pitch and denied Australia anything. That resulted in a run out and for the next 15-20 minutes, the visitors were all over Warner and Khawaja. But the duo saw that period out and got a nice 53-run stand before the former threw it away. |
| England then bowled their hearts out to Khawaja and Smith. They were chattering constantly with the Aussie skipper and getting under his skin. And they were nearly rewarded as Khawaja was feeling the heat and almost gave it away. However, in what can be called as a possible defining moment of the match and series, Mark Stoneman shelled a relatively easy chance of Khawaja. He was on 44 then and Australia, on 109. Since that drop, they have scored 29 runs, albeit in 11.1 overs but without much pre |
| They say, the key to success is to have a not-so-good memory. England need to forget that dropped chance and move on, coming out firing after Dinner. It will be the most difficult session to bat and if they can get a wicket or two quickly, they might well ease into the tail as well with the ball moving under the lights. Australia will do good to be mindful of that. Join us back for the final session. 32 overs scheduled. |
| ... DAY 1, FINAL SESSION ... |
| Welcome back for the final session. Those should have been our words. Instead, the covers on the pitch are welcoming us. It is a slight drizzle and we have only one cover in place. So that looks promising. Play can go until 2230 local tonight and we shall be starting 30 minutes early tomorrow. |
| That was quick. THE COVERS ARE OFF. We resume at 2000 local. |
| The Adelaide Oval is baked in twilight as the players take the field. A lovely sight to behold. It will be James Anderson vs Steven Smith first up. |
| 51.1 : J Anderson to Smith, A length ball to start, around off, tucked behind square on the leg side for a single. |
| 51.2 : J Anderson to Khawaja, The length is the same, Khawaja defends. |
| 51.3 : J Anderson to Khawaja, LBW SHOUT, NOT OUT. Pitched outside leg, Khawaja misses his tuck and is hit on the pads. Anderson is the only one appealing. |
| 51.4 : J Anderson to U Khawaja, OUT! Jimmy strikes immediately! Moments ago, Michael Vaughan on air said, 'England generally come to life at night.' Boy, hasn't he been proved right? A length ball wide outside off, Khawaja plays a loose drive, without moving his feet. Pays the price for it as he gets a thick outside edge. It flies towards gully where James Vince dives to his left and snaps it with ease! He then throws the ball up in the air and roars. Anderson reacts as if he gets such wickets ev |
| Peter Handscomb walks in at number 5, replacing Khawaja. |
| 51.5 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Around off, back of a length, defended back to the bowler. |
| 51.6 : J Anderson to Handscomb, In the avenue of apprehension, Handscomb feels for it but misses. A cracking over from Jimmy. |
| Double kill. Stuart Broad will bowl from the other end. |
| 52.1 : S Broad to Smith, On a good length, around off, watchfully defended. |
| 52.2 : S Broad to Smith, Outside off, punched through point for a couple. |
| 52.3 : S Broad to Smith, Wider line outside off, left alone. |
| 52.4 : S Broad to Smith, Fuller again, wider again, outside off again. This time Smith puts bat to ball and pushes it wide of mid off for a quick single. Okay - SMITH REACHES 3000 TEST RUNS AS A CAPTAIN! |
| 52.5 : S Broad to Handscomb, Outside off, not as wide as the ones bowled to his skipper, Handscomb lets it through. |
| 52.6 : S Broad to Handscomb, Outside off, on a length, left alone. |
| 53.1 : J Anderson to Smith, Wide outside off, a tempter, left alone. |
| 53.2 : J Anderson to Smith, Gets across his sticks and blocks. |
| 53.3 : J Anderson to Smith, Fuller in length this time, driven straight to cover. |
| 53.4 : J Anderson to Smith, Holds the length back a touch, bowls it outside off, Smith goes back and punches it through the covers for a couple. Moves to 31. |
| 53.5 : J Anderson to Smith, Gets across his stumps a century in advance, Anderson bowls it exactly where Smith wants it - outside off, angling in. Like an obedient student byhearting his notes, Smith just rehearses his tuck through square leg for a single. |
| 53.6 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Handscomb gets only a bit across and blocks. |
| 54.1 : S Broad to Smith, Full and straight, pushed straight to James Anderson at short mid on. |
| 54.2 : S Broad to Smith, A little bit full, not quite as the previous one but good enough to make Smith come forward to defend. |
| 54.3 : S Broad to Smith, Outside off, Steven shoulders arms then brings his bat in an exaggerated skyward circular motion. |
| 54.4 : S Broad to Smith, Outside off, left alone again. |
| 54.5 : S Broad to Smith, Full and straight, flicked behind square on the leg side for a run. |
| 54.6 : S Broad to P Handscomb, Off the mark in streaky fashion. Handscomb commits the same mistake as he did at the 'Gabba. Playing back in the crease. He gets squared up as the ball is pretty full and moves away, takes the outside edge but luckily for him, the ball goes along the ground and past a diving third slip. Three runs taken. |
| 55.1 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Outside off, on a length, moves away late, Handscomb feels for it but misses. |
| 55.2 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Around off, on a length, tucked through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 55.3 : J Anderson to Smith, Full and straight, flicked through mid-wicket for a couple. |
| 55.4 : Anderson to Smith, No run. |
| 55.5 : J Anderson to Smith, No run. |
| 55.6 : J Anderson to Smith, 2 runs. |
| 56.1 : S Broad to Handscomb, No run. |
| 0.0 : Teapots are boiling. Jimmy Anderson is standing right beside Steven Smith at silly mid on. That is frustrating Smith and he is asking Anderson to move wider. Anderson just smiles and umpire Aleem Dar intervenes. He asks Smith to run wider instead. What does Smith do? Gets even closer to Jimmy. Now, Dar, like a father controlling his two sons, asks both players to move apart as they are having a go at each other. He literally stands in between them! Sledging at its best without actually hurting t |
| 56.2 : S Broad to P Handscomb, FOUR! Squirted again. Handscomb is not looking comfortable at all. Plays back to a full ball, is squared up, gets an outside edge but is lucky again that the edge does not travel to hand. Past gully to third man for a boundary. |
| 56.3 : S Broad to Handscomb, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 56.4 : S Broad to Handscomb, On a good length around off, watchfully kept out. |
| 56.5 : S Broad to Handscomb, Full and straight, driven back to where it came from. |
| 56.6 : S Broad to Handscomb, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 57.1 : J Anderson to Smith, On a good length outside off, punched straight to cover. |
| 57.2 : J Anderson to Smith, Full and outside off, clipped straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 57.3 : J Anderson to Smith, Outside off, driven towards mid off this time. |
| 57.4 : J Anderson to Smith, A short ball, Steven looks to tuck but misses and is hit on the pads. |
| 57.5 : J Anderson to Smith, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 57.6 : J Anderson to Smith, Full and outside off, driven down the ground. Anderson sticks out his right hand and deflects it past silly mid on to mid-wicket. |
| 58.1 : S Broad to Handscomb, On a length outside off, Handscomb feels for it and gets beaten. |
| 58.2 : S Broad to Handscomb, Goes back to play a length ball and punches it towards point. |
| 58.3 : S Broad to Handscomb, Full and wide outside off, driven straight to short extra cover. |
| After all that drama, Anderson has been moved out of that silly mid on position. It is Chris Woakes replacing him. He gets into Smith's ear too. Well, wait. Now, Woakes is pushed back to mid on. So no one near Smith at the non-striker's end. |
| 58.4 : S Broad to Handscomb, Full and just outside off, Peter plays back to this one once more and is beaten. Luck favours him again as the ball shapes away to beat the outside edge and the off stump. |
| 58.5 : S Broad to Handscomb, A short ball on middle, PH gets across and lets it sail past. |
| 58.6 : S Broad to Handscomb, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| Chris Woakes gives a break to Anderson. |
| 59.1 : C Woakes to Smith, On a length outside off, Smith gets on top of the bounce and punches it through cover and point for a couple. The stand moves to 21. |
| 59.2 : C Woakes to Smith, 'WAIT, AHHHHH!' screams Smith. It has been an hour since Smith has scored a boundary and this was right up there to be hit. Short and wide outside off, Steven looks to smash it but mistimes his punch to cover. |
| 59.3 : C Woakes to Smith, Gets right behind the line of this one and defends. |
| 59.4 : C Woakes to Smith, ALMOST! Woakes nearly gets his man. Full and straight, Smith is perhaps a touch early into his flick and gets a leading edge. Does not carry to mid off. |
| 59.5 : C Woakes to S Smith, Full and outside off, this time the drive is played well to mid off. |
| 59.6 : C Woakes to Smith, A bumper on middle, asking Smith to pull, he pulls out of the shot instead. |
| 60.1 : S Broad to Handscomb, Full and outside off, punched towards mid off. |
| 60.2 : S Broad to Handscomb, Full again, watchfully defended. |
| 60.3 : S Broad to Handscomb, On a good length outside off, watchfully blocked. |
| 60.4 : S Broad to Handscomb, Stays back to a fuller ball again and defends. |
| 60.5 : S Broad to Handscomb, A short ball, on middle and off, Handscomb attempts the hook but misses. |
| 60.6 : S Broad to Handscomb, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 61.1 : C Woakes to Smith, Landed outside off, left alone. |
| 61.2 : C Woakes to Smith, Half volley outside off, driven sweetly but straight to cover. |
| 61.3 : C Woakes to Smith, On a good length outside off, defended from the crease. |
| 61.4 : C Woakes to Smith, Outside off, tapped through point for a single. Moves to 40. |
| 61.5 : C Woakes to Handscomb, Gets right back in his crease and defends. |
| 61.6 : C Woakes to Handscomb, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| Craig Overton to bowl now. |
| 62.1 : C Overton to Smith, OUT! Stop the press! England have found a way to get past the Aussie skipper! Massive moment in the game. And what a feeling for the debutant! He is off and running, like Imran Tahir, circling the ground in wild celebration. But he deserves this every single bit. He has found the perfect length. It is in between full and good, outside off. Smith looks to play at that, but not quite sure whether he intended to play. His bat is not quite in front of the pad. The ball nips |
| 0.0 : Shaun Marsh walks in at number 6, replacing his skipper. |
| 62.2 : C Overton to Marsh, Full and outside off, Marsh pushes this away from his body and gets it wide of point for a single to get off the mark straightaway. |
| 62.3 : C Overton to Handscomb, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. |
| 62.4 : C Overton to Handscomb, A short ball, around off, Handscomb looks to fend it away but the extra bounce makes him hop. The ball takes the inside edge but goes to the VACANT short leg region. |
| 62.5 : C Overton to Handscomb, Now he gets across and tucks it behind square leg for a single. |
| 62.6 : C Overton to S Marsh, A bouncer on middle, Shaun ducks. |
| 63.1 : C Woakes to Handscomb, On a length outside off, defended watchfully. |
| 63.2 : C Woakes to Handscomb, Back of a length on middle, Handscomb defends. |
| 63.3 : C Woakes to Handscomb, FOUR! That was so close! Full and straight, Handscomb gets across and at the last possible moment, gets bat on ball to flick it towards fine leg! |
| A leg slip comes in now. |
| 63.4 : C Woakes to Handscomb, ALMOST! Even with that leg gully in place, Handscomb wants to get across. Looks to flick but gets a leading edge to cover. |
| 63.5 : C Woakes to Handscomb, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 63.6 : C Woakes to Handscomb, Another defensive shot to end the over. |
| 64.1 : C Overton to Marsh, On a good length outside off, worked straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 64.2 : C Overton to Marsh, A bouncer around off and middle, Marsh thinks about the cut but then sways away. |
| 64.3 : C Overton to Marsh, Outside off, left alone. |
| 64.4 : C Overton to Marsh, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 64.5 : C Overton to Marsh, Landed outside off, Shaun gets across and shoulders arms. |
| 64.6 : C Overton to Marsh, Darts this down the leg side, SOS thinks about the tuck but is late in the execution. |
| Well, DRINKS have been called for but with 18 overs left in the day, that seems a bit early. Anyways, the players will not mind it one bit. It has been an exhausting hour, mentally draining, where only 29 runs have been scored in 14 overs for the loss of Khawaja and Smith but boy, has it been entertaining. England have been very disciplined with their bowling and that has kept them on top in this game, in spite of not striking regularly with the new ball. Another exhilarating hour can be promise |
| 65.1 : C Woakes to Handscomb, On a good length outside off, defended watchfully. |
| 65.2 : C Woakes to Handscomb, FOUR! He continues playing that shot. There is a leg slip in place but Handscomb still gets across and tickles it between the keeper and that fielder to the fine leg fence. |
| 65.3 : C Woakes to Handscomb, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 65.4 : C Woakes to Handscomb, On a length around off, defended from the crease. |
| 65.5 : C Woakes to Handscomb, Outside off, played towards point. |
| 65.6 : C Woakes to Handscomb, Gets right behind the line in defense. |
| Peter Handscomb was one of three players to debut in the Adelaide Test against South Africa last year. There were two other debutants along with him and two were recalled. He is the only one amongst Nic Maddinson, Matt Renshaw, Matthew Wade and Jackson Bird to still stick around with the Aussie team during this period. And it is not without a reason. He averages above 51 in Tests while it rises to 54.64 in 10 first-class day-night games this season for him - best in the world. Australia will hop |
| 66.1 : C Overton to Marsh, Cutting back into Shaun Marsh, he looks to put bat on ball but fails to do so and gets hit on the thigh pad. |
| 66.2 : C Overton to Marsh, In the channel outside off, shaping back in, Marsh covers his off stick and makes a good leave. |
| 66.3 : C Overton to Marsh, Inswinger from Overton, on a bit of a fuller length, Marsh goes for a drive but gets it off the inside half behind square leg and takes one. |
| 66.4 : C Overton to Handscomb, FOUR! That's a dangerous shot to play, Peter! He's lucky to get away with it. Short ball outside off, Handscomb looks to ramp it over the slip cordon but gets a thick edge which instead flies past third slip. Runs away to the third man fence for a boundary. |
| 66.5 : C Overton to Handscomb, Good length delivery outside the line of off stump, left alone this time. |
| 66.6 : C Overton to Handscomb, Hangs back to this back of a length ball and guards it out safely. |
| 67.1 : C Woakes to Marsh, Woakes comes running in and with an upright seam, bowls it full on off. Marsh plants his front foot forward and drives it to mid off. |
| 67.2 : C Woakes to Marsh, Holds the length back just a little, but it's still quite full in length, Marsh plays it off the outer half on the off side. |
| 67.3 : C Woakes to S Marsh, Short delivery which Marsh pulls with a certain degree of control. Plays it all along the ground in front of square leg and takes two. |
| 67.4 : C Woakes to Marsh, This delivery is attacking the stumps, Marsh is right behind the line to defend it out. |
| 67.5 : C Woakes to Marsh, That was close! Too close. Fuller delivery outside off, Shaun Marsh goes for the expansive drive but instead gets a big inside edge onto his back pad. Could have just as easily dragged it back onto his stumps. |
| 67.6 : C Woakes to Marsh, Holding its line as it's angling across the southpaw, he feels it's not going to threaten him so he shoulders arms to leave it alone. |
| 68.1 : C Overton to Handscomb, Length delivery just around off, Peter is rock solid in defense. |
| 68.2 : C Overton to Handscomb, Full now from Overton, Handscomb moves inside the line and works it through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 68.3 : C Overton to Marsh, From around the wicket, it's fired right up there, left alone for the keeper to collect. |
| 68.4 : C Overton to Marsh, Full once more, attacking the stumps, Marsh brings down a straight blade as he pushes it to mid on. |
| 68.5 : C Overton to Marsh, Angling down the leg side, Marsh has no trouble leaving it alone. |
| 68.6 : C Overton to Marsh, Good length ball rising off the deck with some extra bounce, Marsh gets bat on it, only to get an inside edge back onto his pads. |
| 69.1 : C Woakes to Handscomb, Peter Handscomb walks a long way across his stumps, Woakes pitches it right up there. Almost catches him leg before, but the batsman ensures that doesn't happen. Pushes it to the right of the bowler for nothing. |
| 69.2 : C Woakes to Handscomb, Half volley on off, angling in, this is the kind of delivery you'd smash down the ground or through the covers, but Peter Handscomb works it off the inner half on the leg side. Two runs taken. |
| 69.3 : C Woakes to Handscomb, Another full delivery speared around off, Handscomb has to open the face at the last second and defend it towards cover. |
| 69.4 : C Woakes to Handscomb, Banged in short, no problem at all to defend that out comfortably. |
| 69.5 : C Woakes to Handscomb, Full outside off, easily kept out with the full face of the bat. |
| 69.6 : C Woakes to Handscomb, Length delivery cutting away from around off, Handscomb is across again, and he dabs it to point with a slightly opened face. |
| 70.1 : C Overton to Marsh, Comes from around the wicket to Shaun Marsh, bowls it a tad fullish around off, it's defended. |
| 70.2 : C Overton to Marsh, Length delivery on the fourth stump line, left alone by withdrawing the bat and covering the line. |
| 70.3 : C Overton to S Marsh, Too full on middle and off, leans across and drives down the ground, unable to beat mid on despite a decent connection. |
| 70.4 : C Overton to Marsh, Kicking off the deck as it's pitched on a length outside off, Shaun does not bother himself with that. |
| 70.5 : C Overton to Marsh, FOUR! Super shot. Short ball angling in, Marsh rides the bounce to perfection and pulls it along the ground through square leg for a boundary. |
| 70.6 : C Overton to Marsh, Short of a good length outside off, Marsh cracks it but finds point. Unfortunate, made sweet connection on that. Either side of the fielder and that would have gone away. |
| Some spin for England as Moeen Ali is on to roll his arm over. A slip, a leg slip and a short leg in place for him. |
| 71.1 : M Ali to Handscomb, Tossed right up there on middle stump, flicked to short leg who misfield. Doesn't cost anybody anything though. |
| 71.2 : M Ali to Handscomb, Flatter, shorter and on the stumps, camps back inside his crease and negotiates it well. |
| 71.3 : M Ali to Handscomb, Seeing the flight of the ball Handscomb dances down the track and works it away on the leg side. |
| 71.4 : M Ali to Handscomb, Picks it off his pads and tucks it away past short leg. |
| 71.5 : M Ali to Handscomb, Pushed to the cover region by the batsman. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 71.6 : M Ali to Marsh, Nice flight from Moeen, on the stumps, blocked solidly to end the over. |
| 72.1 : C Overton to Handscomb, Around off on a good length, Peter walks across and manages to still tuck it past the leg slip fielder for one. |
| 72.2 : C Overton to Marsh, Short and wide, there to be hit, and Marsh hits. Connects the cut powerfully but finds the point fielder. |
| 72.3 : C Overton to Marsh, Full delivery aimed at off, blocked rather tightly by Shaun. |
| 72.4 : C Overton to Marsh, Similar delivery, similar shot offered by the batsman. |
| 72.5 : C Overton to Marsh, That's the perfect line and the perfect length. Angling in on a full length and then it straightens up just enough. Marsh closes the face early and as a result, gets a leading edge over on the off side. |
| 72.6 : C Overton to Marsh, Shaun Marsh stays right behind the line before blocking it out safely. |
| 73.1 : M Ali to Handscomb, Drifting in on middle and leg, worked off the pads square on the leg side. Single taken. |
| 73.2 : M Ali to Marsh, Makes use of his feet, comes down the wicket and clips it to mid-wicket for another run. |
| 73.3 : M Ali to Handscomb, Straighter one on middle and off, easy enough for the batsman to block. |
| 73.4 : M Ali to P Handscomb, Lovely use of the feet. Handscomb steps out and opens his body up a bit as he places it wide of mid off for a single. |
| 73.5 : M Ali to Marsh, Loopy and full from Ali, close to the off stump, Marsh prods forward and defends before the ball can turn. |
| 73.6 : M Ali to Marsh, This full ball is driven to mid on to end the over. |
| 74.1 : C Overton to Handscomb, Shortish ball banged around off, Peter Handscomb gets on top of the ball and defends it down. |
| 0.0 : England's objective in this final session, largely, has been to stem the flow of runs. Whether it be the field setting or the lengths from the bowlers, everything points towards that. Possibly attacking more would have been the better option, given they have assistance from the lights. Well, either way, the Aussies haven't taken the game away, which is a credit to the Englishmen in a way. Still in it, which is a big deal. |
| 74.2 : C Overton to Handscomb, Low full toss outside off, squeezes behind point for a single. |
| 74.3 : C Overton to Marsh, Back of a length delivery on the fifth stump channel, Marsh stands tall and blocks it out. |
| 74.4 : C Overton to Marsh, Bouncer! The batsman ducks in time to let that one go over him. |
| 74.5 : C Overton to Marsh, Bit straight in line, worked away off the pads, just wide of mid-wicket. No run taken however. |
| 74.6 : C Overton to Marsh, Worked away on the leg side again, wide of the short leg fielder in place. A single comes off it. |
| Stuart Broad returns to the attack. |
| 75.1 : S Broad to Marsh, Full delivery down the leg side from around the wicket, Marsh attempts to flick but misses. |
| 75.2 : S Broad to Marsh, Zero movement on this, full on the stumps, the full face of the bat is presented to this. |
| 75.3 : S Broad to Marsh, FOUR! Fine effort from Overton, even though it has been in vain. Fine effort nonetheless. Full and too straight from Broad, Marsh flicks it sweetly through mid-wicket. Craig moves to his right, dives to stop it and does so too, but seems like he's touched the rope as he's done it. Umpire goes upstairs to check and replays confirm that it is a boundary. |
| 75.4 : S Broad to Marsh, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 75.5 : S Broad to Marsh, Bumper out of nowhere, Shaun ducks and evades. |
| 75.6 : S Broad to Marsh, That's a lovely looking shot. Full on the stumps, Marsh with a beautiful straight bat drives it down the ground. The thick outfield, however, doesn't let the ball go all the way to the fence, so the batsmen take three runs. |
| James Anderson is on to bowl now. |
| 76.1 : J Anderson to S Marsh, The 200 is up for Australia. This is good running between the wickets. Marsh pushes it to the right of mid off and calls his partner through for a quick single. |
| 76.2 : J Anderson to P Handscomb, FOUR! Shot! Short and wide, width on offer and Handscomb takes full toll of it. Cuts it through gully and earns a boundary to his name. |
| 76.3 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Off cutter around off, allows plenty of time to Handscomb to stay on his back foot and play it out. |
| 76.4 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Good length ball moving away rather late, kept out off the back foot. |
| 76.5 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Peter Handscomb shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 76.6 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Lands it on a good length, some injection in pace this time from Anderson. The right-hander defends solidly. |
| 77.1 : S Broad to Marsh, Shortish in length, outside the off stump, Marsh leans across and pulls it down towards fine leg. Isn't in control at all though, gets it off the glove and it goes through the vacant leg gully position. One run to the total. |
| 77.2 : S Broad to Handscomb, Hits the deck hard and serves it outside off, it rises as Handscomb leaves it alone. Jonny Bairstow behind the stumps collects it at a good height. |
| 77.3 : S Broad to Handscomb, Marginally ahead of a length, well outside off, Peter has no second thoughts about leaving it alone. |
| 77.4 : S Broad to Handscomb, ALMOST! Almost. Almost. That wasn't far off at all. Broad goes full, like he should have some time ago, there's late movement which almost foxes Peter Handscomb. Just about takes the the outside edge as it goes behind. |
| 77.5 : S Broad to Handscomb, Good hand-eye coordination from the batsman. Broad looks to attack the pads, but Handscomb does well to tickle it down the leg side for a couple. |
| 77.6 : S Broad to Handscomb, Short ball at 130 clicks, the batsman looks to pull but the bounce is too steep for him to connect. |
| 78.1 : J Anderson to Marsh, Straightish in line on middle and leg, picked off the pads before being placed to square leg. |
| 78.2 : J Anderson to Marsh, Good line. Angling across, with a hint of inswing, Marsh first smartly covers the line before making a good leave. |
| 78.3 : J Anderson to Marsh, Going across Shaun Marsh again, it's outside off, he doesn't flirt with this one. Sensible stuff with just a few overs remaining in the day. |
| 78.4 : J Anderson to Marsh, Length delivery on off stump, blocked out firmly with the full face of the bat. |
| 78.5 : J Anderson to Marsh, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| 78.6 : J Anderson to Marsh, Have no idea what was going through Shaun Marsh's head while playing that. Maybe he didn't pick up the length, or he didn't expect the ball to move back in. Just back of a length around off, comes in and raps Marsh on the pads. He initially looks to flick but then bails out of the shot. |
| 79.1 : S Broad to Handscomb, Comes wide of the crease and angles it around off, it's left alone by the batsman. |
| 79.2 : S Broad to Handscomb, Angling in and there's some extra bounce due to Broad's big height. Catches Handscomb high on the thigh pad who takes a step across to play at it. |
| 79.3 : S Broad to Handscomb, Wide of the crease again, trying to create the angle into the batsman. Peter is, however, rock solid in defense. |
| 79.4 : S Broad to Handscomb, There it is! What he's been trying to do and almost achieves it. Angles in at first and then moves away just enough as the last second. Opens up Handscomb and beats the outside edge of his hanging bat. |
| 79.5 : S Broad to Handscomb, Hits the deck hard, extracts some bounce and forces Peter Handscomb to play it down on the off side. |
| 79.6 : S Broad to Handscomb, Fuller length on middle, pushed down to mid on. |
| The second new ball has been taken. This is going to be the last over of the day. Can Jimmy Anderson have that last laugh before the close of play? |
| 80.1 : J Anderson to Marsh, Excellent start. Full ball which Jimmy brings back into the batsman, Shaun Marsh is well forward as he deals with the swing. |
| 80.2 : J Anderson to Marsh, Appreciable amount of swing there. Anderson fires it full and it goes a long way away, Marsh doesn't have anything to do with that. |
| 80.3 : J Anderson to Marsh, Wild away swing again, outside off, Marsh with another leave. |
| 80.4 : J Anderson to Marsh, The inswinger from Jimmy, Marsh is behind instead of going forward. Buys some time for himself as he works it to mid-wicket for a single. |
| 80.5 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Full and wide outside off, swinging away, left alone for the keeper to collect. |
| 80.6 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Oooooffffff..... Almost had him there. Last ball of the day, Jimmy Anderson all pumped up arrows it on middle and leg. It swings down and before it can hit his pads, Peter Handscomb clips it away behind square on the leg side for a run. That will be STUMPS ON DAY 1! |
| 55,000 in the house today and they got to witness a real spectacle. 71 runs have come in the session in 30 overs for the loss of 2 wickets. Australia have done well on the whole, all things considered. At the toss, after being put into bat, Steven Smith said that he would be happy with a score around 200 for the loss of 3/4 wickets. His side has ended the day with just that, and that is something to smile about. |
| England would have similar sentiments at this point, although they would have liked a wicket or two more before the day ended. They will, however, take joy from the fact that David Warner is back in the hut and more than anything else, that someone (Craig Overton in this case) managed to find a way to break through Steven Smith's defense. |
| In a rain-hit morning, where the Australians were on top of the game, it was Chris Woakes who breathed life into the game and for his side (first with a run out and then Warner's caught behind). Anderson got Khawaja, and Overton then got the all-important breakthrough. Broad might not have collected a scalp to his name, but he kept things tight on his end. |
| Tomorrow there will be an early start, half an hour early to be precise. So the day will start at 1330 local time. The contest is still pretty evenly poised, so the morning session will be crucial for both sides. Do join us for it. Till then, cheerio! |
| ... Day 2, Session 1 ... |
| Hello and welcome for the second day of this Adelaide Test. Due to the rain yesterday we lost some time and a few overs, hence the early start today. The opening day saw Australia finish on a stronger note, but the dismissal of Steven Smith in particular will have given the Englishmen something to smile about heading to their hotels. The Adelaide sun will bake down and make the pitch easier to bat on, so the second new ball and the first hour today will be absolutely vital for the visitors. All |
| There's good news and bad news. I take after Don Corleone himself, so I prefer the bad news first - The bad is that it was raining just a little while back and the covers were on. The good though, is that it was just a passing shower. But we're going to HAVE A DELAYED START as a result. However, it shouldn't take too long for play to begin, it'll start at 1340 local time. The groundstaff is doing its thing on the outfield, clearing the water off quickly. Good to see we're only losing 10 minutes. |
| It's time! The players and the umpires have made their way out in the middle amidst a loud cheer from the crowd. England need to bowl much better with the new ball than they did yesterday, everything rests on that. Stuart Broad will take the pink ball in his hands first up. Peter Handscomb, who is out there with Shaun Marsh, will be taking strike. Three slips and a gully in place. Let's roll... |
| 81.1 : S Broad to Handscomb, Back of a length delivery which deviates in the air outside off, Handscomb sticks back to defend but is beaten past the outside edge. Good carry there for Stuart Broad, he'll be loving that. |
| 81.2 : S Broad to Handscomb, Whoa! Insane movement on that. A lot of zip and inswing as Broad lands it around off, comes back in sharply and pings Peter Handscomb on the pads. Just a little too high though. Super delivery nonetheless. |
| 81.3 : Broad to Handscomb, OUT! Handscomb will not review that. He's gone! Dream start for England, just what they wanted. What an exceptional delivery from Stuart Broad. He's right on the money as he pitches around off and makes it swing back in a crazy amount. Catches Handscomb on the back pad and there's a loud shout. The umpire raises his finger and he's out of here. Peter walks up to his partner, confers whether to take the review. Eventually, it's decided not to take it, and it's a good cal |
| Tim Paine walks into the middle next. Going to be a heck of a challenge trying to survive this first hour. |
| 81.4 : S Broad to Paine, Oh boy, oh boy... I can't believe Tim Paine has survived that. Yikes! Broad goes full and gets that inswinger on middle stump, Paine somehow manages to flick it away through mid-wicket for a single. The slightest of mistakes and he would have been clean bowled. |
| 81.5 : S Broad to Marsh, Around the wicket to Marsh, it's on a length on the fifth stump line. Marsh is forward to block but is beaten past the outside edge. |
| 81.6 : S Broad to Marsh, Full ball down the leg side, Marsh misses out on flicking it away on a boundary. Any sort of connection and that would have been sent away. |
| James Anderson to bowl from the other end. Three slips and a gully for him as well. |
| 82.1 : J Anderson to Tim Paine, Landed on middle and leg, it swings away late and squares up Tim Paine as a result. Goes off the outside edge square through point for a couple. |
| 82.2 : J Anderson to Paine, FOUR! Put away. A loose ball from Jimmy Anderson which is played well by Tim Paine. Short ball angling down, Paine helps the pull down towards fine leg for a boundary. |
| 82.3 : J Anderson to Paine, Good length delivery just around off, it's kept out from within the crease. |
| 82.4 : J Anderson to Paine, Hurls it in the channel outside off, dabbed to point with an open face. |
| 82.5 : J Anderson to Paine, Bumper close to off, it's sharp and accurate, Paine has to arch back and let it through. |
| 82.6 : J Anderson to Paine, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 83.1 : S Broad to Marsh, Touch fuller in length around off, blocked out with the full face of the bat. |
| 83.2 : S Broad to Marsh, Is there an edge? The umpire doesn't think so, excellent work from him, by the way. That wasn't easy to judge. Jaffa from Broad though, he's on fire this morning. Comes from around the wicket and angles it in around off, gets it to move away late and there's a noise as the ball goes past the outside edge. Bairstow collects, loud shouts all around, but the nothing from the umpire. Replays show why too, the noise was of the ball brushing the thigh pad, not the bat. Nicely d |
| 83.3 : S Broad to Marsh, Full and straight attacking the stumps, Marsh gets right behind the line and keeps it out. |
| 83.4 : S Broad to Marsh, Full again, on the stumps from Broad yet again, played back down the track with the full face of the bat. |
| 83.5 : S Broad to Marsh, Well wide outside off, left alone by the southpaw. |
| 83.6 : S Broad to Marsh, FOUR! Fraction too straight and Marsh has pounced on this. Full delivery angling in on middle and leg, it's flicked away nicely through the vacant mid-wicket area for a boundary. |
| 84.1 : J Anderson to Paine, Not nicking that was more difficult. Unreal delivery from Anderson. It's on a length just outside off, slightest hints of movements away and Tim Paine is almost undone here. He's lucky the ball didn't take the edge as it made it way behind to the keeper. Time Paine, how will you deal with this? |
| 84.2 : J Anderson to Tim Paine, FOUR! In style... That's how! Terrific shot from the Australian keeper. Sees the ball landing short early, Paine rocks back and pulls it through mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 84.3 : J Anderson to Paine, Hurled wide outside off, no shot offered by the right-hander. |
| 84.4 : J Anderson to Paine, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 84.5 : J Anderson to Paine, Just back of a length on middle and off, Tim stays behind the line and blocks it out. |
| 84.6 : J Anderson to Paine, FOUR! Too full, too wide, put away superbly. Outside off, Paine lofts it square over point. Nobody out there in the deep, so a boundary will result. |
| Silly mid on in place for Marsh. |
| 85.1 : S Broad to Marsh, FOUR! This is good cricket all around. England are attacking and so are Australia. This is really good to watch. Full delivery outside off, Shaun Marsh leans into the drive and crisply drives it through the covers to send it across the rope. |
| 85.2 : S Broad to Marsh, Moving away after angling in at first on off, there's some extra bounce which takes Marsh by surprise. Goes off the top part of the bat on the off side as the batsmen take a single. |
| 85.3 : S Broad to Paine, Over the wicket for Paine, length delivery in the corridor of uncertainty. Paine hangs his bat out loosely in defense and is beaten past the edge. |
| 85.4 : S Broad to Paine, Cuts back in from a good length with decent bounce, Paine misses to put bat on ball and is caught high on the thigh pads. |
| 85.5 : S Broad to Paine, The plan is clear. He's looking to shatter those stumps right through the gate. Fires it full on the stump, swinging in, Paine to his credit does well to connect. Flicks it to deep square leg and gets off strike. |
| 85.6 : S Broad to Marsh, Switching the angle for the last ball, at almost 140 clicks, it's fuller on middle and off, Marsh blocks with a straight blade. |
| Craig Overton coming into the attack now. Three slips and a gully in place. |
| 86.1 : C Overton to Paine, Starts off with a length delivery outside the line of off stump, Paine begins the over with a leave. |
| 86.2 : C Overton to Paine, Touch short, on middle and leg, Paine doesn't move at all, just brings his bat behind the line and defends. |
| 86.3 : C Overton to Paine, Should be going much fuller than this, still just behind a length, blocked out. |
| 86.4 : C Overton to Paine, That's it, Craig. Make the ball move. Swinging in on off, fuller in length, Tim Paine defends it on the leg side and crosses over. |
| 86.5 : C Overton to S Marsh, Extra bounce for Overton, on off from around the wicket, Marsh hangs his bat out and it goes off the outer half towards point. |
| 86.6 : C Overton to Marsh, Picks it off his pads and works it down safely on the leg side. |
| Joe Root should consider bringing in a couple of players around the man on strike. The first hour is crucial, so might as well make the most of it. The game's going to run away from his side if Australia bat on through till the second session. |
| 87.1 : S Broad to Tim Paine, Fuller in length, driven towards mid on by the batsman. |
| 87.2 : S Broad to Paine, Cutting back in, sharply I might add, and raps Tim Paine high on the thigh pad. |
| 87.3 : S Broad to Paine, Length delivery outside off, Paine with a slightly opened face punches it to point. |
| 87.4 : S Broad to Paine, Another one on a length outside off, at over 136 clicks, Paine leaves it. Great carry on that. This is the line and this is the length he should persist with. |
| 87.5 : S Broad to Paine, Short delivery outside off, rather easy for the batsman to duck and dodge. |
| 87.6 : S Broad to Paine, Tap and run stuff from Paine. Drops it in front of cover and rushes to the other end to retain strike. |
| 88.1 : C Overton to Paine, FOUR! Overpitched on off, Paine goes dead straight with this. Offers the full face of the bat and drives it through mid off, beating a chasing Stuart Broad to the boundary line. |
| 88.2 : C Overton to Paine, Seaming away from a good length outside off, it's nothing bothered with by the Australian keeper-batsman. |
| 88.3 : C Overton to Paine, Holds its line as Overton angles it on middle and leg, Paine doesn't offer any kind of shot as he takes a blow on the hips. Probably expected it to go further down. Either way, he could have tickled it away, would have gotten a couple of runs easily. |
| 88.4 : C Overton to Paine, Short of a good length, Paine with an easy enough block to keep it out. |
| 88.5 : C Overton to Paine, Bouncer! The batsman ducks under the bouncer at the last moment. |
| 88.6 : C Overton to Paine, Fullish delivery in length just around off, Tim Paine plants his front foot forward to block it out. |
| James Anderson will have a change of ends. |
| 89.1 : J Anderson to Marsh, Angling across around off, on a good length, left alone. |
| 89.2 : J Anderson to Marsh, Another one outside off, arms are shouldered to let that one through. |
| Review time! First of the game, and it's taken by Marsh as he's given out leg before. Looks like a dead duck from here, let's see now... |
| 89.3 : Anderson to Marsh, NOT OUT! Well, of all the things that could have saved him, never expected this to be the one to do it. What a referral. Well done, Tim Paine. Great piece of bowling though from Anderson. Set up Marsh nicely, made two go away and suddenly brought one back in. It hit Marsh on the front pad and the umpire has no problem in raising his finger in response to the lbw appeal. Shaun walks up to Paine, asks him what to do, and after talking, takes the review. It goes upstairs an |
| 89.4 : J Anderson to Marsh, Moving away from around off, Marsh isn't going to touch that one bit. |
| 89.5 : J Anderson to Marsh, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| 89.6 : J Anderson to Marsh, Hangs back to this back of a length delivery and safely deals with it. |
| 90.1 : C Overton to Paine, Outside off with some extra bounce, Tim with an easy leave. |
| 90.2 : C Overton to Paine, Tad short in length, quite close to the off stick, Paine is solid in defense. |
| 90.3 : C Overton to Paine, On the fuller side of things as Overton pitches it around off, Paine meets it with the full face of the bat. |
| 90.4 : C Overton to Paine, Turns this one in mid-wicket's direction and steals a quick single. |
| 90.5 : C Overton to Marsh, Harmless length ball outside off from around the wicket, arms are shouldered. |
| 90.6 : C Overton to Marsh, Comes from wide of the crease and angles it in, Marsh is half-forward as he looks to defend. It takes the inside edge and hits him on the pads. |
| 91.1 : J Anderson to Paine, Nicely played. Uses the angle well and works it square on the leg side for one. |
| 91.2 : J Anderson to Marsh, Pushes it towards the cover fielder, who can't gather it cleanly which allows the batsman to take a run. |
| 91.3 : J Anderson to Paine, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| Another review. This time it's Tim Paine who takes it for a leg before decision. Could height save him too? Looks close. |
| 91.4 : Anderson to Paine, NOT OUT! Even Paine is safe. Wow! Anderson gets some zip off the surface as he lands this around off, it shapes back in and raps Paine high on the thigh pad. The umpire raises his finger, Paine thinks it's high and then reviews it. Goes upstairs and replays show it's missing the stumps. Unreal. Still, this one was in doubt unlike the Marsh one. Paine will carry on, England lose a review. |
| 91.5 : Anderson to Paine, It's all happening here! Welcome to the greatest cricketing contest in Test cricket, ladies and gents! The stadium has flared up and the excitement is around. Anderson has a pep in his step and he's going all guns blazing. Serves a length ball on off, it strikes Tim Paine on the pads but this time the finger doesn't go up. Good call from the umpire as he spots the inside edge way before anybody else. During this everybody is looking at Root if he's going to take the revi |
| 91.6 : J Anderson to Paine, The batsman has flicked the ball off his pads. One run added to the total. |
| 92.1 : C Overton to Paine, Outside off on a good length, left alone for the keeper to take. |
| 92.2 : Overton to Paine, Heavy movement again. Overton gets it to move off the seam and strikes the back thigh. Tim Paine couldn't get any bat on it, Overton thinks he's got his man. Appeals, only to be shut down. Pleads to Root to review it, but the skipper tells him height in a problem. |
| 92.3 : C Overton to Paine, Coming back in on middle and leg, tucked to mid-wicket for nothing. |
| 92.4 : C Overton to Paine, Back of a length outside off, kept out off the back foot. |
| 92.5 : C Overton to Paine, Bit too straight in line, worked away behind square leg for a couple of good runs. |
| 92.6 : C Overton to Paine, Another one on the pads, flicked away into the leg side for a single. End of the over. |
| 93.1 : J Anderson to Paine, Good length delivery outside off, left alone. |
| 93.2 : J Anderson to Paine, Absolute beauty from Anderson. I'm almost feeling bad he isn't getting a wicket he's bowling that well. What a delivery! Angling in at first and then moving away ever so slightly from a length, beats the outside edge of Tim Paine's bat and thuds into the keeper's gloves. Couldn't have been any closer to the edge. So close. |
| 93.3 : J Anderson to Paine, A little fuller around off, plays it out off the front foot. |
| 93.4 : J Anderson to Paine, Tim Paine has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 93.5 : J Anderson to Paine, Hurls it outside off, Paine with a play and a miss. |
| 93.6 : J Anderson to Paine, Not much pace on this occasion, allows Paine time to work it just wide of short mid-wicket and takes quick run. |
| 94.1 : C Overton to Paine, FOUR BYES! Banged in short but it's too short, Paine ducks but Bairstow rises. Although, that leap doesn't work as the ball goes way over his head and away to the boundary line behind. |
| 94.2 : C Overton to Paine, That's a great save from Stuart Broad, saves a sure boundary. Paine crashes the drive towards extra cover where the big man dives low to his left and makes a half-stop. Takes the pace off it and keeps the batsmen to just two. |
| 94.3 : C Overton to Paine, Fullish in length just outside off, blocked from the front foot. |
| 94.4 : C Overton to Paine, The batsman defends this length ball from within the crease. |
| 94.5 : C Overton to Paine, Flicked away into the gap on the leg side for an easy single. |
| 94.6 : C Overton to Marsh, Marsh faces a ball after 21 deliveries. Shoulders arms to this length ball outside off and ends the over. |
| Anderson could consider going slightly fuller. His lbw shouts have seen the ball rise higher, given he's extracting some extra bounce off the deck. Pitching it further up might do the trick for him, he is making the ball move after all. |
| 95.1 : J Anderson to Paine, Speared quite full outside off, Paine pushes it towards cover-point and both batsmen set off. There's a shy at the striker's end which misses by a mile. |
| 95.2 : J Anderson to Marsh, Good length delivery outside the line of off stump, Marsh doesn't flirt with that. |
| 95.3 : J Anderson to Marsh, Comes half-forward to his length ball, maybe slightly fuller than that and defends it on the leg side. |
| 95.4 : J Anderson to Marsh, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 95.5 : J Anderson to Marsh, Positions himself nicely behind the line and defends it out. |
| 95.6 : J Anderson to Marsh, Minimal movement outside off, left alone by Marsh. |
| 96.1 : C Overton to Paine, Full delivery angling in on the stumps, Tim Paine with a tame drive towards mid on. |
| 96.2 : C Overton to Paine, Shaping away from outside off, Paine watches as the ball goes past him. |
| 96.3 : C Overton to Paine, Fuller on off, the batsman leans ahead and pushes it back in the bowler's direction with a steady head. |
| 96.4 : C Overton to Paine, He's hit there again. Some extra bounce for Overton on middle and leg, Paine looks to work it on the leg side but takes a blow on the right index finger. Rings his hand as he runs to the other end. Seems okay though, he's holding the bat with his right hand. Good sign, that. |
| 96.5 : C Overton to Marsh, Length ball in the off stump channel, Marsh hangs his bat inside the line and gets beaten. |
| 96.6 : C Overton to Marsh, Similar ball, similar shot and same result. Lucky not to have edged that. |
| Chris Woakes is into the attack for the first time today. |
| 97.1 : C Woakes to Paine, Draws the edge straightaway! Woakes with a length delivery outside off, Paine has a poke at it, albeit with soft hands, which sees it falls well short of the slip cordon. |
| 97.2 : C Woakes to Paine, Outside off on a good length, avoided by the batsman. |
| 97.3 : C Woakes to Paine, Angling down the leg side, Paine looks to flick it away but misses it completely. |
| 97.4 : C Woakes to Paine, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 97.5 : C Woakes to Paine, Shortish delivery banged outside off, Paine stands tall, only to let it be. |
| 97.6 : C Woakes to Paine, Not threatening Tim Paine with that, outside off on a back of a length and it's left alone. |
| Drinks are on the field! A lot of drama in this first hour. England have bowled well since morning, attacking the Aussies well. Anderson had two leg before decisions reviewed and overturned, but the hosts had their own counter-attack in response. The runs were flowing, but Overton's introduction stemmed the flow of runs. Peter Handscomb was dismissed early, but since then the pair of Marsh and Paine have held their own. England have been unlucky, but they need another wicket and they need it qui |
| Spin time! Moeen Ali is into the attack now. |
| 98.1 : M Ali to Marsh, Short and wide outside off, spinning away, Marsh launches himself to cut but is beaten by the away spin. Mistimes it to cover. |
| 98.2 : M Ali to Marsh, Short again, Shaun misses another opportunity, mistimes his cut to point. A single taken. |
| 98.3 : M Ali to Paine, Short ball again, Paine murders it via a pull but finds deep mid-wicket. A single taken. 50-RUN STAND is up. The third one of this innings. Can this one go the distance? |
| 98.4 : M Ali to S Marsh, That would have been dead plumb had there been no bat. Full on middle, Marsh looks to defend, gets his bat down late but just about makes it in time. He was dismissed LBW in the first Test in a similar fashion. |
| 98.5 : M Ali to Marsh, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 98.6 : M Ali to Marsh, EDGED, SAFE! Full and outside off, Marsh pokes at it, albeit with soft hands. That makes the ball land in front of Joe Root at first slip. |
| 99.1 : C Woakes to Paine, Outside off, left alone. |
| 99.2 : C Woakes to Paine, That ball has struck the batsman on the thigh-pad. |
| 99.3 : C Woakes to Paine, Full and on off, driven straight to widish mid off. |
| 99.4 : C Woakes to Paine, On middle and leg, tucked through square leg for a single. |
| 99.5 : C Woakes to Marsh, Outside off, left alone. |
| 99.6 : C Woakes to S Marsh, Short and outside off, cut straight to point. |
| 100.1 : M Ali to Tim Paine, FOUR! That breaks the shackles a bit. A loosener from Moeen, tossed up wide outside off, Paine leans and lofts it over covers for a boundary! |
| 100.2 : M Ali to Paine, Fuller and straighter, pushed straight back to the bowler. |
| 100.3 : M Ali to Paine, Action replay of the previous delivery. |
| 100.4 : M Ali to Paine, Around off, defended from the crease. |
| 100.5 : M Ali to Paine, Landed outside off, bounces sharply, Tim looks to defend but is jarred by the bounce. He is not looking comfortable. |
| 100.6 : M Ali to Paine, Outside off, played through point for a run. |
| 101.1 : C Woakes to Paine, WIDE. A bouncer on middle, Paine ducks. He smiles, looks at Chris Gaffaney and asks - 'ISN'T THAT HIGH?' But before he could complete his question, the umpire signals a wide. Paine smiles sheepishly. |
| C Woakes to Paine, The batsman has played it to the point region. One run added to the total. |
| 101.2 : C Woakes to Marsh, On a length outside off, Shaun gets across to flick but misses and is hit on the pads. |
| 101.3 : C Woakes to Marsh, Gets across his stumps and shoulders arms but takes it on the thigh again. Woakes starts to appeal but bails out. |
| 101.4 : C Woakes to Marsh, Outside off, left alone. |
| 101.5 : C Woakes to Marsh, Fullish on middle, pushed towards mid on. |
| 101.6 : C Woakes to S Marsh, 3 runs. |
| 102.1 : M Ali to Marsh, No run. |
| 102.2 : M Ali to Marsh, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 102.3 : M Ali to Marsh, Comes down the track and flicks it through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 102.4 : M Ali to Paine, Down the leg side, worked towards short mid-wicket. |
| 102.5 : M Ali to Paine, Full and outside off, driven back to the bowler. |
| 102.6 : M Ali to Paine, The batsman has driven it through mid on. |
| 103.1 : C Woakes to Marsh, A length ball outside off, Marsh looks to tuck it away but misses and is hit on the thigh pad. |
| 0.0 : There seems to be some issue with the shape of the ball. The 8-shaped gauge is out but there does not seem to be a problem. England have to continue with the same strawberry, if we are allowed to use that term because this is not a cherry. |
| 103.2 : C Woakes to Marsh, Fine stop. Jimmy the man. Full on middle, Shaun flicks this wide of mid on where James Anderson throws himself to his left and stops it cleanly. He then gets up in a trice and has a shy at the bowler's end but it is weak since he is off balance. The batsmen do not run. |
| 103.3 : C Woakes to S Marsh, Pushes this back to the bowler. |
| 103.4 : C Woakes to Marsh, FOUR! GLORIOUS! Half volley outside off, Marsh leans and drives it through the covers. Stuart Broad puts in a laboured dive to his right from mid off, gets fingertips to it but cannot prevent the boundary. |
| 103.5 : C Woakes to Marsh, Full and outside off, driven straight to cover. |
| 103.6 : C Woakes to Marsh, Outside off, left alone. |
| 104.1 : M Ali to Paine, Landed outside leg, Paine lets it go and Bairstow cannot collect, nor can Alastair Cook at first slip. Two byes result. |
| 104.2 : M Ali to Paine, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 104.3 : M Ali to Paine, Full and outside off, Paine defends watchfully. |
| 104.4 : M Ali to Paine, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 104.5 : M Ali to Paine, Stays back in his crease and blocks. |
| 104.6 : M Ali to Paine, SIX! BOOM! That has come out of nowhere! Well, is by any chance, Paine having access to what is going on in the neighbouring country? Because there, Kraigg Brathwaite has just played a slog sweep to Mitchell Santner for a six over mid-wicket. Paine almost perfects that. Fuller and outside off, Paine has had enough, does not want Moeen to dictate terms and goes bang. Launches this slog sweep over mid-wicket for half a dozen. |
| 105.1 : C Woakes to Marsh, 1 run. |
| 105.2 : C Woakes to Tim Paine, HALF CENTURY FOR PAINE! The crowd is up on its feet. On middle, pushed uppishly past the bowler for a couple. Crane runs after it from mid on and stops the ball with a slide. |
| 105.3 : C Woakes to Paine, Outside off, left alone. |
| 105.4 : C Woakes to Paine, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 105.5 : C Woakes to Paine, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 105.6 : C Woakes to Paine, Outside off, pushed straight to point. |
| 106.1 : M Ali to Marsh, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 106.2 : M Ali to Marsh, Shortish in length, cut in front of point for a single. |
| 106.3 : M Ali to Paine, Comes down the track and blocks it down the pitch. |
| 106.4 : M Ali to Paine, Full and wide outside off, Tim leans to drive but the ball goes off the outer half of the bat behind point. Two fielders chase it in pairs and the batsmen get three. |
| 106.5 : M Ali to Marsh, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 106.6 : M Ali to Marsh, Full and outside off, well kept out. |
| Craig Overton is back on. There was no need to take him off the attack in the first place, IMHO. |
| 107.1 : C Overton to Paine, FOUR! Like his previous spell, Overton starts this spell with a boundary too. And a loosener as well. Short and outside off, Paine who is in a no-sparing-freebies mode, slaps it over point for a boundary. |
| 107.2 : C Overton to Paine, A bouncer now, Tim ducks. |
| 107.3 : C Overton to Paine, The batsman picked that bouncer early and let it through to the keeper. |
| 107.4 : C Overton to Paine, Another bouncer, TP ducks again. |
| 107.5 : C Overton to Tim Paine, OUT! Straight to the man! Paine has hit that like a tracer bullet - but straight to the target. Only, his target would have been the boundary, but it is a human being instead. England get a wicket after a long time and guess who has taken it? Craig Overton. Short and around off, Paine pulls this like a rocket but finds Moeen Ali to perfection at deep square leg. The catch is taken, Overton is pumped up but Paine is just shocked. He just stands there, as if thinking |
| Mitchell Starc comes in now, at number 8, replacing Paine. Australia might look for a few quick runs now. The score is close to 300, which is what they must have hoped last evening. |
| 107.6 : C Overton to Starc, Full and outside off, Starc looks to flick but gets a leading edge to point. |
| 108.1 : M Ali to Marsh, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 108.2 : M Ali to Marsh, Full and around off, watchfully kept out. |
| 108.3 : M Ali to Marsh, Full again, well defended. |
| 108.4 : M Ali to S Marsh, Pushes this towards mid on. |
| 108.5 : M Ali to Marsh, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 108.6 : M Ali to Marsh, Full and outside off, Shaun comes down the track and dabs it out. |
| 109.1 : C Overton to Starc, Fuller length to start, kicks Starc pushes at it and the ball lobs off the face of the bat towards cover. |
| 109.2 : C Overton to Starc, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 109.3 : C Overton to Starc, On a good length, in line of the stumps, Mitchell pushes it to the off side. |
| 109.4 : C Overton to Starc, A bouncer to greet the number 8, MS ducks. |
| 109.5 : C Overton to Starc, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 109.6 : C Overton to Starc, Outside off, punched straight to cover where the fielder misfields. Is that on purpose? Perhaps. That will keep Starc on strike for the next over. |
| 110.1 : M Ali to Starc, Full and around middle, watchfully defended. |
| 110.2 : M Ali to Starc, Punched off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 110.3 : M Ali to Starc, Comes forward and dead-bats it. |
| 110.4 : M Ali to Starc, Comes forward again and blocks. |
| 110.5 : M Ali to Starc, Full on middle, pushed straight to mid on. |
| 110.6 : M Ali to Starc, TURN! Terrific delivery. Nathan Lyon will be interested on seeing that. Flighted outside off, Starc comes forward to defend but the ball spins and bounces past the outside edge. Even surprises Bairstow behind who fumbles. |
| 111.1 : C Overton to Marsh, Full on middle, Marsh flicks it towards mid-wicket, sets off for a single but Starc puts his hand up and sends him back. |
| 111.2 : C Overton to Marsh, Outside off, watchfully pushed towards cover. |
| 111.3 : C Overton to Marsh, Angling down the leg side, Shaun fails to get it away with his attempted glance. |
| 111.4 : C Overton to Marsh, Short and outside off, Marsh looks to cut but is beaten by the extra bounce. A nothing shot, as per my colleague, King Vic. |
| 111.5 : C Overton to Marsh, DIRECT HIT WOULD HAVE HAD STARC. |
| There is a short mid off in place now, for Starc. |
| 111.6 : C Overton to Starc, No run. |
| 112.1 : M Ali to Marsh, 1 run. |
| 112.2 : M Ali to Starc, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 112.3 : M Ali to Starc, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 112.4 : M Ali to Starc, Outside off, pushed straight to point. |
| Point is pushed back. England are happy to give the single to Starc. |
| 112.5 : M Ali to Starc, Around off and outside off, well kept out. |
| 112.6 : M Ali to Starc, Starc does not take the single. Short and outside off, opportunity is ripe to cut and take the single but Mitchell chooses to block. |
| 113.1 : C Overton to Marsh, A short ball, pulled with disdain through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 113.2 : C Overton to Starc, Outside off, played towards point. |
| 113.3 : C Overton to Starc, He had no clue about that. Starc thinks it is a fuller ball, looks to flick but realizes late that it is a yorker. Just about manages to dig it out behind square leg. A run taken. |
| 113.4 : C Overton to Marsh, Full and outside off, driven straight to cover. |
| 113.5 : C Overton to Marsh, On middle and leg, flicked towards short mid-wicket. |
| 113.6 : C Overton to Marsh, 300 UP FOR AUSTRALIA! And they still have 4 wickets left. Not a bad position to be in, considering that they were 5 down 91 runs ago. It is not brought up in the most convincing fashion, with Marsh looking to play a cover drive but getting an inside edge towards backward square leg. A single taken. |
| 114.1 : M Ali to Marsh, No run. |
| 114.2 : M Ali to Marsh, Short and outside off, Marsh misses his cut shot for the umpteenth time against a spinner in this innings. Mistimes it to cover. |
| 114.3 : M Ali to Marsh, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 114.4 : M Ali to Marsh, Lucky runs, which should actually have been free ones. Full and down the leg side, Shaun looks to sweep but the ball goes off his gloves, over the keeper towards fine leg. Three runs taken. |
| Broad comes up from long on towards mid on. |
| 114.5 : M Ali to Starc, Outside off, punched straight to cover. |
| 114.6 : M Ali to Starc, Full and outside off, Starc presses forward to defend but gets an inside edge which goes through the vacant leg slip region. There is a possibility of the third but the batsmen take two. |
| JOE ROOT brings himself on. Probably the last over before Tea. |
| 115.1 : Joe Root to Marsh, WAS THAT A CHANCE? Tossed up outside off, Marsh lunges to defend but the ball spins past the outside edge. Bairstow fumbles and we hear a noise before the ball hits the gloves. Snickometer seems to show a spike as the ball passes the bat. |
| 115.2 : Joe Root to Marsh, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 115.3 : Joe Root to Marsh, Outside off, punched to sweeper cover for a single. |
| 115.4 : Joe Root to Starc, Outside off, left alone. |
| 115.5 : Joe Root to Starc, Floated around off, draws Starc forward and he blocks. |
| 115.6 : Joe Root to Starc, Full again, nicely kept out to end the over and session. TEA ON DAY 2! |
| 97/2 in 35 overs in the morning session. Australia will be delighted. They would have been hoping to get somewhere close to 300 but to reach that score in this session itself would have buoyed them. The hosts are now in a position to dream, say 350-375 if the tail can wag a bit. |
| It was not as if the English bowling was bad. Broad started things up pretty well getting Handscomb on the third ball of the morning but then the counter-attack from Tim Paine took England by surprise. Anderson was not bowling well at the start and that allowed the pair of Marsh and Paine to cut loose. The introduction of Overton this morning did slow things down but by that time, the pair was already set. |
| The visitors kept on trying different things but Paine kept on getting top of them. In a stand of 85, he scored 57, which shows his dominance. Eventually, he threw his wicket away else Australia could have well ended up reaching 325 in this session itself. Shaun Marsh has been there at the other end, not looking all that comfortable but he is there. The hosts will hope he shepherds the tail to get as close to 400 as possible. |
| England will already be thinking about batting on this pitch. Not because Australia are 6 down. Because the pitch is doing a lot. Turn, bounce, swing and seam aplenty. They will aim to knock off these last 4 wickets quickly because the pitch has started to deteriorate as well. So if facing Starc, Hazlewood and Cummins was not tough enough, then fancy playing Lyon on a track which has seen Moeen Ali and Joe Root get turn and bounce. Join us back at 1620 local (0550 GMT) for the second session. |
| ... DAY 2, SESSION 2 ... |
| The players are back out in the middle as the sun shines remarkably at the Adelaide Oval. What will be the plan for both sides? Not asking the obvious ones, but will England keep sticking to fuller length or go for the short ball, given that the pitch has quickened up? Will Australia go for quick runs or play normal cricket? Here is Stuart Broad vs Shaun Marsh first up... |
| 116.1 : S Broad to Marsh, Full and down the leg side, Marsh flicks it through square leg and comes back for the second. 9TH TEST FIFTY for Shaun Marsh. He has got 4 hundreds. Has been frustrating for Australia - this guy. Loads of talent but fails to unload it consistently. Given his career span, he should have got more. He comes in, plays for a while, gifts his wicket away, then gets injured after a series of starts. Then makes a comeback with some gritty knock but goes into his bad habit again. |
| 116.2 : S Broad to Marsh, Around off, watchfully defended. |
| 116.3 : S Broad to Marsh, Down the leg side, flicked through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 116.4 : S Broad to M Starc, OVERTHROWS! Needless from Broad. Root is fuming. And rightly so. A length ball on the pads, Starc looks to tuck it to the leg side but gets an inside edge onto his pads. Broad runs to his left for the catch but cannot get there. Now, he just picks up the ball and has a shy at the bowler's end, even though Marsh is well in. The ball ricochets off the sticks and the batsmen take a couple. Root asks Broad the reason for the throw and he seems to be given some kidding excu |
| 116.5 : S Broad to Starc, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 116.6 : S Broad to Starc, OUT! Again Australia lose a wicket early in a session. Testing stuff from Broad. He bangs this in short, outside off and Starc is in two minds, whether to pull or let go. Goes for the former but he is a bit late. Gets a top edge which goes nowhere. Anderson runs to his left from mid on and takes the catch near short mid-wicket. |
| Pat Cummins is the next batsman. And with that, James Anderson is into the attack. |
| 117.1 : J Anderson to Marsh, Outside off, on a length, nice carry, left alone. |
| 117.2 : J Anderson to Marsh, Outside off, similar ball, let through again. |
| 117.3 : J Anderson to Marsh, One more leave outside off. |
| 117.4 : J Anderson to Marsh, Pushed to the cover region by the batsman. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 117.5 : J Anderson to Cummins, On a good length around off, Cummins defends it like a top-order batsman. |
| 117.6 : J Anderson to Cummins, A length ball down the leg side, Cummins misses his tuck and is hit on the pads. |
| 118.1 : S Broad to Marsh, Full around middle, Marsh clips it through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 118.2 : S Broad to Cummins, Outside off, left alone. |
| 118.3 : S Broad to Cummins, A bouncer on middle, Cummins ducks. |
| 118.4 : S Broad to Cummins, Another bouncer on middle, Cummins ducks again. |
| 118.5 : S Broad to Cummins, Third bouncer on the trot, same reaction from Pat. |
| 118.6 : S Broad to Cummins, Outside off, left alone again. |
| 119.1 : J Anderson to Marsh, FOUR! HANDSOME! Full and wide outside off, Marsh leans and drives it through the covers. Don't bother chasing that. |
| 119.2 : J Anderson to Marsh, Wide outside off, left alone. |
| 119.3 : J Anderson to Marsh, One more leave outside off. |
| 119.4 : J Anderson to Marsh, Outside off, not played at that either. |
| 119.5 : J Anderson to Marsh, Make that four leaves in a row. All approved. |
| 119.6 : J Anderson to Marsh, Landed around off, finally makes Shaun play who defends. |
| 120.1 : S Broad to Cummins, Outside off, played straight to point. |
| 120.2 : S Broad to Cummins, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 120.3 : S Broad to Cummins, Outside off, left alone this time. |
| 120.4 : S Broad to Cummins, Very full on middle, tails in late, Pat flicks it towards short mid-wicket. |
| 120.5 : S Broad to Cummins, A length ball around off, watchfully blocked out. |
| 120.6 : S Broad to Cummins, Landed outside off, PC looks to defend but then decides to take the bat away. Is late and gets a bottom edge to the slip cordon. |
| 121.1 : J Anderson to Marsh, THROUGH HIM! On a length outside off, Marsh looks to play at that but is cut into half as the ball nips back in late. Goes between bat and pad, beating the inside edge. |
| 121.2 : J Anderson to Marsh, Outside off, this is properly defended. |
| 121.3 : J Anderson to Marsh, Full and outside off, pushed straight to cover. |
| 121.4 : J Anderson to Marsh, Around off and outside, Shaun ducks. |
| 121.5 : J Anderson to Marsh, Now a length ball, outside off, this is left alone calmly. |
| 121.6 : J Anderson to S Marsh, FOUR! LOVELY! Shaun Marsh is slowly and finally getting into his groove now. After facing more than 25 overs. Half volley wide outside off, Marsh leans and drives it through cover-point. Moeen Ali dives to his left from backward point but in vain. The stand moves to 10. |
| 122.1 : S Broad to Cummins, Outside off, left alone. |
| 122.2 : S Broad to Cummins, On a length around off, Cummins ducks. That kicked off the surface. Pat ducks. |
| 122.3 : S Broad to Cummins, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 122.4 : S Broad to Cummins, Full and outside off, watchfully kept out. |
| 122.5 : S Broad to Cummins, Full again, driven straight to mid off. |
| 122.6 : S Broad to Cummins, Outside off, MC feels for it but is beaten. |
| Review time! Anderson reckons he has got Marsh LBW. Root agrees with him. |
| 123.1 : J Anderson to Marsh, NOT OUT! Pitched outside leg. The decision ends there. |
| 123.2 : J Anderson to Cummins, The batsman has been struck on the thigh-pad. No appeal this time. |
| 123.3 : J Anderson to Cummins, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 123.4 : J Anderson to Cummins, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 123.5 : J Anderson to Cummins, No run. |
| 123.6 : J Anderson to Cummins, No run. |
| 124.1 : Broad to Marsh, Leg bye. |
| 124.2 : S Broad to Cummins, Outside off, left alone. |
| 124.3 : S Broad to Cummins, One more leave outside off. |
| 124.4 : S Broad to Cummins, Full and outside off, driven straight to cover. Still not off the mark. |
| 124.5 : S Broad to Cummins, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 124.6 : S Broad to Cummins, Looks to flick again but misses once more. Is hit on the pads again. |
| 125.1 : J Anderson to Marsh, On middle and leg, flicked to the leg side for a single. A run on the first ball of the over again. |
| 125.2 : J Anderson to Cummins, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 125.3 : J Anderson to Cummins, Short and outside off, Cummins cuts it hard but straight to point. Cannot pierce the gap still! 31 balls faced. 0 is the score. |
| 125.4 : J Anderson to Cummins, EDGED, SAFE! Anderson has really been unlucky in this innings. This is a peach of a delivery but seems like Lady Luck has sliced that peach brutally. The ball is landed just outside off, which means Cummins has to play. He stays back to defend but then the ball shapes away late and takes the outside edge. However, it does not carry to the keeper. |
| 125.5 : J Anderson to Cummins, Full and straight, driven towards mid on. |
| 125.6 : J Anderson to Cummins, Outside off, played straight to point. |
| Craig Overton is back on. |
| 126.1 : C Overton to Marsh, Again a single on the first ball of the over. Marsh works it behind square leg. |
| 126.2 : C Overton to Pat Cummins, Full on middle, driven straight to mid on. |
| 126.3 : C Overton to Cummins, Around off, watchfully defended. |
| 126.4 : C Overton to Cummins, FOUR! Off the mark on the 37th ball! A short ball outside off, Cummins looks to cut but ends up slicing it aerially. Gets it behind point and that will be a boundary! That will give him a sigh of relief. At least gets something on the scoreboard. |
| 126.5 : C Overton to Cummins, Outside off, left alone. |
| 126.6 : C Overton to Cummins, Outside off, played straight to point. |
| Spin time. Moeen Ali to bowl now. |
| 127.1 : M Ali to Marsh, Landed outside off, played straight to point. For a change, no single on the first ball of the over. |
| 127.2 : M Ali to Marsh, FOUR! That is a terrific shot. Outstanding timing. Slightly short, around off and middle, Marsh goes back and flick-whips it through mid-wicket. Not much power but the timing just puts the speed on that. Deep mid-wicket hardly has to move 5 yards but is still beaten. |
| 127.3 : M Ali to Marsh, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 127.4 : M Ali to Marsh, Landed around off, well kept out. |
| 127.5 : M Ali to Marsh, Another forward defense on offer. |
| 127.6 : M Ali to Marsh, Comes down the track and pushes it to long on for a single. |
| 128.1 : C Overton to S Marsh, A short ball on middle and leg, Marsh tucks it behind square leg for you know what. Single off the first ball of the over. |
| 128.2 : C Overton to Pat Cummins, Full and outside off, Cummins plays a lovely-looking off drive but straight to the fielder. |
| 128.3 : C Overton to Cummins, Goes back in his crease and defends. |
| 128.4 : C Overton to Cummins, Outside off, Cummins arches back and tries to steer it to third man but is beaten. |
| 128.5 : C Overton to Cummins, A bouncer on middle, this time Pat ducks. |
| 128.6 : C Overton to Cummins, The batsman has played it to the point region. |
| 129.1 : M Ali to Marsh, Landed around off, watchfully defended. |
| 129.2 : M Ali to Marsh, Outside off, punched down to long on for a single. |
| 129.3 : M Ali to Cummins, Down the leg side, played towards short leg. |
| 129.4 : M Ali to Cummins, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 129.5 : M Ali to Cummins, Outside off, punched towards cover. |
| 129.6 : M Ali to Pat Cummins, FOUR! Full and outside off, Cummins looks to slog but the ball goes off the toe end of the bat. Is good enough to beat mid on. |
| 130.1 : C Overton to Marsh, Around off, watchfully defended. |
| 130.2 : C Overton to Marsh, FOUR! Terrific timing. Normally pull shots are not beautiful. They are more related to power. But this bloke - wow. Might well play a slog sweep and yet make it look beautiful. This is banged in short, outside off, Marsh quickly goes onto his back foot and plays the pull. But it is not ferocious. Just a help to the ball, giving it direction towards mid-wicket. Then the outfield becomes his partner, aiding the ball on its way to the mid-wicket fence. Brilliant. The stan |
| 130.3 : C Overton to Marsh, Landed outside off, short in length, Shaun waits for the ball to come to him and then dabs it late past slip. Three runs taken. |
| 130.4 : C Overton to Cummins, Full and outside off, Cummins slaps it straight back over the bowler. Overton sticks out his right hand but is late. Three runs taken. 350 UP FOR AUSTRALIA! |
| 130.5 : C Overton to Marsh, Outside off, left alone. |
| 130.6 : C Overton to Marsh, On a good length outside off, Marsh pushes at it but gets beaten as the ball goes between bat and pad. |
| 131.1 : M Ali to Cummins, Landed around off, watchfully defended. |
| 131.2 : M Ali to Cummins, A short ball on middle, Cummins gives this a real big hoick, pulling it towards deep mid-wicket. Just a single. |
| 131.3 : M Ali to Marsh, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 131.4 : M Ali to Marsh, Full and outside off, well kept out. |
| 131.5 : M Ali to Marsh, On middle, Marsh flicks it uppishly but luckily for him, it lands short of the fielder at short mid-wicket. |
| 131.6 : M Ali to Marsh, Full and down the leg side, Shaun looks to sweep but gets a bottom edge which goes down the leg side. Three runs taken. |
| Chris Woakes into the attack now. In my opinion, he has been underused. |
| 132.1 : C Woakes to Marsh, Landed outside leg, Marsh gets across and shoulders arms but gets hit on the thigh pad. |
| 132.2 : C Woakes to Marsh, Hits the thigh pad again, this time beating the inside edge. |
| 132.3 : C Woakes to Marsh, Down the leg side, flicked towards square leg for a single. |
| 132.4 : C Woakes to Cummins, Outside off, left alone. |
| 132.5 : C Woakes to Cummins, A length ball outside off, Pat looks to defend but gets a bit of an outside edge which lands in front of gully. James Vince dives to his right to stop it. |
| 132.6 : C Woakes to Cummins, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| Joe Root brings himself on to bowl again. More out of desperation, one guesses. |
| 133.1 : Joe Root to Marsh, Landed outside off, left alone. |
| 133.2 : Joe Root to Marsh, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 133.3 : Joe Root to Marsh, Another forward defense on offer. |
| 133.4 : Joe Root to Marsh, On a good length around off, defended watchfully. |
| 133.5 : Joe Root to Marsh, Down the leg side, flicked away for a single. |
| 133.6 : Joe Root to Cummins, Down the leg side, flicked behind square leg for a run. Root is looking a bit agitated now. |
| 134.1 : C Woakes to Cummins, On middle and leg, turned straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 134.2 : C Woakes to Cummins, A bouncer to test the batsman, Cummins arches back and then lets it go. |
| 134.3 : C Woakes to Cummins, FOUR! BOSH! A right-handed version of Mark 'Tubby' Taylor according to my colleague to King Vic. Short and outside off, Cummins stands tall, gets on top of the bounce, then slaps it through cover-point for a boundary. Bring it on, says the number 3 from the reverse position. 50-RUN STAND is up too. 4th in this innings. The tail is wagging again for Australia. |
| 134.4 : C Woakes to Cummins, Landed around off, Cummins stays back and defends. |
| 134.5 : C Woakes to Cummins, Outside off, left alone. |
| 134.6 : C Woakes to Cummins, On middle and leg, played to the leg side. |
| 135.1 : Joe Root to Marsh, A short ball, pulled to deep square leg for a single. |
| 135.2 : Joe Root to Cummins, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 135.3 : Joe Root to Pat Cummins, FOUR! BRUTAL! A short ball, down the leg side, Cummins shows no mercy as he pulls it over backward square leg for a boundary! |
| 135.4 : Joe Root to Cummins, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 135.5 : Joe Root to Cummins, Down the leg side, flicked away for a couple. |
| 135.6 : Joe Root to Cummins, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 136.1 : C Woakes to Marsh, Angling across around off, Marsh is well forward as he blocks it back down the track. |
| 136.2 : C Woakes to Marsh, Fired full and well outside off, driven a bit square, straight to the man at cover-point. |
| 136.3 : C Woakes to Marsh, Hits the deck hard as he lands it on a length outside off, extracts good bounce from the deck and it comes back in shade. Shaun covers the line and evades. |
| 136.4 : C Woakes to Marsh, FOUR! Room on offer and Marsh doesn't miss out. Gets the placement right too, that's a packed off side field. Shortish ball, the southpaw flays it between gully and backward point to send it across the boundary line. |
| 136.5 : C Woakes to Marsh, Some zip off the track for Woakes, short and wide again, Marsh goes the cut once more but the bounce gets too big on him. Misses it completely. |
| 136.6 : C Woakes to Marsh, Chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 137.1 : Joe Root to Cummins, From around the wicket, it's floated across Pat Cummins. He goes deep inside his crease and blocks it out. |
| 137.2 : Joe Root to Cummins, Darted on the pads, goes on the back foot again and works it square on the leg side for a couple. |
| 137.3 : Joe Root to Cummins, FOUR! That's a proper batting stroke. Tossed right up, he plants his front foot forward and lofts it over mid on's head. Clean strike, didn't try to hit it too hard and got the desired result. |
| 137.4 : Joe Root to Cummins, Faster one down leg, padded away by the batsman. |
| 137.5 : Joe Root to Cummins, Quicker through the air on the stumps, kept out towards mid-wicket. |
| 137.6 : Joe Root to Pat Cummins, Was there an inside edge? Looks like it, maybe. Fired on the pads, Cummins is back to tuck. Seems to get an inside edge onto his pads and the ball lobs over. Falls safely beside the diving short leg fielder and Pat survives. |
| 138.1 : C Woakes to Marsh, Tight line from Woakes, length ball around off, Marsh cuts it to point. |
| 138.2 : C Woakes to Marsh, Good length ball with some movement inward, around off, Marsh leaves. |
| 138.3 : C Woakes to Marsh, Oh, that's a brave leave. Good leave. Very good from Shaun Marsh, been one of the highlights of his innings. Length delivery around off, comes back in more than the previous delivery. The southpaw shoulders his arms to it. It wasn't too far away from the off stick but he was confident it would miss. |
| 138.4 : C Woakes to Marsh, Tad fullish in length from Woakes, blocked. |
| 138.5 : C Woakes to Marsh, Marginally ahead of a length, attacking the stumps, kept out well with a straight bat. |
| 138.6 : C Woakes to Marsh, Angling across from a good length, Marsh has no qualms in leaving that alone. Tidy over from Chris Woakes. |
| Moeen Ali to bowl again. |
| 139.1 : M Ali to Pat Cummins, Loopy and full outside off, drilled hard but straight to the man at extra cover. |
| 139.2 : M Ali to Cummins, Turning in from around off, Pat plays with the spin and works it past short leg for one. |
| 139.3 : M Ali to Marsh, Too full on leg stump, the ball has no time to turn, so Marsh easily flicks it on the leg side. |
| 139.4 : M Ali to Marsh, Around the wicket now, fuller outside off, Shaun Marsh presents a solid front foot defense. |
| 139.5 : M Ali to S Marsh, Makes good use of his feet, comes down the track and attempts to pierce the gap through the gap with a punch-drive. Anderson denies him that pleasure with a good dive to his right. |
| 139.6 : M Ali to Marsh, Retains strike with a single down towards mid on. Places it with a straight bat down the ground and crosses over. |
| 140.1 : C Woakes to Marsh, Full and fast from Woakes, zipping and skidding off the surface as Marsh leaves it alone. Was outside off and went right into the keeper's gloves. |
| 140.2 : C Woakes to Marsh, Too close for comfort, eh? Maybe Marsh is a tad casual about this. Woakes maintains a tight line around off, it nips back in and whiskers past the off stump as Marsh leaves. |
| 140.3 : C Woakes to Marsh, Fired up there outside off, opens the bat face slightly and places it past point for a run. |
| 140.4 : C Woakes to Cummins, Serves it on a length outside off, dabbed to point. No run taken though. |
| 140.5 : C Woakes to Cummins, Shortish ball banged in, Cummins arches back to play the ramp shot but is beaten by pace so ends up missing it. |
| 140.6 : C Woakes to Cummins, The batsman has flicked the ball off his pads. One run added to the total. |
| 141.1 : M Ali to Cummins, FOUR! Well-placed. Good shot. The intent is right, Pat Cummins sees the flight and swings across the line. Plays with the pace and finds the mid-wicket fence, beating the two men out in the deep for a boundary. |
| 141.2 : M Ali to Cummins, Extremely full outside off, drilled through the vacant spaces in the cover area for a run. |
| 141.3 : M Ali to Marsh, Around the wicket around off, worked against the spin towards mid-wicket. |
| 141.4 : M Ali to S Marsh, FOUR! Moves on to 94 with that, good shot to get there. Very full and quite loopy, Marsh feasts on it with a cracking drive through the covers and fetches himself a boundary. |
| 141.5 : M Ali to Marsh, 95 now. Nudges it towards wide long on for one run. Wants the second, but then decides against it. |
| 141.6 : M Ali to Cummins, FOUR! Boundary to end the over. Pat Cummins stands his ground and slogs it over mid-wicket to send it across the rope on one bounce. Cummins scored nothing in the first 36 balls he faced, then in he next 44 went on to score 40. Paced himself quite well, to say the least. Also, this partnership seems to have deflated the Englishmen, it's worth 85 right now. |
| 142.1 : C Woakes to Marsh, Good length delivery in the off stump channel, Shaun withdraws his bat and lets it be. |
| 142.2 : C Woakes to Marsh, Short of a length outside off, some room on offer as Marsh cuts this to deep point. Just a single, on 96 with that. |
| 142.3 : C Woakes to Cummins, Sharp bouncer around off, ducked and evaded by the batsman. |
| 142.4 : C Woakes to Cummins, Back of a length on the hips, with men out in the deep on the leg side, it's quite easy for Pat Cummins to work it through and pick up a single. |
| 142.5 : C Woakes to Marsh, FOUR! 5TH TEST TON FOR SHAUN MARSH! His first Ashes ton, what a way to bring it up. He raises his bat in to acknowledge the applause from the crowd and the dressing room, he's deserved every bit of it. Has had to grind it out, patiently build his innings, but he's braved through it and got there. Woakes angles in a short ball into the body from around the wicket, Marsh swivels and pulls it along the ground, bisecting the two men out in the deep for a boundary. He's ecst |
| 142.6 : C Woakes to Marsh, Another short one, sharper and more accurate, this time Marsh gets low and lets it sail over his head. |
| Craig Overton back on to bowl. |
| 143.1 : C Overton to Cummins, Bumper, on middle and off, Cummins has nothing to do with that. |
| 143.2 : C Overton to Cummins, Shaping back into the hips, worked off 'em square on the leg side by Cummins for a single. Leg bye signalled by the umpire. Seems there was no bat involved after all. |
| 143.3 : C Overton to Marsh, Slower ball outside off, keeps a little low which is the reason why the ball takes the under edge on Shaun Marsh's attempted cut shot. Goes behind to Bairstow on a couple of bounces. |
| 143.4 : C Overton to Marsh, Angling in on off, Marsh keeps bat and pad close together to guard it out. |
| 143.5 : C Overton to Marsh, Off cutter outside off, on a fuller length, Marsh is early into the cover drive and as a result, gets an inside edge past the leg stump for a double. |
| 143.6 : C Overton to Marsh, Keeps it up there again, outside the line of off stump, placed in front of covers from the front foot. |
| 144.1 : C Woakes to Cummins, Hits the deck hard and bowls it around off, too high for Pat to try anything on that. |
| 144.2 : C Woakes to Cummins, Short into the body this time, Cummins backs away and slaps this square over point. Third man moves to his right and cuts it off, allowing the batsmen to come back for the second. |
| 144.3 : C Woakes to Cummins, Short of a length on middle and off, kept out from inside the crease on the leg side. |
| 144.4 : C Woakes to Cummins, Pulls this short ball away by moving inside the line and gets a single behind square leg. |
| 144.5 : Woakes to S Marsh, Total mix-up out there! Sums up England's time out there in a nutshell. Woakes from around the wicket pounds in another short one, Marsh looks to fend it away but it goes off the shoulder of the bat. Lobs over behind where Vince and Cook from gully and second slip respectively rush to take the catch. Both dive, it falls into Cook's hands but their collision sees the ball slip out and roll behind. Sheer disappointment on the faces of the Englishmen. Single taken. |
| 144.6 : C Woakes to Cummins, Short ball, Cummins ducks and lets it be. That's DINNER ON DAY 2! |
| Australia's session and probably the day depending on what happens in the final session. 103 runs have come in the session for just the loss of Mitchell Starc's wicket. Shaun Marsh and Pat Cummins took the game away from the visitors with some gritty batting. The former went on to score a well-deserved ton while the latter, despite his very, very slow start, scored runs at a breezy rate after that. Certainly flaunting his all-round prowess with that knock. Their 98-run stand could have very well |
| It remains to be seen if Steven Smith decides to declare during the break and run at the English batting with the new ball under the floodlights. Plenty of time left, but a stern test posed in front of Joe Root and his men. The decision to bowl first can only be justified by winning this game, and the first step in that will be to survive the Australian bombardment this evening. Join us for all the action in a little while. |
| 145.1 : C Overton to Marsh, Full and outside off, driven through mid off for a single. |
| 145.2 : C Overton to Cummins, OUT! Cummins misses out on his half century! And we will not see a century stand in this innings. Unless Lyon and Hazlewood bat long enough to generate another opportunity. Once again, Australia lose a wicket early in a session and immediately after the break. The message seems to be clear - QUICK RUNS. Banged in short outside off, Cummins arches back and then plays the upper cut. However, he finds Dawid Malan to perfection at third man. He is standing a few yards in |
| It has gone heavily overcast now. Bad weather could be on its way... |
| Australia still batting. Wonder why. Nathan Lyon comes out to try and improve his batting average. Or strike rate. |
| 145.3 : C Overton to Marsh, Landed outside off, Marsh punches it behind point for a couple. |
| 145.4 : C Overton to Marsh, Fuller in length, Shaun comes forward to defend. |
| 145.5 : C Overton to Marsh, FOUR! The field comes in and Marsh decides to go over the top. Short and wide outside off, Marsh backs away and slashes hard. Only to get a thick outside edge over the slip cordon to third man. |
| 145.6 : C Overton to Marsh, On middle and leg, defended back down the pitch. |
| Stuart Broad will bowl from the other end. |
| 146.1 : S Broad to Lyon, A short ball outside off, Lyon swings wildly but misses and is hit on the right shoulder. |
| 146.2 : S Broad to Lyon, Comes around the wicket, bangs it short, outside leg, Lyon backs away, swings wildly but misses. |
| 146.3 : S Broad to Lyon, Again. Backs away, Broad follows him, Nathan swings again, misses again. |
| 146.4 : S Broad to Lyon, Yikes. This is pitched outside off and Lyon is outside leg. You can imagine the chances of connecting a pull shot from that range. 0. |
| Marsh now has a word with Lyon in the middle of the pitch. Meanwhile three men on the hook on the leg side for Lyon. Well, they will come into play only if he connects. With the ball, that is. Right now, he is meeting thin air. |
| 146.5 : S Broad to Lyon, Not quite sure what was the chat. Because what has happened in the previous four deliveries has happened again. Lyon is swinging two months in advance for the new year. Misses the pull again. |
| Now point goes back to the fence. |
| 146.6 : S Broad to N Lyon, Full and wide outside off, that is the plan, driven sweetly to sweeper cover. Take the single, says Joe Root. No thanks, says Mr. Lyon. |
| 147.1 : C Overton to Marsh, A short ball outside off, Marsh looks to go over cover but ends up checking his shot. As a result he pushes at it uncertainly and chips it over cover. Just a single. |
| 147.2 : C Overton to Lyon, SIX! Lyon connects. And connects well! A short ball down the leg side, not as pacy as Broad and that helps Lyon put bat on ball. Swish. Kaboom. Over fine leg! |
| 147.3 : C Overton to Lyon, Back to normalcy. Short, pull, miss, dot. Oh and now a smile from Lyon. |
| 147.4 : C Overton to Lyon, And again. He swings to a short and wide ball outside leg, only to miss. Aha... Overton now has something to say. |
| 147.5 : C Overton to Lyon, A better-directed short ball, at the body, Nathan swings again but gets a top edge this time. The ball goes high in the atmosphere and reaches somewhere near the stratosphere but then the gravitational field pulls the ball down to earth. Bairstow chases it down but cannot get there. The batsmen take two, Marsh thinks about the third on the throw but decides against it. |
| 147.6 : C Overton to Lyon, Buffet. Help yourself. There is no mid off and the length is full. Perhaps a bluff but Lyon profits with a drive through mid off for a couple. |
| 1 indicates Smith from the dressing room. One assumes it will be 1 more over. |
| 148.1 : S Broad to Marsh, Yorker, wide outside off, Marsh reaches out to steer but misses. |
| 148.2 : S Broad to S Marsh, FOUR! Hard luck for Overton. A short ball, Marsh drags this through mid-wicket. The debutant runs to his right and dives, gets to the ball but then ends up parrying it into the ropes. |
| 148.3 : S Broad to Marsh, FOUR! Unbelievable shot. A terrific ball, almost a yorker, on middle, but somehow, Marsh whips this behind square and gets a boundary! |
| 148.4 : Broad to Marsh, SIX! CLOBBERED! What a shot from Marsh! This is right in the arc if you are playing the death overs of an ODI. Right in the slot if you are batting in a T20I. But not quite if you are playing a Test match and that too, if you are Shaun Marsh who rarely plays such shots in this format. But now, he does. Sees the full ball, on middle and leg, knows that a declaration is round the corner and goes BANG. Swung right over the sightscreen. Broad has gone for 4,4,6 so far! |
| 148.5 : S Broad to Marsh, There is that response, a fine yorker, on middle, Shaun can only dig it out. Nice to see Broad competing. |
| 148.6 : S Broad to Marsh, Full and outside off, pushed wide of mid off for a run. |
| AUSTRALIA DECLARE! 1 was the indication from Steven Smith before this over and that is exactly 1 over. He calls his batsmen back in. 28 overs scheduled for the day. |
| A terrific score from Australia, after being asked to bat first. It is a pitch where a batsman is never in and that is evident with only two batsmen going past 50. The top five battled hard, got in but then got out. Today however, the pitch quickened up and might have come SLIGHTLY easier for batting. |
| England were on top right from the first over morning but that assault from Tim Paine shook them. Australia were 209/5 but the next 3 wickets added 201 runs. Shaun Marsh was at the helm of those stands, finishing on an undefeated 126 with good contributions from Paine and Cummins. Smith would have targetted 450 had he chosen to bat first. Last night, after he got out, that target might have fallen to 300 or 325. This is a bonus. |
| Hard to fault England. They were bowling really well but perhaps the only criticism was that maybe, the patience needed for persisting with lines and lengths had to be more. But it was not a bad bowling performance. Broad was terrific for his 2-fer and so was Anderson but both were unlucky. So many plays and misses, so many squaring ups, so many edges landing short... could have been so different on another day. Overton did decently to pick up 3 on debut. Moeen Ali, with a finger injury, was a w |
| 0.1 : M Starc to Cook, Here we go! Ripper from Starc as he starts off with a length delivery outside off, at 145 clicks, Cook leaves it alone. |
| 0.2 : M Starc to Cook, First runs for England. Cook picks it off his pads and works it away through square leg to get off the mark. |
| 0.3 : M Starc to Stoneman, Good running between the wickets from these two. Stoneman drops this in front of covers and Cook responds to the call. Both rush and finish the run before even David Warner can get to the ball from mid off. |
| 0.4 : M Starc to Cook, Peach! Marvelous pace from Mitchell Starc. On a length and just outside off, Alastair Cook lets it be. |
| 0.5 : M Starc to A Cook, Great effort from Pat Cummins, saves a certain boundary for his side. Cook pushes this back down the ground, Pat from mid on moves swiftly to his right and puts in a great dive. The batsmen don't even take a single. |
| 0.6 : M Starc to Cook, Back of a length around off, the speed gun clocks 150 clicks on this, Cook stays back and blocks. Starc hasn't taken time to warm himself up, he's pumped. |
| Josh Hazlewood will bowl from the other end. Three slips and a gully in place for him. |
| 1.1 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Full delivery outside off, Stoneman drives just wide of mid off and takes a brisk single. |
| 1.2 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Errs in length slightly, fires it full on the pads, Cook flicks it down towards fine leg for a single. |
| 1.3 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, That's the length. Perfect line too. Just around off, drawing Mark Stoneman forward to play at it. Just about misses the off stick as the ball goes behind. |
| 1.4 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Fullish in length and attacking the stumps, a firm punch down towards mid on which sees the batsman get no run. |
| 1.5 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, That's a good shot. The outfield is a little slow which stops the ball from getting to the fence but a good shot nonetheless. Full outside off, Stoneman drives it down through mid off. Warner from short extra cover chases after it and keeps it inside the rope. Three taken. |
| 1.6 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Holy moly! Seemed like that took the edge. Was super close. Excellent length delivery angling away, around off, Cook hangs his bat forward and nearly nicks it behind. Hazlewood has his hands on his head. Dear me... End of a testing over from Josh. |
| 2.1 : M Starc to Stoneman, FOUR! In the air... But safe! Now Starc has his hands on his head. Angles it in and then swings it away on middle and leg, Stoneman is squared up as he attempts to block. It goes off the leading edge and flies past the diving Usman Khawaja away to the boundary line. |
| 2.2 : M Starc to Stoneman, Short of a good length outside off, Stoneman leaves it this time. |
| 2.3 : M Starc to Stoneman, There's the swing. Fast, full swing. 146 kph. Full and moving away around off, Stoneman drives without any foot movement and the ball whizzes past the outside edge. |
| 2.4 : M Starc to Stoneman, Brings it back in this time, full on off, closes the face and drives it towards short mid-wicket. Single taken. |
| 2.5 : M Starc to Cook, Short delivery into the body, Alastair Cook swivels to pull but finds square leg. |
| 2.6 : M Starc to Cook, Yorker speared outside off, brings his bat down and squeezes it out to point. |
| 3.1 : Hazlewood to Stoneman, Shout for an lbw but it's denied, probably pitched outside leg. But the length is superb and it's troubling the batsman. Coming on middle and leg after pitching outside leg, Stoneman is struck on the pads as he looks to flick. The umpire correctly shuts the appeal down. |
| 3.2 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, That's a wonderful leave. Shows he's seeing the ball till the last second. Landed on a length around off, cuts in a decent amount. Stoneman covers the line and shoulders his arms. |
| 3.3 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Expected from Hazlewood. He'll bowl there all day if he has to. In that niggling line around off, Stoneman could just as easily be drawn forward to play at it, but the opener does really well to resist the temptation and let it be. This is good batting. |
| 3.4 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Pacy yorker around the off stump, 145 kph. Hazlewood isn't holding back here at all. Stoneman brings his bat down and jams it out. |
| Stoneman will have a change of bats. The bottom part of the willow broke while keeping that last one out at bay. Can see why, look at the pace these bowlers are bowling at. Sheeesh! |
| 3.5 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Angling across the batsman, Mark does not bother himself with that. |
| 3.6 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Another shout for a leg before, this too has pitched outside leg. Similar the previous now, Stoneman is caught missing his flick. The umpire rightly turns the appeal down. |
| 4.1 : M Starc to Cook, Full ball aiming the base of off stump, Cook meets it with the full face of the bat. |
| 4.2 : M Starc to Cook, What a ball! That pace and that carry. Full outside off, Cook is forward to push it away from his body to the covers but is beaten. Has to forget about that now, these misses will be frequent till that ball is moving under these lights. Only focus on the next ball. |
| 4.3 : M Starc to Cook, Tailing back in on middle and leg, raps Cook low on the pads. No appeal from anyone as the ball was clearly going down leg. |
| 4.4 : M Starc to Cook, Too full, a bit too straight from Starc and that's played very well by Alastair Cook. Times the flick well through mid-wicket and picks up a triple. |
| 4.5 : M Starc to Stoneman, Short of a good length on the stumps, Stoneman is right behind this as he taps it down under his nose. |
| 4.6 : M Starc to Stoneman, Bit uppish on this occasion. Stoneman flicks it aerially towards Cummins at mid-wicket. He misfields there and allows the batsmen to take two. Bit sloppy, but Australia won't mind that right now, really. |
| 5.1 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Rare bad ball from Josh Hazlewood. Arrows it full on the pads, Cook's strong suit. He will hit you all day if you bowl him there. Picked off the pads and away to the mid-wicket fence. |
| 5.2 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Bit fuller than a length around off, stays back and pushes it out with soft hands. |
| 5.3 : J Hazlewood to Cook, A little too full, on middle and off, Cook nicely leans forward, a little across and clips it wide of the mid-wicket fielder for a single. |
| 5.4 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Rock solid in defense, is Mark Stoneman. Looks completely unfazed by the threat in front of him. Stands his ground, waits for the length ball to come to him and blocks it down beside him. |
| 5.5 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, FOUR! Flashes at that and flashes hard. Nothing wrong with that, the width's there, the pace is there and the field is inside the ring. Slashes it over backward point and across the boundary line. Needs to be careful not to do it too often, but that's a good shot. |
| 5.6 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, FOUR! Flashes at that and flashes hard. Nothing wrong with that, the width's there, the pace is there and the field is inside the ring. Slashes it over backward point and across the boundary line. Needs to be careful not to do it too often, but that's a good shot. |
| 6.1 : M Starc to Cook, Starc comes steaming in and bowls it full on off, Cook takes a big stride forward and works it towards mid-wicket. |
| 6.2 : M Starc to Cook, Going down the leg side, Cook misses his tickle. Paine looks to collect, but the ball is a little away from him. Seeing this, Stoneman wants the run but Cook sends him back. |
| 6.3 : M Starc to Cook, Good length delivery on the fifth stump line, Alastair covers his off stump well beforehand and lets the ball through. |
| 6.4 : M Starc to Cook, Slightly fuller just outside off, buried into the track from the front foot. |
| 6.5 : M Starc to A Cook, A short delivery which has been pulled away. They pick up a single. |
| Review from Stoneman! He's been caught leg before but he feels the ball is going down leg. Over to the TV umpire now... |
| 6.6 : M Starc to Stoneman, OUT! STARC STRIKES! Draws first blood and sends the Kangaroos flying in this game. A change of bats has not bought the opener any luck. Stoneman was looking good out there, had a good start but has been undone for pace. Full delivery tailing back in on middle and leg, raps Mark low on the pads and the Aussies immediately appeal. The umpire raises his finger but the batsman thinks it's going down leg. So he reviews and it's taken upstairs. Replays show there's a tick on |
| James Vince is in at No.3. |
| 7.1 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Good length delivery in the channel outside off, Cook has nothing to do with that one. |
| 7.2 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Angles it across, touch fuller outside the off stick, brings his bat forward and blocks it out. |
| 7.3 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Moving away, in that tempting zone, Cook with all his wisdom, lands up on the conclusion that he should leave it. Good call if you ask me, Cookie. |
| 7.4 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Hazlewood has been a bit leg sidish this session. Strays it on the pads and catches Cook low over there. Won't get anything though as it's obviously missing leg. |
| 7.5 : J Hazlewood to Cook, On a good length once more, outside the off stump, left alone. |
| 7.6 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. End of the over. |
| 8.1 : M Starc to Vince, Well bowled and equally well played. Yorker fired on off, James Vince brings down his bat in time, opens the face too and jams it out behind towards the slip cordon, where a diving stop ensures the ball doesn't go through. |
| 8.2 : M Starc to Vince, Length delivery outside off, Vince doesn't bother playing at it. |
| 8.3 : M Starc to Vince, Mitchell Starc is on fire! What a delivery. Hurls it across in that channel, forces James Vince to bring his bat and leave it hanging there. He almost edges it, lucky not to, as the ball goes behind. |
| 8.4 : M Starc to Vince, Holds the length back this time and keeps it around off, Vince with a solid back foot defense to keep it out. |
| 8.5 : M Starc to Vince, Shorter again, outside off, Vince with no shot on offer. |
| 8.6 : M Starc to Vince, Lucky to get away with that, Mitchell Starc. Darts it on the pads, Vince flicks, there's an open field out there but he somehow manages to find the only fielder positioned on the leg side. The lone man at square leg. |
| Pat Cummins is the first bowling change for Australia. |
| 9.1 : Pat Cummins to Cook, This is the trouble for opposition batsmen when facing Australia. You take one out of the attack, but then another comes on and then begins to terrorize them. Talk about a wonderful first delivery from Pat Cummins. Lands it on middle and leg, gets it to move away sharply and opens Cook up completely. Barely, barely whiskers past the edge and goes behind. There's a loud appeal from every Aussie player out there, but the umpire denies it. Great eye from him too, we know w |
| 0.0 : Play has stopped. IT'S RAINING AND THE COVERS ARE ON. It's pretty windy out there too, the groundsmen are finding it difficult to even spread the covering around. It's coming down quite heavily, so we might be in for a long delay. We'll keep you guys posted. Stay tuned... |
| England will welcome this halt. The Australian pacers are breathing fire and under these conditions, it's extremely difficult to play. The more time lost, the better for them. Another drawback of them coming back out is that if they do, there will be more juice in the wicket due to the rain, so batting will become more difficult. |
| Update 2030 local time - Well, that was unexpected. Pleasant surprise of course. The rain has let up and the COVERS ARE COMING OFF. Think we're going to have resumption sooner than expected. |
| Update 2040 local time - The rain has stopped, but the outfield is still quite wet. The big rope and the supersoppers are out in full swing, looking to get this game back on ASAP. The square is still covered, but the action might begin soon enough. No evidence suggesting otherwise for now at least. |
| Update 2044 local time - Word from the middle is that play has to start by 2110 latest, otherwise it'll be close and we'll be done for the day. We should have some news in just a few minutes. |
| Update 2100 local time - That's it. The outfield is still pretty wet and there isn't enough time to get it ready for playing again. So, the umpires have made their decision. That will be STUMPS ON DAY 2! |
| A rather sad end to this day. It was wonderful throughout. First with Shaun Marsh batting like a stalwart for his side. And then, the Aussie bowlers being unleashed at the Englishmen after a calculative declaration from Steven Smith. Mitchell Starc got Mark Stoneman and the Aussies were on top, but the rain intervened and ruined good day's finish. England will be happy, having survived playing under the lights and will feel they can do better tomorrow. It should be a good third day, having an ea |
| ... Day 3, First Session ... |
| Welcome to the third day of this rain-hit affair so far in Adelaide. Just an FYI for everyone tuned in - it's quite overcast out there and there are chances it could pour down, so let's hope that's not the case. Now, coming to the game, a little recap of what happened on Day 2. Shaun Marsh rose to the occasion and grinded out an unbeaten ton, making significant contributions with Tim Paine and Pat Cummins. That saw Australia get around 450 after which, they had a go at the Englishmen under light |
| If it doesn't rain now - advantage Australia! The new ball is just 9 overs old and with the overcast conditions present, it will make their threat even more lethal. However, on the flip side, England have avoided the danger under the floodlights and have two sessions to bat through before they undergo that danger again. If the pair of Cook and Vince can at least manage to survive this first hour, things could be interesting. Should be fun either way. |
| The players are out in the middle to get things underway. Alastair Cook and James Vince stride out to the middle, with Pat Cummins ready to race in first up and finish his pending over. Three slips and a gully set for him. Early wickets will be on the Aussies' mind. Here we go... |
| 9.2 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Good length delivery in the channel outside off, Alastair Cook makes a safe leave on that one. |
| 9.3 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Fullish in length, attacking the off stump, Cook prods forward and blocks it out back down the track. |
| 9.4 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Wider away outside off, arms are shouldered to that one. |
| 9.5 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Probing without wasting much time. Pat Cummins keeps it close to that off pole and bowls it on a length, nips back in as Cook makes a watchful leave. |
| 9.6 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Fuller ball on the stumps, nice and straight, it's blocked with a straight blade to end the over. |
| Josh Hazlewood surprisingly to bowl from the other end. Think Mitchell Starc would have been ideal given the conditions on offer. Interesting. Anyway, three will be three slips and a gully for him as well. |
| 10.1 : J Hazlewood to Vince, Good, positive intent from James Vince straightaway. Length ball outside off with some extra bounce, Vince with good balance stands tall and offers a firm punch through the covers. Nathan Lyon chases after it and keeps the batsmen to two. |
| 10.2 : J Hazlewood to Vince, Full delivery coming in, Vince flicks it towards mid-wicket. |
| 10.3 : J Hazlewood to Vince, Good length delivery aiming the top of off stump, Vince keeps it out. This is where Hazlewood needs to be all day, right around that niggling area. |
| 10.4 : J Hazlewood to Vince, OUT! GOT HIM... YES, HE'S GONE! Josh Hazlewood has given his side the best of starts possible. Keeps it around off, in that zone, on a back of a length and Vince goes at this with hard hands. The extra zip off the deck does him in and the ball takes the edge behind. Tim Paine behind the stumps takes a regulation take which spells the end of the right-hander's knock. James didn't exactly play that with a straight bat, which proved to be his undoing. Marginal factor, bu |
| Joe Root, the skipper, walks in at No.4. Big, big task ahead of him. England have their two best and most experienced players out in the middle, they must see through this first session at the very least. |
| 10.5 : J Hazlewood to Root, Outside off and angling away, Joe Root lets it be. |
| 10.6 : J Hazlewood to Root, Stays right behind the line and keeps it out. Excellent over from Hazlewood comes to an end. |
| 11.1 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Slightly fuller in length, outside off, Alastair Cook comes half-forward and pushes it out. |
| 11.2 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Wider away from outside off, moving a decent amount, Alastair lets it be. |
| 11.3 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Full and straight from Cummins, flicked well through the mid-wicket region for a double. Nicely played, he's quite strong off his pads. |
| 11.4 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Fuller in length and outside off, at almost 140 clicks, it's pushed in front of covers with soft hands for a quick single. |
| 11.5 : Pat Cummins to Root, Full delivery attacking the stumps, Root drives this straight to the man at mid on. |
| 11.6 : Pat Cummins to Root, Another full ball, on the stumps again, driven to mid on to end the over. |
| 12.1 : J Hazlewood to Cook, On the pads again to Cook, not where you should be bowling to him. He flicks it through mid-wicket and picks up a couple as Mitchell Starc runs after it. |
| 12.2 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Better line, that's where he should be staying. On a good length and just outside off, with some movement away, Cook makes a safe leave. |
| 12.3 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Oooh! Bit risky from from the former England Test skipper. Length delivery pretty close to off, slight nip back in, Cook looks to leave it really late but it goes off the bottom part of the bat behind towards the slip cordon. |
| 12.4 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Good shot, very good shot. Cook drives this full length ball outside off through the covers and both batsmen come back for the second. The third run would be on usually, but credit to Davey Warner where it's due. He's lightning fast as he chases the ball down and stops the batsmen from taking that third run. |
| 12.5 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Full delivery angling across, arms shouldered by the southpaw. |
| 12.6 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Short delivery just outside off, Cook drags the pull and keeps it in control too. Places it through the mid-wicket area and takes two. |
| 13.1 : Pat Cummins to Root, Full delivery swinging back in, Joe Root flicks it through mid-wicket and picks up a brace for doing so. |
| 0.0 : Interesting to note. It's not the ideal thing to bring it back in to Root early in his innings. It's a noted fact that he's susceptible to get out by the full away swinger. But, if they plan to swing it in, then keeping a bat-pad in place would be better. Maybe even get a catching mid-wicket fielder in place since he's working it through that area. |
| 13.2 : Pat Cummins to Root, Outside off on a good length, moving away a little, dabbed to point with an open face. |
| 13.3 : Pat Cummins to Root, Full again, swinging back in, Root once again flicks it through that relatively vacant mid-wicket area. Both batsmen run hard and are able to come back for the third this time. |
| 13.4 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Full ball on off stump, Alastair Cook with a solid defensive shot. |
| 13.5 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Short and wide outside off, too far out for Cook to even think of playing at that. |
| 13.6 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Full and a tad straighter in line, Cook works it just wide of mid-wicket and will keep strike with a run. |
| 14.1 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Angling down the leg side, Cook tries to put bat on ball but misses. |
| 14.2 : J Hazlewood to Cook, In the channel outside off, on a good length, Cook has nothing to do with it. |
| 14.3 : J Hazlewood to Cook, This is a beauty! Hazlewood comes from around the wicket and serves this full outside off, it swings away and beats the outside edge of Cook's bat, who attempts to drive it through the covers. Lovely, just lovely. |
| Astute observation from the commentators on air. Alastair Cook had had a part of the shoulder of the bat shaved. His grip is such that his thumb is blocked, thereby not allowing him to grip it properly. No shoulder on a bat. Amazing. Don't think I've personally seen anybody doing that before. |
| 14.4 : J Hazlewood to Cook, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 14.5 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Positions himself right behind the line of this length ball and keeps it out. |
| 14.6 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Full delivery angling in on off, met with a straight blade in defense. |
| 15.1 : Pat Cummins to Root, Full and outside off, driven straight back to the bowler. |
| 15.2 : Pat Cummins to Root, FOUR! Pretty much intentional. On a length outside off, Root waits in his crease and then opens the bat-face at the last moment to guide it past gully to third man. Cummins smiles. He likes that intention from Root. |
| 15.3 : Pat Cummins to Root, OUT! Caught behind! One brings two. Now Cummins will smile even more. Loose from Root. Almost the way Mitchell Johnson got him in the previous Ashes Down Under. Only this time there was no short stuff before the sucker ball. This is pretty much full outside off and a wide one as well. Root thinks he can drive but Australia have made that road their own. You cannot drive so early, they say. You don't have license. Root does not agree and goes after it. There is not too |
| Dawid Malan walks in at number 5, replacing Root. |
| 15.4 : Pat Cummins to Malan, Short and outside off, left alone. |
| 15.5 : Pat Cummins to D Malan, EDGED, SHORT! Cummins bowls this short again, outside off, Malan needlessly has a poke. Luckily for him, it lands short of the slip cordon. One can understand a batsman playing at balls around off and outside if he is not sure whether they will come in or go away. But not quite sure why play at balls which can be left alone, especially when you are new at the crease. |
| 15.6 : Pat Cummins to Malan, Landed outside off, not played at. A decent over from Cummins. |
| 16.1 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Around middle and leg, Cook walks across his sticks and looks to flick. The ball goes off the inside edge, hits him on the thighs and then rolls towards fine leg. A single taken. |
| 16.2 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Outside off, left alone. |
| 16.3 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Fuller in length, let through again. |
| 16.4 : J Hazlewood to D Malan, MISCUE, SAFE! The short ball is the ploy against Malan. Once again, temperamental issues, one can say. Short and outside off, Malan goes for the pull but the ball is away from his body. Gets a top edge which lands wide of the man running in at short mid-wicket. A single taken. |
| 16.5 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Down the leg side, clipped away for a run. |
| 16.6 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Landed outside off, safely left alone. Better sense prevails. |
| 17.1 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 17.2 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Landed outside off, not played at again. |
| 17.3 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Dangling the carrot. England batsmen are batting like rabbits who get enticed easily. No disrespect but their minds are being flirted with. Even Cook, who is usually the most composed of them all, is looking temperamentally flustered. Full and wide outside off. Early in the morning. Nothing much happening. Need to settle down. Calm yourself. All Cook needs to do is watch such balls go by. But he reaches out for that one. Does not move his feet and nearly pays the price |
| 17.4 : Pat Cummins to Cook, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| 17.5 : Pat Cummins to A Cook, MISFIELD! FOUR! Much better from Cook. He sees it short and goes after it because it is not that dangerous and not that wide. Pulls it on the bounce towards square leg. There is a substitute on the field who gets to his left but he gets a bad bounce too and the ball goes through. |
| 17.6 : Pat Cummins to Cook, No run. |
| Nathan Lyon into the attack. Still no Mitchell Starc. Good move? Think it is, the ball is a little old now and it has been said the wicket will turn, we saw that yesterday too. A slip and a short leg in place. |
| 18.1 : N Lyon to Malan, Around the wicket, it's tossed up on middle and off, Dawid Malan prods forward and blocks. |
| 18.2 : N Lyon to Malan, Floats it up around off, Malan prods forward and keeps it out. |
| 18.3 : N Lyon to Malan, Quicker through the air, flat and short around off, Malan is back as he punches it to point. |
| 18.4 : N Lyon to Malan, Straighter one on off, stays behind the line and defends. |
| 18.5 : N Lyon to Malan, Uses his feet well to get close to the pitch and blocks it out before it can turn. |
| 18.6 : N Lyon to Malan, FOUR! Shot. Ends the over well. Shot and wide, Dawid Malan hangs back and cuts it past point to send it across the rope for a boundary. |
| 19.1 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Cummins too continues from around the wicket, lands it outside off and it zips off the surface. Cook shoulders his arms to it. |
| 19.2 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Good length delivery just around off, nipping back in, Cook has his off stump covered and blocks it out on the off side. |
| 19.3 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Fuller in length, just outside off, a punchy-drive played straight to mid off. |
| 19.4 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Considerably away from the off stump, Cook is one to not bother himself with that. |
| 19.5 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Beaten! Oh, that's an excellent delivery. Movement off the seam for Pat Cummins. He lands it around off, angles in at first and then moves away ever so slightly, beating the outside edge of Alastair Cook's bat. He looks to have a tame poke at it from inside the line but can't connect. |
| 19.6 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Angling in on the pads, it's flicked away to mid-wicket for one. |
| 20.1 : N Lyon to Cook, Little bit of turn there for Nathan Lyon. Pitched full on off, spins away after the initial drift into the batsman. Cook comes forward to defend but it goes off the outer half on the off side. |
| 20.2 : N Lyon to A Cook, Edged and it's gone behind! Lyon with another amazing delivery. Similar to the previous ball, Cook with a front foot defense and the spin takes the edge. This time, the ball flies past the slip fielder and runs behind. Two runs taken. |
| 20.3 : N Lyon to Cook, Third ball in a row where Cook hasn't picked him up. This time Lyon with the straighter one on off, Cook plays for the turn and as a result, plays it back to the bowler off the inner half. |
| 20.4 : N Lyon to Cook, Decent air on this occasion, worked away off the pads for a run. |
| 20.5 : N Lyon to D Malan, Full delivery on the stumps, driven towards mid off for a brisk single. |
| 20.6 : N Lyon to Cook, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| Finally! Mitchell Starc will bowl for the first time today morning. Not sure why, he's here. And he has three slips in place for him. |
| 21.1 : M Starc to Malan, Instantly goes full. Tails it back into Malan on off, it's defended off the front foot. |
| 21.2 : M Starc to D Malan, Short of a good length outside off, Malan opens the bat face and with soft hands, plays it down towards gully. |
| Review! For an lbw call against Dawid Malan. Umpire Aleem Dar took a really long time to raise his finger. Height could be the issue here, and rightly Malan refers it. |
| 21.3 : Starc to Malan, NOT OUT! Rather strange from the umpire. Height was always the concern, not sure what was going through his mind. Maybe he though it could clip at worst. Well, anyway, Starc comes steaming in and zips it off the surface on a length. Malan is beaten for pace as he's pegged back inside his crease. Caught on the pads and there's a loud shout for a leg before. Aleem Dar thinks, long and hard, and eventually raises his finger. Malan reviews and it's taken upstairs. Replays show |
| 21.4 : M Starc to Malan, Outside off on a good length, left alone for the keeper to collect. |
| 21.5 : M Starc to Malan, Full and straight, swinging back in, Dawid Malan flicks it away square on the leg side and gets off strike. |
| 21.6 : M Starc to Cook, Close to the off stick, touch fuller, Cook ensure there's no damage done and ends the over safely. |
| 22.1 : N Lyon to Malan, Drifting in on middle and off, Malan clears his front leg and flicks it to mid-wicket. |
| 22.2 : N Lyon to Malan, Slower through the air on the stumps, Dawid presents a front foot defensive shot. |
| 22.3 : N Lyon to Malan, Knocks this into the covers and takes an easy run. Was in the gap, so no trouble at all. |
| 22.4 : N Lyon to Cook, Looped up by Lyon, Cook blocks. |
| 22.5 : N Lyon to A Cook, Full outside off, pushed to the cover fielder for nothing. |
| 22.6 : N Lyon to Cook, FOUR! Loosener from the offie. Short and wide outside off, Cook rocks back and pounces on it with a fierce cut shot through point for a boundary. |
| 23.1 : M Starc to Malan, Short of a good length around off, stays back and guards it out off the back foot. |
| 0.0 : Short leg in place now... |
| 23.2 : M Starc to D Malan, Run out chance goes begging! Oh my... Dawid Malan just panicked there. Nice work by Cameron Bancroft, did well in that quick situation. Short ball angling in, Malan works it past short leg and sets off without thinking. Bancroft is quick to the ball, turns and throws while sliding. Probably why he couldn't aim it better. Just misses the stumps at the striker's end. Malan was not even in the frame, would have been gone for all money had that hit. |
| 23.3 : M Starc to Malan, Flicks it off his pads and turns it towards backward square leg for a single. |
| 23.4 : M Starc to Cook, Played to the mid-wicket region by the batsman. They pick up a single. |
| 23.5 : M Starc to Malan, Bumper from Starc, outside off, Dawid ducks and evades. |
| 23.6 : M Starc to Malan, Length delivery kicking off the deck outside off, Malan rises and keeps it down on the off side. |
| Two slips in place for Lyon. |
| 24.1 : N Lyon to Cook, Drifting in on off, turns away and Cook is beaten as he looks to poke at this. |
| 24.2 : N Lyon to Cook, Flatter and shorter around off, kept out off the back foot. |
| 24.3 : N Lyon to Cook, Nice loop on this as it's pitched around off, Cook prods forward in defense. |
| 24.4 : N Lyon to Cook, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 24.5 : N Lyon to Cook, Another one on the shorter side, defended out from the back foot. |
| 24.6 : N Lyon to Cook, Not much spin on this occasion, Cook is forward to this full ball and blocks it. |
| 25.1 : M Starc to Malan, Comes steaming in from around the wicket and bangs it in short, Malan ducks and evades. |
| 25.2 : M Starc to Malan, Bumper down the leg side, Malan moves inside the line and lets it be. |
| The field set is definitely for the short ones. A short leg and a leg slip are in place. Basically says that 'be prepared for the peppering, mate'. And that's never a nice feeling. Important phase of play for England. Survive this and things might get easier for them. |
| 25.3 : M Starc to Malan, Hits the deck hard and pounded in short, Dawid Malan is alert to this as he ducks under it in time. |
| 25.4 : M Starc to Malan, Hangs back to this short of a length delivery to keep it out rather safely. |
| 25.5 : M Starc to Malan, Into the body again, worked away past the short leg fielder for a single. |
| 25.6 : M Starc to A Cook, Over the wicket to Cook now, it's full and fast at 143 kph. The batsman is forward to drive but gets a huge inside edge onto his pads. |
| 26.1 : N Lyon to Malan, Flighted ball on the stumps, full in length, Malan clears his front leg and eases it towards mid off. Calls for the single, takes the fielder on and completes the run with ease. |
| 26.2 : N Lyon to Cook, Tossed up around the off stump, Cook presses forward and dead-bats it. |
| 26.3 : N Lyon to Cook, Drifting in from around off, fullish in length once more, defended to the left of the bowler comfortably. |
| 26.4 : N Lyon to Cook, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 26.5 : N Lyon to Cook, Not much pace on this, but some decent spin provided by Lyon. Cook stands firm and lets it go past him. |
| 26.6 : N Lyon to Cook, Just behind a driving length, on the off stick, Cook presents a forward defensive shot. |
| Drinks break! Australia's moment so far. They've managed to pluck two English wickets, and one of them was the big fish. Root's dismissal means the onus now lies on Alastair Cook, who has been in impeccable touch since the day has started. He and Malan now must make it till Tea without any further damage. Another wicket now and Australia could have a significant advantage in this game. |
| 27.1 : M Starc to Malan, Well played. Angled across on a short length to Dawid Malan, he rises and with an angled bat glides past gully along the ground. Two runs taken for doing so. |
| 27.2 : M Starc to Malan, Short ball into the body, Malan moves inside the line and plays it down beside short leg, where Bancroft makes a good stop to his left. |
| 27.3 : M Starc to Malan, The bombardment continues. Into the body once again, Dawid Malan rises and awkwardly keeps it down beside short leg. |
| 27.4 : M Starc to Malan, He is not looking comfortable at all. Malan needs to find a better way to deal with Mitchell Starc, otherwise the bowler is going to get the better of him soon enough. Short ball, it's ducked and evaded, barely. |
| 27.5 : M Starc to Malan, Moves inside again, gets bat on it and past Cameron Bancroft at short leg. Single taken. |
| 27.6 : M Starc to Cook, Short of a length on middle, pulled away through square leg for a single. |
| 28.1 : N Lyon to A Cook, OUT! NATHAN LYON WITH THE ALL-IMPORTANT BREAKTHROUGH! This is what Australia wanted, this is what Australia needed. Could this be the turning point in the game? This is a huge wicket. Tossed up from around the wicket around off, spins away ever so slightly and that does Cook in. The line is such that he's drawn forward and the edge is taken. Steven Smith at first slip gets low and takes a good catch. Celebrates and screams under his breath. He knows what this wicket means |
| 0.0 : Moeen Ali is the next man to walk in. Has a monumental responsibility on his shoulders. |
| 28.2 : N Lyon to Ali, Edge? Yes? No? According to the umpire, no. Spinning away from around off, Ali hangs back to cut and Paine appeals, along with his skipper. The umpire remains unmoved, indicating there was nothing. Snicko shows nothing too, so unsure where that slight noise came from. |
| 28.3 : N Lyon to Ali, Gentle spin around off, Ali is brave as he leaves this alone. |
| 28.4 : N Lyon to Ali, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| 28.5 : N Lyon to Ali, Slower through the air and on a bit of a shortish length, Moeen Ali presents a solid defensive shot. |
| 28.6 : N Lyon to Ali, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 29.1 : M Starc to Malan, Landed outside leg, angling away, nice carry, left alone. |
| 29.2 : M Starc to Malan, Bowling to a plan. Coming around the wicket and then banging it short down the leg side. Malan is forced to play at it and tucks it around the corner. There is a leg gully in place and he dives to his right but the ball bounces in front of him and goes through. Just a single. |
| 29.3 : M Starc to Ali, Full and outside off, left alone. |
| 29.4 : M Starc to Ali, Full and outside off, nice and swinging away a touch, tempting to drive but Moeen holds himself back. |
| 29.5 : M Starc to Ali, One more leave outside off. |
| 29.6 : M Starc to Ali, Full and outside off, pushed through the covers for a single. |
| TheGoat - Not quite sure why Bairstow did not come at 6. I understand that Moeen has been confirmed as the number 6 player in the absence of Ben Stokes. But with Lyon bowling so well, if you keep on sending left-handers, then it is like hammering your own head and then complaining of headache. @TheGoat - Nice to see a goat talking about another. But yes, get your point A right-hand - left-hand combination will definitely make Australia change bowling plans. Right now, they do not have to do much |
| 30.1 : N Lyon to Ali, Short and outside off, not quite sure whether it was there for the cut but Moeen opts to. Ends up playing it half-heartedly to point. |
| 30.2 : N Lyon to Ali, Fuller in length, around off, watchfully defended. |
| 30.3 : N Lyon to Ali, Close leave! Landed outside off, Ali comes forward and then leaves it alone Perhaps expecting the ball to turn away. But it does not. Comes straight on and just misses the off pole! |
| 30.4 : N Lyon to Ali, This is slightly wider outside off, comfortably left alone. |
| 30.5 : N Lyon to Ali, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. They pick up a single. |
| 30.6 : N Lyon to Malan, Outside off, played straight to point. |
| Josh Hazlewood is back on. He too, likes bowling against southpaws. |
| 31.1 : J Hazlewood to Ali, FOUR Leg Byes. England will take these happily. A. A rare loose ball. B. A boundary. The only thing if someone might complain, might be Moeen as he missed out on a scoring opportunity. But not the team. Down the leg side, fuller in length, a loosener from Hazlewood, Moeen misses his flick but the ball goes off his pads and goes past the diving Tim Paine through his right side to the fine leg boundary. |
| 0.0 : Hazlewood has a chat with the umpire. Something seems to have come on the ball. Something whitish. The umpire clears it off and we are ready. |
| 31.2 : J Hazlewood to Ali, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 31.3 : J Hazlewood to Ali, Down the leg side, flicked away for a single. |
| 31.4 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Landed around off, watchfully kept out. |
| 31.5 : J Hazlewood to Malan, A short ball, around middle and leg, Dawid looks to tuck but misses. And for a good reason. That came at 141.8 kph. Is hit on the thigh and the ball lobs in the air, beside him. |
| 31.6 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Outside off, left alone. |
| 32.1 : N Lyon to Ali, Landed around off, watchfully defended. |
| 32.2 : N Lyon to Ali, Goes back in his crease and defends it to the leg side. |
| 32.3 : N Lyon to Ali, Landed outside off, a bit full and wide, Moeen lets it go. |
| 32.4 : N Lyon to Ali, Closer to the batsman, this time Ali comes forward and defends it right under his eyes, with his bat close to his pad and the ball. |
| 32.5 : N Lyon to Ali, Comes down the track and swings it towards mid on but cannot find the gap. He is itching to get one away. The problem for England right now is they are tentative. Not quite sure whether they should play the waiting game and then score runs. Their issue is - if they keep on waiting for that moment when Australia get frustrated, they might be sucked into the mire anyways. On the flip side, if they play shots, they could run a 50 percent risk of giving the game away today itsel |
| 32.6 : N Lyon to Ali, Full and outside off, well kept out. |
| 33.1 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Landed around off, watchfully defended. |
| 33.2 : J Hazlewood to Malan, A bouncer on middle and off, watchfully ducked under. |
| 33.3 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 33.4 : J Hazlewood to Malan, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 33.5 : J Hazlewood to Malan, A short ball around middle, nicely pulled towards deep backward square leg for a single. Good control. |
| 33.6 : J Hazlewood to Ali, Bouncer! The batsman does well to evade it. |
| 34.1 : N Lyon to Malan, Full and on the pads, flicked straight to mid-wicket. |
| 34.2 : N Lyon to Malan, Comes down the track this time and just pushes it with soft hands wide of mid off for a single. The stand moves to 10 now. |
| 34.3 : N Lyon to Ali, Fuller and slower, around middle and leg, Moeen defends. |
| 34.4 : N Lyon to Ali, Around middle, defended towards short leg. |
| 34.5 : N Lyon to Ali, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 34.6 : N Lyon to M Ali, EDGED, DROPPED, RUN OUT MISSED! What a delivery. Lyon gives this plenty of flight outside off and Moeen comes forward to defend. However, the ball spins and then bounces away. Takes the outside edge but the bounce defeats Tim Paine. He gets across to his left, but the ball hits his glove and deflects wide of Steven Smith at first slip. Moeen is in his own world but Malan calls him for the single. The fielder from backward point quickly gets to the ball, picks it cleanly an |
| 35.1 : J Hazlewood to Ali, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 35.2 : J Hazlewood to Ali, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 35.3 : J Hazlewood to Ali, On middle and leg, flicked through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 35.4 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 35.5 : J Hazlewood to Malan, A bumper to test his temper, but Malan is composed and ducks. |
| 35.6 : J Hazlewood to Malan, On middle, pushed towards mid on. Mitchell Starc comes charging in but then fumbles and concedes a single. |
| 36.1 : N Lyon to Malan, Full and around off, well defended. |
| 36.2 : N Lyon to Malan, Outside off, played straight to point. |
| 36.3 : N Lyon to Malan, Outside off, pushed towards point for a single. The deficit is now 349. |
| 36.4 : N Lyon to Ali, Full on middle and leg, flicked towards mid on. |
| 36.5 : N Lyon to Ali, FOUR! Finally Moeen gets one away! Full and down the leg side, Moeen gets down and sweeps it powerfully through the leg side, through square leg for a boundary! |
| 36.6 : N Lyon to Ali, FOUR! This is more of a hack. Lyon drifts this a bit away from the batsman, bowls this slightly wider outside off, Moeen looks to slog sweep again but gets it off the inner half of the bat through mid-wicket. A boundary is the result. |
| Pat Cummins is back into the attack. Bowled really really well this morning. Bowled with pace and consistency. |
| 37.1 : Pat Cummins to Malan, OUT! Caught behind! The bowling change works for Australia. This is pace bowling at its best. As a cricket fan, it is real fun to watch when someone moves a ball consistently at over 140 clicks. Here, it is someone plus someone plus someone. This trio can making life difficult for any world class batsman and Malan is only finding his feet in this world. Nothing much he could do about this. |
| 0.0 : Jonny Bairstow walks in next, at number 7, replacing Malan. |
| 37.2 : Pat Cummins to J Bairstow, Full and outside off, driven through the covers for a couple. |
| 37.3 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Outside off, Bairstow initially makes some trigger movement to play it through the off side but then withdraws his bat. |
| 37.4 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Nothing shot. Sheer pace, is this. Bairstow just fishes and misses. No feet movement. |
| 37.5 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Bouncer! The batsman ducks under the bouncer at the last moment. |
| 37.6 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Full and around off, well defended. |
| 38.1 : N Lyon to Ali, Landed around off, Moeen defends it from his crease. |
| 38.2 : N Lyon to Ali, Fuller, draws the batsman forward, Ali defends. |
| 38.3 : N Lyon to Ali, On middle, Mo just chips it wide of the bowler towards mid on. |
| 38.4 : N Lyon to Ali, Floated around off, Moeen comes down the track and defends. |
| 38.5 : N Lyon to Ali, Comes down the track and pushes this wide of cover for a single. |
| Mid on goes back a little bit and a sweeper in place too for Bairstow. |
| 38.6 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Works it with the spin towards the leg side for a run. |
| 39.1 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Landed outside off, on a length, coming in, Bairstow watches it go. |
| 39.2 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 39.3 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, A shortish ball, defended from the crease. |
| 39.4 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, The batsman rocks onto the back foot and punches the ball. |
| 39.5 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, A peach. Full and outside off, Jonny looks to drive and we feel - Caught behind! There is some noise but nothing from the bowler or the keeper. Replays indicate noise as well but no conclusive evidence about the ball hitting the edge. May have been the bat hitting the pitch. |
| 39.6 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, A bouncer on middle and off, Jonny ducks. |
| 40.1 : N Lyon to Ali, Around off, spinning in, defended to the leg side. |
| 40.2 : N Lyon to Ali, Played through mid-wicket by the batsman. They pick up a single. |
| 40.3 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Around off, defended from the crease. |
| 40.4 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Wide down the leg side, No trouble at all for the batsman. |
| 40.5 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Short and outside off, punched straight to cover. |
| 40.6 : N Lyon to Bairstow, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 41.1 : Pat Cummins to Ali, Straight line, watchfully defended. |
| 41.2 : Pat Cummins to Ali, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 41.3 : Pat Cummins to Ali, A good length delivery, clipped through square leg for a single. |
| 41.4 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, A length ball outside off, Bairstow feels for it but the ball just lifts after pitching. Cannot do anything once you have committed. He is lucky the ball does not take the edge but perhaps, if not being over-critical, the ball was wide enough to be left alone. |
| 41.5 : Pat Cummins to J Bairstow, FOUR! Actually a good shot. Not a bad ball. It is the sucker ball. Keep mixing the lengths and then bowl full, hoping he will nick one off the drive. Cummins got Root nicking but here Bairstow drives it straight down the ground past mid off. The stand moves to 10. |
| 41.6 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Excellent bowling. The line does not change, nor does the length. Bairstow comes half forward to defend but is beaten by the extra lift. |
| 42.1 : N Lyon to Ali, Comes down the track and eases it wide of mid off for a single. |
| 42.2 : N Lyon to Bairstow, A touch short, around middle, whipped straight to square leg. |
| 42.3 : N Lyon to Bairstow, This time he gets it wide of that man and a single results. |
| 42.4 : N Lyon to Ali, Every ball that Lyon is bowling, it gives the feeling that a wicket is going to fall. Full and outside off, Moeen looks to drive, comes forward but the ball spins and bounces a mile to beat the outside edge. |
| 42.5 : N Lyon to Ali, Wider outside off, left alone. |
| 42.6 : N Lyon to Ali, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 43.1 : Pat Cummins to J Bairstow, FOUR! MAGNIFICENT! Cummins keeps bowling full and Bairstow is not in the mood to leave balls alone. He drives it through the covers for a boundary. Cummins did not miss the length by much. May be, a tad shorter than this length could have got the edge. Cricket at its best. Good ball, a slight error and the batsman plays a wonderful shot. That is exactly how the sport should be. Love all. |
| 43.2 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, There..... now Cummins corrects his length but Bairstow misjudges this time. Thinks he can drive, looks to drive but he mistimes it uppishly to mid off. |
| 43.3 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 43.4 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Outside off, quietly left alone this time. |
| 43.5 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, A shortish delivery now, Jonny ducks. |
| 43.6 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Another leave to end the over. |
| 44.1 : N Lyon to Ali, Short and outside off, punched through the covers for a single. |
| 44.2 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Spins back in, Bairstow pushes it towards cover. |
| 44.3 : N Lyon to J Bairstow, Full and around off, Jonny drives it towards deepish mid on. That is a kind of a position which is not saving the single but is not at the fence either. Just enticing the batsman, to try and go over his head. Not quite sure whether that is needed right now. |
| 44.4 : N Lyon to M Ali, Now Moeen turns this through mid on and runs across. |
| 44.5 : N Lyon to Bairstow, A shortish ball, punched towards THAT deepish mid on for another easy run. |
| 44.6 : N Lyon to Ali, Outside off, left alone. |
| Should be the last over before Tea. Cummins adds drama. Comes running in, then bails out. Mind games. Now a short mid on in place. |
| 45.1 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, EDGED, SHORT! Nearly another wicket before the break. A length ball outside off, a tentative Bairstow pokes and edges it. The ball lands short of third slip where Cameron Bancroft dives to his right and makes a clean stop. Australia seem to be getting good close-in fielders. Bancroft is good at short leg and even in the slips. So is Matt Renshaw while Peter Handscomb is not bad either. |
| 45.2 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Tucks this through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 45.3 : Pat Cummins to Ali, Awkward length if you are a batsman, between full and good, around off, Moeen looks to defend but the ball keeps rising. Manages to keep it down. |
| 45.4 : Pat Cummins to Ali, Nice shot. This is very full and Ali drives it down the ground. The ball stops on its way to the ropes and David Warner gives it a good chase from cover. Three runs taken. Moeen moves to 22 now. |
| 45.5 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Outside off, left alone. |
| 45.6 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Full on middle, clipped through mid-wicket for a couple. TEA ON DAY 3! |
| Nice finish to the session for England but it has been Australia's 150 minutes. They have conceded 99 runs in 36.5 overs. Economical? Wait. Vince, Root, Cook and Malan. All gone. Terrific start to the day. |
| Not quite sure whether we can credit the dismissals to the Aussie bowling entirely. Yes, they did bowl well, but were they tested? Nope. In the very second over of the day, a bloke plays a rash shot. That is followed by his skipper who seemed to be wanting to play his strokes. Malan and Cook tried to offer some resistance but that is where the menacing Aussie bowling came into play. If three seamers making life difficult was not enough, the spinner was creating plenty of trouble. |
| To be honest, Pat Cummins has been the pick of the bowlers in my opinion. He has actually made THINGS HAPPEN. Made the batsmen think differently, trying to do something different. Not that the other bowlers haven't but this lad has been impressive. England will hope that the pair of Moeen and Bairstow bats through or at least a major part of what is called as the 'best batting session of a day-night Test.' Only that could bring them out of this hole. Join us back at 1623 local (0553 GMT) for the |
| ... Day 3, Second Session ... |
| A bright sunshine envelops the ground as the players make their way to the middle. Nathan Lyon to start off proceedings. |
| 46.1 : N Lyon to Ali, Full and outside off, pushed through the covers for a single. |
| 46.2 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Around off, watchfully defended. 'Niceeee Garrrry!' shouts Paine. Matthew Wade would have done this on almost every ball had he been the stumper. Paine is usually a quiet bloke. |
| 46.3 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Goes back and works it towards square leg. |
| 46.4 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Trying something new. Gets across and looks to sweep it fine. Exposes all his stumps and luckily for him, the ball hits his glove and lands short of leg slip. So he could have been bowled, LBW or even caught in attempting that shot. Risky. |
| 46.5 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Goes back and flicks it between leg slip and short leg for a single. |
| 46.6 : N Lyon to Ali, The batsman rocks onto the back foot and punches the ball. |
| Mitchell Starc to bowl from the other end. |
| He will want to break this stand and break it early. The duo of Ali and Bairstow can be dangerous, they've shown that over time. And Australia will be wary of the threat. |
| 47.1 : M Starc to Bairstow, Well outside off from around the wicket, no shot offered from Bairstow. |
| 47.2 : M Starc to Bairstow, Full delivery attacking the stumps, driven to mid on. |
| 47.3 : M Starc to Bairstow, Low full toss fired wide outside off, Bairstow looks to hit it through the covers but misses. |
| 47.4 : M Starc to Bairstow, Angling back in on the stumps, stays right behind the line and keeps it out. |
| 47.5 : M Starc to Bairstow, Real zip off the deck as Starc angles it in from outside off. On a back of a length, Bairstow goes deep inside the crease, covers the line and lets it be. |
| 47.6 : M Starc to Bairstow, Good length delivery in the channel outside off, easy leave to end the over. |
| 48.1 : N Lyon to Ali, It's a mishit but he's got enough to clear the infield. Moeen Ali gives the charge to this tossed up delivery and goes over covers. Falls well short of the man in the deep and a couple of runs are taken. |
| 48.2 : Lyon to Ali, OUT! OH DEAR GOD.... NATHAN LYON, YOU ABSOLUTE BEAUTY! What a catch! Out of the blue, taken it spectacularly. Wow! I think that's the best catch I've seen taken in recent memory. He's been bowling beautifully and taken an absolute ripper to dismiss Moeen Ali. Tossed up on the stumps, probably holds up a bit which is why Ali chips it back down the ground. The GOAT dives superman-like to his left and takes a one-handed stunner. The tradition of this game continues with this wick |
| Chris Woakes is the player in to bat for England. |
| 48.3 : N Lyon to Woakes, Darted full on the stumps, Woakes manages to dig it out by bringing his bat down in time. |
| 48.4 : N Lyon to Woakes, Slower through the air on middle, driven to mid on. |
| 48.5 : N Lyon to Woakes, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 48.6 : N Lyon to Woakes, Steps out of his crease to get close to the pitch and pushes it to covers for one. |
| 49.1 : M Starc to Woakes, Back of a length delivery on off stump, guarded out off the back foot. |
| 49.2 : M Starc to Woakes, Holds the length back once more, Woakes stands tall and keeps it out. |
| 49.3 : M Starc to Woakes, Fierce bouncer from Starc, angling across on middle and off, Chris Woakes arches back and lets it be. |
| 49.4 : M Starc to Woakes, Some extra bounce on this occasion, Woakes hangs his bat out to this back of a length ball and gets it off the outer half towards point. |
| Shaun Marsh is now at silly point. No wait, he's at forward point. Interesting, attacking approach from Australia. Deep square leg in place too. |
| 49.5 : M Starc to Woakes, FOUR! That's a fantastic shot. Pure instincts took over there for Woakes. Short, he pulls it hard and along the ground through backward square leg, beating the man out in the deep. |
| 49.6 : M Starc to Woakes, Angling away late, Woakes gets a leading edge square on the off side. No harm done, end of the over. |
| 50.1 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Turning in from outside off, Bairstow backs away and offers a firm punch to cover. |
| 50.2 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Looped up off spinner on middle and off, Bairstow is forward and defends it off the inner edge past short leg for a single. |
| 50.3 : N Lyon to Woakes, Straighter one outside off, left alone for the keeper to take. |
| 50.4 : N Lyon to C Woakes, Inside edge but it's fallen short. Spinning in from around off, Woakes gets an inside edge onto his pads and it lobs safely wide of the short leg fielder who's positioned deep. |
| 50.5 : N Lyon to Woakes, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 50.6 : N Lyon to Woakes, Off spinner around off, catches Woakes' pads and flies past the vacant silly point region. Don't think there was any bat involved, so no problem there. |
| 51.1 : M Starc to Bairstow, Comes from around the wicket and angles it in around off, Jonny Bairstow is behind the line as he keeps it out. |
| 51.2 : M Starc to Bairstow, Angling in again, Bairstow uses the angle well and turns it away n the leg side for a single. |
| 51.3 : M Starc to Woakes, Over the wicket now to Chris Woakes, bumper on the stumps. Evaded comfortably by the batsman. |
| 51.4 : M Starc to Woakes, Ripper! Ripper! What a ball. Just back of a length on middle and off, angling away slightly, very slightly, and it almost does the batsman in. He fishes inside the line and nearly nicks it behind. |
| 51.5 : M Starc to Woakes, Further away around off, still in that niggling zone, Woakes has a poke at it and gets beaten. Could have just as easily edged that. Wasn't too far away from the edge. |
| 51.6 : M Starc to Woakes, Back of a length outside off, tapped down into the covers for an easy run. |
| 52.1 : N Lyon to Woakes, Floats it up just outside off, Woakes defends it with ease. |
| 52.2 : N Lyon to Woakes, Fuller in length this time, quite straight in line, allows Woakes to get ahead and bury it into the track. |
| 52.3 : N Lyon to C Woakes, Sharp spin from off, into the batsman, Woakes goes behind to play and gets an inside edge onto his thigh pad which falls safely down. |
| 52.4 : N Lyon to Woakes, Takes a step out of his crease, gets close to the pitch and turns it to mid-wicket. One run taken. |
| 52.5 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Plays with the spin, turns it away behind square leg and crosses over. |
| 52.6 : N Lyon to Woakes, Right behind the line of this one as he guards it out safely. |
| 53.1 : Starc to Bairstow, OUT! Another terrific catch! How did that stick in? Unreal. Lucky it didn't lob off behind, but he did well in the first place to get a hand on it to begin with. Starc bowls it full and straight from around the wicket, Jonny Bairstow drives it in the air straight back. The pacer sticks his right hand out, can't take it on the first attempt but then collects it on the second. Made that look quite comfortable to be honest, wasn't exactly as easy as it looked. With this wic |
| 0.0 : Craig Overton to bat next for the visitors. |
| 53.2 : M Starc to Overton, Venomous bouncer from Starc, Overton cautiously gets his head under it. |
| 53.3 : M Starc to Overton, Into the hips, worked it through backward square leg for a single. |
| 53.4 : M Starc to Woakes, Angling away with some pace and bounce, Woakes looks to push it away from his body but can't make any connection. |
| 53.5 : M Starc to Woakes, Camps back, waits for the ball to come to him and then blocks. |
| 53.6 : M Starc to Woakes, Positions himself behind the line of this length ball and sees the over out safely. |
| 54.1 : N Lyon to Overton, Spinning sharply down the leg side, Overton doesn't bother playing at that. |
| 54.2 : N Lyon to C Overton, Quite full in length, the ball doesn't turn much as a result and Overton pushes it towards wide mid off. |
| 54.3 : N Lyon to Overton, Goes the other way this time. Uses the spin and works it wide of mid on for a single. |
| 54.4 : N Lyon to Woakes, Pitched right up there, this one doesn't turn. Woakes sees it and defends it by bringing his bat ahead of his pad. |
| 54.5 : N Lyon to C Woakes, Drifts it away from the batsman, Woakes is forward and almost done in. The edge is drawn and it goes past the slip fielder behind for three runs. |
| 54.6 : N Lyon to Overton, Goes with the spin, turns it away gently on the leg side for no run. |
| 55.1 : M Starc to Woakes, Length delivery just outside off, a hint of movement off the seam. Woakes stands his ground and blocks it down in front of covers. |
| 55.2 : M Starc to Woakes, With the short leg in place, Starc is going short again. It's down the leg side this time, however, which lets the batsman not play at it. |
| 55.3 : M Starc to Woakes, Short of a good length outside off, punched firmly just wide of the man positioned at cover. Single taken. |
| 55.4 : M Starc to Overton, Almost a catch! Fast, short, into the body, Overton works it aerially just past Marsh at short leg. He couldn't react in time and just got his hand wide of the ball. One run to the scoreboard. |
| 55.5 : M Starc to Woakes, Keeps it short, on the off stump, defended down right under his nose. |
| 55.6 : M Starc to Woakes, FOUR! Shot. Literally nobody out there. Short and wide, Woakes flays it over point and sends it across the boundary line. Picked his spot well, executed it properly too. The 150 is up for England with that. |
| Josh Hazlewood is back into the bowling attack. |
| 56.1 : J Hazlewood to C Overton, Good length delivery on middle and off, slightest of angles away, takes the outside edge of Overton's bat and falls just before Steven Smith at second slip. |
| 56.2 : J Hazlewood to Overton, Venomous bumper from Hazlewood, angling down on middle and leg, Overton barely manages to duck and evade. Nasty one, that. |
| 56.3 : J Hazlewood to Overton, Zipping off the surface on a back of a length, cuts back in too on middle and leg. Overton is completely beaten for pace as he's hit high on the thigh pad. |
| 56.4 : J Hazlewood to Overton, FOUR! He's played that very well. Short ball outside off, Overton stands tall and steers it with an angled bat past the diving gully fielder. Behind him and away to the fence for a boundary. |
| 56.5 : J Hazlewood to Overton, Sharp again. The bouncer from Josh, Overton does the right thing by getting out of its way. |
| 56.6 : J Hazlewood to Overton, This is good bowling. You know your bowling is right on the money if you can make a tall guy rise and leap to play that. Shortish in length, Craig Overton just about manages to fend it down on the track with his gloves. |
| Pat Cummins to have a go with the ball once more. |
| 57.1 : Pat Cummins to Woakes, Outside off on a good length, Woakes plays it through point and gets off strike. |
| 0.0 : Run out appeal. Shaun Marsh is quick to hit the stumps from short leg, seeing Overton slightly out of his crease. Looks comfortably safe though... |
| 57.2 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Not out! Never in doubt, really. Short ball into the body from around the wicket, Overton fends it down in front of Marsh at short leg. He gets low, quickly underarms it at the striker's end seeing Craig out of his crease by one step. It's taken upstairs and replays show that the batsman is well in. |
| 57.3 : Pat Cummins to C Overton, Short again, pulled away through backward square leg for a single. |
| 57.4 : Pat Cummins to Woakes, Shortish in length going across the batsman, patted down in front of covers for nothing. |
| 57.5 : Pat Cummins to Woakes, The batsman works it down the leg side. |
| 57.6 : Pat Cummins to Woakes, Good shot, Chris. Pulls this shorter length ball through square leg. Hazlewood does equally well out in the deep with a superb dive to his left, thereby saving a boundary. Two runs taken. |
| 58.1 : J Hazlewood to Overton, The assault continues. Bumper around off, Overton gets on top of the ball somehow and defends it. |
| 58.2 : J Hazlewood to Overton, FOUR! Positive shot, that. Nicely done by Overton. It's on a length outside off, he square drives it through point and earns a boundary to his name. |
| 58.3 : J Hazlewood to Overton, Length ball targeting the off stick, blocked out on the off side. |
| 58.4 : J Hazlewood to Overton, Angling back in on middle and leg, shorter in length and into the body, Craig somehow manages to work it down beside the short leg fielder. |
| 58.5 : J Hazlewood to Overton, Cracker of a bouncer from Hazlewood. It's anyway difficult for tall guys to duck, they instinctively want to stand tall and play. Considering that, he's done well to avoid this one. |
| 58.6 : J Hazlewood to Overton, Tucked 'round the corner with a closed face and that will be a single. |
| 59.1 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Continues from around the wicket and pounds it in hard. Down leg, short and Overton goes for the pull. Misses it altogether. |
| 59.2 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Wide! Banged in short but it's too short, wide called by the umpire. |
| Pat Cummins to Overton, Connects the pull this time, helps it along the ground through backward square leg for a single. |
| 59.3 : Pat Cummins to Woakes, Bouncer! The batsman ducks under the bouncer at the last moment. |
| 59.4 : Pat Cummins to Woakes, Fraction ahead of a length, skidding on from middle and leg, Chris Woakes solidly defends it beside short leg. |
| 59.5 : Pat Cummins to Woakes, Woakes has got away with one here! Really, really lucky. Short ball into the body, Woakes looks to pull but the bounce gets big on him. Goes off the top edge and over short leg's head. Single taken. |
| 59.6 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Over the wicket to Overton, angles it in on middle and leg, it catches his thigh pad and falls down safely. |
| Drinks have been called for. Stating the obvious in saying England are staring down the barrel. Australia are right on top and are bowling fiercely. The wickets could fall soon, and it would be interesting to see whether Steven Smith enforces the follow-on or not. |
| 60.1 : J Hazlewood to Woakes, Good length delivery outside off, Woakes walks a step across and punches it to the man at cover. |
| 60.2 : J Hazlewood to Woakes, Nicely done from Woakes, all things considered. Short and angling in, was difficult to keep it down so he does his best to chip it well short of the fielder. Starc at fine leg collects it as the batsmen take a run. |
| 60.3 : J Hazlewood to Overton, Short of a length into the batsman, goes off Overton's thigh pad towards backward square leg. A leg bye is taken by the batsmen. |
| 60.4 : J Hazlewood to Woakes, Landed on a length once again, outside off, pushed away on the off side from within the crease. |
| 60.5 : J Hazlewood to Woakes, Stylishly helped away by Chris Woakes. He rises and works it past short leg to deep backward square leg. Easy single taken. |
| 60.6 : J Hazlewood to C Overton, Speared full around off, Craig with a very good shot down the ground. Plays it through mid on and earns a triple for doing so. Partnership is now worth 33, which is England's best this innings. Should say everything in itself. |
| 61.1 : Pat Cummins to Overton, On a length outside off, Overton comes forward and defends. |
| 61.2 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Landed outside off, fuller than the previous one, Craig squirts it past the diving gully fielder for a couple. |
| 61.3 : Pat Cummins to Overton, A short ball, around off, CO ducks. |
| 61.4 : Pat Cummins to Overton, A length ball, outside off, well kept out. |
| 61.5 : Pat Cummins to Overton, A short ball outside off, Overton fends it down, getting nicely on top of the bounce. |
| 61.6 : Pat Cummins to Overton, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 62.1 : J Hazlewood to Woakes, FOUR! MAJESTIC! That is some shot. A length ball outside off, slightly wide, Woakes reaches out and drives it through cover-point and finds the boundary. |
| 62.2 : J Hazlewood to Woakes, A length ball again, angling in, Chris tucks it through mid-wicket for a single. This stand is now worth 40 from just 55 balls. Good rearguard action this from England. Nice to see some fight and character. |
| 62.3 : J Hazlewood to Overton, Just outside off, Overton comes forward and keeps it out. |
| 62.4 : J Hazlewood to C Overton, Full again, better length, nice line too, just around off, pushed towards short mid on. |
| 62.5 : J Hazlewood to Overton, FOUR LEG BYES! A short ball, around the rib cage, Overton looks to tuck it fine but the ball goes off his hips past the diving Tim Paine to the fine leg fence. |
| 62.6 : J Hazlewood to Overton, The batsman works it down the leg side. One run added to the total. 57 more runs needed to take the choice of follow-on out of Smith's hands. |
| Mitchell Starc is back on. |
| 63.1 : M Starc to Overton, A firing yorker length, on middle, perhaps a bit full rather, flicked past short leg for a single through mid-wicket. |
| 63.2 : M Starc to Woakes, Full and straight, watchfully defended. |
| 63.3 : M Starc to Woakes, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 63.4 : M Starc to Woakes, A length ball outside off, Woakes gets on top of the bounce and punches it through the covers. Two runs taken. |
| 63.5 : M Starc to Woakes, FOUR! Lucky! England deserve some luck at least. A short ball outside off, poor Woakes is in no position to play that. He is off the ground, tries to fend that but can only spoon it in the air. Luckily for him, it flies over the slip cordon to the third man fence. The 50-RUN STAND is up. For all the fight that this pair has shown and given some of the lucky dismissals that Australia have got, England need some luck. Best stand of the innings. 49 more needed to avoid the |
| 63.6 : M Starc to Woakes, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| Nathan Lyon is back. One of the rare instances that this has happened in this innings - Stevem Smith is actually looking as to where and how can the next wicket come from. |
| 64.1 : N Lyon to Overton, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 64.2 : N Lyon to Overton, The batsman has flicked the ball off his pads for a single. |
| 64.3 : N Lyon to Woakes, Goes right back in his crease to block that one. |
| 64.4 : N Lyon to Woakes, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 64.5 : N Lyon to Woakes, Full and around off, played in front of short leg. |
| 64.6 : N Lyon to Woakes, The batsman has flicked the ball off his pads. |
| 65.1 : M Starc to Overton, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 65.2 : M Starc to Overton, Full and outside off, Overton looks to drive but misses. |
| 65.3 : M Starc to Overton, Bouncer! The batsman ducks under the bouncer at the last moment. |
| 65.4 : M Starc to Overton, And again! Keep that full, make the batsman play and then get the ball to move. Starc is too good for Overton at the moment. He looks to sledge the batsman but the latter just looks down at the pitch. However, before looking down, he does admit that it was a beauty of a ball. |
| When this pair had come out to bat, Australia's immediate plan was to bowl short, short and just short. Now that they are convinced that Overton and Woakes play the short stuff well, the Aussies have shifted to Plan B - fuller length. |
| 65.5 : M Starc to Overton, A short ball down the leg side, left alone. |
| 65.6 : M Starc to Overton, And again. Full and outside off, Craig feels for it but is beaten. Now Starc looks to sledge again but Overton looks away. Starc smiles, with his tongue out. |
| 66.1 : N Lyon to Woakes, Goes back in his crease and defends. |
| 66.2 : N Lyon to Woakes, The batsman has flicked the ball off his pads. One run added to the total. |
| 66.3 : N Lyon to Overton, Full and around off, well kept out. |
| 66.4 : N Lyon to Overton, FOUR! CLUBBED! The batsmen are now getting confident. The ball is nicely tossed up outside off and Overton gets down and then slog sweeps it over square leg. A one-bounce boundary. 200 UP FOR ENGLAND, a big psychological boost given the way the afternoon session panned out. |
| 66.5 : N Lyon to Overton, Works this down the leg side off the back foot for a single. |
| 66.6 : N Lyon to Woakes, Fuller on middle, pushed towards mid on for a single. |
| 67.1 : M Starc to Woakes, A length ball, around middle, tucked towards square leg for a single. The deficit is now 239. |
| 67.2 : M Starc to Overton, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 67.3 : M Starc to Overton, Full and around off, well blocked out. |
| 67.4 : M Starc to Overton, Goes back in his crease and defends. |
| Another one has his bat cracked. Yesterday, it was Stoneman. Now, it is Overton. On both occasions, it was Mitchell Starc the bowler. The 12th man takes centuries to get the bats onto the field. Mason Crane it is. |
| 67.5 : M Starc to Overton, Landed outside off, left alone. |
| 67.6 : M Starc to Overton, Full and outside off, Overton reaches out and drives it behind point. Shaun Marsh jogs after it and keeps the batsmen to two. Oh wait. The throw is a wild one and Paine cannot collect. By the time short leg can stop the ball, an extra run is pinched. Overton moves to 30 now. |
| 68.1 : N Lyon to Overton, Landed around middle, watchfully defended. |
| 68.2 : N Lyon to Overton, Full again, nicely kept out. |
| 68.3 : N Lyon to Overton, Great fielding again! Full and outside off, Overton drives it straight but Lyon dives to his left and stops it cleanly. |
| 68.4 : N Lyon to Overton, Desperate appeal for LBW. Only Lyon appealed. Okay, Smith put up a hand too. Pitched around leg, Craig looked to flick but missed and was hit on the pads. Smith asked his bowler about the review and he got a honest reply - Going past the leg stump. |
| 68.5 : N Lyon to Overton, The batsman has flicked the ball off his pads. |
| 68.6 : N Lyon to Overton, Full and around off, well kept out. |
| 69.1 : M Starc to Woakes, A length ball around off, worked past short leg for a single. |
| 69.2 : M Starc to Overton, Down the leg side, tucked towards backward square leg for a run. |
| 69.3 : M Starc to Woakes, A fine yorker, dug out back to the bowler. |
| Interesting comment from Ian Chappell on air. He mentions that Craig Overton used to bat at number 4 for England in the Under-19 World Cup. What he also adds is, his twin brother, Jamie, is very quick, hitting the 140 ks consistently. So he would have seen pace in his backyard, which might be aiding him in playing this pace trio easily. |
| 69.4 : Starc to Woakes, OUT! Simple caught and bowled. The plan works. It was short, short, short, short, short without much full when Woakes and Overton were new at the crease. No success. Then Australia reverted to bowling full, full, full, full and suddenly, from nowhere, this short ball comes. Woakes thinks he can pull but his bat twists in his hand while playing that shot. As a result, he gets a top edge which just lobs straight up in the air. For some reason, short extra cover and short mid |
| Stuart Broad walks in at number 10, replacing Woakes. |
| 69.5 : M Starc to Broad, A short ball to welcome Broad, he fends at it and the ball goes uppishly towards gully who dives to his left. But it lands short. |
| 69.6 : M Starc to Broad, Another short ball, well kept out. A successful over for Australia after 16 non-successful ones in succession. |
| Josh Hazlewood is back on. Can Australia nip England out before the break? |
| 70.1 : J Hazlewood to Overton, A bouncer, around off, Overton ducks. |
| 70.2 : J Hazlewood to Overton, A short ball again, Craig ducks. |
| 70.3 : J Hazlewood to Overton, Three in a row. Bouncer, ducked under. |
| 70.4 : J Hazlewood to Overton, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 70.5 : J Hazlewood to Overton, FOUR! Very nicely played! Banged in short outside off, Overton is ready for it and deftly guides it over the slip cordon to third man! |
| 70.6 : J Hazlewood to Overton, The batsman has pushed it to the cover region. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 71.1 : M Starc to Overton, A length ball outside off, Overton feels for it but misses. |
| 0.0 : This should be the last over before Dinner but should a wicket fall before the break, we can have an additional 30 minutes. |
| 71.2 : M Starc to Overton, Full and outside off, pushed straight to cover. |
| 71.3 : M Starc to Overton, The batsman appears to have been struck on the thigh pad. They pick up a single. |
| 71.4 : M Starc to Broad, FOUR LEG BYES! A short ball down the leg side, Broad looks to tuck it fine but the ball goes off his thighs past the keeper to the fine leg fence. The stand moves to 10. |
| 71.5 : M Starc to Broad, Outside off, left alone. |
| 71.6 : M Starc to Broad, A short ball, around leg stump, Stuart looks to tuck it away but the ball goes off his thigh pads towards square leg. A leg bye to end the session. DINNER ON DAY 3! |
| Australia's session but England did offer some fight. The hosts reduced their opposition to 142/7 from 128/5 after Tea but then were surprisingly greeted by some grit from Chris Woakes and Craig Overton. Most of that has to be attributed to the fact that Australia changed their gameplan and kept banging it short. |
| The 66-run stand was giving headaches to Steven Smith but Starc managed to break it and Australia just got the upper hand going into the final session. England need another 24 runs to avoid the follow-on but doubt Australia will enforce even if they get the chance. Overton is batting well and it will be interesting to see how the final session pans out. If Australia bat again, do they go for quick runs in the most difficult session for batsmen? Join us back at 1900 LOCAL (0830 GMT) for the final |
| ... DAY 3, FINAL SESSION ... |
| Welcome back for the last session of the day. 36 overs scheduled. Think the question about the follow-on has been put to rest, should Australia get the chance. Their aim might be to wrap this innings up soon and then bat solidly. It will be Nathan Lyon to start off proceedings. Broad to face. |
| 72.1 : N Lyon to Broad, Good spin first up. Full and outside off, Broad lunges to push but misses. |
| 72.2 : N Lyon to Broad, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 72.3 : N Lyon to Broad, Full and outside off, Stuart gets across his stumps well in advance, Lyon then floats it outside off a bit wider but Broad still manages to paddle it to fine leg for a single. Gets off the mark. |
| 72.4 : N Lyon to Overton, Full and around off, well defended. |
| 72.5 : N Lyon to Overton, FOUR! Great shot! Full and outside off, Overton jumps down the track and hits this powerfully down the ground past the bowler, beating mid off! Good positive intent. 19 more needed to make Australia bat again. Overton is 10 shy of a half century now. |
| 72.6 : N Lyon to Overton, Landed outside leg, Craig looks to flick but misses. |
| Pat Cummins to bowl from the other end. |
| 73.1 : Pat Cummins to Broad, A bouncer, Broad ducks. |
| 73.2 : Pat Cummins to Broad, That would have hurt. A short ball, right at the body, at the rib cage, Stuart takes his eyes away and is hit on the ribs. Not enjoyable at all. |
| 73.3 : Pat Cummins to Broad, And again. More short stuff, a bit venomous than the ones in the second session, SB looks to tuck but misses. Cameron Bancroft dives to his left at short leg and then takes it one-handed. Everyone appeals - Cummins, Smith, Bancroft, Handscomb, the crowd and perhaps every viewer in Adelaide and the whole of Australia. But the umpire stays put. Cummins asks his fielder but Bancroft says 'I am not sure.' Smith does not take the review then. No bat involved. |
| 73.4 : Pat Cummins to Broad, Another short ball, Broad actually hits this almost straight to Mitchell Starc at long leg! But it does not carry. Smiles everywhere. A single taken. |
| 73.5 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Full and outside off, Overton comes forward and plays that with soft hands past first slip. Third man is very fine and keeps the batsmen to a single. |
| 73.6 : Pat Cummins to Broad, A short ball again, tucked uppishly towards deep square leg. Does not carry again. One more run. |
| 74.1 : N Lyon to Broad, Full and around off, Broad comes forward and defends. |
| 74.2 : N Lyon to Broad, Around off, watchfully defended. |
| 74.3 : N Lyon to Broad, Landed around off, watchfully blocked. |
| 74.4 : N Lyon to Broad, OUT! That is a terrific catch! Tim Paine, you beauty! That is a ripper. Both, the ball and the catch. Lyon lands this around middle and Broad goes back in his crease to try and turn it to the leg side. However, the ball spins and bounces sharply past the outside edge. Paine collects beautifully and then straightaway goes up. We all thought it is just an appeal but the umpire raises his finger! And... Broad does not review. Replays show the tiniest of edges, the outside edg |
| James Anderson is the last man in. Cameron Bancroft is shadow practising his forward defense. Which means... which means.... |
| 74.5 : N Lyon to Anderson, Full and outside off, Anderson pushes but misses. |
| 74.6 : N Lyon to Anderson, Sees off this last ball which means Overton is on strike the next over to try and get that half century on debut. |
| 75.1 : Pat Cummins to Overton, A bouncer to greet Overton, he ducks. |
| 75.2 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Fuller this time, watchfully defended. |
| 75.3 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Half volley, it was there, but Craig drives it straight to mid off. |
| 75.4 : Pat Cummins to C Overton, Pushes this towards mid on. |
| 75.5 : Pat Cummins to Overton, A short ball, at the body, CO ducks again. |
| 75.6 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Another bouncer, on middle, Overton ducks in a hurry. Can Anderson get off strike in the next over? |
| LBW! Anderson has been adjudged LBW but not surprisingly he has reviewed it. England will desperately hope this is overturned for Overton's sake. |
| 76.1 : N Lyon to Anderson, OUT! Three reds. LBW! Anderson cannot rotate the strike. Overton does not get to 50 on debut. Full and in line of the stumps, Anderson gets down and looks to sweep that but misses, getting hit on the unmentionables. It looks dead, the decision that is and the umpire raises his finger. Anderson takes the review but the Hawk Eye does not allow the ball to go past the stumps. NATHAN LYON BECOMES THE LEADING WICKET TAKER IN TESTS IN 2017 - 55 in 9 Tests. Australia lead by 2 |
| No surprises. Only Kevin Pietersen on air felt that a follow-on was to be given along with Michael Clarke but once a team bowls close to 75 overs or even 60, as Virat Kohli says, then captains usually shy away from bowling immediately. Australia have got a handy lead of 215 and the question is how long will they bat or can England turn this game around in the final session. |
| A good day for the Aussies so far - taking 9 wickets in just a little over 2 sessions. They have conceded less than 200 runs and bowled 67 overs. None of the four bowlers gave any freebies and apart from the second session where they overdid the short stuff to Overton and Woakes, they were mostly accurate. Starc got 3 while Lyon took 4 but the catching of those two bowlers was the one which caught the attention. |
| England will be disappointed, not because they conceded a lead but because their highest scorer was a number 9 and every batsman got in, then got out, except for Root and Vince. However, they now have the pink ball under the lights. If they are aggressive and have the Aussies 5 down by stumps tonight, they could still be in this game. Stay tuned... |
| 0.1 : J Anderson to Bancroft, A short ball to start, outside off, Bancroft stays away from that line. Straightaway, the difference in pace is seen. 127 kph is the first ball. Starc's first was 140-plus. |
| 0.2 : J Anderson to Bancroft, Slightly quicker than the previous one but too short and too wide outside off. Cameron hops across and keeps his bat inside the line. |
| 0.3 : J Anderson to Bancroft, Much better. Gets the length full outside off, CB pushes it off the outer half towards gully. |
| 0.4 : J Anderson to Bancroft, There is that length, full and just around off, Bancroft just about manages to dig it back to the bowler. |
| 0.5 : J Anderson to Bancroft, Outside off, left alone. |
| 0.6 : J Anderson to C Bancroft, FOUR! Bancroft is away! Not in the most convincing fashion. Outside off, full again, it swings away and induces an outside edge as Bancroft pushes at it. The ball squirts past third slip to the third man fence. |
| Stuart Broad to bowl from the other end. |
| 1.1 : S Broad to Warner, WIDE! Not as bad as the Steve Harmison blunder in the 2006-07 Ashes but this comes as a good competition. Full and miles outside off, swings out of the pitch and Bairstow has to take it in front of first slip. After all this, Broad is not happy that it is wided. Sad. The lead is now 220. |
| S Broad to Warner, Another widish ball, but not as much as the previous one, left alone. |
| 1.2 : S Broad to Warner, One more wide ball, outside off, not played at. |
| 1.3 : S Broad to Warner, Finally gets it in line of the stumps and David defends. |
| 1.4 : S Broad to Warner, Much, much better. Full and straight, pushed back down the ground. |
| Is that a nick? Broad says he did not hear anything. Bairstow certainly did. And Root takes the review... |
| 1.5 : S Broad to Warner, NOT OUT. Nothing. No sound. No spike. Waste of a review. Full and outside off, Warner looks to flick it to the leg side but misses. No one hears anything but Bairstow keeps on appealing while Broad says he did not hear a thing. Root takes the review and to his dismay, finds nothing. |
| 1.6 : S Broad to Warner, Outside off, let through. |
| 2.1 : J Anderson to Bancroft, Edged, does not carry! This is what extra pace can do. When the Aussies were bowling, whenever there was an edge, 90 percent of those went to hand. However, for Anderson, it is not the case. He bowls this at 133.4 kph, outside off, Bancroft feels for it and nicks it. Bairstow dives to his right but cannot reach it and the ball does not carry anyway. |
| 2.2 : J Anderson to Bancroft, OUT! This time the edge goes to hand! Anderson strikes early for England. The perfect outswinger. Pitched outside off, draws the batsman forward and then makes it to move away. Bancroft feels for it and gets a thick outside edge. Straight to Bairstow. Just the start England need and the confidence boost Anderson needed. He has been average against Australia both in England and Australia but this pink ball can change that. If he gets it right, he can run right through |
| Usman Khawaja walks in at number 3, replacing Bancroft. |
| 2.3 : J Anderson to Khawaja, That is a ripper! Anderson keeps this full and just outside off, Khawaja feels for this but it comes back in and goes past the inside edge and just misses the off pole! |
| 2.4 : J Anderson to Khawaja, A length ball now, around leg, Usman tries to tuck it away but misses and is hit on the box. Someone appeals from behind for LBW. Seriously. |
| 2.5 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Full and outside off, UK feels for it and gets squared up. The ball goes off the outside edge and goes along the ground to gully. |
| 2.6 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. A terrific wicket maiden by Jimmy. |
| 3.1 : S Broad to Warner, Full and outside off, Warner feels for it but misses. |
| 3.2 : S Broad to Warner, Outside off, a touch wide, left alone. |
| 3.3 : S Broad to Warner, Outside off, David pushes it through the covers for a single. Gets off the mark. |
| 3.4 : S Broad to Khawaja, Another beauty. Full and around off, coming in, then moving away as Khawaja pokes at it. |
| 3.5 : S Broad to Khawaja, Full and tempting to be driven outside off, Usman lets it go. |
| 3.6 : S Broad to Khawaja, Too full and straight, clipped through mid-wicket for a single to get off the mark. |
| 4.1 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Another pearler. The ball is pitched on middle, the length is full which means Khawaja has to bring his bat down to defend but then it bounces and seams away to beat the outside edge. |
| 4.2 : J Anderson to Khawaja, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 4.3 : J Anderson to Khawaja, A tad short, around middle, defended watchfully. |
| 4.4 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Outside off, left alone. |
| 4.5 : J Anderson to Khawaja, I think we are seeing one of the most brilliant exhibitions of fast bowling. There is seam and there is swing. Plus there are a plethora of bowlers who are extracting those. Jimmy pitches this outside leg and then gets it to move away outside off. Play that, if you can. Khawaja cannot, hence is beaten. |
| 4.6 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Outside off, easier to leave, and that is what Usman does. |
| 5.1 : S Broad to D Warner, Full on middle, pushed straight to mid on. |
| 5.2 : S Broad to Warner, A tad shorter than the previous one, defended from the crease. |
| 5.3 : S Broad to Warner, Waste, waste. The ball is swinging and Broad is bowling it wide outside off. Left alone. |
| 5.4 : S Broad to Warner, Yes, that is more like it. Broad gets this right, lands the ball just outside off and then makes it to come back in a long way and then go away at the last moment. DW hops to defend but misses. Broad gives a stare but Warner just smiles. |
| 5.5 : S Broad to Warner, Full and outside off, swinging away, pushed through the covers for a single. |
| 5.6 : S Broad to U Khawaja, EDGED, FOUR! Countless times have we seen Khawaja getting squared up when the ball is moving around. Countless times have we seen him get runs through that slip cordon. This time too, he does. He is squared up, looking to defend, but the ball seams away and takes the outside edge which goes past third slip to third man! |
| 6.1 : J Anderson to Warner, Outside off, prodigious swing, left alone. My colleague GG predicts an inswinger on the fourth ball of this over. We too feel that Anderson is trying to set the batsmen up. Outswingers, Outswingers, outswingers and then boom. Inswinger. |
| 6.2 : J Anderson to Warner, Around middle and off, watchfully defended. |
| 6.3 : J Anderson to Warner, Beautiful bowling. Full and swinging in, but it is too straight. David does miss and is hit on the pads but it was going down leg. So GG, it came on the third ball. Not the fourth. But fair point. |
| 6.4 : J Anderson to Warner, Down the leg side, DW misses his flick. |
| 6.5 : J Anderson to Warner, Outside off, Warner feels for this one, it is the outswinger and gets beaten again. |
| 6.6 : J Anderson to Warner, The batsman appears to have been struck on the thigh pad. |
| 7.1 : S Broad to Khawaja, A length ball down the leg side, Khawaja happily tucks it through square leg. Craig Overton is not the quickest on the park and there is a chance of the third but the batsmen settle for two. |
| 7.2 : S Broad to Khawaja, Down the leg side, Usman misses out, getting a ball on the pads and not making use of the opportunity. Gets hit on the pads. The ball goes to the leg side and the batsmen take a leg bye. |
| 7.3 : S Broad to Warner, The ball is way outside the off stump, easy leave for the batsman. |
| 7.4 : S Broad to Warner, Full and wide outside off, DW reaches out to drive but misses. Poor choice of a shot. Perhaps he went after it seeing the width. Oh wow. Broad thinks there is an edge but Bairstow and Root cannot hear anything. Broad asks, 'No edge?' 'No!' is the answer from Root. |
| 7.5 : S Broad to Warner, Outside off, going away, left alone. |
| 7.6 : S Broad to Warner, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 8.1 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Wide outside off, left alone. |
| 8.2 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Landed outside leg, Khawaja feels for it but then the ball moves away to beat the outside edge. Indipper coming? |
| 8.3 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Nope. Again the outswinger. Usman is squared up a touch as he pokes at it but the outside edge does not carry to gully. |
| 8.4 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Down the leg side, short in length, UK misses his tuck. |
| 8.5 : J Anderson to Khawaja, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 8.6 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Outside off, fuller in length, the tempting drive on offer but Khawaja resists. It swings back in a long way. But no danger. |
| 9.1 : S Broad to Warner, Full and wide outside off, nice prodigious swing but can be comfortably left alone. And is. |
| 9.2 : S Broad to Warner, Full on middle, swings in, Warner is a bit surprised and chips it wide of mid on. Once the ball hits the turf it speeds like a tuxedo and Moeen Ali has to jog harder to get to it. He does manage to do so, but near the ropes, with a slide. Three runs taken. |
| 9.3 : S Broad to Khawaja, Outside off, left alone again. |
| 9.4 : S Broad to Khawaja, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 9.5 : S Broad to Khawaja, Outside off, Khawaja feels for it but is squared up and is beaten once again. |
| 9.6 : S Broad to Khawaja, Works this through mid-wicket for an easy single. |
| 10.1 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Appeal for a catch but no bat involved. Nice bowling though. The ball is pitched outside leg and is moving away from the southpaw. Khawaja is forced to play at that and the ball goes off something to the keeper. But Anderson does not appeal at all while the slips put in a muted one. The ball had hit the back leg. |
| 10.2 : J Anderson to Khawaja, A length ball on middle and leg, tucked through square leg for a single. |
| 10.3 : J Anderson to Warner, Outside off, left alone. |
| 10.4 : J Anderson to Warner, FOUR! Full and down the leg side, plenty of swing, Warner slips but manages to get bat on ball and tickles it to the fine leg fence. |
| 10.5 : J Anderson to Warner, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 10.6 : J Anderson to Warner, Outside off again, let through. |
| Craig Overton into the attack. Was impressive in the first innings. |
| 11.1 : C Overton to Khawaja, On a good length around off, watchfully defended. |
| 11.2 : C Overton to U Khawaja, FOUR! That is lucky again. Full and outside off, Khawaja pushes at it but gets a thick outside edge between third slip and gully to the fence behind. The lead is now 243. The stand moves to 23. Khawaja goes past Warner too, to 13. |
| 11.3 : C Overton to Khawaja, Around off, watchfully defended. |
| 11.4 : C Overton to Khawaja, Down the leg side, tucked towards square leg. |
| 11.5 : C Overton to Khawaja, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 11.6 : C Overton to Khawaja, FOUR! CLUNK! One of the most authoritative pull shots in this match. Banged in short and Khawaja is ready. Swivels in a flash and pulls it like a rash to see the ball crash into the square leg fence. |
| 12.1 : J Anderson to Warner, Full and wide outside off, plenty of banana swing but too wide to make any impact. Left alone. |
| 12.2 : J Anderson to Warner, Better ball but that is a good leave. The ball is full, pitched around middle but Warner is watching it closely and lets it go away. |
| 12.3 : J Anderson to Warner, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 12.4 : J Anderson to Warner, On a length around off, watchfully defended. |
| 12.5 : J Anderson to Warner, Landed outside off, let through. |
| 12.6 : J Anderson to Warner, One more leave outside off to end the over. Might be the end of Jimmy for the day. |
| Chris Woakes comes into the attack. |
| 13.1 : C Woakes to Khawaja, Short and outside off, Khawaja misses out, cutting it straight to cover. |
| 13.2 : C Woakes to Khawaja, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 13.3 : C Woakes to Khawaja, Wider outside off, let through again. |
| 13.4 : C Woakes to Khawaja, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 13.5 : C Woakes to Khawaja, On a good length around middle, Khawaja misses his tuck and is hit on the pads. |
| 13.6 : C Woakes to Khawaja, The batsman delicately works it fine down the leg side. The batsmen have picked up a couple of runs. |
| 14.1 : J Anderson to Warner, Full and outside off, left alone. |
| 14.2 : J Anderson to Warner, Full and slipped down the leg side, losing radar, David lets it go. |
| 14.3 : J Anderson to Warner, On a good length around off, watchfully defended. |
| 14.4 : J Anderson to Warner, Played to the point region by the batsman. |
| 14.5 : J Anderson to Warner, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 14.6 : J Anderson to Warner, The ball strikes the batsman very low on the pads. The batsmen have run through for a single. The Umpire signals a leg bye. AUSTRALIA LEAD BY 250. |
| Drinks break then. Australia have done really well to not lose more than a wicket so far. The ball has been swinging and seaming and doing all sorts of things. Only complaint from England would be that they have been inconsistent. Anderson, for instance, has bowled more short stuff than full while Broad has bowled too wide. The batsmen will feel a bit more confident now that they have negated the new ball but then now comes that period when every batsman is playing for the close. |
| 15.1 : C Woakes to Warner, Overpitched delivery outside off, Warner leans into the shot and drives hard. Connects well, only to find the man at cover. |
| 15.2 : C Woakes to Warner, Short ball around off, Warner steers this square past point, to the man in the deep for a single. |
| 15.3 : C Woakes to Khawaja, Cutting back in on middle and leg, on a bit of a back of a length, clipped away through square leg for a run. |
| 15.4 : C Woakes to Warner, Good carry for Chris Woakes. Outside off on a length, zipping off the surface a bit, David Warner lets it through. |
| 15.5 : C Woakes to Warner, Chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 15.6 : C Woakes to Warner, Another outside off, another leave. Third in a row to end the over. |
| Anderson to bowl another over. Hmm... |
| 16.1 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Comes from around the wicket and serves it outside the line of off stump. Khawaja sees the length ball moving away so lets it be. |
| 16.2 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Similar delivery, but without any kind of movement on it this time. Usman Khawaja leaves it alone. |
| 16.3 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Rising off the surface as it goes behind to Jonny Bairstow, another left alone. |
| 16.4 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Goes full and it's the inswinger from Jimmy Anderson, Khawaja brings down a straight bat and jams it out. Rather confidently too, I might add. |
| 16.5 : J Anderson to Khawaja, Marginally ahead of a length well outside off, pushed away to point by opening his body up a bit. |
| 16.6 : J Anderson to U Khawaja, That kicked up suddenly. Landed on a length around off, Khawaja is taken by surprise due to the extra bounce and hence, takes a blow on the gloves as he tries to keep it down. |
| 17.1 : C Woakes to Warner, Shortish in length outside off, Warner opens the face of the bat a bit to punch it through the covers but fails to do so. Gets beaten past the outside edge. |
| 17.2 : C Woakes to Warner, Short of a length, close to off, Warner is up on his toes as he plays that down. |
| 17.3 : C Woakes to Warner, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 17.4 : C Woakes to Warner, David Warner offers a firm punch square to point. The length ball was around off, slanting across the batsman. |
| 17.5 : C Woakes to Warner, Full delivery targeting the off stump, sweetly driven through covers for one. |
| 17.6 : C Woakes to Khawaja, Stays full, on the stumps, pushed back down the track with the full face of the bat. |
| Anderson with an extended spell. Joe Root wanting a wicket desperately here, it seems. Wants to exploit the condition to its fullest, so he's using his premier bowler for that. |
| 18.1 : J Anderson to Warner, Full wide outside off, no shot offered by the batsman. |
| 18.2 : J Anderson to Warner, Leaves the ball seeing it's well away from the off stump. |
| 18.3 : J Anderson to Warner, Uses the angle well and works it through mid-wicket for a single. |
| Usman Khawaja has been caught leg before and given out. Looks plumb to the naked eye. He think the away swing will make the ball miss the stumps. So after talking to his partner, he reviews. |
| 18.4 : Anderson to Khawaja, OUT! The decision stays and Usman Khawaja is gone! The decision to keep Jimmy Anderson going has paid off, a wicket has come finally. He continues from around the wicket and angles it in on middle and off, it moves away after hitting the deck and beats the outside edge, catching Khawaja on the back pad. Loud shout and the umpire raises his finger. Usman thinks he might be safe so he reviews. Replays show it's the umpire's call on impact, so the decision will not be ove |
| Steven Smith walks in at No.4. A leg gully and a catching mid-wicket fielder in place. |
| 18.5 : J Anderson to Smith, Interesting. Stays around the wicket to Steven Smith and bowls a length ball on middle and off, the Australian skipper stays behind the line and blocks. |
| 18.6 : J Anderson to Smith, Full and swinging in, Smith defends it off the inner half on the leg side. That'll be the end of the over. |
| 19.1 : C Woakes to Warner, Slanting across on a good length, David Warner watches the ball as it goes through to the keeper. |
| 19.2 : C Woakes to Warner, Angling across yet again, another leave by the southpaw. |
| 19.3 : C Woakes to Warner, Too full and too straight from Chris Woakes, flicked through mid-wicket for a brace. |
| 19.4 : C Woakes to Warner, Nicely done. The ball is quite full, but David Warner is up for this. He gets right behind the line of the ball and blocks it out. |
| 19.5 : C Woakes to D Warner, OUT! DAVID WARNER IS GONE! This is the wicket England wanted. That's a big one, really big one. The dangerous Warner departs. Woakes gets his line right and keeps it around off. It's angling away late and squares up David a touch. The edge is drawn and Joe Root at second slip takes a wonderful catch. Can another wicket be had here for the Englishmen? They have their tails up, have every chance to do so. |
| Peter Handscomb will be next in to bat. Two slips and a gully in place. |
| 19.6 : C Woakes to P Handscomb, Ooooohhhh... That was close. Woakes spears it full outside off, Handscomb brings his bat down, gets an edge, but the ball goes behind to the slip cordon on the bump. |
| Big moment in the game! Steven Smith has been adjudged lbw. But... But... Could there be an inside edge? Going to be close. Over to the third umpire now. |
| 20.1 : J Anderson to Smith, NOT OUT! A REVERSAL! No inside edge after all, it's pitched outside leg. Oh my good lord, how close was that? Jimmy Anderson comes from around the wicket to Steven Smith and bowls it fuller, catches him on the pads right in front of the stumps and there's a big appeal. The umpire raises his finger, Smith ponders whether to take the DRS, and eventually he does after speaking to Handscomb. It's taken upstairs and much to Anderson and England's dismay, the ball has pitche |
| 20.2 : J Anderson to Smith, Outside off on a good length, Smith covers the line and lets it be. |
| 20.3 : J Anderson to Smith, Full in length, attacking the stumps, Smith is half-forward and defends it out. |
| 20.4 : J Anderson to Smith, FOUR! The class of this player! Packed on side field but it doesn't matter one bit to him. Flicks this full ball through the gap, between mid-wicket and square leg and finds the fence. Terrific execution of the shot. |
| 20.5 : J Anderson to Smith, It's all happening here in Adelaide! James Anderson is breathing fire in this evening session. Lands it outside leg and it swings back towards off to ping Steven Smith on the back pad as he attempts to flick. He'd have wished that ball pitched in line, total ripper! |
| 20.6 : J Anderson to Smith, Over the wicket for the final ball of the over, strays this on the pads, Smith clips it through towards deep square leg and takes two. |
| 21.1 : C Woakes to Handscomb, On a good length and outside the line of off stump, Handscomb covers his off stick and lets it be. |
| 21.2 : C Woakes to Handscomb, Touch fuller, around off, guarded out from the front foot on the off side. |
| 21.3 : C Woakes to Handscomb, Angling in at first and then straightening up from around off, Peter Handscomb covers the line and taps it down on the off side. |
| 21.4 : C Woakes to P Handscomb, That's a lovely shot. Handscomb offers a firm punch through the gap in the covers and runs hard to come back for the third. The 50 comes up for Australia with that. |
| 21.5 : C Woakes to Smith, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 21.6 : C Woakes to Smith, Good pace and decent carry for Anderson, outside off, Smith rather stylishly shoulders his arms and leaves it alone. |
| Stuart Broad is back into the bowling attack. Anderson's done his part, can the big man send one of the two batsmen out there back to the dressing room? |
| 22.1 : S Broad to Handscomb, Zips off the deck as it lands on a length outside off, Peter with a good leave. |
| 22.2 : S Broad to Handscomb, Handscomb is watchful as this is landed on a length outside off. It comes back in but he has his line covered well to avoid any kind of danger. |
| 22.3 : S Broad to Handscomb, Shortish in length outside off, moves away off the surface as Handscomb hangs his bat out to it. Goes past the edge and Bairstow dives low to his right to collect it. |
| 22.4 : S Broad to Handscomb, Short of a good length in the off stump channel, blocked out solidly off the back foot. |
| 22.5 : S Broad to Handscomb, Well away from the off stump, the batsman remains confident he doesn't want to play at that. |
| 22.6 : S Broad to Handscomb, Full delivery on off, driven to mid off. |
| 23.1 : C Woakes to Smith, Hits the deck hard as Woakes pounds it on a shorter length, Smith rises and keeps it down. |
| 0.0 : Review! Steven Smith the man in the limelight again. A decision for an lbw against him is in question. |
| 23.2 : C Woakes to Smith, OUT! CHRIS WOAKES HAS GOT STEVEN SMITH! This could be the defining moment in this game. The big fish is hunted and England are elated here. Woakes with an absolute beauty as he lands it on a length around off, it angles in and beats Smith's defense. Catches him on the back pad and there's a loud shout. The umpire is convinced, he signals out but Steven Smith will not give in. He reviews. Takes it upstairs and replays show that the impact is umpire's call and it's even cl |
| The nightwatchman Nathan Lyon is out to bat. |
| 23.3 : C Woakes to N Lyon, Edged and through! Length delivery angling away from around off, Lyon edges and it goes right through the slip cordon, after falling short of them to begin with. Two runs taken. Woakes isn't happy, he wanted that to be stopped. |
| 23.4 : C Woakes to Lyon, Well outside after landing on a good length, left alone for the keeper to collect. |
| 23.5 : C Woakes to Lyon, Beaten! Woakes brings it closer to the off stick, keeps it on a length as Nathan Lyon tries to defend. Past the outside edge and into the keeper's gloves. |
| 23.6 : C Woakes to Lyon, Short of a good length on the fifth stump line, kept out well to end the over. |
| 24.1 : S Broad to Handscomb, Seeing the ball pitching comfortably outside off, Peter Handscomb decides to leave it alone. |
| 24.2 : S Broad to Handscomb, Good length ball in the channel outside off, tapped gently on the off side from within the crease. |
| 24.3 : S Broad to Handscomb, What are you doing there? So risky, needs to be more careful. Fuller outside off, Handscomb attempts to leave it late, a little too late really, as the ball goes off the bottom half of the bat behind to the slip cordon. |
| 24.4 : S Broad to Handscomb, Watchful from Handscomb. Keeps his eyes on the ball till the last second, ducks and lets it be. |
| 24.5 : S Broad to P Handscomb, Length delivery from Broad, nice and straight, Handscomb catches the edge but to his credit, he plays with soft hands and the ball falls short of the slip cordon. |
| 24.6 : S Broad to Handscomb, Beaten! Peach from the big pacer! In the corridor of uncertainty, Handscomb hangs his blade and is beaten past the outside edge. |
| 25.1 : C Woakes to Lyon, Angling in, then moving away off the seam, Nathan Lyon has nothing to do with that one. |
| 25.2 : C Woakes to Lyon, Fullish in length and close to the off stump, Lyon brings down a straight blade in defense. |
| 25.3 : C Woakes to Lyon, What are you doing there, Nate? Such a dangerous shot to play at this stage. It's wide outside off, Lyon walks across and goes for the cover drive. The away swing takes the ball past the outside edge and into the keeper's gloves. Steady now, king of the jungle. You're almost home. No need to do this. |
| 25.4 : C Woakes to Lyon, Back of a length delivery cutting back in sharply, raps Lyon high on the thigh pad who misses his defensive shot. He appears to be in some kind of pain, walks away from the crease rubbing his thigh. |
| The physio is out to have a look at Nathan Lyon. He got hit on the high pad, started rubbing it and stretching it afterwards. Jonny Bairstow is laughing at this sight, he knows why he's doing it, the Adelaide Oval knows why he's doing it. It's going to happen either way, the ticking of the clock never stops. The physio is out, even he can't control his laughter. He whips out the magic spray though, applies some and then goes back. |
| 25.5 : C Woakes to Lyon, Fuller length delivery outside off, Nathan Lyon offers no stroke to that one. |
| 25.6 : C Woakes to N Lyon, What a juicy delivery to end the day. Perfect. Total excitement here. Woakes with a length delivery on middle and off, it straightens up after angling in and takes the leading edge of Nathan Lyon's bat. Goes square through point and a single is taken. That's it, was the last over of the day. STUMPS ON DAY 3! |
| What a wonderful day of Test match cricket. You couldn't be expecting anything more. Had everything in it to keep it lively and electric. Pure pandemonium! After bowling England out for 227 and gaining a healthy lead of 215, the last session was going to be a difficult one to bat in. With the lights and the new ball coming into play, Australia would have had to be on top of their game to weather the storm, but England, in particular Jimmy Anderson, came out pumping battery acid in their veins. B |
| The Aussies lead by 268, and the odds are still stacked in their favour. But if England can produce something similar tomorrow and wrap the hosts up quickly in the morning session, then we have a serious game on our hands. The experienced campaigners in the English side will need to raise their hand up and stand to be counted. Day 4 is going to bring unadulterated joy to all the cricketing fans across the globe. You don't want to miss this. Join in for all the action. See you then, Munchkins! |
| ... DAY 4, SESSION 1 ... |
| 13 wickets fell on what is called the moving day of a Test match. Australia did a decent job in taking 9 wickets of England but then themselves lost 4 wickets to keep parity in the game. They still lead by 268 and would need at least another 100 runs to stay ahead. Can England keep them below that? |
| What we witnessed in that final hour on Monday was perhaps the best bowling display by England in this series. Anderson and Broad made the ball dance and then Woakes did not let the pressure drop down. Criticism, if any, could be the fact that they wasted the new ball but have more than made up for it. |
| It is bright and sunny and the players are out in the middle. England's first aim would be to dislodge the nightwatchman Nathan Lyon as quickly as possible. Here is Jimmy Anderson to Nathan Lyon first up. Here we go... |
| 26.1 : J Anderson to Lyon, Lyon is away. A length ball down the leg side, Lyon tucks it through square leg for a single. |
| 26.2 : J Anderson to Handscomb, A short ball outside off, Handscomb keeps his bat inside the line. |
| EDGED AND TAKEN! Handscomb has been caught behind! But he has reviewed it... |
| 26.3 : J Anderson to Handscomb, NOT OUT! Decision overturned! No bat involved. But a terrific delivery first up. |
| 26.4 : J Anderson to P Handscomb, No run. |
| 26.5 : J Anderson to Handscomb, No run. |
| 26.6 : J Anderson to Handscomb, No run. |
| Stuart Broad to bowl from the other end. |
| 27.1 : S Broad to Lyon, No run. |
| 27.2 : S Broad to Lyon, Full on middle, pushed straight to mid on. |
| 27.3 : S Broad to Lyon, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 27.4 : S Broad to Lyon, Another short ball outside off, Lyon sways away. That is a waste of a delivery. |
| 27.5 : S Broad to Lyon, Full and outside off, driven straight to mid off. |
| 27.6 : S Broad to Lyon, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 28.1 : J Anderson to Handscomb, A length ball on middle, flicked straight to square leg. |
| 28.2 : J Anderson to Handscomb, The batsman fails to put bat on ball. |
| 28.3 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Back of an length outside off, Handscomb defends it from his crease. |
| 28.4 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Full and outside off, driven through the covers. The fielder dives to his right but gets only a hand to it. By the time Stuart Broad can get to the ball from mid off, two runs are taken. |
| 28.5 : J Anderson to Handscomb, The batsman works it down the leg side. |
| 28.6 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Around off, watchfully defended. |
| 29.1 : S Broad to Lyon, On a length around off, watchfully defended. |
| 29.2 : S Broad to Lyon, There is that line... full and outside off, a tempter, drive me if you can, Lyon accepts the challenge but comes second best. Luckily for the batsman, he does not edge it. |
| 29.3 : S Broad to Lyon, Outside off, left alone. |
| 29.4 : S Broad to N Lyon, Full and straight, Nathan shows a good compact defense as he pushes the ball to mid on. |
| 29.5 : S Broad to Lyon, No luck for Broad. He is starting to find his length. It needs to be between that full and good. Not too full, not good, not length not anything. That in-between one. The line has to be just outside off. Lyon looks to drive but misses. |
| Square leg drops back. Short ball coming? He was trying to hook almost every ball in the first innings. |
| 29.6 : S Broad to Lyon, Full on middle, pushed straight to mid on. |
| 30.1 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 30.2 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 30.3 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Outside off, a play and a miss. |
| 30.4 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Back of a length outside off, Peter defends it from his crease. |
| 30.5 : J Anderson to Handscomb, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| Shane Warne is not quite happy with the negativity shown on the field here. First, he says that England are wasting the morning conditions here by not consistently bowling in the right areas. They are not making the batsmen play every ball. Then, he is not happy with Peter Handscomb as he is just looking to survive, not even rotating the strike. What that will do is, play right into England's hands as even though wickets won't come, Australia won't be going anywhere. Then, he goes a step further |
| 30.6 : J Anderson to Handscomb, He gets one away! Looks like Handscomb just heard Warne on air. Gets across his stumps and does he what likes to best. Flicks it through mid-wicket for a couple. |
| 31.1 : Broad to Lyon, ON THE HELMET! Lyon is okay. Nothing dangerous. Just seems to be a bit shaken. A short ball right at the body, Lyon takes his eyes off the ball and sways away at the last moment. Is hit flush on the grill. Broad straightaway walks over to him and has a chat, to check whether he is okay. Hang on... Lyon did not realize one thing. The back flap of the helmet was falling down and was not far from the stumps. |
| 0.0 : The physio is out in the middle. It seems more of a breather for Lyon. He is just being talked into, just to make sure that there is no concussion or a headache. No tablets, nothing. Just talking. Now, the replacement comes in for the helmet. |
| Short leg comes in now. Double bluff or a short ball coming? |
| 31.2 : S Broad to Lyon, FOUR! Terrific response! A short ball outside off but Lyon is ready. He waits for the ball and ramps it over the slips to third man! |
| 31.3 : S Broad to Lyon, Another bouncer, Nathan ducks this time. |
| 31.4 : S Broad to Lyon, FOUR! A tail-ender's square drive, says Warne on air! A length ball in line of the stumps, Lyon backs away and just steers it behind point for a boundary! |
| Root now comes and has a word with his bowler. He might have been asking about an extra man on the off side but Broad says no. He seems to indicate that the ball was not bad but the batsman backed away. No field changes. |
| 31.5 : S Broad to Lyon, Full and outside off, NH looks to drive but misses. |
| 31.6 : S Broad to Lyon, Lucky! A length ball, outside off, Lyon looks to heave it to the on side but gets a leading edge. Anderson runs to his left from mid off but cannot get there! Two runs taken. |
| 32.1 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Fine shot. A length ball outside off, Handscomb punches it past the diving man at short extra cover. Broad chases it from mid off and slides near the boundary to save a run for his side. Just one question - what is Broad doing at mid off? He just finished a fine over. He should be either at fine leg or some other place where he does not have to do any running. |
| 32.2 : J Anderson to Lyon, OUT! Caught! England get rid of the nightwatchman eventually. That hit on the helmet seemed to have stirred him. A length ball outside off, Lyon backs away and just attempts a slash over the off side. But he can only get it as far as mid off where Broad completes the formalities. A handy 14 from Lyon which is what Warner managed as well, in this innings and it is more than what his skipper could muster. Australia are effectively 286/5. |
| Shaun Marsh walks in at number 7, replacing Lyon. Australia need their first innings hero to stand up again. |
| 32.3 : J Anderson to Marsh, Poor. New man in, but the ball is on leg stump. Easy tuck through square leg for a single to get off the mark. |
| 32.4 : J Anderson to Handscomb, A short ball now, Handscomb gets out of the line of the delivery. |
| 32.5 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Lucky again. Full outside off, Peter gets across and looks to flick but gets a leading edge through cover. Two runs taken. |
| 32.6 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Full and outside off, PH gets across to flick but misses by a long way. |
| 33.1 : S Broad to Marsh, Full and outside off, driven straight to mid off. |
| 33.2 : S Broad to Marsh, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. |
| 33.3 : S Broad to Marsh, Outside off, Marsh gets across and shoulders arms. |
| 33.4 : S Broad to Marsh, A length ball outside off, Shaun gets across, feels for it but misses. |
| 33.5 : S Broad to Marsh, Played to the mid-wicket region by the batsman. |
| 33.6 : S Broad to Marsh, Landed outside off, left alone. |
| 34.1 : J Anderson to Handscomb, WIDE. That is a surprising call. A short ball yes, but it was not that high. Handscomb ducks. |
| J Anderson to Handscomb, Full and outside off, pushed straight to cover. |
| 34.2 : J Anderson to Handscomb, The batsman has punched the ball off the back foot. |
| 34.3 : J Anderson to Handscomb, Outside off, Handscomb feels for it but misses. |
| 34.4 : J Anderson to Handscomb, OUT! Straight to the man! Catching practice but make no mistake, it is a good take. Landed outside off, between full and good, Handscomb backs away a touch and guides it towards third man. But he does not find the gap, nor does he try to keep the ball down. It goes thick and fast but straight to Dawid Malan at gully who does well to take it low to his right. If you have ever observed coaches giving catching practice behind the wicket before the start of play, Hands |
| Tim Paine walks in at number 8, replacing Handscomb. Paine's initial counter-attack in the first innings put England off. If he can do something similar here, his team can get to a position from where they cannot lose. |
| 34.5 : J Anderson to Paine, Full and outside off, Paine shoulders arms. |
| 34.6 : J Anderson to Paine, The batsman shoulders arms to let that one through. Excellent over from Jimmy. He has now got a 4-fer. |
| 35.1 : S Broad to Marsh, Full and outside off, Marsh defends watchfully. |
| 35.2 : S Broad to Marsh, Outside off, left alone. |
| 35.3 : S Broad to Marsh, Full on middle, swinging in prodigiously, Marsh watches it closely and then flicks it towards fine leg for a single. |
| 35.4 : S Broad to Paine, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 35.5 : S Broad to Paine, Full and outside off, Paine just works it through mid-wicket and gets off the mark with a single. Just a tap and run. |
| 35.6 : S Broad to Marsh, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 36.1 : J Anderson to Paine, Landed outside off, Paine plays inside the line and is beaten. |
| 36.2 : J Anderson to Paine, Outside off, left alone this time. |
| 36.3 : J Anderson to Paine, Full and outside off, Paine comes forward gets to the pitch of the ball and drives it through the covers. The batsmen take the second, Paine hesitates for the third but Marsh calls him through. Here is the basic difference between Paine and Handscomb. The latter plays back to full deliveries while the former's first approach is to come forward. |
| 36.4 : J Anderson to Marsh, Outside off, left alone. |
| 36.5 : J Anderson to Marsh, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 36.6 : J Anderson to Marsh, Full and outside off, driven down the ground. He calls through for the quick single and substitute Tom Curran gets to the ball. He aims a shy at the bowler's end but misses. Marsh would have been in though. There was a chance for an overthrow but square leg dived to his left to stop that. |
| 37.1 : S Broad to Marsh, On a good length outside off, defended from the crease. |
| 37.2 : S Broad to Marsh, Full and outside off, left alone. |
| 37.3 : S Broad to Marsh, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 37.4 : S Broad to Marsh, Full again, Shaun gets right behind the line of the ball and defends. |
| 37.5 : S Broad to Marsh, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 37.6 : S Broad to Marsh, Outside off, left alone. |
| 38.1 : J Anderson to Paine, Full and outside off, pushed towards cover. |
| 38.2 : J Anderson to Paine, Landed outside off, defended from the crease. |
| 38.3 : J Anderson to Paine, Full and outside off, Paine comes forward, tries to push it away but gets squared up a touch. The result is an outside edge but it does not carry to second slip as he played that with soft hands. |
| 38.4 : J Anderson to Paine, Outside off, Paine feels for the ball outside off and is beaten. |
| 38.5 : J Anderson to Paine, Outside off, left alone. |
| 38.6 : J Anderson to Paine, Too straight, clipped through mid-wicket for a couple. |
| Chris Woakes into the attack. He was excellent as well last evening. |
| 39.1 : C Woakes to Marsh, A length ball on middle and leg, tucked through square leg for a single. |
| 39.2 : C Woakes to Paine, Landed outside off, Paine feels for it but misses. |
| 39.3 : C Woakes to Paine, On a length outside off, Tim comes forward and looks to tap. Gets a bit of an outside edge which goes on the ground through the slip cordon but Dawid Malan dives to his left and stops it. That was a boundary. |
| 39.4 : C Woakes to Paine, OVERTHROWS! FOUR! Oh dear... poor stuff from Stuart Broad. Paine pushes it towards point and calls for a single. Marsh responds but then is sent back. Shaun is in no man's land, has to stop, then turn. But he slips a touch. However, he manages to turn around in time and dives in his crease. James Vince comes running in from backward point, gets to the ball and has a shy at the bowler's end. Misses but would not have mattered even if he had hit. But hello, what is Broad d |
| 39.5 : C Woakes to Paine, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. |
| 39.6 : C Woakes to Paine, Outside off, left alone. |
| 40.1 : J Anderson to Marsh, On a length around middle and leg, played towards square leg. |
| 40.2 : J Anderson to Marsh, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 40.3 : J Anderson to Marsh, Full and outside off, defended to the off side. |
| 40.4 : J Anderson to Marsh, The batsman plays it with an angled bat and guides it to gully. |
| 40.5 : J Anderson to Marsh, On middle, flicked to the leg side for a single. |
| 40.6 : J Anderson to Paine, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 41.1 : C Woakes to Marsh, A short ball outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 41.2 : C Woakes to Marsh, Outside off, left alone. |
| 41.3 : C Woakes to Marsh, A length ball outside off, Marsh feels for the ball but then it cuts back in. Beats the inside edge and just misses the off stump! |
| 41.4 : C Woakes to Marsh, Full and outside off, driven towards cover. |
| 41.5 : C Woakes to Marsh, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. |
| 41.6 : C Woakes to Marsh, Perhaps the first full ball of this over, driven straight to mid off. |
| DRINKS are on the field. England's period of play. They have been incisive and been purposeful. Not too many wasteful deliveries and the result of that has been 2 wickets within the first 30 minutes. However, the lead will now start to play on their minds. Already Australia are 304 ahead and another 45 runs could put the game beyond England's reach. Also, the next challenge for England would be the other bowlers now stepping up after the initial bursts by Anderson and Broad. Here is spin for the |
| 42.1 : M Ali to Paine, Starts off with a loopy ball around off, Paine lunges forward and pushes it towards cover. Wants a single but Ali himself runs to the ball to deny them. |
| 42.2 : M Ali to Paine, A bit flat and short outside off, punched off the back foot towards the cover fielder. |
| 42.3 : M Ali to Paine, Good stop from Woakes! Saved a certain boundary! Short and outside off, Paine camps back and cuts. Chris at backward point dives full length to his left to make a good stop. |
| 42.4 : M Ali to Tim Paine, Fuller around off, driven through covers for a single. |
| 42.5 : M Ali to Marsh, Marsh leans forward and defends it into the ground. |
| 42.6 : M Ali to Marsh, Almost! Shaun Marsh tries to use his feet which is a good thing. But Ali spots that and fires it full on the stumps. The southpaw tries to jam it out but gets an inside edge on the pads as the ball rolls towards the off side. Just a single from the over. |
| 43.1 : C Woakes to Paine, Shortish and angling in, Tim Paine stays behind the line to keep it out. |
| 43.2 : C Woakes to Paine, Fuller and angling in, worked straight to the man at short mid-wicket. |
| 43.3 : C Woakes to Paine, Fuller in length and on the stumps, Tim pushes it back to the bowler who collects and mimes a throw back at the stumps. |
| 43.4 : C Woakes to Paine, OUT! Tim Paine departs! But this is another excellent catch from England. We saw Malan taking one a while back and now it's Overton! Woakes bangs in a short ball outside off, it hurries onto the batsman who tries to pull. Gets a top edge that lobs high up in the air. The man from square leg runs backward and Overton from deep backward square leg runs forward. Ideally, he is in the position to take it. He runs forward and puts a dive forward. Then stretches both his hands |
| Mitchell Starc walks out next to bat, replacing Paine. |
| 43.5 : C Woakes to Marsh, Shortish and around middle and off, defended with a straight bat. |
| 43.6 : C Woakes to Marsh, Angles it away from a length around middle, Marsh lifts his bat to make a leave. A successful over from Woakes. |
| 44.1 : M Ali to Starc, Floats it up around middle, defended by lunging forward. |
| 44.2 : M Ali to Starc, A bit flatter through the air around middle, Starc stays back to keep it out. |
| 44.3 : M Ali to M Starc, Edgyy! Lands it around middle, gets it to turn away a touch, Starc goes back to work it away but gets it off the edge past first slip. Two runs picked up. |
| Short mid-wicket goes to backward point. Two slips in place too... |
| 44.4 : M Ali to Starc, Darts it around middle and leg, not a good option as Starc can sweep it away as there is no man at fine leg. This time he looks to push it back down the track, gets an inside edge on the pads as the ball rolls towards Moeen. |
| 44.5 : M Ali to Starc, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 44.6 : M Ali to Starc, Goes back and punches it towards the cover fielder for nothing. Another good over from Moeen. A maiden! |
| 45.1 : C Woakes to Marsh, Length delivery outside off, Marsh taps it in front of point and calls through for a quick single. |
| 45.2 : C Woakes to Starc, Back of a length and a bit wide outside off, defended awkwardly off the back foot towards cover. |
| 45.3 : C Woakes to Starc, This is a nervy shot from Starc! Sees the full length delivery and decides to go big. Gets a leading edge which lobs up in the air on the off side. Luckily for him it flies way over the man at extra cover. Only a single results. |
| 45.4 : C Woakes to Marsh, Gets right behind the line and stabs it out towards the cover fielder. |
| 45.5 : C Woakes to Marsh, FOUR! Edged and that goes over the slip cordon! Woakes slants it away on a length outside off, gives width and the southpaw decides to go after it. Flashes hard at it and gets a thick edge which flies over the slip cordon for a boundary. |
| 45.6 : C Woakes to Marsh, Is happy to stays in the crease and offer a straight bat. |
| 46.1 : M Ali to Starc, Drifting in around the leg stump, Starc just tickles it away fine. Bairstow gives a long chase. By the time he gets to the ball, they take three. ENGLAND NOW WILL HAVE TO CHASE A WORLD RECORD AT THIS VENUE! |
| 46.2 : M Ali to Marsh, Fuller around middle and leg, defended off the front foot. |
| 46.3 : M Ali to Marsh, Flattish through the air around middle and off, defended from within the crease. |
| 46.4 : M Ali to Marsh, Moeen Ali just can't bowl it down leg. Too easy for Shaun who clips it through backward square leg for a couple. |
| 46.5 : M Ali to Marsh, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| There is a stumping appeal against Shaun Marsh. Bairstow though didn't appeal but not sure who did. Marsh looks confident. |
| 46.6 : M Ali to Marsh, SHAUN IS SAFE! As expected! Mooen Ali drifts it into the batsman, Marsh lunges forward to defend but the ball turns away a bit and goes past the outside edge. He loses his balance as Bairstow behind the stumps takes the bails off. He doesn't appeal but someone from his team does. It's taken upstairs. Replays show, Marsh has his foot grounded. |
| 47.1 : C Woakes to Starc, Outside off, Starc doesn't play at it. |
| 47.2 : C Woakes to Starc, Length outside off, played towards point. |
| 47.3 : Woakes to Starc, A run out chance! But no damage done! Woakes bowls a length delivery on middle, Starc stands tall and just lifts it down the ground. Broad from mid off gets to the ball. Now, Starc wants third which was on but Shaun Marsh insn't too keen to run. Sends Starc back who turns back and dives to get back in. |
| 47.4 : C Woakes to Starc, Length delivery around middle and leg, Mitchell looks to tuck it away but is early into the shot. Misses and wears it on the pads. |
| 47.5 : C Woakes to Starc, Hits the deck hard, Starc watches it early. Carefully lets it sail over to Jonny. |
| 47.6 : C Woakes to Starc, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 48.1 : M Ali to Marsh, Comes out of the crease and blocks it down. |
| 48.2 : M Ali to Marsh, Tossed up outside off, a gentle push but straight to mid off. |
| 48.3 : M Ali to Marsh, Replica of the last ball. Can't beat the man at mid off again. |
| 48.4 : M Ali to Marsh, Drifting in and then turning away but the length is full which allows Marsh to cover the line and keep it out. |
| 48.5 : M Ali to Marsh, Around middle and leg, bunted back down the ground to the bowler. |
| 48.6 : M Ali to Marsh, Good running! Moeen Ali once again lands it around off, Marsh comes down the track to drive but gets it off the edge. Rolls past first slip and Starc calls him through for a brisk single. |
| 49.1 : C Woakes to Marsh, Slants it away on a length, just outside the off stump line. Marsh ain't playing at that. |
| 49.2 : C Woakes to Marsh, Goes fuller, keeps the line outside off, Marsh blocks it out gently. |
| 49.3 : C Woakes to Marsh, Fuller in length and outside off, Marsh leans forward and strokes it straight to the man at mid off. |
| 49.4 : C Woakes to Marsh, Fuller in length and curling back in a bit, Marsh drives it off the inner half towards mid on for a single. |
| 49.5 : C Woakes to Starc, Good bounce for Woakes! Bends his back, gets that extra bounce which he is looking for. Starc nearly falls. Tries to fend it awkwardly but the ball goes just past the gloves to the keeper. |
| 49.6 : C Woakes to M Starc, FOUR! Edgy but Australia wouldn't mind but England would! Angles it away on a length outside off, Starc swings at it. Gets a thick edge which flies safely through gully and backward point for a streaky boundary to end the over. Australia's total reaches Nelson! |
| 50.1 : M Ali to Marsh, FOUR! Excellent! Marsh was trying to do this since the last over of Ali but mid off was there to cut it off! This time he gets what he wants! Loopy delivery outside off, Marsh dances down the track and drives it off the meat through covers for a boundary. |
| 50.2 : M Ali to Marsh, Was there an edge? But what bounce for Ali! Lyon will be surely watching this! Flatter and rising from a length, Marsh goes back to defend but gets beaten by the bounce. Bairstow fumbles and eventually puts it down. Snick shows there was no edge though. |
| 50.3 : M Ali to Marsh, Punches it off the back foot through covers for a single. |
| 50.4 : M Ali to Starc, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 50.5 : M Ali to Starc, SIX! When Starc hits it, it stays hit! Such is the power of this man! Ali bowls it full and in the slot for Starc who gets down and pummels it over deep mid-wicket for a maximum. Runs have started to flow now for the hosts. |
| 50.6 : M Ali to Starc, The batsman has punched the ball off the back foot. |
| 51.1 : C Woakes to Marsh, Length delivery, just around middle and off, Marsh stays back in defense. |
| 51.2 : C Woakes to Marsh, OUT! Chris Woakes has a 4-fer now! Shaun Marsh is finally being dismissed in this Test. Fuller in length, curling back in a bit, Marsh was eyeing that wide mid on area as he looks to work it away. But there is a bit of inward movement which takes the inside edge and cannons onto the stumps. He walks back but Australia have a lead of 337! |
| Pat Cummins is the next man in, replacing Marsh. He too 36 balls to get off the mark in the first innings. Shouldn't be the case this time. He would be looking to slaughter around. |
| 51.3 : C Woakes to Cummins, Shortish on the stumps, Cummins hops a bit and defends. |
| 51.4 : C Woakes to Cummins, Back of a length outside off, Cummins pushes it towards point off the back foot. |
| 51.5 : C Woakes to Cummins, Short of a length delivery, rises off the deck. Cummins though takes his eyes off the ball but manages to fend it away. There is no short leg, which means the ball dies down safely. |
| 51.6 : C Woakes to Cummins, Back of a length delivery on middle, tucked behind square on the leg side for a single. |
| James Anderson comes back. He is on the road to pick up his 1st ever 5-fer in this part of the country. Can he? |
| 52.1 : J Anderson to Cummins, Fuller in length and outside off, left alone. |
| 52.2 : J Anderson to Cummins, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 52.3 : J Anderson to Cummins, Back of a length delivery outside off, Cummins punches it through covers. Gets it through the gap and gets three. |
| 52.4 : J Anderson to Starc, This one cuts back in, leaves the batsman alone. The ball goes past the inside edge en route the keeper. |
| 52.5 : J Anderson to Starc, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| Anderson is in trouble? He has dragged his right knee on the ground while taking a catch. He ripped his trouser in doing so. He is walking off the field. Not good for England. |
| 52.6 : Anderson to Starc, Chance! A catch and then even a run out. Anderson nearly picks up a 5-fer here! But he is down in agony. He has hurt his right knee. I will tell you how! |
| 53.1 : C Woakes to Cummins, No run. |
| 53.2 : C Woakes to Cummins, Good length on the stumps, defended down. |
| 53.3 : C Woakes to Cummins, Wide outside off stump, the batsman leaves it alone. |
| 53.4 : C Woakes to Cummins, Bangs in a short ball, pat ducks. |
| 53.5 : C Woakes to Cummins, Fuller and wider outside off, Cummins lets it be. |
| 53.6 : C Woakes to Cummins, Looks to poke at the delivery outside off, gets beaten all ends up. |
| Brave lad! He is back on the ground. Anderson wants that 5-fer. |
| 54.1 : J Anderson to Starc, Fuller in length and angling in on the pads, flicked through square leg for a couple. |
| 54.2 : J Anderson to Starc, OUT! Anderson gets a 5-fer, his first one in Australia. He has been made to work hard for this and he can finally sink in the moment. Well done, Jimmy! The whole of Adelaide Oval applauds the effort as he shows the cherry around the ground. That's the most wonderful feeling ever. Ball - Fuller in length and around off, Starc tries to go big down the ground. Miscues it high in the air and it's a simple catch to Moeen Ali at mid off who moves swiftly to his right and tak |
| Josh Hazlewood is the last man in! How long can he last? |
| 54.3 : J Anderson to Cummins, Anderson now has his tail up. Hits the deck hard, surprised the batsman with the bounce who somehow manages to duck under it. |
| 54.4 : J Anderson to Cummins, Another bouncer, but dealt with ease this time. |
| 54.5 : J Anderson to Cummins, Goes fuller after a couple of short ball, Pat works it towards the leg side. |
| 54.6 : J Anderson to Cummins, Bangs in a short delivery again, Cummins once again ducks. A good over from Anderson! |
| 55.1 : C Woakes to Hazlewood, Nicely played! Short and climbing in on Hazlewood who stands and steers it through backward point. Runs the first one hard but doesn't take another. |
| 0.0 : Some changes in the field. There is third man, deep point and two gullies. |
| 55.2 : C Woakes to Cummins, Swing and a miss! Angles it away from a length on middle, Cummins wildly swings across the line. Gets beaten. |
| 55.3 : C Woakes to Cummins, Clips it towards the vacant mid-wicket region but Woakes is quick to run and deny the single on offer. |
| 55.4 : C Woakes to Cummins, The short of length delivery has been cut away through square on the off side. |
| 55.5 : C Woakes to Cummins, The batsman tries hooking that one but misses it completely. |
| 55.6 : C Woakes to Pat Cummins, Shortish and just outside off, it skids off the deck, Cummins arches back to play but gets a top edge which flies down to third man. Three runs taken. |
| 56.1 : J Anderson to Cummins, Another short ball on middle by Anderson, Cummins sits under it. |
| 56.2 : J Anderson to Cummins, Opens the bat face and glides it through backward point for a single. |
| 56.3 : J Anderson to Hazlewood, Bouncer! The batsman does well to evade it. |
| 56.4 : J Anderson to Hazlewood, Stands back to this length delivery and offers a straight bat. |
| 56.5 : J Anderson to Hazlewood, Pushes it through covers and takes one. |
| 56.6 : J Anderson to Cummins, On the pads, clipped around the corner for a single. THE LEAD TOUCHES 350 NOW! |
| Craig Overton is brought into the attack. He bowled just 1 over last evening. |
| 57.1 : C Overton to Cummins, Starts off with a short of a length delivery outside off, Cummins backs away and hits it to deep point for a single. |
| 57.2 : C Overton to Hazlewood, Goes around the wicket and bowls a bumper on middle. Hazlewood ducks late but in the end manages to evade it. |
| 57.3 : C Overton to Hazlewood, Fuller in length, Josh leans a bit and drives it through mid off. He wanted the second and Woakes offers a helping hand by slowly running behind the ball but Australia are happy with one. |
| 57.4 : C Overton to Cummins, Shortish again on the body, Cummins plays it towards point off the back foot. |
| 57.5 : C Overton to Cummins, Shortish and angling in on the body, Cummins backs away and awkwardly punches it through the cover region for a single. |
| 57.6 : C Overton to J Hazlewood, OUT! AUSTRALIA HAVE BEEN BOWLED OUT FOR 138, LEAD BY 353! Overton from around the wicket, bangs in a short ball on the body. Hazlewood was never comfortable in playing that one. Doesn't know how to counter this as he just hangs his bat out taking his eyes off the ball. The ball takes the edge and flies towards Malan at gully who takes a diving catch forward. |
| So, England have bundled out the Aussies here in the first session but tell you what, the hosts are still right on top as they have a big lead in their kitty. Reducing the opposition to 4/53 overnight, England stepped in with a lot of confidence this morning. Anderson and Broad bowled tight lines and didn't leak too many. Eventually, it was the former who got his side the first breakthrough. The highlight of the session was him bagging his first Test 5-fer in Australia and also taking 800 intern |
| Chris Woakes, too continued from where he left off last evening and picked up 4 to his name. Now that, they have done the job with the ball they still have their task cut out. The writing seems to be on the wall for them. |
| Australia will not be too happy with their own batting performance. True, the pitch is not the easiest to bat on but this certainly does not look like one where the scorecard shows the highest score as 20. They will hope that the target of 354 proves enough. |
| Right then! England would require a terrific batting effort from their senior men if they are to stand a chance. If their first innings is anything to look by, then it wouldn't be wrong to predict that this can be over soon. Will they come out fighting or will the hosts' bowlers run through that batting line-up? We shall find out once the second session gets underway... |
| 0.1 : M Starc to Cook, Right on the money is Starc! Comes running in from over the wicket, hurls a length delivery around the off stump line. Cook initially was on the front foot but then seeing the bounce he immediately goes back and defends. |
| 0.2 : M Starc to Cook, Starc keeps it full, searching for some swing but it does so but after going past the batsman. Easily left alone. |
| 0.3 : M Starc to Cook, Back of a length on middle, Cook loves the length as he goes back to pull. Gets it off the inner half but straight to Marsh at square leg. |
| 0.4 : M Starc to Cook, A bit of bounce and good carry here! Length delivery, in the channel outside off, Alastair shoulders his arms to it. |
| 0.5 : M Starc to Cook, On a length and seaming away a touch, Cook goes back and with those soft hands he taps it towards point. |
| 0.6 : M Starc to Cook, England are away! This would calm some nerves! Starc keeps it on a back of a length outside off, Alastair punches it towards cover and scampers through for a single. |
| Josh Hazlewood to share the new ball with Starc. |
| 1.1 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Fuller in length from around the wicket, Cook is right behind the line and defends. |
| 1.2 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Pitches it right up, but it's a bit too full. Cook jams it out. |
| 1.3 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Good line and length! Hazlewood wants Cook to go after it but the ex-English skipper resists! It's nice and full outside off, left alone. |
| 1.4 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Excellent from Josh! Gets some inward movement this time. He drops it on a length outside off, it jags back in as Cook gets across before lifting his bat to make another leave. |
| 1.5 : J Hazlewood to Cook, On a good length just outside the off stump, AC hangs back in defense. |
| 1.6 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Fuller and angling in on middle, Cooky brings his bat down at the angle and works it towards short mid-wicket. |
| 2.1 : M Starc to Stoneman, Starc keeps the length full and swings away after pitching. Too wide to make Stoneman have a go at it. |
| 2.2 : M Starc to Stoneman, Hurls it on a length, it swings further away, Mark Stoneman is rooted inside the crease as he watchfully leaves it alone. |
| 2.3 : M Starc to Stoneman, Beautiful! He is making the batsman going after it. Drops it on a length outside off, Stoneman comes forward but the away movement meant that, he's not going to go after it. |
| 2.4 : M Starc to Stoneman, Superb! Starc is getting his length right here. It's again on a length outside off, Stoneman this time feels for it. However, the tiniest of the away movement beats the outside edge. |
| 2.5 : M Starc to Stoneman, Rising from a length on middle, defended with a straight bat. It's always a good feeling when you are yet to get off the mark and the ball hits that part of the willow. |
| 2.6 : M Starc to Stoneman, Almost! Fuller and swinging away further, Stoneman lazily has a poke at it only to see the ball whizz past the outside edge. |
| 3.1 : J Hazlewood to Cook, That's struck on the pads. A loud, loud appeal follows. In fact, Hazlewood is pleading. He keeps pleading, now the slip cordon joins too but the umpire shakes his head. Hazlewood from around the wicket, angles it in from around middle. It zips a bit off the surface as Cook hops a bit to work it away on the leg side. Misses and is hit on the pads. They appeal long and hard but nothing from the umpire. Josh has a chat with his skipper but they deny against the DRS. Oh wai |
| 3.2 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Keeps it fuller on off, blocked off the front foot. |
| 3.3 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Fuller again on off, easily defended by lunging forward. |
| 3.4 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Swings away from a length outside off, Cook ain't playing at those. |
| 3.5 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Now angles it in again, Alastair is right behind the line to keep it out. |
| 3.6 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Bowls it on a driving length outside off, AC isn't tempted to go after it. A lovely over from Josh! Could have had Cook but it wasn't meant to be. |
| 4.1 : M Starc to Stoneman, Sprays it down leg, Mark tries to clip it away but fails to get any wood on it. Stoneman would feel he missed out on a scoring opportunity there. |
| 4.2 : M Starc to Stoneman, FOUR! Well not this time! He gets it again right there and flicks it beautifully. Was in the air for a while but goes safely to the mid-wicket fence. He's off the mark with a boundary. |
| 4.3 : M Starc to Stoneman, FOUR! Once again aerial and once again gets the same result. Starc in search of some swing, sprays it on the pads. Stoneman shuffles a bit and clips it aerially over mid-wicket for back-to-back boundaries. |
| 4.4 : M Starc to Stoneman, FOUR! This is all along the ground now! The best of the lot! And the most pleasing one. Fuller and once again not where Starc wants. It's on the pads and guess what? Stoneman makes the most of it by flicking it away through mid-wicket. Three on the troy! What will Starc do now? |
| 4.5 : M Starc to Stoneman, There comes Starc! That's some response! After going full, he bangs in a short ball on middle and off. Mark arches back and evades. |
| 4.6 : M Starc to Stoneman, No... no... no. Nearly the fourth boundary of the over! Starc has been guilty of spraying a bit too much on the pads. Stoneman doesn't miss out. He walks across a bit and flicks it through mid-wicket. The ball slows down near the fence as the batsmen run three. 15 off the over! Just the start England needed? |
| 5.1 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Fuller length on off, driven towards mid off. |
| 5.2 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Outside off, MS has got nothing to do with that one. |
| Nathan Lyon is warming up... |
| 5.3 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| 5.4 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Angles it in from a length on middle, Stoneman defends it down. |
| 5.5 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Sprays a bit wider outside off, Mark Stoneman has no qualms in letting it go through to the keeper. |
| 5.6 : J Hazlewood to M Stoneman, Stoneman is looking in good touch here! After clipping four on the leg side he plays one through the off. Fuller in length and just outside off, probably after those boundaries his confidence must have boosted up. He drives one through covers and collects two. |
| 6.1 : M Starc to Cook, Length delivery on middle and off, Cook covers the line and defends. |
| 6.2 : M Starc to Cook, FOUR! Pulled away in style! Cook at his best! Sees the length short, stands tall with swivels just a bit to pull it in front of square on the leg side for a boundary. Smith immediately drops a man back on the boundary. |
| 6.3 : M Starc to Cook, Fuller in length and outside off, swinging away, AC lets it be. |
| 6.4 : M Starc to Cook, The batsman lets the ball go outside his off stump. |
| 6.5 : M Starc to Cook, That's third leave in the row! Cook is resisting here! He is taking his time. |
| 6.6 : M Starc to Cook, Ahead of a length around middle and off, defended off the back foot. |
| 7.1 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Fuller around middle and leg, clipped through backward square leg for a single. |
| 7.2 : J Hazlewood to Cook, FOUR! Handsome looking shot, that! Cook has come out with intent it seems! Leaving the balls outside off and then making the most when it's there to be hit. Shortish but not rising much, Cook gets on top of the bounce and pulls it powerfully through mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 7.3 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Taps one to the off side and calls through for a single. Good running! |
| 7.4 : J Hazlewood to A Cook, FOUR! Edged and through! Fuller in length and just outside off, Cook comes forward to defend but gets an outside edge which flies past the second slip fielder for a boundary towards third man. This is the highest opening stand for England in this series. |
| 7.5 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 7.6 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, FOUR! Eased down the ground!An overpitched delivery from Josh. |
| First change from Steven Smith is being made. He has called Pat Cummins into the attack. Can he give his skipper a breakthrough? |
| 8.1 : Pat Cummins to Cook, No run. |
| 8.2 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Length ball on middle and off, defended off the back foot again. |
| 8.3 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Outside off, left alone. |
| Good observation from the commentators on air. They observe that, whenever the ball is coming back in, Cook hops in his attempt to work it through the leg side. They add, when he does so he seems to lose his balance and there are chances he might miss one and could be a candidate for an LBW. |
| 8.4 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Fuller in length and outside off, defended off the front foot gently. |
| 8.5 : Pat Cummins to Cook, In the channel outside off, Alastair shoulders his arms. |
| 8.6 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Good over from Pat! Bowled well and didn't give any run. A maiden to start with, just what his skipper wanted after the bleeding. Cook prods forward to keep this out. |
| Spin is brought into the attack. Nathan Lyon to roll his arm over. With two southpaws at the crease, Smith must have opted his ace-spinner to come early. |
| 9.1 : N Lyon to Stoneman, No run. |
| 9.2 : N Lyon to Stoneman, Short and outside off, cut off the back foot through backward point for a couple. |
| 9.3 : N Lyon to Stoneman, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 9.4 : N Lyon to M Stoneman, Lyon once again bowls short and outside off, cut away nicely but finds the man at backward point. |
| 9.5 : N Lyon to Stoneman, Comes forward and wrists it towards the leg side. |
| 9.6 : N Lyon to Stoneman, Quicker through the air around middle and off, Stoneman hangs back in defense. |
| 10.1 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Outside off, left alone. |
| 10.2 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Full and outside off, Cook gets across and is solidly behind the line as he defends the ball to cover. |
| 10.3 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Shortish in length outside off, Alastair punches it towards point but the timing is not that great to find the gap. |
| 10.4 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Angling this one away from the left-hander, left alone. |
| 10.5 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Full and around off, Alastair gets across to push it down the ground but the ball goes off the inner half of the bat towards mid on. |
| 10.6 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Down the leg side, clipped to deep mid-wicket for a single. |
| 11.1 : N Lyon to Cook, Landed around middle, spinning away, Cook goes back and clips it towards short mid-wicket. |
| 0.0 : Stumping appeal! Is Cook home? |
| 11.2 : Lyon to Cook, Comfortably home. A terrific delivery to be honest but not quite sure whether it was legal. Replays seemed to suggest that Lyon did not have anything behind the line with his heel on the mark. However, the third umpire seems to be happy. Coming to the delivery, Lyon loops this around leg and Cook lunges to defend. The ball spins away past his outside edge and then bounces too! Terrific take from Paine, taking it near his shoulder and even better from him to whip the bails off |
| 11.3 : N Lyon to Cook, Fuller and in line of the stumps, pushed to the off side. |
| 11.4 : Lyon to Cook, Huge LBW appeal! Not out says the umpire and Smith wants the review. Bat, indicates Lyon. And he is correct. Full on middle and leg, Alastair looks to sweep but misses and wears it on the pads, but after an inside edge. |
| 11.5 : N Lyon to Cook, Superb bowling! 'Lovely, Gazza!' says Paine. Full and around off, AC is again forward to defend but the ball takes off and just beats the outside edge! Tim Paine collects it beautifully again. |
| 11.6 : N Lyon to A Cook, Short and outside off, cut straight to point. A fumble but no run. |
| 12.1 : Pat Cummins to Stoneman, A harmless delivery! Short and wide outside off, Stoneman simply ignores. |
| 12.2 : Pat Cummins to Stoneman, Short of a length delivery, angling in, Mark is on his toes as he tucks it in front of Marsh at square leg. |
| 12.3 : Pat Cummins to Stoneman, Sticks to his short balls! Shoots off the deck but the line is wide outside off. No trouble for MS, he drops his wrists and lets it go. |
| 12.4 : Pat Cummins to Stoneman, Continues to hit the deck hard, Stoneman jumps a bit in the crease but manages to defend it towards the cover region. |
| 12.5 : Pat Cummins to Stoneman, In the corridor of uncertainty, nothing doing says, Mark. Another leave. |
| 12.6 : Pat Cummins to Stoneman, FOUR! Spoils a good over! Could have been back-to-back maidens for Cummins! He serves a short ball, slighlty wider outside off. This makes Stoneman greedy. He opens the bat face and guides it through backward point. It was in the air for a while but through the gap. A boundary to end the over. Stoneman has quickly moves to 32 from just 34 balls. |
| 13.1 : N Lyon to Cook, Floats it up around off, Cook prods forward in defense. |
| 13.2 : N Lyon to Cook, Pushes it through the air around middle and off, buried into the ground. |
| 13.3 : N Lyon to Cook, Chance? Nope it was off the pads! Lyon drifts it in around middle and leg, Cook leans across to flick it away but it goes off something past the short leg fielder. They cross but the umpire signals it as a leg bye. |
| 13.4 : N Lyon to Stoneman, Stoneman presses forward and stonewalls this loopy delivery on off. |
| 13.5 : N Lyon to Stoneman, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 13.6 : N Lyon to Stoneman, A bit full outside off, pushed towards the cover region. Another tight over from Lyon. |
| 14.1 : Pat Cummins to Cook, Angles it in on middle, Cook looks to work it away but gets it off the inner half through backward square leg for a single. |
| 14.2 : Pat Cummins to Stoneman, Arrow it on the stumps, kept out with a front foot defense. |
| 14.3 : Pat Cummins to Stoneman, Outside off, not paid attention to. |
| 14.4 : Pat Cummins to Stoneman, Pitches it up on off, driven off the front foot but straight to mid off. |
| 14.5 : Pat Cummins to Stoneman, A bit short but the line is wide outside off, Mark doesn't play at it. |
| 14.6 : Pat Cummins to Stoneman, Fuller and on the stumps, Mark Stoneman gets his bat down in time and defends it safely back to Cummins. |
| Drinks are on the field! An excellent start for England, this! They have put their dismal batting show behind and have come out with intent now. Initially, when the ball was new, they looked a bit itchy but as the game progressed, they started to look aggressive. They were also aided by some poor bowling from the pacers. Cook survived an LBW scare but since then he has come into his own. Runs are coming for England, Lyon is making the ball talk. What's going to happen in the next hour? Let's wai |
| 15.1 : N Lyon to Cook, Full and straight, blocked back to the bowler from the front foot. |
| 15.2 : N Lyon to Cook, Landed outside off, a slight bit of loop, Cook comes forward and pushes it towards point. |
| 15.3 : N Lyon to Cook, Thrown up outside off, Alastair comes forward again and blocks. |
| 15.4 : N Lyon to Cook, Slightly short, this time AC goes back and punches it through the covers for a single. |
| 15.5 : N Lyon to Stoneman, A little bit of pace on this one, around leg, pushed back to the bowler. |
| 15.6 : N Lyon to Stoneman, Full and around middle and leg, solidly blocked. |
| Change of bowling. Josh Hazlewood is back on. Was pretty expensive in his first spell - 0/16 in 4. That is costly not only by his standards but by his team's too. |
| 16.1 : J Hazlewood to Cook, On middle and leg, flicked through the leg side for a single. |
| 16.2 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Outside off, angling in, let through. |
| 16.3 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Close, nearly! Perhaps the first loose shot of the morning. Hazlewood keeps it just outside off, Stoneman pushes at it away from his body but gets a thick inside edge which just misses the stumps! Goes to fine leg and the batsmen take a couple. |
| 16.4 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Very close to the off stump, Mark defends it compactly. Better. |
| 16.5 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, 50-RUN STAND! First instance for the opening wicket for England in this Ashes. Perfect stepping stone if you are chasing down a huge target. A length ball outside off, Stoneman punches it through the covers and gets a single. Comparing this with the third ball of this over, this time he was closer to the delivery. Got on top of the bounce and earned runs. This start should give England a lot of boost. Question is - are Australia starting to look nervy already? |
| 16.6 : J Hazlewood to A Cook, Driven through mid on by the batsman. |
| 17.1 : N Lyon to Stoneman, ALMOST AGAIN! Things are happening. And England are riding their luck a little bit in the last few minutes. Full on middle, Stoneman gets down and looks to sweep but the bounce on that induces a top edge. For a second, it seems like it will carry to Josh Hazlewood but he is a second late and that is the difference. He gets to the ball after it bounces in front of him. Matter of a second. Meanwhile, a run taken. |
| 17.2 : N Lyon to A Cook, Short and outside off, cut through point for a single. |
| 17.3 : N Lyon to Stoneman, Around off and middle, watchfully defended. |
| 17.4 : N Lyon to Stoneman, OUCH! Short and outside off, Stoneman looks to cut but gets a bottom edge which hits Paine right in the abdomen. |
| 17.5 : N Lyon to Stoneman, Full and outside off, driven straight to cover. |
| 17.6 : N Lyon to Stoneman, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 18.1 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Excellent fielding! On the pads, Cook flicks it beautifully but Shaun Marsh throws himself to his left at square leg and stops it! |
| 18.2 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Beaten! On a length around leg, Alastair feels for it but is beaten. |
| 18.3 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Full and outside off, driven straight to mid off. |
| 18.4 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Full and straight, solid defense on offer. |
| 18.5 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Outside off, angling away, left alone. |
| 18.6 : J Hazlewood to Cook, Outside leg, flicked down to fine leg for a single. |
| 19.1 : N Lyon to Cook, Tossed up slowly on middle, Cook comes forward and defends it towards cover. |
| 19.2 : N Lyon to Cook, Full on middle, pushed back to the bowler this time. |
| 19.3 : N Lyon to A Cook, Full and flatter this time, pushed towards mid off. |
| 19.4 : N Lyon to Cook, Full on middle, watchfully defended. |
| Howzzzatttttttttttttt???? That was a lonnnnng appeal from Lyon and Paine. They reckon Cook is LBW here. Smith takes the review... |
| 19.5 : Lyon to Cook, OUT! LBW! The decision is overturned! Australia strike, the GOAT roars. Beautiful bowling again. Lyon tosses this up around leg and Cook looks to flick. Our first reaction is a leading edge as the ball goes to cover. However, Lyon and Paine put in a huge appeal. But the umpire is unmoved. Now, this is interesting. Smith asks Lyon about the inside edge. The bowler shakes his head but feels it is spinning away! Smith disagrees to that. He just confirms whether there is an insid |
| James Vince walks in at number 3, replacing Cook. |
| 19.6 : N Lyon to Vince, No run. |
| 20.1 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, No run. |
| 20.2 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Action replay of the previous delivery. |
| 20.3 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Hat-trick of leaves now. |
| 20.4 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, Outside off, played straight to point. |
| 20.5 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 20.6 : J Hazlewood to Stoneman, The batsman was beaten and missed the line of the delivery. |
| 21.1 : N Lyon to Vince, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 21.2 : N Lyon to Vince, Goes right back in his crease and blocks. |
| 21.3 : N Lyon to Vince, Short and on middle, tucked behind square leg for a single. Gets off the mark. |
| 21.4 : N Lyon to Stoneman, Beauty! Lyon is making things happen even outside the 'Gabba. He flights this one around off, Stoneman comes forward to defend but then the ball spins and bounces past the outside edge. Once again, spectacular keeping from Paine. |
| 21.5 : N Lyon to Stoneman, Short and outside off, punched towards point. |
| 21.6 : N Lyon to Stoneman, On leg stump, pushed towards mid on. |
| 22.1 : J Hazlewood to Vince, Outside off, left alone. |
| 22.2 : J Hazlewood to Vince, Fuller and wider outside off, let through. |
| 22.3 : J Hazlewood to Vince, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 22.4 : J Hazlewood to Vince, A length ball slightly wider outside off, almost similar to the one which got him in the first innings. Vince lets it go past. |
| 22.5 : J Hazlewood to Vince, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 22.6 : J Hazlewood to Vince, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| Mitchell Starc has the ball in his hand now. Around 21 minutes to go for Dinner. Australia will be aiming for a wicket at least. Stoneman would be the prized one for now. Can England see off this tricky period? Don't want two new batsmen from the very beginning of the night session. We saw what happened last evening. |
| 23.1 : M Starc to Stoneman, A beauty first up. Lands this outside off, Stoneman feels for it but misses. |
| 23.2 : M Starc to Stoneman, A length ball around off, coming back in, Mark misses his tuck and is hit on the pads. |
| 23.3 : M Starc to M Stoneman, OUT! Ohhh... Handscomb has a competition for a position of a fielding coach who gives catching practice. It was Handscomb this afternoon. Now, it is Stoneman. This wicket has to go to Steve Smith. Not because he brought Starc on. With this field setting, even Peter Handscomb bowling would have got a wicket. Nothing special on the delivery. It is a short one outside off but it is playing with that habit of Stoneman. He likes to play the ball behind point and through g |
| Joe Root walks in with a massive responsibility on his shoulders. He has got 18 minutes to negotiate. |
| 23.4 : M Starc to Root, Outside off, left alone. |
| 23.5 : M Starc to Root, The batsman has flicked the ball off his pads. The batsmen have run through for a single. Off the mark quickly. The target is under 300 now. |
| 23.6 : M Starc to Vince, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 24.1 : J Hazlewood to Root, Outside off, left alone. |
| 24.2 : J Hazlewood to Root, Landed on a length, defended solidly. |
| 24.3 : J Hazlewood to Root, On a length around middle, tucked through square leg for a single. |
| 24.4 : J Hazlewood to Vince, Landed outside off, left alone. |
| Ian Chappell on air feels England could have avoided the wicket of Stoneman. Inexperience plays a big role in mind games. With Cook in the middle, Stoneman was looking very confident. But with the former gone, nerves seemed to settle in. Now, in this scenario, it would have been better for England had Root come in at number 3. Because he is not a guy who is fazed by nerves. Instead he could have made the nerves disappear from Stoneman. With Vince as his partner, you had two inexperienced guys in |
| 24.5 : J Hazlewood to Vince, There comes the bouncer now, around off, Vince sways away, but in a hurry. |
| 24.6 : J Hazlewood to Vince, FOUR! MARVELLOUS! That is the Root effect! One has to say, going by Chappell's comments. He has comfortably come forward to this one and driven a length ball through the covers. This would have got to do with Root in the middle. He would have eased the new man's nerves. |
| 25.1 : M Starc to Joe Root, Full and outside off, Root looks to drive but gets a thick inside edge onto his pads. |
| 25.2 : M Starc to Root, Outside off, left alone. |
| 25.3 : M Starc to Root, Goes back in his crease and defends. |
| 25.4 : M Starc to Root, A sharp bouncer outside off, Root lets that pass. |
| 25.5 : M Starc to Root, Back of a length outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 25.6 : M Starc to Root, FOUR! Almost got him! Australia bowling to a plan. In the first innings, Root was out in a similar fashion. Full and wide outside off, Root looks to drive away from the body and gets a thick outside edge. In the first innings, it went straight to gully. This time, it went between gully and backward point. Starc smiles. |
| Nathan Lyon is back on. 5 minutes to go for Dinner. Smith looking at 2 overs before the break. |
| 26.1 : N Lyon to Vince, Landed around middle, Vince stays back to flick but misses and gets a thick inside deg onto his pads. |
| 26.2 : N Lyon to Vince, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 26.3 : N Lyon to Vince, Stays back in his crease and defends. |
| 26.4 : N Lyon to Vince, Full and around off, well defended. |
| 26.5 : N Lyon to Vince, Full and outside off, watchfully blocked to the off side. |
| 26.6 : N Lyon to Vince, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 27.1 : M Starc to Root, A length ball outside off, pushed towards point. |
| 27.2 : M Starc to Root, Almost got him! Root is too loose at the moment, especially with the break round the corner. Full and wide outside off, Root looks to drive again, when he can leave it alone and gets a thick outside edge. Lands short of gully. Starc grins at Root. Ian Chappell on air says that the two have played for Yorkshire in county cricket in England and would be knowing each other very well. |
| 27.3 : M Starc to Root, Stays back in his crease and defends. |
| 27.4 : M Starc to Root, Outside off, pushed towards cover for a quick single. Vince was not ready initially but would have made it even if Warner's throw had hit the stumps at the striker's end. |
| 27.5 : M Starc to Vince, Full and outside off, Vince gets a nice stride forward and drives it down the ground. David Warner dives to his right from cover but cannot cut it off. However, he gets up in a flash and stops the ball near the boundary. The batsmen take three. |
| 27.6 : M Starc to Root, Around off, coming in, tucked to the leg side. Starc smiles even more and has a few questions to ask to his Yorkshire team-mate. Does not seem like sledging because both players are seen laughing it off. Papa Aleem won't be required in this case because the sons are not fighting. DINNER ON DAY 4! |
| Excellent finish to the session for Australia. Just what they would have wanted. Two relatively new men in the middle under lights. At 53/0, things were not looking that rosy but two quick wickets have ensured that England are pegged back. |
| The saying usually goes - 'When things are not going, the best get going.' Australia were struggling with their lines, lengths and even mind games when Cook and Stoneman were going at 4 an over. Then came the GOAT - Nathan Lyon. His first couple of overs started to play some tricks and that got the better of Cook, thanks to a brilliant review from Smith. That was followed by Stoneman's wicket and in this passage before the first wicket and the final ball before the break, the hosts have conceded |
| England would not have wished to end the session on this note, especially with the night one coming. But they need all their focus to ensure that they do not do what Australia did last evening. They will have two daylight sessions tomorrow and if they see this current night one off, without losing more than 2 wickets, they could still be in with a chance to create history. |
| Australia, well, will look to emulate what Anderson, Broad and Woakes did last evening. They will be targeting Root and will sense that if they get him early, this could end rather quickly. On the flip side, what has been observed with this Aussie side in this Test is, if they end up trying too hard, they fall away from their plans. Normal cricket from both sides would be the key. Join us back at 1900 LOCAL (0830 GMT) for the final session. |
| ... DAY 4, SESSION 3 ... |
| Welcome back for the final session. The hosts' pacers would be licking their lips and would be raring to go in. The pink ball does a lot under lights. Can the Englishmen survive this tricky period? Will wait and find out. LYON will start the proceedings. VINCE on strike. A bat-pad and a slip in place... |
| 28.1 : N Lyon to Vince, Tossed up delivery outside off, Vince lunges forward in defense. |
| 28.2 : N Lyon to Vince, Flatter through the air around middle, a bit of bounce, Vince goes back to defend but then lets it be. The ball goes off the pads past Smith at leg slip. They cross but the umpire reckons that no shot was offered and signals it as dead-ball. |
| 28.3 : N Lyon to Vince, Fuller on the stumps, blocked. |
| 28.4 : N Lyon to Vince, Worked away towards the leg side for nothing. |
| 28.5 : N Lyon to Vince, Goes back and turns it behind square on the leg side for a single. |
| 28.6 : N Lyon to Root, 1 run. |
| Mitchell Starc to start from the other end. |
| 29.1 : M Starc to Root, FOUR! Right through the gap! Actin immediately! We saw Root edging a couple off Starc before the break and now again he survives! Length delivery, angling away outside off. Root stays back to dab it away but gets it off the outer part right through the gap between the third slip and gully for a streaky boundary. |
| 29.2 : M Starc to Root, Fuller and tailing back in on middle, turns out to be a half-volley. Root leans across and wrists it superbly to get three towards mid-wicket. |
| 29.3 : M Starc to Vince, Good length, just outside off, defended off the front foot. |
| 29.4 : M Starc to J Vince, A bit fuller and around off, searching for swing but there isn't any. James drives it through covers. The fielder there gives it a chase but they run three. Good running! |
| 29.5 : M Starc to Root, Slants it away outside off, Root shoulders his arms. |
| 29.6 : M Starc to Root, On the pads, clipped to deep square leg for just a single. 11 off the over! |
| 30.1 : N Lyon to Root, Floats it up around middle and off, Root gets well forward to bury it down. |
| 30.2 : N Lyon to Root, A bit short and outside off, Root goes back and punches it to deep mid off for a single. |
| 30.3 : N Lyon to Vince, Flatter through the air around middle, Vince covers the line and defends. |
| 30.4 : N Lyon to Vince, Takes a stride forward and blocks it down. |
| 30.5 : N Lyon to Vince, Past Warner at leg slip! That went quickly though! Lyon drifts it around the pads, Vince looks to flick it away but gets it off the inner half. Warner at leg slip dives full length to his right but before he could, the ball goes past him to the fine leg fence. Starc does the mopping up work in the deep. Another three added to the total. |
| 30.6 : N Lyon to Root, Darts it on the pads, flicked through the leg side for a single. |
| 31.1 : M Starc to Joe Root, Full and outside off, Root comes forward and drives it straight to widish mid off. |
| 31.2 : M Starc to Root, This is much straighter, around off, Joe is forward and defends this confidently. |
| 31.3 : M Starc to Root, Excellent batting, Not a bad ball at all, on a length outside off and angling away. Could have been left alone but Root gets across, is close to the ball and punches it through the covers for a couple. Moves to 20 from 27 balls. In arguing with Root leaving that ball would have been better, the feet were close to the ball on this occasion. Normally, when that happens, you generally don't edge the ball unless it does something late. |
| 31.4 : M Starc to Root, A short ball, around off, angling away, pulled through mid-wicket for a single. |
| 31.5 : M Starc to J Vince, Full and outside off, Vince looks to drive but edges it. The ball lands just short of gully. |
| 31.6 : M Starc to Vince, Outside off, left alone. |
| 32.1 : N Lyon to Root, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 32.2 : N Lyon to Root, The batsman gets to the pitch of the ball and defends it. |
| 32.3 : N Lyon to Root, A short ball, Root looks to tuck it away but the ball goes off his thigh pads and lands short of David Warner at leg slip. |
| 32.4 : N Lyon to Root, Just short! Short again, Joe tucks it past Warner at leg slip. It lands just short and goes through. A run taken. |
| 32.5 : N Lyon to Vince, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. |
| 32.6 : N Lyon to Vince, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 33.1 : M Starc to Root, Outside off, left alone. |
| 33.2 : M Starc to Root, Defended off the back foot by the batsman. The batsmen have run through for a single. |
| 33.3 : M Starc to Vince, Landed outside off, left alone. |
| 33.4 : M Starc to Vince, Landed around off, Vince stays back in his crease and defends. |
| 33.5 : M Starc to Vince, Around off, watchfully defended. |
| 33.6 : M Starc to J Vince, OUT! Wicket number 3 is down! And Australia have struck in the 6th over of the night session. |
| Dawid Malan walks in at number 5, replacing Vince. |
| 34.1 : N Lyon to Root, No run. |
| 34.2 : N Lyon to Root, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. |
| 34.3 : N Lyon to Root, Goes back in his crease and blocks. |
| 34.4 : N Lyon to Root, Comes down the track and pushes it back. |
| 34.5 : N Lyon to Root, The batsman has played it towards mid-wicket. One run added to the total. |
| 34.6 : N Lyon to Malan, Outside off, left alone. |
| Pat Cummins into the attack now. |
| 35.1 : Pat Cummins to Root, FOUR! PRISTINE! Welcome into the attack, mate! Full and wide outside off, Root leans into this one, GETS TO THE PITCH OF THE BALL and drives it through the covers. What was wrong with the one Vince played? Similar shot there, similar shot here. Similar ball there, similar ball here. Similar pace there, similar pace here. The difference - words mentioned in bold. |
| 35.2 : Pat Cummins to Root, Full and outside off, driven straight to mid off. |
| 35.3 : Pat Cummins to Root, Full and outside off, driven straight back. Some swag from Cummins as he just sticks out his left hand and stops the ball. |
| 35.4 : Pat Cummins to Root, Full on middle, pushed towards mid on this time. |
| 35.5 : Pat Cummins to Root, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 35.6 : Pat Cummins to Root, A short ball outside off, Root sways away. |
| 36.1 : N Lyon to Malan, Short and outside off, cut through point for a single. |
| 36.2 : N Lyon to Root, Down the leg side, extra bounce, Root looks to tuck but misses. Paine collects and starts to appeal but Lyon shakes his head. Nothing in it. |
| 36.3 : N Lyon to Root, Flicks it straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 36.4 : N Lyon to Root, Played through mid-wicket by the batsman. |
| 36.5 : N Lyon to Root, FOUR! 'This was always coming,' says an excited Amit, my colleague, with his mouth full of food. The excitement got the better of him as he could not even wait to swallow the morsel before speaking. Coming to the ball, a rare bad one from Lyon, banged in short, on middle and Root pounces. Goes back in his crease and pulls it over mid-wicket for a boundary. 100 UP FOR ENGLAND! |
| Root has been adjudged LBW! He has taken the review. Big moment in the game. |
| 36.6 : Lyon to Root, OVERTURNED! Seemed not out to the naked eye itself. A length between full and good on middle, Root goes back to play that initially but then chooses to just wear it on his body. He is hit very high on the thigh, almost near the groin but umpire Aleem Dar straightaway raises his finger on the appeal. Root immediately takes the review and Hawk Eye shows the ball going over the top. |
| 37.1 : Pat Cummins to Malan, Outside off, left alone. |
| 37.2 : Pat Cummins to Malan, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 37.3 : Pat Cummins to Malan, On a length outside off, Malan feels for it but misses. |
| 37.4 : Pat Cummins to Malan, Goes right back in his crease and blocks it watchfully. |
| 37.5 : Pat Cummins to Malan, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 37.6 : Pat Cummins to Malan, On the pads, Cummins gets away with it as Malan flicks it straight to square leg. |
| 38.1 : N Lyon to Root, No run. |
| 38.2 : N Lyon to Root, Not all that short but Root gets down on a knee and pulls it behind square leg for a single. |
| 38.3 : N Lyon to Malan, Landed outside off, Malan watches it carefully and sees the ball spin away. |
| 38.4 : N Lyon to Malan, Throws this one up on the pads, Dawid flicks it straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 38.5 : N Lyon to Malan, Landed outside off, once again DW is watchfully and lets Paine collect. |
| 38.6 : N Lyon to Malan, Nice footwork. Full and outside off, Malan gets to the pitch of the ball and drives it past cover towards widish mid off for a single. |
| 39.1 : Pat Cummins to Malan, A bouncer on middle, Malan ducks. |
| 39.2 : Pat Cummins to Malan, On a good length outside off, coming in, Dawid watches it carefully and then takes his bat away from the line. |
| 39.3 : Pat Cummins to Malan, Wider than the previous one, left alone comfortably. |
| 39.4 : Pat Cummins to Malan, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 39.5 : Pat Cummins to Malan, Goes back and defends from his crease. |
| 39.6 : Pat Cummins to Malan, Full on middle, pushed back to mid on. |
| 40.1 : N Lyon to Root, FOUR! Nicely done. Full and around off, Root gets down and sweeps it through square leg for a boundary. The runs needed come under 250 now. |
| 40.2 : N Lyon to Root, Full and outside off, Joe pushes this to the off side, wants a single but is sent back. |
| 40.3 : N Lyon to Root, Full and around off, pushed to the off side. |
| 40.4 : N Lyon to Root, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 40.5 : N Lyon to Root, Full and just around off, JR comes forward, keeps his bat close to the pad and then defends. |
| 40.6 : N Lyon to Root, This time he goes back and keeps the ball out. |
| 41.1 : Pat Cummins to Malan, Landed outside off, shouldered arms to. |
| 41.2 : Pat Cummins to Malan, On a good length outside off, Malan gets on top of the bounce and dabs it to gully who dives to his right and stops it. |
| 41.3 : Pat Cummins to Malan, A bouncer on middle, Dawid ducks and then the ball swirls after going past his head. |
| 41.4 : Pat Cummins to Malan, On middle and leg, flicked away for a single. |
| 41.5 : Pat Cummins to Joe Root, Oops! Good awareness. A back of a length ball outside off, Root stays back and defends. The ball then threatens to go back onto the stumps but Root is aware. He initially tries to hit away with his bat but then kicks it off with his pad. |
| Caught behind? Australia reckon Root is gone. Umpire Chris Gaffaney does not think so. Smith wants the review. |
| 41.6 : Pat Cummins to Root, Not out. Chris Gaffaney continues to impress. Another decision which stays. On a length outside off, Root stays back to defend but the ball comes back in off the seam a long way. There is a noise as the ball goes past and Tim Paine appeals after collecting. However, the umpire stays put and Australia review. Replays do not detect anything, but there seems to be a noise somewhere. Hot Spot shows where it is coming from - the back thigh. One review gone. |
| Josh Hazlewood is into the attack now. |
| 42.1 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Outside off, left alone. |
| 0.0 : Another LBW! Well, this is for an LBW. Australia reckon this is out. Malan is the batsman. height seems to be the issue. |
| 42.2 : J Hazlewood to Malan, NOT OUT it is and AUSTRALIA ARE REVIEWLESS for the rest of this run chase. Height indeed was the issue. On a good length outside off, Malan stays back to defend but is beaten by pace. Is hit on the pads and Hazlewood puts in an appeal. Then he goes down on his haunches (to appeal, that is) but Aleem days no. Now Smith wants this reviewed as well. Missing the sticks, going over the top. Not the best of reviews but perhaps the one to Smith last evening and the one to Co |
| 42.3 : J Hazlewood to Malan, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 42.4 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Outside off, defended solidly. |
| 42.5 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Outside off, left alone. |
| 42.6 : J Hazlewood to Malan, On middle and leg, flicked straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 43.1 : Pat Cummins to Root, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 43.2 : Pat Cummins to Root, Outside off, left alone. |
| 43.3 : Pat Cummins to Root, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 43.4 : Pat Cummins to Root, One more leave outside off. |
| 43.5 : Pat Cummins to Root, Fuller on middle and off, watchfully prodded away. |
| 43.6 : Pat Cummins to Root, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 44.1 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Full on middle, pushed back to the bowler. |
| 44.2 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Full on middle, Malan looks to flick but gets a leading edge to cover. |
| 44.3 : J Hazlewood to Malan, FOUR LEG BYES. Down the leg side, Malan looks to tickle but the ball goes off his pads to the fine leg fence. The stand moves to 21. |
| 44.4 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Gets right behind the line and defends. |
| 44.5 : J Hazlewood to Malan, The batsman does well to leave that bouncer. |
| 44.6 : J Hazlewood to Malan, The batsman works it down the leg side. They pick up a single. |
| 45.1 : Pat Cummins to D Malan, FOUR! SUBLIME! Best shot of the day by Malan. Full and outside off, Malan reaches out and drives it through the covers. Even Warner, who usually chases everything, gives it up after taking 10 steps. 237 runs more needed. |
| 45.2 : Pat Cummins to Malan, OUCH! Not the best way to play the short ball. Malan takes his eyes off and shows his back to the ball. He is hit on the gloves and the ball drops to the leg side. That could have so easily lobbed up in the air. Root walks over to him and has a chat. |
| Short leg coming in now for Malan. |
| 45.3 : Pat Cummins to Malan, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 45.4 : Pat Cummins to Malan, A short ball on middle and leg, Dawid plays it straight to short leg, on the bounce. |
| 45.5 : Pat Cummins to Malan, Outside off, left alone. |
| 45.6 : Pat Cummins to Malan, Another short ball. Around leg. DW is in the air to play that and somehow, the ball flies off his gloves, then onto his chest but drops down safe on the off side. |
| DRINKS break. England have negotiated 18 of the allotted 38 in this session. Losing just one wicket, that too, pretty early, is not that bad. They have managed to exhaust Australia of their reviews too. All they need to do now is ensure that they do not lose more than a wicket till stumps. If that happens, the runs needed would come down under 200 which should be possible given the whole day tomorrow. |
| 46.1 : J Hazlewood to Root, Hits the length and gets a bit of inward movement too, Root knows where his off stump is before making a leave. |
| 46.2 : J Hazlewood to Root, FOUR! Beautiful! Just so beautiful! Hazlewood fires it full on the stumps, a bit around the pads. A batsman like Root won't miss out. He gets forward and across and flicks it neatly through mid-wicket for a boundary. |
| 46.3 : J Hazlewood to Root, FOUR! And again! Hazlewood once again sprays on the pads, Root maintains his balance and clips it again. This time through square leg. Moves to 45 now! |
| 46.4 : J Hazlewood to Root, Fuller in length and outside off, there to be hit. Joe isn't shy. He leans ahead, drives but straight to Marsh at point. |
| 46.5 : J Hazlewood to Root, Stays right behind the line to this length ball and answers it with a straight blade. |
| 46.6 : J Hazlewood to Root, Maybe, he expected that coming. It's a bumper from Josh, Joe is quick to sway away from the line. |
| 47.1 : Pat Cummins to Malan, It's on a back of a length, deviating a bit off the seam. Malan plays inside the line of it and gets beaten by the away movement. |
| 47.2 : Pat Cummins to Malan, Back of a length again, around middle and off. Poked with an angled bat towards point. Seemed like Dawid got squared up a bit there. |
| 47.3 : Pat Cummins to D Malan, Cummins makes the batsman play! That's because of his physical appearance. He tends to hit the deck really hard. Does so this time, DM off the back foot tries to defend but gets an inside edge on the pads. |
| 47.4 : Pat Cummins to Malan, Sprays it a bit wider outside off, the southpaw offers no shot. |
| 47.5 : Pat Cummins to Malan, Shortish delivery on middle and off, bounces a bit more. Malan initially tries to pull but then realizes it's not the right ball to go after. Bails out at the last moment. |
| 47.6 : Pat Cummins to Malan, Another bouncer, this time down the leg side. Easy for Dawid who ducks to let the keeper do the rest. |
| Nathan Lyon is brought back into the attack. |
| 48.1 : N Lyon to Joe Root, Floated delivery outside off, Root drives it confidently towards the mid off fielder. |
| 48.2 : N Lyon to Root, Flatter one down leg, Root moves inside the line and lets it be. The keeper too fails to collect it. The batsmen run three. |
| 48.3 : N Lyon to Malan, Edged... dropped! Oh, Smith is the man! It was a tough one but the way he reacted, should have taken it. Big moment in the game! Dawid Malan gets a reprieve! Lyon immediately comes and action happens. He lands it around leg, Malan prods forward to defend but the ball turns away with some bounce, takes the outside edge and flies towards the Aussie skipper at first slip. Smith reacts and stretches full length to his right but the ball doesn't stick. Lyon is down in disbelief |
| 48.4 : N Lyon to Malan, Gets forward and defends it down safely. |
| 48.5 : N Lyon to Malan, Fraction short and outside off, Malan camps back to cut but finds the man at backward point. |
| 48.6 : N Lyon to Malan, Loops it up around middle and off, Dawid presses forward in defense. |
| Mitchel Starc is brought into the attack as well. So, double change. He took the wicket of Vince and was taken off. |
| 49.1 : M Starc to Root, Starts his spell from over the wicket, hurls it on a back of a length outside off. Root stands tall and steers it through point for a single. |
| 49.2 : M Starc to Malan, Tucked away on the leg side for a single. |
| 49.3 : M Starc to Root, Starc wants Root to fall in the trap. He keeps it nice and full, outside off, Joe Root resists and leaves it alone. |
| 49.4 : M Starc to Root, Fuller in length and curling back in a bit, worked straight to short mid-wicket. |
| 49.5 : M Starc to Root, FOUR! Using the pace of the bowler! Well played, skip! Joe Root, the English run-machine has taken it on himself. Gets to his 34th Test fifty, raises the bat but knows the job isn't done yet. Got to convert it now. Ball - A bit short, angling away, Root arches back a bit and places it with an angled bat past a diving backward point fielder for a boundary. |
| 49.6 : M Starc to Root, Good length ball on the stumps, defended by getting behind the line. |
| 50.1 : N Lyon to Malan, Malan was beaten and was tested in the last over when he was inside the crease. Now he decides to use his feet. But should be careful as Lyon is getting some turn too. In this case, a drive towards mid off. |
| 50.2 : N Lyon to Malan, Lyon drops it short and outside off, DM camps back and cuts it square of the wicket on the off side for a single. |
| 50.3 : N Lyon to Root, Lobs.... ahhh just past Handscomb at short leg! Lyon smiles! Changes the angle, goes around the wicket to the right-hander. Lands it around off, turning back in, Root looks to work it away but gets an inside edge. It hits the pads and lobs wide of Peter Handscomb who is stationed at bat-pad. A single taken. |
| 50.4 : N Lyon to Malan, Flatter through the air around middle and off, Malan prods forward in defense. |
| 50.5 : N Lyon to Malan, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 50.6 : N Lyon to Malan, On middle and leg, driven towards mid on. They take Hazlewood on who is lazy to attack. By the time he does, the single is already taken. |
| 51.1 : M Starc to Malan, FOUR! Squeezed through! Brings up the 50-run stand! These two have brought the chase back on track or should I say, they have steadied the ship? Be it anything, that English dressing room can breathe a sigh of relief. Fuller in length and outside off, a wide yorker. Malan crouches low and squeezes it through backward point. No need to run for those. |
| 51.2 : M Starc to Malan, FOUR! Inside edge... Lucky Malan! On a length and this one jags back in, Malan looks to defend but gets a thick inside edge. The ball just goes past the leg stump and races down to the fine leg fence for back-to-back boundaries. |
| 51.3 : M Starc to Malan, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 51.4 : M Starc to D Malan, Sprays it full and on the pads, Dawid flicks it wide of mid on. Won't get a boundary but will get a couple. |
| 51.5 : M Starc to Malan, Back of a length outside off, stabbed towards point off the back foot. |
| 51.6 : M Starc to D Malan, FOUR! Another boundary! 14 off the over! All of a sudden the runs are flowing now! Starc goes short, angling in on middle. Malan swivels and pulls it along the ground. Boy, how well has he connected it? Bisects the gap through backward square leg. Hazlewood and Lyon were in the deep but could do nothing about it. 150 up as well! |
| 52.1 : N Lyon to Root, Around middle and leg, worked towards mid-wicket for a single. |
| 52.2 : N Lyon to Malan, Malan gets down and paddle sweeps it down to fine leg for a brace. |
| 52.3 : N Lyon to Malan, Comes down the track and pushes it back to the bowler. |
| 52.4 : N Lyon to Malan, Short and outside off, slapped nicely bu finds backward point. |
| 52.5 : N Lyon to Malan, Floated on the stumps, Malan presses forward in defense. |
| 52.6 : N Lyon to Malan, Loopy delivery around off, bunted back to the bowler. |
| 53.1 : M Starc to Root, Fuller and angling in on middle, Joe Root defends it down watchfully. |
| 53.2 : M Starc to Root, Keeps it on a fuller length, at 144.1 kph, JR blocks it back to the bowler. |
| 53.3 : M Starc to Root, Tries to angle it in from outside off, the batsman remains solid and defends it down again. |
| 53.4 : M Starc to Root, Fuller and a bit wider on off, Root leans into it and drives it towards cover-point. Lyon from point is quick to stop the ball. |
| 53.5 : M Starc to Root, Length delivery outside off, Root guides it towards the gully fielder. |
| 53.6 : M Starc to Root, Spears it full on off, a nice front foot drive but finds mid off. A maiden. Australia need to put a lid on the scoring rate now. After going for runs in the previous over, Starc has done well now. |
| 54.1 : N Lyon to D Malan, Short and outside off, a bit of extra bounce on this occasion. Malan goes back to cut but is undone by the spit off the surface. It goes off the gloves and lobs uppishly towards point. |
| 54.2 : N Lyon to Malan, Around middle and leg, worked towards the leg side. |
| 54.3 : N Lyon to Malan, Leans ahead and defends it off the front foot. |
| 54.4 : N Lyon to Malan, A huge appeal for an LBW! Not given! Australia can't review this either as they don't have any! Lyon bowls it around middle, it skids off the deck and pings Malan on the pads who tires to flick it away. Lyon appeals long and hard but the umpire shakes his head. Hawk Eye shows, the impact was in line but would have clipped the leg stump. Umpire's call! What was good to see was English crowd making the most of the opportunity risen. They are seen signalling 'T' as a sign of |
| 54.5 : N Lyon to D Malan, Drives it through mid off to get off the strike. Target comes under 200 now. |
| 54.6 : N Lyon to Root, A bit short on leg, Root helps it with a pull towards Starc at deep square leg and will keep strike. |
| 55.1 : M Starc to Root, Fuller and sprayed down the leg side, Root looks to flick it away but fails to get any wood on it. |
| 55.2 : M Starc to Root, Bangs in a short ball, coming in on the body, Root arches back and steers it towards point. He seems to be handling Starc with ease here. Australia starting to feel pressure? |
| 55.3 : M Starc to Root, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 55.4 : M Starc to Root, Fuller in length on the stumps, Root with a stride forward drives it back to the bowler. |
| 55.5 : M Starc to Root, Full and fired wide outside off, Root leans ahead and square drive it towards point where Lyon dives to make a stop. A single taken. |
| 55.6 : M Starc to Malan, The batsman has played that off the front foot and into the ground. |
| 10 overs to go in the day. The current pair of Root and Malan have done the good work but can they see off those 60 legal deliveries? Australia would still be eyeing a wicket. They seem to be under the pump. Exciting finish on day 4, beckons. Into an extended half an hour... |
| 56.1 : N Lyon to Root, Floated delivery on middle, Root lunges forward in defense. |
| 56.2 : N Lyon to Root, Gives it loop, lands it outside off, Joe smothers it away. |
| 56.3 : N Lyon to Root, A rare poor ball and Root puts it away not for a boundary though. He rocks back and pulls it over mid-wicket for one. |
| 56.4 : N Lyon to Malan, Short and outside off, Malan cuts it through backward point for one. |
| 56.5 : N Lyon to Root, Root needs to be careful! He wears one again on the pads. The last time he survived a scare and does so again. Lyon drops it around leg, Root initially tries to go after it but then for some reason doesn't opt for. Wears it near the groin and the appeal follows. Not given. Pitched outside leg! |
| 56.6 : N Lyon to Root, On middle and leg, wristed through square leg for a single. |
| Pat Cummins is recalled into the attack. He troubled Malan with short stuff in his previous spell. Can he break this stand? Can he get the Adelaide Oval going? For now, it's Root facing him... |
| 57.1 : Pat Cummins to Root, Length delivery, angling in from over the wicket, Root is standing tall to keep it out. |
| 57.2 : Pat Cummins to Root, That ball has taken the inside edge of the batsman and thudded into his pads. |
| 57.3 : Pat Cummins to Root, A bit fuller and just outside off, JR blocks it out towards cover. |
| 57.4 : Pat Cummins to Root, FOUR! It's uppish but safe! Cummins keeps it full outside off, Root strides forward a touch and drives it uppishly. Seemed like Bancroft got a hand to it at short cover. Anyway, the ball goes through to the rope for a boundary. |
| 57.5 : Pat Cummins to Root, Keeps it ahead of a length, just around off, Root looks to defend but gets an inside edge on the pads. |
| 57.6 : Pat Cummins to Joe Root, Drilled! Delightful from the skip! A bit overpitched on off, Root ain't missing this. He bends his back knee and drives it nicely. Warner from covers gives it a chase to prevent a run for his side. |
| Josh Hazlewood is called back into the attack. |
| 58.1 : J Hazlewood to Root, Sprays on the pads, Joe Root tucked fine down the leg side for one. Not the best of the balls to bowl when you are starting a new spell. |
| 58.2 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Length ball, in that zone of apprehension, Dawid leaves it alone. |
| 58.3 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Back of a length outside off, Malan with an angled bat plays it towards gully. |
| 58.4 : J Hazlewood to Malan, It's on the back of a length, just outside off, DM dabs it on the bounce to Khawaja at gully. |
| 58.5 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Length ball outside off, Malan shoulders his arms to it. |
| 58.6 : J Hazlewood to Malan, Changes the angle for the last ball of the over. Josh comes from around the wicket, hits the back of a length area. Pushed towards gully on the bounce. |
| 59.1 : Pat Cummins to Root, On a length outside off, Root plays this well inside the line. |
| 59.2 : Pat Cummins to Root, Landed outside off, left alone. |
| 59.3 : Pat Cummins to Root, One more leave outside off. |
| 59.4 : Pat Cummins to Root, That is a terrific short ball, around off, Root is off his feet as he tries to fend that one. The ball goes off the edge to fine leg. A single taken. Cummins is bowling his heart out there. |
| 59.5 : Cummins to D Malan, OUT! Knocked him over! Cummins brings the Adelaide Oval to life! This is a ripper. He perhaps is bowling the second-last over in this spell and gives it his all. In the first innings, he got Malan with a beauty. In this one, he gets him with another attractive one. On a length outside off, Malan looks to defend, seems to have covered the line but the ball comes back in, goes past the inside edge and hits the top of off stump! He was dismissed by a similar ball in the fi |
| Chris Woakes comes in as the night watchman. 6 overs left... |
| 59.6 : Pat Cummins to Woakes, Almost though as well! A low full toss, around off, Woakes defends it to the off side. |
| 60.1 : J Hazlewood to Root, Hazlewood keeps it fuller on off, a wicket has just fallen but Root doesn't care. He goes on with his drive, just that he coulnd't pierce the gap. |
| 60.2 : J Hazlewood to Root, That's stays a bit low! Fuller and angling in from around off, stays low as well. Root has to crouch and keep it out. |
| 60.3 : J Hazlewood to Root, Good ball! This is what a wicket can do! Josh certainly has his tail up. He bangs in a short ball, kicks off the surface and Root is taken aback. He takes evasive action and tries to duck. Is a bit late in doing so but manages to evade in the end. Adelaide Oval erupts! |
| 60.4 : J Hazlewood to Root, Angling in on the pads, clipped through square leg for one. |
| 60.5 : J Hazlewood to Woakes, On a length and just outside off, Woakes off his back foot defends. |
| 60.6 : J Hazlewood to Woakes, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| Could be the last over before stumps. Will this pair see it off or will Cummins sneak in one more? |
| 61.1 : Pat Cummins to Root, A bit on the shorter length, it's served outside off. Root looks to run this one down. Khawaja from third slip dives and parries it to Lyon at point. A single taken, importantly for England, Root is off strike. |
| 61.2 : Pat Cummins to Woakes, Fuller and wider outside off, Woakes has got nothing to do with that one. Cummins, bring it on the stumps. Make Chris play. |
| 61.3 : Pat Cummins to Woakes, Peach! Hurls it on off, Woakes comes forward to defend but the ball straightens and nearly takes the outside edge of Woakes' bat. |
| 61.4 : Pat Cummins to Woakes, Pitches it up outside off, defended off the front foot. |
| 61.5 : Pat Cummins to Woakes, What a delivery! Nearly... nearly! How well has Cummins bowled? He can't believe nor can his teammates! Comes steaming in, fires it full on the stumps. Almost a toe-crusher. Woakes somehow, somehow manages to get his bat down in time. The ball squirts off the edge past the flying gully fielder and they come back for a couple. Last ball coming up... |
| 61.6 : Pat Cummins to Woakes, It's full, it's straight and on the stumps. Woakes brings his bat down at the angle and clips it through mid-wicket. Starc gives a long chase but the batsmen get three. THAT'S STUMPS ON DAY 4! |
| A nutritional Ashes day comes to an end! Never seen a final session under lights more entertaining than this one. It had runs, it had wickets, it had sledging, it had close calls and more importantly, it has given both sides equal chance to win this one. The way this session started, Australia were right on top as Starc removed Vince. But the English skipper, Joe Root stood up. He led from the front and decided to take it on him. He was looking for support and Dawid Malan played a perfect foil. |
| The duo hung around, survived a few scares but boy, they nearly managed to keep the hosts at bay for the remainder of the session. They stitched a crucial 78-run stand before Cummins bowled a peach to dismiss Malan, thereby dragging some momentum his side was desperately or anxiously waiting for. With still 178 runs needed and 6 wickets in hand, one cannot predict who will come out on top tomorrow. |
| Australia tried very hard but simply could not breach through England's defenses. They were very expensive in the middle at one stage but then pulled things back. However, they did not quite get the wickets at the rate they would have expected, especially in that final session. Mitchell Starc was a big disappointment, even though he did pick up two wickets. Hazlewood was okay but not dangerous. Cummins and Lyon were the real threat and boy, didn't the former deliver when needed. |
| The hopes of England shall be pinned on their skipper, while the hosts would feel, if they get that man early, they can sense victory. Either way, the morning session tomorrow would be very crucial and it would be interesting to see how the visitors go about their business. The second new ball is due after 18 overs and it will be interesting to note whether Australia can make anything happen with either the new or old balls. A cracking day 5 finish is on the cards and it is something we all have |
| ... DAY 5, SESSION 1 ... |
| 178 runs. 6 wickets. Two captains under pressure to perform. One to take his team home. The other to prevent his opposite number from doing just that. The Adelaide Oval is buzzing. Boy, don't remember being so excited for the final day of a Test match. This is the second Ashes Test. Hello and a warm welcome and hope you feel the heat! |
| If the records or momentum are anything to go by, Australia should have won this game last evening itself. They would have felt on top with a target of 350-plus, then that confidence restored with 2 quick wickets albeit after a partnership. But Joe Root has ensured that the game has been brought down to parity. What was 90-10 Australia at the start of the innings has now become 50-50. In my opinion, that is. The jaffa from Cummins last evening might have just made it 60-40 Australia but 178 runs |
| England will look towards Joe Root. The longer he is there in the middle, Australia's confidence and self-belief will keep diminishing. If the visitors negotiate this first session without losing more than 2 wickets, the runs required will come under 100 and from there, it will be easier in terms of the mindset. |
| 18 overs to go to the second new ball. A wicket either side of that and the Aussies will be confident. However, should they not pick up any wicket before the second new ball is taken, it could go all pear-shaped because if a set batsman is facing the new strawberry, then runs tend to flow. Either ways, exciting cricket is on offer! |
| The Aussies are out in the middle. No huddle. Just a pat of the hands and they are onto their work. Similar to how people go to work on a Wednesday. No nerves shown as of now, but just get the feeling the attitude is - Okay, we had a bad day in the office yesterday, let us make up for that today. |
| Now, Root and Woakes walk out confidently too. The skipper will be under pressure but the best thing about him is that greater the pressure, the better he performs. Josh Hazlewood to start off the proceedings to Woakes. Here we go! |
| 62.1 : J Hazlewood to Woakes, Full and straight, watchfully defended. |
| 0.0 : Caught behind! Is that the start Australia needed? Woakes has reviewed it though. |
| 62.2 : J Hazlewood to Woakes, OUT! The decision stays as it is! Bizarre. Really bizarre. Really, really bizarre. Not because of the decision but because of the protocol. A cracker of a delivery first up. It is on a length outside off and Woakes has to play at it. There is a noise as the ball goes past and the whole of Australia goes up. Aleem Dar thinks, thinks, thinks and then raises his finger! Oh oh... no mate, Woakes straightaway shakes his head. He takes the review without consulting his par |
| Moeen Ali walks in at number 7, replacing Woakes. |
| 62.3 : J Hazlewood to Ali, On a good length around middle, watchfully defended. |
| 62.4 : J Hazlewood to Ali, Landed outside off, Moeen is not sure whether to play or leave and gets a bottom edge to the slip cordon. |
| 62.5 : J Hazlewood to Ali, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 62.6 : J Hazlewood to Ali, Outside off, left alone. |
| Mitchell Starc to bowl from the other end. |
| 63.1 : M Starc to Root, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 63.2 : M Starc to Root, Reverse swing on offer, full and wide outside off, the ball tails away as Root watches it go by. |
| 63.3 : M Starc to Root, LEADING EDGE, SAFE! The reverse seems to be playing tricks on the batsman's mind. Full on middle, Root looks to flick but the ball swings away, takes the leading edge and goes uppishly but does not carry to point. |
| 63.4 : M Starc to Root, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 63.5 : M Starc to Root, Outside off, left alone. |
| 63.6 : M Starc to Root, Full and around off, well blocked out. |
| 64.1 : J Hazlewood to Ali, On a good length around off, watchfully defended. |
| 64.2 : J Hazlewood to Ali, First run of the day! A length ball around middle, swinging away late, Moeen is tentative as he is not sure which way the ball will go. Pushes at it and the ball goes off the inside edge towards square leg. A run taken. |
| 64.3 : J Hazlewood to Root, Outside off, left alone. |
| 64.4 : J Hazlewood to Root, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 64.5 : J Hazlewood to Root, OUT! Caught behind! Is that the game for Australia? Hazlewood gets Root as his 125th Test wicket but I doubt he will put this on to of the most important dismissals he has taken. Another beautiful delivery. Australia are sensing that England are a bit on the back foot as they are not sure whether the ball will move in or out. Hazlewood finds his length and nails it. Similar to the one which got Woakes. Around that length area. This one hits some patch and then stays lo |
| Jonny Bairstow walks in at number 8, replacing Root. This partnership could be the key. A 50-run stand will restore England's confidence. |
| 64.6 : J Hazlewood to Bairstow, Outside off, quietly left alone. |
| 65.1 : M Starc to Ali, Full and around off, watchfully defended. |
| 65.2 : M Starc to Ali, More reverse, squirted off the inner half of the bat through square leg for a single. |
| 65.3 : M Starc to J Bairstow, Full and outside off, driven straight to cover. |
| 65.4 : M Starc to Bairstow, FOUR! SWEET! You are not going to win by just blocking. You need to score. And Bairstow does just that. Half volley, wide outside off, Jonny leans and drives it through the covers for a boundary! Some way to get off the mark. |
| 65.5 : M Starc to Bairstow, The batsman defends it from within the crease. |
| 65.6 : M Starc to Bairstow, Outside off, played straight to point. |
| 66.1 : J Hazlewood to Ali, Landed outside off, angling away, shouldered arms to. |
| 66.2 : J Hazlewood to Ali, On a good length again, watchfully defended from the crease. |
| 66.3 : J Hazlewood to Ali, The batsman chooses to leave the ball outside his off stump. |
| 66.4 : J Hazlewood to Ali, Short in length this time, punched straight to point. |
| Australia have got what they wanted - wickets before the second new ball, that too, of Root. Now, the next question - how long does Smith keep Hazlewood and Starc bowling? He would be wanting the pair to make the first use of the second new strawberry. Nathan Lyon, meanwhile, has got Moeen 3 times out of 3 in this series so far. He could be an option. |
| 66.5 : J Hazlewood to Ali, Uppish, safe! Moeen nearly gives it away. A length ball outside off, Moeen reaches out to push and almost hits it aerially straight to point! Lands short of him. |
| 66.6 : J Hazlewood to M Ali, Full and outside off, driven straight to mid off. |
| 67.1 : M Starc to Bairstow, Full and wide outside off, left alone. Have to say, Starc has been a disappointment in this innings. He has been bowling too full and wide. He is a rhythm bowler. If he finds some, he can finish off the game in a matter of minutes. On the flip side, if he does not get any rhythm, he could end up being favourable to the opposition instead. |
| 67.2 : M Starc to Bairstow, Full and wide outside off again, left alone. |
| 67.3 : M Starc to J Bairstow, A bit loose from Bairstow but cannot blame him. The line is wide outside off and the length is a half volley. Bairstow thinks he can drive and goes hard at it. His left hand comes off the bat and he mistimes it to cover. |
| 67.4 : M Starc to J Bairstow, EDGED, FOUR! Perhaps Starc needs some luck as well to get some rhythm going. He gets this to swing a little bit and induces an outside edge as Bairstow flays at that. However, the ball lands short of a diving second slip and goes through. 167 more needed for a win. The stand moves to 10. |
| 67.5 : M Starc to Bairstow, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 67.6 : M Starc to Bairstow, Short and outside off, cut through point for a single. Smith does not want to give easy boundaries here. He has an in-out field for Bairstow. This pair of Moeen and Bairstow can take the game away from you. |
| 68.1 : J Hazlewood to Bairstow, Outside off, cutting back in, Bairstow is a touch hasty in that punch and gets a bottom edge towards gully. |
| 68.2 : J Hazlewood to Bairstow, Fuller and around off, watchfully played out. |
| 68.3 : J Hazlewood to Bairstow, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 68.4 : J Hazlewood to Bairstow, Another one jags back in, Jonny looks to defend but is cut into two and is hit on the thigh pad. |
| 68.5 : J Hazlewood to J Bairstow, Full and outside off, driven straight to short extra cover. |
| Interesting and contrasting thoughts from Amit and Milind. The former is not too happy with Bairstow playing his shots and wants him to be careful. Milind though, has a keen observation. He says that the English batsmen should play their shots. Because the pitch is misbehaving and the ball is darting around. Fair point. Only thing, just 10 minutes ago, Amit wanted the English to go for their shots! Perhaps that edge made him change his mind! |
| 68.6 : J Hazlewood to Bairstow, A length ball outside off, JB hops and pushes it behind point. Thinks he has a couple on offer but Nathan Lyon swiftly gets to his left from point and keeps the batsmen to a single. Every run scored or every run saved is gold dust for the respective sides. Bairstow moves to 10 now. |
| Pat Cummins has been given the ball now. Replaces the out-of-sorts Starc. |
| 69.1 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Outside off, harmless ball, left alone. |
| 69.2 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, One more leave outside off. |
| 69.3 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, That has taken off! Great bowling from Cummins. He identifies the length which was being hit by Hazlewood - the one between full and good. Baisrtow stays back to defend but the ball deviates off the seam after pitching and then shoots up. Beats the outside edge and Paine takes it near his face. |
| 69.4 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, On middle, watchfully defended. |
| 69.5 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Full and straight, the surprise delivery, Jonny works it wide of mid on. Mitchell Starc has got some work to do, to jog and tumble a touch but no run is taken. |
| 69.6 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Goes right back in this crease and blocks this watchfully. |
| Nathan Lyon into the attack as well. |
| 70.1 : N Lyon to Ali, Full and slow to start, a bit of loop, watchfully defended from the crease. |
| 70.2 : N Lyon to Ali, Fuller than the previous one, watchfully blocked again, this time coming forward. |
| 70.3 : N Lyon to Ali, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 70.4 : N Lyon to Ali, Beauty! Good battle, this one. Moeen wants to take on Lyon but the spinner who is currently bowling is up to the challenge. He darts this one, around off, Moeen comes forward to defend but then the ball spins away sharply to beat the outside edge. That might keep him in the crease. |
| 70.5 : N Lyon to Ali, Played to the point region by the batsman. |
| Moeen adjudged LBW! Looks to be hitting, but Moeen takes the review. Will he be saved? |
| 70.6 : N Lyon to Ali, OUT! LBW! Another decision stays from Aleem Dar! Lyon now has Moeen 4 on 4 in this series. 2 LBWs, 1 stumped and 1 caught. Just felt Moeen was going to do something because of what happened on the fourth ball. He did not want to come down the track but wanted to score. Saw this as something of the latter. A scoring opportunity. The ball was pitched outside off and Moeen thought about the sweep. But he missed and was hit on the pads. To the naked eye, that looked plumb and Al |
| Craig Overton walks in at number 9, replacing Moeen. |
| 71.1 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Landed around off, defended solidly. |
| 71.2 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Short and wide outside off, Bairstow has a lazy slash and misses. |
| 71.3 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. They pick up a single. |
| 71.4 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 71.5 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Full and outside off, played with an open bat face towards gully. |
| 71.6 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 72.1 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Banged in short, pulled towards deep square leg for a single. |
| 72.2 : N Lyon to Overton, Fuller and in line, watchfully patted down the track. |
| 72.3 : N Lyon to Overton, Full again, pushed back to the bowler. |
| 72.4 : N Lyon to Overton, Impressively played. Goes back and works it with the bounce past sghort leg for a run to get off the mark. |
| 72.5 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Short and outside off, cut straight to cover-point. |
| 72.6 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Short again, this time Bairstow finds the gap at cover with his punch. Two runs taken. |
| 73.1 : Pat Cummins to Overton, A length ball outside off, Overton feels for it bit again, the ball seams away off the pitch to beat the outside edge. |
| 73.2 : Pat Cummins to Overton, This time Craig is well forward in defense. |
| 73.3 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Full on middle, pushed towards mid on. |
| 73.4 : Pat Cummins to Overton, A short ball on middle, CO ducks. |
| 73.5 : Pat Cummins to C Overton, EDGED, FOUR! A length ball outside off, Overton feels for it and the ball goes off the outside edge. It lands just short of the diving second slip fielder enroute the third man fence. That dive... oh a certain Ricky Thomas Ponting would have probably taken that. |
| 73.6 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Ouch! He is down. This has just nipped back in and Overton does not know whether to duck or play. Is late and is hit right on the stomach. That has hurt him big time and the big lad is down in pain. Cummins checks with him. Not quite sure the response is positive. |
| The physio is out in the middle and that will be the DRINKS BREAK. Australia's hour, truly and surely. 3 wickets in the space of 9 overs and that has fired them up. They will be aiming to wrap this up soon but England still have some batting left. Overton is no mug with the bat as was evident from the first innings while Broad is there too. They will just need to bat around Bairstow who will need to take centrestage now. |
| 74.1 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Down the leg side, short in length, clipped past short leg for a single. The stand moved to 10. |
| 74.2 : N Lyon to Overton, The batsman works it down the leg side. |
| 74.3 : N Lyon to Overton, Full and outside off, watchfully defended. |
| 74.4 : N Lyon to Overton, The batsman has defended it by getting right behind the line of the delivery. |
| 74.5 : N Lyon to Overton, Full and around off, worked past short leg but it is stopped. |
| 74.6 : N Lyon to Overton, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 75.1 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Cummins comes steaming in and angles it onto the pads. Bairstow tries to flick but is beaten by pace. to get hit high on the pads. |
| 75.2 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Short and wide, easy for Bairstow. He cuts it through backward point and completes a run. HE thinks of a second but slips as he turns for it and hence, opts against it. He might have gone for the second as he is very quick. |
| 75.3 : Pat Cummins to C Overton, Good length on off, gets it to bounce a touch extra. Overton tries to defend it, but it goes off the outside edge and along the ground to gully. |
| 75.4 : Pat Cummins to Overton, EDGED AND DROPPED! Bancroft was just brought in closer to the batsman at third slip and it went exactly to him, only for him to spill it. Cummins comes running in and lands it on a length around off. Overton presses forward to defend but due to the away movement the ball takes the outside edge and goes to third slip. The fielder there goes down low and gets to hand to it but does not hang on. A repreive for Overton. Cummins has been excellent in this spell. Also exc |
| 75.5 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Bouncer! The batsman ducks in time to let that one go over him. |
| 75.6 : Pat Cummins to Overton, BEATEN! A lovely end to a lovely over! Cummins bowls it full outside off, wanting the batsman to drive as there are three slips waiting. The batsman does so but he gets beaten. |
| 76.1 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Flicks it with the spin through mid-wicket to bring the 200 up for England. 144 more needed now. A long way to go. |
| 76.2 : N Lyon to Overton, Tosses it up on off, Overton uses his reach to get to the pitch of the ball and defends it, |
| 76.3 : N Lyon to Overton, Floats it on off, turning back in. Defended by the batsman. |
| 76.4 : N Lyon to Overton, Flatter on off, Overton defends it off the back foot. |
| 76.5 : N Lyon to Overton, The batsman shows the full face of the bat and defends the ball off the back foot. |
| 76.6 : N Lyon to Overton, Gives it air on off, Overton defends it solidly. Just one of the over. |
| 77.1 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Fuller in length on off, Bairstow drives it beautifully past the bowler. Warner at mid off, gives it a chase. The batsmen complete one and go back for a second. David is extremely quick to get to the ball, he slides, picks the ball up and fires a throw at the bowler's end but the batsmen have made it. |
| 77.2 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Fuller in length outside off, Bairstow guides it through backward point for a run. |
| 77.3 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Length on off, Overton is solid in defense. |
| 77.4 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Just ahead of a length. Overton presses forward and keeps it out. He has been very good in defending the ball. |
| 77.5 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Shorter in length outside off, Overton rocks back and guides it uppishly but well short of the fielder at gully. |
| 77.6 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 78.1 : N Lyon to Bairstow, From around the wicket, Lyon fires it on the pads, on a shorter length. Jonny rocks back and tries to flick but fails to do so. The ball goes to the leg slip fielder. There is excitement from the crowd but nothing from the Australians as it had come off the thigh pad. |
| 78.2 : N Lyon to J Bairstow, Tosses it up on off, driven back to the bowler. |
| Bairstow pulls out as Lyon gets to his bowling stride. He also says after that. He might not have been ready there. |
| 78.3 : N Lyon to J Bairstow, Easy single! Bairstow drives the full ball down to long on for a run. |
| 78.4 : N Lyon to Overton, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 78.5 : N Lyon to Overton, Gives it air but bowls it too full on middle, Overton drives it down to long on for a run. |
| 78.6 : N Lyon to Bairstow, Flighted ball on off, turning back in. JB lunges forward and blocks. |
| 79.1 : Pat Cummins to Overton, Good running! Back of a length on off. Overton plays it with soft hands towards covers and sets off for a run. Warner is quick to the ball and has a shy at the non-striker's end. Overton puts in a full length dive and the ball hits him on the arm. |
| 79.2 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Bowls a bumper on middle, Jonnt watches it early and ducks under it. |
| Starc is seen warming up. Indication of Australia taking the second new ball immediately? We will have to wait. Only three balls to go. |
| 79.3 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Back of a length on off, Bairstow plays it to point. |
| 79.4 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Wide enough for the batsman to not play at it. |
| 79.5 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Defended off the front foot by the batsman presenting the full face of the bat. |
| 79.6 : Pat Cummins to Bairstow, Comes running in and bangs it in short on middle. Jonny ducks under it. |
| The second new ball is available and it has been taken! Micthell Starc has it in his hand as he has been introduced in the attack. |
| 80.1 : Starc to Overton, OUT! The new ball has done the trick straightaway. Starc gets his third. A brilliant delivery, possibly his best in this innings. He comes running in and lands it on a length. Overton who has been very solid in defense, lunges forward to defend again but this time is undone by the inswing as the ball hits him on the front pad. The Australians appeal and the umpire immediately raises his finger. Overton starts walking back as he knew that, he was a dead duck. Replays later |
| 0.0 : Stuart Broad walks out to the middle. |
| 80.2 : M Starc to Broad, Good length on off, shaping away. Broad first thinks of playing at it but then pulls his bat away. |
| 80.3 : M Starc to Broad, On the pads, Broad flicks it uppishly towards the vacant square leg area for a run. |
| 80.4 : M Starc to Bairstow, Fuller in length on off, Bairstow drives it back to Starc. He is getting good inswing here. |
| 80.5 : M Starc to Bairstow, FOUR! Delightful! Jonny has to continue playing his shots> Starc dishes out a fuller length ball on off, Bairstow Leans into it and drives it straight back past the bowler for a boundary. |
| 80.6 : M Starc to Bairstow, Pulls his length back and bowls a bumper on middle. Bairstow does well to evade it. |
| Josh Hazlewood will share the new ball from the other end. He has been brilliant this morning, can he continue that? |
| 81.1 : J Hazlewood to Broad, The inside edge has saved Broad there! Hazlewood starts off with a very full ball, which swings in from outside off. Broad is tentative, as he stays inside the crease and tries to defend. The ball takes the inside edge and hits him on the pads. The players make muted appeal but then pull out of it. |
| 81.2 : J Hazlewood to Broad, FOUR BYES! Harsh on Paine as he had no chance there! Hazlewood errs in line and drifts it down the leg side. The ball swings away further, beating the diving Paine and into the fine leg fence. Four byes signaled. |
| 81.3 : J Hazlewood to Broad, On the pads again, Josh flicks it through square leg for a couple. |
| 81.4 : J Hazlewood to Broad, Flicks it off leg stump to deep square leg for a single. |
| 81.5 : J Hazlewood to Bairstow, Fuller in length and outside off, Jonny need not play at it but still tries to only to get beaten. |
| 81.6 : J Hazlewood to Bairstow, The batsman flicks it away with a wristy shot. The batsmen have picked up a couple of runs. |
| 82.1 : M Starc to S Broad, How has he played that one? Broad i think is expecting the short stuff here but he ain't getting any. Starc bowls it very full on middle, Stuart is rooted to his crease and he tries t defend it. The ball hits the bottom edge and goes along the ground towards the second slip fielder. |
| 82.2 : M Starc to Broad, Flicks it fine down the leg side with the angle for a couple. |
| 82.3 : M Starc to Broad, Back of a length on off, Broad defends it off the back foot. |
| 82.4 : M Starc to Broad, Edge but safe! Broad is living very dangerously here! Starc once again bowls it full on off, Broad again expecting a shorter one plays it from very deep inside the crease. He gets an outside edge through the slip cordon for a couple. |
| 82.5 : M Starc to Broad, Fullish ball on off, swinging away. Broad tries to defend but it takes the edge and on the bounce to the slip fielder. |
| 82.6 : M Starc to Broad, OUT! England are nine down now! Starc has a 4-fer! Finally an edge carries. Starc bowls it fuller around off, gets it to shape away. Broad is half-forward as he tries to defend. The ball takes the outside edge and goes to Paine who takes it. The Australians celebrate. Broad's short but uncomfortable stay comes to an end. He was expecting a short ball throughout his innings but did not get any. Nevertheless, the Aussies are just one wicket away now. |
| James Anderson is the last man in. |
| 83.1 : J Hazlewood to Bairstow, Length outside off, Jonny lets it be. |
| 83.2 : J Hazlewood to Bairstow, Back of a length on off, Bairstow defends it solidly. |
| Once again Jonny pulls out of the way as Hazlewood reaches his mark. He once again says sorry but the crowd does not like it. |
| 83.3 : J Hazlewood to Bairstow, Good length around off, JB blocks it by getting right behind the line. |
| 83.4 : J Hazlewood to Bairstow, BEATEN! Length around off, shaping away. Bairstow feels for it but gets beaten. |
| 83.5 : J Hazlewood to Bairstow, FOUR! England need a lot more! Bairstow times the full ball outside off through covers for a boundary. |
| 83.6 : J Hazlewood to J Bairstow, Shorter in length on off, Jonny pulls it uppishly over square leg and only takes a single as he wants to keep strike. |
| 84.1 : M Starc to Bairstow, FOUR! Exquisite! A half-volley outside off by Starc. Bairstow drives it through covers for a boundary. That shot was very pleasing to the eye. |
| 84.2 : M Starc to Bairstow, OUT! BOWLED"EM! THAT IS IT! A fifer for Starc. He has not been at his best but he has five wickets to his name. Mitchell lands it on a length around off, gets it to shape back in. Bairstow tries to defend it away from his body but the ball takes the inside edge and onto the middle stump, which is uprooted. All smiles on the faces of the Australian players as they have made quick work of the English lower-order. THEY GO 2-0 UP IN THE SERIES AS THEY HAVE WON BY 120 RUNS! |
| 2-0 Australia! The result was perhaps not so much in doubt when the Aussies got a lead of 215 but the fire with which they bowled today would have pleased them. Hazlewood striking on the very second ball of the morning just showed the intention and focus which was lacking yesterday. 134 deliveries was all it took for them to take the remaining 6 wickets and we did not even have a full session of play. |
| Hazlewood started the rut this morning, dismissing Woakes and Root in the space of 10 balls and then Lyon and Starc mopped up the tail. The latter would have been particularly happy as he was pretty ordinary the whole of yesterday. He was getting swing and along with that some rhythm. A 5-fer is registered against his name but had he bowled even half of what he did with the second new ball, this game would have been over on Day 4 itself. |
| Team bowling effort from the Aussies again. In the first innings, they combined well with all the bowlers sharing the spoils. Hazlewood picked up only 1 wicket but was by no means less threatening. In the second, Starc seemed to be the weak link but he rushed Australia to victory once the second new ball was taken. |
| England would be gutted but one cannot blame them totally. Yes, they did have a chance before the start of play today but when the ball is moving around like a hoop, hard to see even the best of batsmen survive for long. Only criticism can be of them going too defensive too early but if you lose a wicket on the second ball of the morning, do you have a choice? Root played a fabulous knock of 67 but yet again, that monkey of not being able to convert those 50s is glued onto his back. A much bette |
| Conditions were difficult to bat but it certainly was not a 227 all out pitch in the first innings. England were probably frustrated at letting Australia get away again, from having them 311/7 at one stage to 442/8 which they eventually mustered. That 227 was more due to some lower order resistance as it could have been even worse. |
| Were Australia clinical? A 120-run win certainly seems to say so but once again they were in trouble with the bat. The middle order failed in the first innings barring Marsh and Paine, while in the second, I am sure, they would not agree that it was not that difficult to bat wherein the highest score was 20. They could have lost the game, had England not capitulated in their first innings. |
| Josh Hazlewood says he felt they would not take the 6 wickets so early. Reckons the wicket of Joe root set the day up for them. Further adds it was pretty special as he is their best batsman. Opines there was reverse swing available and that helped. Admits they were a little nervous as they came out. He feels the bowlers did their job and the fielders also took their chances. Appreciates Starc for his bowling by saying, he is lethal with the new ball, he takes couple at the top and at the end to |
| Nathan Lyon says he is very proud of the group. He feels this is probably the best venue and thanks the supporters. Admits there is a lot of belief and confidence in the dressing room. Further adds they know England will come out hard as they are a quality team. Ends by thanking John Davison and says he is the best spin bowling coach at the moment. |
| England skipper, Joe Roots says the way they went about things yesterday was excellent. He feels they showed a lot of character. Admits it is disappointing the way they played today. Credits Shaun Marsh for his innings. Thanks their supporters for the support they have showed for them. |
| The Man of the Match, Shaun Marsh says it was an unbelievable feeling to get an 100 on day 2. Adds further he is feeling very proud about it. He mentions he is Looking forward to play in Perth (his home town) and the boys are also up for it. |
| Australian skipper, Steven Smith admits he was nervous but he believed in his team. He says It was just a matter of a wicket or two and the boys showed great character this morning. He further adds he is very proud of his boys and their effort. Appreciates the 100 by Shaun Marsh. Mentions he has not thought about enforcing the follow on as he has won the game. He reckons it has been a terrific Test match and is happy to keep his record in tact in the Adelaide. He finishes by thanking the support |
| Right then! A big win for Australia again but plenty of positives for England and thoughts to ponder for the hosts. Is it time to look past Handscomb? Is it perhaps worth looking at someone who could provide you the fifth bowling option? What if England bat for two days in an innings - would your bowlers recover in time? As far as England are concerned - they have bigger concerns. No offense to Vince or Stoneman but guess it is worth having a look at Gary Ballance, especially if he is in good fo |
| The 'Gabba - Done. Adelaide Oval - Done. The next stop is the WACA which is in Perth. It begins on the 14th of this month and before that, England are due to play a warm-up match. They will aim to get back into shape from that. Will Australia seal the Ashes at the WACA? Or will England keep it alive? Join us at 1030 LOCAL (0230 GMT) for all the action from the third Test. However, the India-Sri Lanka Test in Delhi seems to be taking longer than usual to end. Jokes apart, you can catch action fro |
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