As
in the 3rd Test, Australia bossed much of the game. Or should I say
Steve Smith did. Apart from Marnus Labuschagne and Tim Paine, the visitors’
batting has been abysmal. At Old Trafford, Stuart Broad’s opening spells twice accounted
for openers Harris and Warner for the total of just 19 runs, the latter bagging
a pair.
Twice,
Smith has strode onto the pitch with the innings under eighth overs old and
twice he has flummoxed England’s attack with his mix of quirky mannerisms,
mutterings and manic walkabouts, interspersed with coruscating cricket shots,
piercing the field brilliantly. In the first innings he punctured Stokes’
puffed-up chest superbly, and Jofra Archer went wicketless for 97 as the former
Aussie captain executed his third Ashes double-century.
On
Friday, I watched incredulously as Rory Burns somehow avoided not only getting
an edge to the pacemen but also dislocating every joint in his body as part of
his peculiar batting stance, but he and Joe Root put on a stubborn 141 for the
third wicket to keep the match very much alive. When Josh Hazlewood’s seamers
did for both men in successive overs, England’s white-ball specialists couldn’t
keep it going and only a belligerent extra-cover drive by Buttler prevented the
follow-on.
Broad
and Archer did give the Lancashire crowd something to roar about on Saturday
afternoon but that man Smith steadied the ship, reaching 82 – his lowest score
so far! – before skying Leach into the hands of Stokes. The declaration wasn’t
long in coming, and Paine set the home nation the challenge of scoring 383 or
surviving three-and-a-bit sessions for a draw.
England
did neither, but it was mighty close. It didn’t look that way at stumps, Pat
Cummins’ third ball inducing a Burns leading edge followed by the perfect delivery
to bowl Root. And so the fifth day was all about the Dunkirk spirit. Wickets
fell regularly and, apart from Joe Denly, nobody got anywhere near 50. That didn’t
matter. It was all about eating up the overs and, once Somerset heroes Overton
and Leach found themselves together in the middle, wasting as much time as
possible. They must have used every spare pair of gloves in Manchester and
Leach’s lenses were wiped so often that the glass would have been wafer thin. The
boozed-up spectators cheered each defensive stroke, every lengthy pause, but
the frustrating tactics proved insufficient in the face of superb bowling by
Cummins and Hazlewood especially. When the latter finally trapped Overton lbw
to end his near-three-hour resistance for 21, the review was purely cosmetic.
It was plumb, and Australia had not only won the match but also ensured England
could not wrest the Ashes back from their clutches.
You
have to say the Aussies have deserved it. England have shown faith in their
World Cup-winning stars but, apart from Stokes and Archer, they haven’t really demonstrated
their red-ball credentials. The winners also clearly have their own problems.
Sooner or later, Smith will be out cheaply, leaving the weight on someone else’s
shoulders. He only lost his wicket in this match to an audacious reverse sweep
off Root and a mistimed slog when well set. David Warner finds himself in an
uncharacteristic slump and neither Bancroft, Harris or Khawaja have fared much
better.
Will
The Oval witness wholesale changes? In the week when the cricket world bade
farewell to the Pakistani pioneer of 1990s leg-spin, Abdul Qadir, perhaps Joe
Denly will open the bowling. As the home side, England could call up a whole raft
of young replacements. I just hope they leave Somerset players alone and draft
half of the Essex team so we have a chance of success in the County
Championship! Whatever. Another exciting Test match finish would do very nicely.
