Cricket 36: Ashes to Ashes, Warner to Dust...

[The Winged Shadow]

2 hours ago, Jeor said:

I'm not really a fan of these giant numbers on the back. Isn't Test cricket meant to be all white?

Hate those numbers so fucking ugly. Absolutely ruined the shirts. I didn't realise how much i hated those numbers until now. Ugh.

1 hour ago, Paxter said:

ETA: I’m a bit taken aback at the Hazlewood decision. Not sure what to make of it to be honest. Siddle is a proven performer, but Hazlewood has been a key man for a long time. 

Very surprised at Hazlewood decision considering he is the key bowler (more important than Starc and Cummins arguably) and didn't play the WC. If anything, Cummins would've needed a rest after the WC with Pattinson and Hazlewood keyed in. Hopefully it was just bad selection and not an injury.

[Paxter]

4 minutes ago, The Winged Shadow said:

Hate those numbers so fucking ugly. Absolutely ruined the shirts. I didn't realise how much i hated those numbers until now. Ugh.

Very surprised at Hazlewood decision considering he is the key bowler (more important than Starc and Cummins arguably) and didn't play the WC. If anything, Cummins would've needed a rest after the WC with Pattinson and Hazlewood keyed in. Hopefully it was just bad selection and not an injury.

No report that it's an injury as far as I know. Everything I've seen indicates that he was simply not selected. 

[Jeor]

Ugh, and Head goes.

They need to get a partnership going to cash in on a weakened bowling lineup. Now we'll see whether Wade's recent form translates to the Test arena.

EDIT: Massive moment there. Smith survives being given out LBW, DRS saves him by a couple of centimeters. That's the sort of dismissal (leaving the ball outside off) that would have been stone dead plumb in the pre-DRS era.

[ljkeane]

Right, I’ve done enough work that I can get away with watching a bit of the cricket rather than just listening.

Australia are in a bit of a hole here but if they can scrape their way up to 200 with Smith holding up an end I think they’re still in it with Anderson probably out.

Er, another wicket. It’s looking tougher now.

ETA: Another fortuitous lbw for Broad.

[Paxter]

Yes some lucky LBWs for England but Australia have also had their share of good fortune. 

I'm not at all surprised by this scorecard, but I did think they would get closer to 200 after being 100/3, particularly with Anderson out. Might be another short test!

[ljkeane]

Cummins has completely misread the in swinger there. Not looking good for Australia.

Still, I think there are some positives to take out of this for the series as a whole. You’d think Anderson’s likely to miss a big chunk of the series now and England still look to be struggling to get Smith out which could be key with low scores being the norm.

[Jeor]

Hussain on commentary points out that the umpires have had a shocker today.

Warner - given not out after nicking it, given out and DRS shows it was missing, then eventually given out when DRS showed it was missing the stumps.

Khawaja - originally given not out when he nicked it, England get him with the DRS.

Smith - given out, DRS shows it was missing, he survives.

Wade - given not out, DRS shows it was plumb, he's out.

Pattinson - given out LBW when it was missing the stumps, didn't review it.

Siddle - given out LBW, reviews it and there's a massive inside edge, he survives.

That's 8 clear mistakes leading to a wicket or not (and clear mistakes, not umpire's call) with only half a day's play gone. Even when you consider other decisions and appeals that were dealt with correctly, that's absolutely appalling. And as I write, umpires referred a bump ball from Siddle - clearly they're rattled and their confidence is gone.

[Paxter]

23 minutes ago, Jeor said:

Hussain on commentary points out that the umpires have had a shocker today.

Warner - given not out after nicking it, given out and DRS shows it was missing, then eventually given out when DRS showed it was missing the stumps.

Khawaja - originally given not out when he nicked it, England get him with the DRS.

Smith - given out, DRS shows it was missing, he survives.

Wade - given not out, DRS shows it was plumb, he's out.

Pattinson - given out LBW when it was missing the stumps, didn't review it.

Siddle - given out LBW, reviews it and there's a massive inside edge, he survives.

That's 8 clear mistakes leading to a wicket or not (and clear mistakes, not umpire's call) with only half a day's play gone. Even when you consider other decisions and appeals that were dealt with correctly, that's absolutely appalling. And as I write, umpires referred a bump ball from Siddle - clearly they're rattled and their confidence is gone.

This is why I get annoyed when people don't support the DRS. The above would happen fairly regularly prior to the introduction of video reviews and would drastically alter the course of the test match.

The question is whether we should move to a model where the third umpire just reviews all close calls, rather than leaving it in the hands of the batsmen to decide. 

ETA: Amazing stuff really from Smith. Let's not forget this is his first test match for around 18 months. Australia will be quite content if they can get to 200!

[Jeor]

I'm not sure I'd have the 3rd umpire automatically review all close calls - it would result in a fair few extra delays and it would undermine the on field umpires even further. And the "magic" of that finger going up would always be delayed. But I could see the argument that getting it right could be worth all that cost.

I think the DRS system is pretty good now (especially with reviews retained for umpire's call), it's just that it was built to deal with the odd howler, not a relentless flow of them. Today would be a fairly big outlier, most times the umpiring isn't this bad.

Smith might be able to haul Australia up to 180+ if Siddle can stay with him.

[Jeor]

Siddle is now out, but the unexpected partnership has dragged Australia closer to respectability. Given Anderson's injury they still would have wanted more, but at least their bowlers have something to defend. Hard to say who is ahead until England bat, but I think England would have taken a sub 250 score from Australia, having lost the toss.

[Paxter]

Great stuff from the indomitable Smith. Australia now in front of this match.

[ljkeane]

100 for Smith. That’s a great effort.

 I think this is a perfectly respectable score for Australia. England are more than capable of collapsing in a heap with the bat and it’ll be harder for them to bowl Australia out cheaply second time round with no Anderson.

[Jeor]

They've done it in a pretty unorthodox manner but this is now a decent first innings score. Brilliant innings by Smith.

5 minutes ago, ljkeane said:

It’ll be harder for them to bowl Australia out cheaply second time round with no Anderson.

Yes, I think Australia should make a better fist of their second innings with the knowledge Anderson is likely out of the attack.

We speak of England collapsing in a heap but it isn't a given. They bat deep even if the top order is a problem. There's no reason they can't do the same rearguard action that Australia have pulled off here.

[Paxter]

1 hour ago, Jeor said:

They've done it in a pretty unorthodox manner but this is now a decent first innings score. Brilliant innings by Smith.

Yes, I think Australia should make a better fist of their second innings with the knowledge Anderson is likely out of the attack.

We speak of England collapsing in a heap but it isn't a given. They bat deep even if the top order is a problem. There's no reason they can't do the same rearguard action that Australia have pulled off here.

I’m not convinced that England can bat with the kind of quality we saw from Smith today. Quite happy to be proven wrong, but I think Australia have a clear advantage going in to Day 2. Big test for the English top order tomorrow.

[williamjm]

It's one of those days when you almost have to watch the rest of the match before you can tell how well the teams performed today. Batting first I'm sure Australia would have hoped to get more runs in their first innings, but they've still managed to get something for their bowlers to aim at and it was a great recovery from Smith to get them to a competitive position. I think maybe later in the innings England were starting to miss Anderson - Broad and Woakes bowled well but they can't do it all themselves. If Anderson's injury does rule him out for a while then it could be a problem in the third innings (although Moeen might be more of a threat by then), it's also a blow for later matches in the series but at least they have other options they can bring in.

Now we get to see what the England batting lineup is really made of. I reckon they probably want to target about 350+, because I don't think they'd want to chase down too much in the last innings.

[The Winged Shadow]

Really good effort by Siddle. Was pretty annoyed with his selection but hats off after that effort. Australia is nothing without Smith. It's getting kind of embarrassing.

Either way, really good recovery and should be a much better contest now!

[Paxter]

Pretty fair assessment TWS. I don’t remember Australia ever being more reliant on a single player.

[Stubby]

1 hour ago, The Winged Shadow said:

Really good effort by Siddle. Was pretty annoyed with his selection but hats off after that effort. Australia is nothing without Smith. It's getting kind of embarrassing.

Either way, really good recovery and should be a much better contest now!

I am willing to extend some benefit of the doubt to the batting side until after the first innings are complete.  But it is a little embarrassing.

[Jeor]

Well, what a first day. Great day of cricket to start of the series - here's hoping it continues that way. I ended up watching until about 3am so I'm now thoroughly zonked but I only have to get through today until I hit the weekend so should be all good...

England: Great bowling upfront, they looked menacing with every delivery in the first hour. I think every new ball is going to be a minefield for the Aussies and England really know how to bowl in these conditions. They will be frustrated that they didn't close off the innings earlier but they did admirably especially considering they were a bowler short (for them; most sides would have only 4 bowlers anyway).

Australia: Woeful batting performance except for Smith, and then the numbers 10 and 11! Smith scored more than half the runs which is a pretty bad indictment on the others. Smith has that quality where he can just hang in there and tough it out - you get a sense of permanence where he is just not going to get out. It's the same watching Kane Williamson and a bit like the way both of them batted in the World Cup - they took their time, made sure they didn't get out early on and then looked to cash in later. 

Umpires: Absolutely horrific first day. DRS saved the game from the worst of it but there's no doubt it still had some impact on the match, albeit somewhat balanced out (Warner on balance probably should have been gone earlier, Pattinson was the only wrongful wicket that stuck). 

Overall match situation: Australia would have wanted more than 300 when the day started. But being 8/122, reaching 284 is amazing. If the sun comes out on the 2nd day, England might enjoy the best of the batting conditions but Australia will fancy their chances against this lineup. The pressure is on England given that they'll probably be shorthanded going into the third innings and Australia will feel confident about getting a good score or at least matching this one. So you'd think England would want to get a lead of at least 50+, preferably 100+.

[Paxter]

I’m surprised England are still well ahead in the betting stakes. Not saying they will repeat their first innings from Lord’s but I don’t see them making 400 either.