Ricky Ponting,Justin Langer and Hayden were the self-appointed drivers of an innings,absorbing the shock of the new ball and making the hard runs against fresh bowlers.
David Warner and Usman Khawaja walk off the field as rain delayed play on day one of the second Test at Lord’s.Reuters
They were then followed by the “interior decorators” in the middle order,who could capitalise on the early ground gained by the top three.
Day one of the Lord’s Test was going to be a significant challenge for any batting engine room,no matter how accomplished.
The lights were on all day,the Dukes ball moved in the air and off the seam throughout and there was enough carry for edges into the slips cordon. Add to this the vagaries of the Lord’s slope,helping some balls to move treacherously into or away from the bat,and it was quite the assignment.
England captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum had hoped for such a day to get their team back into the Ashes. They asked for a more sporting surface,dropped spinner Moeen Ali,and Stokes had no hesitation bowling first.
From a controversial protest to big runs for Steve Smith,The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald's Daniel Brettig discusses the key moments from Day Two of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston with Nine's Sam Djodan.
Australia’s older players,too,had memories of days when they found themselves quickly knocked out of a Test match after batting first. David Warner,Steve Smith,Josh Hazlewood,Mitchell Starc,Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins were part of the touring squad rolled by James Anderson,Stuart Broad and company on grassy surfaces in.
That team played a gung ho style of cricket not a million miles from Bazball – and the hard forward presses of numerous members of the top six made them vulnerable to the moving ball.
Eight years later,the Australian top three brought a combination of soft hands and steely focus. They built a priceless platform against an England side that,denied early wickets,looked sloppy and somewhat desultory despite a week’s break since the first Test.
Warner’s innings, after the first over,was his finest in England since that 2015 series.
His footwork was decisive,he was proactive in seeking scoring opportunities and sharp in choosing when and whom to attack. His swept boundary off Ollie Robinson was an early marker,underlining the opener’s intent – and that Robinson’s pace is significantly less threatening than Warner is used to.
Tongue,who bowled several of the best deliveries of the day,was taken for 10 from his first over and conceded close to five an over throughout. Warner made the two-Test seam bowler aware he would be penalised for any errors.
Khawaja played with the sedate air someone who knew the value of getting through the first hour or two for his teammates’ sake. When he misjudged Tongue’s nip-backer in the final over before lunch,Khawaja was understandably annoyed,but a tally of 1-73 was golden for Australia.
Marnus Labuschagne,twice tempted into edging Broad’s away swing at Edgbaston,had re-grooved his plans in the Lord’s nets. He was helped here by the fact that Stokes gave him 29 balls before Broad returned to the England attack.
When their battle rejoined,Labuschagne was beaten by Broad’s first ball,but only because he was covering his stumps. Three boundaries flowed in the next four balls,and Broad became increasingly frustrated as a pair of lbw appeals were denied with the help of technology. Robinson’s fine away nipper to get Labuschagne did not diminish his contribution to the innings’ foundation.
Ollie Robinson struck shortly after tea to remove Marnus Labuschagne with a brilliant delivery
After Warner,deceived by a beauty from Tongue,and Labuschagne fell,Steve Smith and Travis Head took up their interior decorating with an eagerness that made England look still more hangdog – at times fielding as many as three substitutes.
Smith’s innings was almost painterly. He charged to 24 from his first 15 balls,seeking to spread the field enough for strike rotation,and then played calmly within his bubble as the afternoon unfolded,as though working to a tradesman’s schedule.
Head,the batter Stokes had pointed out as Australia’s most dangerous before the series,was more brutal. It was as if his interior decoration was being done against the clock on an episode ofThe Block.
Travis Head bats on day one at Lord’s.AP
Robinson gave Head a couple of charitable deliveries,obligingly short and wide for the left-hander to free his arms,and soon others followed on the pads. By the time Stokes threw the ball to Joe Root for his nifty off spin and a stumping,Head had already motored to 77,and his stand with Smith was worth 118 in 20 overs.
Joe Root caught Travis Head out with a wonderful piece of bowling to end a dangerous innings
Cameron Green’s uncharacteristically frantic miscue of a Root short ball to mid-off took some of the glimmer from Australia’s day;a stumps score of 3-350 would truly have been a masterwork in the conditions,.
The lights had stayed on,the ball continued to move and carry,and the clouds stayed stubbornly overhead. But because the engine room had done its job,Australia’s interior decorators were in prime position to dominate.
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