Before I get into the main meat of this post, the events of days two and three in the fifth Ashes test in Sydney I have some important news from today. On Christmas morning my computer started failing to recognize the existence of WIFI networks, and today I was finally able to take it to a friend in Fakenham who is a professional fixer of computers, and it is once again fully functioning.
AN ENGLAND INNINGS WITH A FAMILIAR PATTERN
England resumed on the second day on 211-3. For much of that second day things looked to be continuing to go their way. Although Jamie Smith suffered the daftest dismissal of the series (even in this series, where that particular field is highly contested it stood out like a sore thumb) just before lunch, slapping a long hop from part timer Marnus Labuschagne straight into deep extra cover’s hands most of the rest of the news for England was good. At 375-6 a very big total looked on, but the last four wickets tumbled for a mere nine further runs. It was still England’s best first innings effort of the series, and what made the whole pattern of this innings so familiar was that it was undergirded by a huge score from Joseph Edward Root. Root’s 160 was his second hundred of the series, and the 41st of his test career.
POOR BOWLING FROM ENGLAND
Having batted reasonably well England proceeded to bowl like drains. By the end of day two Australia were 166-2, with Travis Head in sight of his third century of the series. Matthew Potts, playing his first match since the game in Canberra against the Prime Minister’s XI, and his first first class match since the end of the English season was especially poor, conceding runs rapidly and not looking threatening.
ONE WAY TRAFFIC ON DAY THREE
Travis Head powered on to 163 in the early part of the day. By the close a much more experienced cricketer, Steve Smith, had also cruised past three figures, and Beau Webster, batting at number nine through a combination of a batter heavy original selection and the use of a night watcher the previous evening, supported him impressively in the closing stages, against a tiring bowling unit. Australia closed on 518-7, already 134 to the good, having scored 352-5 on the day. Potts had 0-141 from 25 overs, Carse had claimed three wickets but had also been very expensive. Tongue and Stokes each went at about three an over, and even part time spinners Jacks and Bethell were far less expensive than the two Durham bowlers who had shared the new ball. At their high water mark of 375-6 on the second afternoon England looked well placed, a day and a half later they have every appearance of being deep in a Kimberley diamond mine sized hole.
PHOTOGRAPHS
My usual sign off…
aspiblog 