The Ashes – Fourth Test, Melbourne Day 2: A two-day Test at the MCG! That’s not cricket!

 

by Dan Lonergan

 

The MCG housed 94,000 on day one for the Boxing Day Test  and 90,000 on day two, with day three also sold out so around 90k and day four a good chance of exceeding 50k and day five even more like last year’s Boxing Day Test v India, which went the distance although the 4^th day was just under 40,000 last year.

 

There is a problem this year however, as we won’t get a day three, four or five, so that is more than 200,000 spectators denied the chance to see a Boxing Day Ashes Test, even though Australia has already won the series and retained the Ashes.

 

That also means millions of dollars lost by Cricket Australia and the MCC, because if you turn up Sunday. Monday and Tuesday, the famous stadium will be as quiet as a church mouse and a ghost town after the second two day test match of the series.

 

An incredible 36 wickets fell in almost two completed days for just 569 runs and this time England was on the right end of it winning it’s first test match in Australia since January 2011.

 

In that match both Usman Khawaja, who was making his debut, and Steve Smith were the only players remaining from the Australian team, while England has no one left.

 

The pitch has been criticized as being too Green, not Cameron, who battled again, actually greener than a tradie at his first day of work and favoured the bowlers.

 

After 20 wickets fell on day one, Australia entered today’s play at none for 4 in their second innings after Victorian hero, Scott Boland coupled with his 4 wickets came in as night watch opener and edged the last ball for four on day one, which produced a bigger roar than many of his test wickets he has claimed so far at the G.

 

Australia therefore started day two in the box seat at none for 46, but lost Boland early to Atkinson who then suffered a hamstring injury putting him out of the attack.

 

Watching the game unfold at my brother Stephen’s house in Sydney, with his father in law respected school teacher and cricket coach from New Zealand, Dennis McMurtrie, who had helped find and develop former New Zealand quick, Shane Bond, we all thought England was deep in the mire again being a frontline bowler missing.

 

However, Jake Weatherald again showed why I don’t think he is a test player playing on lazily for five, Marnus Labuschagne got runs earlier in the series, but as Dennis so eloquently said he was anchored to the crease too often in this dig and it eventually resulted in his downfall for another single digit score.

 

Travis Head again looked a class above and it seemed the second innings specialist was on target for his third century in four tests this series in his team’s second innings, but got the ball of the match from someone who kept trying his backside off, but had generally bowled poorly in Brydon Carse.

 

This ball beat Head comprehensively to dismantle his stumps and the affable Australian who rightly so enjoyed himself for a couple of days after playing a big role in Australia retaining the Ashes in Adelaide left the ground with a wry grin.

 

He knew when a ball was too good. Labuschagne who is so passionate about his game takes forever to leave when dismissed.

 

Now! I know he was disappointed his edge to Root at slip was adjudged to have just carried, which Marnus didn’t think was the case, but if you are given out referral or no referral, get off quickly.

 

The dressing room without breaking anything is the place to vent your anger or frustration, not take an hour to exit the ground.

 

He could also take heed from Weatherald, who is struggling in test cricket, but everytime he is out, he marches off quickly. Steve Smith is another who needs to be less demonstrative in public in my opinion when dismissed.

 

Talking of Smith he remained 24 not out in this dreadful Australian innings which fell away from 3 for 82 to all out 132.

 

Khawaja who was playing his last innings at the G lasted two balls getting a short one from eventual man of the match Josh Tongue and was not ready for it and flicked it away flippantly down the throat of sub fielder, Ollie Pope at fine leg.

 

Tongue came into the English side in the Third test and has been a star taking 12 wickets in the past three Australian batting innings indicating he would have been a better prospect than the injury prone Mark Wood and to a lesser extent Joffra Archer for the whole series.

 

Alex Carey for the first time in the series failed to reach 20 and edged Carse, who was bowling a magnificent spell and finally pitching it up regularly instead of bowling too short to slip. 

 

The Barmy Army always raucous and this year surprisingly camped in Australian territory in the famous Bay 13 at the MCG was now at fever pitch knowing their team was back in the match and might be some chance (emphasizing might), even though their batting all series had left so much to be desired of breaking their winless record stretching back almost 15 years.

 

The next man in was the player under the biggest microscope for his place amongst the media, Cameron Green. He stupidly ran himself out on day one when set and took the last wicket in England’s dismal showing with the bat on day one.

 

He was being praised by the TV commentators for his technique early on in this innings for being defensively sound and then the ‘predictable commentators curse’ hit with Green playing almost as bad a shot as Jamie Smith in Adelaide, away from his body and edging to slip for 19.

 

Surely, he needs to be replaced by Beau Webster for the final test in Sydney in the new year. Mind You! I would drop Weatherald for Renshaw as I mentioned in my article previewing this test in Melbourne.

 

Australia’s end was swift. Neser after a terrific opening day with 35 and 4 wickets was out caught and bowled by Carse for a duck and Starc so good with the bat all series so far failed to score as well with Stokes chipping in to support Carse and Tongue with the wickets.

 

Smith now had to improvise to get as many runs as possible even though at this stage England already had to chase the highest score of the match on a pitch still significantly advantageous to the ball over bat.

 

The acting Australian Captain improvised stepping away from his stumps to score singles happy to give number 11, Jhye Richardson the strike and he obliged with a lovely pull shot for three and a drive through the covers all recognized batters would be proud of.

 

Dennis McMurturie kept saying to Steve and I how quirky Smith’s movements are, but they have worked for so long.

 

Richardson eventually holed out leaving England a gettable but on form a tricky and challenging total to taste a rare test victory on Australian soil.

 

Stephen and I watched the first few overs at home and England as usual looked in a hurry to either win or get out and head down for more rest and relaxation either on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria or  the other side of the Bay, Bellarine near Geelong.

 

Duckett as usual was playing at everything and charging at Starc and swinging like a dunny door and missing and it seemed his poor tour on and allegedly off the field regarding one incident was about to continue, but he started to connect.

 

His audacious and aggressive stroke play saw him blast 34 off 26 before Starc his master yorked him.

 

Starc and Neser were expensive as they took plenty of stick from  Duckett. In a surprise move, Brydon Carse after a fine 4 wicket display with the ball was promoted to number 3 to try and smash quick runs, but was in and out quickly slightly opening the door for Australia, who for the first time for the series were struggling with line and length with the ball.

 

Young Jacob Bethell, who looked out of his depth at number three in the first innings then joined Crawley at number 4 and was impressive making a fine 40 off 46 balls to show he could have a future at test level.

 

Before his dismissal, Crawley was trapped LBW for 37 by Boland, who kept bowling accurately and then Bethell  smashed Boland to Khawaja, who showed wonderful reflexes for a 39 year old to take a great catch in the covers to keep the home team just in the hunt , eventhough the Barmy Army in their thousands were still in full voice.

 

However, Root, who bar his century in Brisbane, has again not set the world on fire in his 4^th Ashes series was out leg before for 15, which he referred but it was umpires’ call, which again briefly ignited Australia’s hopes but they were not playing with enough runs.

 

The Captain, Stokes and vice captain Brook joined forces and Harry as usual danced down the wicket like Duckett try to whack every ball and win the game off his own bat.

 

Stokes tried a top edge over the slips cordon a bit like Duckett who produced a ramp shot in his cameo, but the edge wasn’t high enough and Carey jumped up and took another great catch after conceding I reckon his only byes of the series standing up to Boland, which saw him abort that plan.

 

The large Aussie portion of the bumper crowd began believing again after Stokes departed with Australia needing 4 wickets and maybe only three if the injured Atkinson couldn’t bat, but Smith and Brook got them home and England could celebrate a win in Australia and the last time they did that, I had some hair and now I hardly have any.

 

 Jhye Richardson in his first test for Australia since the last home ashes series 4 years ago got two wickets, which was a positive on a horror second day for Australia.

 

By the midway mark of the run chase, Stephen and I had joined two of Steve’s friends, Austin and Grim at some of the many breweries located in Marrickville in Western Sydney, including the Bob Hawke Brewery named after the great man, which played Dan Lonergan soft rock music from the 80s like Chicago, ‘You’re the Inspiration’, Police, ‘Every Breath you take’, and Toto’s ‘Africa’.

 

We could not really see the TV so went around the corner to the Philter Brewery and watched the dying embers of the game on the big TV in the bar and there were no English fans anywhere.

 

Any late pommy wicket that fell was met with a loud cheer, but England got the job done, because if this makes sense their batting overall was less worse than Australia’s, even though England were skittled for 110 in their first innings on day one.

 

Again the MCG was full and there would have been lots of people who did not watch a ball of a thrilling action packed test match especially many on the first day, who were camped in the popular Frank Grey Smith Bar in the Members, where you get a birdseye of the ground, but if you did you no doubt would have been mesmerized.

 

The wicket for an MCG Boxing Day Test specifically the Ashes must be more sporting than that, but England’s batting even though they won was poor again.

 

 However, Australia was woeful and with the exception of the Gabba when everyone contributed and some individual brilliance, in my humble opinion, the cracks with the bat keep getting papered over.

 

Australia will still be without Cummins and Lyon at the SCG and as touched on before several batters are out of form.

 

Let’s hope we get a decent pitch in Sydney and the rain stays away and both sides can finally bat consistently well for longer periods of the game and Usman Khawaja can end a fine career well.

 

That Though I reckon is asking a lot considering how unpredictable the play and trends have been in this series at times!

 

 

ESPN Cricinfo Scorecard

 

 

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