The Ashes – Second Test, Brisbane: Day 3 – Mitch Starc! You Beauty!

 

 

 

MITCH STARC! YOU BEAUTY!

by Dan Lonergan

 

We have not even completed two Tests of the Ashes series and I know it’s a big call, and I am known for them and then looking pretty silly when they don’t come off, but something special will need to occur over the next three Tests for Mitchell Starc not to be named Player of the Series.

He has taken 18 wickets at 13 and, on Day 3 of the second test at the Gabba, top scored for Australia in their mountainous 511 with 77.

He was one of five players to reach 50 and batted well on Day 3 along with Alex Carey, who had been dropped twice the night before.

Carey I believe is fast becoming Australia’s second best wicket keeper this century behind the incomparable, Adam Gilchrist.

He is such an effective wicket keeper and misses very little behind the stumps and incredibly when England batted late on Day 2 and made a meal again of the final session, he was keeping up to the stumps to the brisk Michael Neser who was bowling around 130 ks an hour. Carey did not miss a beat.

Starc though batted wonderfully and frustrated England before and after the dinner break with a 75 run ninth wicket partnership with Scott Boland, who batted like he did on Day 4 of Boxing day last year against India holding an end up and looking comfortable.

In the warm conditions the lead kept mounting as England’s bowlers, who generally bowled way too short especially Brydon Carse to claim four expensive wickets, were flagging.

The incredible aspect of Australia’s impressive tally of 511 was there wasn’t a century, but everyone reached double figures and 9 of the top 10 passed 20, with Jake Weatherald, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne joining Carey and Starc to get past 50.

England, when bowling and fielding throughout most of the first two sessions, allowed Australia to boss the game without doing much to change it.

Stokes tried hard with the ball, but the body language seemed poor from the rest of the team and again it goes back to my column after the two day Test in Perth that England doesn’t have a Plan B with any aspect of their game when the match is getting away.

They had so much work to do trailing by 177 and started brightly as usual in the six overs before the dinner interval scoring at more than 7 an over with Zac Crawley continuing his excellent form from the first innings.

However, the dinner break came with a change in the light, as sunshine turned to dusk and then night and the pink ball was a different proposition. But England again kept attacking with Duckett playing on to Boland, Pope throwing those hard hands at everything just avoiding a brilliant catch by Inglis in the covers and then a thick edge flew over the slips before Neser took a smart catch off his bowling as Pope continued not to learn and drove a ball not there to drive on the up.

Root, after his unbeaten century in the first innings, joined Crawley who was stuck on 42 for several overs but looked comfortable even though he loves to keep the scoreboard moving.

Eventually his hard hands also got him into trouble on 44 and driving on the up, Neser emulating his effort to dismiss Pope and this time hung onto a finger tipper with great reflexes.

The third umpire began to get involved after Steve Smith, very calculated when considering going upstairs, had refused earlier in the innings to get the TV umpire involved a few times at the behest of his team mates, began to ask for reviews when the on field umpires Adrian Holdstock and Sharfuddoula’s decisions were questioned.

There was an LBW against Brook given not out by the umpires and the review turned down. The same with a caught behind as Brook who came to Australia with a reputation as one of the best batters in the world kept swinging like a dunny door at everything and then nicked one behind, which was turned down. But Snicko showed there was an edge and another England player refusing to learn and temper his style was on his way, with Scott Boland having another purple patch this time under lights.

This eighth over from him was arguably the best over of the series so far and that’s something when you look at what Starc has been doing.

Boland was bowling leg cutters and off cutters and the English team had no idea.

The big wicket was Root who knew the deficit was still large and wasn’t too worried about scoring and spent plenty of time on 15 before he edged one through to Carey off Starc, who was expensive in his first spell in the second innings before dinner.

Again the decision was turned down, but the Aussies were confident and took it upstairs as Smith checked with his players who were pointing like traffic cops to refer it.

He did and there was a clear edge. The dangerous Root was gone and Australia had their collective feet on the throats of the visitors and there was an outside chance the match could be over on Day 3.

That possibility increased when another player, who likes to feel bat on ball, Jamie Smith, was nearly out first ball. Once more the third umpire, who in that final hour was busier than shopping centres at Christmas time with the Australians referring it after the decision went against them, but it was deemed too high.

However, Smith didn’t last long and he flashed outside the off stump at Starc and you could hear the edge clearly. He was given out, but made the strange decision to refer it.

The line on Snicko almost filled the whole screen and Australia was four wickets away from an innings victory as England had suffered another collapse losing 3/7 unable to cope with the pink ball under lights at the Gabba which was rocking.

All of this was happening with Ben Stokes at the other end and he was stone walling, a feature at the beginning of many of his match-winning performances including that unbelievable century to get England home by one wicket at Leeds in 2019.

Stokes helped his side take the match into the fourth day by defending impressively Australia’s fine line and length bowling in the last couple of overs of yet another special day of Test cricket.

Now! I am not saying he will do that in this match, but he must hang on and fight all day on Day 4 if he can, for England to be any chance to set Australia some target to defend.

That is so far away at the moment, but the wicket will take spin and did a little bit on Day 3 with Will Jacks bowling well at the back end for England in Australia’s innings and Australia of course doesn’t have a front line spinner, surprisingly leaving Nathan Lyon out.

Jacks also survived a referral just before stumps when Carey took a scorcher down the leg side, but it was given not out and shown on the TV to have not touched the bat or pad and England went to stumps on the canvas at 6 for 134 still 44 from making Australia bat again.

Australia again an excellent team performance with bat and ball and England playing the same way they have played since Brendon McCullum took over.

The Aussies should have a 2-0 lead before the lights take effect at the Gabba on Day 4 and as for England will they ever learn to change the way they play depending on the conditions?

From one of my favourite TV characters, Abigail Baker from Blue Bloods, the answer to that seems to be a Big Fat No!

 

Here is the link to espncricinfo website for the full scorecard.

 

Read more cricket writing from various Almanac contributors, including reports of each day’s play across the Ashes Series  HERE.

 

 

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