The Riverside Ambush

Only 72 overs were bowled yesterday in 390 minutes. And yet the spectators could be said to have got their money’s worth, with 19 wickets and almost 300 runs. It was amphetamine-laced fare to be sure. And yet the obloquy heaped on the batsmen was largely undeserved. The bowling was mostly magnificent, and batting was an excruciating business. None could survive for long, and neither did they. A deal of nonsense had been uttered beforehand. England will bowl Bodyline? There was hardly a bouncer bowled all day. As the Windies in their pomp had shown, you don’t need more than chin music as a fleeting reminder. The ball that flies off a length is far more perilous.

Another delusional comment from The Sages was that having won the toss Stokes would choose to bowl  with his five-man pace attack. The pride of county Durham knew better. We do not know how this pitch will play. If it turns out docile, then we will bat first and make 400 plus. If it is sprightly – as it transpired, it really was – then we will have a thrash, get a few, and put them in early. England batted and lost Crawley in Starc’s first over. It was an over for the ages. Starc at 35 is in the form of his life. Nobody likes facing left-arm pace. And everyone knows about his roaring inswinging yorkers. Yet the ball did not swing much for anyone. There was just enough seam movement to take the ball from the middle to the edge. His 7/58 was a magnificent piece of bowling, even though there had been contributory negligence from his adversaries.

For the rest of the attack, little remains to be said. Boland’s day began and ended in a hideous nightmare. This most metronomic of bowlers lost his line and length, and was hammered all over the park in runs the home side could ill afford. Brendan Doggett by contrast was lively and menacing, and was rewarded with a pair of wickets. Green’s single over went for ten runs, but he picked up Ollie Pope. Lyon bowled just two overs. When England were bowled out in 33 overs, the howls of derision could be heard as far afield as Fremantle. Yet there was method in their madness. England batted as though it was white ball cricket. Brook’s 52 was the day’s top score. Pope’s 46 and Smith’s 33 were useful contributions. None looked as though they were there for the long haul. Given that Australia caught practically everything, they were not.

As it happened, England’s 172 looks like a good score now. Jake Weatherald collapsed over himself and was trapped leg before by Archer on his second ball. Weatherald is the form opener in the Sheffield Shield, but this was verily a baptism by fire on the big stage. Archer, Wood and Carse are fast bowlers. Atkinson and Stokes are medium-fast. All bowled superbly, and there was to be no respite anywhere, or at any time. To add to Australia’s discombobulation, Khawaja was caught napping off the field and was unable to open, so Labuschagne was forced to go in first in his place. He and Smith decided to ride out the storm. Between them they faced 15 overs for 26 runs. Both succumbed anyway. With Australia reeling at 4/31 Head and Green decided that the English approach had been correct after all.

Their stand of 45 off 71 was restrained enough, but it reflected the underlying truth that sooner or later there will be a delivery with your name on it, so make hay while you can. Carey made a run-a-ball 26 in his customary fashion. But the destroyer of the evening session was the visiting captain himself. Stokes has bowled just six overs. He has 5/23. Poor batting, brilliant bowling. Nobody seems to be able to explain adequately Stokes’ genius for picking up wickets. He has 230 of them in Tests, so it cannot be a fluke. What he does is go hell-for-leather at the stumps. If he gets hit for four it doesn’t worry him. It is the all-rounder’s privilege. He varies everything: his pace, angle of delivery, seam movement, even swing if there is any. Australia’s tail had no answers.

Australia resumes today on a piteous 9/123. And nobody knows what will happen. If the pitch remains capricious, it could be all over by stumps. If it flattens out, then batting will get easier, and a fourth-innings mammoth chase is a viable prospect. Or possibly the old WACA menace of opening crevasses might manifest, though that has not been seen for many a year. But honours on Day One are firmly with England. They came with a plan and executed it to the letter. A sobering thought for Australia is that yes, Archer and/or Wood might indeed break down and strain a fetlock. Waiting in the wings is Josh Tongue: England’s leading wicket-taker in the recent series against India. It will be a summer of scorching pace. More later….