The hosts sparked an England collapse with some short stuff but the same tactic allowed the tail to eke out 53 runs for the final three wickets
The short ball. A point of fascination before the series, Australia used it belatedly on morning two, then superbly to open England up at a vital moment, but failed to put it away when more rudimentary means might have sufficed against the tail. Namely, hitting the stumps.
Of course, this enthusiasm stems from four years ago. But an unresponsive surface initially gave little opportunity to use the tactic. A day later, the track remained slow, but the game’s circumstances had changed.
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