The Australian opener demonstrated his maturity and judgment in a duel with the England seamer that showcased two masters of their craftThe impulse on sodden days is to say nothing much happened but there is a joy in our game in locating something meaningful from these moments. Fractals within fractals, where the greatest beauty sits within the deepest detail.Sure, there will not be a documentary made about the middle session of day four of this Ashes Test, where 33 runs were tallied in not even 19 overs before rain intervened. When the Wisden bible reports on this middling fixture, it may not even warrant a line. Related: Rain stalls England's push for victory after attritional day of Ashes cricket Warner...
In addition to his speed machines enduring a slowdown and England’s Alastair Cook in imperious nick, Steve Smith experienced a sudden bout of butter fingers on a draining third day for Australia’s main manYou know it has not gone well for Australia when their coach fronts the media at stumps. Bad Day Boof is what it’s called when Darren Lehmann steps in front of the cameras but this was a case of Sad Day Smudge. Steve Smith started the morning with an upset stomach and could only have ended his draining shift in the field feeling worse.Run ragged by a champion in commanding nick, dropping catches, drawn into increasingly funky fields and, by the end, playing an unwilling game of...
The absence of Mitchell Starc and illness of Pat Cummins were mitigating factors but after a damning day for Australia at least some fingers should be pointing at 22 yards of Melbourne blandnessIf, as the Libertines sang, there is no more distressing sight than an Englishman in a baseball cap then surely there is no sadder image than an Australian seamer operating with the wicketkeeper up to the stumps on the second day of a home Test.But don’t blame Mitchell Marsh. Sure, he’s far from hitting the speed gun’s high notes since his return from shoulder surgery – but this is the story of the placid Melbourne pitch. In all the enthusiasm about the best-attended and most anticipated fixture on...
The opener, who likes it hot and famously never sweats, silenced some swirling chatter about his future with a century at the bloomin’ boiling MCGIf you don’t like the weather in Melbourne, wait 10 minutes. Or so the saying goes. Because on the second day of the fourth Test this appeared to be bunkum, with six and a half hours of punishing 35C sun beating down on the cricket and turning the MCG into an oven.Only the hardiest of the 67,882 supporters who came through the turnstiles for this festive furnace can have spent all three sessions sitting out in the open. Ice-creams melted in minutes, the factor 50 was non‑negotiable and for once the watery mid-strength beer must have seemed...
Opener feels relief and achievement after his 21st Test ton fulfils a boyhood dream and puts Australia in control of the fourth Test in MelbourneBusy, eventful and more difficult than it appeared. It was only right that David Warner’s 2017 finished as it has been throughout. It was a year bookended with tons that showed version 2.0 of the Australian vice-captain, the latter of which ticked off both the England team and another statistical milestone.When reflecting on the century in a session he made during his first hit of this year Warner said the secret was that he had finally learned how to “caress the ball” to complete his game. Hardly words that sat alongside the Bull of old, defined...