England will put their faith in two bowlers who did not play at Edgbaston – Jack Leach and Jofra Archer – to cause the imperious Australian batsman a few problems at Lord’sJack Leach might have played at Lord’s anyway, given Moeen Ali’s loss of confidence, but a stat doing the rounds during the first Test at Edgbaston certainly helped his cause. Steve Smith has a Test average of 35 against orthodox left-arm spin; against any other type of bowling he averages 70. The stat needs to be qualified – he struggled against the great Sri Lankan Rangana Herath on some viciously turning pitches – but equally it cannot be ignored. And the disparity is becoming more pronounced: CricViz stats show...
Outfield warm-up suggests Sam Curran may be left out while Australia replace James Pattinson with Josh HazlewoodSome summer’s day, this. After six hours of rain, play was abandoned for the day at 4.15pm. There was not so much as a coin toss let alone a ball bowled.There was a brief let-up after lunch, a lull between showers, when everyone got out on the field and pretended they had not seen the forecast for the rest of the afternoon. It lasted just long enough for Chris Jordan to present Jofra Archer with his England cap. Then it started raining again. There was a hint, too, for those watching closely, that England plan to stick with Joe Denly rather than pick Sam...
Australia’s star batsman is not resting on his laurels after Edgbaston, once again decorating the game he bruised last yearSteve Smith is ruining Test cricket. Like a maverick cop forced off active duty, he has been back only five minutes but is already laying the town to waste. Or at least this is the perception in some parts of the British Isles.Some objections come from the internet eggs that spawn around comment threads, decrying him as a cheat who should never be allowed near a cricket field again – you know, like all the other ball-tamperers who were banned for life rather than being feted as greats of the game with commentary contracts and hall of fame places. Related: Moeen...
The spinner has been dropped after struggling in the first Ashes Test, leaving England with more questions to answer at Lord’sNathan Lyon has not been as vociferous at the start of this Ashes series as he was before the last one in November 2017. There has been no need and maybe there really is a return to the brave old world when Australia respected their opponents. Back in Brisbane two years ago Lyon was the cheerleader on the welcoming committee, talking of English batsmen “running scared”, of a determination to “head-butt the line” and of an Aussie team eager to “end careers”. “I didn’t end any careers,” he said. “Mitchell Johnson ended them.”There is a suggestion that Lyon might just...
Steve Smith and Ben Stokes will understand forgiveness is not just earned by runs and wickets, it is by willingness to rebuild the example you setThe greatest cricketers obsess over their game with a motivation to be the best they can be. They squeeze out every ounce of skill and fitness which helps them approach matches with an unbreakable mentality, knowing every part of preparation has been covered. They throw themselves at every conceivable practice and game scenario to absorb, learn and build experiences to lock away in the memory bank. When they are faced with these situations again they then instinctively know what to do.Away from the playing field, though, I was reminded last week that even the greatest...