Amid the head-butt controversy and being target of jokes over bedroom wall posters, the batsman defied it all to help break an 87-year-old recordCameron Bancroft had quite the Monday morning. Waking up, the Australian batsman’s head was all over the back pages. Not for keeping that head during the previous evening’s half‑century, but because Jonny Bairstow had decided to give it a nudge with his own. As we later learned, this is the Englishman’s preferred style of greeting.Bancroft then went out to the middle to finish the job he had started with David Warner, collecting the 170 they needed for victory, overtaking an 87-year record for the highest unbeaten opening partnership in a successful Test chase. An exceptional press conference followed,...
There is of course a line you do not cross but if you can get a batsman’s mind not 100% focused on what is his primary job then it’s fair game for meJonny Bairstow is an engaging cricketer who I know well from my time at Yorkshire. It was simply his quirky sense of humour that led to the clash of heads with Cameron Bancroft four weeks ago and resulted in a great Ashes Test victory for Australia ending with a storm in a teacup.World cricket is a year-round circuit during which players need to unwind over a few beers. Stories are swapped, tactics discussed and jokes are exchanged between opponents. In this instance, before Bancroft was even picked for Australia, a...
Everybody has felt the pace in the autumn internationals but Australia, South Africa and Argentina look pale imitations of the sides who reached the World Cup semi-finals in England two years agoEngland and Ireland both won their three matches but their campaigns, without the lustre of facing New Zealand, were a touch underwhelming as they were rarely extended in confirming their places in the world rankings. Scotland were arguably the team of the month, pipping Samoa in an anarchic thriller to start before taking the game to New Zealand, denied by Beauden Barrett’s try-saving tackle in the final minute. They finished by achieving the double over Australia following the victory in Sydney in June. They were aided by Sekope Kepu’s...
Steve Smith and David Warner outsmarted England’s attack in the first Test, the tourists will need clear heads and is Alastair Cook merely out of form?Stuart Broad said before the series that England would play on the egos of the Australia batsmen by denying boundaries. But the egos never landed in Brisbane. The exaggerated patience of Steve Smith, in the first innings, and David Warner, against the second new ball, symbolised an Australia performance that had an unexpected brain:brawn ratio. With the exception of two short spells of ferocious pace bowling, they took control of the match through stealth rather than aggression. They did not just outplay England; they outsmarted them too. They are far more flexible than many realised,...
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 wicketsThe 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. Related: Smith stands tall to keep first Ashes Test in balance after England apply...