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...
Matt Smith and co had a solid opening despite a late wobble, while there’s an Ashes bromance in the air for Graeme Swann and Damien Fleming, but the adverts did jar a littleFade in. Interior, an extraordinarily messy room with a massage bed in the middle. Clothing and footwear are strewn across all visible surfaces and large bags are scattered haphazardly across the remaining floor space. Pads and bats are piled up, leaning against benches and walls. Exposed pipes meander around the ceiling, not in a trendy architect‑inspired Pompidou‑Centre way but just in a couldn’t-really-be-bothered-to-hide-them way. In the corner a television is attached tightly to the wall, so that instead of facing into the room it points straight ahead, allowing...
There was nothing scary under the duvet for England fans at home after James Vince’s 83 prevented a repeat of Australia’s rampant start in 2013It was the actor Hugh Laurie who perhaps best summed up the mood four years ago, describing how he had gone to bed with England’s initial foray with the bat in Brisbane safely under way only to “wake up next to a horse’s head of a first innings, blood everywhere”.This time around, however, a more appealing scoreline could be found under the duvet as, on a beautiful batting strip, in front of a 35,144-strong Gabba crowd that burbled away without ever truly baying for claret, Joe Root’s tourists established something resembling a foothold in the contest. Related: Australia...
Joe Root is light years away from the visibility David Gower enjoyed and, away from terrestrial TV, some team-mates in Australia might as well be in a witness protection programmeAt the risk of making myself a hostage to fortune, it is very possible that Australia has already delivered its most withering put-down of England before an Ashes ball has even been bowled. I may come to regret this rash statement when this year’s exquisite causal link between someone’s girth, someone else’s wife, and some form of baked goods is made. But given how much of modern journalism seems to be about “calling” things in the comical belief that functioning as Earth’s wrongest bookmaker makes one relevant, let’s give it a whirl:...