England fail to capitalise, while skipper Smith hits glorious 141
The Ashes series, 2017/18 – First Test at The Gabba – Brisbane, Australia. England 302 & 195, Australia 328 & 173-0: Australia win by 10 wickets
The day the First Test ended, England’s Jonny Bairstow’s bizarre “headbutt” greeting to Australian batsman Cameron Bancroft became public knowledge. England’s supporters probably feel like headbutting the nearest wall after this Test match.
So, the “Beavis and Butthead” jokes abound, England’s management have to fire-fight another off-field issue, and once again after showing flashes of promise at times, England discover how difficult Australia are to beat on home soil.
Bairstow’s bother came a few weeks ago in a bar in Perth, when England first arrived in Australia, but has only just come to light. Bancroft and the Aussie management have laughed it off, so the only consequences are likely to come from the ECB themselves, should they see fit.
Meanwhile, on the field, the way the Aussie’s finished off England in super-brisk style to win by 10 wickets looks ominous for the tourists.
After the first innings things were still tight, with Australia holding a slim 26 run lead. England’s top scorer was James Vince, batting well for 83 before being run-out superbly by Nathan Lyon. Dawid Malan (56) and Mark Stoneman (53) provided solid support without going on to the big scores that were really needed. Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins were the pick of the Australian bowlers with three wickets apiece.
Australia’s first innings was dominated by a superb 141 not out from skipper Steve Smith. It was a confident, chanceless knock – complete with the characteristic unorthodox style Smith employs – and it was hugely effective. Shaun Marsh was next highest scorer with 51, and fast bowler Pat Cummins chipped in with a very useful 41.
The second innings’ were, however, quite different. England’s batsmen should rue their missed opportunities – good starts made, nicely settled in – but the big scores sadly didn’t materialise. Skipper Joe Root hit 51, Bairstow 42, and Moeen Ali 41. And that was about it. The Aussie bowlers made hay in the Brisbane sunshine – Lyon, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood each taking 3 wickets.
England totalled 195, giving them a lead of 170. It looked worryingly shy of a testing chase for Australia – and so it proved. At the end of day four, that chase was down to a mere 56, with openers David Warner and Cameron Bancroft looking assured and confident. The next morning delivered the inevitable, Australia knocking off the required total in little more than an hour, with Warner finishing on 87 and Bancroft on 82.
The way Australia finished the match was impressive – confident and focused, enjoying the contest and tails certainly up. What will concern England is the way key batsmen got out after making decent starts – Steve Smith’s 141 was so significant, and England will think “if only”.
They will also be concerned about they way the Australian bowlers dominated for long periods – both Nathan Lyon’s superb off-spin, and the speed and hostility of their fast bowlers. The conditions of course suited Australia, and they made the very most of them. This was a true, even wicket and the Australians extracted far more from it than England did. It looked, sadly, like England’s bowlers just didn’t have the pace or zip to compete at the Gabba.
At one point towards the end of the second innings, it looked like we were back in 1932 and the Aussie were retaliating with their own version of bodyline. Jake Ball, Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad all received a serious dose of short-pitched bowling, which on another day may have bought some intervention from the Umpires.
Hopefully, the second test at the Adelaide Oval, which starts on December 2nd, will be more to England’s liking, being a day-nighter and played with the pink Kookaburra ball. England’s challenge is to move on, forget about this result and focus on being more competitive at the key moments.
Team changes? Perhaps. Jake Ball did not impress with his bowling and looked a typical rabbit in the headlights when he was batting. If the Aussie quicks haven’t nicknamed him “Halogen” by the time the next Test starts, I would be amazed.
Chris Woakes also struggled here – only 1 wicket taken, a duck in the first innings and just 17 in the second. He didn’t look very confident, it has to be said. There were some concerns also about James Anderson, who spent a fair bit of time off the pitch, struggled to get much out of the wicket and was gloriously grumpy throughout the whole match. And he certainly wasn’t shy of exchanging views with the nearest Australian.
Australia travel to Adelaide in good heart, full of confidence. England experienced an early reminder of how hard playing in Australia can be – especially if you don’t take of your chances. It will be fascinating to see what lessons have been learned by the tourists. This Test match has been engrossing, high on quality and compulsive viewing – with plenty of characters vying for centre stage. It’s shaping up to be a great series already.
By Chris Tribe
28th November 2017
Copyright © 2017 Chris Tribe. All Rights Reserved.
Photo credit: Copyright © Rae Allen/Flickr: GOPR4376-gabba-cricket
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