England’s early Ashes dominance is tantalisingly close for the nation’s media, crowing about a reversal of character in the two teams’ approaches, yet ruing what might have been.
While the British press corp hailed the creative thinking of captain Ben Stokes, they were also left to bemoanmissed chances, including the no-ball from Stuart Broad that gave Australia’s man of the hour Usman Khawaja a reprieve on 112.
Australia ended day two 82 runs behind with five wickets, including Khawaja’s intact. The game is tense and perfectly poised but after the excitement of Bazball on day one there was a sense of normal service resumed on day two as the Australians dug in.
Usman Khawaja of Australia celebrates his century. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Broad, writing in the Daily Mail, acknowledged “there was a bit of disappointment that we walked off with only five Australian wickets because we created more chances than that – and I was as guilty as anyone.
“It’s so frustrating when you produce a Jaffa like that and the wicket is chalked off, and ultimately, I should never be that close to the line.
“It felt like I sent down more no-balls than I have in a Test match day before, and there are no excuses for that, other than during the first innings of a series against Australia, you are probably striving a bit more, trying to run in as hard as you can.”
Broad added: “It is certainly one of the slowest pitches I can remember bowling on in England. It has been hard work for the seamers. It is pretty characterless so far, pretty soulless.
‘Ultimately we are looking to entertain, have fun and get the crowd jumping and it is quite a difficult pitch to get play and misses on and nicks to slip. Hopefully it is not a trend for the whole series.”
Speaking of trends, Oliver Brown in the Telegraph thinks he’s spotted one.
“This was a day that felt like being transported back in time, by a full year no less, to an innocent age when Test cricket was still a game of patience. Seldom had a respectable Australian first innings of 311 for five, marked by a chanceless Usman Khawaja century and the sight of Steve Smith running his full gamut of anxious tics before succumbing for 16, seemed so discordantly retro,” Brown wrote.
”There was a strange flatness to the spectacle, almost an over-familiarity, relative to the adrenalin-propelled thrill ride served up by England 24 hours earlier. Whoever would have thought it, the Australians being made to look vanilla by the non-stop caffeine rush of Bazball?
“The revolution wrought by Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum is such that we are witnessing a jarring cultural role reversal here at Edgbaston. It is a moment when anything resembling machismo, or bravura, or an unapologetically gung-ho attitude now belongs almost exclusively to the realm of the English. One day, Stokes is making the earliest first-innings declaration in Ashes history. The next, Khawaja, on 110 not out, is blocking out the part-time medium pace of Harry Brook for a maiden. All, you will agree, a little after the Lord Mayor’s show.
“Boring, boring Aussies,” came the chant from the Hollies Stand. Yes, the tormentors were about 20 pints in, and yes, it was a touch harsh on a team who expertly nullified England’s threat, but the verdict contained a kernel of truth. For the reality is that any side can suffer by comparison with the free-wheeling abandon that England have made their stock in trade. After the exhilarating indulgence encouraged by Stokes, Australia’s response unfolded like a stubborn, low-level hangover.”
Brown did caution England’s players and fans.
“England should not be deluded into thinking that this makes Australia any easier to beat. The opposition’s sticking power is such that they have weathered two days of heavy artillery and still sustained every chance of victory in this Test. But the sides’ distinctive identities have switched. For once, it is England’s turn to play the aggressors, perfecting an intoxicating, belligerent brand of cricket that has left Australia looking, dare one say it, a touch emasculated.”
In the same paper, Nick Hoult focussed on the four missed chances, including two from wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, whose concentration lapsed after earlier snaring Marnus Labuschagne with a stunning low catch off Broad.
“England dragged themselves off looking tired and a little flat after four missed chances that would have given them a distinct upper hand in the first Test,” wrote Hoult.
“Two were missed by Jonny Bairstow which will fire up the Ben Foakes Fan Club while Stuart Broad bowled Australia’s leading man, Usman Khawaja, off a no ball. Joe Root capped it all when he missed a gettable slip catch off Alex Carey in the final throes of the day.
“England finished with five wickets, not a bad return on a flat pitch, but it became clear Stokes was marshalling a half fit attack and a team low on match practice. Australia played a form of cricket handed down the generations, chugging along at 3.3 an over, and thanks to Khawaja’s unbeaten 126 sit 82 behind, the Test superbly poised.”
tuart Broad
Stephan Shemilt, chief cricket writer for the BBC, agreed the missed chances could prove the difference.
“England wasted chances and were defied by a classy century from Australia’s Usman Khawaja on a riveting second day of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston.
“If day one was frantic from start to finish, this was a strategic battle, yet still every bit as compelling, dramatic and competitive.
“Just as they were defensive in the field on Friday, Australia barely engaged in England’s full-throttle approach. There were more maidens in the first three overs than the whole of day one and Australia crawled at marginally more than two an over in the first session – and it played right into England’s hands.
“Stokes was relentlessly tinkering. Seven bowlers were employed in the first session, and the use of Harry Brook’s medium pace inside the first hour stretched credulity. Smith was greeted by eight close catchers on his arrival.
“Broad’s dismissal of Warner was almost comical in its inevitability, followed by wild celebrations at the Labuschagne dismissal next ball. The Edgbaston roar returned when Stokes got Smith and for Moeen’s important interventions.
“But on such a placid surface, and with Khawaja fronting the Australian resistance, England needed to take all of their chances. The four mistakes – there was also an edge between Bairstow and slip Joe Root in the dying moments – could yet prove to be hugely costly.”
Oliver Holt, in the Daily Mail, said the opening two days have been dominated by the captaincy of Stokes.
“There is a force about Ben Stokes, a kind of primeval strength, a sense of indomitability, a gift for leadership, that has already imposed itself on this Ashes series as England and Australia go blow for blow in an enthralling first Test at Edgbaston,” Holt wrote.
“Stokes and the decisions he makes and the philosophy he espouses have dominated the opening two days of this contest. It is clear already that his strength of character and his conviction-leadership are inspiring England and posing Australia questions they have sometimes struggled to answer.
“That leadership was there in a blur of bowling changes Stokes made in the first session yesterday when they claimed the wickets of David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith. Stokes used seven bowlers in all.”
Lawrence Booth, also in the Mail, gave us a history lesson.
“Towards the end of the 1960s, US president Richard Nixon’s foreign policy invoked the ‘madman theory’, a ruse aimed at convincing Communist leaders of his irrationality. With America a nuclear power, the idea was that China might tread more warily, for fear of provoking a lunatic,” Booth began.
“Harry Brook’s 68mph wobblers are no one’s idea of a weapon of mass destruction. But as Steve Smith – arguably the best since Don Bradman – tentatively played out Brook’s first over in Ashes cricket, it felt as if Ben Stokes was pushing the logic of Bazball to breaking point.
“After all, if he was mad enough to bowl Brook at Smith, what did Stokes know that Australia didn’t? Apparently unsure, Smith opted for the safety of five dot balls and a single.
“And so it has been over the first two days of these Ashes – not so much a cricket series as a clash of sporting cultures. Whoever wins, it promises to be a discombobulating summer.”
And finally some English praise for Australia’s rock.
“Khawaja was a treat,” wrote Ali Martin in the Observer. “The 36-year-old has struggled in England before – the 54 made at Lord’s in 2013 his previous best – but he is a different beast these days. Over the course of three sessions, under a thick cable-knit jumper, he looked completely at ease, defending with a full face, pulling handsomely and driving languidly.
“Everything was done serenely bar reaching three-figures at 4.40pm, Khawaja letting out a guttural roar and tossing his bat high in the sky in celebration. What a moment for him.
Another came before the close when faced with the second new ball he was clean bowled by Stuart Broad with 112 runs to his name. But on a day when Broad struggled with the front line it soon became apparent this was the sixth time the 36-year-old had overstepped, the noise sucked out of the ground as Marais Erasmus held out his right arm and Khawaja turned back on his heels.”
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