It was a rare day of success for Australia this Ashes series but they will know there’s plenty of work ahead for them in the third Test against England at Old Trafford. We’ll have live scores and commentary starting from 8.00pm AEST.
It started with Australia winning the toss and then batting as well as one has seen them bat in a long time to end the day on 3/303 with captain Michael Clarke unbeaten on his 24th Test match century.
The inherent worry for tourists right from before the start of this series was their over-dependence on their captain with the bat.
To an extent it was proved true in the first couple of games, where he failed to score too many and the batting withered away very easily.
Fortunately for Australia, things changed for the better on the first day at Old Trafford.
Not only did Clarke regain that form which had made him a difficult batsman to bowl at in the last 18 months or so, there were also two other very valuable contributions from the top-order that erased few of their woeful batting memories from the recent past.
Chris Rogers, who had admitted recently he was trying too hard, played with the freedom usually associated with his opening partner Shane Watson.
The only different was that he managed to convert that quick-fire start into something more substantial than what Watson has made all season.
Usman Khawaja’s dismissal was the talking point of the day and could well have exploded into a morale-puncher for Australia had it not been for Clarke and Smith.
When Khawaja and Rogers fell, an all-too-familiar collapse seemed looming large but the pair stalled any such repeat performances.
Clarke went on to get to a chance-less 125 while Smith might have been lucky on a couple of occasions with the DRS but he played an equally matured hand of 70.
Both will resume their innings tomorrow with the first couple of sessions being very important from the game’s perspective.
Another oft-seen collapse could still leave Australia with a decent score but batting second time around will be a difficult job.
Signs are the pitch will take more and more turn as we reach the fourth day and the visitors will need to aim at batting only once.
England bowled well in patches. There were times in the day when Graeme Swann looked unplayable, there were other occasions when Stuart Broad produced that difficult delivery but Australia did well to survive it all.
James Anderson did not have the best of times while Tim Bresnan was steady at best.
Their trouble stemmed from a combination of a rather flat track and a surprisingly good batting performance from the opponents.
Rest assured, come the second day, they will look to get their consistencies back and there’s a good chance captain Alastair Cook will set more defensive fields as well.
A third-man could be brought into place, at least till the time these two batsmen remain at the crease.
Follow the live score and blog of the second day’s play of the third Test from 8.00pm AEST. You can join me for this live blog and post your comments below.
Bob
Guest
How can the officiating umpires get it wrong so many times in the first place. Unless you can see an edge its not out.
Sandy
Guest
Naah, draw at best for Perfidious Albion.
Disco
Roar Guru
Fumbling's what Haddin does.
Da spoon
Guest
I don't think so. The pitch seems set up for a draw hence the bookies odds on for this. I might be wrong though. Bell to put on a big total with cook. England retain the ashes by Monday lunchtime.
i am mad
Guest
i am in india and watching it live in hd. ashes is live in many countries of the world mate
WherethebloodyhellRya
Guest
Stumps day 3 should see England bowled out for 287 and told to have another bat as the prevalence of grubbers and deliveries with variable bounce increases. At stumps England will be 1 for 15 with a long road ahead to make Australia bat again. Both captains will be looking for tips on how to correctly call the toss of the coin, as batting first continues to be a huge advantage.
SandBox
Guest
yes thanks Suneer
WherethebloodyhellRya
Guest
Thank you Suneer, we only have intermittent access to the live coverage so your descriptions of the cricket as it happens, is enormously appreciated
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
Nice work Suneer, cheers.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
It's another day, second in a row, dominated by Australia. First they got to 527 in their first innings thanks to that huge century from Michael Clarke and support effort from Haddin and Starc. With runs in their kitty, the Australian bowlers looked quite good, with Nathan Lyon and Peter Siddle providing a lot of edge to the bowling. Siddle got both their wickets but Lyon put a lot of pressure on the batsmen. Watson continued bowling his maidens which resulted in Root scoring only 8 from 57 before he got out to a good delivery. England have batted far too slowly. 52 runs in 30 overs isn't the best of scoring. It's understandable to begin quietly but to go in that one-dimensional fashion is surprising. That's it from me for now, a fascinating third day's play looks ready to unravel. I will be off tomorrow but rest assured the live coverage will continue! Have a good day ahead!
Adam W
Guest
Thanks Suneer! See ya tomorrow.
Sandy
Guest
Good day at the office.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
That's that, end of the day's play with England on 2/52 in 30.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Ouch, close! Surviving some torrid time here is Trott... ...swings away from the bat from Siddle and Trott's pushing at it and gets an edge to second slip. Drops just short of the fielder, Clarke. 2/52 in the 30th
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Missed, that's a huge miss, run-out opportunity for sure! Trott seemed beaten by the turn but manages to keep it down and to the leg side. They go for a quick single but the fielder, Warner, is in quickly and rips it at the striker's end, misses. Seemed like Cook was out had it hit.
Tom from Perth
Guest
So good to see England fumble the DRS
Adam W
Guest
Thats bad luck. DRS is not working to solve umpire mistakes.
Sandy
Guest
More predictions please Adam.
AndyS
Guest
I think it clipped his pocket so he didn't feel it, figured he must have got a feather.
Suneer Chowdhary
Roar Guru
Right so, now it's Trott and Cook at the crease. Both under-par this series, both with heavy appetite for runs.