- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Australia are eight wickets away from taking a 1-0 lead in the Ashes series and they have 180 overs and more than 500 runs to play going into the last two days of the opening Test match against England. Join us for live scores and updates from 11.00am AEDT.
Negative tactics from Alastair Cook continued into the third day and while the motive was to reduce the run-scoring, it clearly did not work against the almost-impeccable Australian second innings batting.
There were centuries for David Warner and Michael Clarke while Brad Haddin followed up his 94 in the first innings with another fifty.
The Australians scored at a run rate of 4.75 per over anyway.
It’s difficult to predict whether the lessons from this game, as far as tactics go, will be learnt by Cook but before he can even begin thinking on those lines he has a task with the bat in hand.
Having lost two cheap wickets in the third day, it will be down to Cook and the rest of the middle and lower-middle order to string together a fighting performance that could lead to some confidence going into the second Test.
Yes, what I am suggesting could imply that England are all but out of this one but that’s where the tourists are at this stage.
A 136-year-old history of the game points to no team having chased down more than 418 runs to win a Test match and only one having scored more than 500 in the final dig in a game that ended in a draw long ago.
England have much to play for though and that’s because of two reasons.
One, there is always that lurking danger that the weather will come in and reduce the number of overs that the Australian bowlers can have at the English (they have another 180 for now).
Secondly, let’s assume the worst in that England go down in the Test match.
They will like to take something from it going into the second game much like they did the last time they lost their opening Test of an away series.
It was in India and much like in this game, their batting had failed to respond to the challenge thrown in by the opposition spinners.
After the Indian batsmen had piled up more than 500 batting first, England were bowled out for a paltry 191 and were made to face the ignominy of a follow-on.
The writing seemed to be on the wall for the rest of the series but led by Cook’s wonderful 176, they managed to carve out 406 in the second innings and while India won by nine wickets in the end, they went on to lose the next two Tests to a reinvigorated English side.
That will be the second best option for Cook and co.
They would love to get their best foot forward with the bat, compile partnerships all the way through to the end, on what would become a tougher pitch to bat on and try and push the game into the fifth day.
As for Australia, Michael Clarke will hope his bowlers vent out steam the way they did on the second and third day with the ball.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.