Australia entered this Lord’s Test match in a sticky mess. Thrashed at Cardiff they then endured concerns about the fitness of Mitchell Starc and upheaval as veterans Shane Watson and Brad Haddin were ruled out for different reasons.
Heaped on top of this were on-field concerns stemming from impatience among their batsmen and lack of control in their bowling.
They seemed weighed down by a host of issues, while their Ashes foes were being propelled by that invaluable intangible – momentum.
It’s taken just two days for the Australians to flip the series on its neck and inflict upon England the kind of carnage which lives long in the mind.
As I wrote last week, the first Test for England was all about trying to make the Australians feel like their feeble 2013 selves rather than the conquerors of 2013-14.
The home side succeeded in doing just this, or so it seemed at the time. That Australian side of 2013 had its moments, but never played with the confidence and vigour witnessed the past two days.
In scything through England last night, Australia awoke a Lord’s pitch which we’d been told was so flat it would produce a draw in a timeless Test.
Some English pundits dedicated entire articles to its supposedly unsporting nature after Day 1.
Many fans had by that point already declared the Test a draw. Others denigrated the commanding efforts of Steve Smith and Chris Rogers, indicating that they had been less responsible for their scores than had the pitch.
Then Australia declared and Starc and Josh Hazlewood took the new ball. Australia had been only one wicket down almost 600 deliveries into their innings. England were there after two balls.
Rookie opener Adam Lyth chased a length offering from Starc, handing debutant Peter Nevill his first catch and continuing a worrying trend of caught behind dismissals for the Englishman.
That brought to the crease Gary Ballance, who was similarly struggling to deal with the quality of Test pace bowling. Ballance made his way to 23, despite looking likely to be knocked over every time the ball was pitched up.
So it was then Mitchell Johnson swerved one past Ballance’s groping blade and into the stumps.
No sooner had Ian Bell strode to the crease, he was slinking back to the change-rooms, having been castled by a phenomenal outswinger from Hazlewood.
If that wicket left England in shock then they were king hit by the dismissal the next over of their lynchpin Joe Root.
England’s number five edged behind while trying to play a forcing shot to a ball which rose sharply on him and proved how exaggerated claims about the pitch had been.
The key difference between the Australian and English bowling had been pace. Starc and Johnson didn’t need assistance from the pitch because they both operated at an average speed of 144kmh in their opening spells, pushing the speed gun up to 150kmh and 149kmh respectively.
When swing is gained at such pace the state of the pitch matters not. An overlooked aspect of England’s bowling in the first innings was their lack of velocity.
Anderson and Broad rarely trouble batsmen with their pace these days but even Mark Wood, the main hailed as England’s answer to Johnson and Starc, looked pedestrian.
Wood’s body has proved fragile in his first-class career, so much so that some English pundits questioned ahead of the second Test against New Zealand whether he should be rested, just one game into his Test career.
Their concerns proved to have some foundation as he laboured through the second Test, his average speed having plummeted from 142kmh in the first Test to 136kmh.
Without that unsettling speed, Wood largely was played with comfort by the Kiwis. The same story has played out in this Test.
England need Wood’s extra pace to give them variety and bite in their attack but he does not look strong enough or durable enough to offer them that in back-to-back Tests.
In the first innings at Cardiff, Wood averaged 139kmh, topped out at 150kmh and added value to the England attack.
In the first innings here, Wood averaged just 134kmh with his fastest delivery at 144kmh. It wasn’t through lack of effort – the young man patently was straining ever muscle in his chassis to locate that extra 5kmh of pace which had deserted him.
With England’s quicks operating mainly in the 130-135kmh bracket, Australia cruised to a mammoth total, rarely looking threatened by anyone bar Stuart Broad, who made the most of his height and employed clever cutters.
The home attack was toothless and lack of pace was the main reason for this. The other problem was the sameness that comes from having a bowling unit entirely made up of right armers.
Scoreboard pressure tends to play a role whenever teams bat in the face of a mammoth first innings total.
Yet it was impossible to ignore the fact that Australia’s attack, even without their longtime leader Ryan Harris, was just more dynamic, more diverse and, ultimately, far more destructive.
Of course, there remain three days to play in this Test and Australia have a power of work left to do to level the series.
England could yet change the course of the match and leave Australia’s bowlers groveling for wickets just as they had done on days two and three.
That is the joyful unpredictability of Test cricket. It’s hard not to think, though, that the heavy blows landed by Australia thus far have put them back into favouritism to retain the Ashes.
JimmyB
Guest
The ball was heading towards Root's hands until for some inexplicable reason, he decided to pull them away. He didn't touch the ball, but IMO it was worse than a dropped catch.
CT
Guest
Should have posted 96 runs not ton for Cook.
JimmyB
Guest
Haha not quite mate. I've never rubbished Smith's technique btw.
Zim Zam
Roar Rookie
I'm gonna be honest - yep. Mostly because we're winning, which is always preferable, but also because it's quite funny to see England's pitch order backfire on them. And come on, you can hardly put 'doctored' in quotation marks when Cook and Bayliss quite openly asked for a carbon copy of the Cardiff pitch for the rest of the series.
Eski
Guest
ColinP I don't really see them fast tracking a 26 yr old with average numbers when there r plenty of other players more consistent who r either similar age or younger like browne also also from Essex and on matt fisher 2 fc so assuming this is based on potential risking game Mohamed Sami had plenty of potential bowled 150 km and swung the ball away late test average of 52 I'm still waiting for him to come good on his potential , there have been plenty of u/19 stars who never made it
CT
Guest
You can not count Buck's shot. Did Root or the other bloke actually get hands on the ball. Fingertips possibly. No chance in my view. So no runs cost.
CT
Guest
Wow. That is a mouthful.Was that what you were going to post before your Iphone shat itself? I was not being derogatory..re bottle. We all know about the British bulldog spirit. Like you say Root played a poor shot.The situation did not warrant such bravado. I will say that Ballance would worry me if I was an English supporter. You can rubbish Smith's technique. At least he gets into the correct position to play the ball. His balance is good and he is still at point of contact. Ballance is often caught in no man's land..neither fully forward nor back. He therefore has little time to adjust to play a solid stroke. Cookie is back to his best of 2010/11. Fabulously patient ton by him. There is some brittleness with Buttler and to a lesser extent Stokes in my view. Watch their lack of foot movement. They are hitters and very good ones . A bowler who pitches the ball in the 6-8m zone would think they have a good chance to snag these two blokes.
ColinP
Guest
I named westley because saw him play recently and he looks like one of the best players I've seen live for a v long time, no idea why his numbers are so, there are far more players with better numbers but this kid can play. I think they will fast track him, looks a class act. As does sam hain, jack leaning, alex lees, James vince..... Bowling wise look no further than 17 yo Matthew fisher at yorkshire, already swings the ball both ways at 85mph
Eski
Guest
ColinP england r going to need those players to come through, balance is not looking like a long term option, bell looks at the end of his career and lyth and Buttler struggling to score runs atm (not going to judge their ability yet) u named westly who is 26 averaging 32 in fc cricket if he is pushing for a spot then perhaps the talent is not quite as deep as u think
JimmyB
Guest
Fair enough Soapit, whilst his technique is certainly idiosyncratic, it sure works for him. The one thing that I would say regarding his technique is that when he suffers a form slump, he will look very ungainly at the crease. Having said that, he's certainly making the most of his form, he's got an outstanding record in the last 18 months or so.
soapit
Guest
i think if england never decide to prepare "english" pitches smith will be quite happy to retire having only made 200's on whatever type of pitches they have prepared. clutching at straws. "yeah... we'll you possibly might not be so good on the type of pitches we ourselves are specifically requesting not to play on (cos we think we'll do worse on them than you)"
soapit
Guest
i agree jimmy you should expect it to be taken. not sure the fact he probably should have been out after 50 (if the opposition were good enough) means that his technique is not solid given he made another 150 without chance after that.
JimmyB
Guest
Despite it being a flat pitch, there's a reason that there's only been five times in test match history that a team has batted more than 150 overs in the fourth innings to save a match. In short, it's pretty tricky. Fair play to Oz, despite the toss, they've been the better team and barring miracles from England will have deservedly levelled the series. As a matter of interest England's dropped/non catches have cost them 398 runs so far in this match and no doubt Warner will add to that total tonight. There's an old adage that we all know, but England are really giving it meaning in this match.
JimmyB
Guest
He made a hash of it alright, but at the elite level, those sorts of chances get taken more often than not. It went low and did die a little, but it went straight to him, he saw it all the way and nobody interfered with him (ooh erh).
JimmyB
Guest
You're absolutely right there Alan, thanks for pointing it out in such a gracious manner. Do be careful not to post in a rush Alan otherwise some graceless so and so, like yourself may just try and belittle you for it.
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
It's fun to watch the quicks though! It's a shame that tosses are so important. I'm getting a bit fed up with it. However, you never know, if the pitch stays like this, England may bat it out.
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
Lords can often be pretty damned flat. I don't think this wicket is extraordinary.
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
Starc was wayward in Cardiff too. Thank god for Haze. Seems to have a rhythm and focus that such young bowlers don't usually have. He's the real deal.
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
Was that the one that was near the ground? I'd be surprised if Bell even touched it, seemed to go right through his hands to whack him on the ankle. Completely made a hash of it.
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
He looked really stiff and slow to react. Not pleasant to watch. Lots of pressure on our top 3 as Voges hasn't done much yet and Mitch Marsh is inexperienced. Ballance just looks awful with the ball pitched up. It's like he suddenly doesn't really know what to do. He must have faced loads of full-pitched bowling in England. How has he got into that state? Cook isn't great against full stuff but looks like Dravid in comparison.