As the crucial Day 2 of the third Test unrolled, England’s batting woes were once again exposed by a potent Australian attack.
After knocking over the Aussies for a meagre 179 last night courtesy a sizzling six-fer from Jofra Archer, England would have hoped to strengthen their grip on the Test by batting long. The hosts, however, were bundled out for an astonishing 67, lasting less than 28 overs and consequently conceding a massive lead of 112 runs.
The inspirited bowling display and excellent catching had a major part to play in England’s trail of devastation. Australia have also lost six of their batsmen in the second innings but only after swelling their effective lead up to 280 runs. In this piece, we go through some of the fascinating stats that came out of today’s play.
1. As far as the first two innings of this match are concerned, 16 batsmen out of the 20 have been dismissed for single-digit scores. This is the joint-highest number of single-digit scores in the first two innings of a Test match. The first instance occurred way back in 1976 when England faced the West Indies in Manchester.
Among these sixteen, ten players are from England.
2. England were trampled over by the Aussie pace battery in their first innings for just 67 runs – their lowest Test total at home since 1948. Back then, at the Oval, England were dismissed on just 52 runs.
3. Another wondrous piece of statistic from today’s play was Joe Denly’s 12-run innings for England. Denly was not only the only person to get to a double-digit figure but his 12 runs is also now the lowest highest individual score in a completed Test inning for England. The previous such instance was 15 runs way back in the Sydney Test in 1902.
4. David Warner was exquisite in the slips cordon, gobbling up four terrific catches in a space of 100 minutes or so. But he was not the only Australian that held on to four catches today. The skipper, Tim Paine, with his gloves on also took four catches behind the stumps.
These two are, in fact, the second pair to take four or more catches in a single Test innings. The first instance took place in an Indo-Pak Test back in 1989.
5. England’s batting frailties have not been exploited in this series only. They have been bowled out for a score of under 100 thrice in this year already. The numbers speak volumes in a way that all other Test-playing nations combined have been knocked over under 100 only once since the start of this year.
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