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Former England great Kevin Pietersen was unimpressed as Nathan Lyon tore through England’s batting line-up, only for Ricky Ponting bit back on behalf of the Aussie spinner.
Pietersen took to Twitter midway through day three of the second Test, imploring his old team to take the long handle to Lyon’s off-breaks.
“Can SOMEONE please smack Lyon?!?!! FFS!” Pietersen seethed.
Can SOMEONE please smack Lyon?!?!! FFS!
Off spinner with zero variations and bowling on world crickets flattest road!!!! #Ashes— Kevin Pietersen???? (@KP24) December 18, 2021
It immediately drew a ‘come on, Kev’ rebuke from Ponting, while commentating for Channel Seven.
Then, when Lyon bowled Chris Woakes for 20 to pick up his second scalp, having earlier taking Ollie Pope’s wicket, Ponting added:
“I wonder if Kev’s still watching. The GOAT’s just taken another one.”
Lyon became just the third Australian, seventh spinner and 17th men’s cricketer in Test history to take 400 wickets last week during the first Ashes Test at the Gabba.
Pietersen had already drawn the ire of fans on Twitter the day before, claiming that the odds were stacked against the tourists due to biosecurity protocols in place for the series.
“Foolish to even think England were going to properly compete in this #ashes with everything else that’s happening off the field. Much easier for Aus at HOME! Way harder for ENG with all the nonsense that’s happening here!” he wrote.
Foolish to even think England were going to properly compete in this #ashes with everything else that’s happening off the field.
Much easier for Aus at HOME!
Way harder for ENG with all the nonsense that’s happening here!
— Kevin Pietersen???? (@KP24) December 17, 2021
Almost unforgivable: England blasted as unsolved problem continues to fester
Name a more iconic duo this summer than England bowlers and no-balls.
Twice already for the series, the visitors have cost themselves wickets after overstepping: first, David Warner at the Gabba off Ben Stokes, then Ollie Robinson to Marnus Labuschagne in Adelaide.
You couldn't script it…
Marnus edges behind off Robinson…
And it's a no ball ????#Ashes pic.twitter.com/jBSwylRc5Y
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) December 17, 2021
All up, the Poms have now bowled 18 no-balls in a little under 300 overs across the first two matches. When Robinson again transgressed late on day three, former great Michael Hussey had seen enough.
This is something that England, they have to sort this out – this is not good enough for this level,” Hussey said on Fox Cricket.
“[They’ve] got two wickets off no-balls already this series- it’s almost unforgivable.”
Stokes’ first denied wicket at the Gabba caused consternation, with replays showing that his lead-up deliveries had also been no-balls that hadn’t been called. However, on the evidence of the series, it’s becoming more and more unlikely that knowing about the problem would have changed anything for the all-rounder or his team.
Smith denies England ‘worst nightmare’ with follow-on snub
England hadn’t even been bowled out yet before the Fox Cricket commentators began pondering whether captain Steve Smith would choose to enforce the follow-on, and put under-pressure openers Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed into the pressure cooker of the night session.
“It could unfold very badly for them if they happen to be batting again tonight with the lights on and a new pink ball,” former great Mark Waugh said.
“That’s going to be their worst nightmare.”
Fellow legend Shane Warne agreed, but went further, claiming the Aussies choosing to bat again in the tricky final session could well be England’s only hope of putting them under pressure.
“It’s the perfect time to bowl; I believe it’s the only way England can get back in the game is if Australia bat again and they lose four or five wickets,” he said.
Smith was faced with a similar conundrum in the Adelaide Test of the 2017-18 series. Having secured a 225-run first innings lead with nightfall looming, he opted to back his batters to tough out the tricky period.
However, that call backfired as James Anderson ripped through the Australians for his maiden five-wicket haul down under: the hosts were four down at stumps and bowled out for 138 early the next morning.
While England would go on to lose by 120 runs, Smith’s follow-on call caused him enough stress that he admitted to enduring a sleepless night after day four.
Regardless, after bowling England out for 236 this time around, to secure an even greater lead of 237, Smith opted once more to let openers David Warner and Marcus Harris face the music.
Root nears top of the tree after latest half-century
Joe Root has a chance of breaking the world record for most runs in a calendar year after his fighting half-century on day three of the Second Test at the Adelaide Oval.
England have played a whopping 14 Tests in 2021 after the COVID-19 pandemic caused havoc with the ICC schedule last year and while they have struggled for only four wins, their plight would have been significantly worse if not for Root’s golden run of form.
After being dismissed early in the second session for 62, he now has 1606 runs at 64.24 for the year, the most by any English batter in men’s Test cricket history, and the fourth-best overall.
With this knock and two innings to go for 2021 in Melbourne next week, Root is a decent chance of overhauling the record of 1788 set by Pakistan’s Mohammad Yousuf in 2006. Windies icon Viv Richards (1710 in 1976) and former Proteas opener Graeme Smith (1656 in 2008) are the only others with better records.
Root moved ahead of some of the game’s best batters with Saturday’s innings – Ricky Ponting (1544 in 2005), India’s Sunil Gavaskar’s 1555 in 1979 and Sachin Tendulkar, who made 1562 in 2010, as well as Michael Clarke’s 1595 in 2012.
His openers again let him down in England’s reply to Australia’s 9(dec)-473 but as was the case in the second innings in the First Test in Brisbane, he found an ally in first drop Dawid Malan (80) as they posted a third-wicket partnership of 138 before they went in quick succession to leave the tourists reached 4-157.
Root has peeled off a career-best six hundreds this calendar year, highlighted by his 228 against Sri Lanka at Galle in January, as well as three half-centuries.
He is miles in front of the next-best batter – Indian star Rohit Sharma’s 960 from 11 Tests.
As far as support from his countrymen, opener Rory Burns is second on England’s run-scorers for 2021 with 496 at 27.55 from 10 Tests.
Neser, we have lift-off
Despite a tough first session in the heat on Saturday, debutant paceman Michael Neser was still grinning from ear to ear when interviewed about his magic moment from the night before.
Neser claimed a wicket with just his second delivery in Test cricket when he had English opener Haseeb Hameed caught by Mitchell Starc at mid-on, sparking wild celebrations among the Australian team, including reserve fielders Mitchell Swepson and Usman Khawaja sprinting onto Adelaide Oval to congratulate their Queensland teammate.
“I got a lot of love from the team there,” he said when interviewed by Channel Seven heading into the long break on Saturday.
“To have them run onto the field so quick and celebrate with me I’m just really thankful that I’ve got so many good mates in this team and they got around me so I had a great time.”
The 31-year-old seamer has been picked in every Australian squad for the past two years without getting a start in the first XI and looked set to miss this match when Jhye Richardson was chosen to replace the injured Josh Hazlewood but he got an 11th-hour call-up when Pat Cummins inadvertently became a COVID close contact.
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