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Opinion
For all the fawning over Ben Stokes’ captaincy and England’s revolutionary Bazball approach, they have so far squandered a golden chance to put the foot on the throat of Australia.
The wicket for this first Test is a batting paradise and if Australia continue to pile on the runs on day three, there’s every chance the hosts will not only lose their slight advantage but the first Test after being in a position of strength from the moment the coin was tossed.
Stokes has favoured batting second during his first year as captain but even he couldn’t resist the temptation to have first crack to put runs on the scoreboard with this made-to-order benign surface.
After watching the lack of movement in the first hour of play, you would have set par for a first innings total conservatively at 400, if not 450 or more.
After England freewheeled their way to 8-393 and declared for their bowlers to have what turned out to be a fruitless late spell at the openers on day one, the Aussies now head into day three only 82 runs behind with five wickets in hand.
England’s Ben Stokes discusses a decision review with teammates. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
And Usman Khawaja is still at the crease after soaking up 279 deliveries for his 126 runs.
A lot can change in the first session on day three but Khawaja’s partnership with Alex Carey (52 not out) is already up to 91 and with so much time left in the match, there is no way Pat Cummins will be declaring if they get their noses in front.
England’s tail is no great shakes so the Aussies should also be able to wag away on this pitch.
It was a great toss to win and England dominated the first day’s play but their cavalier approach has allowed the measured Australians to stay in the contest.
At 5-297 with England in command as Joe Root’s partnership with Jonny Bairstow reached 121, the keeper made the gloveman’s cardinal sin of being stumped by his opposite number on 78.
Bairstow ran down the wicket the next ball after hitting a four, stumbling over the fine line between positive intent and reckless play.
Moeen Ali also threw his wicket away by trying to slog on the 17th ball he faced to be stumped for 18.
Interestingly, the CricViz winning percentage dropped six points immediately when Stokes declared late in the day.
And on day two, Bairstow missed a stumping on Cameron Green before he’d scored which could have put the tourists in deep strife at 5-148.
The all-rounder didn’t make them pay too much by getting out on 38 but his 72-run partnership with Khawaja was crucial to keeping Australia’s head above water.
Bairstow also spilt a straightforward snick off Alex Carey, when he was halfway torward his overnight total on 26.
England bolstered their batting by going with Bairstow ahead of a more astute keeper in Ben Foakes. The recalled veteran pulled off a spectacular catch to dismiss Marnus Labuschagne for a golden duck but he will be prone to errors like the Green stumping and the Carey drop throughout the series.
Let’s say he averages 20 more with the bat than what Foakes would have racked up, will that be enough to offset the keeping errors.
Stokes set attacking fields and kept ringing in the bowling changes but the decision to give part-timer Harry Brook an over early on day two ahead of his frontliners was curious to say the least.
There’s always a fear when specialist batters face a bowler they know they should gobble up for breakfast but just a few overs after Stuart Broad made a double-wicket breakthrough, it also gave Steve Smith six deliveries to find his groove when that’s the last thing England should be doing with him at the crease.
The criticism over Cummins’ conservative captaincy was warranted but over the top in many quarters.
Irrespective of which team he was facing, if a team gets off to a flyer on a pitch as batting-friendly as that one was on day one, it’s only natural for any modern skipper to limit the damage with a sweeper square on either side of the wicket.
David Warner of Australia reacts after being dismissed by Stuart Broad. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Cummins kept two slips and a gully for much of the day when the seamers were operating but he could tell early on that boundary riders were necessary otherwise the England scoring rate would have been over a run a ball.
The Bazball philosophy of scoring runs as quickly as you can to give the bowlers as much time as possible to take 20 wickets has been a proven winner in 11 of 13 Tests under Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.
But if the pitch is lifeless and you’re faced with a world-class batting unit which loves nothing more to occupy the crease, the theory is fraught with danger.
It would have been more advantageous for England to have batted into a fourth session to go well beyond 400 rather than allowing Australia even more time to build their reply at their own pace, giving their bowling attack now more than a full day’s rest.
Australia are now the bookmakers’ favourites to win heading into day three at Edgbaston despite England’s clear early dominance.
There’s a lot of cricket to be played before a clear winner emerges in this Test but despite what you may hear about Stokes’ tactics and the all-conquering power of Bazball, they’ve shot themselves in the foot a few times in this match which could turn out to be fatal wounds.