UK View: 'Like a virus' - Poms hail 155kph 'Rocket Man' but float bizarre Steve Waugh theory for butterfinger blows

England’s costly catching errors dampened the triumphalism roused by Mark Wood’s thunderbolts, amid grudging respect for Mitchell Marsh’s fighting century as the UK media reacted to day one of the third Test.

And there was cringeworthy amount of Alex Carey bashing thrown in as well.

Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow dropped two chances each as England’s fielding once again let the hosts down on a delicately poised day one in Leeds.

Carey, hit in the head by Wood, and savagely abused by those upright spirit of cricket lovers in the Headingley stands, did have the final say – snaring a sharp caught behind as efficiently as Jonny Bairstow scoffs down pies.

If there was any thought that the UK media would let sleeping dogs lie after the events of Edgbaston – well, that’s not how it works.

Oliver Holt, in the Daily Mail, revelled in the chants of “cheat” and “wanker” that greeted Carey’s arrival at the crease.

“When Alex Carey, Jonny Bairstow’s nemesis, the Long Room’s bete noire, the villain of Lord’s and the great desecrator of the spirit of cricket, made his way to the wicket after the tea interval to face his first ball in the third Test, a chant began to roll from one end of the Western Terrace to the other.

“‘Stand up if you hate Carey,’ the England fans sang. Gradually the denizens of the Popular Enclosure rose to their feet. The rest followed quickly until they were all standing and all roaring their dislike for the Australia wicketkeeper, who is, apparently, an uncommonly courteous and amiable young man.

“So this was it. This was payback. This was the price for the shabby opportunism — or quick-thinking smart cricket, if you prefer — he displayed at Lord’s on Sunday to stump Bairstow when Bairstow thought, erroneously, that the ball was dead. This was Carey’s Headingley Appreciation Society Choir in full voice.

“It was Carey’s misfortune that he had come to the crease at a time of day when the beer and daiquiris were starting to take a firm hold and, far worse, when Mark Wood, the returning terror of the track, was embracing his second coming in Test cricket with as hostile a spell of fast bowling as England have produced in some time.

“Carey was thrust into the middle of this maelstrom, public enemy No 1 placed firmly in the line of fire. There was a sense that England were prizing his wicket more than usual.”

Prize it they might, but Joe Root dropped the Australian before he was removed. England’s shocking fielding is a recurring theme and the hosts have had 15 missed chances costing 468 runs so far in the series.

Australia batter Mitchell Marsh celebrates his century. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Former England captain Nasser Hussain, also in the Daily Mail, described it as virus-like.

“I see England work hard but I think these two and a half games so far represent the worst start of a series for them in six years now – that’s 14 drops and a missed stumping for the record,” he wrote.

“All I can say is there’s no specific technical reason I can decipher. Maybe Jonny Bairstow is a little bit undercooked after the injury and his footwork behind the stumps is not as nimble as someone like Alex Carey.

“Also, dropping catches is like a virus. A confidence thing. One goes down, and your hands stiffen up.

“What actually makes me cross around the whole Bazball chat is that it is the small details that are letting England down but that isn’t the narrative that’s coming across.

“If England win, it’s all brilliant and down to Bazball. Lose, and it is because Bazball doesn’t work.

When actually it is the basics of the game where they have fallen short: not having bowlers fit at the right time, batters not being ruthless when they have the opposition down, taking wickets from no-balls and fielders missing catches.”

Scyld Berry, writing in the Telegraph, resurfaced an interesting theory from former Australia captain Steve Waugh by way of explanation.

“Yet one circumstance mitigates,” wrote Berry of the butterfingers. “Once Steve Waugh had played county cricket for Somerset as well as for Australia, he observed that catching in general is harder in England.

“It is, he said, a matter of clothes: on a cool grey day, like yesterday in Leeds, spectators tend to wear darker clothes than in the Antipodean sun and therefore form a darker background. England might have a stronger foothold in this series if only Australia had brought more supporters in their yellow costumes. “

Intriguing, but doesn’t explain why the Aussie fielders are not having the same issues.

Berry noted the contrast between England of 2023 with the fielding of the successful 2015 cohort.

“Trevor Bayliss was appointed as England’s head coach a matter of days before the 2015 Ashes. He did not take his new players to Scotland for golf,” Berry wrote.

“He took them to Spain, and not because the pitches in Catalonia are seamer-friendly or those in Andalusia made for spinners. In the absence of any Spanish turf pitches, Bayliss gave the England squad two days of tough fielding practice such as New South Welshmen relish, and it did wonders for their catching and morale, which are almost the same thing.

“Three greentops outside London, England catch everything that moves, culminating in Ben Stokes’s catch while Stuart Broad was taking eight for 15 at Trent Bridge, England win 3-2, Ashes regained.”

Andy Bull of the Guardian suggested England has its priorities wrong.

“The problem was that their fielding wasn’t half so sharp” as Mark Wood’s bowling,”Bull wrote.

“This England seem to be too busy to have much time for anything as quotidian as catching practice; their practice sessions make extensive use of bucket hats, a bluetooth-enabled boombox and Brendon McCullum’s carefully curated playlists, but not a fielding coach.

“It may yet end up being the difference between the two teams. They missed five catches here, including one off Travis Head, on 9, and another off Mitch Marsh on 12. Those two alone meant they ended up conceding at least 136 more runs than they should have done.”

Simon Brunton added in the Guardian: “After sitting out the first two matches, Mark Wood announced himself in this series by unleashing a dozen whirlwind overs on the opening day of the third Test, taking five wickets along the way – and the really good news for England is that he thinks he can get quicker. Not since Brett Lee in 2005 has any bowler registered a faster average speed across an innings than Wood did in marking 90.5mph – with a top speed of 96.5mph – at Headingley.”

Michael Atherton, in the Times, was full of praise for Wood, who produced a spell of blinding pace that included a stunner to remove Usman Khawaja.

““A fast bowler in heart and mind,” was John Arlott’s description of Fred Trueman, the great Yorkshire fast bowler. Given his zany sense of humour, his ebullience and easygoing nature, it would be difficult to attach such a brooding description to Mark Wood, but the Ashington Flyer must surely be as quick a bowler as England has ever produced — and once again he gave a vivid demonstration of his rare qualities on a day of Test cricket at Headingley that was a privilege to watch,” wrote Atherton.

“For more than six hours the pendulum swung, with England dominating initially, Australia fighting back through a wonderful counterattacking innings from Mitchell Marsh, who scored the second-fastest Ashes hundred in this country by an Australian, before Wood induced a remarkable collapse after tea. From 240 for four, Australia were bowled out for 263, losing six wickets for 23 in 52 balls, Wood taking the last four of them, giving him five wickets in all.

“It could have — should have — been better for England after a rash of dropped catches, including two easy ones, by Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root, when Travis Head and Marsh, who combined for the only sizeable partnership of the day, were barely out of first gear. Nevertheless, having put Australia in on the basis that the pitch later on holds no terrors (the past five Tests here have been won by the side batting last), Ben Stokes will have settled for taking ten wickets on the opening day.

“Playing his first Test match for almost four years — his first since the last Test of the Ashes here in 2019 — Marsh played with the freedom of a man unburdened by expectation. He counterattacked brilliantly, hitting thunderous drives and pulls whenever England’s bowlers erred in length. One pull shot off Wood into the Western Terrace was awesome in its power.”