Australia have been left to rue several missed chances to push home their case for a drought-breaking Ashes series win in England, after going to stumps at 8-299 on day one of the fourth Test.
On a day where Stuart Broad became the fifth man in history to take 600 Test wickets, Australia let England off the hook time and time again at Old Trafford.
Seven men got starts but none went on to post a big score after the tourists were sent in, with Mitch Marsh and Marnus Labuschagne both out for 51.
Travis Head became Stuart Broad’s 600th victim when he was caught hooking on 48, Steve Smith was lbw to Mark Wood on 41 and David Warner caught behind for 32.
Alex Carey was also caught behind late in the day on 20, becoming the fourth man to fall to Chris Woakes when he nicked a ball he was trying to leave.
David Warner departs in Manchester. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
The wickets give England the chance to take control of the penultimate Test of the series on Thursday, but a draw would be enough for Australia to retain the Ashes and a win would ensure their first series victory in the country in 22 years.
“Where we were, and how many guys got themselves in, I think we would be slightly disappointed with no one getting a big score,” Labuschagne said.
“But I think the statistics are really skewed in England to first-innings scores above 300.
“The wicket is a little bit two-paced. It’s quite slow. It’s not like some wickets I have played here (which are) are quite quick on day one.”
Labuschagne will walk away the most frustrated, after a series of teasing starts for him.
The Queenslander showed the kind of patience and determination he is renowned for on Wednesday, at one stage going 19 balls without scoring a run late in his innings.
But after he brought up his first half-century of the tour by pulling Woakes, Labuschagne was lbw on his next ball, missing a regulation Moeen Ali off break.
“I was probably a little bit lazy on that, tried to turn it to the leg side,” Labuschagne said.
“But it was the process that I was happy with.
“I was happy with my decision-making, which has been the part that’s really been frustrating me from a personal side.”
Warner will also be annoyed with himself.
Under pressure to retain his spot, the 36-year-old cut the first ball of the match from his nemesis Broad for four and looked in good touch in the opening hour.
But after getting through Broad’s opening spell and scoring at a fast rate through his innings, he was caught behind trying to drive outside off from Woakes.
Smith also looked on for a big score in his innings when he showed intent against Moeen, hitting the spinner back down the ground for six before becoming Wood’s only victim.
Australia’s partnerships told the story of the day, with stands of 15, 46, 59, 63, six, 65, one and 45.
Marsh was arguably the unluckiest, caught one-handed by Jonny Bairstow as the England wicketkeeper fell to his right to take the nick off Woakes (4-52).
Such has been Bairstow’s woes in this series, the 33-year-old appeared not to quite believe the ball had stayed in his glove as he sat up after taking the catch.
“It’s hard to judge a pitch here until both teams bowl and bat on it,” Broad said.
“But the sun was out for a bit so it felt we did really well to get eight wickets today.”
Not having a specialist spinner could come back to bite the Australians but they believe the Old Trafford wicket may buck tradition and turn less later in the game.
The tourists’ decision to go into the fourth Ashes Test without a spinner continued to raise eyebrows on Wednesday, with Ricky Ponting among those surprised by the decision.
With Todd Murphy left out of the team and no frontline spinner picked for the first time since January 2011, Australia will be forced to rely on Travis Head as their main tweaker.
Adding to the challenge for Australia is the fact they will be bowling last in the match, at a time when spin is usually the most prodigious and the injured Nathan Lyon has been a go-to option.
Labuschagne said he believed that could have been a result of a thick grass cover left of the wicket, which will flatten out later in the game.
Marnus Labuschagne is out for 51. (Photo by Gareth Copley – ECB/ECB via Getty Images)
“Because the wicket has been undercover for a few days, it didn’t have that really rock-hardness,” Labuschagne said.
“And the thatchy grass is spinning. So once that wears off, I think the middle of the week it’s going to actually not spin so much.
“The ends will rough up, eventually, if the weather stays good. But I think it’s actually going to spin less as the game goes on from the good part of the wicket.”
It came after Ponting also queried the decision in commentary.
“I was still surprised they didn’t go in with one,” Ponting said during Moeen’s second spell.
“Your preference is always to go in with a spinner – unless you are brilliant at reading weather forecasts and cricket pitches. So if you haven’t got one, you can be found out very easy.”
© AAP
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