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The Pommy pundits have rounded on Australia after another day in the dirt for Pat Cummins’ men, with columnists lining up to take shots at the Aussie captain.
His captaincy, in particular, was the main bruise to be punched, with Nick Hoult in The Telegraph describing Cummins as having been bullied by Jonny Bairstow.
“Cummins was battered by England, losing control in the field and constantly chasing the game with his tactics,” he wrote.
“The last man stand between James Anderson and Bairstow of 66 in 8.1 overs was ruthless bossing of the alpha males of Test cricket.
“Bairstow’s bullying delayed England’s declaration and there was a touch of sentiment as Ben Stokes held back and enjoyed the view as every Australia fielder was posted on the boundary in damage limitation mode.”
Oliver Holt in the Daily Mail said that, should the weather intervene, it would only be to reward their poor play.
“Not for the first time in this series, the Australians were reduced to ringing the boundary with all of their outfielders,” he wrote.
“Their attitude screamed defeatism and bewilderment. England toyed with them, running quick singles even when the ball went through to the wicketkeeper.
“Alex Carey might have ‘stumped’ Bairstow at Lord’s but he couldn’t hit a barn door with a banjo at Old Trafford. Bairstow must have enjoyed that, too. The crowd certainly did.
“The rain will come on Saturday and give Australia respite. Maybe the bad weather will linger on Sunday and deliver them from their torture.
“Maybe Pat Cummins’s team will crawl over the line on bloodied hands and knees, giving thanks for Manchester’s dark clouds and dark mills, and retain the Ashes with a Test to spare, making the Oval an irrelevance.”
“If the Australians survive, it will be a victory for pragmatism and conservatism. That will not change the way it looks in the history books but it will not steal away our memories of days like these, either.
“Days when England did things with style and with a flourish, days when they thrilled us with their determination to prove that the game is about glory.”
With only rain able to save the tourists from a one-sided defeat, Barney Ronay in The Guardian began a victory lap for Bazball, the frenetic English style that has conjured the chance for a result from a game likely to lose five sessions to rain.
“There is a sense the Bazball stuff has become a genuine weapon if only through sheer repetition,” he wrote.
“England are sick of hearing that word. Imagine how Australia must feel as their northern summer threatens to turn horribly cold.
“It has been an amazing feat to insert a third entity into the centre of England v Australia, the oldest two-hander in Test history. But here it is, dear old Bazball, shunting itself into the middle of things, hogging the duvet, monopolising the pillow chat.
“How maddening for Australia, a place of grizzled truisms, points of red ball honour handed down like a tear-stained baggy green, to find themselves being chased around the set by blokes in bucket hats who feel they’ve won when they’ve lost, who are basically doing this for the vibes, who even have the gall in the middle of it all to preach about doing the right thing.”
Former England captain Nasser Hussain heaped praise on the much-maligned Bairstow, declaring that the keeper-batsman was at his best when under pressure.
“I love cricketers like Jonny Bairstow,” he told Sky Sports. “He is passionate, cares deeply and wants to show what he can do. He came out like he had a point to prove. He has read everything, listened to everything and it has wound him up.
“Whatever he says, Jonny Bairstow with a point to prove is a very dangerous Jonny Bairstow. He is ticking, has been ticking for weeks, and he wanted that day. If you wind him up enough he will go out there like a bull and deliver.”
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