Ashes 3rd Test Day 2: Australia tighten the screws

Though only about 220 runs were scored in the entire day, the action factor was right upto the mark as England finish the day with 180 for the loss of 4 wickets, still trailing Aussies by 200+ runs.

The day started with an auspicious note for the visitors, as Broad bagged Johnson in the very second ball of the day. Even yesterday’s hero Steven Smith couldn’t add much to the yesterday’s score, as he was caught off Anderson by Prior.

But the Australian tail hung in there, and Australia’s score was nearing 400. Just when Clarke was about to declare the innings, the final wicket of Peter Siddle fell, as Australia folded up for 385.

The English batting started with an auspicious start. Both the openers negotiated the new ball with soft hands, literally. Instead of driving the ball with power, they rather relied on defensive pushes and finding the right gaps.

As the overs progressed, the batsmen found it easier to score. With no movement off the pitch and extremely hot conditions, the bowlers found it difficult to get a breakthrough. Even the batsmen were scoring at nearly 3.5 runs an over.

But finally in the 26th over, Ryan Harris struck the first blow. Change of angle worked for him as Cranberry was in two minds to play Harris’ ball, and eventually dragged the ball to the stump. The excellent opening partnership of 85 was England’s highest opening partnership this year in tests.

It was a downhill for the English there on. Clarke decided to exert pressure by drying up the runs, and was successful in it. The scorecard was ticking in a snail’s pace, and the bowlers were maintaining a constant outside offstump line.

Joe Root fell to Watson’s excellent out swinger. While the on-field umpire ruled him out, Root was definitely sure that there was no contact between the bat and ball. When he reviewed, though the hot spot concluded there was no contact between bat and ball, the sneako’s result was otherwise. The 3rd umpire in a dilemma, decided to favour the on-field umpire’s call, and ruled him out. This sparked outrage from Root himself and many former players. Another chapter to much debated usage of technology in decision making.

Meanwhile, captain Cook brought up his 50, and was looking good to score his 26th test century.

Just when the pressure was lifting off the England batsman, thanks to a flurry of boundries, Cook cut one straight to the hands of Warner. Coincidently, it was similar to Warner’s dismissal in the first innings.

Just overs after his dismissal, Pieterson’s not-so-impressive stay at the middle came to an end, after he bottom edged a pull. Mitchell Johnson pulled off a stunning catch, and Peter Siddle got his bunny again. This was the 10th time Pieterson was dismissed by Siddle in tests.

With the scorecard reading 146 for 4, the Aussies were right on top, and a wicket or two would have nailed England right into the coffin. But youngester Stokes and Bell played off the last hour patiently, though not without discomfort. While bowlers continued their nagging line outside offstump, the batsmen had to face a nervous 15 mins before the end of the day, thanks to some ferocious deliveries from Mitchell Johnson. But eventually, there was no casualities and English ended the day with some hope still left to save the match.

It will be an interesting day of cricket tomorrow. While the Aussie batsmen would like to wrap up the English batsmen and get a reasonable lead, whereas the England would like Bell and Stokes to build up a reasonable partnership and get England closer to Australian first innings score.