England took a great stride towards victory in the first Ashes Test as they ended the day leaving Australia 412 to win on a tricky Cardiff pitch.
Resuming the day on 264-5, Australia still trailed by 166 runs and needed another strong performance from Brad Haddin and the tail to put real pressure on the hosts. Nightwatchman Nathan Lyon and Shane Watson resumed the day with the latter on 29 not out and looking to be Australia’s leader in their race to build a lead. The new ball was only around the corner, but surprisingly England did not wait to unleash Stuart Broad as he and Mark Wood started the day off for the home side.
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The first over from Moeen went for a single, but England got off to a dream start as, yet again, Watson was dismissed for LBW. Watson reviewed the decision, but it stood, meaning that his LBW problem worsens. He has the highest percentage of dismissals by leg-before of any batsman with more than 100 innings, and the jokes about him are not dying down. England had already reduced Australia to 265-6. It was thought that the bowlers would be a bit more defensive with Watson, at least compared to Lyon, but Broad’s aggressive approach gave his team the momentum it needed.
Brad Haddin came to the crease. In the last Ashes series he was often England’s tormentor, but his dire form of late has had some questioning his place in the team. He had the chance to quash some of the criticism by leading a lower-order attack on the English bowlers. However, all hopes of Lyon and Haddin building a partnership were dashed as Mark Wood, bowling at and around 90mph throughout the day, dismissed the nightwatchman for the second LBW in quick succession.
England’s favourite pantomime villain, Mitchell Johnson, came to the crease amidst boos and jeers from the Barmy Army. He struggled with the ball somewhat in the first innings, but his run-scoring ability makes him a danger late on. Haddin and Johnson started to build a promising partnership, but then came the new ball.
Jimmy Anderson produced some of the most beautiful new ball bowling ever seen, and quickly had Haddin’s wicket. The wicket-keeper edged behind to an Anderson classic; he couldn’t seem to be able to deal with the incredible amounts of swing that both openers were producing. Quickly afterwards, Johnson was dismissed by Stuart Broad for 14. He clipped an excellent ball onto his pads, and granted Gary Ballance at mid-wicket the easiest of catches.
At 306-9, Australia’s collapse was nearly complete.
There was, of course, still some hope for Australia, if one were to look back at history, anyway. Perhaps Mitchell Starc could produce an Ashton Agar-esque innings and frustrate the English bowlers. No such luck. A thick edge off Jimmy Anderson led to a stunning catch by golden boy Joe Root at third slip, and the innings was over. Australia were 308 all out, 122 runs behind the hosts.
The Cardiff pitch continues to deteriorate, and therefore England went out safe in the knowledge that any score upwards of 250 would see them firmly in the driving seat.
Almost immediately, Australia had England under the cosh. Alastair Cook, still struggling for form, struck a Mitchell Starc delivery low to Nathan Lyon at point, who took a great catch to dismiss the captain for 12. Cook has endured a rather torrid time since the last Ashes in England, but his strong captaincy and batting success in the West Indies means that he still has a part to play in the England team.
Not too long after Gary Ballance was dismissed for a duck. Josh Hazlewood, bowling a near-perfect over, dragged his length back a little to allow Ballance to edge behind. England were 22-2, and suddenly there task was looking a little more difficult.
In came Ian Bell, who has been in a poor vein of form lately. However, he performed admirably to rebuild England’s and build their lead. He and Adam Lyth built a strong partnership, but once the pair had passed their fifty together, the opener fell off Nathan Lyon to a sensational Clarke catch to depart for 37, with the score on 73-3. This brought the hero of the last innings, Joe Root, to the crease.
Numbers four and five tore the Aussie bowling attack to pieces, batting swiftly but intelligently. As Bell went past his fifty and Root approached his, there seemed to be no way that either would get out. However, out of nowhere, Bell was bowled by Mitchell Johnson. Having just dispatched the last ball for four, Bell got a little too cocky and moved backwards towards a full and straight ball and was bowled for 57.
But England’s lower middle-order did not collapse and two of the young boys, Stokes and Root, continued to build their lead. Alas, the Australians finally started to bowl on the stumps, and Root was bowled by Hazlewood for 60. The score was 207-5. England were 329 ahead, and starting to build an unassailable lead.
Stokes began to go after the Australians and with Buttler alongside him there was a chance that the two could cause carnage together. However, Buttler got out playing one of the more brainless shots possible in Test cricket. With two days left and plenty of runs on the board, the two firebrands needed to stay in for a little while, frustrate the bowlers and continue building the lead. Regrettably, Buttler tried a reverse sweep off Lyon and top edged to Haddin. Four runs later, Stokes played on off Starc for 42 to leave England on 240-7. Not too long after that Stuart Broad was caught by Josh Hazlewood off Nathan Lyon to make the score 245-8. In his short time at the crease he did challenge Buttler for the “Stupid Shot of the Day” award, carelessly swiping at Nathan Lyon to be caught brilliantly at long on.
Fortunately for the hosts, Moeen and Mark Wood restored control and put together a solid partnership. Whilst Ali batted slightly more carefully, Wood, who had proven himself to be somewhat useful with the bat before, bludgeoned the Aussie bowlers to make England’s lead more than healthy. He even hit his first test six and helped England’s lead move past 400. Moeen was dismissed for 15, reaching out at a wide Johnson ball to edge behind.
Jimmy Anderson avoided a duck yet again, but he was dismissed for one, leaving Wood on an impressive 32 not out, as he tried to slog-sweep a straight Nathan Lyon ball. England were all out for 289, but Australia did not have enough time to bat that evening. They will start Day Four with 412 to win.
The highest ever run-chase at Cardiff is 370, by Hampshire in a County Championship game. It will take a minor miracle for the Aussies to win this game, but their batting is so strong that it will be by no means a procession. England have enjoyed another fantastic game thus far, but they have a long way to go yet if they are to secure victory.
