The Ashes: England v Australia | 1st Test | Edgbaston | Jun 16-Jun 20 | Day 4

[Markhor]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Shaheen Shah Afridi enjoying the action today at Edgbaston <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Ashes23?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Ashes23</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ENGvAUS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ENGvAUS</a> <a href="https://t.co/EnglF5ncut">pic.twitter.com/EnglF5ncut</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1670833571102363649?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 19, 2023</a></blockquote>
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Good to see. Hope he's absorbing the tactical lessons. Would love to see us take either side on under his captaincy.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Khawaja is so good to watch.

All the hallmarks of a solid opening batter.

He looks at his peak but is nearly 38 years old. Seem a late bloomer who could be playing until 40 with this form.

Moeen wants his wicket bad.

Two Pakistani background guys battling each other for the most historic trophy between England and Australia.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Khawaja looks like a left handed Azharuddin when he's trying to loft spinners over their heads. Such a vastly improved player.

 

[Saj]

Warner and Khawaja picking up the length so quickly.

England looking flat - need a wicket quick.

 

[MenInG]

Warner won't last long. [Famous last words!]

 

[Protea Fan]

Warner also seems comfortable now

Ominous signs poms

 

[Ab Fan]

Comfortably is chasing it down with 4/5 wickets remaining and with time remaining. This is possible but most likely will not be as easy.

Losing a home test isnt humiliating lol. This is top level sport which is played over 5 tests. England lost badly at Lords in the first test in 2005 but still went on to win the series.

Good tactics by Aus openers, going after Jimmy.

Moeen has a big role in the innings but hast been bowling for long periods. I would have picked the young leggie Rehan Ahmed.

You are missing a point here. 2005 was a different era. Nowadays ( in last decade or so), teams are more dominant at home and mostly mediocre overseas. You look at England's performance in Australia in last two tours and it has been complete dominance by Australia. This hasn't been the case when Australia tours England.

This time there was a lot of hype with the Baz ball so you would expect similar kind of performance from England like winning the series with 4-1 or something. I don't see that happening though, ofcourse Australia are strong but this is England's home and this is considered as one of England's strongest team, completely revamped by Stokes and McCullum who are being said as if they have revolutionized test cricket again with the Baz ball. I don't see those words being converted into performance all that much.

 

[Visaal-E-Yaar]

Warner gone

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Marnus needs to make for his first innings failure . A nice 70 from him will set this game up nicely . Warner has done his part.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Game on again.

Warner gets a good un. On late day 4 or 5 this can happen at any time.

England could do with another one or two tonight. 24 hours still to play.

 

[MenInG]

Warner won't last long. [Famous last words!]

WICKET! Warner c Bairstow b Robinson 36 - Australia 61-1

 

[KingKhanWC]

I've never seen Usman Khawaja bat better than since his comeback last year.

Never saw him live but the bits I've seen of him online, Khawaja seems quite David Gower-esque with his languid elegance.

Khawaja looks like a left handed Azharuddin when he's trying to loft spinners over their heads. Such a vastly improved player.

Both had that lazy looking stance but elegance when it came to hitting the ball.

I also see a little of Clive Lloyd in his movement.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Match is quite evenly poised.

Moaner Mo will lose it for England though. They should have selected a proper bowler who values test cricket.

 

[KingKhanWC]

You are missing a point here. 2005 was a different era. Nowadays ( in last decade or so), teams are more dominant at home and mostly mediocre overseas. You look at England's performance in Australia in last two tours and it has been complete dominance by Australia. This hasn't been the case when Australia tours England.

This time there was a lot of hype with the Baz ball so you would expect similar kind of performance from England like winning the series with 4-1 or something. I don't see that happening though, ofcourse Australia are strong but this is England's home and this is considered as one of England's strongest team, completely revamped by Stokes and McCullum who are being said as if they have revolutionized test cricket again with the Baz ball. I don't see those words being converted into performance all that much.

Bazball is still in development. England need to play in various scenarios with various players to nail it down properly. Its a risky move but it was England who changed the ODI format with high scoring, tests are different but its very exciting to see.

England is not India or Australia. England pitches offer something to all types of bowlers and batsmen. These are the best pitches for test cricket...or for cricket for that matter. Remember the game was invented in England, its the home of cricket and always will be because it provides the best version of real cricket , test cricket. Away teams often win here, please dont confuse with rank turners in Calcutta or fast , bouncy pitches at the WACA.

The reason why the World Test final is played in England.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Match is quite evenly poised.

Moaner Mo will lose it for England though. They should have selected a proper bowler who values test cricket.

Can't fault him. England had to beg him to come out of retirement. He is not fit with an injured finger. Its a shame that they could not get Adil Rashid to play.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Bazball is still in development. England need to play in various scenarios with various players to nail it down properly. Its a risky move but it was England who changed the ODI format with high scoring, tests are different but its very exciting to see.

England is not India or Australia. England pitches offer something to all types of bowlers and batsmen. These are the best pitches for test cricket...or for cricket for that matter. Remember the game was invented in England, its the home of cricket and always will be because it provides the best version of real cricket , test cricket. Away teams often win here, please dont confuse with rank turners in Calcutta or fast , bouncy pitches at the WACA.

The reason why the World Test final is played in England.

Nothing wrong with Bazball. Its the moronic declaration when they only had 380 runs on the board that needs to be blamed. Aggressive batting must always be encouraged.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Another 50 runs without losing a wicket, its Aussies match all the way. Pitch is flat as a pancake.

 

[Saj]

Stokes still attacking when other captains will have gone on the defensive.

Excellent captaincy.

 

[Ahmed216]

Atrocious second innings effort from England. Aussies game to lose now

 

[KingKhanWC]

Nothing wrong with Bazball. Its the moronic declaration when they only had 380 runs on the board that needs to be blamed. Aggressive batting must always be encouraged.

When 8 down, with overhead conditions it worth a risk. England may have only scored another 20, as wickets were falling quickly.

I think their 2nd innings batting let England down, wasn't the best effort with some poor shots.

 

[Ab Fan]

Another 50 runs without losing a wicket, its Aussies match all the way. Pitch is flat as a pancake.

I see it is a bit hard for some fans to digest. Aussies are hardly getting troubled and this seems to be a one sided chase. They just want to feel happy even if it means staying delusional. By the end of the tour, Aussies might still win the series 4-1 and these set of fans will say that it was a good fighting contest between two equally matched teams.

 

[Protea Fan]

I thought the movement cummins extract was due to the condition but it seems it was pure individual skills

Theses are the difference bw good players and great

 

[Rajdeep]

Eng missing a good spinner here.

Why did they bring back Moeen Ali?

Are there no good young spinners in England domestic cricket?

 

[Champ_Pal]

Pathetic prod from Labu. He had no business playing that ball.

 

[Protea Fan]

Lambus gone,trap smith also today and with overcast forecast tomorrow it can get all tricky for aussies

 

[Ahmed216]

I thought the movement cummins extract was due to the condition but it seems it was pure individual skills

Theses are the difference bw good players and great

Broady scalps marnus with a peach.
Reverse swing in action

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Match is quite evenly poised.

Moaner Mo will lose it for England though. They should have selected a proper bowler who values test cricket.

Surprised they didn't pick that young wrist spinner (Rehan?)who bowled in Pakistan. Moeen offers little with bat and he can't bowl long spells now either. Wasted spot.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Crowd roaring as thought it was a prime Akhtar or Marshal when Broad is bowling The man is bowling 130k gun barrel straight balls.

 

[Markhor]

Marnus is so far across his stumps that he doesn't know where his offstump is.

If he took a normal guard he can leave that comfortably. A repeat of 1st inns dismissal.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Marnus is so far across his stumps that he doesn't know where his offstump is.

If he took a normal guard he can leave that comfortably. A repeat of 1st inns dismissal.

Excellent point. I felt the same too. He was playing as though he was facing the first over of a Day-1 pitch at Lords.

 

[Ahmed216]

I see it is a bit hard for some fans to digest. Aussies are hardly getting troubled and this seems to be a one sided chase. They just want to feel happy even if it means staying delusional. By the end of the tour, Aussies might still win the series 4-1 and these set of fans will say that it was a good fighting contest between two equally matched teams.

Credit to England for making this game so interesting. Remember they declared when Root was still going great guns.
They are doing everything possible to keep this format alive.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Crowd roaring as thought it was a prime Akhtar or Marshal when Broad is bowling The man is bowling 130k gun barrel straight balls.

He has a habit of taking wickets in bundles especially against the Aussies. The crowd are just creating a hostile atmosphere.

 

[Devadwal]

Edgbaston 2005: Australia needed 282 runs to win
England won by 2 runs

Edgbaston 2023: Australia need 281 runs to win
Predict the result of this Test?
My - Australia to win by 2 wickets

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Credit to England for making this game so interesting. Remember they declared when Root was still going great guns.
They are doing everything possible to keep this format alive.

I dont think test match cricket would have died if they batted on.

Overall I like bazball but they have been a bit reckless in this test.

 

[Protea Fan]

Crowd roaring as thought it was a prime Akhtar or Marshal when Broad is bowling The man is bowling 130k gun barrel straight balls.

Broad is doing it all alone for eng in this test match,he was very good in first innings too

Actually jimmy is underwhelming

 

[Amjid Javed]

Game evenly balanced here, one more wicket and England will be on top.

Aussies also have a long tail, so these 2 have to score big.

 

[Ahmed216]

I dont think test match cricket would have died if they batted on.

Overall I like bazball but they have been a bit reckless in this test.

They are truly walking the talk. Stokes doesnt really care about losing. Whether we agree with this approach or not is another matter

 

[Markhor]

Surprised they didn't pick that young wrist spinner (Rehan?)who bowled in Pakistan. Moeen offers little with bat and he can't bowl long spells now either. Wasted spot.

I thought they'd pick Rehan too, especially given this attack-first mindset they're pushing. This is one decision where they've been conservative.

That said Rehan only has 11 FC caps (one of them a Test) and even in County he goes at nearly 4 RPO. Perhaps one risk too many, although they're also gambling with Moeen seeing his spinning finger is about to fall off his hand.

 

[KingKhanWC]

Jimmy needs to return with the ball reversing a little.

Bowling Root is allowing the Aussies to take off the pressure and relax.

 

[Mamoon]

They are truly walking the talk. Stokes doesnt really care about losing. Whether we agree with this approach or not is another matter

It is easy to say that you don’t care about losing when you are winning. These type of statements look good when you are on a winning streak.

If the whacky tactics backfire and Australia win the Ashes in England, the same English press and fans who are waxing lyrical about Stokes and McCullum’s crusade to save Test cricket, entertain the fans and not worry about results would be blasting them for being reckless.

It is total ** to claim that we don’t care about results and we just want to entertain. This is Test cricket not West End Theatre. Their first and foremost duty is to win matches for England.

To their credit, they have been getting results so far but the moment they start losing, they will cop a lot of criticism for taking one risks too many.

The first innings declaration, the shots Root and Brook played today. Completely unnecessary.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Wow. Game over?

 

[Saj]

Broad again.

Smith gone.

England must fancy their chances now.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Swing for Broad and Smith is gone.

 

[Mamoon]

Massive, massive wicket. Smith has not looked in good touch since the second innings of the WTC Final.

 

[Protea Fan]

Broad you beauty

Man of the match contender over root if poms win this

 

[Markhor]

Massive wicket. Pendulum swings again !

 

[KingKhanWC]

Broad turning it on for the Brummie crowd!

England slightly on top now?

As I stated, Usman Khawaja is the key wicket, deciding the result of this match. He has the mental strength to play under pressure and in any conditions.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Boland looks nervous.

He will get out tonight.

 

[MenInG]

Game on Hai!

WICKET! Smith c Bairstow b Broad 6 - Australia 89-3

 

[Ahmed216]

Smith gone.
As I said on day 1 there was nothing wrong with England declaration. They wanted to have a go at Aus when it was almost twilight. Plus they know their strengths very well.
It was their poor second innings effort that we thought gave Aus a sniff
But hey stokes and co. knows better than us

 

[Ahmed216]

Broad turning it on for the Brummie crowd!

England slightly on top now?

As I stated, Usman Khawaja is the key wicket, deciding the result of this match. He has the mental strength to play under pressure and in any conditions.

I can only feel for fans who think siraj is a better bowler than broady in England

 

[Mamoon]

Broad turning it on for the Brummie crowd!

England slightly on top now?

As I stated, Usman Khawaja is the key wicket, deciding the result of this match. He has the mental strength to play under pressure and in any conditions.

If Khawaja bats for another 20 overs, Australia will be in a commanding position because the likes of Head, Green and Carey can take the game away with quick cameos, but it will be hard for them to survive without Khawaja holding fort.

 

[Rajdeep]

Massive, massive wicket. Smith has not looked in good touch since the second innings of the WTC Final.

Doesn't take much to look good against Indian trundlers

 

[KingKhanWC]

Broad you beauty

Man of the match contender over root if poms win this

Broad alone will not be enough, even if he takes a 5fer.

Boland in a good move with less than 15 mins to play but only has 7 test innings to his name. England need to keep him on strike and swarm his bat with fielders.

 

[KingKhanWC]

If Khawaja bats for another 20 overs, Australia will be in a commanding position because the likes of Head, Green and Carey can take the game away with quick cameos, but it will be hard for them to survive without Khawaja holding fort.

Agree, Usman is the superglue needed in a pressure chase with dodgy forecast tomorrow morning.

How he plays will be interesting, his form being good you'd think he want to play his shots but with the match situation, he will need to be more passive. I'd be shocked if he plays a rash shot , as he's too mentally strong to bottle it.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Khawaja is key here for Aussies as he's one capable of scoring heavily in 2nd inns on this pitch

 

[Protea Fan]

Broad alone will not be enough, even if he takes a 5fer.

Boland in a good move with less than 15 mins to play but only has 7 test innings to his name. England need to keep him on strike and swarm his bat with fielders.

Jimmy is underwhelming throughout this test match and thats costing poms

Otherwise they would have been in clear driving seat

 

[Ahmed216]

It is easy to say that you don’t care about losing when you are winning. These type of statements look good when you are on a winning streak.

If the whacky tactics backfire and Australia win the Ashes in England, the same English press and fans who are waxing lyrical about Stokes and McCullum’s crusade to save Test cricket, entertain the fans and not worry about results would be blasting them for being reckless.

It is total ** to claim that we don’t care about results and we just want to entertain. This is Test cricket not West End Theatre. Their first and foremost duty is to win matches for England.

To their credit, they have been getting results so far but the moment they start losing, they will cop a lot of criticism for taking one risks too many.

The first innings declaration, the shots Root and Brook played today. Completely unnecessary.

So far this approach has worked for England. There will be games when it won't. And thats obvious.
Remember before bazball even a poor batting side like India was leading the series against England. But stokes led England showed them their true worth.
And their victory in Rawalpindi against Pakistan will be remembered for ages.
They are nothing short of spectacular.

 

[KingKhanWC]

100 up for Aus.

180 to win with 3 wickets.

Edgbaston Birmingham is the best pitch/stadium for test cricket in the world.

 

[Kroll]

Yasss, come on England!

 

[MenInG]

So tense!

 

[KingKhanWC]

Jimmy is underwhelming throughout this test match and thats costing poms

Otherwise they would have been in clear driving seat

Aus have chosen Jimmy and Moeen to target. Stokes surely understands this so must set a field where Jimmy can set up the batsmen with a solid field.

You can never rule of Jimmy with his experience and number of wickets. If/when Aus are 5 down, Jimmy will be a different machine as Aus will have to defend him.

 

[MenInG]

 

[KingKhanWC]

Boland looks solid enough with the bat. He will frustrate England in the morning if he continues this way.

174 to win with 7 wickets.

50/50 match with rain/clouds in the morning. 5th day at Edgbaston in the Ashes. Will be a classic last day imo.

 

[James]

What a final hour that was.

The much hyped Labuschagne and Smith have both been appalling in this Test. No runs, soft dismissals, awful advice on DRS reviews from the close catching positions.

Game is now 50-50.

Hopefully the rain stays away tomorrow and we should have a great finish. It could even be a bit magical.

 

[MenInG]

Scheduled hours of play for day 5

1100-1315
1355-1610
1630-1830

Lunch at 1315
Tea at 1610
First Drinks 1208
Second Drinks 1503
Third Drinks 1730

Overs 98 for the day

 

[MenInG]

The First Test of the Ashes hangs in the balance as Australia closed on 107/3, still 174 behind with one day’s play remaining.

Joe Root inspired a quickfire England start to the day, with Harry Brook and Ben Stokes also making valuable contributions.

But four-wicket hauls for the outstanding Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon saw England bowled out for 273, leaving a target of 281 for the tourists to win the Edgbaston Test.

Stuart Broad took two crucial late wickets to leave an England win still very much in the mix with some cloud and possible rain delays expected on the fifth day.

Australia’s chase began with a missed opportunity off the bowling of James Anderson as an edge off Usman Khawaja flew between Jonny Bairstow and Root at first slip.

And the openers put together a solid partnership worth 61 to build a good platform in the chase, before Ollie Robinson got the crucial breakthrough by drawing an edge from David Warner (36).

England’s chances of securing victory on day five were given a boost when a fired-up Broad removed Marnus Labuschagne (13) for the second time in the match, once again with an outswinger.

And Broad struck again to dismiss Steve Smith for six.

But Australia made it through to the close just three down, with Khawaja and nightwatchman Scott Boland set to resume with the score on 107/3 and with the target still very much within their reach.

Earlier, an attempted reverse scoop from Joe Root off Pat Cummins’ first ball of the day set the tone for a dramatic first hour in which England raced to triple figures.

Cummins responded to that early challenge with a stunning spell of fast bowling, cleaning up Ollie Pope for 14 with a perfectly-executed inswinging yorker.

But the brilliance of Cummins didn’t stop England from going after the rest of the Australian attack.

127 runs were added in the opening session for the loss of three wickets, leaving both teams better-placed to win the Test than they had been at the start of play.

Root’s 55-ball 46 ended when he charged Nathan Lyon and was stumped for the first time in his Test career, handing Alex Carey and Lyon their third stumping of the Test.

And Harry Brook also departed for 46, his coming off 52 balls, when he took on Lyon and was well caught by Marnus Labuschagne.

Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow changed the approach almost immediately as they slowed the pace of scoring through to the lunch break, with the latter surviving lbw calls off Scott Boland in consecutive balls of the final over of the session.

With the score at 155/5 at lunch and England leading by 162, the game was perfectly poised with five sessions (and some forecasted rain) to come.

A missed reverse sweep saw Bairstow trapped lbw by Lyon for 20, and Cummins’ superb day continued when he had Stokes trapped in-front for 43 just as he was looking to accelerate.

And when Moeen Ali gloved behind off Josh Hazlewood for 19 it looked like England’s innings was going to fizzle out.

But the tail added some much-needed runs, with Ollie Robinson (27), James Anderson (12) and Stuart Broad (10*) lifting the total to 273, leaving Australia needing 281 to win.

All nine England batters to feature on the day reached double figures, but none was able to reach a half-century as Australia kept the target under control.

ICC

 

[Bewal Express]

I fancy an Aussie win by 4 wickets. Bolands batting tonight will prove to be crucial in the win.

 

[Mamoon]

So far this approach has worked for England. There will be games when it won't. And thats obvious.
Remember before bazball even a poor batting side like India was leading the series against England. But stokes led England showed them their true worth.
And their victory in Rawalpindi against Pakistan will be remembered for ages.
They are nothing short of spectacular.

All of that is fine, but there is absolutely no need to making statements like “we do not care about results.” The fans don’t need to hear such **.

It is one thing to make such statements when you are winning but completely different when you are losing.

If England lose 5-0 the next time England tour Australia, what would be the reaction of the fans and the media if Stokes says that we don’t care about results we just want to entertain?

England’s tactics are working. They are a white ball team and they have white ball players. Playing traditional Test cricket wasn’t working and credit goes to McCullum for taking an unconventional approach and making them play like ODIs which has hidden their deficiencies and maximized their strengths.

Bairstow is the biggest beneficiary of Bazball. He was going nowhere in Test cricket by playing traditional cricket but he has become a different player now that he bats in Tests just like he opens in ODIs.

Buttler doesn’t play Tests anymore but he would have been massive in this Bazball setup as well. However, they don’t need gimmicks like we don’t care about results and we just want to entertain.

It is cringey ** and it is not true anyway, and they will be the first ones to retract this statement and put a different spin on this when things don’t go their way.

I will only believe the “we don’t care about results” narrative if they can stand by it after losing a series. Such statements don’t mean anything when you make them after tonking the opposition.

 

[MenInG]

Highlights of today's play

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[pakistani pride]

Proper TEST match cricket. Cracker of a game. Also shows why a test should be 5 and not 4 days.

 

[Saj]

These 2 teams show why they are amongst the best in the world and a diffeernt level to teams like Pakistan.

They simply never give up, they never let the opposition dominate for too long.

Just when you think they are done, they have the players to fight back.

 

[Fenrir]

The first Ashes test has been a cracker so far.The pitch looked like a subcontinental pitch so I was expecting a run feast and a boring draw.

 

[Sunzi]

Finely balanced. I make England favourites. Australia needed something from Labuschange or Smith to break the back of this chase.

 

[shamaan]

I hope England loose

 

[gibsyhesperis]

Rain in the morning and then overcast and cloudy for the rest of the day.
Perfect conditions for England as they won’t need to call on Moeen and can rotate their fast bowlers.
This game has already captured the English cricket supporting public’s imagination in a way that winning the T20 World Cup simply did not (no one really cared about that).

 

[Energy]

Reading through this thread it sounds like England is saving test cricket's legacy. Fact is they'll likely lose this match and also get whitewashed when they tour Australia or India.

 

[Firebat]

This is Test cricket man. I've been hooked watching every single ball, the crowd are raucous, the match pulling one way then the other. Nothing like it.

 

[Champ_Pal]

Only 174 to win. Australia still have Head, Green and Carey in the bank. Its 50-50 as of now.

One of their remianing batsmen have to score a half century and Australia can win this. If the weather is bowling friendly tomorrow, England will win for sure. Hope the conditions remain the same.