Ashes 2015: As England put itself under a cloud, Michael Clarke comes out shining
England’s decision to bat, in overcast conditions, backfired as the hosts lost three quick wickets in the morning session of the day’s play. Australian bowlers were on the money with the ball and gave very little away. Here’s a look at major talking points from the first session. (Full Coverage | Fixtures | Photos)
Josh Hazlewood was the pick of the bowlers this morning. Sharing the new ball with Mitchell Starc, Hazlewood stuck to a straightish line, often straying on the batsman’s pads. The plan reaped early dividends as the seamer got rid of opener Adam Lyth in his very first over.
In the same over, second of the innings, Hazlewood was flicked to the square-leg fence but he made the little adjustment to outsmart the southpaw.
A delivery, pitched on the same spot, went away from the opener instead of taking the boundary-ball path. Lyth in an attempt to flick it in similar fashion could only present a sharp low catch to David Warner in the slips.
The right-arm seamer was consistent throughout the spell and kept asking questions from the same spot, ball after ball. He would take the odd one away to keep the batsman on his toes. There was an interesting passage of play when he switched sides for Gary Ballance. He would keep bringing it back from just outside his off-stump and make the odd one hold its line.
Michael Clarke was the unsung hero of the session. Apart from the toss, everything Clarke touched turned gold this morning. Seeing Starc struggle for control with the new ball, he introduced Mitchell Johnson early.
As soon as Hazlewood scalped opener Lyth, there was an extra fielder in catching position on the off-side. Clarke was not waiting for things to happen. He was creating opportunities with astute decision making. The move of the match, so far, came when he tossed the ball to spinner Nathan Lyon in the 9th over of the innings.
The decision raised a couple of eye-brows because the ball was hard and new, and it was still grey above. Lyon, however, started extracting some turn and bounce and attacked Cook, who was steadying the ship for the hosts.
A couple of quiet overs and the English skipper lost patience. After driving some flighted deliveries straight to the fielders, Cook attempted a cut off a delivery neither too short nor too wide. All he could manage was an edge which was neatly collected by Brad Haddin behind the stumps.
Joe Root, coming into bat at 43/3, was positive from the word go. He was severe on anything short and didn’t shy away from playing his shots. England, from 43 in 14.3 overs, added another 45 in just 8.3 overs. Root scoring 33 of those, off just 25 balls. With Root and Ballance in the middle, England would like the pair to carry on and survive the early phase of the second session.
