Key events
WICKET! Duckett c Carey b Starc 1, England 9-1
There he goes, there he goes again. Ben Duckett never leaves the ball, so the left-hander plays a defensive push at a ball outside off stump from a left-armer, over the wicket, that is swinging further away from him. Just no need to play that ball, even though it has nice shape on it. Takes a feather through to Carey.
2nd over: England 9-0 (Crawley 8, Duckett 1) Cummins making himself first change, Hazlewood to take the new ball from the James Anderson End. Duckett chops into the ground and has to kick the ball away from his stumps as it rolls back. Gets a run fifth ball, Crawley flicks two more.
1st over: England 6-0 (Crawley 6, Duckett 0) Four first ball of the innings! Crawley likes that. This time it’s not a smash through cover, it’s a glove past the wicketkeeper. No mind. He glances two runs to follow. Starc corrects his line with a very good delivery that goes close to Crawley’s off stump. Left-arm, over the wicket, landing it in the channel for the latter half of the over, Crawley going after one with an angled bat and getting a bottom edge into the ground.
Change of innings is done, brace yerself.
Perplexing question from Tone White. “I must know, is Stu Broad the Ryan Gosling of cricket?”
In as much as he started out in the 2000s with roles of serious pathos but has latterly graduated to masterful comic performances while seeming to have the time of his life? Yes.
The Test Match Special overseas link is now here, for those who like listening to the BBC but don’t like finding links on BBC websites.
Australia all out for 317 in the first innings
There we are, the last partnership adds a useful 18 runs after Pat Cummins was out first ball of the day. England will get into their batting work under bright sunshine wanting to make something north of Australia’s score by stumps. That will be a challenge, but it’s quite an Englandy sort of challenge.
Gosh, there are some pessimists in this joint. Guy Simpson: “Is it just me, or does anyone else have the terrible presentiment that VAR has just cost England the Ashes? That the extra runs added by the 10th wicket will prove too many and that England will fall just short? Just horrible.”
As soon as the wicket falls, “I take it back! Well done, Woakesy!”
You could still be right, Guy. Tests have been decided by fewer than 16 runs…
WICKET! Hazlewood c Duckett b Woakes 4, Australia 317-10
Now Chris Woakes has his first five-wicket Ashes haul. Gets Hazlewood second time around, this time the edge to third slip where Ben Duckett reaches above his head to take a catch that most slippers would have held near their midriff.
90th over: Australia 317-9 (Starc 36, Hazlewood 4) Ok, now we crank up the gears. Mark Wood is on to bowl, and Starc doesn’t want Hazlewood to face him. Starc ducks a bouncer, plays the ribcage ball well, and declines a single when he hits out to cover. Two balls to come in the over, everyone goes back to the fence except a gully and the wicketkeeper. Starc still doesn’t want the run. One ball to come, and England leave almost everyone back. Wood bowls a good bumper around an off stump line and Starc leaves it alone.
89th over: Australia 317-9 (Starc 36, Hazlewood 4) There’s an addition to Hazlewood’s score, throwing the bat at Woakes and getting three through cover. Starc knocks a single to the leg side. Hazlewood defends well enough, gets out of the way when he can.
88th over: Australia 313-9 (Starc 35, Hazlewood 1) We’re deep into the Useful Runs Index™, as Starc steers four runs past gully, then opens his stance and belts two runs back past Anderson in the air. Can’t rotate the strike though so Hazlewood will face Woakes. Hazlewood’s batting has dipped at Test level after he did some competent work in his early years.
87th over: Australia 307-9 (Starc 29, Hazlewood 1) Boundary for Starc! Gets back and pulls Woakes behind square. The replay on that no ball is extremely tight. The foot isn’t obviously over the line, but perhaps there is nothing clearly behind it. Starc adds another single to cover, Hazlewood does him proud for the last two balls.
86th over: Australia 302-9 (Starc 24, Hazlewood 1) Anderson to Starc, who sweats on most of the over before pushing a single to cover. Hazlewood plays and misses the one ball he faces.
Jono Haylen is curating his playlist.
“If the timeline of this series was ‘Hamilton’ the musical we are now at the part where all of the upbeat songs and the feeling of just ‘how good is it to be here’ is over. We’ve had bubbles during intermission, enjoyed Thomas Jefferson’s upbeat homecoming and witnessed Alexander Hamilton own him during two rap battles.
”Now, Hamilton’s brilliant run of wins is over and things start to get heavy. Each decision and action is much more serious than bragging rights after a cabinet meeting and breaking out into song to celebrate. The Reynolds Pamphlet has just been released. From here on I’m sure people will be feeling their Ashes dreams are going to burn and that the final couple of bullets are close to being fired. What team today will not waste their shot?”
85th over: Australia 301-9 (Starc 23, Hazlewood 1) Chris Woakes has his first five-wicket bag against Australia… and then he doesn’t. Has Hazlewood edging to Crawley at second slip, but Woakes has overstepped! Starc has already sprinted off the ground by the time the third umpire sends word, so he has to turn and run all the way back to the non-striker’s end. Has only got to face one ball so far today. Hazlewood gets in behind the line for the rest of the over.
No, I don’t have the TMS overseas link. The BBC haven’t posted it yet.
84th over: Australia 300-9 (Starc 23, Hazlewood 1) The left-handed Hazlewood comes out. Wears a short ball on the body. Reaches outside off stump and steers a run past gully.
Ali Martin next to me observes that James Anderson has broken James Anderson’s record for the most wickets for England. What was 688 becomes 689.
WICKET! Cummins c Stokes b Anderson 1, Australia 299-9
Jimmy Anderson gets in the book! With a wicket first ball of the day, no less. Regulation sort of delivery, Cummins doesn’t have his timing sorted yet, pushes at it too early and hits it low to cover for a comfortable catch.
On the players come…
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Of course, you can email me or whoever else is on the OBO at any given point, using the contact details in the sidebar, or top of page on your phone.
Tane Aikman has written in. “You going to be splitting your attention between Manchester and Sydney Geoff? Big blow for the Matildas, with Sam Kerr out. On my side of the Tasman it’s been a great night, with the Football Ferns upsetting Norway for their first ever World Cup win. Now more Ashes fun to watch. Sport. It’s bloody good.”
Devastating about Sam Kerr, the worst possible timing. Last training session!
Finally, Barney Ronay switched modes from Wimbledon to look at how England’s embrace of the new is all about embracing the old. “For a few moments England’s wicketkeeper just sat there like a very happy life-sized gingerbread man, emitting an extended roar of triumph.”
I have been watching Steve Smith for a very long time, and yesterday was a strange day within an observable pattern of strange days. “Instead Smith heaved at it, a circular dragging movement like he was halfway down the Amazon and trying to sling a large python over the side of a small boat.”
And there’s the Final Word Daily podcast as usual from stumps last night.
Jonathan Liew had some fun writing about Australia’s two all-rounders. “The Ashes are afoot, England are rampant and the only thing standing in their way is just under four metres of prime Perth flesh.”
Simon also has the lines from Broad’s press conference last night.
Then there’s Simon Burnton’s diary.
Catching up? Start with Ali Martin and the match report.
Preamble
Greetings, comrades. Day one is done, day two is new. On into the future we go together. It was one of those days of back and forth yesterday: England win the toss and bowl, make early inroads, Australia pull it back, gain the upper hand at times, formed a partnership for almost every wicket, which England then found a way to break. Both teams would consider themselves to be in a reasonable position, with Australia about to pass 300 and having a couple of wickets left with which to do so.
Once England get to bat, which might be very shortly, they will want to score at a fast rate, which will also give Australia opportunities to knock over players. This is all with an eye to forecast rain on the weekend. The idea is to get as much of this match as possible done with in the next two days.
Sound like fun?