England came storming back on the back of two wonderful unbeaten innings from Joe Root and Dawid Malan in the second half of day 3 after being blown away by a breathtaking innings from Travis Head. At 220-2 with only 58 behind in the 2nd innings, the English were looking to take a respectable lead and put the test match right in balance. Everyone still knew that it was advantage - Australia going into day three but hope is the most annoying virtue to match with, isn't it? The great trio of Strauss, Cook, and Trott did the unthinkable in 2010 when they batted forever, and here was Joe Root looking to replicate something similar with the support of a pretty dodgy batting lineup. Despite very high hopes and optimism from the media, what Dawid Malan said in the press conference at the end of day 3 turned out to be vital as the match was decided in the first hour of play on the morning of day four. He himself fell victim to Nathan Lyon who finally got the monkey off his back with his 400th test wicket as he had Malan caught at silly mid-off. Cameroon Green was to produce a peach from the vulture street end soon after to have the English captain Joe Root nicking to Alex Carey. After the departure of Ollie Pope, Jos Butler and the immortal Ben Stokes tried to steady the innings but a length delivery from Pat Cummins got too big on Ben Stokes as he edged one to Cameroon Green at gully. With the Aussie quicks steaming in and Nathan Lyon bowling on a shoeless outside the off stump, it is needless to mention that the innings ended rather quickly. With only 20 to get, Marcus Harris fittingly finished the demolition job with a crisp cover drive off Mark Wood as the Aussies celebrated a resounding win at the Gabba. They were heavy favorites to win the first test but this win is a bit special because of all the off-field antics that were going on with Australian Cricket. Even though the fortress was breached last summer by the Indians, these three and a half days showed that Brisbane still remains a happy hunting ground for Australia where they are very difficult to break down.
Joe Root had the luck of the coin and he decided to go with the tradition which is to bat first at the Gabba. After being undercover for the whole week, the pitch was a green carpet with plenty of moisture laid out for the quicks. On such a wicket, England had to bowl first to assist their stronger suit. Despite the iffiness in techniques against the moving ball and no first-class practice prior to the test match, Joe Root chose to bat and England were to have a disastrous first day against a world-class Australian bowling attack. The Brisbane crowd embraced the occasion and the noise after the theatrics of the first ball from Starc was something to cherish for the Australians who are still going through strict restrictions because of the pandemic. There was so much respect for both Adam Gilchrist and Alex Carey inside the circle when the 'baggy green' was presented before the start of play. Everyone knew that his debut might have come at the expense of one of the more embarrassing chapters in Australian cricket but Carey had waited his time and as a result, he was to have a very good day behind the sticks. Patrick Cummins walked out in the middle wearing the captain's blazer and walked out at the end of the play as a proud fast bowler having taken five English wickets to bowl them out for 147. English batsmen should have known by now that Pat Cummins is not looking to hit you on the pads or hit your stumps. He is looking to make you uncomfortable with deliveries above your hips and have you nicking behind.
It looked as if Chris Silverwood had predetermined that they will get out of Brisbane the best way they can and keep both Anderson & Broad fresh as daisies for the day-nighter at Adelaide which presents them with the best chance of winning a test on tour. They actually rested Stuart Broad and said Anderson was not 100% fit which might not necessarily be the truth. Adelaide might be the focus all the way through for England but they had to play what was in front of them and in front of them was a green mamba which was ready to spit venom as soon as a red cherry was being pitched on it. The pitch did what it promised and the England batsmen were found wanting, almost like rabbits in the headlight.
The pitch would obey the English too as the Australians were made uncomfortable by Ollie Robinson early on and David Warner was half a second late while facing Mark Wood. Even after the departure of Marcus Harris, England needed a few more wickets in quick succession to have some chance of staying relevant in the match. The bowlers created enough chances but they had only themselves to blame for not capitalizing on the opportunities as David Warner was given life three times- Bowled off a no-ball by Ben Stokes, dropped at third slip by Rory Burns and then a missed run out by Haseeb Hameed at short leg. England's fielding and especially slip catching had to be on point which unfortunately wasn't the case. David Warner would eventually get out on 94 but he, along with Marnus Labuschagne took Australia into the first innings lead. With a lead of around 50, the test match looked slightly in Australia's favor but an incredibly counter-attacking innings by Travis Head was about to hurt England a great deal. Playing the innings of his life, this was probably the coming of age of Travis Head as a test match batsman. A first-innings lead of 278 was going to be enough for England in most weeks and this week was no different.
The familiar frailties of English top order resurfaced once again as they struggled to handle the moving ball on a juicy surface. The bad part about this is that they selected their best top six for this test and failed to deliver. So these England batsmen apart from Root and Malan have no choice but to improve. The technical side has to be sorted before the test series begins as any technical turnaround is almost impossible to achieve in the space of three days. But what can be tried to change is the mental aspect of it. The easiest way to put it is that on Australian surfaces, you can neither be a blocker like Hameed or Burns nor you can go 'smash-bang-wallop' which works in England more often than not. The perfect example is Joe Root and if the rest of the pack tries to emulate his mindset while batting, we will see an improved batting display at Adelaide.
Despite the pace of Mark Wood, Australian tale scored more than 100 runs which proved crucial in burying England in the first innings. Unlike this time, England didn't have an out-and-out quick bowler when they toured Australia four years back. Mark Wood is a genuine fast bowler who was bowling in high 140s and yet he couldn't remove the tail. Another point that was emphasized by Geoffery Boycott in 2017 was the lack of a proper spinner. Jack Leach is a decent spinner but he has to deliver more than he did at Brisbane. He looked out of sorts and was taken to cleaners by David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne. Ben Stokes' fitness looked a bit iffy which is a big worry for Joe Root. Was that because of the tiring weather conditions and lack of match practice or was it the case that he just wasn't 100% fit, we will soon get to know come December 16. We know that James Anderson and Stuart Broad will play the second test. It feels like England have to win in Adelaide if they have to avoid another demolition and a potential whitewash against a rampaging Australian side. Australia in contrast will most definitely go into the second test unchanged. If Broad and Anderson can swing the pink ball around corners and their batsman are good enough to put 400 on the board in Adelaide, we might see a different result in the next week.
