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Catch up with the action from the first day of the fourth Ashes Test between England and Australia at Old Trafford
Crisps stop play, batting without bails and Steve Smith seeing it like a beach ball. Here’s the pick of the action from Old Trafford…
The Report
Steve Smith led an Australia recovery on his return to the side following concussion on a rain-hit and blustery day one of the fourth Ashes Test against England at Old Trafford.
SCORECARD | AS IT HAPPENED
England vs Australia
September 5, 2019, 10:00am
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Stuart Broad dismissed David Warner (0) for the fifth time in seven innings and also removed his opening partner Marcus Harris (13) as Australia tumbled to 28-2 after electing to bat in chilly Manchester.
But Smith (60no) – back after missing England’s Ben Stokes-inspired, series-levelling win in the third Test at Headingley – took his runs tally for the series to 438 at an average of 146 as the tourists closed a day on which only 44 overs were bowled on 170-3.
Stats of the Day
0:24 Australia's Steve Smith hits an unusual 'boundary' on his way to a half-century
Smith, in the words of Ian Botham, had to dive to reach a full, wide delivery that was acres outside off stump but held his upper body shape well enough to drill it for four on the drive – collapsing onto his back knee in the process.
“He looked like a drunk,” observed David Gower, “but he middled it.” Proving, in the process, that so long as you keep your eye on the ball your position is of secondary importance.
The eccentric shot came in a crazy afternoon session in which Australia batted without any bails on the stumps – the umpires removing the bails after they were repeatedly blown off by the wind. It took some 25 minutes for fourth umpire Rob Bailey to find some heavy bails – or rather the original bails with some screws drilled into the end of them.
The crisp wind brought further interruptions as rubbish – principally crisp packets – brought play to a shuddering halt by swirling into and out of the batsmen’s eyeline. Judging by Stuart Broad’s face, the delays got right on his nerves.
2:52 Crisps stop play! The wind played havoc with the bails and the rubbish at Old Trafford!
Talking point
Did England miss a trick by not going for the jugular in the morning session? The build-up to the Test was dominated by the potential contest between Jofra Archer and Smith but, to the surprise of many of our pundits, the paceman didn’t appear to bend his back and go all out when the returning batsman came in at 28-2 – the speed gun consistently registering in the low 80mph bracket. What’s more, Archer bowled just seven balls at the man he knocked over at Lord’s, forcing him to miss the third Test at Headingley.
1:04 Steve Smith came out on top on day one as he rejoined battle with Jofra Archer
“It’s maybe the first time that Joe Root has to be a little bit tough with Archer,” said Nasser Hussain, demanding some tough love, before acknowledging that conditions were tricky. “I know you’re cold, I know you’re stiff, it has been a long summer, but crank it up!’ Make out to him that this is the most important spell.”
Nas continued: “Smith would have spent the last two weeks thinking about this comeback against Archer, who has peppered him. I fully understand he was tired by the time Smith came in and so you take him out of the attack to give him another burst before lunch, but that burst never came.”
Tweets of the day
Michael Holding: “Smith was allowed to go out there and pretty much settle in and by the time Archer got back into the attack, Smith was pretty much settled. When people get hit you can never quite work out what is going on in their mind. It was strange because Archer had not bowled his five overs at extreme pace.”
David Lloyd: “Where is Warne sat?” as the umpteenth empty crisp packet interrupts the afternoon session, blown across the ground by the wind.
Watch day two of the fourth Ashes Test live on Sky Sports The Ashes and Sky Sports Main Event from 10am on Thursday, September 5.
You can also follow over-by-over commentary and in-play clips on our rolling blog on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
Sourse: skysports.com
