1 Overs: Australia 2-0 (Warner 1, Harris 1) A lively start to Oh Jimmy Jimmy, rapping Warner on his knuckles with a delicious lifter. Anderson is bowling the left-hander over the wicket, and then the opening delivery comes back to Warner, the next three seams away, a couple singularly. Another in-ducker is too straight and Warner tucks his hip and shakes the scoreboard. Harris also gets off the mark with the single, but it’s too tight, and the product of a delivery that moves like a Frisbee in the air. A promising sign for England with the new ball. Now, can we find the correct length to take profit?
00:01
30 minutes behind the scheduled time, David Warner is on guard and James Anderson is at the top of his run-up. It’s cricket time.
but martin (@cricket_ali)
Gadigal Elder Uncle Alan Madden, who was Welcome to Country at the SCG, signed with an old Aboriginal saying: “Where there is a will… there are relatives”.
“Hi Jonathan,” hello Ruth Purdue. “I just heard that interview of Giles. Seriously, seriously, why is he so belligerent? He has nowhere to hide now. He has no excuse left. Some of these excuses were the last time he was in Australia. Well they were fired. Worst of all, there’s talk of being in a bubble and letting go home. How do they deal better with Leach? How to play the spinner when she’s spinning? You all of them How to let go of players who were never picked and should be given a chance? Why are they kept around in hopes of getting the game when they are not interested in playing? We all know the names of these players now. They have a duty to look after those who are not playing very right?
Maybe try a different tone. I for one am not shaking my head now. Talk is cheap, I don’t give myself a bonus at the end of the year.”
23:55
Teams are in the midst of a blistering but dry SCG for Anthem and Welcome to Country.
23:45
Colm Farrelly takes aim at the players: “The current batch of players is nowhere near as good as the ones they’ve spoken to and there wouldn’t be a little more realism and modesty from the press and players.” Of course, the question is, why aren’t the best good?
23:41
Andy Robinson is looking for the scapegoat. “Tom Harrison has to go with the odd hundred. And some Test matches should be on the terrestrial tele. Sacking Giles is just rearranging the deckchair.”
23:40
It’s safe to say that Ashley Giles hasn’t loved herself for some of you. Here’s Seth Levine’s opinion: “Just heard Ashley Giles interview on TMS. I can’t imagine any other leadership position where you get to burnish your credibility by referencing how poor your predecessors were (seriously – using 90s England as your benchmark). He came across as fickle, self-serving and fatalistic. Harrison should go first. Then Giles.”
23:37
Joe Root admitted that he would have batted earlier considering the option, but he liked the coverage of the grass on the pitch and expects some early movement. When asked about a switch in the XI, Root said, “We don’t need much change now.”
23:34
Australia won the toss and batted
Joe Root misses the call, Pat Cummins has no hesitation. Given the rain and humidity around the SCG, the toss is not going to be a loser.
23:31
Just one change was expected in both XIs for Australia with Usman Khawaja in place of Travis Head (Covid) and Stuart Broad for Ollie Robinson (shoulder).
Trevor Kingston is thrilled. “England bowled under 70 and the only change is the return of Broad in place of Robinson, lengthening the tail. But I think when the tail reaches the two openers…”
23:22
And here’s Andrew Benton with the first email of the day, angry with the comments below from the King of Spain.
“It’s remarkable and really disappointing that Ashley Giles doesn’t think one needs to roll one’s head for a poor show of late, especially considering all the setbacks the series had earlier this year made up for.” He needs to take responsibility for the failures, and suffer because of them, in order to promote the necessary change. Not doing so makes the ECB a laughing stock. Clearly he is protecting his bonus. England has lost a supporter in me because of the way it’s being handled. The only thing right is two resignations – Giles and Chris Silverwood. Then the changes that need to be made can begin.”
Updates
23:20
England’s managing director Ashley Giles understands the big picture. Now, what is he going to do about it?
Until we see more systematic change, a collective responsibility and a collective solution, we can change whatever we want – you can replace me, the head coach, the captain – but we are only setting future leaders up for failure. That’s all we’re doing. We’re just pushing it on the road.
23:01
30 minutes delay in toss
The match is now scheduled to start at 11.
22:56
OK, let’s do some analysis to see where we are in the series Geoff Lemon And Jonathan Lew, Is it time to revise the Ashes schedule? Is there an appetite to do so? Is this even possible?
22:49
it has stopped raining
This is going to be one of those days where it is raining heavily and the covers are coming on and off again. But there are reports from the ground that we needed Toss on time.
Good News! There will be more time to pick up the bodies of English cricket, as it is raining in Sydney. Heavy rain is forecast from the east (coast) over the next few days, and a band of them is currently passing through Moore Park.
Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@GOOD_NSW)
There is a chance of rain and thunderstorms this week, with some storms likely to become severe. Heavy rains can cause flash floods and damage to windmills and cause hailstorms. Inland NSW is influenced by Mercury, moving east including Sydney by ACT and Venus by Thursday. Warning: https://t.co/d1nppq0V9spic.twitter.com/eJwnVspVj9
Hello everyone and welcome to the over-by-over coverage of the first day of the 4th Ashes Test. we are moving to sydney Cricket 10.30am local time (11.30am UK).
With the Ashes done and dusting for another cycle, it’s hard to know what to do with the remainder of this series. With both countries in the midst of another wave of the pandemic, sport once again feels detached from reality, especially in a match like this, where the game is far from most of its competitive threats.
With either side changing in the selection table, we’re grasping for narratives like the bone-searching Old Mother Hubbard. “But it’s an Ashes Test!” Some of you are probably screaming, “That’s all the bloody fiction you need.” Maybe, but under the current circumstances this test looks like a few dozen more content providers are juggling their production duties for a TV show that peaked at the top of its plot arc earlier in the series.
Might Zack Crowley make good on his pre-match comments? Maybe a fired Stuart Broad casts one of those * / spells? Maybe Harold Bishop returns from the dead and revives the draft?
Much has been written about the dying state of English cricket since the Boxing Day Test, and some suggestive passages have also been written about the health of Australia and the rivalry. So we should get into that without further ado.
If you would like to join, you can contact me by email or twitter (@JPHowcroft,
Ian Bishop is finding a fine line in the aisle of uncertainty.