England v Australia, 2nd Test, Day 3 - An Australian bounce back is likely to happen

Australia’s new wicketkeeper, Peter Nevill, is very impressive. It’s pretty easy to get nervous when you are playing at Lord’s and in an Ashes Test match, but the young man has shown enough character and maturity to claim a permanent place in the Test team. He didn’t concede any byes till the 50^th over and he has a safe pair of hands. And not to forget, the guy can bat also. That’s how tough and mature the Australian products are!

Another Australian tough and matured product is Jos Hazlewood. His calm and composed approach will give you the impression that he has been playing Test cricket for a long time. His bowling doesn’t have the touch of thrill-and-chill like Starc or Johnson, but boy, when he bangs in those full-length deliveries along the middle-and-off line from a fullish-or-back-of-a-length, he is tough to handle. Hazlewood is a pressure-creating bowler who can create the ideal platform for the likes of Johnson, Starc and Co to hunt for wickets. He can be a great bowler in the history of Australian cricket.

Anyhow, Alastair Cook and Ben Stokes were going well, but it was not adequate enough. Both fell to Mitchell Marsh, who was the master of dragging-onto-the stumps. On both the occasions, he lured Stokes and Cook to drive by pitching the ball on a length where they were supposed to keep low – well that was pretty smart bowling. And this is why I enjoy watching every time. They always help you to enrich your cricketing knowledge.  

Once, the Cook-and-Stokes partnership was broken, England lost their way. I thought that, there will be an Dravid-and-Laxamnesque at Lord’s the way Stokes and Cook were going.

Australia are in a commanding position and they are all set to level the series.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar