England v Australia, 5th Test, Day 1 - Good day for Australia

Overcast conditions, a greenish tinge on the track and Alastair Cook won the toss and put Australia in to bat without a hesitation. But Cook’s optimism regarding the track was proved wrong – Australia ended the first session without losing a wicket. Yes, both Chris Rogers and David Warner were more patient and cautious, but in my opinion, the English pace bowlers wasted the conditions by not bowling enough full-and-straight.

England got their breakthroughs, but they didn’t trigger a collapse which has been the feature of this Ashes series regarding the Australian batting line-up. The guard of honour for Michael Clarke was an emotional one and his stay was not brief. He made just 15.

Rogers failed to score a fifty while Warner failed to notch up a hundred, but Steve Smith survived the early scares and regained his rhythm to remain not out on 78. A straight drive off Steve Finn which whistled past mid off and it was that particular stroke which  instilled confidence in him and it persisted throughout the day. 

Smith has brought up 3000 runs in Test cricket and his average in the first innings of a Test match is staggering. But, to claim a place among the greats, he needs to score runs in the fourth innings as well and in when it matters the most.

Thank You
Faisal Caesar