Ashes 2017-18, 4th Test Day 2, Review: Cook and Root guide England to position of comfort

For the first time on the tour, there was a day of Test cricket that England can claim to have dominated. They were at their best with both bat and ball at the MCG and found themselves in a really good position as the second day’s play of the 4th Test match came to the conclusion.

As the play started in the morning, it was important for the English bowlers to remove the Australian skipper Steve Smith as quickly as possible as he has been a real headache for them so far in the series and they luckily managed to get that invaluable scalp when Smith dragged one onto his stumps trying to cut a back of length delivery which didn’t bounce as much as he expected. It was the first Test wicket for the debutant Tom Curran who had been mighty unlucky on Day 1 despite bowling his heart out.

Mitchell Marsh who had made a scintillating comeback in Test match Cricket with a hundred in the last game at WACA couldn’t back it up with another big one as he played on as well off Chris Woakes and Tim Paine a few minutes later fell victim to the same mode of dismissal off James Anderson. It was the slow nature of the wicket which was creating problems for the Aussie batsmen as they were misjudging the pace and bounce on a consistent basis.

The Australian tail which had been wagging regularly in the series couldn’t show the resilience this time around as Stuart Broad and James Anderson wiped them off in no time and the hosts were bundled out for 327 as Broad finishing with a 4-wicket haul and Anderson with a 3-for.

While the Aussies were out of their comfort zone playing on the slow MCG deck, the English batsmen took a liking to it and faced the new ball with quite some confidence. Alastair Cook, in particular, looked in a completely different mood as he was getting right forward against the quick bowlers and was showing the intent of scoring runs, something which hasn’t been visible in his batting of late.

While the lack of pace in the wicket was one of the reasons behind it, the other was the absence of Mitchell Starc and also the fact that Pat Cummins was down with a stomach bug and was hasn’t been able to bowl at his best.

Cook had his fair share of luck as Smith dropped him at the first slip off the bowling of Mitch Marsh. To be fair to Smith, it was a tough chance as it flew off the outside edge of Cook’s bat and the Aussie skipper was standing closer than the usual first slip position. Also, the keeper standing right up to the stumps wouldn’t have helped him sighting the ball.

Mark Stoneman and James Vince, the two young English batsmen, who have looked impressive on the tour also got the starts, but once again they failed to go long. Stoneman gave a return catch to the off-spinner Nathan Lyon and Vince was trapped in front by Josh Hazlewood. Vince, however, would have survived if he had reviewed the umpire’s decision as the television replays showed he had got a little inside on the ball before it hit his pads. The 26-year old though didn’t send it upstairs for some reason and walked towards the pavilion much to the surprise of those watching.

Vince’s wicket might have triggered an England collapse, but the skipper Joe Root batting at no. 4 made sure it didn’t happen as he stitched an unbeaten 112-run partnership with Cook for the 3rd wicket and put England on the driver’s seat. While Cook completed his 32nd Test hundred in the last over of the day’s play, Root was approaching his fifty when the umpires called it stumps.

Brief Scores:

Australia: 327 all out in 119 overs (David Warner 103, Steve Smith 76, Stuart Broad 51/4)

England: 192/2 in 57 overs (Alastair Cook 104 not out, Joe Root 49 not out, Josh Hazlewood 39/1)

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