- Updates from the second day of play at Perth Stadium
- Any thoughts? Email or tweet @collinsadam
Advantage Australia. The home side added 49 runs this morning, a number they would happily have taken if offered before play. Here is the card. I’ll be back after grabbing a coffee for India’s reply with about four overs to come before the lunch break.
Australia all out for 326 after losing their last four for 16 #AUSvINDpic.twitter.com/JEyF8L8GDg
First ball! And an even better one, angled in at off-stump before seaming away, Hazlewood tickling it behind to Pant. Too good. Ishant finishes with 20.3-7-41-4.
The third first innings in a row where the final two wickets have fallen in consecutive deliveries (I think). But niche, but I like it. #AUSvIND
Coming around the wicket to start a new spell, Ishant tempts Starc with a drive outside the off-stump, which he edges behind to Pant. There was a lovely bit of shape on that delivery, earning the Indian attack-leader his third of the innings. A partnership of 15, nothing with that.
108th over: Australia 325-8 (Starc 6, Lyon 9) This will be driving Kohli crazy, Starc lifting the second ball of a new Shami spell over the man at midwicket for three then Lyon then working out to the same part of the ground for another. Happy with their fill, Starc sees off the rest.
Nathan Lyon is having a lovely time this year with the bat. Averaging 18.80 (his highest average for five years), he's also scoring at 3.74rpo, the fastest he's ever scored in a calendar year. Australia would dearly love a quickfire 30 from their spinner just now. #AUSvIND
107th over: Australia 321-8 (Starc 3, Lyon 8) Umesh beats Lyon with a good’un that really took off to start, something Starc will enjoy from the non-strikers’ end. But Lyon is going well enough to push the next ball to midwicket for a couple then defending past the bowler with lovely timing for two more... Sachin-esque! Two more singles either side of square completes a productive over for the hosts.
106th over: Australia 315-8 (Starc 2, Lyon 3) Nathan Lyon is the man in form and it shows first ball, clipping Bumrah with class through midwicket for three. Starc is away too, also through midwicket, taking a couple from a full toss that completes Bumrah’s successful over.
A review can't save the captain.
Tim Paine out LBW, and Australia falls to 8/310 #AUSvINDpic.twitter.com/BPEGRBQtj2
Yep, that’s out. Lovely from Bumrah, jagging it back off the seam at Paine, who was caught on the crease. DRS confirms that it was hitting leg stump. The end of a very important innings by the home captain.
IS PAINE LBW TO BUMRAH? He’s given out but the captain sends it upstairs. Stand by.
Immediately after a graphic came up on the TV noting that only four balls out of 85 sent down this morning would have hit the stumps, Umesh does just that, beating Cummins with a beaut that held its line and hit the top of off. But 59 runs valuable runs were added by the pair.
105th over: Australia 310-7 (Paine 38)
104th over: Australia 310-6 (Paine 38, Cummins 19) Great fight from Paine, responding to yet another whack to the body - the ribs/stomach this time - with an on-driven four to finish another pacy Bumrah over.
“With another 50 run stand racked up, surely it’s time for the wispy locks of India’s specialist partnership breaker “Ernie” Vihari?” suggests John Phaceas. There was a lot of attention on Vihari’s hair on social media yesterday, extending to The Grade Cricketer live show last night. Our own Sam Perry did a fine job co-hosting, with Ed Cowan also in great nick. Make sure you get along in Melbourne or Sydney when they go again.
Average partnerships that Pat Cummins has been involved in since the start of last season is 27.38, (794 runs of which he has scored 355 at 22.19). For Mitchell Starc, a previous #8, it's 370 runs at 17.62, personally making 210 at 12.35.
Before play on TV, Justin Langer said that it would be a “huge bonus” if Australia could get through an hour. Well, they have done that without so much as losing a wicket, adding 29 runs along the way.
"If we bat for anything over another hour (today), it'll be a huge bonus for us."
- Justin Langer talks to @mj_slats before play #AUSvINDpic.twitter.com/jPCDR8lWQr
103rd over: Australia 306-6 (Paine 34, Cummins 19) A lot more comfort when Umesh is on, Paine finding enough time to cut a single behind point after defending the first half of the over without too much bother. DRINKS! An excellent hour for Australia.
102nd over: Australia 305-6 (Paine 33, Cummins 19) Bumrah wheeeeeels. On two occasions, Paine was left with little clue from shorter balls. Early on, he was beaten in defence - a delivery that took off past the shoulder of his blade. When it came again, the skipper tried to pull but only spooned it to where short leg should be positioned. He survives.
“What problem does a four day test solve?” asks Ian Forth. “If the question is, ‘How can we encourage more draws?’, then it’s a fantastic solution. Kevin Roberts suggests we should “stay open minded”. My mind is open, Kevin, but I for one quite enjoyed day five of the last test. To take one example from hundreds upon hundreds.”
101st over: Australia 303-6 (Paine 32, Cummins 18) Nice clip from Cummins to midwicket, collecting a couple to bring up the 50 partnership between these two. Watching a highlights package of Bumrah’s first over on telly, it’s remarkable that he was held back this long into the day - some of those deliveries were quite superb. Umesh does find Paine’s outside edge in this set, but the captain plays with soft enough hands to get it down before reaching Kohli at second slip.
100th over: Australia 300-6 (Paine 32, Cummins 16) Bumrah, at last. Sure enough, it is eventful with the towering quick beating Cummins with his first two deliveries and then Paine with his last. Lovely stuff. Between times, he located Cummins’ inside edge too, which brought the run to raise the Australian 300. As Andrew Samson notes on SEN, that’s quite significant as the last time they got to 300 in the first innings of a Test was at Durban in March. Blimey. How different the world looked then.
Back to those Kevin Roberts comments, they are up in a story now.
“We haven’t had an approach from WA around that (Boxing Day Test),” Roberts told SEN Cricket.
“We’ve always got to consider the future shape of the strategy. Our working assumption is that the Boxing Day Test continues in Melbourne and the New Years Test continues in Sydney.
99th over: Australia 299-6 (Paine 32, Cummins 15) Okay, there is a change from Shami’s end but Umesh gets the ball. It is not a good start from the veteran, allowing Cummins to shoulder arms to a series of balls well outside the off stump before pushing a single to cover. In keeping with the theme, he’s wide again to Paine with the one ball he gets at him.
Kohli clearly not following the Prof ♂️#AUSvINDhttps://t.co/E5J5ednBaJ
98th over: Australia 298-6 (Paine 32, Cummins 14) Ishant to Paine who gets one to hoop back, the captain getting his bat down just in time. That wasn’t far away at all. Cummins is doing his job too, turning a straight offering to midwicket. Ishant gets another to dart back at Paine to finish, crashing into his thigh pad for the third time this morning.
97th over: Australia 296-6 (Paine 32, Cummins 13) Shami goes upstairs to Paine a couple of times, the captain getting both to ground for a couple then a single. Nothing much going on here. Bumrah next, yeah?
"The ball is moving. You need a more aggressive line on middle and off stump forcing the batsmen to play."@bowlologist on India's bowling today #AUSvINDpic.twitter.com/kjiBQbVV9r
96th over: Australia 292-6 (Paine 29, Cummins 13) Cummins clips Ishant fine for a single from the first ball of his fresh over, Paine then defending and ducking and leaving the rest without a concern. Going nicely.
“Hello from a very cold Sheffield,” emails John Goldstein. “In theory four days makes sense but cricket is a weather dependent sport and weather effected games happen all the world. Add in the fact that teams rarely bowl their allocated overs in a day now. How are they going to fit in another 20 or so per day to make up the number of overs in a Test.”
95th over: Australia 291-6 (Paine 29, Cummins 12) Shot! Paine biffs the shot of the morning so far, cutting Shami with authority past point to the rope. Until that stage it was a probing over, Paine having to dance out the way of a well-directed bumper then copping a whack on the thigh. Simon Katich asks a reasonable question: where is Bumrah? Surely India’s best bowler of the opening day had to get the first crack on morning two?
Daoud Khan also likes 12 wickets for day two. “Australia to be all out within 20 minutes of lunch,” he writes. “India to be eight down at stumps. Nothing really to say other than that except a shoutout to the VTCB days,15 years or so ago. It truly was a great place to discuss cricket.”
94th over: Australia 287-6 (Paine 25, Cummins 12) Cummins gets his first run of the morning, tickling Ishant fine after Paine gave him the strike after one ball. He was in big trouble from the penultimate delivery when Paine took a quick single to cover, but KL Rahul didn’t pick it up cleanly and couldn’t get a throw away. Even with the big dive, I suspect the big quick would have been well short had the direct hit been executed.
See below the audio of the aforementioned Kevin Roberts interview. Gerard Whateley is talking it through now with Simon Katich, including the debate about the Boxing Day Test. It isn’t really a debate, but the chief exec of the stadium here, Mike McKenna, did successfully get it circulating with some comments he made on Thursday.
LISTEN | @cricketcomau CEO Kevin Roberts discusses the Perth Stadium seating issue, the state of the Second Test, scheduling of Boxing Day and New Years Tests, and says we need to be open minded about the prospect of Four Day Tests. https://t.co/C5n2rpuzakpic.twitter.com/yif4cUFwqP
93rd over: Australia 284-6 (Paine 23, Cummins 11) Good from Paine, getting deep in the crease to Shami’s first ball and pull/hooking it for four. Not the most convincing shot, but with a big gap out there it was safe and hit well enough. He then picks up a single, to third man for the second time this morning. Cummins then defends and leaves, as he does so well.
Tom Bristles has 12 wickets falling. “I reckon Paine will get a century,” he adds. If Paine gets a ton and 12 wickets drop, this will be quite the day.
92nd over: Australia 279-6 (Paine 18, Cummins 11) Ishant from the southern end to Paine who nearly gets himself bowled down the legside! As he did in Adelaide, the captain was shuffling across his stumps before the ball was bowled and got into a tangle. He keeps his nerve, deflecting the next safely to third man for a single before Cummins sees off the rest.
Kevin Roberts, the new CA Chief Exec, was on SEN radio before play discussing a wide range of topics including the prospect of four-day Tests in Australia. I’ll fetch those quotes asap, they sound quite newsworthy.
91st over: Australia 278-6 (Paine 17, Cummins 11) Good cricket to begin, Shami getting the ball to shape nicely away from Paine early in the over, the captain leaving competently with considerable carry. Shami finishes with the off-cutter, Paine turning nicely to midwicket to open his account on this second morning.
Vishal Karna says 10 wickets. “India through to stumps 6 down with 197 on the board,” he writes. “I’m from the future. Trust me.”
The players are on the field! Australia are resuming at 277/6 with Paine (16) and Cummins (11) returning to the crease for Australia. Shami has the ball for India, to bowl from our broadcast or northern end. He has a couple of slips and a gully in the cordon. The captain is on strike. PLAY!
How about those cracks?! They just did a close up of one that is running a metre long about two thirds of the way down the track, opening up already. My prediction? 20 wickets to fall today. Take a ping. The closest to the pin can go to dinner with Geoff at some stage this summer.
Sharmeen Khan. The former Pakistani player was the definition of a trailblazer. Alongside her sister Shaiza, she made their entry to the Women’s World Cup in 1997 possible, in the face of death threats that extended to newspapers editorials. Yesterday, Sharmeen passed away from pneumonia at the age of 46. Vale.
Mitchell Starc is on Fox Sports. He was asked about his bowling last week in Adelaide and the response to it. “Apart from about thee overs I was pretty happy,” he said. “I have worked on my consistency over the last few years and my economy rate was the best it has been in my career.” He added that “bar three overs” with the second new ball in both innings, he was satisfied with how the ball was coming out and his wrist position.
Quick, if shameless, plug. Geoff Lemon (who will be us later) and I have our Final Word podcast cooking with gas again for another summer. We’re into about season five now so we have a vague idea of what we’re doing. And we have some excellent guests coming up over the next couple of eps. Give it a go during lunch if this sounds like your thing.
Day two pitch... pic.twitter.com/MHUZJlhahL
Prithvi Shaw is doing some extensive throwdowns on the field with Ravi Shastri. Fit for the Melbourne Test? Looks like it. And the current Indian captain is one who especially enjoys making changes. Watch out, Murali Vijay. In fact, watch out any Indian batsman. You never know how things can go.
Morning all. And a very different morning to yesterday with ample cloud cover. The sting from yesterday’s heat has also vanished overnight, which should play to the home side’s advantage with the ball later today.
The early exchanges this morning will be interesting. Will Paine and Cummins (then Starc) bust out all their shots in order to get as many on the board as possible before one rolls along the ground or shoots at their head? On the evidence of yesterday, it’s going to be that kind of Test.
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