And bad light stops play
19.3 over: West Indies 57-1 (Brathwaite 20, Shai Hope 3) After three more rockets from Wood, the umpires gaze at their lightometres and off they go. It looks dull, dank and generally as if someone has sloshed used dishwater over the Rose Bowl.
19th over: West Indies 56-1 (Brathwaite 20, Shai Hope 2) A maiden from Stokes, who tests Brathwaite with various lengths, before jogging back to second slip. His longer hair is slicked back in a rather dapper Dennis Compton way.
There are still 30 overs theoretically left in the day.
18th over: West Indies 56-1 (Brathwaite 20, Shai Hope 2) Wood, trademark low arms held as if carrying a heavy bucket, steams in to three slips and a gully. You can be lulled by Sky’s piped sound into thinking this is just a normal Test; but in just a normal Test the crowd would be roaring him and Archer in. Hope repeatedly beaten for pace. Wood has taken 18 wickets in his last three Tests.
17th over: West Indies 54-1 (Brathwaite 20, Shai Hope 0) TV coverage returns in time to see the last two balls of Stokes’ first over, Brathwaite flicking a full bunger for four on the leg side.
16th over: West Indies 48-1 (Brathwaite 14, Shai Hope 0 ) Unfortunately, other than Wood bowling, I can’t give you any description of this as my TV has had brief breakdown.
But Phil Sawyer has been pondering over whether Wood/Jofra have any rivals in the England speed stakes:
“I reckon Larwood and Voce, for one particular series at least, would want a word about being England’s quickest opening pair. Voce generally wasn’t in Larwood’s league (in fact I think he switched between fast and left arm slow during his career), but upped his pace for that particular series. Mind you, Statham bowled in tandem with Tyson in Aus and you wouldn’t exactly accuse him of being sluggish at that point in his life. Not if you wanted to enjoy a (socially distanced) pint with me, anyway.”
15th over: West Indies 48-1 (Brathwaite 14, Shai Hope 0 ) Anderson, into his 8th over, sends down a maiden.
14th over: West Indies 48-1 (Brathwaite 14, Shai Hope 0 ) Wood is whistled for, hair and beard the same length, and delivers an over from 84-95 mph. Hope not looking entirely comfortable.
More thoughts on umpires from Gil Southwood
Regarding the OBO coverage and bias, I would argue that no umpire really has much motivation (beyond any corruption and bribery etc) to inflict a deliberate bias into the match. Test cricket is arguably already underappreciated in comparison to the shorter formats, and so now, more than ever, it’s easy to imagine that every element of the sport has to be performing to the best standard they can possibly achieve. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but one would very much doubt that now would be the ideal time, if there ever was one, to risk bringing the game into disrepute by deliberately making decisions in favour of one side.
That being said, unconscious bias is very much a thing, and I’m glad that the organisers haven’t ignored that by allowing for extra reviews. At the end of the day, even if the umpires’ performances have been poor, I’m always inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt. They’re probably (hopefully?) doing their best.
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13th over: West Indies 43-1 (Brathwaite 9, Shai Hope 0 ) An eventful over for Campbell who survives one review, slaps Anderson for four, before being sent on his way with the final delivery. England have made the first incision.
Hello Tanya! There is a certain reward for the viewer to watch Jason Holder go about his ways, be it bowling, batting, or captaining the side,” writes Abhijato Sensarma . “He is the glue which binds together this emerging side, but he’s one of the world’s finest all-rounders irrespective of his captaincy credentials. His numbers since 2018 have been simply ridiculous. They have come across elite teams too. Is there a chance this series is what finally makes him properly-rated?”
I hope so.
WICKET! Campbell lbw Anderson 28
Fuller, straighter and this time Anderson gets his man! Richard Kettleborough too breathes a large sigh of relief
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NOT OUT!
Campbell survives a review for the second time, having, inexplicably, left an Anderson delivery to thump into his pads. The ball is fractionally too high as it wizzes over leg stump on the review.
12th over: West Indies 39-0 (Brathwaite 9, Campbell 21) Sky showing Archer from side on, the snap of his wrist as he brings his arm over like the pop of a new jam jar. He polishes the ball on his shirt as he goes full-short-full but Brathwaite survives.
11th over: West Indies 36-0 (Brathwaite 9, Campbell 21) Four legs byes off Anderson’s over. West Indies playing nicely here, keeping it ticking over, not taking any risks.
10th over: West Indies 32-0 (Brathwaite 9, Campbell 21) Archer, rapid, varies his length from full to short and Campbell, without looking comfortable, wriggles a couple from the over.
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9th over: West Indies 30-0 (Brathwaite 9, Campbell 19) Oh the audacity! Campbell pings Anderson’s first ball through the covers for four then back down the ground for three, where Dom Bess fielding takes a great shod out of the ground.
“As a (very low grade) umpire myself, can I say I’m appalled at the suggestion of bias, writes Richard O’Hagan. “Umpires need to umpire as much as batsmen need to bat and bowlers need to bowl. These two have had little chance to hone their skills over the past few months and are probably just a bit rusty, slightly slow to pick up on the path of a ball going at around 90mph. They may also be standing further back than they usually would do, for safety reasons, which would affect perception. It’s always funny how batsmen can leave balls which hit off stump and bowlers can send down deliveries which barely hit the cut strip and no-one comments, but as soon as an umpire makes a couple of errors they are biased.
That’s a very good point Richard, you don’t think of umpires having to practise I don’t think Parminder was accusing the umpires of bias, just saying that they are under the spotlight and are easy to blame so neutral umpires removes any chance of them being accused of bias.
8th over: West Indies 23-0 (Brathwaite 9, Campbell 12) Archer plugging quite short, lifting Campbell off his feet with his final delivery. An expensive looking watch rests on his left wrist.
The light has improved
And the West Indian batsmen march out to the middle, looking up at the murky sludge sky and the empty threads of white bucket seats and the hollow arena and wonder…
A pertinent message from Parminder Khosa:
Umpires really showing the value of the review system, 4 big Windies shouts today, all given not out and all reviewed. All were hitting with just one being umpires call.
First England shout is given out, reviewed and over turned..
I’m sure there’s nothing deliberate going on but this is why the neutrals were brought in.
This is exactly why neutrals were such a good idea – hats off to Imran Khan. I’m convinced these umpires are performing at their very best but, with neutrals, no one can be accused of bias, unconscious or otherwise. It makes life more pleasant for everyone.
BAD LIGHT STOPS PLAY West Indies 21-0
7th over: West Indies 21-0 (Brathwaite 7, Campbell 12) Ah, frustrations, with the game poised beautifully, the umpires take a reading and march the players off. The floodlights are on…I heard a discussion yesterday on TMS about using a pink ball during periods of bad light during a Test, I thought it had some validity. The idea being that having to face the pink ball was just another variable like turning up on a day when it was overcast, or having to field in 30 degrees.
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NOT OUT!
The ball pitching outside leg… another great use of the review system by the West Indies today.
REVIEW! Campbell lbw Anderson
IF this is given it would be the first lbw decision given out in the match… he waits a long time before deciding to review…
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6th over: West Indies 18-0 (Brathwaite 6, Campbell 10) Five slips for Archer, who is up in the high 80s/early 90s still. The RH ((Brathwaite), LH (Campbell) partnership could become. a source of some frustration. Archer roars an appeal off his last ball, over the wicket into Campbell’s pads, but Stokes isn’t interested enough to review.
5th over: West Indies 15-0 (Brathwaite 5, Campbell 10) Anderson drops a little short with a couple of deliveries and West Indies are relatively untroubled, even managing to scurry through for a quick couple off his last ball.
4th over: West Indies 12-0 (Brathwaite 4, Campbell 8) Campbell chops Archer through backward point for four first ball and they survive the over.
Meanwhile Sumit Rahman puts the J into jinx: “I reckoned that given the quality of the two bowling attacks, the (ahem) ‘quality’ of the batting line ups and the apparent fact that whichever month the cricket season starts the weather will be like a rainy May in England, the three games in this series will be a lot of low scoring affairs, 180-220 in the first innings and 150-200 in the second. So I’m not terribly unhappy with England’s total here. If one team finds a batsman who can eke out a couple of centuries in the series that might be what makes the difference.”
[WAITS FOR ARCHER AND WOODS TO GET SMACKED ROUND THE GROUND FOR THREE HOURS]
3rd over: West Indies 4-0 (Brathwaite 1, Campbell 3) Anderson bowling to four slips – Sibley, Stokes, Crawley and ?? – continuing as he ever has, pulling Brathwaite in any direction he choses. We see the seam wiggling down the pitch before the ball pitches and angles in, squaring Brathwaite up.
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2nd over: West Indies 4-0 (Brathwaite 1, Campbell 3) Archer starts his softly softly trundle in, picking up his red soles behind him. A bouncer rises haphazardly and Brathwaite has to squat on his haunches to evade it. He’s immediately up in the high 80s, with one delivery at 90mph.
And another little bit on Holder:
1st over: West Indies 0-0 (Brathwaite 0, Campbell 0) Of course Anderson will be opening the bowling with Archer/Woods, oh my, how could I have forgotten England’s leading wicket taker? He has tied a thick black bandana round his head to keep his hair off his face, varying his pace and length and on the money straight away. A maiden.
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Rubbing my hands in some anticipation to see Wood and Archer take the new ball. The West Indies batting line-up doesn’t inspire a lorry load of confidence, suspect it may be Holder again doing the buisness later on today, but this time with the bat.
Kim Thonger drops a mail:
”I just had my traditional afternoon power nap, during which I dreamt that Stuart Broad got a fivefer by close of play today. Then I woke up and remembered he’d been dropped. I think my subconscious is harbouring a grudge against the selectors. I’m wondering if a medicinal half pint of London Pride might be prudent, just to reset my constitution?”
I don’t know a great deal about bitter myself, but my dad walks past (at two metres) and tells me London Pride is “a lovely ale from a good local brewery,” and that’s good enough for me. So go ahead Kim. Just a half mind.
England all out 204 and TEA
Holder’s 6-42 is his best bowling figures in Tests. Can the OBO recapture the term old-fashioned values? If so, that’s Holder with a cricket ball: height, accuracy, crafstmanship, intelligence, he’s got it all. As for England, better than it could have been, worse than it might have been. Time for a quick tea, see you in five mins.
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WICKET! Anderson b Gabriel 10
Gabriel throws down a rapid full bunger that cracks into Anderson’s off stump and leaves him squared off and the teams walking back to the pavilion.
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67th over: England 204-9 (Anderson 10, Bess 31) Anderson scampers up the other end after darting the ball towards point, leaving Bess to deal with Roach. Which he does with some aplomb – reaching, then passing, 200 with two consecutive fours through point and the covers. West Indies bowlers not backing their captain up here, and England polishing the shoes of respectability.
66th over: England 195-9 (Anderson 9, Bess 23) Time for Gabriel to pound the earth again. Nineteen iron ore steps later, Bess leans back and quite cleverly sends a bouncing ball square. They survive the over, leaving Anderson to face Kemar Roach.
65th over: England 195-9 (Anderson 9, Bess 23) Holder persists with Joseph, and through the glass darkly we see Wood and Buttler having a jolly good chuckle about something or other.
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64th over: England 191-9 (Anderson 7, Bess 21) Holder straining for his best Test figures – currently 6-59 v Bangladesh. Anderson punches his last ball down the ground very effectively for three and keeps the strike.
By the way, did anyone catch this Bond villain at lunch?
63rd over: England 187-9 (Anderson 4, Bess 20) Bess throwing his inner Stokes, edging Joseph over the slips and then bottom edging him in the same direction for two consecutive fours. Anderson survives the over. Joseph coltishly out of sorts.
A lovely message arrives from Nick White (we’ll forgive you the dig.). Hold on in there Nick:
“Been a very tough week or so here in Melbourne, with our inevitable second lockdown officially starting during one of yesterday’s many rain delays. The return of Test cricket couldn’t have been timed any better for me as I’ve now got absolutely no reason not to stay up until 4am tonight.
Watching Jason Holder bowl with the ball on a string has brought a smile to my face for the first time in many days. I must say that watching England collapse with the bat is a nice reminder that 2020 will never be able to take everything I hold dear and precious.”
62nd over: England 178-9 (Anderson 4, Bess 12) Anderson shows them how it is done, turning Holder off his legs past short leg for four.
“Is this going to be another one of those innings in which approaching 200 is made but no-one gets even a 50?” asks John Starbuck.
My crystal ball tells me you could be right.
WICKET! Wood c Hope b Holder 5 (England 174-9)
That man again! Wood plumps his front leg forward and pushes with a swagger at Holder, the ball flies above Hope’s head at gully and he snaffles it.
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61st over: England 174-8 (Bess 12, Wood 5) Though you wouldn’t bet on Bess and Wood to bat for your life, both can throw the bat. I wonder what the instructions were from the dressing-room. Joseph not threatening – time for a bowling change? – and Bess eases him hither and thither for 8 off the over.
60th over: England 166-8 (Bess 7, Wood 2) Holder caresses the ball, gold earrings glinting in his ears like christmas tree lights as dusk falls. Bess and Wood knock him gently to and fro without much incidents. Apparently no bowler has averaged under 12 in ten tests since Tony Lock, Holder is currently in the 11s.
59th over: England 163-8 (Bess 4, Wood 2) Thanks Simon and hello everyone! Rather a slippery slope for England since lunch when you could have imagined a counter-attacking afternoon from Buttler and Stokes. What a bit of bowling by Jason Holder – you can see just why he’s the number one allrounder in the world – accurate, tricksy and canny, so so canny. I hadn’t realised how much he’d improved in the last couple of years – this is his seventh five-wicket haul in Tests, six of which have come in his last ten matches. Anyway, that was a fairly non-eventful over from Joseph.
58th over: England 157-8 (Bess 1, Wood 0) Wood sees off the final two balls of the over. And with that I’m going to slope off. Tanya Aldred will see you through the remainder of the day. Bye!