Behind the scenes of Australia’s remarkable first Test victory, including how the tourists’ tactics were hatched and – day by day, hour by hour – how their epic reckoning with England’s Bazball unfolded
Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.For months at home, in the lead-up to this Ashes series, the Australian team’s thinkers worked methodically through how to counter England’s Bazball.
Each England batter was assessed in turn, with as many as six alternative fields drawn up to cater for their respective strengths and weaknesses. Pace bowlers honed white-ball skills as well as red, with the use of yorkers and slower balls emphasised in addition to manipulation of the seam, conventional and reverse swing and short balls.“You’ve got a red ball in your hand, you’ve got whites on, and you think if I bowl top of off then it should be respected,” Hazlewood said.
“But we felt like when we went into the game with all the information that we had, we made the best decision. We took Starcy on that journey, he understands that, and he understands the fact there is four more Test matches and he’s got a pivotal part to play within that.” In assessing the day, Cummins’ adjustment was one of few areas in which the Australians themselves felt he might have adapted a little more quickly. But overall, the sense was that rather than conceding 400, the tourists had prevented England from repeating their Rawalpindi feat against Pakistan and careering away to 500 in a day. Conditions reminded some of the MCG drop-in before its 2018 makeover.
“I had Matt Renshaw and Josh Inglis, I just said, ‘Come and slog me, try and hit me for six every ball’ – I reckon I bowled for about an hour,” Lyon said. “It’s just a different challenge. The England side, they have some superstars in the likes of Joe Root and Ben Stokes who have been able to do it for a number of years now.
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