Geoff Lemon's Blog, page 26
June 15, 2023
England beware: in-form Australia are hungry to right Ashes wrongs of 2019
An improved batting lineup, greater bowling depth and a captain in his prime are aiming higher than retaining the urn
In the hours and days after the 2019 Ashes in England had finished as a drawn series, the careful wording from the touring country was all about retention. That was the focus of the congratulatory press release from Cricket Australia. Those around the camp who before the fifth Test had talked up victory had to temper it and explain that their primary job had been to hold on to the tiny urn, and that ultimately they were satisfied. “Retain” was pasted in for “win”, with the audible hint of an invisible asterisk.
Much about the effort was extraordinary. Start with Steve Smith’s 774 runs despite missing the third Test with concussion, after 16 months out suspended. Only Donald Bradman, Everton Weekes, and Viv Richards have exceeded that series tally without playing more innings. Australia had withstood Jofra Archer’s fiercest to draw at Lord’s, taken a first-innings advantage after enduring the season’s toughest batting conditions at Headingley, lost that match to a once-in-a-lifetime performance, then collected themselves to recover and win in Manchester.
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June 14, 2023
David Warner’s Ashes contest with Stuart Broad will decide his Test fate
Pugnacious opener had a shocker in 2019 but knows that if he can defy his nemesis, he can also choose how his career ends
When David Warner spoke two weeks ago of exiting Test cricket in Sydney in January, some criticism was predictable. How presumptuous, it ran, to announce his plan as though it was up to him. Like a lot of criticism, it came from those who weren’t paying attention. Warner had accounted for that explicitly, naming a hometown farewell as his hope rather than his expectation, one that would happen only if he played well enough to stay in the team.
Standing between him and that hope is another Ashes series in England, Warner’s fourth. Nothing casts so long a shadow over this series as what happened in his third, in 2019, when he stumbled and stuttered to 95 runs in five Tests while falling every time to Jofra Archer or Stuart Broad.
Continue reading...June 13, 2023
Josh Hazlewood dilemma shows Australia’s embarrassment of riches | Geoff Lemon
Fast bowler who played so well in 2019 is not fully fit and may miss out in the first Ashes Test because of Scott Boland’s form
Josh Hazlewood missed the first Test of the 2019 Ashes in Birmingham off the back of an injury layoff. Due to caution about his buildup, he was held back in favour of a bowler who was a bit slower, a bit less glamorous, but would hit the seam all day with nagging accuracy.
In 2023 it might be the same story. Swap Peter Siddle for Scott Boland this time around, and Hazlewood is again wondering whether he can make his way into the team, this time after conservative treatment of some soreness in his side ruled him out of the World Test Championship final.
Continue reading...June 12, 2023
Ashes 2023: player-by-player guide to England and Australia squads
Ben Stokes will lead from the front despite his injured knee while Australia will again hope Steve Smith scores heavily
Continue reading...June 11, 2023
Late bloomer Scott Boland primed to deliver Ashes impact for Australia
Bowler was largely unknown when he arrived on international stage at the age of 32 but his weapons could threaten England
“Scotty Boland, he’s now my favourite player. He always has been, but he continues to be my favourite.”
Sure the Australia captain, Pat Cummins, might have displayed some confusion about time and continuity. But his sentiment was what mattered, after another decisive bowling burst from the Victorian quick opened up Australia’s path to victory against India in the World Test Championship final.
Continue reading...June 10, 2023
Despite the fury, Cameron Green’s catch leaves no grounds for complaint | Geoff Lemon
Indian fans believed Shubman Gill was wrongly dismissed but the laws are clear – although that won’t stop the arguments
As the second session wound onwards on the fourth day of the World Test Championship final, the Oval was a cheerful place. On a perfect, warm afternoon, the bays that were largely full of India supporters erupted after every boundary as Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill made a bright start to a massive run chase.
Soon it was much less bucolic, with a fair share of those fans shouting “Cheat!” at the Australian all-rounder Cameron Green. Others lined up to give him a gob-full as he climbed the stairs through the crowd at tea. Fielding in the gully, Green’s crime had been to throw out his hand for a low catch off Gill that the TV umpire, Richard Kettleborough, ruled fair.
Continue reading...World Test Championship final: Australia v India, day four – as it happened
Virat Kohli’s authoritative 44 not out took India to 164 for three, needing a further 280 runs for an historic victory
48th over: Australia 128-5 (Green 8, Carey 4) Green keeps on playing outside that off stump! Reaches very wide for an off-balance drive that hits cover directly. Gets an edge along the turf to third slip. He edged to slip in the first innings. Spoke about the IPL transition, where you go from hitting the ball in front of your body for power, to hitting the red ball as late as you can. But he’s more in white-ball mode here. Good seam from Shami cuts back in but his bounce takes it over the stumps. India’s bowlers have had so many beaten edges in this match, and I’d say it’s because they’ve so often bowled a small margin too short.
No score from the over. Five runs in four overs this morning.
Continue reading...World Test Championship final: Australia v India, day four – live
48th over: Australia 128-5 (Green 8, Carey 4) Green keeps on playing outside that off stump! Reaches very wide for an off-balance drive that hits cover directly. Gets an edge along the turf to third slip. He edged to slip in the first innings. Spoke about the IPL transition, where you go from hitting the ball in front of your body for power, to hitting the red ball as late as you can. But he’s more in white-ball mode here. Good seam from Shami cuts back in but his bounce takes it over the stumps. India’s bowlers have had so many beaten edges in this match, and I’d say it’s because they’ve so often bowled a small margin too short.
No score from the over. Five runs in four overs this morning.
Continue reading...June 9, 2023
Pat Cummins loses cool but not threat as Australia’s attack excels again | Geoff Lemon
Australian bowlers may have seen chances go down but the fact they produce so many is more significant
You really don’t see Pat Cummins lose his rag. His whole deal is staying level, taking the Rudyard Kipling approach to triumph and disaster. Quick to smile and to recommend the perspective that cricket is a good time, not a cause for grievance.
Take his Pakistan trip in 2022. A month guarded by an army. Fifteen days of Test grind, still 0-0 into the final day. Cummins reminding his team about carrying on with patience, about resisting frustration on moribund pitches. Then, on that 15th day, the pace and energy of his final spells, his three wickets vital to making that drawn score a win.
Continue reading...World Test Championship final: Australia v India, day three – as it happened
Marnus Labuschagne’s defiant unbeaten 41 helped Australia extend their lead to 296 on a lively third day at the Oval
40th over: India 157-6 (Rahane 30, Thakur 4) Cummins from the Pavilion End, and he’s also hitting a length and getting the ball to jag in. Rahane squeezes out a single off the inside edge. Thakur rides the bounce for two, then flashes outside off and is lucky to survive.
39th over: India 154-6 (Rahane 30, Thakur 2) That is such a Boland over. Wicket second ball. Cuts it in and smashes the gloves and body from the next couple. Then has a catch dropped at third slip! A tough one, over Khawaja’s head. He goes up with the ball, gets fingertips to it but tips it over the bar. Two runs result.
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