England vs. Australia, 3rd Test, Day 1: James Anderson the Hero at Edgbaston
After being demolished at Lord's in the last match, England quickly turned the tables on Australia by dominating a rain-hit Day 1 of the third Ashes Test at Edgbaston.
James Anderson claimed six for 47 as the hosts made the most of Michael Clarke's generous decision to let them bowl first, dismissing their opponents for a paltry 136.
England were close to parity by the close of play in Birmingham, England, reaching stumps on 133 for three in reply. Ian Bell made 53 on his home ground, though he was dismissed just before the heavens opened again.
TOP NEWS
Report: MLB Vet Unretires After 1 Day
Kyle Busch's Cause of Death Released
Controversial Usyk TKO Win 🤔
However, not even an early finish due to bad weather could dampen England's mood. Here are some of the key talking points from Wednesday's action.
King of the swingers
On a docile track and with the sun shining brightly, Anderson returned match figures of none for 137 in the second Test at Lord’s.
Given the chance to bowl first on a pitch offering a little assistance in Birmingham, he took just eight balls to make a mark on proceedings.
David Warner was the first of Anderson’s six victims in an outstanding display—the Lancastrian moved the ball through the air and off the surface as he returned his best Ashes figures, per Sky Sports:
Shane Warne was certainly impressed, telling Sky Sports: "You can try things like moving your fingers wider apart [on the ball] but you still have to get the length right—Jimmy did that beautifully and showed all his cleverness and skill."
The green, green grass on the Edgbaston wicket definitely helped Anderson feel right at home. How he must wish for pitches like this in the remaining matches—at Trent Bridge and the Oval.
Back with a bang
While Anderson rightly took centre stage after his six-for, fellow seamers Stuart Broad and Steven Finn played excellent supporting roles.
England only used three bowlers as Australia were all out in 36.4 overs. It was short and not so sweet for the tourists, as Ali Martin pointed out on Twitter:
Finn marked his return to the Test XI with two crucial scalps.
The Middlesex seamer needed just six balls to make an impact on his comeback, getting Steve Smith caught at first slip with the final delivery of his opening over.
He also cleaned up Michael Clarke with a full-length delivery, meaning Australia’s captain has now mustered 91 runs in five innings in the series.
It was a far cry from the previous Ashes series—Finn flew home early from the tour of Australia in 2013/14 after stand-in coach Ashley Giles said, per Andrew McGlashan of ESPN Cricinfo: “Steven is not selectable at the moment.”
The 26-year-old certainly proved a good selection at Edgbaston, having been chosen ahead of Mark Wood.
The pantomime villain
Mitchell Johnson reached a milestone during his brief innings with the bat, joining a select band of Australian all-rounders as he made it to 2,000 Test runs:
However, that was a rare highlight on an otherwise forgettable day for the Queenslander.
First, he contributed just three runs to Australia’s cause before being caught in the slips, in the process becoming Anderson's fifth wicket of the innings.
With England firmly on top, the crowd did not wait long to begin baiting the bowler when he was out in the field.
His failure to cut off a boundary with a sliding stop led to ironic cheers, while Johnson’s next piece of work in the deep saw him launch a throw high over the head of wicketkeeper Peter Nevill.
When the left-arm paceman—one of the key contributors to Australia's success in the last Test—was called into the attack, he sent down four relatively harmless overs at a cost of 20 runs.
There was a wide called when a bouncer to Joe Root was so short the Englishman couldn’t have hit it with a barge pole, let alone a bat.
Root did get his bat on one dug in short again soon after, sending it all the way over the rope for six:
"Mitchell Johnson walks back to his mark after being hit for six by Joe Root. Photo: Visionhaus pic.twitter.com/8EfuIGByIV
— Investec Cricket (@InvestecCricket) July 29, 2015"
Calling the shots
During the Ashes series of 2005, Australia’s captain Ricky Ponting won the toss at Edgbaston and opted to bowl first.
The logic behind his decision was clear: England had been bowled out for 155 and 180 in the previous Test at Lord’s, leaving them vulnerable to crumbling again under pressure.
The plan, however, backfired spectacularly. Without the injured Glenn McGrath, Australia conceded 407 in 79.2 overs. They went on to lose the match by two runs, surrendering their lead in a series they eventually lost by a 2-1 scoreline.
Move forward to 2015 and current Australia skipper Clarke, fresh off a landslide win at Lord’s, decided against following in the footsteps of his former leader.
He opted to bat first, then watched on as his side collapsed in a heap.
By the close, with England only three runs behind, Clarke was probably not able to see the humour in Peter Mattessi’s tweet:
Australia’s current leader will have to hope his bowlers can fire early on Day 2 and dig their side out of a serious hole.
.png?w=480)
.jpg?w=600 "Offseason Moves for Every Team 👉")
