{"id":37788,"date":"2025-12-17T02:09:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T02:09:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=37788"},"modified":"2025-12-17T02:09:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T02:09:33","slug":"australia-v-england-ashes-third-test-day-one-live-ashes-2025-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/?p=37788","title":{"rendered":"Australia v England: Ashes third Test, day one \u2013 live | Ashes 2025-26"},"content":{"rendered":"

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If England can\u2019t break the current partnership early in the session, they\u2019ll have a problem.<\/strong> Amazingly, it looks like the best deliveries are fullish, to hit the top of off, and the onus is on Archer to make something happen. If he can find those lifters that force the batters to play, he\u2019s in the game.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019ll be back in 35 or so \u2013<\/strong> don\u2019t you go changing.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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LUNCH: Australia 94-2<\/h2>\n

24th over: Australia 94-2 (Labuschagne 19, Khawaja 41) <\/strong>I doubt the batters go hard at Jacks in this over, and his first three deliveries yield singles, but then Khawaja can\u2019t help himself, which tells us how secure he feels; he\u2019s down on one knee, a big stretch, and he monsters four through midwicket. So Jacks goes wider, there\u2019s a bit of turn, and it\u2019s edged \u2026 but drops short of slip, It\u2019s been a pretty evening morning, Australia ending it in the ascendancy, but another couple of wickets and things chance. Amazingly, the next hour is crucial.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Khawaja and Labuschagne heads off for refreshments.<\/span> Photograph: Joel Carrett\/AAPShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a020.51 EST<\/p>\n

23rd over: Australia 87-2 (Labuschagne 17, Khawaja 36) <\/strong>I wonder if Khawaja had a word with himself after the drop. Reprieved by Smith\u2019s illness, he started nervously, then was reprieved again by the drop; in my ignoramus\u2019 imagination of what elite sportsfolk say to themselves, at that point, you tell yourself to accept gifts and enjoy the moment. Anyroad up, Labuschagne takes a single to square leg, raising the fifty partnership in the meantime, then Khawaja again yanks Stokes from outside off through the leg side \u2013 this time to deep backward \u2013 and this is decent batting now. we\u2019ll have one, maybe two more overs before lunch.<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a020.26 EST<\/p>\n

22nd over: Australia 82-2 (Labuschagne 16, Khawaja 32) <\/strong>Jacks replaces Tongue, and Australia will want to get after him \u2013 if they can hit him out of the attack, England will have to flog their quicks. I know he\u2019s in the team for his batting and fielding, but my guess is the England management also feared for Bashir, not a better enough bowler to be worth the risk. Khawaja takes two, a single and a three follow, then he sweeps hard for four, and that\u2019s 10 from the over.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Khawaja looks to make runs off the bowling of Jacks.<\/span> Photograph: MB Media\/Getty ImagesShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a020.58 EST<\/p>\n

21st over: Australia 72-2 (Labuschagne 13, Khawaja 25) <\/strong>Stokes in again and his first three deliveries yield two singles, then Khawaja walks into one, again guiding from outside off into the on-side, this time towards midwicket; they take two. A squirted single then completes the over, and that\u2019s the second ball this morning that\u2019s kept lower than the batter expected, but he\u2019s batted much better since Brook gave him a life.<\/p>\n

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20th over: Australia 67-2 (Labuschagne 12, Khawaja 21) <\/strong>Two dots, then Khawaja cracks a square cut over the top for four through point; a single follows and this has been a really good session of Test Match Cricket Ashes Cricket, fluctuating and undulating. The more I see Brook\u2019s drop, the more I think he had to catch it, and England badly need to rdeem it before lunch.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard to top an anthem that clearly rouses huge emotion, and eventually dissolves into a collective roar,\u201d says Scott Blair.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Agree, it\u2019s like the \u201cSiiiiii\u201d at the end of Italy\u2019s \u2013 and Ivan Zamorano leading Chile\u2019s at the 1998 World Cup was also immense.<\/p>\n

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19th over: Australia 62-2 (Labuschagne 12, Khawaja 16) <\/strong>Stokes is a little short and Khawaja is on to him, hauling from outside off to the square-leg boundary for four, great shot. A drive to the fielder follows, then a single to midwicket, and then one that clobbers the pad, low down! It looks plumb at first glance, the appeal is vociferous \u2026 and the umpire says naw. Stokes intimates an edge, but it was a really good delivery, exactly the kind he\u2019s trying to bowl. Tangentially, I was at a funeral recently and saw someone\u2019s headstone describing them as \u201ca vociferous reader\u201d; it must\u2019ve been Paulie Walnuts\u2019 old man.<\/p>\n

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18th over: Australia 57-2 (Labuschagne 12, Khawaja 11) <\/strong>Tongue\u2019s first ball is too straight and Khawaja flips it off his tootsies to the fence at deep square, then shoves one more to cover. He\u2019s starting to feel comfortable, but Tongue is kicking up decent pace here, his line and length more disciplined than in the English summer.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Josh Tongue in action.<\/span> Photograph: Gareth Copley\/Getty ImagesShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a020.53 EST<\/p>\n

17th over: Australia 52-2 (Labuschagne 12, Khawaja 6) <\/strong>Stokes charges through a maiden, and England are doing a decent job here, but badly need another wicket or two in the final half-hour of the session.<\/p>\n

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16th over: Australia 52-2 (Labuschagne 12, Khawaja 6) <\/strong>Khawaja edges two past gully\u2019s dive, and his open stance is almost asking Tongue to fire in yorkers. A false stroke knocks ball into track, then he goes with the drive, edges hard, and at two, Brook half-dives, gets borth hands to the ball \u2026 which bursts through. That wasn\u2019t easy, but he\u2019s there to catch those; I\u2019m not sure he needed to jump across, and it helped him misjudge the height, whereas if he\u2019d reached, he\u2019d have had a better change of keeping it in.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Khawaja lives to fight another day after Brook\u2019s drop.<\/span> Photograph: Gareth Copley\/Getty ImagesShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a020.49 EST<\/p>\n

15th over: Australia 48-2 (Labuschagne 11, Khawaja 3) <\/strong>Labuschagne defends one, then after Stokes doesn\u2019t land correctly, pulling out of the delivery, he lets the next go by. A no ball follows, then four flicked fine off the hips \u2026 no, off the actual hip, but the runs are given to the batter. And they are again, but that\u2019s because he\u2019s presented the full face and laced between mid-off and cover, the timing glorious.<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a019.58 EST<\/p>\n

14th over: Australia 39-2 (Labuschagne 3, Khawaja 3) <\/strong>Labuschagne takes one to fine leg while, in comms, Swann says that though there\u2019ve been a few examples of right-armers getting lefties out from around \u2013 Flintoff\/Gilchrist and Broad\/Warner \u2013 fielding at slip, he always preferred it if they came around, as if it nipped back nn it was hitting the pad and if it went across, he was in the game. That\u2019s because Tongue is coming from around, and so far he\u2019s been pretty tidy; as I type, Khawaja edges him into the pad.<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a019.58 EST<\/p>\n

13th over: Australia 38-2 (Labuschagne 2, Khawaja 3) <\/strong>Stokes introduces himself and this situation seems made for his shamanic sense of timing. Labuschagne turns to deep square for one while, in comms, Jason Gillespie compares Smith not playing to McGrath treading on the ball at Edgbaston in 2005. I must say, this doesn\u2019t feel anything like as seismic, maybe because this isn\u2019t as close, but more because McGrath had just destroyed England at Lord\u2019s. One off the over.<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a019.58 EST<\/p>\n

12th over: Australia 37-2 (Labuschagne 1, Khawaja 3) <\/strong>Tongue replaces Carse, who went for 29 in his five overs \u2013 and his wicket was a four-ball that was rescued by the catch of a lifetime. Around to Khawaja from the off, Tongue\u2019s nice and full to begin with, returning a confidence-building maiden, and that\u2019s drinks.<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a019.58 EST<\/p>\n

11h over: Australia 37-2 (Labuschagne 1, Khawaja 3) <\/strong>Archer will surely fancy a go at Khawaja, who\u2019s on strike, and the batter fancies getting up the other end, as you might \u2013 he turns around the corner, they hesitate then take the single, and the throw misses, though they were home in any event. Still, it\u2019s nervous out there now, and a leading edge proves that, Labuschagne taking one into the off-side when planning a flick to the on. This is Archer\u2019s sixth over, so could well be his last \u2013 I bet his captain fancies an exhibition flog-self-in-the-heat while the going\u2019s good.<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a019.58 EST<\/p>\n

10th over: Australia 34-2 (Labuschagne 0, Khawaja 1) <\/strong>This is now a huge point in the series: if England can make further inroads, they\u2019ll be in it, but if they can\u2019t, they\u2019re almost out of it having barely participated. Three dots, then Khawaja fends off the body behind square on the on-side \u2013 that was fuller and straighter \u2013 earning one. It\u2019s the only run from the over.<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a019.58 EST<\/p>\n

WICKET! Head c Crawley b Carse 10 (Australia 33-2)<\/h2>\n

ONE BRINGS TWO AND THIS IS A SCREAMER! Carse continues as we all thought he should, Head drives hard, and at short cover, Crawley is at one with it, diving left to grab just above ground, a giraffe doing a dying swan!<\/p>\n

<\/span>Crawley gets mobbed after taking a screamer.<\/span> Photograph: Joel Carrett\/EPAShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a019.35 EST<\/p>\n

9th over: Australia 33-1 (Head 10, Labuschagne 0) <\/strong>Goodness me, England needed that; goodnes me, Archer needed that. He makes Labuschagne play first ball, then whips through a bouncer that gets up higher. he\u2019s so close to the stumps it can look like the ball follows batters, and his run up is so leisurely it\u2019s always shocking. And here he comes again, the ball moving away form Labuschagne \u2026 who edges just short of slip. Has momentum switched? Wicket maiden.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlural of anthems has to be anathema in my book,\u201d writes Brian Withington, \u201ccapturing my feelings about the vast majority of the miserable\/imperialistic dirges. Honourable exceptions include Mae Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau, La Marseillaise and the South African one.\u201d<\/p>\n

The old Russian one is a banger, likewise Italy\u2019s, and Spain\u2019s is also decent. But I\u2019d love it for counties to use their own styles of music, so UK having a jungle tune, German electronic, Ghana hi-life, Jamaica reggae and so on.<\/p>\n

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WICKET! Weatherald c Smith b Archer 18 (Australia 33-1)<\/h2>\n

Out of nothing, Archer finds his best ball so far, a lifter not getting up above the collar and edged high into the air, the pull misjudged; Smith runs around in his own time and the ball plops into his gloves.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Jofra Archer celebrates the wicket of Jake Weatherald.<\/span> Photograph: Joel Carrett\/AAPShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a019.37 EST<\/p>\n

8th over: Australia 33-0 (Head 10, Weatherald 18) <\/strong>Stokes perseveres with Carse and again, he\u2019s wide, but this time he brings Weatherald down to that level, a horrible hoik missing everything. The next ball is flicked off the toes for one and the final one is forced just over the infield for two; in comms, Matt Prior isn\u2019t happy that there wasn\u2019t a bowling change for this over, and it\u2019s hard to argue with him.<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a019.13 EST<\/p>\n

7th over: Australia 29-0 (Head 8, Weatherald 17) <\/strong>We see a pitch map to incite resigned rage in those of an England disposition; they\u2019ve been far too short far too often so far. Here, though, Archer hustles through a maiden \u2013 one that\u2019s not especially threatening but which his team sorely needed\/<\/p>\n

\u201cThe plural of anthem, as an Anglicised Latin Noun, is… anthems,\u201d advises Rowan Sweeney. \u201cSorry to be a bore, but in atonement, here\u2019s a Mitchell and Webb skit (loosely) on the subject.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not at all, I wasn\u2019t denying it\u2019s existence, just disputing its aural pleasure.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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6th over: Australia 29-0 (Head 8, Weatherald 17) <\/strong>Er yeah, about that. Carse offers Weatherald width, the ball sits up, and he unloads the suitcase, buggy-whipping a cut, then a similar delivery incites him to go over the field; two fours in two balls. The response is decent, the batter pulling away at the last second when he\u2019s sure it\u2019s bouncing over and past off stump. This track looks like it might need a fuller length, which Tongue can supply, but Carse goes for teeth music again, cleansing Weatherald on the helmet \u2013 that\u2019s a third no ball \u2013 then the final one of the other is embarrassed to the cover fence for four more. He\u2019s bowled some decent deliveries, but Carse has gone for 24 off three; a sub-elite return, it\u2019s fair to say.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Jake Weatherald is struck on the helmet.<\/span> Photograph: Joel Carrett\/AAPShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a019.06 EST<\/p>\n

5th over: Australia 16-0 (Head 8, Weatherald 5) <\/strong>Weatherald’\u2019s cool with hitting the dreadful deliveries and picking up singles when he can, taking one into the on side before Archer goes around and sends Head a bumper; his are so hard to see coming. If Carse can send down a tight one next up, England can build a bit of pressure.<\/p>\n

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4th over: Australia 15-0 (Head 8, Weatherald 4) <\/strong>Why are some names so good to spoonerise; implore you to spoonerise them? In comes Crydon Barse from around, and after two decent deliveries, he offers one that\u2019s wide, sits up, and smears itself with sprinkles; Head guzzles every last bit of it, thrashing through point for four. A much better delivery follows, full of length, swinging in, aimed at the stumps, then a second no ball before two dots to finish off. Can England build some pressure? So far there\u2019ve been a few decent meteorites, but not enough consecutively.<\/p>\n

Cricket Australia on Smith\u2019s absence:<\/p>\n

Steve Smith was ruled out of the third Ashes test in Adelaide today. Over the past few days he has been feeling unwell, with symptoms including nausea and dizziness. He was assessed and monitored closely and was close to being available to play. However, given the persistence of symptoms, a decision was made not to proceed. He is being treated for a potential vestibular issue. This is something Steve has experienced intermittently in the past and is being managed accordingly. He is expected to be available for the Boxing Day test in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

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3rd over: Australia 10-0 (Head 4, Weatherald 4) <\/strong>Head shoves towards mid-off for one, then a leg-bye is followed by another single, before Weatherald misses out on a full toss. Carse looked dangerous in his opening over\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cPlural of anthems,\u201d says Tom Buckley, \u201cSurely it should be anthi?\u201d.<\/p>\n

As per the Eddie and the Hot Rods discussion, I\u2019ve not a clue, though this time I don\u2019t have the excuse that I didn\u2019t start it.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Jofra Archer steams in.<\/span> Photograph: Asanka Brendon Ratnayake\/ReutersShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a018.52 EST<\/p>\n

2nd over: Australia 7-0 (Head 2, Weatherald 4) <\/strong>Talking of being out of your element, there\u2019s something that doesn\u2019t feel right about Alastair Cook on the telly not the radio, but in the meantime, Carse is opening from the other end. I guess that\u2019s partly a seniority thing and partly Tongue is less in need of help from the ball to bowl wicket-taking deliveries. Head turns around the corner for one, then Weatherald is caught out by one that nips in, hurriedly playing it into the turf and into himself, narrowly avoiding playing on. Oooh, then a fuller one that tails even more, bouncing and clumping the batter in the gizzard, then a similar delivery that has Carse appealing \u2026 it\u2019s a no ball \u2026 then one that\u2019s over-pitched is dealt with, a bit step and a twizzle to the midwicket fence for four. We don\u2019t know how long it\u2019ll be around, but the bowlers have some help through the air here.<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a018.49 EST<\/p>\n

1st over: Australia 1-0 (Head 1, Weatherald 0) <\/strong>Two dots, then Head tips and runs for one, the only runs off the over, Archer\u2019s not quite at full pace yet, but he\u2019s not hanging about.<\/p>\n

\u201cEddie and the Hot Rods debut album, \u2018Life On The Line\u2019, started with Kim Thonger\u2019s excellent choice of \u2018Do Anything You Wanna Do\u2019,\u201d writes Timothy Sanders. \u201cHowever, the final track was \u2018Beginning Of The End\u2019. The lyric comes pessimistically to mind: It\u2019s too late, much too late, the damage is done\u2026”<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019m so out my element here I make Donnie from Big Lebowski look savvy.<\/p>\n

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Jofra Archer has the ball. <\/strong>He has to produce here, and everyone knows it. Pressure! Head to face and play\u2026<\/p>\n

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We\u2019re about ready to go, <\/strong>the England team huddling in the knowledge that their existence as a unit is on the line. Pressure!<\/p>\n

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Teams<\/h2>\n

Australia<\/strong> 1 Jake Weatherald, 2 Travis Head, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Usman Khawaja, 5 Cameron Green, 6 Alex Carey (wk), 7 Josh Inglis, 8 Pat Cummins (c), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Scott Boland.<\/p>\n

England<\/strong> 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (c), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Will Jacks, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Josh Tongue.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo if you\u2019re England,\u201d<\/strong> says Max Williams, \u201cdo you take Smith out in exchange for bowling? I guess we\u2019ll know at lunch.\u201d<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t have to think about that one: as my dad once said in assembly and as my mates never let me forget, \u201cNo, no and no.\u201d If Australia bat well, they could potentially bat England out of the match even if England bowl fairly well.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s time for Welcome to Country,<\/strong> then it\u2019ll be the anthems, the plural of which ought really to be antha.<\/p>\n

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John Williamson<\/strong> is now singing True Blue.<\/p>\n

<\/span>John Williamson sings.<\/span> Photograph: Joel Carrett\/AAPShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a018.38 EST<\/p>\n

There\u2019ll now be a moment to reflect on the Bondi murders.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/span>Australia players line up to pay tribute.<\/span> Photograph: Asanka Brendon Ratnayake\/Reuters<\/span>England players honour a moment\u2019s silence.<\/span> Photograph: Asanka Brendon Ratnayake\/Reuters<\/span>A message on the big screen reads \u2018We Stand Together\u2019.<\/span> Photograph: Robert Cianflone\/Getty ImagesShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a018.41 EST<\/p>\n

Michael Vaughan and Jason Gillespie bring out the crystal urn, then the players, who were out already, <\/strong>come out officially, it\u2019s dead exciting, to a soundtrack of 80s muzak.<\/p>\n

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Is it better going to bed with cricket or waking up to it? <\/strong>I used to prefer the former but now it\u2019s the latter, which I\u2019m only just realising is because I\u2019m old. This may also be the first time I\u2019ve done one of these without a sweet shop in my box room; it\u2019s a state of affairs, mates.<\/p>\n

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\u201cPretty sure Eddie and the Hotrods were managed by Talk Talk singer\/songwriter Mark Hollis\u2019 older brother, Ed,\u201d says Julian Rolfe<\/strong>. \u201cAnyway, HUGE day for England. Time it\u2019s time for the batters to take some responsibility. Life\u2019s what you make it, chaps, so please don\u2019t say The Party\u2019s over. Dig in. Don\u2019t Give it up so easily. For sure, It\u2019s a shame if the Ashes were to be over in the next couple of days. Ben Stokes and co … I believe in you!\u201d<\/p>\n

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Updated at\u00a018.13 EST<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hot out there, so both sides will want to rely on their spinners.<\/strong> Graeme Swann is out on the pitch for TNT, and if I had to pick an England XI of my lifetime, he\u2019s the easiest selection \u2013 not just able to hold down an end in the first innings, but to take first-innings wickets \u2013 with a bit of help from DRS.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWill England see sense and drop Pope down to six?\u201d wonders Matthew Tom.<\/strong> \u201cRoot taking responsibility at three, Brook a natural at four, Stokes allowed to bat when it\u2019s not (yet) a crisis, and Pope allowed to play without pressure of precipitating a collapse?\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019d be staggered if England took the best thing about their team and messed with it. They don\u2019t want Root going in early if they can avoid it, but more than that they know he has a strong preference, and wouldn\u2019t want to risk altering his mental equilibrium.<\/p>\n

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Stokes would\u2019ve batted, <\/strong>so consoles himself that it\u2019s good the whole team will be out there together looking to set things right. Josh Tongue brings, energy, effort and \u201cnatural wicket-taking ability\u201d, so he\u2019s looking forward to watching him bowl.<\/p>\n

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Cummins thinks it\u2019s a good wicket and a regulation Test match on the track.<\/strong> He says Smith has been ill and isn\u2019t right \u2013 so not concussed \u2013 and Khawaja comes in to bat four. Lyon is a huge asset, preparation has been great, and that is a confident man.<\/p>\n

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Australia win the toss and bat<\/h2>\n

Tails, it turns out, does sometimes fail.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Pat Cummins tosses the coin as Ben Stokes looks on.<\/span> Photograph: Gareth Copley\/Getty ImagesShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a018.08 EST<\/p>\n

Righto, time for the toss\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u201cMorning Daniel, (it\u2019s approaching 7am in Western Australia),\u201d opens Karris Evans.<\/strong> \u201cFox Cricket noted an hour ago that Smith got a head knock in training this morning, so possible concussion has ruled him out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thanks, there it is.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019ll be an interesting atmosphere in that dressing room.<\/strong> This team haven\u2019t suffered as they are now, and there\u2019s not that much experience there \u2013 there\u2019ll be doubts.<\/p>\n

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Email!<\/strong> \u201cGood evening Daniel,\u201d begins Kim Thonger. \u201cI think what England really need is just a good pre-match dance tune in the dressing room to get them fired up and this might do the trick. I saw Eddie and the Hot Rods perform Do Anything You Wanna Do at Reading Festival in August 1976. Life changing\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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Steve Smith is out of the Test<\/h2>\n

TNT make if official. By the looks of things, Usman Khawaja, who must\u2019ve wondered if he\u2019d ever play Tests again, comes in.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m really looking forward to seeing how Josh Tongue goes. <\/strong>As Steve Finn just noted, he\u2019s not bowled terribly, but it always felt that his run early in his Test career wouldn\u2019t translate to this series. And what Tongue has is the ability to bowl unplayable deliveries; whether he can avoid getting clobbered in between remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

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TNT now go with the same Smith rumour \u2013<\/strong> he didn\u2019t train on Monday, ill, but was back at it yesterday and he appears to be leaving the ground. Real talk, his absence isn\u2019t the seismic one it would\u2019ve been in the sense that he\u2019s not as reliable a scorer these days, but symbolically, he\u2019s a huge figure in the team and match-up.<\/p>\n

<\/span>Steve Smith leaves the ground ahead of play on day one.<\/span> Photograph: Gareth Copley\/Getty ImagesShare<\/p>\n

Updated at\u00a017.47 EST<\/p>\n

Thinking more about the toss,<\/strong> if Australia win the toss and bat, I\u2019d really fear for England.<\/strong> Responding to a big total feels less likely than posting one.<\/p>\n

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Cricinfo are suggesting that Steve Smith might not be playing. <\/strong>I guess we\u2019ll find out soon whether or not that\u2019s the case.<\/p>\n

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Preamble<\/h2>\n

Daniel Harris<\/span><\/p>\n

Morning everyone. Ben Stokes\u2019 side arrive at Adelaide having already experienced their very own Adelaide, the catastroexpletive of Perth rivalling the 2006 abomination for the very specific \u201cThey did what?! I feel like vomiting up my insides\u201d energy that, for England fans, feels like home.<\/p>\n

And yet, and yet, and yet. Despite the current frothing, we\u2019ve seen wonders over the last few years that have changed our conception of the possible and with it the nature of Test-match cricket, the miracles of Bazball no less inspiring now than then. Moreover, it remains the case that England\u2019s is a team full of matchwinners who may now be acclimatised to conditions; if they can get rolling, Australia will start to wonder.<\/p>\n

That \u201cif\u201d, though, is of Cameron Green proportions. With Australia already on a buzz, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon are returning to play at yet another stronghold; their opponents\u2019 total mental disintegration may be too far advanced to be aborted; and even if not, it\u2019s also possible that there\u2019s an insurmountable skill differential in the conditions that will continue to be definitive.<\/p>\n

All of which is a long-winded way of saying this could be over soon \u2026 but it absolutely isn\u2019t over yet. Go well, people.<\/p>\n

Play: 10am local, 10.30am AEDT, 11.30pm GMT<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature If England can\u2019t break the current partnership early in the session, they\u2019ll have a problem. Amazingly, it looks like the best deliveries are fullish, to hit the top of off, and the onus is on Archer to make something happen. If<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":37789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[16527,346,131,311,132,76],"class_list":{"0":"post-37788","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-ashes","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-day","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-live","13":"tag-test"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=37788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/37788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/37789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=37788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=37788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=37788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}