Nasser Hussain, who bowls with the strongest stick in England, feels that tourists should have made use of a greenish field after winning the toss in Brisbane; Sky Cricket expert says Joe Root’s duck in the middle of a 147 score has given Australia a big boost, but the hosts have vulnerabilities
Joe Root chose to hit in Brisbane, and his team was quickly torpedoed by 147
After England won 147 after choosing to hit first in Ashes’ opener, Nasser Hussain discusses Joe Root’s decision in the draw, the omissions of Stuart Broad and James Anderson, a “perfect” day for Australia and how they tourists can recover. …
It always happens in Brisbane, whether it’s me with the draw in 2002, Steve Harmison with the wide to the second slip in 2006 or, this time, Rory Burns being first pitched by Mitchell Starc.
It was a dramatic start and 147 was perfect for Australia. They had the perfect day as with the rain around they would not have wanted to go out batting for half an hour at night.
With new Australia captain Pat Cummins getting a five, including England captain Joe Root for a duck, it couldn’t have been better for Australia.
I thought Cummins rotated his bowlers well, he rotated himself well.
He knew that Root had struggled with his bowling alley over the years, so as soon as Root walked in, Cummins took Starc out of the attack and went bowling.
He put on all of his bowler hats before lunch, giving them a chance to present them on the show. He did his fields well and the capture of Australia was outstanding.
I think the best thing Cummins did was lose the pitch because both captains were going to hit. Root hit and, in the end, it turned out to be a good pitch to lose.
I thought it was a more difficult release for Root than mine in 2002, which was a devilish decision!
I think they had had a drought in Brisbane for six months and suddenly I found some moisture in the field, I had a bowl and Australia was 364-2 at the end of the first day.
Here it was a green field and it had been raining, but while everyone is focused on what the field is doing the first morning, as captain you have to think about what the field will be like on days three, four and five.
The humidity, the cracks in the field, the fact that it tends to speed up a bit. You have to think ahead.
Obviously 147 tells you it was a wrong decision with the way it moved and bounced and sometimes you can get it all mixed up. I know, I did.
You appear, you look down at a field, you see that it is green and it has rained, so what is your strongest stick?
Anyone who has watched England in the last three or four years would say that bowling is the strongest stick in England. What is the weakest suit in Australia? That’s his hitting. Sometimes you just forget about the statistics, forget about everything, look at what you have in front of you and try to make a decision.
He would have rotated Broad and Anderson throughout the series, as it takes a balanced attack to throw a wing in the first inning, but also in the second, when it gets flatter. You might need a little rhythm, a little twist
Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, James Anderson and Ollie Robinson’s one-dimensional attack on England won’t always work in Australia; although it would have worked the first day here, it would have been the ideal attack.
The problem with two aging closers, no cricket in the making and a recent injury history is that they were hesitant to make it through back-to-back test matches.
With a day at night in Adelaide below, it looks like England is saving them for that game, but I would have had one from Broad or Anderson, although I wasn’t as concerned about which one.
With England batting, there were individual errors.
Rory Burns was under pressure – he’s come out six times for a duck this year, which tends to suggest he’s a nervous starter.
When you’re nervous, your worst technical failure is exaggerated and your worst technical failure is that your front foot leans too far offside.
If you freeze him when Starc threw that ball, his foot was far to the other side. Australia had done their homework and Starc knew it was the way to go for Burns.
