This perplexed Alastair Cook, as the former England captain described the Australians’ approach as not their typical belligerent brand of cricket.
Fans anticipated how England’s ‘Bazball’ strategy would fare against Australia’s formidable bowling unit in the Ashes. Australia entered the first Test as World Test Champions after defeating India in last week’s final at the Oval. After England won the toss and elected to bat on Day 1, Australia’s captain, Pat Cummins, set up defensive fields immediately. Even as new batters entered the game, Cummins preferred to retain fielders in the outfield to prevent home runs. He believes that the visitors should have invited England’s ‘Bazball’ style, as it also poses a danger of losing wickets.
“It is not very Australian. On the BBC’s Test Match Special, the 38-year-old stated, “They normally fight fire with fire.”
Ricky Ponting, who was arguably the most aggressive captain of his era, could not comprehend the logic behind having sweepers on both sides of the pitch when new batters entered the batter’s box.
The former Australian captain remarked on the setting, “I’ve never seen Australia with four men on the boundary.”
Kevin Pietersen, a former England batter, appeared to be quite dissatisfied with the manner in which Pat Cummins deployed fielders. Notably, even for new batters at the crease, Australia persisted in keeping them quiet by nudging around rather than attempting to hit boundaries while fielders were in position. Therefore, according to Pieterson, the visitors immediately resorted to plan B without even attempting to adhere to plan A.
“Australia has made a mistake, but it’s excellent for England that Australia is so defensive. On the first morning of an Ashes series, I would have expected Pat Cummins to say, “OK, England, give it a shot.” We do not object. Hit us for six fours. A few sixes are no issue. Then we will proceed to plan B,” said Pietersen.
“I believe they went directly to plan B.”
Australia began cautiously, but Broad struck twice after England’s early declaration on Day 1
After Ben Stokes elected to bat first, England tallied quickly to reach 393/8 in a mere 78 overs. Joe Root excelled with the bat, amassing 118 runs unbeaten off 152 deliveries. Additionally, Zak Crawley and Jonny Bairstow scored fluent half-centuries. Stokes boldly proclaimed that their bowlers would face the Australian batters for four overs.
David Warner and Usman Khawaja navigated the difficult phase as Australia reached 14/0 in four overs at the end of the day. James Anderson did not receive the new ball, as Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson each delivered two overs. However, on the second day, after a cautious start, Stuart Broad dismissed Warner and Marnus Labuschagne to keep the home team in contention, despite an early declaration on the first day. Australia’s current score is 43.2 after 17 overs.
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