Frustrating Australian Tail Leaves Hosts Short on Time: An England Cricket Woes Blog Post

 

Australia's lower-order batsmen displayed some late resistance on the first day of the fourth Ashes test at Old Trafford, frustrating England as the tourists reached 299-8 by the close of play on Wednesday.

With Australia leading 2-1 in the five-match series, England must secure a victory in Manchester to prevent their long-standing rivals from retaining the Ashes. However, with unfavorable weather forecasted for the weekend, England might need a quick success.

As has been the pattern throughout the series, momentum swung back and forth on Wednesday, with Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, and Mitchell Marsh all looking set for significant scores before England managed to halt their progress.

With Australia at seven wickets down and only an hour and a half left in the day, England hoped to add more runs to their tally before the close, but they could only take one more wicket.

Stuart Broad claimed two Australian wickets, reaching 600 wickets in test cricket, while James Anderson, making his return to the England side, along with the rest of the team, was left frustrated.

Labuschagne said, "Anything with a three in front of it is alright. Given how many guys got themselves in, we are slightly disappointed with nobody converting it into a big score. I think the ball will be more in England's court. They need to win this test match to stay alive, so they'll definitely show more intent at times. They don't need to do it every ball, but with the forecasted rain, that might be their approach."

ANDERSON'S DISAPPOINTMENT:

All eyes were on the veteran local hero Anderson as he replaced Ollie Robinson, and it was Broad, another of England's experienced players, who opened the bowling. Broad dismissed Usman Khawaja, the leading run-scorer in the series, in the fifth over, claiming his 599th wicket. Chris Woakes later dismissed David Warner after the opener had made 32.

England faced frustration from Steve Smith, who seemed poised for a big score, but a spirited spell by Mark Wood resulted in Smith's dismissal for 41 just after lunch. Labuschagne reached his first half-century of the series, only to be trapped lbw by Moeen Ali for one more run. Travis Head also fell quickly, giving Broad his milestone wicket.

Mitchell Marsh, who scored a remarkable century at Headingley two weeks ago, swiftly reached his half-century, but Woakes struck twice in the same over. First, he got Cameron Green lbw, and then he induced an edge from Marsh, with wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow taking a superb one-handed catch.

Woakes claimed his fourth victim in the form of Alex Carey, who took his time to reach 20. However, Mitchell Starc remained unbeaten on 23 from 70 balls and will resume alongside his skipper Pat Cummins on Thursday, hoping to delay England's first innings.

Broad expressed his satisfaction with reaching 600 wickets and taking the milestone wicket from the James Anderson End. He also mentioned that their team's trademark has been to bowl first and set up wins. The aim is to secure the first innings lead and set up a chase, although the possibility of rain over the weekend remains uncertain.