Boland and Murphy struggle for impact, as England stay alive in yet another cliffhanger
Andrew McGlashan09-Jul-2023The margins of this series have been so tight that as Mitchell Starc, who had an outstanding Test at Headingley, ran in to bowl at England’s lower order, it was still possible to envisage him winning the game with three yorkers.Instead, Mark Wood played probably the shot of his career as he drilled a cover drive towards the Western Terrace. England suddenly needed seven to win. That shot was followed by a wide and a two out to deep point. Four to win.Then Wood got a top-edge that flew towards deep third. It looked like Scott Boland’s catch coming off the rope but Alex Carey – who has had an interesting couple of weeks but has been largely faultless with the gloves all series – ran after it, dived and couldn’t quite get there.By the standards that had preceded them, therefore, the countdown for those final three runs was almost sedate, although Woakes’ square-drive for the winning boundary – to the opposite side of the ground from Ben Stokes’ famous cut for four four years ago – sent the crowd into familiar scenes of delirium.Having come out on the right side of close finishes in the first two Tests, this time it went against Australia. As with Edgbaston and Lord’s there were so many moments, and small passages of play, that can be picked out as making the difference, but ultimately two had a huge bearing on Australia not quite having enough runs to play with.They had reduced England 142 for 7 at lunch on the second day but then leaked 95 runs in the next 10 overs. Then, batting under sunshine that evening, Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith managed to hand their wickets to Moeen Ali when Australia’s lead was approaching 100. Conditions were tricky for batters throughout, on what was a top-notch Test surface, but with Usman Khawaja also being extracted in that period, it meant Australia were four-down when play eventually resumed under leaden skies on the third evening.Mitchell Starc trapped Ben Duckett lbw early on day four•AFP/Getty Images”Mitch [Marsh] got us back in the game and Travis [Head],” Pat Cummins said. “Then we lost 6 for 20. The next day their tail put on a good partnership with Stokes. Then [we were] ahead of the game batting on in sunlight on day two and probably missed that opportunity. [We had] various opportunities, but another great Test match.”In the end 251 was something to play with and, at times, it looked like it could be enough, especially when Joe Root and Ben Stokes both fell to leg-side catches and Jonny Bairstow dragged on to a big drive. But this time England did not need their heroic captain to get them over the line.When reviewing Australia’s overall performance, one element that stands out is how much they leant on Starc and Pat Cummins in the attack. England tend not to bat for long, but they bowled 63 of the 102 overs that Australia sent down in the match, taking 14 of the 17 wickets.Mitchell Marsh was handy with the ball on his Test return after his spectacular century on the first day, but Australia’s attack did not have the depth of earlier in the series. They overcame Nathan Lyon’s absence at Lord’s but here it felt very significant on the final day. Todd Murphy was given one over before lunch then another with 30 runs needed; it’s hard to believe that Lyon would not have had a more central role, even in conditions favouring the quicks.Murphy is a fine young spin bowler who should have a long career, but when Lyon’s calf went on the second after at Lord’s it felt like a major moment in the series. It could still be.”[It was] mainly just conditions-based,” Cummins said of Murphy’s lack of overs. “Didn’t quite spin as much as we thought it would. And [we] probably didn’t bowl as many overs as we thought we would as well. We bowled under 60 both innings. I would have liked to get Toddy into the game a bit more. But I’m sure next week in Manchester will be a bit more spin-friendly.”Related
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Allied to that was Scott Boland’s wicketless match, with England’s batters once again scoring relatively freely from him, albeit not at the rate of Edgbaston where he went at nearly six-an-over. He has often bowled better than his figures suggest but being able to largely nullify Boland – except for the evening session under clouds at Edgbaston – has been one of England’s successes. His series now reads 2 for 231 from 47 overs, a far cry from his 18 wickets at 9.55 in the 2021-22 Ashes.Josh Hazlewood was rotated out for this match and he would likely have been a handful on this surface. As the runs required dipped into the 40s, Cummins gave Marsh another brief spell after he’d been effective after a ball-change earlier in the innings while Murphy’s one-over return cost seven. Once again, it was all on Cummins and Starc.The pair combined for Harry Brook’s wicket although there was almost a collision in the covers as both converged on the big top-edge. At that point 21 runs were still needed as Wood walked out to join Woakes. Two balls into the next over, Murphy pulled off a spectacular save at deep square leg, palming the back inside the field to Labuschagne while mid-air. Four runs conceded became one.Given the way this series has played out, it was the sort of moment that, even then, might have made the difference. But off the next ball Wood hooked Cummins for six. This time it was England who had enough.As in 2019, Australia came to Headingley knowing a win would retain the Ashes. This time it would also have given them a first series win in England since 2001. They have two more chances. For now history remains on their side, but they will hope they don’t look back on this as their missed opportunity.
