England’s High Risk Approach Lets Australia Off The Hook In Cricket’s Biggest Series

Just before Australia’s best batter Steve Smith entered the hallowed turf of Lord’s – cricket’s most famous and beloved ground in Westminster, London, – he stopped, faced the terraces and closed his eyes.

The robotic batter, who resembles something like a brick wall for beleaguered bowlers, momentarily embraced his surroundings with the opening day of Lord’s one of cricket’s grandest occasions. Particularly heightened amid Ashes fever on the back of Australia’s remarkable first Test triumph in Edgbaston.

Lord’s has proved a happy hunting ground for Smith after some early struggles – it is where he scored his first double century and he engaged in a particularly visceral battle with fiery England quick Jofra Archer four years ago.

In what might prove his last Test match at the venue, Smith was digesting the occasion but it wasn’t time to get emotional. Australia had an opportunity to gain a stranglehold over England who had so far been playing within themselves in a far cry from their newfound much hyped-macho playing style dubbed ‘Bazball’.

From the first ball, Smith looked irresistible and he flew to 24 from 15 deliveries as if ‘Bazball’ had been hooked into his veins.

Sometimes Smith, such a perfectionist at the crease, looks a bit manic early due to his unusual technique, but he was fluent here resembling the imperious batter from his peak years before his one-year suspension for his role in the sandpaper scandal.

When he’s in this groove, Smith is basically a lock for a century and that played out against an uninspired England attack lacking pace and hostility.

Even captain Ben Stokes’ captaincy, so full of verve in Edgbaston marked by inventive and highly-aggressive field placings, appeared sedate and almost, dare we say, conservative – a taboo word in these parts now.

They improved early on day two to stay afloat, but their batters played with none of the surety of Smith. England had actually started well – the way ‘Bazball’ really should be adopted; aggressive but smart cricket.

Openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley hustled singles and preyed on loose deliveries in a confident start to make inroads into Australia’s sizeable first innings.

England were storming back into the contest before the series seemingly turned when veteran spinner Nathan Lyon injured a calf in the field in what will likely rule him out for the remainder of the match and possibly the rest of the series.

It was a cruel twist for Lyon, who was playing his 100th consecutive Test – the first bowler to do so. The star off-spinner, who was closing in on 500 Test wickets, was the major point of difference between powerhouse teams otherwise similarly matched.

With Lyon sidelined, England had a major opportunity to grab the contest by the scruff of the neck in good batting conditions and make Australia’s shorthanded attack work.

Needing a spark, Australia resorted to a short-ball attack and England just couldn’t resist the bait. Duckett, just two short of a century, Ollie Pope and Joe Root all succumbed to ill-advised cross-bat shots as England seemingly couldn’t check their egos.

Harry Brook was fortunate he too wasn’t dismissed as he continuously tried to slug the ball baseball style. Having earlier this year trained with the St Louis Cardinals and sporting a MLB sticker on his bat, Brook seemed to be auditioning for a Major League contract in some of the most astounding batting ever seen on this staid ground.

The ham-fisted batting brought Australia right back into the contest only for Stokes to play against type and bat cautiously before stumps to ensure the match is on a knife’s edge.

A lot has been made of ‘Bazball’ but day two saw the best and worst of this ultra-aggressive style of play that has been viewed as upending the five -day format. They showed early in their innings and before stumps that not every delivery has to be thumped into the terraces; England can be aggressive without being reckless.

It’s a fine line England have been straddling since adopting ‘Bazball’ and how they fare for the remainder of the Test match might determined its fate.