ASHES NOTEBOOK: Australia’s Leeds-born sub fielder Josh Inglis stays true to his roots on a first day forget for the Umpires at Edgbaston while Mitch Marsh makes cheeky decoy run
- England made 393-8 on day one of the Ashes, with Australia 14/0 in response
- Australia’s Leeds-born sub fielder misfielded off Pat Cummins before lunch
- The Umpires had a poor first day, with three incorrect decisions at Edgbaston
English substitute fielders have a notoriety in Ashes cricket courtesy of Gary Pratt’s beautiful run out of Ricky Ponting back in 2005, which so riled the then Aussie skipper.
Australia brought on one themselves on Friday in the shape of Josh Inglis, their reserve keeper who emigrated Down Under six weeks shy of his 15th birthday.
But the impact of the Coventry City-supporting, Leeds-born former Yorkshire youth player was at the other end of the scale: a misfield at fine leg allowed Zak Crawley to come back for two off Pat Cummins in the 17th over.
Maybe Inglis is still true to his roots… Inglis by name, English by nature!
Australia’s Leeds-born sub-fielder Josh Inglis misfielded during the first day of the Ashes
It was a bad day for the Umpires, as Zak Crawley gloved a ball from Scott Boland through to the keeper but was given not out on-field (the decision was overturned by DRS)
Umpires Marais Erasmus (pictured) and Ahsan Raza got three big decisions wrong, while Zak Crawley edges another chance that no one noticed
DRS saves Umpires’ blushes
The umpires had a day to forget with three major errors which DRS had to sort out.
17.6 overs Ollie Pope misses a Nathan Lyon delivery. It looks a close lbw but umpire Ahsan Raza says no. Pat Cummins reviews and it’s hitting leg stump.
26.4 A snorter from Scott Boland clips Zak Crawley’s glove and the Aussies go up, but Marais Erasmus is unmoved. Review shows clear contact.
49.4 Joe Root tries a reverse sweep and is hit on the pad bang in front. It’s given out by Raza but Root reviews and the replay shows it hit glove first.
PS: 15.2 No one spotted this one! Crawley, on 41, wafts at a wide one with no appeals.
But there’s a big grin on Crawley’s face and a replay shows why — there’s a clear spike on replay as ball passes bat.
Did TV give away Masterplan?
TV Viewers were alarmed yesterday that messages on a whiteboard behind Moeen Ali in the England dressing room may hae been the scribbled secrets of Bazball and were being divulged to the Aussie camp.
Don’t panic. They weren’t Brendon McCullum’s gems, just good luck messages from ECB staff. Phew!
Eagle-eyed fans watching Sky Sports’ TV coverage spotted a board full of messages, prompting concerns it may have been a secret game plan
It was in fact a giant good luck card sent in for England ahead of the first Ashes Test
No space for pricey Starc
Mitchell Starc was the odd man out among the pace bowlers as Australia copied England’s decision to leave out their fastest bowler in Mark Wood.
Starc’s extra pace and fuller length have been turned against him by an England team at Edgbaston before — when they took 50 off his first five overs in a romp to victory in the World Cup semi-final of 2019.
And his record of 33 wickets at an average of 31.27 in nine Tests in the UK is inferior to his overall career mark of 310 at 27.64.
Marsh makes late decoy run
The sight of Mitchell Marsh marking his run-up in the hour before the toss triggered numerous theories regarding a funky Ashes team selection.
Durham’s Australian coach Ryan Campbell recently suggested his countrymen should field Marsh as a second all-rounder to provide them with extra bowling options to combat England’s attacking batting.
Mitchell Starc was left out after an expensive outing at Edgbaston during the 2019 World Cup semi final
Mitchell Marsh was seen marking his run-up before the start of play, but the surprise pick did not materialise
However, a surprise call to rival that of the introduction of rookie left-armer Mike Whitney in the 1981 Ashes did not materialise, and it became clear at lunch that it was the fitness of Cameron Green rather than a tactical change that was behind Marsh’s flurry of morning activity.
Green has had back problems in the past but declared his fitness before Pat Cummins confirmed the XI at the toss.
While debate was raging over whether Bazball had paid off at Edgbaston, Bazball failed to pay out at York.
The two-year-old Irish filly finished fourth and outside the places in the 2.25pm — just as the ball looped off Harry Brook’s pads and spun back into his stumps.
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