Australia ended the second day of the fifth Ashes Test match 12 runs ahead of England after the home side bowled the tourists out for 259.
It was a day filled with talking points with Stuart Broad displaying some extra-ordinary mind games, swapping Marnus Labuschagne’s bails around before the Glamorgan batsman was dismissed.
Meanwhile Steve Smith narrowly escaped a controversial run out that saw England fielder George Ealham and Jonny Bairstow combine to stump him.
On a review, third umpire Nitin Menon found that the former Australian captain was not out, but he was dismissed not long afterwards for 71 runs, after clipping a top edge from Chris Woakes over his stumps, with Bairstow retreating to take the catch and dismiss him.
With the Test now effectively poised for a one-innings shootout, Mail Sport brings you all the things you may have missed from day two at the Oval
Mark Wood (pictured) is set to miss out on the Hundred this August and will be rested by England ahead of the World Cup later this year
Wood (pictured) is England’s only pace bowler and while they are looking to protect him but it will be a blow for the Hundred, with Olly Stone also being ruled out with a hamstring injury
Ben Stokes (pictured) is also likely to miss the limited-overs tournament as he seeks medical advice over a long-term knee injury
Wood set to miss the Hundred
Mark Wood is to sit out the Hundred as England look to protect their only fit express pace bowler in the build-up to October’s World Cup.
The news will be a blow for the ECB’s premier limited-overs competition and London Spirit in particular, who have also lost Olly Stone to a hamstring injury this week, but highlights the importance of Wood across all three international formats.
The 32-year-old has played three Ashes Tests in a row and will therefore be invited to put his feet up ahead of England’s white-ball commitments versus New Zealand at the end of August, a period of matches to prepare for England’s 50-over title defence on the subcontinent.
England will make an official decision on the participation of their Test players this weekend, but Ben Stokes is unlikely to play any matches as he seeks medical advice on his long-term knee injury while Moeen Ali’s groin problem is set to cull his involvement.
When the ECB launched their 100-ball tournament three years ago, the participation of England players was at the heart of their marketing campaign.
But Harry Brook is in a very limited group of current Test cricketers who have declared themselves available in principle from the opening match.
And the general lack of English star dust follows the withdrawals of Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh by Cricket Australia.
Mind games
Stuart Broad’s rearranging of the bails at the batsman’s end was immediately followed by Marnus Labuschagne’s slice to slip.
The mind games appeared to be playing on Labuschagne’s old habit of touching the bails at the end of each over – and might just have worked on this occasion.
His quirky nature meant he switched the colour of his bat grips between white, black and salmon pink when struggling for runs on this tour and finally settled on green when he rediscovered form in Manchester.
Surrey brothers take centre stage
Moeen’s injury led to Surrey brothers George and Tom Ealham being employed as substitute fielders for periods of Australia’s first innings.
The pair are the sons of ex-England all-rounder Mark Ealham, who plied his trade at Kent before finishing his career at Nottinghamshire.
And George was the thrower in the contentious run out decision that saw Steve Smith survive in yesterday’s evening session.
Stuart Broad (pictured) was playing mind games today, swapping Marnus Labuschagne’s bails around
Broad (bottom right) was seen fiddling with the wicket before the Glamorgan batter was dismissed
Meanwhile George Ealham (second from right) a substitute fielder, combined with Jonny Bairstow to catch Steve Smith off guard and almost dismiss the Australian batsman
Brook puts ECB management at ease
The ECB management were reassured by Yorkshire batter Brook stating this week that he would be happy to sign a multi-year central contract such is his commitment to the England cause.
Brook, who remains on a £58,000-a-year incremental deal until October, will be one of the trailblazers of hugely inflated wages for England cricketers, with the ECB accepting that private investment will be required to set up a new payment structure capable of countering the threat of global Twenty20 tournaments.
England’s Australian coaches watch on
England’s Australian coaches new and old watched on from the JM Finn roof terrace yesterday.
White-ball coach Matthew Mott, dormant since the spring tour of Bangladesh, was alongside predecessor Trevor Bayliss who is back here coaching London Spirit in the Hundred.
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