Tense Australia regret follow-on call
Home camp concede they may have erred as England need 178 more runs to win in Adelaide
Australia may have erred in not enforcing the follow-on and allowing England back into the game in the fluctuating second Ashes Test, team bowling coach David Saker acknowledged yesterday.
Captain Steve Smith’s team dismissed England for 227 on Monday but decided against sending them back in to bat despite holding a 215-run first innings lead.
The tourists skittled out the Australians for 138, leaving them with a chance of chasing down a record 354-run victory target in the final five sessions of play in Adelaide.
At close, England were 176-4 with Joe Root unconquered on 67 and nightwatchman Chris Woakes not out on five – 178 runs from victory with six wickets in hand when they return to the field today.
“Steven has obviously made the decision that he felt the guys had bowled enough,” Saker told reporters.
“In hindsight, we didn’t get an opportunity to bowl with the new ball under the lights – that was our chance.
“Maybe we got it wrong. At the end of the Test match we will review that.
“But if we come out of this winning the game, which I still think we will, you can say it was justified in some way.”
Smith did not consult his bowlers before deciding against enforcing the follow-on. “He is obviously frustrated at what has happened but I don’t think he is really ruing the decision,” Saker said.
Heightening Australia’s dark mood, they lost both of their reviews during England’s run chase and will not have the option of appealing on-field decisions to the TV umpire on the final day.
“We got it wrong today without a doubt,” Saker said of the use of the review system.
“It’s frustrating to not have any in the bank coming into the last day, that is for sure.
“I think we’re still reasonably confident. Obviously the last two days haven’t quite gone according to plan.
“We still think we’re in front. Get a wicket in the morning and I think the game changes quite quickly.”
Meanwhile, England need to turn up with belief today if they are to stage a stunning comeback victory to level the series, James Anderson said on behalf of the visitors.
Anderson sparked a remarkable rally with his first five-wicket haul in Australia to give the tourists an unexpected chance at levelling the series after they lost the first Test in Brisbane last week.
The highest successful fourth-innings run chase at Adelaide Oval was the 315 that England tallied in 1902, however, and Anderson conceded there was plenty of hard work to do yet.
“We’re going to turn up tomorrow with the same sort of attitude we had today,” he said.
“With the hunger, the real fight to get back in the series and see where it gets us.
“Hopefully, it can get us somewhere near.
“There are no gremlins in the pitch and it’s pretty good to bat on. There’s nothing to fear in terms of the pitch deteriorating. It’s just a case tomorrow of coming out with belief.
“We’ve got to believe we can do it and we’ve got the players in the dressing room that can do it.
“Obviously, we’ll need a bit of luck along the way but we’ll give it a good go.”
Anderson said the tourists, beaten by 10 wickets in Brisbane, had been desperate to put on a good show after their early disappointments in Adelaide.
“We were really annoyed with the way we played the first couple of days,” he added.
“We didn’t do ourselves justice in those first two innings with the ball and the bat. We wanted to show that we do have good character in our team and can get back into games by fighting hard and playing well.”
A victory to even up the fivematch series at 1-1 with three to play could have a big impact on the destination of the Ashes.
“It would be huge for us, both in terms of what it would do for our confidence as a team and what it would potentially mean for them,” Anderson said.
“It’s very rare for a team to declare and go on to lose, so if we get a result tomorrow, it would be huge for a number of reasons.”