ENGLAND SKITTLED BY BLOND AUSSIE LEG SPINNER
(Does that sound familiar?)
Long gone are the days when Australia would eagerly throw their strongest available teams at England at the start of the biggest tour of all in a bid to unsettle the old enemy before the Ashes. This was completely different.
The first day of England’s second warm-up game at the Adelaide oval was a gentle, uninspiring and quite possibly futile affair as far removed from the hostilities to come at the gabba later this month as it is possible to be.
There was something of a blast from the past in a blond legspinner wreaking havoc on an England batting line-up — but any similarities between Shane Warne and 21-year-old debutant Dan Fallins were purely incidental.
More worryingly, the first day of this day-night game was a tale of England giving away their wickets against a Cricket Australia XI attack that was barely of county standard let alone like what they will face in the first Test in Brisbane. There was not even the consolation for England of the top four of Alastair Cook, Mark Stoneman, James Vince and Joe Root gaining any practice under the Adelaide floodlights that will shine down on the second Test next month.
All were gone before the ‘dinner’ break, which is substituting for tea here, when the lights came on and the twilight zone encouraged the pink ball, in theory at least, to zip around more than in the first two sessions.
In practice the home attack was dominated by spin, which not only negated the effect of lights but also ensured England had no opportunity to get any sort of meaningful practice with the first day of the Ashes series in Brisbane looming into view.
When the home side did turn to seam and the second new ball, England could not deal with the extra zip on a slow drop-in pitch, three late wickets falling for just seven to leave them at a far from impressive 278 for eight at the close.
‘ We’re a fraction disappointed,’ said Stoneman, who has looked England’s best batsman so far on tour. ‘Some of the dismissals were on the sloppy side and it was frustrating that a couple of us couldn’t go on to get hundreds.’
It was the slow bowler who did the early damage to England, Fallins claiming three of that top four and completing his memorable day by adding a fourth victim, Jonny Bairstow . . . even though he bowled as many bad balls as good.
Fallins is clearly a confident young man and greeted his wickets with what is apparently his trademark ‘double dab’ celebration even though two were gained with full tosses, one with a long hop and the other with a loose ball.
‘I got a bit lucky at times with a couple of full bunger wickets but hopefully I bowled enough good balls to deserve that,’ said Fallins, who had never played at the Adelaide oval before.
‘My celebration came from a few of my mates mucking around.
‘I did it in grade cricket and I thought I would carry it through. I’ve come this far so I might have to continue with it now!’
Vince will be kicking himself after he effectively yorked himself off a Fallins full toss while Stoneman was the victim of a terrific catch at mid-wicket by Jake Carder as he tried to smash another full toss for four.
Root, as is his wont, fell after joining Stoneman in making a halfcentury but again failing to convert it to three figures, slogging a rank delivery to mid- off and cursing to himself as he left this famous old ground. It was the long hop that did for Bairstow but, to be fair to Fallins, who has been compared to Stuart Macgill by greg Chappell for the way he gives the ball a rip, he did put more pace on a ball that also kept a little low.
This all came after Cook, worryingly for England, had again fallen cheaply, nibbling at the medium pace of Jackson Coleman for 15 to follow his second-ball duck in Perth. The former captain really could do with some time at the crease.
At least one issue has now been cleared up and Dawid Malan looks certain to bat at five in Brisbane after his second half- century in consecutive innings. He is ahead of the only other candidate for the role, gary Ballance.
Malan batted as well as anybody yesterday to top score with 63 off 128 balls before giving it away off what became the last ball of the day. It took a good one from Coleman to prise Chris Woakes away from the crease after a stand of 76 with Malan but Craig overton was another to give it away on what was ultimately a disappointing day for England.
But how much relevance it all has to the bigger picture remains to be seen.
‘It’s something to be aware of in terms of mindset and your processes when we step up,’ said Stoneman on the quality of the attack compared to Australia’s real one.
‘But this is a step up compared to Perth. All the work we are doing is geared towards that first Test.’
They have a long way to go, at least with the bat, before they are ready for that.