DIVE, DIVE , DIVE!
Rory Burns’ failure to go flat out to save his wicket illustrates England’s lack of desire
ON THIS Ashes tour it has all become so depressingly familiar.
When England bat first they post something that the Aussies cruise past, and when England bowl first they concede a score that their batsmen can’t get anywhere near.
So for the fifth time out of five, England coughed up a huge first innings lead to the home side, this time 115 before it was extended to 152 by the close of day two.
No England batsman made more than Chris Woakes’ 36, and he was dropped twice including a simple chance at slip from his very first ball.
This was another day of pure torture for England fans who might have hoped against all hope that their batsmen might just find one final push at a decent first innings score and cross the 300 rubicon at least once this series.
Alas no, with just 188 on the board, that remains a pipe dream thanks to the relentless excellence of Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, not to mention the self immolating qualities of England’s batters.
And nothing says kamikaze better than the direct hit run out that accounted for Rory Burns when he was yet to score.
Zak Crawley pushed the ball into the off side and set off, but Burns failed narrowly to beat
Marnus Labuschagne’s throw.
The fact he didn’t get the dive out when it was so close was curious. Maybe he didn’t have the game sense to realise it was tight, or he just didn’t have the desperation for the situation or for his career to dive forward.
Either way it leaves his career hanging by a thread with a decent second innings score now simply a must, and former Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting was decidedly unimpressed with what he saw.
“There had to be more desperation there from Burns,” said Ponting. “He’s back into the side and fighting for his Test career. And he’s not willing to put in a big dive to try and save his wicket.”
But Burns wasn’t the only player to earn the ire of the favourite son of Tasmania with an Ashes Test on his former home ground for the first time ever.
The rest of the batsmen again failed to make the most of the conditions.
Clear blue skies and a pitch that had settled down to provide decent bounce and carry that allowed shots to be played when bowlers strayed.
But somehow England found a way to lose four wickets for just 32 runs in a middle order collapse that left Woakes and debutant Sam Billings with a job to do at 110-6.
And the dismissal of Ollie Pope for 14, fiddling at a ball outside off stump was enough to get Ponting riled again.
“That was poor batting,” he added. That was just an absolutely nothing shot.
“Ollie Pope you can shake your head as much as you like, but that’s your mistake. He’s fallen into a simple trap.”
At least Billings provided some energy and cricketing basics in his 29 before being caught on the boundary hooking Cam Green.
And when Australia came to bat again Stuart Broad couldn’t hide his delight at dismissing David Warner for a second duck in the match thanks to a brilliant Pope catch at point.