Ashes 2021-22: Follow all the live action from the second day of the Adelaide Test

Michael Neser’s teammates couldn’t hide their delight when he struck with just his second ball. And in wild scenes, the race was on to get to him first.

Only the lightning could save England from total humiliation.

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Michael Neser waited three years to receive his baggy green but only two balls to strike gold.

The invisible man of Australian cricket since he made his first touring squad in late 2018, Neser finally took centre stage after 16 Tests as a reserve and lit up the Adelaide night sky more spectacularly than the lightning strike that ultimately saved England from further humiliation.

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After Steve Smith nailed his cameo return to the Test captaincy with a brilliant 93 and a perfectly orchestrated declaration at 9-473 as the night set in, Mitchell Starc dispatched bunny Rory Burns before Neser snared his maiden Test wicket in his very first over to leave England reeling at 2-17.

Last week in Brisbane, with the captaincy taking Pat Cummins to field at mid-off rather than fine leg, it was Neser playing the tireless and unselfish role he’s become so accustomed to running out after every over with a towel.

 

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But Cummins’ bad luck was the opportunity Neser deserved and the sight of Queensland teammates Mitchell Swepson and Usman Khawaja sprinting out to join a jubilant Australian huddle gave the popular team man described by Justin Langer as “the heartbeat” a moment he can savour forever.

“I think you saw Mitchell Swepson got to the huddle before some of the people on the field,” said another Queenslander, Marnus Labuschagne, who was beaming pride more for Neser than his own maiden Ashes hundred.

“We were all so happy for him. What he’s done for the last four years in Shield cricket, averaging something like 19 with the ball – he’s just worked so hard.

“I’ve obviously spent a lot of time with him, we’re very, very good mates and it was so exciting to see him take that first one – which can be the hardest one.

“I think this wicket really suits his bowling.”

Only the lightning could save England from total humiliation.

It took a stunning lightning strike hitting Adelaide Oval to stop Neser, who before taking the ball had smashed 35 off 24 balls including a six to showcase further what an all-round package he is.

England were saved from having to get through another 40 minutes of play under lights – their first piece of good fortune all tour – but Neser had already made his mark as Haseeb Hameed bunted his second ball to Starc at mid-off.

Fox Cricket expert Kerry O’Keeffe perfectly summed up the Neser fairytale.

“When you do your time as Michael Neser has done and you wait for your chance, it’s the dream to get it in your first over and that was the exultation that everybody shared with him,” O’Keeffe said on Fox.

“He’d done the yards, he’d been 12th man. By chance the captain was at a restaurant where there was a COVID positive, and he was in.

“(Before that) Richardson was promoted ahead of him. Everything says I’m not going to play and suddenly he’s playing and he’s struck in the first over.”

Steve Smith just fell short of three figures.

Labuschagne had been stealing Smith’s thunder, but no more, as the duo proved the one-two punched that kept England on the Ashes canvas.

The man who claims he’s at his best when Australia needs him was feeling that vibe at Adelaide Oval on Friday night, despite the fact Labuschagne had already preceded him with a gutsy 103 off 305 balls.

Steeled by a return to the Test captaincy and the chance to bat England out of the series, Smith rediscovered his mojo in a trademark innings that catapulted him further into the Ashes history books as the sixth highest ever run-scorer and returned him to his normal billing as the main show.

Smith admitted in the lead-up to the summer that his superhuman qualities as a batsman tended to come to the fore when his team was on the ropes – somewhat problematic when Labuschagne’s extraordinary consistency at No.3 has resulted in him leapfrogging Smith on the world rankings.

Labuschagne now averages an incredible 102 in the 14 first innings’ he has played since replacing Smith as a concussion substitute in the famous 2019 Ashes Test at Lord’s.

The only downside with Labuschagne’s meteoric rise has been it’s coincided with Smith’s return to the numbers of a normal Test batsman, but that changed in Adelaide on day two as Australia discovered what can happen when they fire from all cylinders.

The big three of David Warner (95), Labuschagne (103) and Smith all dominated the scoreboard in unison, but Smith followed Warner in falling despairingly in the 90s.

A Marnus Labuschagne century put the Aussies in a dominant position on day two.

Originally published as Ashes 2021-22: Follow all the live action from the second day of the Adelaide Test

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