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.
RECAP ALL THE DAY TWO ACTION IN THE BLOG BELOW
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.”
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.”
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.
Updates
Well, we predicted fireworks from this final session – and it more than delivered, even finishing with a lightning storm which forced players from the field.
And lightning struck twice for the Aussies in the opening overs of England's innings, with Mitchell Starc and then Michael Neser, in his first Test over, removing both openers to rock the tourists in a brutal final session.
Starc struck inside his first 10 deliveries for the 14th time in his career when he had Rory Burns (4) fending nervously at a good length ball – with Steve Smith taking a simple catch at second slip.
Then Neser joined the party – having slapped England around with a brilliant cameo as Australia's tail wagged to post 9(dec)-473 – dismissing Haseeb Hameed with just his second ball in Test cricket.
Hameed chipped a full delivery to Starc at mid-on, leaving England in disarray.
When the weather gods intervened, England were 2-17 – and thanking their lucky stars that mother nature came to their rescue in a terrifying end to the session.
Australia's total was built around a sixth Test century from Marnus Labuschagne (103) and a return to form from Steve Smith (93), and a maiden Test half-century to Alex Carey (41), as well as David Warner's day-one 95, before Starc (39) and Neser (35) teed off.
England will resume early tomorrow still trailing Australia's total by 456 – and with Joe Root and Dawid Malan with an enormous task in front of them, while Australia will absolutely have their tails up.
Please join us then for some more pink-ball madness!
And they're off!
A massive bolt of lightning flashes over Adelaide Oval, with Dawid Malan flustered as it hits while Neser sends down a delivery.
It looks like there could be some rain coming, but it's entirely possible they are going off for safety reasons – given how close the lightning was to the ground.
With just 14 minutes to go until the end of the scheduled close of play, the umpires have called an early stumps.
Second ball in Test wicket, first scalp for Michael Neser.
His debut was a long time coming, so he wasn't going to wait around to make an impact.
What a special debut this is turning out to be for Michael Neser!
He picks up a wicket in his first over – with Hameed chipping a full delivery to Mitchell Starc at mid-on.
And they are great scenes with the Australian team running in to celebrate the debutant.
This is a flat-out disaster for England, who are 2-12 having spent five and a bit sessions in the field watching Australia bash out a first-innings total of nearly 500.
The wheels could fall off very quickly here, with another hour still to play. Joe Root comes to the crease with a monstrous task ahead of him.
Oh good lord – Root's second ball, Neser digs it in a bit shorter and the England captain gets a thick edge… but it drops short of Steve Smith. Soft hands from Root saves him, as the rain starts to get a bit heavier.
The umpires convene, but play continues.
Everything has gone to plan for Australia today, but there could be one little hiccup about to hit Adelaide.
There's some rain on the radar – which would be sure to frustrate the Aussies if it hits, given how lethal Starc and Richardson look right now.
Three straight maidens for Richardson to start here. It'll be worth keeping an eye on the radar, though!
Best case scenario for Steve Smith's men, it holds off for another hour… then hammers down to juice up the wicket a touch.
He is the pink ball king for a reason!
Starc lands the ball on a good length, and Burns is squared up and gets a thick edge to Steve Smith at second slip.
Starc has a phenomenal record with the pink ball in his hand, and in his first handful of overs he's as dangerous a bowler as there is on the planet – it's the 14th time he's taken a wicket within his first 10 deliveries of an innings.
Unbelievable.
And so Burns falls cheaply again, this time for 4, and England are on the back foot early.
Jhye Richardson also hit the money with his first four balls in this series – having Hameed hanging the bat out and simply praying that it doesn't take an edge through to the keeper.
Richardson, in his third Test but first pink-ball Test, is getting beautiful shape away from the right hander.
We have 90 minutes left in the day (including the extra half hour to account for lost overs due to slow over rates).
That will give Australia plenty of time to do some damage to England's top order.
Mitchell Starc – the pink ball king – has the new ball in his hands. You'd imagine Jhye Richardson will be given first crack at the other end.
And it's Haseeb Hameed, not Rory Burns, who is facing the first ball against Starc. Burns was, obviously, cleaned up with the first ball of the series – before handing those duties for Hameed in the second innings.
He was accused of running scared for shirking the first-ball task – but it seems to be the way England will do things for the rest of this series.
I reckon we're about to be treated to some explosive action on the pitch here.
That was is absurd batting from the Aussie lower-order.
Jhye Richardson's first ball faced this series, he cleared the left leg and smacked Chris Woakes deep into the midwicket boundary – he didn't quite time it, but picked up three.
His second ball? Same shot, but hits this one out of the screws and sends it 20 rows back into the crowd for six.
He was caught behind on ball three, for nine, but the damage was done – Steve Smith calls them in at 9-473.
Well that's the end of the fun for Neser. A very entertaining 35 from 24 balls finishes with a skied chance to Stuart Broad at mid-on.
That's actually quite a good catch – not least of all given England's troubles in the field – as Neser hit that a mile in the air, clearing the leg for a bit more power.
But Broad makes good ground and takes a fine catch that would've been easy to lose in the clouds that are starting to gather overhead.
Is that enough for a declaration? No, here comes Jhye Richardson as Mitchell Starc slashes Stokes for four with back-to-back blasts – a fine cut shot is followed by a brutal straight drive. That is an umpire killer, and beautifully struck.
