Ashes Short Shots: Joe Root slammed for bowling first, Warnie’s brilliant ‘curfew’ tweet
EVERYONE from Shane Warne to Piers Morgan weighed in on England captain Joe Root’s controversial decision to bowl first at Adelaide Oval - one that could cost his side the Ashes.
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EVERYONE from Shane Warne to Piers Morgan weighed in on England captain Joe Root’s controversial decision to bowl first at Adelaide Oval.
Warne likened it to an act of “retreat” when England needed to attack, Michael Clarke said he was stunned by the call and Michael Vaughan said it was backed up by negative body language from the bowlers in the first session.
I fear England's captain has tossed away the #Ashes.
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) December 2, 2017
Absolute madness to bowl first on a road like this.
Why @root66...........WHY?? pic.twitter.com/8DZnM7oIi3
Sorry, WHAT?
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) December 2, 2017
We won the toss & BOWLED?
Oh Joe what have you done? #ashes pic.twitter.com/dCirusNrNQ
Will Joe Roots decision to bowl first here on a flat pitch in Adelaide be up there with shockers like Nassar Hussain’s decision back in Brisbane a few years ago or Ricky Ponting’s at Edbaston in 2005 ? Thoughts ?
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) December 2, 2017
I can see tmrw’s headlines already. “England break cerfew in Adelaideâ€....... running back to their hotel after the days play finished at 11:58pm here in Adelaide !!!
— Shane Warne (@ShaneWarne) December 2, 2017
TV personality Morgan, who is known for his take-no-prisoners approach to Twitter when it comes to his sporting teams, offered this:
“Sorry, WHAT? We won the toss & BOWLED? Oh Joe what have you done?”
While the jury is still out and there is a long way to go, the early signs weren’t good for Root and history isn’t on his side either.
Only one team - West Indies in 1982 - has won the toss, bowled first and won a Test Match at Adelaide Oval.
On that occasion Michael Holding and Andy Roberts had the Aussies 4-17 and eventually dismissed for 238 in their first innings.
BROAD A GOOD BLOKE?
HAT’S off to Stuart Broad who returned one punter’s Akubra when it blew across Adelaide Oval in the first session.
The second Test was only two balls in when Broad ran from mid-on to mid-off to retrieve a runaway hat and then hand delivered it to a section of the crowd waving madly in his direction.
BLOG: Smith, Broad in fierce exchange
COMMENT: Romantic story stoking Ashes tale
The blustery conditions also caught umpire Aleem Dar off guard when his hat went tumbling across the oval while he was standing at square leg, and ground staff were sent rushing around the boundary rope to make sure it was secured properly to the turf.
RAIN COMFORTS POMS
AT LEAST England’s players would have felt at home in Adelaide with unseasonably cool conditions for the second day of summer and the start of the second Test.
Players were greeted by a top temperature of 18C, overcast skies, scattered showers and the lights were on by 2.30pm. The first shower of rain arrived at 2.45pm which forced players from the field.
They can expect more of the same for the rest of the match with the forecast for Sunday a possible shower and 21, Monday a possible shower and 22, Tuesday and Wednesday are both party cloudy and 23.
ENGLAND TURN INTO BULLIES
HAVING dubbed Australia as “bullies” after a fiery first Test in Brisbane, it appears England has decided to fight fire with fire.
The Poms have brought in 23-year-old fast bowler Craig Overton who made his Test debut in place of Jake Ball.
Overton is known as a fiery character who went through anger management courses after serving a ban from County cricket two years ago when he was involved in three on-field incidents in the one year.
He came into the attack at an interesting time in the second session last night as England tried to wrestle back control after removing Cameron Bancroft with a run-out.
Overton didn’t say much but his bowling did the talking. His second delivery got good bounce and almost drew an edge from David Warner and he made Usman Khawaja play-and-miss a few times. Warner eventually hit back with consecutive boundaries which forced Overton out of the attack.
TUFFERS IS COMEDY GOLD
PHIL Tufnell was never the most lively bowler or fieldsman but his legend has grown in retirement.
The former English left-arm orthodox bowler has been a star on the public speaking circuit during the first two Ashes Tests in Australia and has been a hit with his self-deprecating humour.
Among his show-stopping yarns has been his night in a psychiatric facility in Perth which he checked into during the 1994-95 Ashes series.
Kevin Pietersen also tried his attempt at comedy saying he couldn’t believe there was a taxi queue when he arrived at the Adelaide Airport.
THE QUOTE
“There’s a time for action, to bat first was the aggressive approach. Something is not right in the camp because the mindset is too negative.”
- Shane Warne doesn’t hold back when discussing Joe Root’s decision to bowl first early on day one.
Originally published as Ashes Short Shots: Joe Root slammed for bowling first, Warnie’s brilliant ‘curfew’ tweet