Australia v England, fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford: match report
After Australia's openers failed again, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne combined to punish an underwhelming England side on a gloomy, rain-affected opening day of the fourth Test in Manchester, with the still unbeaten Smith never seriously troubled.
Australia enjoyed a right-handed rescue with Steve Smith smack bang in the middle again after a windy, rainy day at Old Trafford which began with another worrying David Warner failure.
The embattled Aussie opener was out for a second ball duck, on just the fourth ball of the game, as England seamer Stuart Broad made the left-hander look like a deer in the headlights again.
Warner has been first man out in seven of eight Australian innings in the series and faces a significant mental hurdle to overcome in the second innings.
His opening partner Marcus Harris was also out for 13 before Smith and Marnus Labuschagne upset the England bowlers by standing on the other side of the bat.
Steve Smith posted an unbeaten and chancless half century on day one at Old Trafford.
The pair put on 116 runs, with Labuschagne registering his fourth straight half-century for the series, and Smith his eighth Ashes 50 in a row to put Australia in some sort of position of control.
Australia was 3-170, and Smith not out 60 with Travis Head 18 when the day was done early after only 44 overs as wind and rain lashed the Manchester ground, causing havoc with bails falling off and trash blowing across the wicket.
It created tension as batsmen pulled away, but the final result was a good one for Australia.
Marcus Harris failed to fire at the top of Australia's innings.
“It was frustrating for everyone,” said Labuschagne, who was bowled for an impressive 67 batting at number three.
“They got frustrated because we had to pull away when they were running in. Then the bails, when they put them on, you could see the stumps shake
“I’ve never played a game with no bails.
“But it was important for us to dig and get a big first innings score. I think it’s been a pretty good day for us.”
At one stage Smith sent a beach ball to the boundary after it dared cross his path, as everyone quickly muttered that the master batsman was indeed seeing everything like one.
Smith had been booed when he came to the crease by a crowd on its feet in expectation of the resumption of his battle with England speed demon Jofra Archer, the man who knocked the Aussie out of the third Test.
Jofra Archer and the England team's show was in keeping with the dank weather.
They were on the edge of their seats, but quickly returned to the normal position as Archer efforts fell flat.
He tried to up his pace, but having talked a big game before the match, Archer not only didn’t trouble Smith, he hardly troubled any of the Australian batsmen.
Archer was down markedly on pace, bowling some deliveries closer to 130kmh than 150kmh, and he never looked like taking a wicket.
Labuschagne looked the perfect number three after replacing the dumped Usman Khawaja, becoming just the third Australian in over 130 years to make four 50s in his first four Ashes innings.
He now has Mike Hussey, the only man to make five from five, in his sights, but will need to wait until the second innings after being bowled by an off-cutter from Craig Overton following a three hour delay in play.
Australia included Mitchell Starc for his first start in the series, choosing him ahead of veteran Peter Siddle.
Updates
STUMPS! Play abandoned due to rain
Joe Barton
The prospect of more rain has resulted in play being abandoned shortly after 6pm local time here.
Australia reach stumps at 3-170, with Steve Smith unbeaten on 60 and Travis Head on 18.
It's slightly odd, because it's not actually raining currently but the groundstaff have obviously looked on the radar and come to the conclusion that there's likely to be more rain on the horizon. So the umpires split up and went to the respective dressing rooms and said 'that's enough'.
You'd say it's a good day for Australia who, after winning the toss, have actually done fairly well – largely because of Smith and Marnus Labuschagne (67).
England enjoyed a late boost with the dismissal of Labuschagne before tea, but will be disappointed to have let things slip after Stuart Broad removed both Australian openers cheaply in a spicy opening spell.
Joe Barton
The covers are on here at Old Trafford, with play scheduled to resume now… but clearly we will be delayed as more rain whips across the ground thanks to the crazy winds in the north of England.
The crowd don't appear particularly encouraged by the forecast either, many have abandoned the ground to get trams into town.
TEA: Smith leads Australia to 3-170
Joe Barton
Another good session for Australia, with Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne both passing 50.
Labuschagne did fall late in the session for 67, copping an absolute beauty from Craig Overton which nipped back and sent the heavy bail flying – that's right, the heavy bails are out in force because of the wild weather.
Steve Smith is still there, though, unbeaten on 60 as Australia reached 3-170 at tea… a fairly late tea it must be said.
Australia scored 72 runs at four an over to drive that session.
Travis Head has looked shaky, but remains unbeaten on 18.
It remains to be seen how much more play we see today… there's more rain to come.
But stick with us and we'll take you through to the end!
Wow! What a ball from Stokes, who knocks Travis Head off his feet with a full yorker coming from around the wicket.
There's a huge appeal for LBW by the English but Kumar Dharmasena is ummoved.
England are quick to review but it's not a good one – a rarity for England this series – as it's pitched an inch and a half outside leg stump.
Head remains on 10. Australia 3-161.
England burn review chasing Head wicket
Joe Barton
Wow! What a ball from Stokes, who knocks Travis Head off his feet with a full yorker coming from around the wicket.
There's a huge appeal for LBW by the English but Kumar Dharmasena is ummoved.
England are quick to review but it's not a good one – a rarity for England this series – as it's pitched an inch and a half outside leg stump.
Head remains on 10. Australia 3-161.
Joe Barton
It's becoming extremely dark here at Old Trafford – the floodlights have been on all afternoon, but the darker clouds are incoming.
There was a brief – we're talking 15-20 seconds – shower which threatened to force players from the field.
But instead they stuck with it and continue to play as the gloom takes over.
Tea is in 13 minutes, and it might be time for the Australian players to get into the umpire's ear and remind him that it's getting quite hard to see the ball when the quicks are steaming in.
WICKET! Labuschagne falls for 67
Joe Barton
A breakthrough!
Craig Overton is the man, he gets one to nip back in a big way and he's been bowled!
It's clipped the bail – the heavy bail – and sending it flying towards where leg slip might be waiting.
Labuschagne goes for 67 and Australia are 3-144.
That was an excellent rebuilding partnership for Australia, but it's a huge wicket for England as the gloom takes over at Old Trafford.
Travis Head the new man at the crease.
FIFTY! Smith passes 50... again
Joe Barton
In his fourth innings of this series, Steve Smith has passed 50 for the fourth time.
He brings it up with perhaps his most extraordinary shot of the day, chasing a wide, wide delivery outside off which brings him off balance so he falls to his knees and still manages to middle a cover drive.
Lovely stuff.
81 balls, seven fours.
That's eight half-centuries in a row in Ashes cricket. It's already his record to own, so he's just extending it each innings…
It's Steve Smith's world. We're just living in it.
Stuart Broad’s 10th over was one of the oddest, and longest, in Test history – and finished with play resuming without any bails.
The fierce winds whipped across the ground, bringing with them all sorts of rubbish from the huge temporary grandstand – some of which caught the eye of Marnus Labuschagne, causing him to halt play… which enraged Broad.
But worse was to come. The wind picked up even further, blowing an England helmet across the turf and then lifting the bails from the stumps.
Umpire Kumar Dharmasena made the executive decision to remove the bails entirely, and the match continued.
The rules dictate that in such conditions, if the umpire believes the stumps have been hit – even by the slightest touch, that may not always dislodge the bails – then a player can be dismissed.
It was a bizarre scene. Made even more odd when the bails were returned several overs later, despite blowing off and hitting the deck every other minute.
Midway through the 37th over, however, the fourth official brought out the heavy bails – and finally the wind was defeated.
Annabel Sutherland made history as the first woman to score a Test century at the MCG, putting Australia within reach of a historic Ashes whitewash on a day where England produced a fielding horror show.
