Too good mate: Stokes’ nod to Lyon, Cummins and Australia’s mastery

4 hours ago 1

Adelaide: England’s captain Ben Stokes stood there as the Australians wheeled away in delight and Adelaide Oval shook.

Stokes had been beaten and bowled by an utterly perfect off-break from Nathan Lyon and, after a few seconds, offered a subtle nod as he looked at the pitch. Too good, mate, too good.

Australia will retain the Ashes at some point on day five here – their 11-day victory equal second only to a feat achieved 104 years ago. They will do so because in the fourth innings of the Test, the home side’s bowling reinforcements, Lyon and captain Pat Cummins, delivered spells of a class well beyond this bedraggled England side’s ability to withstand.

Ben Stokes walks off after Nathan Lyon’s stunning delivery.

The night before, assistant coach Jeetan Patel had spoken about something “magical” being due in this series. The magic did indeed come, but it was from the fingers of Cummins, Lyon, Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey, who maintained the magnificent fielding standards that have also placed a chasm between the teams.

A cooler morning started with Greg Chappell ringing the Keith Bradshaw bell to signal the start of play, and the game quickly sped up. Travis Head and Carey did not advance too far from their overnight scores, and Stokes celebrated each of six wickets for 38 as though he still believed in a miracle, world-record chase.

But there were no such thoughts from Cummins, who had worked his way to full fitness and rhythm from a back stress injury with all the precision of a Swiss watch. Within the Australian team, Cummins and Head are famed as two of the most misleading players when it comes to training form.

If all you saw was their form in the nets, or so is commonly said, it would be easy to conclude that Cummins and Head are the last two players picked for Australia’s Test team, rather than the other way around.

During the Perth and Brisbane Tests, that impression of Cummins twisted around completely. As one batsman after another walked out of the nets, shaking their heads after encountering the “injured” captain, the chat was the same. “This is like facing him in a game.”

Duly unleashed on England, Cummins gave Ben Duckett a first-up boundary through mid-wicket, but then bowled something bouncier in the channel that the left-hander fiddled at as though hypnotised to offer up slips catching practice. In one of the more futile moments of the series, Duckett mimed a leave as he walked off. Too late.

While Zak Crawley showed some commendable grit and judgment, Ollie Pope continued his slow Australian drowning. Cummins hammered away around the off stump, beating the bat repeatedly, and when Pope finally edged, there was some cosmic justice to Labuschagne’s wondrous, one-handed catch. Pope looked shocked, standing around as if the ball had not carried, but he had to be the only person in the ground to be surprised.

Joe Root steeled himself for one more rearguard, and played with good tempo for a time. Lyon’s initial spell was successfully combated with sweeps, and Cam Green’s short balls cuffed away to third. Tea brought a reset, and Cummins opted for Head’s off-spin.

He might easily have had a wicket when Root padded up unwisely, but the moment doubtless interrupted the former captain’s flow. Cummins’ next over was postage-stamp tight, and when the last ball seamed slightly away, Root succumbed to his second edge behind of the match, punching his bat in frustration.

“It’s great to see him back after quite a long time, to come in and get what he can out the wicket. Even if the ball is a little bit older, he still finds something,” Carey said of Cummins.

“It’s not surprising. We know he’s done it for years. He’s leading beautifully as well, but it’s great to see him really extract what he can out of this wicket.”

Crawley and Harry Brook formed the foundations of another partnership, but the latter’s aggressive tendencies always looked to give the Australians a chance. He survived one attempt to ramp Scott Boland, but not another to reverse an 85km/h Lyon delivery that dropped well short of the length Brook expected.

That brought Stokes to the middle, still England’s greatest miracle worker. He warded off one over from Mitchell Starc, who had bowled him so comprehensively on day three, but could do nothing when Lyon’s drift, drop and spin left him stranded. This was effectively game over, but one more bit of brilliance remained.

Crawley had prospered often through mid-off against Lyon and also Head, but after Cummins brought the man up, the opener started thinking about cover. Lyon whirred one down a little faster and wider, Crawley offered a more angled bat, and Carey had the bails off well before there was any chance of escape. Lyon, by the way, has taken on the moniker “Filthy” this week, a nod to his angst at being dropped in Brisbane. It’s all in good fun now.

Briefly, there were thoughts of a day-four finish with the help of an extra half hour. But Cummins decided against going again at Jamie Smith and Will Jacks, leaving Lyon and Head to probe away.

They walked off to the adulation of a crowd that swelled to 44,152 in all, smashing the record for the best overall attendance in Adelaide. Some 202,995 spectators have been present in all for a great occasion, if not exactly a great contest. Plenty more will come tomorrow.

England have made it to day five and the Ashes series will be alive for one more night, but that will be precious little consolation for Stokes. Cummins and Australia have plenty left in reserve for the coup de grâce. Too good, mate, too good.

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