"Those chances meant it elongated the day" - Mike Atherton on how England's missed opportunities came back to haunt them on Day 2
Former England skipper-turned commentator Mike Atherton believes England's inability to cash in on the chances Australian batsmen offered during the first two sessions on Day 2 came back to bite them in the evening session of the Ashes.
Atherton was referring to the counter-attacking onslaught Travis Head unleashed on a weary English attack in the final session.
The visitors got a glimmer of hope during the first hour of the post-tea session when Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson knocked over Steven Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Green in quick succession to leave Australia reeling at 195/5.
However, Head had different ideas. The South Australian batter took the attack to the English bowling unit and smashed a whirlwind 95-ball knock of 112 runs to take the game completely away from Root's team.
Speaking on Sky Sports Cricket, Atherton said:
"It really highlights the chances England missed earlier in the day because those chances meant it elongated the day. England became really weary in the last session."
๐ฃ "Hard to see England coming back from this..."
@Athersmike and @willis_macp react to an action-packed second day of the first #Ashes Test at The Gabba, where Australia built a commanding lead.
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England's seamers bowled really well in the first couple of sessions and they should have got Warner out on three different occasions. Warner was clean bowled by Ben Stokes when he was on 17 but it turned out to be a no-ball.
A comedy of errors! ๐ Warner survives #Ashes https://t.co/zq6oxRxG0s
He was then dropped by Rory Burns in the cordon at the score of 48 before Haseeb Hameed missed a run-out opportunity at short-leg.
"Hard to see England getting out of this" - Mike Atherton
England's bowling attack looked weary in the final session and someone like Head took full advantage of the situation.
Atherton reckoned that the injury Stokes suffered while saving a boundary during the morning session and the lack of control offered by Jack Leach (1/95 in 11 overs) further compounded the problems for Joe Root's side. Atherton said:
"Couple of issues that made it a very difficult day for Joe Root. There was a lot of pressure on Woakes, Robinson, and Wood because during the 5-over spell Ben Stokes bowled, he chased a ball to the boundary when Jack Leach was bowling from the other end and seemed to pull up. He didn't bowl throughout the afternoon session and was basically limping after that."
There have been a lot of talk regarding England's decision to omit both James Anderson and Stuart Broad for the Brisbane Test. However, Atherton reckoned it was a fair call by England given the fact that both Anderson and Broad had barely played any cricket in the lead-up to the series.
"The final hour today highlighted why England are right to be reluctant about playing aging seamers like Broad and Anderson in Brisbane on the back of very little cricket."
With Australia already 196 runs ahead, the former opener believes it will be tough for England to get out of jail. Atherton said:
"The situation though is a grim one. Trailing by almost 200. It's hard to see England getting out of this."
England will hope their batting unit comes to the party in the second innings and salvage pride even if they end up losing the first Test against the Aussies.