The Ashes 2013: 5th Test, Day 5 - Flops of the day

Brad Haddin

The final Test of the Investec Ashes 2013 ended after a frenetic day’s play and a dampener of a call from the umpires to take the players off the field after light faded.

It resulted in England securing a draw, and won the Ashes 3-0, thus retaining the urn. Though the Test dragged on during the 3rd day and saw a washout on Day 4, the final day turned the game on its head with some attacking batting and captaincy.

There were some Heroes of the Day who shone. Here are the Flops of the Day:

Brad Haddin (3 catches; 0 runs off 1 ball; 1 catch in second innings)

Brad Haddin may have set a new world record for most dismissals by a wicket-keeper in a Test series, but veteran keeper has flopped miserably with the bat in this series – a valiant 71 in the first Test notwithstanding.

After taking three catches in England’s first innings, Haddin was promoted up the order to make some quick runs and possibly set a big target for the opposition to chase.

But he played a rank poor stroke to a length ball outside off, and only managed to get a bottom edge which was smartly taken by his English counterpart, Matt Prior. He would have done well to play each ball on its merit and keep the scoreboard moving.

He went past former Australian wicket-keeper Rodney Marsh’s record in the second innings by pouching a catch off Joe Root, but did nothing further of note. Perhaps it is time that he calls it a day from the game – with younger glove-men waiting in the wings.

Steven Smith (0/16 in 8 overs; 7 runs off 12 balls)

His maiden Test century may have brought smiles to the Australian dressing room, but Smith really didn’t do justice to his potential in the second innings.

When the need of the hour was setting a tough-to-attain target, the T20 specialist flattered to deceive, despite being moved up the order ahead of skipper Clarke. He tried to loft Stuart Broad over long-on, but mistimed it badly, and Swann had no trouble in completing an easy catch.

Hopefully the young all-rounder will learn the art of being patient while looking to score as many runs as possible, just like he did in the first innings. Not impressed one bit with his second-innings performance!