28 July

This catch was a bit of a chuckle, in the England define all their failures as triumphs vein. Great catch by Root, but actually a straightforward keeper’s catch. And look at Bairstow, standing there flat-footed like he’s watching the game from the stands. Not sure why Australia decided to play so slowly on day 2. Maybe the light and conditions were challenging. But it plays into the nonsense narrative England are setting up that they’re introducing a new way of playing Test cricket, by scoring quickly. Other teams like Australia have been doing that for a century. Just watch, the English run-rate will come back to the pack over time as they realise playing test matches like a T20 game isn’t a long-term winning strategy. It’s already lost them the Ashes. You have to respect bowling, but then that’s what T20 has done, turned bowlers into ball machines to hit sixes with.