The Ashes: Wasteful England hand Australia the initiative at the Gabba

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Isn't bowling and that's gone through first step. That's four. That might have been half a chance as well. Off the bat of Kerry Root away to his right hand side. It flashed away. Is that another one? Was that catchable? I don't root think got any fingers on it. It was a difficult one to his right hand side. Oh yeah, he did get a hand on it. He was diving to his right route. He did touch it. It went between the bit wide. He's a bit wide isn't he?

Well after two days of this test match Australia are in control after another eye catching day. Australia 378 for 6 at the close they lead by 44 runs with those four wickets left. England drop five catches. Australia relentless at times and then seemed to give England a way back into the game when Cam Green was bowled by cast making room. He exposed his stumps and was bowled for 45. They got rid of Inglis after that for 23. After Steve Smith was superbly caught by Will Jacks at backward square leg off cast for 61. Weatheralld with 72 and Head with 33 got Australia off to a flyer and they were 130 for one of 21 overs at lunch and they built on that base throughout the day and they are controlling this test match. But head was dropped. There were four other drop catches as well and Kerry is 46 not out at the close and he is in his third innings. Michael Vaughan is with me. Jonathan Agnew is with me. Jack Leach is listening in Salford as well. Let's start with you, Michael. Sum up that day and tell us where we are in this test match.

Well, the bas ballers have been basballed against. I mean, I've never seen Australia bat like that. It was an incredible kind of intensity and mentality, but they were gifted a start. You know, you're looking at tone setters. Yesterday when England batted, you lose two early wickets, you know that's not setting the tone at the top of the order today. It was so important that they set the tone with the ball in hand, particularly to someone like Travis said, there was that catch that went down that kind of set the tone for England. And they bow so wide and so short to Jake Wetherald and he played some nice shots and then they went a bit fuller, but it was too wide. It's. If you go back to that first test in Perth, you know, we all praised England in the first innings with the boy hunt. It was probably as good as I've seen in Australia from an England attack today. It was as bad as I've seen for a period. And then there was periods when they, they kind of got it right and the short ball theory came and you look at some of the dismissals, you know, Cameron Green in particular control in the game, it's very similar to what England may do in a position of strength. Make a big error and then Steve Smith gets out in the same over to what has to be said is one of the great, great catches and England are back in it. And, and the one thing that England have not been able to do all day is have control. Even when they get got a wicket, you felt, come on, get some control. But there was always boundaries flying. The amount of runs that have come behind square, that's always an indication you've either bowled too wide or too short or too straight. They've just not got enough balls. I think there was a stat that came up on the television that 5% of the balls that England had bowled when they'd bowled 380 were going to go and hit the stumps just 5%. And I know it's quite hard here because the bounce and you have to bowl a real full length and that full length sometimes can be floating. You get driven. But to think that England didn't bowl straight enough early enough to just challenge the forward press. That's why Australia have got off to A flyer.

Yeah. And I think Andy said a third of the runs, approximately a third gone through third man, which is the point you're making. That's. That's width and length, isn't it? And, and I have to be honest, I think Ben Stokes should have had a third man. You know, the number of runs that go down there. He does, he doesn't like to take it backwards. Step he sees as a bit of a weakness. And sometimes putting a third man in can be seen as a bit of a weakness. And you're following the ball. But not, not with this. Not the way they were bowling and the way that Weatherall was batting and Smith too, played beautiful shots, you know, controlled runs. You know, sometimes you get lots of runs through third man because the ball's swinging around and finds the edge. We're not talking about that. These are, these are controlled shots, ramps and runs and that sort of a thing. So our thoughts, you know. Yeah, Michael. I mean, England's bowling in the, in the first session was poor. I sat there having lunch with Stuart Broad and he was, he was really kind of frothing, you know, the way that England had bowled drop catches. I mean, Monos Lavishane is a very nice man. So he's being very kind there and saying, look, it's very difficult, you know, it's easy to drop catches under lights. I was, you know, that was very kind of him. And he also was very kindly said that Jack's was better than his, which it was. But he's, he's that sort of a fellow, you know, he's being, I think, charitable. There's not a lot of excuse you can give to bride and cast his miss, except that he's had a long day and his mind might have been a little bit elsewhere, but, you know, you've got to be on it every ball. Which comes down to match fitness. And I have to be honest, you know, you look at the way that England have come off the field there, they look absolutely knackered. It is, it. It is hot here. It's not as roasting hot as it can be, and it's not as roasting hot as it might be in Adelaide or Melbourne or Sydney. It's humid, it's 29 degrees now. Yeah, that's, that's warm. But if you're match fit, if you're, if you're used to the, the pressure of a match situation, you can soak that up. You have a. You have days in the field, in the bank, then you are much better prepared to cope with days like today than when you've had none, which is effectively what England have had. They haven't had a day in the field since they've. Since they've been here. And here we are in the second test match, and Ben Stokes has got cramp. Joffre Archer there was just bowling with his arm. He wasn't bowling with his body at all. Bridencass, as always, gave it absolutely everything. He'd run a brick through a brick wall for you. But he dropped that catch. He suggests again that he's. He. He's. He's tired. And Atkinson was. Was coming in there at the end, but they, they came off. They. They were exhausted when they came off.

So we're talking about the P word again. Preparation. Is that what we're saying? That, you know, we got to this stage, it doesn't help.

Well, the problem is we. We sound like broken records.

Yes, we do.

You know, this is what England have decided to do. They've decided to go with no preparation. They've decided to play a game at Lilac Hill. I don't want to go over that. I would have done things completely differently. And what I saw today was a team that looked jaded and the art of. And I'm not the best person to start talking about drop catches. I dropped a goober here in 2002. But I actually know that the only way that you can get good at taking those chances is concentration. And if you have a fielding drill under lights, you're getting a catch. Every other ball, you know, you see it in the morning, the court, and the ball's coming to you all the time, or someone like just Gothic's hitting you a few high, but you know the ball's coming. The art of taking a chance is concentration. And if you're not out there, you know, on a regular basis, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4 hours, 5, and that chance comes, you know, and you've got to be really concentrated to take that opportunity. The only way you get good at that and you kind of. You train the brain to do that, is by doing it. You know, these fielding drills, and they're very athletic. I've seen them do them all the time. They're fantastic. But, you know the ball's coming to you. In a game situation where there's a concert, you've got no clue when that ball's coming to you. And that's why it's completely different. And it's the same with what I saw from the bowlers today. You know, you can have five days Bowling in the nets. And you can bowl beautifully. But what I'll say in the nets is that you're never sure how you bowled because there's no consequence, there's no figures. You know, the coach doesn't come up to you and say, oh, Mark, you've just bowled six overs, one for 22. You've no idea what your numbers are in the nets. Whereas in a game, you have a consequence. Because at the end of that spell, at the end of that day, it says in the book, it says you bowled 22 overs and you got one wicket and you went for 105. You better improve upon that or your tactics were wrong in the next. You don't even deliver tactics. So that's why we'll keep going on about it, because this England side have got so much talent, they've got pretty much everything that you require. I just don't think they're giving themselves the best chance. And I still don't think they've given them the best chance this last week or so. But, you know, from what I saw today, you know, that was. That was bowling that was so erratic and so misplaced for a team that bowled so well the week before in the first innings. And that's a concern for me. Inside three innings, we've had one that was special. The second innings at Perth, they went all over the place. And now here today, they've gone all over the place.

Just throw Jamie Smith in there as well. You know, he's not just about the bowling. He's. He dropped the catch, obviously, earlier on, and the crowd have been giving him it all day. All day long. He should have gone for that catch to his left. You wonder if he's just tentative.

What, the Cary one that was.

Yes.

Joe Root died.

Is he tentative? He's had the crowd on his back all day. You only get that when you're playing a game. You don't get. You don't get crowds on your back in the nets.

This is the first. This is the first pink ball game Jamie Smith played yesterday. Was out second ball. He's dropped two checks.

How is his confidence? He's had that all day. And that chance comes. He's. Oh, and it's gone too late. Gone. And it's things like that that you only get through playing matches.

Jack Leech is. Is listening in sulfur, Joe. I mean, first up, just give us an insight in what it's like to go back into the dressing room after a day like today where, you know, England, okay, they picked up six wickets they dropped five catches. Australia are ahead.

What.

What sort of conversations do you have in the dressing room after a day like that? Is everyone left alone or does the coach say something? Does the captain say something?

Yeah, I think after a tough day like that, it's usually, well, someone will go and do the media and then that gives you a sort of 45 minutes of sort of chatting in smaller groups and Baz will get around everyone.

And then.

After, when everyone's back in the room, I think there will be an honest conversation about the day and that will include the positives and the negatives. And I'm mainly looking forward to tomorrow, obviously, seven overs until the new ball. Those seven overs are going to be really important to get right. If you can pick up a wicket, that's huge, but if not, how can you keep the run rate down and then look to do the damage with the new ball? So I think the focus very quickly goes on to the next day. Can't change what's happened today. And there were. And.

It was looking more bleak than it is now. So at one point. So, yeah, I think they've got to focus on that and that's what they'll be doing.

But are you. I mean, as a player in that dressing room, are you thinking, yeah, we. We have had a bit of a stinker at times there today.

Yeah, definitely. I've definitely walked in after some days and thought, there's no way they can be positive about that day. And I thought that was terrible. And then somehow they managed to find a few. And you feel a little bit better leaving the dressing room. But, yeah, I mean, my experience of the gava was not a positive one and I certainly didn't leave the dressing room feeling positive. But, yeah, it's Ash's cricket in Australia, isn't it? It's brutal at times and, yeah, you've got to bounce back quickly.

And this Brendan McCollum, he talks about the negatives and the positives. You can see you just talked about the positives there. What does he say in terms of the negatives about or saying, we need to do this better or you need to do this better. Does he say that to the players?

He would.

I think he does it in subtle ways, like he's always trying to bring the best out of guys and he's not stupid. He knows when he's not seen the best from the guys, so. But I guess as a player, you don't need to be told that wasn't good enough. You drop catches, that's not good. Enough like, the guys know that. So he is very clever in how he gets his message across. He's usually praising guys who were really good in the field, the effort they put in.

So, yeah, I'd say he goes about it more in that way than sort of calling people out, unless it's about their attitude that wasn't on. I think that's when he would look to call someone out for their attitude if it wasn't quite right. But.

I would like to think that that doesn't need to happen too often.

And one final thing, Jack, I mean, other players kind of aware of the noise outside the dressing room. I don't know, the media chatter, the supporters chatter as well. After you've had a day like that where, you know, where five catches have gone down, Australia have scored very quickly, you know, they've got into the lead and they're in a strong position in the game. Or is that something you, you know, you just try to shut out completely?

I think different players go about it differently. I think if Baz had his own way, he would like no one to sort of look at that outside noise because he sees that as a distraction sort of going, taking you away from what we're trying to do. But, yeah, I think it's hard not to for guys.

So, yeah, but some are better at it than others. And.

Yeah, it's. I. I guess it's. It's sort of horses for courses who. Who likes to and who doesn't. But for me personally, I would, I would try to avoid it whilst I'm. I'm playing, unless I've taken 10 wickets.

And then I read it all.

Thanks very much, Jack. Great to have you. No worries with us.

Cheers, Jack.

Revis talks Jack.

Cheers.

Is what do you make of that, Michael?

Oh, when. When Ly said, I've had a bad day at the Gabber, I thought, yeah, I've had a couple of those as well. And this place, of all the venues, and we've just witnessed what Jamie Smith's had to go through. So he dropped that catch early and every time the ball went into Jamie Smith, this crab were up and he's going to get that, probably going to the next game. That's why it's so hard playing cricket here in Australia if you start to make mistakes. How often an England team come to Australia and we've dropped catches. I said months ago, England have got a great chance, but the one thing that we don't focus on in the UK and they focus so much on it here in Australia, is catching and fielding and we've come down here again and today five catches have gone down. Two or three of them were absolute goobers you know have to be taken and you know that's concentration. Is it the drills that we do back home? I'm not too sure. But it's a consistent trend now that when an England team comes to Australia, you drop a catch or two and then the crowd get on you and you can only imagine what Jamie Smith is going through going into tomorrow. He's got a second ball duck. He's dropped Travis head on three. Got, got away with it really. Cuz he didn't get too many and then he's not gone for a catch. And it's the not going for the catch which concerns me more than the drop.

Yeah, me too.

The drop catch. That can happen. But when you've got a keeper that's not gone for it, you go, oh, that is an issue. Maybe he didn't pick it up. Maybe it's the pink ball. Not too sure. But when you see a keeper not going for it, I get slightly concerned by that. And I'll go back to Jamie Smith against Inder at the back end of the series. We saw a Jamie Smith at the front end of that. He was magnificent and he's a quality player. But already we're seeing a Jamie Smith that looks a bit jaded and we're only the second test match and it doesn't get any easier here in Australia and that's a real concern for me.

With the team talking about jaded. Just watching the bowlers today and they were tired and Jonathan was mentioning it when they, they came off the field to Archibald 20. Atkinson 18, cast 17. Stokes 17. Will Jacks, the fifth bowler bowled one over.

Okay.

Took a fantastic catch. England played five seamers at Perth and it worked in that first inning. So they were, they were as a collective. So there was a stage when they bowled four and he kind of just looking around for someone else and they had Ben Stokes to come on. What about the, the team selection? Going away from five seamers to having a part time spinner who can bat and the, the four seamers who haven't had a huge amount of cricket. So Josh Chung waiting in the wings. You know he has played Test Creek, has had some success in Test Creek. He bowled at Canberra at the weekend. Have England got their team right? You, you, you look at especially as you think, you know there's going to be a lot of seam bowling in these conditions.

Yeah, I mean, I mean you look at Will Jackson, that catch of Steve Smith, that that's invaluable.

But Josh Tongue might have taken three wickets.

Yeah, he might do. Look, I, I don't think they've got selection wrong. I just look at the bowlers and the way that they bowl. Let's not give them an excuse for why they've bowled so badly. Four seamers is enough. If you bowl well, you don't need five. You know Will Jacks was never going to bowl that many overs this week. I think Inga have gone pink ball. It'll do a bit and we'll utilize the for him. And if Will Jack bowls is throughout the week, 15 overs and he goes at 60, we'll take that. That's pretty much why he was picked for his batting at number eight, to strengthen the batting on it. So I'm not going to question, I'm not going to question selection. I think they've got selection right in the first game. I thought they were spot on in Perth and I think they've got selection right here. It's just the performance levels. And over the course of the two test matches, you go back to Perth, how many of that 1 to 11 really arrived and put in a performance which was part of their level? Not many. Not many. By the end of the test match, seamers in the first innings, not in the second. Only Harry Brooke in the first innings with the bat. Not many in the second here. How many of the 11 inside two days have played to par? Zach Crawley has played beyond, Joe Root has played beyond. Not many others. And you don't beat Australia with just two players playing above their par. You need six or seven players. You go back to 10, 11 when England was successful here, they had a group of players that were so consistent and they'll be on par in pretty much every game. Seven or eight of them. That's why they were so competitive. You can't compete against an Australian. This, this is a weak Australian side. There's no Cummings, there's no Hazel, there's no lion. And they're getting at the minute from yesterday. The problem I'm looking at this England side is going 335. I'm thinking right in the Test match, this is good. And within two hours I'm going, oh, no. You go back to Perth on that second day, 100 for one at lunch, within three or four they've lost. So they're getting blown away quickly. So from whatever position we're seeing them get in, you know this Australian side can take it away. From them quickly and move forward with a great deal of pace. And that is a real concern for the England seat.

Yeah, I mean we've actually focused on England's deficiencies if you like. We're looking at from an Anglo centric view. What about from Australia? I mean Weatherall second test match comes up with 72. Labochain, you know, struggling to get back into the side and done so. 65 Steve Smith looked pretty assured. 41 Alex Carey coming in at number six. Okay, he's 46, not eight. He's. You could say he's in his third innings. Do we give. I mean we need to give Australia some credit here as well for the way they played. I mean they've scored 378 in 73 overs.

Yeah, I mean weather Weatherall is a, is a, is a seasoned campaigner. I mean and he is an attacking batsman so he's taking the ramps and so on and I don't think they bowled very well at him. You know this. He looks a completely different player from the fellow who got all tangled up and fell over and ended up on his bottom in the, in his first innings, didn't he? I think he played really well but I just think they do look vulnerable and it's interesting that you know weather all head going so, so well in the, in that, that first session but then it, yeah, it did slow down but then actually what was happening was that Labershain and Smith are just kind of shoring things up. They were getting themselves. They knew what they had to do. They had to just simply bat England out of the game and labor. Shane played a bit of a twitchy shot and got out but then Green came in and actually until again he lost the plot with the short stuff. And I want to talk about that because.

It'S a dangerous tactic that. And if you are giving the bowler no option but to run up and bowl short I just think you are going to get clobbered which has happened. Which actually partly explains the fast scoring rate. You have to give the bowler the option of pitching the ball up. And the first time that cast did it, literally the first time he did it bang hit the stumps. I mean Green was miles away, wasn't he? But you. I just don't like that tactic that they, you know, you can strangle somebody. I mean, okay, they can say yes, we got Steve Smith out but yeah, but it threw a brilliant catch. You know, I think Michael know more muscle better than me. If I got out to that tactic I'll be really Crossed. I'll be steaming if I were a test match.

Yeah. I think in my. This era, they're playing it differently. You know, they're trying to look to score. It's just a different vibe that these batters are going for. I'm just kind of thinking back to Perth, the second innings, where Australia chased down just over 227 overs. They've batted for 73 overs today, scored 378. So if my maths are correct, around the last hundred overs that England have bowled to Australia, they've got nearly 590 runs for eight. So 100 overs, 590 for eight. Australia found a method of putting this England attack under a huge amount of pressure by being aggressive. I think they haven't been. They haven't been consistent enough to stay into that length. There was a graphic that came up quite, quite, quite quickly after 20 overs and only 20% of the balls were on a good length, 65% were short. And that's pretty much where England got it wrong today. They didn't hit enough balls into the good length area when they were bowling with the new pink ball.

I'm conscious that we're talking as if this game is lost as far as England concerned, is it?

No, it's not lost. Now this England side can come back well tomorrow. The pitch is played very well, but we've been here long enough and we've been here often enough to realize that England are 44 runs behind already. They've got four wickets in the tank. They've got Kerry and Nisa Stark to come. If Australia get to over 100 in front, if they get beyond that and they bat the first session in, England have to face the new pink ball in that second session. It's not going to be easy. We, we, we've seen this story in this movie before, I'm afraid. Simon. Yeah.

Thank you, Michael. Glenn is here as well. Glenn McGrath. A whole heap of wickets for Australia. How would you bowl out there today, Glenn? This pink ball on this surface?

Yeah, just listening to, to Michael and, and Aar there very, very much on the money. You've got to have control. You've got to bowl that ball in the, in the right area. You build pressure that way. It's like I'm not sure if they have. If it's execution or whether they don't have the patience. You know, something's got to be happening all the time. A bowl, a couple of good balls. Nothing happened. Okay, I'm going for a wicket. It's something you build up over after over. And the Australian team that we played in was always, if you bowl three maiden overs in a row, the chance of getting a wicket goes up. So it's, it's, you know, over a longer period of time rather than, than a few balls or an even just an over. So yeah, they, they bowled the two lengths too short, too full and not, not enough through that channel. You've got to get batsman playing shots to good balls more often. And that's what brings up, brings up wickets. You know, I think the wickets I took, I reckon 97, 98% was just getting that ball consistently through that area there and the batsmen making mistakes. So, yeah, so it's, I don't know if they don't have the patience or they don't have the control to be able to execute the bowling plans.

So today, did Australia bat really well? Did England bowl really poorly? I mean, where would you put the emphasis?

Yeah, England didn't bowl well. You know, dropping five catches never helps either. And the first catch they dropped in Travis Head, I think that was a, that was a big moment. You know, they, they bowled well up into that stage. Joff ra had bowled well, beat Head a couple of times from around the wicket. Head was just looking defensive. He wasn't looking to go hard. Catch dropped and it was like a switch flicked in Travis's Head's mind. He says, I'm not going to get out, just fending, I'm going to start taking on. And I think that had, that was the turning point where Head and Weatherall really up, up the their tempo. But the thing with me, Archer was bowling so well around the wicket, as soon as that drop catch, he went over the wicket, changed his plan and completely different. So you've got to ask their thinking sometimes. But that drop catch I think was a moment where the Australians said, okay, we have to sort of bet more positively here. And off they went.

And what do you think Australia will be saying in that dressing room about potential target for first innings lead from here?

Yeah, I think they'd be saying, you know, as many runs as we can get, as many overs as we can bat for as well. You know, the longer they bat into tomorrow, the more tired this England attack's going to get. They're tired now. If they've got to come out and bow another, you know, five, ten overs each, it's a, that's a, that's going to add more and more on top of it. And the more overs you bat for out there for Australia, the closer they get to battle bowling under the lights with a harder ball and that can be. That can be massive. So, yeah, there's still, you know, England's not out of this game, but they need to clean up Australia fairly quickly in the morning. If they let that drag out to over 100 and then every run after 100 is going to hurt.

Well, let's find out what that feeling is in the England dressing room. Joe wrote, who made that hundred yesterday and came out and finished on an unbeaten 138 today, has been speaking with Henri Moran.

Well, Joe, how would you sum up that day? Well, I think the game's very much in the balance still. I mean, it's. I think it would be wrong to say that we were at our best throughout the whole day, clearly put some good work together, especially late on yesterday and keen to build on that partnership with Joff and took a moment of brilliance, really, to end it and we didn't quite get it right to start with. But I think the most important thing for us to look at is the way that we responded after that last break and that cluster of wickets that we produced and managed to wrestle things when clearly the momentum with Australia, the way that we managed to wrestle that back in our favour towards the back end of the day.

Is an important thing for the rest of this game. So I don't think that's a massive gap at the minute and if we get things right in the morning, then clearly we've. We've got a huge amount of talent and ability in that dressing room to get a good score, which could be a very tricky wicket to battle last on with the, the way it looks like it could crack open and be a little bit dicey towards the back end of the game.

What didn't England get right today?

I mean, the catches would be the obvious, but in terms of plans and, and execution, I don't think we want to dwell on that too much, to be honest. I think more importantly is, is looking at how we can affect the game moving forward. So I think that's going to be the most important thing, is how we look at tomorrow and how we respond and making sure that we turn up with a good attitude and understanding that our best cricket and when we deliver, we're always going to put ourselves in a position where we can go and win games. So I think more than.

Getting too down on things that we didn't quite get right today, we look at tomorrow and how we can.

Turn the tide in a way and, and restrict them to as few runs as possible and then go and apply some pressure with the bat.

You've been out there pretty much the entire game.

How is that surface? Yeah, look, I think there's the opportunity to score runs on it and I think as the game progresses, there'll be a little bit more on offer for the bowlers. I think yesterday was a little bit of a tennis ball bounce. It almost felt like every now and again it would just stay in that wicket a little bit longer and rise on you a little bit. So. So it seems to have quickened up today slightly and probably come on a little bit better and more consistently. So batting may have been slightly easier.

It will be interesting to see how that unfolds throughout the rest of the game. As you can see from any of the overhead shots, there are quite a few plates on that surface, so that the more heat and sun that gets on that wicket, the more those cracks will start to separate and we might see some variable bounce or lateral movement from that. So hopefully we can explore that in the right way. We can utilise the surface getting better to bat on at certain points. And when we get the chance to bowl, can we find those cracks and make things happen? Do you have in your mind what you need to limit Australia to in terms of a lead? No. I think most importantly, like I said, we turn up and we think clearly how we're going to get the best out of ourselves individually. How can bowling those partnerships was going to create wickets? And it's very easy sometimes to overcomplicate the game. You know, I think we keep it nice and simple and if we do that, then I think we're going to ask good questions and we'll create chances.

Now, the last 24 hours for you.

Have been a celebration of a milestone you've been waiting a long time to achieve. How do you feel in light of.

It, 24 hours on?

Yeah, I mean, I think as with anything, you're going to reflect at the end of the game. There's a huge amount of work still to be done within this Test match, and I think more than anything, it was just great to build a couple of really strong partnerships and get us in position from being 5 for 2. And that partnership with Zac, I think he played incredibly well, to be honest.

You know, saw him pretty much at his best and what we know he could do and why I think he's going to be so successful out here in these conditions, Really, I think his game set up nicely for it and he exploited that yesterday. I also think there are Another couple of really exciting cameos and contributions that will hold us will give the guys confidence for later on in this game and throughout the series. And then obviously, Joffre at the end, I thought he was magnificent. For him to come out and play that way was exceptional. And just trying to. All you're trying to do, all the time out there is make sure that you're in sync with the guy at the other end. You're working together and you're making it difficult for the opposition to break you down as a pair. And just finally, there was a lot of talk about getting the hundred in Australia.

Zach Crawley told me last night.

It wasn't something you were really talking.

About or seemed to be thinking about.

Too much as a burden.

Is that fair? Yeah. I mean, my job isn't. It's not about me. I think I've said it quite a few times coming into this tour. This tour is not about me scoring hundreds in Australia. It's about us trying to win the Ashes. My job is to score runs and to contribute as much as I can, obviously, in the field and with bat in hand. And if I'm doing that and consistently, it's given us a far better chance as someone in that middle order. So I'll go out with the same approach, the same attitude tomorrow when it is, I get that opportunity. And now, hopefully, I can back it with another big contribution that sets us up and gives us a really good chance of winning a Test match out here in Australia. Well, many congratulations, Joe.

Thanks for your time.

Thank you. Thank you.

That's Joe Root speaking to Henry Moran. And as Jack Leach suggested, focusing on the future and on the positives. So that's the England camp. What about the Australia camp? Jake Weatherald has been speaking to Corbyn Middlemass and the ABC team.

Yeah, it's a good day, obviously. We obviously got a bit of lead now, but obviously disappointing us. Make a few hundreds there. Obviously there's a good chance for myself and most of the top water will do that, but everyone sort of chipped in, which is good. So if we get a nice sort of lead, he'll be great.

What's the wicket playing like, mate? You obviously started with the pink ball goes soft after, what, 10 or 15 overs, but looked like it played pretty well.

Yeah, it played well. It played well. The wicket had not many tricks in it. It was just a good day. Too bad it wicked. I think the ball, yeah, did go a little bit soft, made a little bit hard with the shot. Short ball to sort of Evade it. It felt like it was just sort of stopping in the wicket a little bit when it was.

So, yeah, you're right. And how much fun are you having out there? I mean, you look like you enjoyed it today. Lots of cut shots. They gave you a bit of width, you capitalized, you played your natural game a couple ramps over the keeper's head. That was good.

Yeah, it's the first time I've ever done that, to be fair. But, yeah, no, it was good. Now, a few cut shots, which is good. Sort of my. My natural habitat there to be able to cut the ball. Obviously too weak to hit it down the ground myself and too short. So, yeah, just cutting the ball is quite nice. Jakey, what's the most challenging length on that surface to bat, particularly as an opening batter? I think it's. Yeah, no different to most like good cricket there. If you've got to make sure that you are using the scene there early and bidding up nice and full. Obviously the reward for a batter is you get a few scoring options, but at the same time, I think you've got to take the risk. And I think Starkey showed that in the first innings. He bowled really well.

Do you feel like you belong at the level? I mean, 72 today, and you batted beautifully in the second innings in Perth, but obviously you got a little bit unlucky with the. The edge onto your body and it ballooned up on the offside. But did you have moments today where you thought, you know what? I. I got this.

I don't think you ever fully, fully feel you belong anywhere, really. But I. I feel comfortable in my game. I'm just comfortable going there and trying to do what I can do with the bat, and if it comes off, it comes off. But, yeah, I feel like in a good space with what I'm doing technically and emotionally. So as long as that lasts, hopefully continue with runs.

We talked about it on air during the broadcast, and the fact that you don't face what is affectionately known as the wanga a whole lot in the nets, basically, that the dog stick, which a lot of the modern players use. Why is that and what advantage do you think it gives you by not necessarily doing what a lot of the modern players do and face balls in that fashion?

I think it's just experiences I've had, have obviously been around quite a long time, haven't experienced, you know, different conditions and what I could provide is through different systems, obviously with Saka and Tassie. And I thought that best thing for me emotionally was to figure out ways to combat against bowlers and stay in that present mindset and all that sort of stuff. So I've had to learn how to do that and I think facing bowlers and throws sort of gets me in that right mindset.

Just one more. When you got out today, you're obviously hopping around. First of all, how's the foot?

Yeah, it is pretty sore, but yeah, no, yeah, I was trying to look as tough as I could walking off and then.

Yeah, because you turned and walked off straight away and Manus was running out after you.

It says him. No, you know, it's just he wants to review everything, so I just sort of left it. I was like, I'm not, I'm losing some more reviewing this.

Nah, good decision. What's it like for our listeners facing someone like Archer bowling? He comes on quite quick, doesn't he?

Yeah, it's a challenge because he can vary his pace quite a lot. That full ball is just a lot quicker than he's some of the other balls, which is obviously what caught me in both the games so far at the same time. Yeah, it's just the amount of air speed he can get just out of nowhere really. It's quite amazing.

And how is it different? Obviously he knows me not playing, but batting with Travis Head, who you grew up with and played with, how's that?

It's awesome. He's so cool to be around. Obviously he takes so much pressure off you. He's a funny guy to be around. He obviously tries to score for people, takes so much pressure off you and everyone's just sort of focused on him, which is sort of helps him out a lot.

Just one bonus question before you go. I know you gotta run. We had your dad, Robbie with us in Perth and he spoke to us in the box and we talked about the fact you were the first born and raised territorian to represent Australia in Test cricket. There would be, I'm sure, lots of boys and girls tuned in on the ABC listening up in the Northern Territory. Does that mean something to you to. To have that little slice of history?

Yeah, it does. Obviously coming from the territory, growing up, I've watched this guy walk out the bat in the territory before and it's pretty cool to be around there and obviously dizzy as well. You know, those, those, those memories for me were the reason why I got into cricket. So to, to be here with these guys as well and obviously talking to them is pretty cool and it's been a full C, full circle moment for me. And yeah, it's pretty emotional for me to come back here.

Well done, mate. Enjoy, Rachel, enjoy and good luck tomorrow.

Thanks mate.

Well, he had a good day today. Jake Weatherald 72 in his third test match innings. Right, the final word or words or stats from Andy Zaltzman. What caught your eye today, Zaltzman?

Well, the speed of scoring which we've seen a lot in England test matches since Stokes and McCullum took over but largely when England have been batting. Jake Wetherell's half century took 45 balls. Australia's fourth fastest by an opener in Ash's history. They reached 238 overs which is their third fastest ever against England. Perth just two weeks ago being the fastest they'd reached 200 and the third fastest. England joined third fastest. England had conceded 200 behind that Perth innings and level with the Sri Lanka Oval Test 4th innings chase in 2024 then 300 in 58.3 overs. Australia's fastest vs England 7th fastest of all time in the 2nd fastest 3rd 300 England have ever conceded in tests. So it was an all action day over 50 boundaries, 46 fours, five five sixes. And the scoring areas were interesting, something we were tracking through much of the day. At one point Australia had scored 65% of their runs off the bat behind square. That did change a little bit in, in the final hour or so of play. 36% of runs behind square on the offside. In the crickviz data that's the second highest they have recorded for an innings by Australia and that goes back about 20 years. Over 300 in, in that sample. So it was. Yeah, I guess that suggests that England bowled a lot of balls that Australia was scoring off that was, that were short as well as a few slightly streaky, streaky edges. And the big difference between the two sides has been the lack of failures in Australia's top order. England had four ducks, three of them in. In the top seven. Australia's top six have all reached 30. Top seven have all reached 20. Michael Nees is on 15 if he gets to, if he adds another five runs tomorrow be only the fourth time in Ash is history that the top. Sorry, fifth time that the top eight have all reached 20 and the first since November 1962. So that's really been the key difference. Australia in many ways both sides let each other off the hook today. Australia had.

Well, everyone made a start. WeatherAll72 is the highest so far. Their top four partnerships all reached 50. Only the seventh time that's happened in the Ashes and the second in the last 50 years. But no hundred stands yet. But they've, they've ended up in a dominant position.

Yeah, well they could do that on the third day, couldn't they? Put that right. Indeed. That could change. Thanks very much, zoltz. Next on 5 Sports Extra, you can hear highlights with a full real time replay on Sports Extra 3 from 1pm you can watch the best of today's action on the BBC Sport website and app now with our full Highlight show on BBC iPlayer from 5pm this afternoon. The Ashes debrief with Alex Hartley will be available later also on iPlayer and the BBC Sport YouTube YouTube channel. BBC Sounds is the place for all our podcasts. Just search Ashes and we're back on air from 3:45 tomorrow for the third day. And England need wickets and they need them quickly. Goodbye for now.

The TMS podcast from BBC Radio 5 live.

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