Head's heroics keep Australia alive after rain wreaks havoc

For the second time in as many days, a blazing knock from a belligerent left-hander pulled his team back from the brink with Travis Head launching a one-man effort to keep alive Australia's hopes of securing a first Ashes series win in England since 2001 at the first opportunity.

Faced with abject batting conditions at the end of a day all-but ruined by rain, Head initially stood firm as wickets crashed around him then unleashed a hitting frenzy in the mould of England captain Ben Stokes before being last man out for 77.

In doing so, the left-hander lifted Australia from a highly vulnerable 6-139 (165 runs ahead) to 224 all out, setting resurgent England 251 to win across the remaining two days to keep the Ashes battle alive.

In keeping with the theme of the two and a half Tests to date, England began their pursuit – a mere doddle given their recent 'Bazball' history – under bright sunshine and reached stumps 0-27 from five overs, requiring a further 224 with Ben Duckett 18no and Zak Crawley unbeaten on 9.

Head's innings contained seven boundaries and three sixes, most of which came during his defiant stands with tailenders Todd Murphy and Scott Boland as he took on the hostile pace of Mark Wood and the seam and swing of Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad in tailor-made weather.

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After almost six hours was lost to weather that seemed destined to account for all of day three, the drizzle eased and the cloud remained to present England with perfect bowling conditions they almost fell over themselves in their haste to exploit.

Although it was equally apparent, given the endless discussions between Stokes and his bowlers as fielders were marshalled backwards and forwards every second ball as Head took aim late in the day, they were in no mood to bat themselves in the gloaming.

The reason for that reluctance was the way the ball behaved for England in their 20-over bowling stint that yielded 6-108 after the initial resumption proved short-lived.

Despite the presence of brooding low cloud and the advantages those atmospherics invariably bring for swing and seam, England curiously opted to begin with the same short-ball tactics they had used against Head under bright sunshine the previous afternoon.

Armed with a ball 47 overs old, Woakes began with fielders stationed on the boundary at deep forward and backward square as well as fine leg, plus one at deep third set so fine it might technically have doubled as a back-stop.

Given the catching issues England keeper Jonny Bairstow has experienced during this series, the latter explanation cannot be fully ruled out.

But as a genuine swing bowler, Woakes was not the ideal choice to fire a few bouncers in at Australia's number five who found few issues dealing with deliveries that rather sat up harmlessly.

From the third attempt to goad him into a pull shot, Head rode the bounce and rolled the ball safely to fine leg for a single.

Marsh then helped himself to one when Woakes pitched fuller, Head negotiated the next two and then the rain returned to the obvious disgruntlement of the crowd and the England players.

The Headingley ground staff applied some cursory covers, and lurked anxiously alongside them clearly anxious to strip them off and get the game going the very moment the last of the drizzle cleared.

In all, the delay lasted six minutes before the players were back in position and at it again without so much as a dry sponge applied to the outfield to remove any residual moisture.

The fact five of Broad's first six balls upon resumption were bunted along the ground to the boundary riders might have, under regular circumstances, drawn howls of protest from the fielding team given the impact the damp grass might have on the ball.

But such was their yearning to stay out there in a session they knew might swing the game, they carried on and gained the wicket they so urgently sought in Woakes' second over.

Having clubbed a rank long-hop from the England seamer through cover in a reprise of the brutality he showed throughout his stunning first-innings century, Marsh opted for prudence and tried to withdraw his bat from a length ball that bounced more than he expected.

 

It brushed the bottom of his bat on the way through to Bairstow and the western terrace, that had been deserted most of the day but magically filled when play eventually began, burst into a sustained chorus of jeers as Carey entered the fray.

The Australia wicketkeeper, who in addition to being vilified for his entirely legal stumping of Bairstow at Lord's was targeted by a typically tawdry UK tabloid newspaper fabrication, managed a boundary with a controlled edge through vacant third slip.

But two balls later he fell in similar fashion to Marsh, albeit with his bid to leave a ball that flew from the rejuvenated surface making far more substantial contact that guided it on to his stumps.

Head and Mitchell Starc then counter-punched with a run-a-ball seventh wicket stand of 29 as another band of black cloud loomed behind the Howard Stand before Starc bunted a short ball fired into his hip by Mark Wood into the air behind square leg.

What should have been a regulation catch to Bairstow a few metres to his right was left to Harry Brook who made several stops and starts from short leg before flinging himself full length to clutch the chance just above the turf, ending virtually in the keeper's shadow.

In an hour of largely one-way traffic, Australia had lost 3-52 from 70 deliveries, and it became 4-54 soon after the break when Cummins poked at another fireball from Wood that slapped into Bairstow's glove and stayed there momentarily, before the local lad launched it skyward.

With as many reviews as wickets remaining, Cummins almost apologetically called for a review which confirmed the edge and sent the sodden mob into delirium.

But despite having swing and seam bowling conditions in their corner, England maintained the bouncer barrage against Head who responded by laying into the bottomless diet of short-pitched stuff and reached an invaluable half-century from 94 balls faced.

With Murphy, he added a vital 41 (from just 33 balls) for the ninth wicket until the reintroduction of Broad and the rather self-evident idea to bowl at the stumps ended the number 10's 34-minute stay.

That was Head's signal to enter full Stokes mode and he clubbed successive sixes off Wood's continued bouncer barrage in scenes not dissimilar to the famous BBL hundred he posted one New Year's Eve.

While circumstances dictated Head's demeanour with the clatter of wickets in the most extreme of the conditions, it was perhaps compounded by the misgiving of having to face England's fastest bowler and their expert seamers in inky darkness with the ball nipping and swinging.

Rain had fallen steadily, though rarely with any great intensity, from around 10am until mid-afternoon with both lunch and tea taken early as hopes of any play on day three appeared similarly bleak.

With the practice pitches that run the full width of Headingley under cover for hours, the nets that are usually erected for players to have a pre-emptive hit before were nowhere and – despite the 21C warmth and thick humidity – Australia's batters were forced to enter the day cold.

Image Id: CE7AAE41BC864F9787762282E4C37A3C Image Caption: A majority of the Leeds crowd stayed around for close to six hours with no play to enjoy a frantic final session // Getty

A scheduled pitch inspection by umpires at 3.45pm was pushed back until 4.15pm at which time, despite the gathering gloom and suggestion of more wet weather, it was announced play would resume in half an hour pending no further precipitation.

Even before umpires Kumar Dharmasena and Nitin Menon had made it on to the field to make their adjudication, an Australia advance party of coach Andrew McDonald, selector Tony Dodemaide and captain Pat Cummins were examining the playing surface.

As they knelt down on the wicket block alongside the still-covered Test strip, and ran their hands along the grass to assess its dampness, the Headingley ground announcer relayed the officials' verdict play was scheduled to recommence at 4.45pm.

The Australia delegation immediately entered into discussions with the umpires, but both teams began their habitual form of warm-up by entering into games of 'keepy-uppy' with soccer balls.

As the floodlights were turned on and dark clouds continued to close in from the south-west, the pitch covers were briefly placed back into position to booing from the few thousand spectators who had stoically remained in their seats.

The jeers turned to cheers a minute later when the covers were theatrically rolled off, and stumps re-positioned as England seamer Ollie Robinson sent down gentle out-swingers to suggest he had recovered from the back spasm that sent him from the field on day one.

From the wobble that Robinson was able to gain from those few deliveries, it was obvious batting would be problematic verging on perilous in what was expected to be a fleeting session before the rain returned.

As it turned out, England's pursuit began with only a couple of half-stumbles – an appeal for a leg-side catch off Duckett was unsuccessful and he also edged a couple just short of the slips – and ended in near flawless batting conditions with more good weather forecast tomorrow.

2023 Qantas Ashes Tour of the UK

First Test: Australia won by two wickets

Second Test: Australia won by 43 runs

Third Test: Thursday July 6-Monday July 10, Headingley

Fourth Test: Wednesday July 19-Sunday July 23, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: Thursday July 27-Monday 31, The Oval

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Todd Murphy, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, David Warner

England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Josh Tongue, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood