Ashes 2019 | Day 5 Talking Points - Jason Roy's radical red-ball issues and Lyon King rules the jungle

ByAnirudh Suresh, SportsCafe Editor

08/05/2019

After 18 long years, the Aussies finally breached the English fortress of Edgbaston, thereby going 1-0 up in the series. Coming up against a daunting task of saving the Test on Day 5, the English batsmen were bamboozled by Nathan Lyon's six-fer, as they were bowled out for just 146 runs.

Jason Roy experiment leaves England with more questions than answers

Coming on the back of a phenomenal World Cup, Jason Roy was the talk of the town, and days before the Ashes squad was announced, there were strong calls to include him in the XI to partner Rory Burns up top. The calls were answered by the selectors, as they picked him in the one-off Test to face Ireland, and all eyes were on the Surrey man to see if he could replicate his ODI heroics in red-ball cricket.

Roy blew hot and cold in the match against Ireland, and despite showing a glaring weakness against the moving ball - epitomized by his single digit score in the first innings, he made amends in the second, as he pummeled the Irish attack to post a well made 72. While he didn’t pass his audition with flying colors, it almost felt like a warm-up to the big occasion.

Despite not being an opener for his county side Surrey, the 29-year-old was trusted with the duty in the biggest stage in Test Cricket. But two innings and 80 balls later, the Roy experiment looks all but a failed one, adding to England’s woes. The right-hander, who was predominantly picked in the idea of taking the attack to the Aussie bowlers - just like he did in the World Cup semi-final where he scored a match-winning 85, did anything but that, as from the word go, looked like he was intimidated by the sight of the Aussie bowlers, looking like a fish out of water.

After prodding outside the off-stump and getting out to James Pattinson in the first innings, Roy was bamboozled by the spin of Nathan Lyon in the second, perishing after a wild heave across the line, a dismissal which suggested that he was almost thankful to Lyon for putting him out of his misery. These are certainly worrying signs for England, and this failed experiment begs to ask the question - Will Roy be persisted with for a long while, or will he be shown the door just like his predecessors - James Vince, Mark Stoneman and Adam Lyth?

Moeen Ali and Nathan Lyon - A tale of two spinners

With an Ashes match happening at Edgbaston for the first time since 2005, no one was quite sure what to expect from the surface. Despite minimal swing and seam movement on Day 1, the English pacers managed to reduce Australia to 122-8 at one stage, thanks to Stuart Broad’s five-fer. However, sharp and vicious turn as early as the 40th over was what caught the eye, meaning the two spinners - Moeen Ali and Lyon, had a huge role to play in the rest of the contest. While the former had a rather mediocre outing in the first innings letting the Aussie batsman off the hook, the latter was on and off, as moments of brilliance were overshadowed by a large phase of inconsistent bowling.

As the days progressed, the pitch started deteriorating at the rate of knots, and by the end of Day 2, there was literally no help left for the pacers, and it was evident that spin was the mantra to turn to. While Australia’s prayers were answered by “The GOAT” Lyon, England were left red-faced with Ali’s sub-par performance, which saw the Aussies recover from 75-3 to post a mammoth 487, which in the end became the telling difference.

While Lyon was spot on with his lines, lengths, control and consistency - eventually bowling his team to victory with a six-fer, Ali dropped the ball wide and short one too many times, missing his lines and lengths, allowing the Aussie batsmen to feast on his inconsistency, and if anything, Joe Root looked like the more threatening spinner for the English. With Jack Leach waiting on the sidelines, it will be interesting to see England’s team composition at Lord’s, and Ali, with this performance, has sadly not helped his cause to warrant a place in the XI.

James Pattinson and Peter Siddle - unlucky, but on the money

Eyebrows were raised on the morning of the first Test, as news broke out that Peter Siddle and James Pattinson were picked in the XI at the expense of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood. The victorian duo last played a Test together more than five years ago, and in all honesty, life has come full circle for both men, who due to various reasons would have never thought they’d represent Australia in Tests again.

Having played considerable amount of County cricket, the onus was on the Victorian duo to deliver, having developed the reputation of being “Dukes ball specialists”. And make no mistake, while the wickets column didn’t read pretty for either men, both were spot on from the word go. While Pattinson kept the English batsmen on the toes with his “on your face” approach, the veteran Siddle kept nagging the batsmen with his unbelievably consistent line outside the off-stump, moving the ball both ways off the seam.

The duo only accounted for four wickets combined, but ensured that they always kept the English batsmen on their feet, asking them questions ball after ball. In fact, on any other occasion, they could have easily walked away with three or four wickets a piece, but despite not putting their names on the wickets column, they stuck to their guns, in turn building pressure for the other bowlers to take advantage of.

Their approach was evident from their spells on Day 5, as despite not accounting for a single wicket, they ended up complimenting Lyon and Pat Cummins, who accounted for all 10 wickets. It remains to be seen if either men will face the axe in favour of Mitchell Starc in the second test at Lord’s, but on a pitch that provided next to nothing for the pacers, they toiled hard, bowled their hearts out and most importantly, ensured they did justice to their selection.