Release the bats

Australia resumes on 8-144 and its lead 218 after a chaotic second day

There was a time not so long ago when bowlers bemoaned their lot. Chloroformed pitches, lifeless balls, shrinking boundaries and supersharged bats meant toiling for days under a hot sun, while batters gorged themselves on double centuries.

A decade back, we wore ourselves out writing endless accolades for the likes of Michael Clarke, Steve Smith, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson ...

It wore Mitchell Johnson out too. One day, he found himself at the top of his mark on a lifeless pitch, with an unresponsive ball. Knowing that he’d be bowling with a substandard pink one in the following game, he said to himself, nah, this is a mug’s game.

Times have changed, and the pendulum swung back toward the seamer, but watching one batter after another offer feeble resistance – in admittedly difficult conditions – has one questioning the abilities and application of the top orders of both sides in this World Test Championship Final.

With a home Ashes approaching, Australia has a lot to think about.

Usman Khawaja, fresh from a double century in Sri Lanka, appears alarmingly close the end of his career and looks to be a beat behind when the bowling is quick. His opening partner in this game, Marnus Labuschagne, has had a torrid going of it and has gone 30 Test innings without reaching triple figures.

Cameron Green gives us no confidence at No.3.

It gets a bit better after that, but it leaves a lot of soul searching and head scratching for the selectors before the summer. Cricket is not the Wedding at Cana. Your best wine is supposed to be served at the beginning of the feast.

Any chance that boy child Sam Konstas can perform a second miracle? He’ll need be invited to the wedding if that is to be the case.

This game is moving at a hell of a pace.

Thus far, the best contributions with the bat are Smith’s 66 and Beau Webster’s 72 on day one.

Both teams’ first innings have been completed inside 58 overs. Australia bowled out for 220 with plenty of time left on the first day, and South Africa for 138 before tea on the second.

It was commonly held that, from there, Pat Cummins’ side would go soberly about establishing a solid lead before Pat Cummins and his bowling mates finished the job.

The game, however, kept gaining momentum – of the car crash variety. Australia swerved and smashed from guard rail to guard rail, finding itself 7-73 with over an hour to play. Labuschagne (22) and Steve Smith (13) were the only members of the top six to reach double figures. Khawaja (6) and Green (0) were, again, removed in the same Rabada over. Labuschagne and Smith went in successive overs, so too Webster and Head. Cummins threw the lever to attack but didn’t last six deliveries.

7-73 meant the lead was a meagre 145 and the advantage lay clearly with South Africa, who’d seen Lungi Ngidi contribute three wickets to the cause after being notably absent in the first innings.

The reliable Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc, however, set about steadying the ship, adding 61 runs before the wicket keeper was trapped in front by Rabada close to the close.

Starc was lucky fortunate to be put down by Marco Jansen at gully in the final over, but the cordon had advanced after an earlier delivery in that final over had fallen short of first slip.

It’s shallow of me, I’ll admit, but one of the petty delights about being present for the World Test Championship final at Lord’s has been listening to the muttered grumblings of the hometown correspondents tasked with covering a game between two touring teams.

It’s as if somebody is throwing a party at their house and forced them to watch the fun through a back window. (Hey, who hasn’t watched neutral football games and wished that both would lose?)

The English correspondents’ mood improved no end, however, at the sight of the second Australian innings.

They’re licking their lips about the summer.

Now for some good news.