Australia were put in to bat on day one of the fourth Test, which allowed Stuart Broad take his 600th Test wicket and Jonny Bairstow to briefly put his wicket keeping woes behind him with a memorable catch.
- Daily wrap: Read the wrap of the day’s play and the live blog
- Scorecard: Check out the stats and full card from the fourth Test
Here are the five things you missed overnight as Australia ended day one on 8-299.
1. Glare stops play
The weather normally plays a role in Test matches in Manchester — it’s the only place to have had two Tests abandoned without a ball being bowled on account of the typically atrocious weather that plagues the north-west city.
It wasn’t the rain that caused a brief delay on day one though, but the sun.
Just before drinks, Marnus Labuschagne noticed the sun glinting off a strip of metal running under a row of seats from behind Mark Wood’s arm.
Drinks were called early, but the glare was still there when they needed to resume.
Stuart Broad was called upon to re-organise the crowd to mask the glinting metal, until ground staff appeared with a strip of white tape to put an end to an unusual delay.
2. Marnus gets his 50, then throws it away
Four years ago, Marnus Labuschagne was the find of the tour, the Ashes’ first-ever concussion substitute at Lord’s who went on to become a genuine Test star in his own right.
His start to life in the Test team was stunning, averaging 54.56 with 10 centuries to his name.
However, he had been in a bit of a rut.
Since he scored an unbeaten 63 in Ahmedabad, Labuschagne had failed to pass 50 in eight innings.
That half-century was just his second in 21 innings since his explosive start to the 2022/23 summer against the West Indies, where he kicked off with scores of 204, 104 and 163.
So when he reached his 16th Test fifty at Old Trafford, there would have been a sense of relief.
It didn’t last long though.
The ball after he reached the mark, he was trapped LBW by Moeen Ali, falling to the previously retired English off-spinner for the second innings in a row.
3. Australia’s tormenter joins 600 club
Before day one in Manchester, only four bowlers had taken 600 Test wickets. It became five just after tea.
After Stuart Broad got rid of Usman Khawaja in the fifth over of the day, everyone was on full alert for his 600th Test wicket.
The milestone moment won’t make for stunning viewing — Travis Head skying a short ball down the throat of Joe Root at long leg — but that doesn’t lessen the significance.
Broad is just the second seamer, after long-time running mate Jimmy Anderson, to reach the milestone, alongside a slew of legendary spinners.
Anderson joined the club in 2020 during his 156th Test, and Broad’s came in his 166th.
That they’ve done it in so many more Tests than the others — Murali reached 600 in his 101st Test, Kumble in 124 and Warne in 126 — is testament to their longevity in a more physically demanding discipline.
4. Jonny Bairstow takes a screamer
There have been few players under as much pressure as Jonny Bairstow has been this series.
From his part in the controversy at Lord’s — accepted in the most part to have been a significant error on his part more than an egregious bending of the spirit of the game from Alex Carey — through to his countless dropped chances with the gloves.
It’s been a tough series.
Things hadn’t been going that well for him in the sun at Old Trafford either, fumbling or dropping a number of balls that came his way.
But when it counted, he stood up — or at least dived full stretch to the right.
Chris Woakes had already claimed the wicket of Cameron Green for 16 upon his return to the attack.
But Bairstow’s one-handed wonder catch made it two for the over when he found Mitch Marsh’s outside edge a couple of balls later.
Moving to his left initially, Bairstow dived to his right, snaffling the ball to his obvious relief and the joy of all the England players around him.
5. Pat Cummins loses toss for the fifth Test in a row
When Pat Cummins called “tails” at the start of the day’s play and the troublesome coin exposed heads, Cummins lost his fourth successive toss this series.
Cummins is in a bit of a rut in terms of losing the toss; that’s five straight toss losses in a row for the Australian skipper — the first four Ashes Tests plus the World Test Championship.
It’s not been too impactful for him though.
Cummins has lost the toss eight times in completed matches he has captained the Test team in, winning six and drawing one.
In fact, the only time Cummins has lost the toss and the Test is at Headingley last time out.
If Ben Stokes wins the toss at the Oval, he will become the 13th Test skipper to win every toss in a five-Test series and first in an Ashes series since Mark Taylor in 1998/99.
Taylor was the fourth Ashes skipper to win all five tosses in a series.
The others were Australia’s Monty Noble in 1909 and Lindsay Hassett in 1952, and England’s Frank Stanley Jackson in 1905.
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