2nd Test Day 4. Paine and Lyon Show Their Leadership to Steal the Day

You would be hard pressed to see a better day’s Test cricket than what was put on at Perth Stadium yesterday for the fourth day of the 2nd Test. We saw fighting and tenacious batting, we saw blistering and brilliant fast bowling, we saw guile and turn from Australia’s premier spin bowler and we saw and heard plenty of talk between the two teams on the field without the anger and personal insults that had filled previous series. All in all it was a joy to watch.

• The first session was wonderful old school Test match cricket. The bowling was tight and decisive, with the ball beating the bat on countless occasions through swing and seam. Through all of this the Australian pair of Usman Khawaja and Tim Paine battled on, knowing that they had to survive and keep progressing their lead to one they could defend in the fourth innings of the match. It wasn’t pretty and it was hard work, but the 57 runs they added in that first session without losing a wicket were priceless. Khawaja has been marooned for most of the series so far but today he was able to find more singles and twos that he had been. Paine continued to do what he has done since his return to the Test team, fighting at number seven and refusing to give away his wicket while still scoring runs. It was terrific cricket.
• The second session was monstrous. The whole complexion of the game changed as Shami and Bumrah battered the Australian line up with fast short bowling that was reminiscent of the great West Indies teams of the 1980’s. The deliveries that got both Paine and Khawaja out were brutes, and the blows taken by the tail from the fast bowlers were scary. Nathan Lyon was clanged full on in the grille, while Starc took a number in the midriff. If you weren’t batting it was terrific to watch, both the bowling and the way the batsmen tried to defend it. Through all of this, Cummins got a grubber that there was no way he could defend which must have put wild thought into the Indians batsmen. Then Starc and Hazlewood put together an invaluable partnership of 36 to hold up the Indian charge. It could yet prove to be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
• The early inroads by Australia’s openers put them on the front foot, but the brilliance of Nathan Lyon shone through again on a wicket that two hours before had been a fast bowlers paradise. His first over to Kohli was all at the stumps spinning in, and Kohli turned them all to the leg side comfortably. Then Lyon bowled the ball wider of the off stump and with more flight, drawing Kohli forward and out of his comfort zone. The extra bounce helped to take the edge and fly to first slip. It was an obvious plan and worked to perfection. Brilliant to watch. Then he kept the same line next over for Vijay, but this one turned out of the footmarks and took the inside edge on the way to taking leg stump. 2/2. He may well have monikered himself as the GOAT; today he again showed he is right up there with the best bowlers in world cricket. 
• It has already been mentioned in many commentaries today, but today will be remembered as the day when Australia returned to the battleground of Test cricket through the fighting words of its skipper Tim Paine. We have watched the opening dispatches as Virat Kohli emoted and pumped and generally used his body language to dominate the exchanges to start this series. Yesterday he decided to try and provoke Paine into verbal exchanges, which he responded to on a couple of occasions. Today though he led with the front foot, happy to start these conversations with Kohli and not allow him to dominate in that way. Kohli’s delight in Paine’s dismissal with a ferocious and obvious laugh right at him as he departed would have rankled, but the delight in which the Aussies celebrated Kohli’s dismissal was worth more. The fact that through all of this there was not one swear word used, not one threat of personal injury, just light hearted but determined banter between them, showed that Australia can use the art of ‘sledging’ without having to plunge to the depths of aggression and personal insults to be involved on the field. Paine’s parting comment to Murali Vijay that “I know he’s your captain but you can’t seriously like him as a bloke” was the perfect riposte on a day Australia finished on top for the first time since the South African tour in March. 

Australia start the final day with five wickets to take to level this fascinating series at 1-1. On this wicket with their bowling attack there should be no doubt of victory, yet after the year that we have had in 2018 perhaps we’ll just wait for it to occur before we start celebrating too much.