Bazball won't lose England The Ashes - Australia's attack will win it regardless
One of the defining images of another day of English struggle was the sight of Ollie Pope’s middle stump horizontal on the Lord’s turf.
Pope was bent double as though he had just been punched in the solar plexus and, metaphorically, he had, Mitchell Starc’s inswinger a thing of vicious beauty.
You can talk about Bazball all you want but this Test match has demonstrated a stark, brutal truth.
This Australian attack will win the Ashes.
Too quick, too hostile, too clever, too many wicket-taking balls in their armoury.
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Pat Cummins too good for Joe Root and Harry Brook, Starc too good for Pope, even if he was a little fortunate to remove Zak Crawley
Whatever their approach - unconventional or conventional, adventurous or attritional, buccaneering or boring - this English batting line-up has not yet shown they have the skillset to negate a formidable bowling line-up.
And it will now probably be of no consequence that Nathan Lyon will surely play no further part in the series.
Unless England can come up with a Sunday miracle, this will be a defeat that will leave some psychological scars, not least on Brook, who had a torrid time against the short ball in the first innings and was beaten all ends up by Cummins in the second.
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It has been a tough series for Jimmy Anderson (PA)
The difference in potency between the two attacks has been summed up by the plight of Jimmy Anderson in these first two Tests.
In the broad scheme of things, his second drop of Australia’s second innings did not matter a jot.
The reprieve for Travis Head brought Steve Smith to the striker’s end and he kindly spooned Josh Tongue’s next delivery into the safer hands of Zak Crawley.
And Head himself did not last much longer, so no real damage was done by Jimmy’s spill.
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But the moment when Anderson’s reactions were not sharp enough to take the sort of chance he has been routinely accepting for two decades somehow seemed symbolic - not least because the same had happened the previous day.
A dropped catch was just one difficult moment for Anderson (Getty Images)Inevitably, as he approaches his 41st birthday, age is catching up with Jimmy.
That is no slight against one of the country’s most distinguished sportsmen - that Anderson has kept ahead of time’s curve for so long is remarkable.
But this is shaping up to be one Ashes series too many for one of the finest English bowlers of all time.
In the first Test match at Edgbaston, Anderson bowled 38 overs, taking 1-107 and was clearly frustrated by a lack of help from the surface and the conditions.
Well, this Lord’s pitch was not too lively either but it offered more help than the Edgbaston track did and Anderson’s 39 overs brought him only two wickets at a cost of 117 runs.
And when the instruction to bowl non-stop short stuff became apparent, there was no role for Anderson.
Ben Stokes will have big calls to make before the next test (Getty Images)You would expect conditions at Headingley, for the third Test, to be more helpful for Anderson but Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum have some big decisions to make, especially as it seems they will have to win that match to keep their hopes of winning the series alive.
But the question is this. Even if it is decided that Anderson at least needs a break, who is there to come in?
If Mark Wood is finally deemed to be match fit, then he is a certainty to be selected and it would be harsh to drop Tongue after a promising performance.
Mark Wood has yet to play a part (REX/Shutterstock)Wood’s continuing absence, though, is ominous.
But whatever combination England come up with, it will struggle to match this Australian unit.
There has been spirited resistance here from Ben Duckett - reprieved late on in bizarre circumstances - and he will walk out with his captain on the final day to try and pull off that miracle.
But his and England’s chances are extremely slim because this Australian attack is too dangerous.
And that is the stark, brutal truth.
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