Tim Paine's DRS problem and the importance of Jos Buttler...ASHES TALKING POINTS

Since Buttler returned to England’s Test side in 2018 for the series against Pakistan, no Englishman has accrued more runs

A DRS dilemma...

The moment that summed it all up for Tim Paine came when Australia were, in fact, out of reviews. Both had been wasted on Ben Stokes’ front pad: one to a hooping in-swinger, the other to an off-break that slid down the leg-side.

But shortly afterwards, with none remaining and total responsibility now in the hands of the on-field umpires, Paine stood frustrated after an appeal for a catch against Jonny Bairstow was turned down.

The skipper ran towards his bowler in celebration, only to see Aleem Dar unmoved. He would almost certainly have reviewed the call.

Once again, he would have been wrong. There was nothing on Ultra Edge. His incredulity was unfounded. To call this a running theme would almost be generous; Paine, of course, remains relatively new to international captaincy.

However, his record of overturning decisions through DRS is, by any standards, verging on the diabolical.

Four correct reviews have been countered by 25 that, on video replay, have not been overturned. In this Test alone, both Rory Burns and Ben Stokes survived calls that – had Paine opted to review – would have seen them on their way.

It is a curious dilemma to face a wicketkeeper; Joe Root uses Bairstow as a sounding board for England’s reviews, while Eoin Morgan’s one-day strategy relies almost exclusively on Jos Buttler’s eyes behind the stumps.

Yet, if England’s query of a possible caught behind decision against Pat Cummins on Saturday was among the worst reviews ever seen, Australia followed suit on Sunday.

Josh Hazlewood’s in-ducker to Stokes both pitched outside leg and took a big chunk of the left-hander’s bat before finally careering into his pad.

When Lyon’s appeal was sent upstairs, even the technology malfunctioned. Stokes stood in cricketing purgatory awaiting his fate, while the ball-tracker froze as Lyon released his delivery. Eventually the footage rolled through. Missing leg. Wrong, again.

Tim Paine has a DRS success rate of four correct reviews out of 29

A different kind of Buttler...

It was tremendously gutsy, a real battle against oneself. Jos Buttler’s 31 runs took him 108 deliveries.

It was uncharacteristic, but exactly what England needed at that moment: a willingness to adapt, a malleability, an acceptance that – a month on from the buccaneering counterattack of his last Lord’s appearance – this was neither time nor place.

He played within himself, but almost beyond himself. When he was finally dismissed, it came courtesy of an instinctive show of aggression – a hook shot down the throat of fine-leg. It was one of few displays of intent.

That is not to say that it was an innings of weakness or docility, but that England’s middle order was willing to back down from its ways.

It was a knock that provided a platform – an opportunity for Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow to accelerate when, for England at least, the game could no longer be lost.

Since Buttler returned to England’s Test side in 2018 for the series against Pakistan, no Englishman has accrued more runs.

England take Lyon for a ton

An extraordinary statistic, but a statistic all the same: no bowler has been hit for more sixes than Nathan Lyon in Test history. Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow plundered Lyon as England raced towards a declaration. That figure now stands at 213.

When Moeen Ali fought with himself at Edgbaston, the vultures were out. After all, a struggling individual in a struggling side is never a great look. Their flaws just become more conspicuous.

And so, as England nudged, nurdled, swept and slog-swept Nathan Lyon to their hearts’ content, England will have felt a moral victory of their own.

Just as Australia milked Moeen to the point of no return, Lyon here was treated with not so much a consummate disdain, but with a quite refreshing clarity of thought.

England looked to play him off the back foot – Ben Stokes and Rory Burns led the way. When Lyon did invariably find the edge via the footmarks on offer, his fielders – principally David Warner – were unable to assist.

As Michael Holding asserted on commentary, to judge Lyon against Moeen is to be disingenuous.

Lyon is palpably a frontline spinner, a specialist, one of four in this visiting attack. Moeen, on the other hand, remains a batsman who bowls, his bowling exists as one of two strings on his bow.

Thus, taking Lyon for 105 runs without loss on a wearing pitch will be viewed as quite a result. For the home side, meanwhile, Jack Leach was excellent: probing, incessant, precise.

David Warner has endured a torrid struggle in the opening two games of the series

David Warner: An England Problem

David Warner is some player: a Test average of 47.55, an ODI average of 45.77. His record in England, however, is average at best. Ten matches, 19 efforts, a high score of 85, an average of just 30.21.

In this series so far, he has managed just 18 runs. Scores of two, eight, three and five. He has become Stuart Broad’s bunny; where there has been a mode of dismissal, he has found it.

It has never been for a lack of trying; Warner has batted out of his crease, inside his crease, legside of the ball, offside of the ball.

He, like Jason Roy, finds himself in a trough of sorts. Whatever you do, though, never write off Warner – a battler for whom adversity is not a hindrance, but a motivating factor.

Right-arm optimistic?

There have been worse part-time off-spinners than Joe Root. That much is both fair and true. He took wickets during the World Cup and, on seamer-friendly surfaces, optimists have suggested that the England captain could pick an extra seamer and rely on his own tweakers.

Somewhat surprisingly, therefore, Root is without a home Test wicket since July 2016. The victim on that occasion? Wahab Riaz. Here, he treated Lord’s to one over of some exploratory off-spin. The wait goes on.

In the name of stats

For the first time in history, England have made the same score in both innings of a Test match. Interesting? Perhaps not. Quirky? Definitely. And what is Test cricket without a deeply tenuous statistic?

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