 July 9, 2023 For most of the game this has been a new-ball wicket, so the first hour is a big one, bigger even than the previous one. Given the bare-knuckle cricket that followed, it's easy to forget that England lost five wickets inside 25 overs in their first innings. For England fans it would be rather spiffing if they avoided a repeat. Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett made a very positive start last night, scoring at almost a run a ball, and are unlikely to change their approach. We should probably expect a change in tempo at some stage though. This has been a game of dramatic shifts. We've seen 17 sixes, only four short of the record for an Ashes Test, but there have also been extended periods of old-fashioned Test cricket. England have had the best of conditions, as they did at Lord's. This time, they simply have to make it count. And i){kind=link}
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