There has been a distinctly upbeat tone in English cricket during the short leadup to the Headingley Test. For once, the local bowlers do not have to worry about dismissing Steve Smith, the man who has sacked them for 10 Ashes centuries since his first in 2013, but will sit out this week with concussion. England have the cause of that concussion on their side, in the fast bowler Jofra Archer. And, with an hour’s less rain the Lord’s draw could have been an England win, which is an encouraging way to leave a stalemate.
Like the Swiss flag, each of those is a big plus. But the talk of momentum shifting implies an equal transference between the two teams; a system where energy is finite and can only change location or state. The analogy doesn’t account for two separate systems. England may have gained pep, but that doesn’t mean Australia had to lose it.
Written by Geoff Lemon at Headingley
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2019/aug/21/jofra-archer-england-australia-labuschagne-ashes-cricket under the title “Archer’s pace need not faze Australia and Labuschagne has shown the way | Geoff Lemon”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
