Australia have announced an unchanged team for the second Ashes Test, a day/night game. That means no Cummins or Hazelwood. However the Test doesn’t start until next Friday so this may be a PR exercise.
The first Test lasted just two days but as the graphic above shows Tests in Australia have been getting shorter with batters scoring less runs.
Several factors seem to be involved. Firstly a reworked Kookaburra ball which helps bowlers for longer into an innings. Secondly pitches are being prepared to avoid a draw game. There have been very few drawn Tests in Australia in recent years and of course the draw is anathema to Bazball, England would rather end in glorious defeat.
A factor less mentioned is the impact of short form critic. Without wishing to reinvent Geoffrey Boycott for the 2020s are there batters who are mentally prepared to bat all day without scoring a triple hundred?
BBC Cricket’s view is here
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