“I may have forgotten to charge my wireless earphones overnight so I’m relying on you to keep me updated,” writes Max Cornell. “I just hope England are still batting at the end of the day.”

Surely the only cricket writer who could replace headphones would be… Mihir Bose?










England’s players are gathering out in the middle now, kicking the football around lackadaisically. Ben Stokes finishes his throwdowns and wanders over, his clean white socks pulled up nerd-high over his black compression tights. Now they’re all lying down on their backs doing Bertie Beetle impressions, waving their legs in the air. “Oh, I’ve been sprayed with insecticide, ohhhhh!” That’s how professionals do it.

The Australians are all throwing down practice stumps and doing their best to look purposeful and stern and imposing.










“Virender Sehwag for all his qualities could never make a smooth transition to the ODI side,” writes Amod Paranjape. “He was lethal in Tests but I think he thought he had to go even faster. Interesting to see what the reverse transition holds for Jason Roy.”










I’m watching Jason Roy taking some throwdowns out in the middle at the moment. The sun has burst through and all looks joyful. A big day for Roy and Burns, the England openers have to offer something. I’m not sure they will – my pointless prediction is that two or three cheap ones will fall, then there’ll be runs from the middle order. It’s a nice day for batting, and you’d think England will need 350 at least with Lyon to bowl last on this surface.

Moeen is having a trundle himself for now, and he’s literally landing the ball on a tea towel. They’ve spread out a small white cloth on a good length and he’s trying to hit it. Joe Denly has actually landed a couple more than Mo.










Get in touch

I don’t really need to encourage this, because my email inbox is bracing itself for the Ashes deluge, but you can get in touch using geoff.lemon@theguardian.com or you can join me in the sunlit uplands of Twitter using @GeoffLemonSport.










Preamble

Geoff Lemon

Good morning from Edgbaston. It’s a pleasant sort of day so far here in Birmingham, some cloud about but some blue sky as well. And what a day of Ashes cricket we have for us. You know those Test days that end at just the right time? We’re so evenly poised now. Some wins for England yesterday with Stuart Broad’s five-for and the first eight wickets, then that extraordinary batting fightback from Steve Smith and Australia’s two least likely, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon.

Smith’s hundred was one of the best the game has seen, given his personal circumstances mixed with those of the match, and Broad did what he has done against Australia so many times.

Now we have one of those matches where we have no idea what is ahead. Australia, bowled out for 284. By day’s end that could look like a very middling total if England bat well, or imposing if Australia’s bowlers do the business. James Pattinson and Pat Cummins operating at pace, Siddle with smarts, Lyon to extract turn from a pitch that did spin yesterday. England with three of their top six yet to prove themselves at this level, and one or two of them hovering perilously near the drop.

Everything is set up to be a brilliant day at the Ashes. Let’s go.




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