Australia’s middle order concerns have eased after Matthew Wade cracked a brilliant century and Travis Head scored 51 in the opening Ashes Test at Edgbaston.
Wade hit 110 – his third Test ton and first against England – as the day finished with the hosts closing on 0-13 – a deficit of 385 in response to Australia’s mammoth second innings total of 7-487 declared.
They must now bat out the whole day to prevent Australia taking a 1-0 series lead.
Head’s measured 51 came when the pressure was firmly on Australia who had slumped to 3-75 chasing down England’s lead of 90 when he joined the peerless Steve Smith at the crease on Saturday evening.
Smith went on to score 142 – his second ton of the match – and continues to torment the English bowlers who’ve now seen him chalk up eight centuries and pass 200 twice against them since 2013.
Smith and Wade’s knocks effectively ended England hopes of winning the game – a remarkable feat considering Tim Paine’s side had slumped to 8-122 on day one.
Wade enjoyed an excellent Sheffield Shield campaign for Tasmania, scoring 1021 runs at an average of just over 60 and also made three centuries for the Australia A team earlier in the tour.
However, he struggled in the inter-squad warm-up match in Southampton, posting scores of 10 and seven and was then out for one to Stuart Broad in the first innings.
Team mentor Steve Waugh hinted the squad may need to look at picking a fifth bowler for the second Test at Lord’s with allrounder Mitch Marsh in the frame to fill the role.
But Wade ended any discussion about his place at No.6 with a buccaneering knock that included 17 boundaries.
“I certainly felt that my game at a stage where I could perform at this level,” Wade said.
“It’s as confident as I’ve been coming into a Test match, that’s for sure. But that’s the way we want it to be in Australia.
“We want guys piling on a lot of runs at first-class level to get an opportunity to play Test cricket and when you get that opportunity to try and take it.”
Head’s half-century from 116 balls in addition to the 35 he scored in the first innings vindicates the decision of the selectors to include him in the team.
Like Wade, the South Australian captain struggled in the warm-up match scoring just one run in his two innings.
But despite falling to a poor shot to Stuart Broad on a lifeless pitch for the seamers, Head has demonstrated enough in Birmingham to suggest he can enjoy success in his maiden Ashes campaign.
-AAP
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