Ashes 2023 1st Test Day 3: Former England captain Nasser Hussain has provided some comical remarks about the ongoing ‘Bazball’ action in the commentary. The game was heavily affected by persistent rain, leading to interruptions during the second session after England had bowled out Australia for 386, giving them a narrow seven-run lead in the first innings. England's opening batsmen, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, displayed a brisk scoring rate and had reached 26/0 when play was halted due to rain just before the final ball of the seventh over. After a delay of an hour, the match resumed but lasted only 3.4 overs before rain showers returned, forcing the players off the field once again.
This was the phase when the ball started hooping around and Pat Cummins and Scott Boland made life miserable for the England batters. In this 20-minute phase, Cummins got rid of Ben Duckett while Boland accounted for Zak Crawley.
Kevin Pietersen and Nasser Hussain Fun Exchange
It was during this when former England batter Kevin Pietersen inquired with Nasser Hussain about the difficulty of batting in such conditions. This is how the conversation panned out.
Nasser Hussain’s Response
"Absolutely, I'm not worried about Bazball. Nazball is walking out there very slowly at the moment. Making sure I take my guard wrong. Delay as much as possible."
Forget 'Bazball' it's time for 'Nazball' _ pic.twitter.com/Vqzli1HSNt
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 18, 2023
How the day’s play unfolded:
England's bowlers employed a short-ball tactic, which proved effective in dismissing the Australian team in the first session for 386 runs. James Anderson delivered a superb ball that breached Alex Carey's defense, finding the gap between bat and pad to hit the stumps.
Ollie Robinson then produced a pinpoint yorker to dismiss centurion Usman Khawaja for 141. Robinson then went on to dismiss Nathan Lyon and Cummins, while Stuart Broad accounted for Boland. All three wickets fell to the short-ball trick.
By the end of 10.3 overs, England had established a lead of 35 runs, and with no signs of the rain subsiding, the umpires called for a tea break. Eventually, stumps were called, and play will resume on Day 4 and there will be revised timings to account for the overs lost on day 3.
