No ball or no no ball? And when beer stops play... TEST MATCH TALKING POINTS

SAM MORSHEAD AT EDGBASTON: Ben Stokes' back foot caused plenty of discussion after he dismissed Travis Head, while one poor lady in the stands had her pint picked off by James Pattinson

Scorecard

No ball? Or no no ball?

There was a social media pile-on in the minutes after Ben Stokes dismissed Travis Head, caught behind on the cut.

Commentators from the southern hemisphere had convinced themselves that Stokes’ trailing foot had touched the return crease, in which case a no ball ought to have been called.

As it was, although Stokes’ right boot did eventually come into contact with the whitewash, when first contact was made between spikes and turf he was inside the line, by the merest of margins.

And so the differences in opinion come down to semantics.

Law 21.5.1 states that for a delivery to be considered fair “the bowler’s back foot must land within and not touching the return crease appertaining to his/her stated mode of delivery”.

But what does “land” mean in this instance? 

On Sky Sports commentary, Michael Atherton and David Gower concluded that the contact made by his spikes was enough. Australian pundit Trent Copeland, however, wrote on Twitter: “Respectfully to the guys on air, I disagree with ‘first point of contact’ being ok. The wording is ‘lands’, he has not landed until his foot has finished coming down. Just my thoughts.”

Umpires Aleem Dar and Joel Wilson - who have come under fire for their performances in this Test - did check the decision with the TV officials prior to Head leaving the field, however.

Their interpretation of “lands”, as it turned out, was closer to Atherton and Gower’s.

^{Ben Stokes was close to bowling a no ball when he dismissed Travis Head}

Woakes jokes

It seemed a strange move.

With his bowling arsenal already a man down - and quite a man in the shape of Jimmy Anderson - Joe Root opted not to call on Chris Woakes until after the lunch interval.

The allrounder had been in the field throughout the morning session, with no injury concerns to speak of, yet while Ben Stokes and Stuart Broad charged in he was left unused.

Given his impact in the first innings, his sensational Test record on these shores and the fact he knows Edgbaston better than most other players currently active on the circuit, it seemed a curious decision from the skipper.

England managed just one wicket in that first session, Australia loosened the shackles and set themselves free. Could Woakes have been the man to keep them under lock and key?

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More respect for Smith

Maybe it was early enough in the day for the alcohol not to have kicked in, maybe they had been worn down by Steve Smith’s relentlessness at the crease, or maybe a recognition of greatness had filtered through… whatever, the reception to the Australian’s second century of this match was much less hostile than that to his first.

The Hollies Stand largely stood and applauded the Aussie No.4 as he lifted his helmet and bat high above his head on reaching three figures, becoming the first man to make twin tons in an Ashes Test since Matthew Hayden in 2002-03 in the process.

By the middle of the afternoon, Smith had turned the typically raucous atmosphere in Edgbaston’s party stand into something more akin to a sleepy Sunday in a retirement home.

^{Joe Root proves to umpire Joel Wilson that the ball landed in beer}

Beer match

England were trying to get the ball changed for much of the day, often enquiring with umpires Joel Wilson and Aleem Dar whether or not it might have been warped out of shape, without success.

As Australia’s lower order went in search of fast runs, however, they finally got their wish. And it came at the expense of an unfortunate woman in the stands.

James Pattinson hoiked a pull into the legside, which cleared the rope and fell straight into a pint of beer seven or eight rows back.

When the ball returned to the field, Root made double certain that Wilson was aware, shoving it in the official’s face so the hoppy smells could waft up his nose. 

Finally, England got their wish. The ball was changed. Not that it did them any favours, as Pattinson and Cummins smashed an eighth-wicket partnership of 78 in 12-and-a-bit overs.

Broad’s unwanted ton

Stuart Broad brought up one notable century in this first Ashes Test - 100 wickets in matches against Australia - and on Sunday he completed a second. This one, though, he will not be wanting to discuss in a hurry.

When Rory Burns spilled Pat Cummins, charging in from the third man boundary and tumbling forward, he took Broad to three figures for dropped catches in Test cricket.

You did not read that wrong. Broad has seen 100 catches shelled off his bowling in the format over the course of his career.

Club dobblers everywhere will feel his pain, of course. That’s a typical season for many on the village scene.

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