The Ashes | Gabba Test, Day 2: Travis Head takes England bowlers head on to deflate Joe Root and co.

If a wicket on the very first ball was not a strong enough ominous sign for the Joe Root’s England on what may be heading their way in the first Test of the Ashes series at Gabba, getting hammered to all corners of the ground by the most vulnerable batsman in the Australian batting lineup on the second day provided enough glimpse of their prospective hardships on the Australian soil.

Since the emergence of Marnus Labuschagne at the top of the order, it has been said that to get past Australia you must get past the trio of him, David Warner and Steve Smith. England could not go completely beyond all of them but the cheap wicket of Smith helped them overcome the century stand between the other two.

However, their bowling attack was not fresh enough to keep a relentless line and length going in face of an onslaught by Travis Head, who had to bank on his past to get secure his present and possibly future on the basis of good performances.

Robinson limps but carries England on his shoulders

After Mark Wood and Jack Leach gave them the lease of life in the form of Labuschagne and Smith’s wickets, Ollie Robinson dragged England back almost from point of no return in the game and probably from the series as well. 

Warner was looking unfazed by the fall of wickets at the other end as he was nearing his century after riding on the wave of good luck early on in the innings. However, he did not expect the seam bowler that Robinson is to use a cutter and the Gabba surface to hold the ball for a longer period of time. Failure in judgment led to a leading edge and England sent all of Labuschagne, Smith and Warner in quick succession.

They were right in the game as the only three remaining specialist batsmen were Travis Head, who was coming back after getting dropped midway through the series against India last summer, Cameron Green, who is yet to unlock his famous potential and Alex Carey, the debutant wicketkeeper-batsman.

Robinson went one step further and eliminated one of them on the very next ball after dismissing Warner by flummoxing Green with a delivery that the batsman thought would bounce over the stumps. The length was too full and the line was too near to the off stump to miss the furniture and both Green’s innings and Australia’s efforts were derailed in a span of two deliveries.

Pressure? What pressure, says Travis Head

When Head walked out to bat, Wood was going full throttle with his pace and bounce and was running in on the back of the biggest wicket in the form of Steve Smith, who could have been unsettled by his pace to poke it to the keeper.

Head was challenged by deliveries rising from short of good length areas and hitting him high on the bat. At the other end, Robinson was working a nice angle against him and Root backed his most accurate bowler on display with as many as five slips during that phase.

Head was not nervous though to poke at delivery outside off stump and instead was on a mission to announce his return to international form and reclaim his lost belongings at the Test level. There were no half measures when England bowlers erred by bowling too full irrespective of a crowded slip cordon and he was up and running even before Root and his lieutenants could realise.

Like Labuschagne and Warner, he too was extremely aggressive against Jack Leach and manufactured shots to convert good balls into boundary balls to motor the scoring rate along.

He seemed too aggressive at one moment to Mark waugh who has immortalised aggressive stroke playing in the modern-day game and a bewildered Waugh wondered if he was looking to bing his ton before England could get their hands on the new ball.

That probably was the only mission he failed to achieve today at Gabba but brought up his first Ashes ton in the 80th over by punching Chris Woakes past mid-on. The roar and animated celebration exemplified the context of that innings to his career and stature in the Australian Test team.

England face up plenty of problems

England rested James Anderson from the first Test citing inadequate preparation coming into the Gabba Test and to prepare for the Day-Night Test scheduled next week where his qualities would be more utilised. 

This space has already discussed the merits and demerits of that call but they also took another big call on Stuart Broad for this game. He was overlooked for the pace trio of Woakes, Robinson and Wood and spin of Jack Leach for some unknown reasons.

England opted to play it safe with their experienced horses considering their ageing body and played the bait on young pacers. However, those extra meticulous proved to be futile for the visitors as Robinson looked out of gas towards the end and appeared to be holding his thigh while bowling towards the end of the day.

Likewise, Ben Stokes also pulled his knee while going for a valiant save on the boundary line and bowled gingerly at pace and rhythm that could barely challenge the Australian batting lineup, except for one delivery that bounced extra and got big on Head.

As discussed earlier also, England have done too much forward planning and maybe are paying price with every passing session and day of the Gabba Test.

England could take heart from Robinson’s bowling and Woakes’s control but lack of sustained penetration from pacers was brutally exposed and once Australia took the attack to Jack Leach in successful manner, there was no place to hide for Joe Root, the skipper and his 10 teammates.