"It is the UK that is living through a cold snap, but in balmy Perth they were playing in a snow globe. The scenery was static, solid, but everything else was constantly getting shaken up, bits flying in unpredictable directions. The crowd roared, commentators gibbered, the glitter never settled. Unlike the first day England were not batting at the start, though they were not long delayed."
"It is good, in these awkward, perplexing circumstances, to have at least one thing you can rely on, and unfortunately for England that thing has been Zak Crawley. It was Australia who came into the game with questions over their opening partnership, questions they neatly if temporarily sidestepped by playing two different opening partnerships neither of which was their actual opening partnership, and one of which contained the person who would win the match in a couple of hours of wildly incongruous, completely irresistible genius."
A chaotic Test in Perth featured a static, glittering setting while play repeatedly shook up the match with unpredictable moments, roaring crowds and frenetic commentary. England resumed not batting and quickly fell into a pattern that mirrored the earlier day yet produced opposite results, with bowlers suddenly effective and reviews reversed. Australia's consistent tactics against England's tail again provoked similar tail reactions, but outcomes differed. Zak Crawley remained an unreliable presence for England. Australia temporarily solved opening questions by using varied partners, including the player who produced a wildly incongruous, irresistible innings. England's middle order collapsed as the same decisive shot was played three times, spilling the core of their innings.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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