There is little doubt that most bowlers enjoy bowling in English conditions because of the help the pitches provide for fast bowling. But there can be occasions when there would be too much swing for bowlers, so much so that even the wicketkeeper would find it difficult to take the ball, despite putting in his best dive possible.
One such incident occurred on Day 2 of the fifth Ashes test between England and Australia, when in the third over of his spell, Peter Siddle delivered a ball to Joe Root that pitched on off-stump and swung by such a massive margin that wicketkeeper Peter Neville couldn’t hang on to it, despite diving in front of the first slip, at full stretch.
Siddle, who was brought into the team in place of an injured Josh Hazlewood, eventually finished with figures of 2 for 32 in 13 overs.
Australia dominated proceedings on Day 2, picking up 8 England wickets to leave them reeling at 107 for 8 at the close of play. At the start of play on Day 3, they bowled out England for 149 with Mitchell Johnson picking up both the wickets.
After having a discussion with his teammates, skipper Michael Clarke enforced the follow-on, which now effectively means that he will not add any more runs to his already impressive Test tally of 8628 runs in 114 Tests.
The Aussie bowlers will be looking to deliver a similar performance in the second essay as well and provide their captain and opener Chris Rogers something to smile to about as they leave the international scene.
Here’s a video of that delivery from Siddle:
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