England are staring down the barrel of a 2-0 Ashes deficit after an embarrassing display on day three of the second Test in Brisbane. And things started poorly before a bowl was even bowled on Saturday when Jofra Archer was spotted bringing a pillow to the Gabba.
Australia started the third day’s play six wickets down, but a stunning knock of 77 from Mitchell Starc got the hosts a massive first-innings lead of 177. Starc then continued his mastery with the ball as England slumped to 6-134 at stumps – still 43 runs from making Australia bat again.
The tourists lost 5-38 in a horror collapse on Saturday night that puts their hopes of winning back the Ashes in serious jeopardy. England greats are fuming, with Michael Vaughan pointing out Australia virtually has a ‘second-string’ bowling attack with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon all out.
Matthew Hayden said it was a ‘shocking look’ for Jofra Archer to be bringing a pillow to the ground. Image: Getty/Channel 7
Even some Australian greats are fuming at what they saw from England on Saturday, including before play even started when Archer rocked up with a pillow. Matthew Hayden and Simon Katich were highly critical of the England bowler, believing it was a poor look that Archer was planning on sleeping all day once Australia’s innings finished.
“I’m sorry but that is a shocking look,” Hayden said on Channel 7. “If I was a batsman I tell you what I’d be doing. I would be digging in forever. It would be exactly what you need as a batsman I can tell you.
“You’d be looking over at that and going, ‘you are never going to sleep with that. Not any part of this day are you going to see that … not even in the night’.”
Katich added: “I reckon if Haydos was facing Jofra Archer he would have been greeted with, ‘night-time is for sleeping champ, you’re not going to get a chance today’.
“I agree, I don’t think it’s a great look, bringing a pillow to a Test. He had plenty of chances to sleep last night. This will be a big challenge for him. His durability was questioned before the series. The 15 Tests in six years.”
Ben Stokes wraps an arm around Jofra Archer during the second Ashes Test. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP via Getty Images)
RELATED:
Ricky Ponting reveals England teammate’s interesting reaction
Ricky Ponting shared an eye-opening exchange he had with Ben Duckett in regards to Archer’s pillow. “I couldn’t believe it, I was walking straight towards him,” Ponting said.
“He gives me a bit of a glance and Ben Duckett was 10 metres behind him. I said, ‘What is going on here?’ [Duckett] said, ‘Don’t even ask me, I don’t want to talk about it’.”
Yahoo Sport Australia has contacted England Cricket for comment. As Katich mentioned, questions have been asked about Archer’s durability – especially in Australian conditions. England’s biggest strike weapon took just one wicket in 25 overs as Australia amassed 511 in their first innings.
Their batters then slumped to an embarrassing new low as Starc, Michael Neser and Scott Boland wreaked havoc with the pink ball under lights. “I worry about this psychological damage of this last two days. Not just for the batters, but particularly the bowlers, who had so much time out there and they just didn’t look like they were going to get wickets,” Vaughan said on BBC. “They were humiliated in that second day in Perth, and today and yesterday.”