Plays of the day from the fourth day at Old Trafford
George Dobell, Jarrod Kimber and Brydon Coverdale04-Aug-2013Gary Pratt of the day
It wouldn’t be an Ashes series without a run-out from a sub fielder. And this one even featured the Australia captain, just like Gary Pratt’s effort against Ricky Ponting at Trent Bridge in 2005. Only this time, it was Michael Clarke’s partner, Steven Smith, who was the victim. Smith steered a delivery from James Anderson down to third man and positively Usain Bolted through for the first run while Clarke strolled. Smith was already two-thirds down the pitch for a second run – which was clearly there – when he realised Clarke wasn’t coming. A relay throw from Matt Prior found Smith short of his ground and the man who had hurled the ball in from third man was Tom Craddock, the Essex legspinner, who was on the field for Kevin Pietersen. It was a brief and eventful spell on the ground; Pietersen jogged back on as Smith trudged off.Clash of the day
David Warner bolted out on the field, perhaps hoping to be out in the middle before the crowd realised it was him. He faced 57 balls. None of those were delivered by Joe Root. Root didn’t even warm up near him. They might have shared the same field, but that was about as close as it got. But the link between them couldn’t be broken that easily. A short ball from Tim Bresnan was pulled out to deep square leg. As it travelled for those fleeting moments, you could hear people start to say “Is that Root?” followed by the catch, and then “That is Root!” Then laughter.Tune of the day
Whatever Warner achieves in his career, it seems he will always be remembered for punching Root in a bar in Birmingham. Certainly the English crowd will never let him forget it. Here Billy Cooper, the Barmy Army trumpeter making his first appearance of the summer at this Test having been forbidden from playing in the first two games, played the theme from Rocky when Warner came out to bat in Australia’s second innings.Boundary of the day
A pleasing stroke from Stuart Broad in the eighth over of the day, a back-foot drive through cover off the bowling of Ryan Harris, drew prolonged applause from another full-house crowd of 25,000 at Old Trafford. But the applause was not just for a nicely timed stroke from a man who seems to be rediscovering some form with the bat. It was because it was the stroke that ensured England had averted the follow-on and therefore significantly reduced Australia’s chances of winning this game.Walk of the day
After the mountain of criticism Broad attracted for failing to walk after edge at Trent Bridge, it was particularly noticeable that he did not wait for the umpire’s decision here. Prodding forward to a nice delivery from Nathan Lyon that turned enough to brush the edge of the bat, it was a far less obvious nick than the one Broad survived in Nottingham, suggesting he may have reflected on events that day and decided to change his approach. Equally, it may be he decided that, with the follow-on already averted, the circumstances of the match made such a move a canny piece of PR. Graeme Swann also walked a few minutes later in similar circumstances.Review of the day
Broad was briefly in the umpires’ good books when he walked but later in the day he and the officials weren’t seeing eye to eye. Broad was convinced he had Warner caught behind trying to hook a bouncer, but Tony Hill disagreed. England reviewed the call and there was no mark on Hot Spot and no evidence that Warner had tickled the ball, and the decision stood. But England were convinced Warner was out, and Broad and James Anderson talked at length to Hill after the decision came down from the third official. Later, Snicko suggested Warner might have hit the ball after all, but there was no way on the evidence available at the time Kumar Dharmasena could have overruled Hill.
