Ashes 2015: Moeen Ali gives England the upper hand in Cardiff

First Test : Day Two

England 430: Root 134, Moeen 77, Ballance 61, Starc 5-114

Australia 264-5: Rogers 95, Clarke 38

Moeen Ali scored 77 and took two key wickets as England gained the upper hand on a tight second day of the first Ashes Test against Australia. 

The hosts added 87 runs to their overnight total in 14.1 overs to post 430 all out in a sun-kissed Cardiff and were then rewarded for a disciplined bowling display as Australia slipped to 264-5.
Moeen removed Steve Smith and Michael Clarke to justify his selection ahead of Adil Rashid as England's spinner. 

Mark Wood took his first Ashes wicket - dismissing Chris Rogers for 95 and Ben Stokes struck late in the day to snaffle Ashes debutant Adam Voges and put England on top. 

 Chris Rogers trudges off after being bowled for 95 by Mark Wood

Mark Wood celebrates the wicket of Chris Rogers

The hosts' dominant display sealed a remarkable recovery from 43-3 on Wednesday morning as they set about avenging a 5-0 Ashes whitewash down under. 

Australia, four places above England in the Test rankings, are seeking a first Ashes win in England since 2001.

 

Moeen the Man
The biggest quandary facing England's selectors before the first Test was whether to select Moeen or bow to the clamour to hand a debut to Yorkshire leg-spinner Rashid. 

In the event, Moeen more than repaid the selectors' faith with a fine all-round performance on Thursday. 

He added 51 runs to his overnight 26 in a flurry of shots in the morning sunshine before accounting for Australia's two most celebrated batsmen.
Seemingly unfazed by being hit for three fours in four balls by Smith, Moeen tempted the batsman with a flighted ball down the leg side and drew a leading edge, which was expertly caught by England captain Alastair Cook at short mid-on. 

Then, just when Clarke was finding his range, Moeen held on to a sharp return catch at waist height to send the Australia captain on his way.

Rogers the nearly man

Rogers, who will be 38 in August, continued his excellent Ashes record with a near-faultless 95.
Punching his trademark drives through the off-side and busily nurdling around the wicket, the left-hander shared half-century partnerships with David Warner, Smith and Clarke. 

However he was out five runs short of a fourth Ashes hundred when he cut at a wideish away-swinger from  Mark Wood and was caught behind. 

Rogers shook his head in disbelief and kicked the ground as he became the first player to score fifties in seven consecutive Test innings without converting any into hundreds.

Discipline and reward

On a pitch continuing to offer little pace or movement off the surface, England's bowlers were rewarded for their patience and discipline. 

Sticking to a good or full length on or outside off stump, they invited Australia to go after them and were rewarded with a succession of reckless shots. 

Warner was out driving Anderson on the up and Rogers to a needless cut before Voges miscued a drive straight to extra cover when the close of play was in sight. 

Mitchell's misery

Once again, Mitchell Johnson bore the brunt of England's assault on a riotous second morning as he recorded figures of 0-111 - the worst of his Test career. 

Mercilessly mocked by the home crowd, Johnson's mood worsened when he was finally awarded a first wicket, only to have it overturned. 

Broad was given out caught at short leg off a Johnson short ball, but was sent back to the crease by the third umpire when replays showed Voges's catch had touched the ground. 

While Johnson could not buy a wicket, Mitchell Starc continued to pick them up on the cheap.
Despite conceding more runs than his bowling partner, Starc picked up the last two wickets to complete the third five-wicket haul of his Test career.

Chris Rogers, who will retire from Test cricket at the end of the series: 

 "I'm old - I can feel it. Days in the field are hard work. Sometimes you think it's a bit of a young man's game."

Chris Rogers, who top-scored for Australia with 95:

 "It was an excellent day of Test cricket - both teams are going at each other really hard.

"I think England might have the a slight advantage. We had some good partnerships but we didn't make it count."

On batting last: "It is a worry. We're going to have to play a good game from here on in. It's going to be tough work and we have to get a lot closer to England."

Moeen Ali on his bowling: [England coach] "Trevor [Bayliss] is big on bowling all your varieties and I started to bowl the doosra. I haven't been bowling that well anyway so I thought 'why not?''

More from Moen Ali :

"We were happy yesterday and then today with the start we had and then taking five wickets. A couple of wickets tomorrow with the new ball and we're right in it.

"Cooky said for everyone to play the way they play, I felt I wanted to play my shots and entertain everyone. It's difficult to play shots straight away, you have to get in but then you can enjoy your batting."

Geoffrey Boycott - 
Ex England Batsment on Test Match Special

"There is a lot of time left for England to win it, I'll be surprised if Australia get up to England's total. It can happen, someone can play brilliantly and Watson is a good player but he has been known to struggle if you bowl straight around his pad. I think by the afternoon England will be batting, they will have a lead and we're only halfway through so England still have a chance of winning, they are in it, really in it."

 Shaw Post believes that the game is delicately poised going into Day Three. England seem to have the upper hand over Australia as they managed to be bowled out for 430 runs an hour before lunch. Then the Aussies ended Day Two on 264/5 some 166 runs behind England's first innings total. If England can bowl them out for 300 just before lunch tomorrow then they'll have a lead of one hundred and thirty runs.

This could be just the platform for England to go on and post another 350-400 runs leaving Australia a commanding total to chase down on Day Four and Five.