“No. That’s the second time I’ve done it in my career,” Lyon said. “And let’s hope it’s the last.”
But there is a case to be made that some soul-searching should be done among Australia’s batting group. It is not the style of this team to have stern words with each other, or even introspect. They are not the anti-negativity evangelists that England’s Bazballers are, but they are relatively pragmatic about their failures.
“I dare say so,” Lyon said. “But I’ll never criticise our batters the way they go about it because they’ve been exceptional for a number of years now. But then you’ve got to give credit to the bowlers and this is my big thing. Bowlers are actually there to bowl good balls. And it’s not always the batters’ fault getting out and bowlers are allowed to come up with plans and execute and take wickets. No doubt there will be some frustration in there.”
Phillips did bowl some good balls. The one to remove Cameron Green was a beauty. But his four other scalps, while well-planned and well-executed, required Australia’s batters to get sucked into the obvious traps that were laid out.
The first three have plenty of credits in the bank. But Carey is a cause for concern. His form with the bat is more alarming than the raw numbers. His Test batting average has slipped under 30 but it is the manner of his dismissals and the lack of a clear method to his batting that would be concerning Australia’s selectors the most.
It was the second time in the match that he holed out to cover, and it was made worse that he nearly holed out twice before his dismissal to the two catching covers in place.
In his last Test, after making an excellent momentum-shifting 65, he holed out to deep square leg, falling straight into a clear trap that was set for him.
It is not the first time Australia’s thoughtless batting has left them vulnerable this summer. They remain in a strong position but much rests on the shoulders of Lyon and the bowlers.
“If we do our job and put pressure on the guys for long periods of time, I’m confident that the bowlers in that change room will create more than seven chances,” Lyon said.
He was a threat again in the evening session, picking up Tom Latham and Kane Williamson. He revealed that he felt like he had found a vulnerability in Williamson’s game by getting him caught at leg slip but did not elaborate on exactly what it was.
“My biggest weapon and it’s no secret is my bounce all around the world,” Lyon said. “So I’ll continue to try and put some over spin on the ball and try and get the bounce and try and hit the stickers on the bat and challenge the guys’ defence on the crease. I’ve got a fair understanding of what their plan is going to be. So it’s a good opportunity for me tonight to reset some goals and reset some plans and we’ll go from there.”
