Lunch England 4 for 116 (Carberry 60, Bell 29*, Stokes 0*) trail Australia 9 for 570 dec by 454 runs
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Irresponsible, certainly. Inexcusable? Well, the charge was understandable. Kevin Pietersen's dismissal on the third morning of the Adelaide Test heaped more troubles on an England side bedevilled by problems in the Ashes series.
By lunch, with three more wickets surrendered in the opening session, England were still 255 runs from avoiding the follow-on figure of 371, their only source of comfort being Michael Carberry's first Test half-century and a blissful start to his innings by Ian Bell, which by a distance represented England's most confident batting of the series
Heavily beaten in the first Test in Brisbane, and needing to make a concerted response to Australia's mammoth 9 for 570 to at least stabilise their Ashes tour, England endured two bad dismissals. If Joe Root's departure, slog-sweeping Nathan Lyon to deep square, was bad enough for England, Pietersen's wicket must have left them screeching with frustration.
Australia set two short midwickets when Peter Siddle bowled to Pietersen and he could not resist the challenge. He did not just play the shot, he manufactured it, moving across his stumps to a length ball and whipping it to the squarer of the two fielders, George Bailey, who juggled with it four times, without ever looking out of control, before the ball finally rested in his hands.
It is a shot Pietersen feasts upon, and such is his expressed determination to keep playing it that even if Australia stationed four short midwickets it would probably not quell his desire. Siddle, too, has repeatedly unsettled him around off stump and that has increased his desire to find a get-out shot. But he has fallen in this manner twice in the series and Australia can celebrate a tactical victory.
Pietersen also had a scare in Siddle's previous over, before he had scored, when Australia unsuccessfully reviewed for a catch at the wicket. The review was encouraged by the wicketkeeper, Brad Haddin, who was convinced he had heard a noise, but neither Hot Spot near Snicko - officially in use in the series for the first time - supported the notion.
Root would not be proud either of his attempt so slog-sweep Lyon. He was at full stretch as he took the ball from just outside off stump and misjudged the bounce. Even though the boundary in front of the unfinished stand is a mere 53 metres, he fell comfortably short, surrendering his wicket to a catch by Chris Rogers. Root had laboured for 80 balls for 15 and his efforts were wasted.
England, three down and with the debutant Ben Stokes due in at No.6, could draw consolation from the certainty of Michael Carberry. He had been fortunate to survive a traumatic last two balls on the first day when he might have been run out by Root and then would have fallen lbw to Mitchell Johnson if Australia had thought to review the not-out decision.
Bell was bent upon playing with natural freedom. He lofted his seventh ball, from Lyon, over long-off for six and, in Lyon's next over, cleared the rope at long-on. It had taken England 35 overs to get their scoring rate above two an over but by lunch, Carberry and Bell were finally assembling some sort of response.
Carberry was at his most dependable on a warm and sunny Adelaide morning, repelling the pace bowlers with stout defence and continuing to meet Lyon with confidence. Briefly, Bell and Carberry broke free, but Australia checked them again when Ryan Harris and Shane Watson produced five successive maidens - the last ball of the fifth of them resulting in the dismissal of Carberry who obligingly pulled a short ball from Watson to David Warner, who pulled off an excellent left-handed catch in front of square.
With two overs remaining before lunch, it was an awkward time for Stokes to come out to play his first Test innings. He watched Johnson from the non-striker's end before playing out a maiden against Lyon as England reached lunch in disarray.
England lose three in tough session
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England lose three in tough session
