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Ashes 2023 1st Test Day 3: Former England captain Nasser Hussain makes some humorous remarks about the ongoing ‘buzzball’ action in the commentary. Play was badly affected by incessant rain, which caused a halt to the second session after England had bowled Australia out for 386 after taking a narrow seven-run first-innings lead. The England openers, Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett, displayed a rapid scoring rate and had reached 26/0 when play was stopped due to rain just before the last ball of the seventh over. After an hour’s delay, the match resumed but lasted only 3.4 overs when the rain returned, taking the players off the field once again.
This was the period when the ball started bouncing around and Pat Cummins and Scott Boland made life miserable for the England batsmen. In this 20-minute stint, Cummins got rid of Ben Duckett while Boland accounted for Zak Crawley.
Fun exchange between Kevin Pietersen and Nasser Hussain
Meanwhile, former England batsman Kevin Pietersen questioned Nasser Hussain about the difficulty of batting in such conditions. This is how the conversation was exposed.
Nasir Hussain’s response
“Absolutely, I’m not worried about the nazball. The nazball is coming out very slowly at the moment. Making sure I get my guard off the wrong way. Delay as much as possible.”
Forget ‘buzzball’, it’s time for ‘nuzzball’ _ pic.twitter.com/Vqzli1HSNt– Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) June 18, 2023
How was the day’s play:
The English bowlers adopted a short ball strategy, which proved effective in bowling out the Australians for 386 in the first session. James Anderson bowled a brilliant delivery that breached Alex Carey’s defence, finding the gap between bat and pad to hit the stumps.
Ollie Robinson then produced a pinpoint yorker to dismiss centurion Usman Khawaja for 141. Robinson then dismissed Nathan Lyon and Cummins, while Stuart Broad dismissed Boland. All three wickets fell with the trick of the short ball.
By the end of 10.3 overs, England had a 35-run lead, and with the rain showing no sign of abating, the umpires called for a tea break. Eventually, stumps were called, and play would resume on Day 4 with a revised timing taking into account the overs lost on Day 3.
