After taking four wickets at the record-setting Melbourne Cricket Ground and Australia’s highest score on a challenging pitch, it’s no surprise Michael Neser found the first day of his debut Boxing Day Test a dream come true.
The recalled seamer, who was dropped for the series-deciding third Ashes Test in Adelaide, returned to action on Friday in front of a massive crowd of 94,199, witnessing 20 wickets fall on a chaotic opening day.
Neser scored a crucial 35 runs as Australia was bowled out for 152 in the first innings. He then took 4-45 to help dismiss England for 110, giving Australia a 42-run lead.
Nightwatchman Scott Boland added four runs for Australia in one tense over, and the hosts ended the day at four for no loss in their second innings.
Neser has spent much of his career on the fringes of Australia’s elite fast bowling squad but has made a significant impact in this Ashes series.
“It’s unreal. I dreamt of this as a kid,” the South Africa-born 35-year-old told reporters.
“Every Boxing Day I’d wake up early and me and my brother would play backyard cricket for hours, and come back in and watch cricket.
“The whole day was just cricket for us. To be part of it is a dream come true.
“It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it.”
No Complaints!
Former England players and pundits criticised the grassy pitch for being too favourable to bowlers, with former captain Michael Vaughan calling it a “shocker.”
Neser, however, had no complaints about the pitch and did not expect it to remain challenging for batters in the following days.
“I don’t want to go into this tomorrow with a preconception that the wicket is going to be doing a lot, because it can (harden) and we just have to stick to our processes,” he said.
England seamer Josh Tongue took a career-best 5-45 to help bowl Australia out cheaply, but England’s promising position quickly vanished as their batters collapsed, being all out in 29.5 overs.
Trailing 3-0 in the five-Test series, England has repeatedly handed back the initiative to Australia throughout this Ashes.
Tongue, however, did not find much fault with England’s aggressive approach against Australia’s bowlers on a day when defending might have been futile on such a pitch.
“I feel like we want to put pressure back onto the opposition so whoever walks out into the middle thinks it’s the right time to shift a gear or put them under pressure (will),” he said. “Knowing where your scoring options are is obviously crucial on this sort of wicket when the ball is doing a bit more.”
(With inputs from Agencies)
