Short-lived slaughter job for Bailey

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GEORGE Bailey used sheep as fieldsman when batting on his family farm and for a while on Thursday made England feel like lambs to the slaughter.

Bailey's early batting skills were honed on a farm outside Launceston where he placed feed in key fielding spots in an attempt to lure sheep there.

The main difference between those days and England's fielding effort was that the sheep were better at catching.

Bailey versus England was a rousing contest with honours finishing about even when he was caught at square leg for 53 off Stuart Broad who gave him a fierce send-off.

It was a provocative innings because it raised the question of just what is Australia looking for in its Test batsmen.

Since Mike Hussey retired - and Matt Hayden and Justin Langer before him - Australia has become consumed with the search for the long-innings Test player who starts batting and dawn with a hell-bent ambition to last until stumps.

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But modern cricket just is not churning out this sort of player. Australia may be looking for something that does not exist.

Even Hayden admitted at the end of his career that repeated exposure to the shorter forms of the game had corrupted his thoughts processes for the long innings.

Maybe cricket has to get its head around the fact that innings are constructed differently these days and the way of the future will be storm troopers like Bailey who, in his two Test career, has scored five sixes.

England captain Alastair Cook, by comparison, scored 2047 Test runs before he hit his first.

STOKED UP

England all-rounder Ben Stokes did not set the Adelaide Oval alight in his Test debut but was no damp squib either.

In his first spell as an international bowler Stokes pushed the speedometre to a highly honourable 142.9kph which was faster than any England bowler managed in the first Test.

New Zealand born Stokes is the son of former Kiwi rugby league international Ged Stokes who used to sneak out of boarding school on Saturday mornings to play rugby league for Canterbury, often returning returning to get his backside caned by angry house-masters.

"Sometimes it bled,'' Stokes senior said.

STAR BUCK

IN his own, quirky homespun, way Rogers is a fine role model for the youngsters queuing up to elbow him into retirement.

By no standards is the old timer pretty to watch.

At age 36 you can see him almost fight the ageing process every innings.

He is probably not the player he was in his prime yet he scraps and scratches, kicks and bites his way through.

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Quality spin still bothers him and Thursday was the seventh time Graeme Swann has bagged him in his seven Test career.

But when the ball enters his favourite scoring zone for his pet cut shot it's almost as if the sirens ring, the heavens open and he feels young again.

There is a touch of the Allan Border about him in the way he is prepared to done the blue overalls every innings.

Australia went through a period a decade ago where it hoped every new batsman would be a long-serving Test player but in these turbulent times it has accepted there are openings for industrious players who can make a neat 20 contribution before. Rogers is one of those men.

DRS into play

STANDBY for the DRS system to storm onto centre stage in the second Test.

The DRS system effectively put its feet up at the Gabba Test with not a single lbw verdict given on the high bouncing Gabba next.

But low bouncing Adelaide is a far different proposition.

Amazingly there are still no lbw decisions in the series but don't worry ... they are coming.

A BIT PITCHY

The controversial Adelaide Oval pitch cannot be mentioned in the same breath as the first Test deck at the Gabba but it still got a first day pass mark.

With just enough turn to keep the slow bowlers interested it at least gave something to one form of bowler and the first day scoreline of 5-273 tells of a surprisingly even contest between bat and ball.

England were bold in choosing two spinners but the longer this Test goes the more sense that decision may make.

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