Ashes 2013: Ian Bell hits century before England falter at Lord's

By Sam Sheringham BBC Sport at Lord's

 

Second Test, Lord's (day one):

England 289-7 v Australia

Match scorecard

Steve Smith took three late wickets to swing the momentum towards Australia despite a third consecutive Ashes hundred from England batsman Ian Bell on the opening day of the second Test.

Leg-spinner Smith, who did not bowl in Australia's 14-run defeat at Trent Bridge last week, removed Bell, Jonny Bairstow and Matt Prior as England slipped from 271-4 to 289-7 by the close at Lord's.
England, who won the toss, had fallen to 28-3 in the first hour of play but were hauled out of trouble by Bell's superb 109 and half centuries from Jonathan Trott and Bairstow.

Test Match Special analysis

Geoffrey Boycott Ex-England batsman & Test Match Special summariser

"I'm not sure if Australia should be too happy until I see them bat. I want to see what England can do with the ball.
"At least England have not raced away with the game. I'm pleased about that - it looks like it will be another corker of a match."

Smith's dramatic late intervention, however, ensured Australia will be the more satisfied of the teams as they look to level the five-match series.

England's predicament could have been worse had Bairstow not enjoyed a significant stroke of luck midway through the afternoon session.
The Yorkshire batsman was bowled by Peter Siddle for 21 but reprieved when television replays revealed a no-ball by the narrowest of margins.
He went on to score a further 46 in a fifth-wicket partnership of 144 with Bell that looked to have put England in control.
Other than a run-out chance, Bell had not offered a chance as he followed up his crucial innings in Nottingham with another century at a time of need for his team.
At Trent Bridge, a sluggish pitch forced the Warwickshire man to play late and score a large proportion of his runs behind square on the off side, but on a quicker Lord's track he was on the front foot much more often, driving through the covers and punishing anything too full as he passed 1,000 Test runs at the home of cricket.
The arrival of Smith looked unlikely to trouble Bell as he lashed a full toss through mid-on for his 16th four. The next ball, however, gripped and turned before taking the edge of Bell's bat on the way through to Michael Clarke at slip.

Three and easy

Ian Bell is only the fourth Englishman to score centuries in three consecutive Ashes Tests - at Sydney in 2011, at Trent Bridge last week and this innings at Lord's.
Jack Hobbs achieved the feat twice - in 1911-12 and 1924-25 - while Wally Hammond did so in 1928-29 and Chris Broad in 1986-87.

Sensing an opportunity, Clarke delayed taking the second new ball to give Smith another over, and the decision paid off in style as Bairstow drove a low full toss back to the bowler.

Prior was deceived by a ball that skidded through a bit quicker, edging an attempted cut to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.
Tim Bresnan, picked ahead of Steven Finn, was seven not out at the close, with James Anderson - a nightwatchman for Stuart Broad - on four.
The rapid fall of three wickets mirrored the start of the day when England, following a presentation of both teams to Her Majesty the Queen, lost Alastair Cook, Joe Root and Kevin Pietersen in the space of 11 balls.
Cook, who chose to bat first on a scorching day, was drawn across his stumps and trapped lbw by a Shane Watson inswinger, justifying Clarke's decision to throw the ball to the all-rounder for the fifth over of the day.
In the next over, Root was lbw to the recalled Ryan Harris, and failed with a review when replays suggested the ball struck his pad marginally before bat.
Four balls later, Kevin Pietersen got a thin edge to a ball that shaped away from him and England were listing badly on 28-3.

The Ashes

1st Test: England won by 14 runs, Trent Bridge
2nd Test: 18-22 July, Lord's
3rd Test: 1-5 August, Old Trafford
4th Test: 9-13 August Chester-le-Street
5th Test: 21-25 August, The Oval

With Harris on a high and the new ball moving around in the air, a repeat of the frenetic opening day at Trent Bridge - when 14 wickets fell - looked on the cards, but Trott and Bell saw off the threat to take England through to lunch.

As the Australia bowling became more ragged after the interval, England plundered eight fours in seven overs.
Trott was particularly fluent, bringing up his fifty in 77 balls, only for his commitment to attack to prove his undoing.
A delivery from Harris sat up on leg stump and asked to be hit but Trott flicked off his hips and placed a simple catch in the hands of Usman Khawaja at deep square leg.
England needed a partnership and were granted their wish by Bell and Bairstow, who scored his fourth Test half century, three of which have come at Lord's.
With Bell scoring heavily off a struggling James Pattinson, they took England to within sight of the close of play, only for Clarke's gamble in throwing the ball to Smith to deliver a telling twist.
Relive the key moments from BBC Test Match Special's commentary

Catch up with the Test Match Special podcast as Geoffrey Boycott and Jonathan Agnew review each day's play.

Ashes 2013: Ian Bell says England well placed despite late wickets

By Tom Fordyce Chief sports writer at Lord's

England centurion Ian Bell insists his side are in a good position despite three late wickets on the first day of the second Test.

Bell, who scored a brilliant 109 to replicate his match-winning knock in the first Test, was one of three victims for the part-time leg-spin of Steve Smith as England slumped from 271-4 to 289-7 at stumps.
"If the dry conditions stay we know we have quality bowlers who can bowl reverse swing and then later on spin will come into it," said Bell.
"We'll see as the game goes on what a good first-innings score is. It was disappointing to lose the three wickets at the end but not a bad day for us overall."
England began badly in front of a full house at headquarters, the recalled Ryan Harris removing Joe Root for six and Kevin Pietersen for two as the hosts slipped to 28-3 after winning the toss.

Analysis

Geoffrey Boycott Ex-England batsman & Test Match Special summariser

"Ian Bell played beautifully - he was like David Gower. You wonder how he can get out when he plays like that. This was an important knock but we don't know how important until Australia bat."

But Bell's superb innings, first in partnership with Jonathan Trott (58) and then in a fifth-wicket stand of 144 with Jonny Bairstow, dragged England back into contention on a sun-baked afternoon.

After his century at Trent Bridge and 115 in the fifth Test at Sydney in 2010-11, Bell joins Jack Hobbs, Walter Hammond and Chris Broad as the only Englishmen to score Ashes centuries in three successive matches.
He said: "It is absolutely incredible. It is a real honour to be with those kinds of names, and playing at Lord's as well it is a special place. When you do well here it is really special.
"Every time I go out I just want to go out and fight. An innings at a time is important for us as a team and for me as an individual.
"It is what I want to do as much as I can. I have done it a little bit over the last couple of years now, and it is nice to come out and do it again.
"Credit has got to go to Australia. Harris coming back into the team bowled really well, and Jonathan Trott and myself had to leave really well.
"You know Australia are just going to keep coming at you and you've never got enough.
"It was another great day of Test cricket. Coming from Trent Bridge, we had an amazing match there and it looks like we've got another one here at Lord's."
Relive the key moments from BBC Test Match Special's commentary

Catch up with the Test Match Special podcast as Geoffrey Boycott and Jonathan Agnew review each day's play.

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Ashes 2013: TV umpires could overrule decisions - ICC chief

Television umpires may have a more prominent role in future on-field decisions, says International Cricket Council (ICC) chief David Richardson.
The ICC said England's Jonathan Trott should not have been given out in the first Ashes Test against Australia when key replays were unavailable.
"We've got a trial to allow the third umpire a bank of TVs so he can access technology quicker," Richardson said.
He added that "down the line" third umpires "could overrule" errors.

Continue reading the main story

“We want to have our own replays, not what the television is showing”

David Richardson ICC chief executive

"I think that's probably where it will end up long term but we're still quite a way from that at the moment. We need to progress a lot further before we can take it on board in a match," Richardson said.

Trott was initially given not out, but dismissed by third umpire Marais Erasmus when Australia used the Decision Review System (DRS), despite the key HotSpot camera angle being unavailable.
TV umpires rely on being sent pictures from television broadcasters when teams ask for a decision to be reviewed, or when on-field umpires call for a second opinion on run outs or stumpings.
Richardson, who said trials would take place during the third Test at Old Trafford next month, told the BBC's Test Match Special: "That's why it has to be so quick. We don't have to depend on whether they have gone for an ad break, we want to have our own replays, not what the television is showing."
The ICC chief executive added the use of neutral umpires, obligatory in Test matches since 2002, may also be reviewed.
Eight of the 12 umpires on the elite panel are from England or Australia and therefore cannot officiate in Ashes matches.
"The elite panel should be the best 12 no matter where they come from, but then people like Billy Bowden, who were on the elite panel, they haven't been relegated to the wilderness," Richardson said.
"He could argue he's number 13, it's these guys who are still in line and could still be appointed if necessary.
"Whether we need to re-debate the whole neutral umpires point again, perhaps with DRS maybe the need to have neutral umpires is not as it used to be.
"I don't think umpires ever cheated but the perception of them cheating was the problem."

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Ashes 2013: Australia captain Michael Clarke comes of age

By Justin Goulding BBC Sport

Comments (93)

Put yourself in his shoes.

Your side have just lost one of the most dramatic Tests in recent memory by 14 runs, having fought back from a position of almost no hope. Your contribution with the bat was a duck in the first innings and 23 runs in the second. You wasted one of your team's reviews, one of seven decisions Australia wrongly referred in a game in which the use of technology was decisive.
Yet, as Michael Clarke is being quizzed in front of the TV cameras in the immediate aftermath of an agonisingly painful defeat, he still manages to poke fun at his own poor judgement.
"I've learned I need to use my reviews better," he says with a grin.

Leading from the front

• NOT AS CAPTAIN
• Tests: 68
• Runs: 4,697
• Centuries: 14
• Average: 46.97
• AS CAPTAIN
• Tests: 25
• Runs: 2,601
• Centuries: 9
• Average: 63.43

It is a measure of the player that he was able to find amusement from his own decision-making when pointing the finger of blame at a certain England batsman, the officials or technology - or all three - would have been much easier.

The way Clarke carries himself is just one of the factors that have persuaded many seasoned observers to describe him as the best captain in world cricket.
"He's brilliant - absolutely brilliant. You can't fault any aspect of his captaincy," former Australia captain Ian Chappell told BBC Sport.
Clarke is the totem of this Australia team, and one upon whom they must lean heavily if they are to fight back from 1-0 down to win the Ashes.
It was not always thus. Two-and-a-half years ago, shortly before Clarke was appointed as Ricky Ponting's successor, a newspaper survey revealed that only 15% of readers wanted him to captain Australia. 
"He copped a really bad press," added Chappell, who played 75 Tests for Australia from 1964-1980 and never lost a series as captain.
"As well as not being universally thought of as an Australian captain by the public, I don't think he was that popular amongst the players either."
Mistrust - dislike, even - seemingly stemmed from Clarke's flashy reputation, which was evident at the very early stages of his career.
Former Australia team-mate Justin Langer said: "I remember playing for Western Australia in one of his first games  for New South Wales and he managed to wind up our captain, Tom Moody, because of his bleached blonde hair and cockiness. He was always a bit brash as a youngster."

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Clarke reflects on 'tough loss'

His ability, though, was never in question.
"He was an extraordinary talent," said Russel Grimson, who has known Clarke since the age of nine and captained and coached him at Western Suburbs in Sydney.
"Originally he was a chinaman bowler; he made his first-grade debut as a spinner and batted at eight or nine.
"He was very competitive at everything he did. He was always up for a challenge and he would always give it his all."
Having been a member of the Australia youth sides, Clarke took the seismic step from promising state player to global star when he hit a sparkling 151 on Test debut  in India in 2004.
Despite becoming a key part of an Australia team that can lay claim to being the best the game has seen, Clarke's earring, tattoos, sports car, model girlfriend and underwear adverts  meant he struggled to rid himself of the 'playboy' tag.
It did not sit easily with an Australian public whose cricketing heroes - Allan Border, Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting - were hewn from altogether sterner stuff.

2012: Clarke's year in the sun

• 329* v India, Sydney
• 18 v India, Perth
• 210 & 37 v India, Adelaide
• 73 & 6 v West Indies, Barbados
• 45 & 15 v West Indies, Trindad
• 25 & 25 v West Indies, Roseau
• 259* v South Africa, Brisbane
• 230 & 38 v South Africa, Adelaide
• 5 & 44 v South Africa, Perth
• 74 & 57* v Sri Lanka, Hobart
• 106 v Sri Lanka, Melbourne

Those who know Clarke best insist the perception is wrong.

"The way he was seen, as being involved in high society and lifestyle, wasn't fair," said Grimson.
"He's a very happy, easy-going guy - very respectful and polite."
Langer added: "People talk about the fancy cars and flash lifestyle, but I always see him in tracksuit pants and T-shirt. There's nothing that fancy about Michael Clarke.
"He's a good bloke. He's very close to his family and loyal to his friends, and those are pretty good traits."
Perhaps the incident which turned public opinion against him most strongly was a dressing-room altercation with team-mate Simon Katich  after the 2009 Sydney Test against South Africa.
Clarke reportedly wanted to leave early to attend a function before the team's victory song. Katich took exception and had Clarke by the throat before the players had to be separated.
"He came into an experienced, successful side and he did get pulled into line. He was shown how to behave as an Australia cricketer," revealed Langer, who played 105 Tests and retired in 2007 as Australia's sixth most prolific batsman.
Clarke's return home early from the 2010 tour of New Zealand for personal reasons - he and model Lara Bingle called off their engagement  shortly after - was used as further ammunition by his doubters.
These incidents may go a considerable way to explaining why Clarke's appointment as captain in 2011 was far from universally applauded, despite his having served as Ponting's deputy for three years.

“On behalf of the Australian sports media and cricket fans, it's time to officially say sorry. The past two years, you have proven you have more strength of character and toughness than any of us mere mortals could ever hope to have”

Sydney Morning Herald apology to Michael Clarke (26 November 2012)

Clarke's response to his promotion was emphatic. He made a hundred in three of the next four Tests, before embarking on a run of form in 2012 which beggared belief.

He plundered a triple century, three doubles and a plain old hundred in a year that saw him amass 1,595 Test runs at a Bradman-esque average of 106.33. 
As the runs flowed, so the Australian mood softened, and the newspaper that had opposed his appointment so vehemently even went as far as to publish an apology. 
"He won the hearts of people in Australia," said Langer. "The great captains lead by example and he has done that."
Not only had Clarke established himself as the leading batsman in the world, but he was being heralded as a captain beyond compare.
"He has got a brilliant strategic mind," added Langer, who played alongside Clarke before working with him in his role as Australia assistant coach.
"The way he thinks about the game is amazing. He's a cricket tragic, which is always a good thing."
For Chappell, it is Clarke's attitude as much as his tactical nous which makes him so good.
"As soon as Michael Clarke's team walk on to the field, they're trying to win the game," he said.

The Ashes: England v Australia

July
18-22 2nd Test, Lord's
August
1-5 3rd Test, Old Trafford
9-13 4th Test, Chester-le-Street
21-25 5th Test, The Oval

"If you do that you send not only a very strong message to your own players, but you send a really strong message to the opposition as well.

"It's very rare. He's a standout among the current captains."
Clarke's participation in the first Test was put in doubt by a longstanding back injury, and life without him at Lord's - or any of the other remaining Tests - is too worrying to contemplate, according to Chappell.
He said: " You saw in India what our leadership succession is - it's Michael Clarke and then daylight. There's a leadership vacuum; it's Mother Hubbard's cupboard."
If anything, Clarke's mediocre contribution with the bat at Trent Bridge underlined his importance to an Australia side that twice collapsed in the first match of the series.
So what chance a return to form when the second Test at Lord's starts on Thursday?
"I've not seen anyone work harder on his game than Michael," said Grimson.
"There is no more dedicated, focused and committed cricketer in the world," said Langer.
England, take note.

Ashes 2013: Lord's ground guide, history and statistics

By Mark Mitchener BBC Sport

Second Test: England v Australia

• Venue: Lord's, London
• Date: 18-22 July
• Start time: 11:00 BST

Coverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, BBC Radio 4 Long Wave and via the BBC iPlayer Radio app, BBC Sport website & BBC Sport app; updates on BBC Radio 5 live; live text commentary on BBC Sport website, app & mobile devices

"The home of cricket" is a four-word phrase which immediately - and indelibly - places Lord's Cricket Ground at the heart of the sport it has treasured for so many years.

Owned by the famous Marylebone Cricket Club,  who remain the guardians of the laws and spirit of cricket, Lord's is a historic venue where cricketers from all over the world dream of playing - and stages its 127th Test this week.
The present ground in St John's Wood is the third to have been established by its founder Thomas Lord, back in 1814 - so it will celebrate its bicentenary next year, with a phased redevelopment of some areas of the ground also on the horizon.
The venue for four World Cup finals, Lord's has also been home to county side Middlesex since 1877 - and two of their most famous England batsmen, Denis Compton and Bill Edrich, are honoured by having stands named after them.

Lord's in numbers

BBC Test Match Special statistician Malcolm Ashton presents Lord's Cricket Ground's Ashes records:
Ashes Tests: 34 (England won six, Australia won 14, with 14 draws - including the drawn Centenary Test of 1980 when the Ashes were not said to be at stake)
First Ashes Test: 21-23 July 1884. Two years after the famous "obituary for English cricket" was published in the Sporting Times, England won by an innings and five runs.
Highest Ashes total: 729-6 declared by Australia in 1930, in reply to England's 425, setting the tourists on their way to a seven-wicket win.
Lowest Ashes total: 53 by England in 1888, when WG Grace was the only Englishman to reach double figures in both innings as the hosts were skittled for 53 and 62.

Glenn McGrath is applauded by MCC members after Australia's win in 2005 - the match in which he took his 500th Test wicket

Highest individual Ashes score: 254 by Don Bradman in that epic Aussie innings in 1930. The next highest came eight years later, as England captain Wally Hammond made 240.
Most Ashes runs: 551 in eight visits to the crease by Bradman. As well as that 254 on his first visit in 1930, he hit an unbeaten 102 in 1938 and 89 in his final Test knock at Lord's in 1948.
Best Ashes bowling (innings): 8-38 by Australia seamer Glenn McGrath on his first visit to Lord's as England were skittled for 77 in the rain-affected second Test in 1997, which was drawn.
Most Ashes wickets: 26 by McGrath, who took full advantage of the Lord's slope in his three Test appearances there - 1997, 2001 and 2005.
Ashes runs scored: 30,467, for the loss of 1,007 wickets at an average of 30.26 runs per wicket.
Ashes boundaries: 2,830 (2,763 fours, 67 sixes)

Classic Ashes match - Second Test, 1972

It takes something very special for a five-day Test match to be automatically associated with one player, but the second Test at Lord's in June 1972 will always belong to a remarkable debutant - Australia's Bob Massie.

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Archive - Massie takes 16 wickets on debut in 1972

The 25-year-old right-arm swing bowler from Perth, Western Australia, was selected for his Test bow at the home of cricket after England had won the first Test at Old Trafford against an Aussie side who had not won a Test for over 30 months.
After Ray Illingworth won the toss and batted, Massie was chosen to share the new ball with tearaway fast bowler Dennis Lillee, and Massie soon claimed his first Test victim, bowling opener Geoff Boycott.
Although Lillee took the next two wickets to fall, Massie took the last seven to finish with astonishing figures of 8-84 as Lillee's hostility and Massie's late swing proved an irresistible combination.
England had collapsed to 97-5 at one stage but a late middle-order rally, led by Tony Greig (54) and keeper Alan Knott (43) and continued by Illingworth (30) and paceman John Snow (37) ensured the hosts finished with a respectable total of 131 early on day two.

Second Test: England v Australia

Date: 22-26 June 1972
Venue: Lord's
England 272 (AW Greig 54, RAL Massie 8-84) and 116 (Massie 8-53)
Australia 308 (GS Chappell 131, JA Snow 5-57) and 81-2 (KR Stackpole 57 not out)
Australia won by eight wickets

• Full match scorecard (Cricinfo) 

When Australia batted, Snow was England's main bowling threat, taking 5-57, but the innings was anchored by the Chappell brothers - Ian hitting 56 and Greg stroking 14 fours in his 131. Keeper Rod Marsh chipped in with 50 batting at number eight, and while Massie collected a debut duck, the Aussies took a first-innings lead of 36.

England's second innings followed a similar pattern to the first as Lillee took the first two wickets before Massie swept up another eight, bowling unchanged for a return of 8-53 from 27.2 overs as England were rolled for 116.
Norman Gifford and John Price's last-wicket stand of 35 on the fourth morning was the best partnership of the innings, but even that left the tourists only needing to score 81 to square the series, which they did in short order with Keith Stackpole hitting an unbeaten half century.

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Massie finished with match figures of 16-137 - at the time, the third best in Test history after Jim Laker (19-90 for England against Australia in 1956) and Sydney Barnes (17-159 for England against South Africa in 1913).
The figures remained the best by a Test debutant for 16 years, until bespectacled teenage leg-spinner Narendra Hirwani took 16-136 for India against West Indies in 1988.
What happened next? A draw at Trent Bridge, an England win at Headingley and an Australian victory at The Oval ensured the series was drawn 2-2 and the Ashes remained with England. Remarkably, after playing four Tests that summer, Massie only played two more - against Pakistan in 1972-73 - and was out of international cricket for good less than a year later.

Champagne moment - 20 June 1993

Mike Atherton slips over and is run out for 99

Australia were taking no prisoners in the 1993 series - racking up 632-4 before making England follow on, despite being a bowler short after Craig McDermott was taken to hospital with illness which required an operation.
McDermott's absence left the boisterous Merv Hughes having to do most of the seam bowling, taking the new ball with medium-pacer Mark Waugh in both innings.
It meant a heavy workload for rookie leg-spinner Shane Warne and off-spinner Tim May - but by the fourth afternoon, captain Allan Border was bowling left-arm spin to soon-to-be-England skipper Mike Atherton.

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Atherton, on 97, guided Border through mid-wicket, knowing he was three runs away from a prized Test hundred at cricket's headquarters. He and partner Mike Gatting completed two runs and Atherton set off for the third which would bring his century.
But when Gatting sent the young right-hander back as Hughes threw the ball in from the boundary, Atherton slipped over - twice - as wicketkeeper Ian Healy removed the bails at the striker's end.
England managed to stretch the game into a fifth day, but Warne and May took four wickets apiece as Australia completed an innings victory to put them 2-0 ahead in the six-match series.
What happened next? Atherton became captain two Tests later, and eventually retired in 2001 after a distinguished playing career.
He is now a successful journalist and broadcaster, but never scored a Test century at Lord's - this was the nearest he came.
Australia won the series 4-1 to regain the Ashes, holding them until 2005.

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Archive: Warne haunts England's summer in 1993

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Ashes 2013: DRS best left with players not umpires - Alec Stewart

Second Test: England v Australia

• Venue: Lord's, London
• Date: 18-22 July
• Start time: 11:00 BST

Coverage: Ball-by-ball Test Match Special commentary on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra, BBC Radio 4 Long Wave and via the BBC iPlayer Radio app, BBC Sport website & BBC Sport app. Live text commentary on BBC Sport website, app & mobile devices

The thrilling first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge proved once again that Test cricket is by far the best form of the game.

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England need to improve - Stewart

All five days were full of drama, with moments of high-quality cricket and sudden shifts in momentum interspersed with controversies over umpiring decisions.
Anyone who questioned my opinion that this Australia team would battle hard against England may want to reflect on the first five days of the series.
I still expect England to win the Ashes with something to spare, but Australia will not just lie down and allow themselves to be walked over. It simply isn't in their DNA to do so.
The obvious highlight for England was the bowling of man-of-the-match James Anderson, who took five wickets in each innings, but I also hope Ian Bell has finally banished the perception that he only scores easy runs, because without his 18th Test century England would have been in deep trouble.

Trent Bridge reviews

• Day 2: Australia debutant Ashton Agar had the benefit of the doubt from third umpire Marais Erasmus when he looked to have been stumped for six, and went on to make 98. Erasmus later overturned a 'not out' lbw decision against England's Jonathan Trott when HotSpot technology was unavailable
• Day 3: England's Stuart Broad stood his ground when he edged to slip, but Australia had already used all of their reviews
• Day 4: Australia opener Shane Watson was given out lbw and failed to overturn it on review. With the ball appearing to just clip leg stump, the on-field decision remained. Captain Michael Clarke was given out caught behind off a faint edge, reviewed it, but a small HotSpot mark meant he was out
• Day 5: The wicket that decided the Test came after England reviewed a caught behind appeal against Brad Haddin - and HotSpot again showed a faint edge
• The Trott and Broad incidents were later ruled to have been "uncorrected errors" by the ICC

After a match littered with contentious moments, it was hardly surprising that England would require a review to overturn an umpire's decision and finally claim the decisive wicket of Brad Haddin on Sunday morning.

In the aftermath to a Test that also featured debatable dismissals involving Jonathan Trott, Ashton Agar, Stuart Broad and Michael Clarke, a lot has been written and said about the relative merits of the Decision Review System (DRS) in its current form.
Haddin himself echoed the comments of former umpire Daryl Harper in stating that he would prefer reviews to be taken out of the hands of players and given over solely to the umpires. This would allow the on-field officials to check their decision with the television official before delivering their final verdict.
My worry, however, is that too much time would be taken out of the game and the skill of umpiring would amount to counting six balls for the over.
I played in the Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka in 2002 when the International Cricket Council trialled a system which enabled umpires to review lbw decisions and disputed catches. This simply resulted in almost every decision being sent to the third umpire, creating long delays while replays were assessed.

Boycott's reviews

"When bowlers got lbw decisions against me and it was missing by four inches and the umpire gave me out, nobody said, 'Oh dear Geoffrey, come back and have another knock'. The Aussies told me to get off, with a few other expletives."

• Hear more from Geoffrey Boycott

When the players decide to review a decision, it adds to the drama of the match. The crowd are left in suspense while the batsman waits to learn his fate, replays on the big screens start to offer clues as to the outcome, and there is always a big reaction when the umpire either upholds or overrules his original verdict.

If you had a system where umpires could check with technology before making a decision, you would dilute what has become an extra bit of theatre within the spectacle of the game itself.
I would favour a more subtle change to the current system that would allow teams to keep the review if they lose out due to an "umpire's call", the term used when the on-field umpire's original decision stands because the TV analysis is within established margins of error.
By that rationale, if an umpire gives a batsman out lbw, but Hawk-Eye reveals the closest of calls with the ball striking the outside of leg stump, the batsman would still be out but his team would not lose a review.
Likewise, a fielding team would not be penalised for reviewing a not out decision when the verdict is an umpire's call.

DRS: Player reviews

• 3.3 (h) If despite the available technology, the third umpire is unable to answer with a high degree of confidence a particular question posed by the on-field umpire, then he should report that the replays are 'inconclusive'. The third umpire should not give answers conveying likelihoods or probabilities.

• 3.3 (j) In circumstances where the television technology (all or parts thereof) is not available to the third umpire or fails for whatever reason, the third umpire shall advise the on-field umpire of this fact but still provide any relevant factual information that may be ascertained from the available television replays and other technology.

• 3.3 (k) The on-field umpire must then make his decision based on those factual questions that were answered by the third umpire, any other factual information offered by the third umpire and his recollection and opinion of the original incident.

*from Appendix 2 of ICC's Test Match Playing Conditions

• ICC playing conditions in full 

At the moment, it feels like a double whammy when not only does a decision go against you, but you also lose a review in the process.

One thing that the first Test showed is that how you use the DRS is now a make-or-break part of international cricket and captaincy.
Australia wrongly reviewed seven decisions over the course of the Test match, meaning they were powerless to overturn umpire Aleem Dar's not out verdict when Broad was caught at slip off Agar, and were left with no remaining reviews going into Sunday's finale.
Meanwhile, England were far more cautious over DRS, only using it if they believed there had been a serious error.
Captain Alastair Cook has learnt from hi

s predecessor Andrew Strauss - who used the system better than any other captain - that you need to keep a cool head and not let emotion or adrenalin influence your thinking when deciding whether or not to send a decision to the third umpire.
Umpiring is the hardest job in cricket. Like players they make mistakes on the field of play.
DRS is ensuring that more correct decisions are made more of the time, and that surely can only be a good thing for cricket.
The system is not 100% perfect, but what in life is?

Alec Stewart was speaking to BBC Sport's Sam Sheringham.

Ashes 2013: Ian Bell hits century before England falter at Lord's

Second Test, Lord's (day one):

England 289-7 v Australia

Match scorecard

Steve Smith took three late wickets to swing the momentum towards Australia despite a third consecutive Ashes hundred from England batsman Ian Bell on the opening day of the second Test.

Leg-spinner Smith, who did not bowl in Australia's 14-run defeat at Trent Bridge last week, removed Bell, Jonny Bairstow and Matt Prior as England slipped from 271-4 to 289-7 by the close at Lord's.
England, who won the toss, had fallen to 28-3 in the first hour of play but were hauled out of trouble by Bell's superb 109 and half centuries from Jonathan Trott and Bairstow.

Test Match Special analysis

Geoffrey Boycott Ex-England batsman & Test Match Special summariser

"I'm not sure if Australia should be too happy until I see them bat. I want to see what England can do with the ball.
"At least England have not raced away with the game. I'm pleased about that - it looks like it will be another corker of a match."

Smith's dramatic late intervention, however, ensured Australia will be the more satisfied of the teams as they look to level the five-match series.

England's predicament could have been worse had Bairstow not enjoyed a significant stroke of luck midway through the afternoon session.
The Yorkshire batsman was bowled by Peter Siddle for 21 but reprieved when television replays revealed a no-ball by the narrowest of margins.
He went on to score a further 46 in a fifth-wicket partnership of 144 with Bell that looked to have put England in control.
Other than a run-out chance, Bell had not offered a chance as he followed up his crucial innings in Nottingham with another century at a time of need for his team.
At Trent Bridge, a sluggish pitch forced the Warwickshire man to play late and score a large proportion of his runs behind square on the off side, but on a quicker Lord's track he was on the front foot much more often, driving through the covers and punishing anything too full as he passed 1,000 Test runs at the home of cricket.
The arrival of Smith looked unlikely to trouble Bell as he lashed a full toss through mid-on for his 16th four. The next ball, however, gripped and turned before taking the edge of Bell's bat on the way through to Michael Clarke at slip.

Three and easy

Ian Bell is only the fourth Englishman to score centuries in three consecutive Ashes Tests - at Sydney in 2011, at Trent Bridge last week and this innings at Lord's.
Jack Hobbs achieved the feat twice - in 1911-12 and 1924-25 - while Wally Hammond did so in 1928-29 and Chris Broad in 1986-87.

Sensing an opportunity, Clarke delayed taking the second new ball to give Smith another over, and the decision paid off in style as Bairstow drove a low full toss back to the bowler.

Prior was deceived by a ball that skidded through a bit quicker, edging an attempted cut to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.
Tim Bresnan, picked ahead of Steven Finn, was seven not out at the close, with James Anderson - a nightwatchman for Stuart Broad - on four.
The rapid fall of three wickets mirrored the start of the day when England, following a presentation of both teams to Her Majesty the Queen, lost Alastair Cook, Joe Root and Kevin Pietersen in the space of 11 balls.
Cook, who chose to bat first on a scorching day, was drawn across his stumps and trapped lbw by a Shane Watson inswinger, justifying Clarke's decision to throw the ball to the all-rounder for the fifth over of the day.
In the next over, Root was lbw to the recalled Ryan Harris, and failed with a review when replays suggested the ball struck his pad marginally before bat.
Four balls later, Kevin Pietersen got a thin edge to a ball that shaped away from him and England were listing badly on 28-3.

The Ashes

1st Test: England won by 14 runs, Trent Bridge
2nd Test: 18-22 July, Lord's
3rd Test: 1-5 August, Old Trafford
4th Test: 9-13 August Chester-le-Street
5th Test: 21-25 August, The Oval

With Harris on a high and the new ball moving around in the air, a repeat of the frenetic opening day at Trent Bridge - when 14 wickets fell - looked on the cards, but Trott and Bell saw off the threat to take England through to lunch.

As the Australia bowling became more ragged after the interval, England plundered eight fours in seven overs.
Trott was particularly fluent, bringing up his fifty in 77 balls, only for his commitment to attack to prove his undoing.
A delivery from Harris sat up on leg stump and asked to be hit but Trott flicked off his hips and placed a simple catch in the hands of Usman Khawaja at deep square leg.
England needed a partnership and were granted their wish by Bell and Bairstow, who scored his fourth Test half century, three of which have come at Lord's.
With Bell scoring heavily off a struggling James Pattinson, they took England to within sight of the close of play, only for Clarke's gamble in throwing the ball to Smith to deliver a telling twist.
Relive the key moments from BBC Test Match Special's commentary

Catch up with the Test Match Special podcast as Geoffrey Boycott and Jonathan Agnew review each day's play.