Ian Bell insisted England would take nothing for granted as they finished Day 3 of the opening Ashes Test at Cardiff in a commanding position.
On a day when Bell rediscovered his form with 60 from 89 balls, England dismissed Australia quickly for 308 – a lead of 122 runs – and were then bowled out for 289 to leave the tourists needing a record 412 runs to take the lead in the series.
But Bell is refusing to accept the job is done with two days left to play in South Wales
“This type of cricket, Ashes cricket, anything is possible,” he told Sky Sports. “We respect Australia, they’re a good side and we’re going to have to come and work hard.
“We’ve already spoken about the amount of hard work that needs to go in. Taking 20 wickets in Test cricket is always hard.”
Joe Root also added 60 to his first-innings 134 but the innings fell away after the duo put on 97 for the fourth wicket.
“It doesn’t matter about time. We just want to score runs and be positive, take every option on we can,” Bell said.
A late clatter of wickets gave Australia a glimmer of hope, although Bell said England’s attacking style was not reckless and more a reflection of a new era.
“You’re going to make the odd error along the way, but that’s the way we want to play now going forward, we want to take our options on and the guys have done that brilliantly all summer,” he said.
“It’s nice to contribute myself, but the way the guys have played all through the summer has been brilliant.”
As in England’s new brief, Bell announced himself with some cover drives off Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc, while opener Adam Lyth also responded to the invitation to counter-attack with a rush of boundaries.
When Lyth slog-swept Nathan Lyon for six, England had taken 50 runs in the first seven overs of the session.
Lyon got his revenge when Lyth edged an off break to be brilliantly caught by Michael Clarke, diving one-handed to his left at slip.
But Bell oversaw a second successive half-century stand, this time more than doubling the total with first-innings centurion Root, and passed 50 himself when he hit Mitchell Johnson over point for his 10th four from 75 balls.
Earlier, impressive bowling from Stuart Broad especially and James Anderson (3-43) had made short work of Australia before lunch.
Resuming on 264 for five, the visitors added 44 runs to end on 308, 122 runs behind.
Broad and Mark Wood gave the opposition no leeway from the outset, rewarded with two lbw verdicts and only one run scored, before Anderson hastened the process with the second new ball.
Shane Watson was perhaps marginally unlucky. He pushed forward to Broad and a decision review after Marais Erasmus had given him out had ball-tracking demonstrating the minutest clip on the top of leg stump, but enough to confirm the dismissal via umpire’s call.
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
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The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
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Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
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more from Janine di Giovanni
Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
