Call off the search, we've found the worst review in history... TEST MATCH TALKING POINTS

SAM MORSHEAD AT LORD'S: At around twenty past two on Saturday afternoon, the Worst Review Ever was finally located, right in the heart of St John’s Wood

Scorecard

Review regret

Call off the search, everyone. We have found it.

At around twenty past two on Saturday afternoon, the Worst Review Ever was finally located, right in the heart of St John’s Wood.

You can usually have sympathy for players when they burn their chances to send decisions to the TV umpire - elite sport happens at breakneck speed and it must be easy to get swept up in the moment. But this was truly dreadful.

A short ball from Jofra Archer whizzed past Pat Cummins’ head, missing every part of the Australian by a good foot. But Jos Buttler, at short leg, was adamant he had heard a noise.

At least England could see the funny side when the big screen displayed the scale off their gaffe. 

^{Stuart Broad has been excellent in this Ashes series}

Broad sword

To think there were some out there lobbying for Stuart Broad to miss out on a place in the starting XI in the build-up to this Ashes series.

There is something about facing the old enemy that brings the very best out of Broad, and both at Edgbaston and here at Lord’s he has cranked his performance levels up high.

The 5-86 he returned in the first innings of the first Test was a perfect reminder of how difficult he is to face when in peak form - nagging lines, decent speed and the capacity to move the ball both in the air and off the seam - and he produced a similar display at HQ.

Bowling down the slope from the Pavilion End, a not inconsiderable wind at his back, Broad was happy to frustrate Steve Smith and save his most aggressive deliveries for the rest of the Australia top order.

The ball which got David Warner in the gloom of Friday morning was a stunner, grabbing the pitch and jerking in to take the bails. 

Travis Head was worked over in similar fashion - made wary of the one that goes away before being hurried by the exact opposite - and those same tactics, in reverse, bagged Matthew Wade on Saturday morning. 

Broad briefly targeted the left-hander’s pads before changing the angle and opening up Wade’s blade. The batsman saw a chance to score, but he was signing his own death certificate. Rory Burns did the rest in the gully.

It was intelligent, accurate, probing fast bowling. Sometimes it feels as though we do not give quite enough credit to Broad, this was certainly a day to do so.

^{Joe Root was dismissed for a golden duck}

Smith's daft form

So much is going to be written about Steve Smith elsewhere for other reasons but there was one particular statistic from yet another terrific knock.

In passing fifty with a big old hoik over mid-on for four off Jack Leach, Smith became the first man in history to make seven consecutive half-centuries (or better) in Ashes cricket.

That is quite a feat. Reel off the names who never managed it - Bradman, Border, Ponting, Gower, Pietersen, Waugh, and so on and so forth - and you get the latest glimpse into just how special this guy is.

Since the second innings at Adelaide in 2017, when he made just six, Smith has compiled scores of 239, 76, 102 not out, 83, 144, 142 and now 92.

We have been watching a genius at work.

VISIT THE ASHES HUB

Root's first golden duck

When Joe Root nibbled at Pat Cummins first ball just after tea, succeeding only in edging through to Tim Paine, he bagged an unwanted first.

Never before in 152 previous Test innings had England’s captain been dismissed for a golden duck.

It was also the first time Root had failed to make a run in red-ball cricket against Australia.

There’s a worst time for everything.

To celebrate England winning the World Cup you can subscribe to The Cricketer for just £20.19. Click here to learn more

Subscribe to The Cricketer for exclusive content every day: The inside track on England's Test tour with George Dobell in Pakistan, award-winning analysis, breaking news and interviews and the only place for in-depth county coverage all year round. Plus: An ad-free app experience at your fingertips. Subscribe to thecricketer.com today for just £1.