Neser comes back from the brink to leave England on the edge

Michael Neser admitted he feared his Test career was over after badly injuring his hamstring last season, but can now say he produced the spell that sparked Australia's push towards what will be, barring an England miracle, a 2-0 Ashes lead and the urn being nearly retained.

England had motored to 90 for 1 in their second innings, making significant inroads into Australia's lead of 177, when Neser bagged two return catches in the space of four overs to remove Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley. From there, Australia sensed their moment and their pressure was rewarded with a collapse of 3 for 7 which, briefly, threatened a three-day finish before the visitors limped to the close.

Neser, who played his previous Test three years ago, was a last-minute and controversial selection for this match when he was preferred over Nathan Lyon on the morning of the game. He was not part of the original squad for the opening Test in Perth, only drafted in after injuries to Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott, but has fully justified the selectors' call on his home ground.

He was in the frame as back-up for last summer's series against India, but badly damaged his hamstring playing for Australia A against India A at the MCG which kept him out for 12 months. He was only back to peak fitness for the start of this summer having opted to stay home rather than return to county cricket earlier this year.

"To be honest, after last season when I thought I was bowling superbly...and I did my hammy really badly, I thought that could have been my chance [gone]," Neser said. "I've always dreamed about playing for Australia. It's something that I live and breathe, is cricket. So to be given another chance, I'm very honoured.

"It was a long recovery, think it was 12 weeks out of it, and I may have come back a week or two quicker than I should have. I probably wasn't 100% [fit] at the back end [of last summer]. I chose not to go to county cricket and focus on getting my body right for the start of the season and really focus on Australian summer. A big pre-season did me wonders. I feel strong again and I feel like my hammy is back to where it was."

In the first innings at the Gabba, Neser broke a 117-run stand between Crawley and Joe Root when the former was caught behind, but a brace of return catches is a somewhat more unconventional route to claim back-to-back wickets for a new-ball pace bowler. However, Australia's quicks have been on alert given how England go hard at the ball and drive on the up.

Mitchell Starc held a stunner in Perth to remove Crawley in the second innings and other chances have flown past face and hands, including one to Neser offered by Ben Duckett before the two which stuck.

"They obviously try to put you under the pump the way they bat," Neser said. "They've given us a couple of opportunities with caught and bowleds. Most of them we've dropped because they've been hit so hard, but thankfully those two seemed to stick."

One of the notable features of this Test has been how much time Alex Carey has spent stood up to the stumps to Neser, as he was for Crawley's wicket on Saturday, and as he had done during Neser's previous Test against West Indies in 2022. Carey's glovework has been outstanding and Neser said it helped build pressure on batters, but conceded it had been a tactic that did not initially come naturally to him.

"I know the role I play is very different to the other quicks," Neser said. "Being a shorter bowler, maybe not as quick, it's a way for me to keep the batters on the crease and bring the stumps into play. I've done it a lot in the past.

"The first time I did it, I definitely didn't want to do it as a fast bowler, but Uzzy [Usman Khawaja] taught me to just put the ego aside because it's beneficial for you. We've seen Vernon [Philander] do it a lot in his Test career, successfully, so it's something I've brought in later on in my career."

At the other end of the pace scale to Neser in the Australia attack has been Starc, who followed his 77, the top score in Australia's innings, with two more wickets including that of Root which was the biggest blow to England's hopes. Starc is putting together one of the great all-round performances.

"He's a special player," Neser said. "He doesn't like to admit it, but he is the GOAT, the greatest leftie of all time. He does it with the ball [and] with the bat and to be next to him witnessing what he does is just amazing.

"The longevity of his career, it is something you've got to admire. Someone who can bowl 140-plus; I think that last spell today was probably his quickest spell the whole game which just shows what sort of athlete he is and what a competitor he is. He's amazing."

Starc and Neser are virtually the same age: the former is playing his 102nd Test, the latter his third. Neser's trio of outings have all come with the pink ball but, even with the prospect of Pat Cummins returning in Adelaide, he hopes he can be more than a day-night specialist.

"I do love the red ball as well," he said with a smile. "I'm very fortunate and privileged that I've been given the chance with the pink-ball Tests. Obviously, it's a dream to play more Tests and red ball, pink ball, I love it all."