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They say necessity is the mother of invention. With precious little help from the pitch under clear blue skies and their stalwart spinner out of play with what looked like a serious calf injury, Australia decided that conventional methods weren’t going to get the job done on Day 2 of the Lord’s Test.
Nathan Lyon was the only bowler, apart from skipper Pat Cummins, to exert any sort of control over the free-scoring England top order. But when the offie was forced off the field in the final session, the Aussies resorted to a short-ball barrage, playing to the egos of the England batsmen.
The visitors, 1-0 up after the narrow victory at Edgbaston, must have been feeling good about themselves after putting up 416 on the board. But Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope made use of perfect batting conditions to eat into the total in a smooth fashion. Lyon got Crawley stumped for 48 but when he had to leave the field assisted by the team physiotherapist, Australia were left struggling for answers. For all the strength and depth in their pace bowling stocks, they don’t have a replacement for Lyon anywhere near his class.
England were 188/1 at one stage and with their premier spinner unavailable, Cummins & Co opted for a left-field option which worked for them to an extent as England ended the day at 278/4, still 138 behind, with the last three wickets falling to short balls as the batsmen couldn’t, or wouldn’t, restrain themselves.
England could have been at least five down at close if Marnus Labuschagne had held on to a pull shot from the frenetic Harry Brook late in the day. In addition, Joe Root could have been out for a duck to another short ball if Cameron Green had not overstepped. The all-rounder was guilty of bowling frequent no-balls, but was also instrumental in getting the Aussies back into the contest when he got rid of Pope via the predictable route.
His 6th Test fifty! 👏
Looking good, Ben 👌@IGcom | @BenDuckett1 pic.twitter.com/a9h1EB1TbV
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 29, 2023
For England, Duckett was the batting hero of the day, missing a ton by a couple of runs. He allowed Crawley to be the main aggressor, playing against his natural instincts for the initial part of the innings, before taking advantage as conditions became favourable for batting. Anything on a length was hardly troubling him, but when the Aussies went upstairs, the left-handed opener couldn’t help himself despite not being in full control of his shots. Pope had already been caught in the deep off a pull, and when Josh Hazlewood dug one in at Duckett’s ribs, he could only shovel it uncomfortably to David Warner, who was stationed considerably in from the rope at fine leg.
👀 #EnglandCricket | #Ashes pic.twitter.com/orSI5Xibfs
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 29, 2023
When Root also succumbed to the same ploy, Steve Smith taking a splendid catch diving forward at backward square-leg, one wondered about the wisdom of taking on the short ball. Australia were without their lead spinner and the bouncer-barrage would take a toll on the fast bowlers’ energies. A better approach could have been to see off the storm as the pacers couldn’t have continued with the ploy without reward indefinitely. But that’s now how Bazball thinks or works. Ironically, it was England skipper Ben Stokes who put his head down to ensure there were no further setbacks at the end of the day.
It was another crazy and eventful day of Ashes cricket and England got the better of the conditions. The sun came out in the afternoon, the conditions eased out, and the pitch seemed ideal for batting. After Australia had to contend with overcast skies for the first day and the second morning, the second session provided England the opportunity to put up a solid riposte.
It didn’t reach Bazball proportions, but after a steady start Crawley and Duckett scored freely without throwing caution to the winds. There was hardly any lateral movement for the Aussie quicks, and the openers were scoring at five runs an over before Lyon had Crawley smartly stumped by Alex Carey.
Biding their time
It was followed by a spell of pragmatism as Duckett and Ollie Pope decided to play steadily, respecting the situation of the match. The scoring rate during the next few overs hovered around two runs an over as Lyon and Cummins kept things tight. But Mitchell Starc and surprisingly, Josh Hazlewood bled runs at more than seven an over at one stage as it seemed smooth sailing for Stokes’ men. Starc did create some anxiety for the batsmen, but his extra pace took the ball to the rope frequently.
But adversity forced the Australians to think out of the box and they would harbour hopes of a first-innings lead if they can somehow compensate for the possible absence of Lyon on the third day.
Earlier, Australia didn’t last the first session of the day. Getting the last five wickets for 77 inside 90 minutes of play may sound good, but it was the minimum expected from England to stay in the contest. But scoring 416 after being sent in under overcast skies, floodlights on, and a green pitch underneath meant Australia were much the happier side after the completion of one innings.
But the hosts may feel that they got off a bit lightly. Root’s two wickets late on and Smith (110) not going on to get a daddy hundred after reaching three figures meant Australia, in effect, lost their last seven wickets for exactly 100. But when Carey and Starc were dismissed quite early in the piece, the hosts would have harboured hopes of getting the opposition out for much below 400.
The England bowling effort on the second morning was still a marked improvement on what they dished out on Wednesday when they almost seemed to expect the pitch and conditions to do the job for them. There was more intent as the prospect of the match and, quite possibly, the Ashes drifting from their grasp hit home. Once Carey was dismissed by Stuart Broad in the second over, it all boiled down to how long Smith occupied the crease. And though the former skipper brought up his 32nd Test hundred, there were no partnerships to speak of.
Brief Scores: Australia 416 all out (Steve Smith 110, Travis Head 77, David Warner 66; Ollie Robinson 3/100, Josh Tongue 3/98) vs England 278/4 (Ben Duckett 98, Zak Crawley 48; Mitchell Starc 1/75, Josh Hazlewood 1/63).
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