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England vs Australia: Day two of the second Ashes Test in a nutshell

Written by on 16/08/2019

Superman at short leg, a flipping success and a red-letter day for Australia at colourful Lord’s. Here are the best bits from day two of the second Ashes Test…

The Report

Australia have the edge in the second Ashes Test as they closed day two on 30-1 after bowling England out for 258, writes Sam Drury at Lord’s.

Scorecard | Commentary

Josh Hazlewood made an instant impact on his return to the Australia side with two wickets in a fantastic opening spell, ending with figures of 3-58, while Pat Cummins (3-61) and Nathan Lyon (3-68) also claimed with three wickets apiece as England were bowled out with an hour left of an extended evening session.

Moment of the Day

Steve Waugh, no less, hailed Cameron Bancroft as the best ever short-leg fielder ahead of the first Test and the opener lived up to the billing – and how – with a superb grab to dismiss Rory Burns in the first hour after lunch.

Burns had battled his way to 53, taking several blows on the body on the way as Pat Cummins rigorously enforced Australia’s short-ball ploy to the left-hander – standing his ground resolutely as the tourists targeted his ribs.

So it needed a brilliant piece of fielding to prise him from the crease and Bancroft provided it, anticipating Burns’ deflection to leg and diving to grab the ball before scooping it again in his fingers inches from the turf after the chance initially eluded him.

Stat of the Day

Talking Point

No one was more surprised when Tim Paine opted to bowl after winning the toss than Michael Holding, MC at the toss, so confident was the former paceman that this was a bat-first pitch. He wasn’t alone in the Sky commentary box either.

The pundit school of thought suggested that in a rain-shortened game, with more iffy weather to come, there was a clear advantage to be had by strapping on the pads on what appeared to be the best day to bat and amassing a big first-innings total.

But Paine – perhaps looking to kick England when 1-0 down – went the other way, backing his bowlers, and the recalled Hazlewood set the tone for an impressive bowling display on a pitch offering no more than a little and one that had the hosts battling for their Ashes survival. Did Paine make the right call? A total of 258 all out suggests so – but only time will tell!

Tweets of the Day

What they said

Nasser Hussain on Josh Hazlewood: “He must be special if you’re going to change your side from last week, who were brilliant with the ball. He has been special today, his lengths have been spot on and he has got enough movement. He is a proper bowler! High quality.”

Andrew Strauss on Jason Roy: “Picking which balls to play and which to leave is an important part of being an opening batsman. When you’re trying to play defensively you’ve got to try and play with soft hands and that’s where Roy was at fault. It was a ball he didn’t need to play at.”

Watch day three of the second Ashes Test between England and Australia live on Sky Sports The Ashes and Main Event from 10am.

You can also follow over-by-over commentary and in-play clips on our rolling blog on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.

(c) Sky Sports 2019: England vs Australia: Day two of the second Ashes Test in a nutshell