After taking his first Test wicket the debutant pace bowler gave Joe Root the quandary of asking for one more overA quarter to midday, after two days and eight hours of play, the crucial stretch of the second Test was finally under way. Steve Smith was in again.This series is going to ebb and flow with Smith’s form. If he carries on batting like he did in that first Test at Edgbaston, then the tide is only going one way. Related: Jofra Archer off mark for England but threat of second Test draw looms Related: Ashes 2019: England v Australia second Test, day three abandoned after rain – as it happened Continue reading...
The unsung hero of the Australian attack was preferred to Mitchell Starc and once again produced an efficient, unspectacular performanceIf you were writing an Australia-focused article about the second day at Lord’s, you would probably make your subject Josh Hazlewood: coming back into the Test side, taking the first three wickets, swinging Australia towards an excellent day.Failing that you would write about Patrick Cummins, his pace and bounce and aggression that likewise netted him three wickets in a bookend performance, stamping his dominance over fragile English batting. Related: Jonny Bairstow rescues England after afternoon mid-order collapse Related: Rory Burns counts his blessings amid England fragility at the crease | Andy Bull Continue reading...
Australia players taunt Burns that he is just lucky, but English left-hander simply knows how to exploit every opportunityThe way Gary Player tells it, it goes like this. He was practising his bunker game somewhere in Texas when “this good old boy with a big hat stopped to watch”. Player hit his next shot into the hole and the stranger said to him, “You got 50 bucks if you get the next one in.” Player did, so the Texan said he double it if he made three in a row. “Boy,” he told Player as he peeled a hundred off his roll of bills a second later. “I’ve never seen anyone so lucky in my life.”So Player fired back at...
England will put their faith in two bowlers who did not play at Edgbaston – Jack Leach and Jofra Archer – to cause the imperious Australian batsman a few problems at Lord’sJack Leach might have played at Lord’s anyway, given Moeen Ali’s loss of confidence, but a stat doing the rounds during the first Test at Edgbaston certainly helped his cause. Steve Smith has a Test average of 35 against orthodox left-arm spin; against any other type of bowling he averages 70. The stat needs to be qualified – he struggled against the great Sri Lankan Rangana Herath on some viciously turning pitches – but equally it cannot be ignored. And the disparity is becoming more pronounced: CricViz stats show...
Outfield warm-up suggests Sam Curran may be left out while Australia replace James Pattinson with Josh HazlewoodSome summer’s day, this. After six hours of rain, play was abandoned for the day at 4.15pm. There was not so much as a coin toss let alone a ball bowled.There was a brief let-up after lunch, a lull between showers, when everyone got out on the field and pretended they had not seen the forecast for the rest of the afternoon. It lasted just long enough for Chris Jordan to present Jofra Archer with his England cap. Then it started raining again. There was a hint, too, for those watching closely, that England plan to stick with Joe Denly rather than pick Sam...