Ashes 2024: England staged a comeback on day 2, the opening session was dominated by Australia however England in the second session made a quick revival and dismissed Australian batter’s at 416. Steve Smith’s unwavering resilience and century aided Australia to surpass the 400 score, it was his 32nd Test Hundred.
The second day yielded results for Ben Stokes and Co. in terms of bowling, however, the batting performance was middle-of-the-road as they saw themselves staring down at the barrel of 278/4.
Joe Root and Ollie Pope lost their wickets through a short Ball, ousted by Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green. Ben Duckett, the opening batsman, unleashed a formidable knock of 98 runs but was eventually dismissed by Josh Hazelwood’s well-executed short-pitched delivery. Harry Brook and Ben Stokes are on 45 and 17 runs, constructing a solid partnership, they will continue the game on day 3.
England’s Strong Comeback:
Former English Player, Andrew Strauss displayed elation over England’s formidable recovery at Lord’s on Tuesday. Australia began the day with 339/5 and was eliminated at 416, showcasing a commendable bowling performance by England.
Andrew Strauss claims that Australia dominated the inaugural day, but the second session was subdued by England. He cites that Ben Stokes and Co. are in a far better and improved situation, despite still being well-behind Australia, the latter has staged a strong comeback. Australia’s sloppy and careless fielding has spurred England to step up their game. Strauss also mentions that England’s batters attacked but also played defensive shots, thus proving to be a brilliant day for the English batters.
Ricky Ponting Calls Anderson A ‘Champion Bowler’
James Anderson who remained wicketless in the first innings, despite the overcast conditions, has spurred many debates and discussions over his form. Ponting stated that Anderson is a quality bowler and we should never write off a champion bowler like James Anderson.
The Fast Pacer has played 180 Test matches and conceded 686 wickets with a brilliant economy of 2.79, he is one of the oldest players in the team and his form has been intact for many years. Despite his phenomenal record, many fans and cricket experts want him to warm the benches, but Ponting claims that the veteran bowler is a “champion of the game and will continue to be until he wants to pull up stumps”.
Due to Anderson’s injury, he was incapable of playing in the one-off test against Ireland, which paved the way for Josh Tongue who recorded a five-wicket haul in his debut game. Josh Tongue has been brilliant in the Ashes as he extracted the wickets of two In-Form Batters Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith.
Ambiguity Surrounds On The Injury Of Nathan Lyon
The Off-spinner Nathan Lyon is going through a calf injury which takes up plenty of time to get healed, thereby we might not see Lyon playing in this Ashes series. The Australian Doctor confirmed that Calf injury takes up to four to six weeks to heal, thus he admits that Lyon is out of the Ashes.
Lyon bowled 13 overs, before sustaining an injury, and since the spinner is unavailable Pat Cummins has to use Steve Smith and Travis Head to fill in his position.
However, the stacks are not all against Australia as England is going through the same problem, they have lost Moeen Ali, the lone spinner in the team due to an injury, and now they have backed Josh Tongue to surrogate Ali’s position, as England does not have any quality spinners they are supporting the seamers, which are proving to be fruitful for them. Tongue has yielded results by dismissing Steve Smith and Usman Khwaja, both skilled hitters.
