England’s struggles with the bat were laid bare again on day two of the second Test at Lord’s as they were dismissed for 258 by Australia. The only resistance from the hosts came in the form of half-centuries from Jonny Bairstow and Rory Burns, the Baggy Greens having England on the ropes at 138-6 at one point.
While Joe Root’s men, who trail 1-0 in the series, were able to avoid a complete middle-order collapse, they failed to take advantage of the friendly conditions, leaving them on the back foot heading into day three. Australia reached the close on 30-1, David Warner the only man to fall, with Cameron Bancroft (4) and Usman Khawaja (18) steering them through the remainder of the day without any further drama.
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Having lost the toss and been put into bat, England found themselves in a hole early on when at 26-2 after Josh Hazelwood removed both Jason Rory and Joe Root cheaply. Burns and Joe Denly did give the hosts some stability for a while, Burns following up his century at Edgbaston with a half-century, only for Pat Cummins to eventually remove him.
Denly (30), Jos Buttler (12) and Ben Stokes (13) all got starts but failed to convert that into big scores, sparking fears of another middle-order collapse. A half-century from Bairstow gave Root’s men a bit of breathing room and he formed an effective partnership with Woakes, only for Cummins to again strike to remove Woakes to spell the beginning of the end.
Hazelwood (3-42), Cummins (3-61) and Nathan Lyon (3-68) all finished with three wickets apiece as the Australia attack limited their hosts to a modest score. David Warner and Cameron Bancroft headed to the crease just after six to hoping to give the toursists a platform to build upon going into day three. However, it didn’t go to plan as David Warner was cleaned bowled by Stuart Broad for three.
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