Ashes 2023 2nd Test Day 1 Highlights: Batters help Australia to dominant position vs England

England might have thought it had gained an advantage with winning the toss.

But Australian batters made sure its their day. Warner kicked things off with an assured 50. Smith and Labuschagne then compiled runs in no hurry, before Head came a blitzed his way to a quick-fire fifty.

England though edged back into the game with Root getting Head and Green out in the same over. But Smith and Carey saw out until the day’s play to ensure Australia heads into the end of day’s play ahead of the contest.

Broad with the last over. Carey on strike.

Broad attacks from around the wicket. Keeps swinging it away from the left-hander, but Carey manages to hold on. Maiden over to end the day. Australia ends the day on 339/5.

England doesn’t take the new ball straight away. Stokes persists with Root’s spin.

Smith and Carey have no trouble in dealing Root’s off-spin and that forces Stokes to bring in the new ball. Robinson with the cherry. Smith in control throughout as he deals with the fresh ball.

Alex Carey comes in. He stays calm and sees out the resurgent England bowling attack. At the other end, Smith is unbothered as he continues to gather runs.

Ben Stokes will be looking to get hold off the new ball to put pile on the pressure.

Cam Green is the new batter. He tries to take on Root straight away, but can only top edge it to mid off. DOUBLE BLOW FOR AUSTRALIA!!!

ROOT STRIKES!!!

Root spots Head jumping out of the crease and he pushes it wide on the off side. Bairstow makes a tough gather and removes the bails. Head is gone. England back in the game.

Root reintroduced. He comes around the wicket, attacking Smith’s pads. He responds by slog sweeping it for a four. Ben Stokes is fast running out ff ideas.

Head taps one down the ground to bring up the hundred-run partnership. The three hundred run mark too comes up. Head adds another boundary, this time with a pull shot.

Head crunches Broad for a couple of boundaries.

First was was a silky cover drive while the second was punched straight drive.

He is catching up with Smith rapidly.

Smith, meanwhile has dropped anchor, defending with assuredness.

English bowlers are going on the defensive against Head’s head-on attack.

He is racing to his fifty, while Smith is yet to get to his 60s.

Head continues his counter attack. The boundaries keep rolling in for the left-hander. A smooth on drive off Broad is the best of the lot.

Smith doesn’t have much to do as Head races to 37.

Steve Smith shuffles across the stumps before punching it through the gap for a three. It is his fifty. A composed innings from Steve Smith.

Anderson continues. He keeps going on the attack, swinging the ball away from Head.

Head flashes at a wide one and it lands agonisingly in front of Rehan Ahmed at point.

Head continues to take on the bowlers. Executes a flowing on-drive against Robinson to collect a boundary.

Travis Head is the new batter. English bowlers put him under pressure straight away.

Couple of swing and misses. Robinson raps him on the pad. They are raring for another wicket.

Robinson finally finds the outside edge and Bairstow pouches an easy catch. Labuschagne falls just short of his fifty.

Not the greatest start for England. Robinson gifts one on the pads for Smith and it is clipped away for a four.

A good afternoon session for Australia ends with the score at 190 for the loss of two wickets after 50 overs. It has been a good day for England bowler Josh Tongue, who has taken two wickets in his maiden Ashes game.

Steve Smith and Labuschagne are building a good partnership here with England looking for answers from Tongue, who has taken both wickets on Day 1 so far.

Broad surprises Labuschagne with a sharp, in-swinging full ball. It thumps on to his pads, but the umpire is unmoved. England reviews, but the third umpire has observed that it had hit the Labuschagne’s bat first.

Broad continues to attack with his in-swingers.

Labuschagne leaves the ball and it crashes on to his pads. England appeals vehemently and the umpire relents. Given out and Labuschagne reviews. It is shown to have gone a tad too high and wide. Labuschagne survives.

He celebrates his reprieve with a cracking straight drive, which races to the fence.

Smith and Labuschagne continue to keep the runs coming in, with ease.

The pitch has eased out and the English bowlers have lost a bit of a steam.

Broad goes full and Labuschagne drives it crisply through the covers for a four.

Another full one, this time on the pads, and Labuschagne clips it to mid wicket fence for another four. Easy boundaries on offer for Australia here.

Stokes brings himself on. Oversteps the very first ball. Stokes too offers Labuschagne a loosener. Driven on the up and four more. Labuschagne has turned his innings around with some crisp boundaries.

Broad pitches one on the fifth stump. The ball holds its line and skids past Smith’s outside edge. The Umpire gives it out, but Smith reviews it straight away. He is saved as there was a clear gap between bat and the ball.

Robinson keeps Smith down for a maiden over as England continues to apply pressure.

Smith is as the No. 4. Both him and Marnus had an underwhelming first Test. Just 35 combined runs from the two.

Robinson draws Marnus into a false shot down the off side. Edged and it flies past gully and to the fence.

Tongue jags one back and it hits Smith on the pad. Muffled appeals. No review. Smith responds with an aggressive pull shot, which flies to the fence. FOUR!!

Warner continues to pile on the runs. A little bit of width and he prods forward before driving it to the fence. An edged boundary, through the off side, takes him to his 60s.

His early pace has helped Australia into a solid position in this game.

Tongue comes in around the wicket and now it is Warner’s turn to have his stumps rattled. AUSTRALIA LOSES ITS SECOND OPENER

This was a much shorter break. Warner and Marnus back in the middle.

Anderson with the first over. Warner defends his way through the over.

Tongue pitches one on length and Marnus opts to leave it. It nips back in and and misses the top of middle stump. CLOSE CALL!!!

And it is raining again and the players make their way back to the dugouts!!

Anderson draws an outside edge from Marnus. But it falls tantalisingly in front of the slip cordon.

Anderson pitches it up and Marnus steps forward and creams it through the cover for a boundary. Eventful over there.

Marnus Labuschagne is in as the No. 3. Tongue tests him with some inswingers, but Marnus deals it with ease.

Khawaja misreads a Tongue inswinger. He expected it to swing away as it jagged back in sharply to clip the top of the off stump. The Australian opener is shocked by the way it swung back in.

And that is the end of the first session. Australia 73/1 in 23.1 overs.

Finally, Khawaja breaks free.

Anderson offers a half tracker, which is happily swatted away by Khawaja to the square leg fence.

Tongue goes short and Warner doesn’t need a second invitation to slap it away for a four and it is his fifty.

Warner nudges one around the corner and that it the fifty-run opening partnership. They have been resolute on the face of some threatening swing bowling by using contrasting strategies. Warner has been on the front foot, taking on the bowlers when they have missed their target, while Khawaja has defended everything thrown at him.

While Warner has settled in well, Khawaja is yet to find his feet. He swings and misses a Robinson loosener, wide on the off side. More than 50 balls and he is still stuck at nine.

Broad meanwhile gets one to seam away from the straight-batting Warner. This is an engrossing battle between two age-old rivals.

Stokes brings in Josh Tongue for his first over of the day. He gets his line and length wrong straight away and Warner gets him away for a couple of overs to prop up the run rate.

Broad against Warner.

Pitches on on good length and moves it away just a tinge. Clips off the left-hander’s outside edge. But it is dropped in the slip cordon by Pope. Another chance goes begging for England.

Australian openers continue to blunt the English opening bowling. But the conditions are not easing up. So the initial testing period will be a prolonged one.

Warner is growing in confidence. Middles a couple of drives, but doesn’t get any boundaries as they are directed straight to the fielders.

Broad reintroduced. Beats Khawaja with an inswinger and looks in disbelief at how that missed the inside edge and the top of the off stump.

The players make their way back and the game restarts. Robinson with the first over after the rain break.

It is raining at the Lord’s and the umpires decide to stop play.

The players make their way back with Australia 20/0. It has been a solid start from the Aussie openers.

This has been a steady and safe start from the Australian openers. They have been tested by some sharp bowling from Anderson and Broad, but have more or less kept their guard on.

Anderson tries to change it up by coming from around the wicket. But Khawaja is resolute in his back foot defence.

Over 8 - Stokes introduces Ollie Robinson, who will have a point to prove after being at the receiving end of some aggressive comments from a few Aussie legends.

Robinson drifts one on the off side and Khawaja nudges it past point for a four. First boundary for him.

Ansderson and Broad keep it tight. Warner and Khawaja are constantly threatened by the away swinging deliveries.

Finally Khawaja errs and the ball goes flying to the slip cordon. But it falls just short of Root there.

The match continues after the interruption.

Broad with the second over. Gives away only a single. Anderson continues from the other end. Keeps swinging it away from Khawaja.

A protester found his way on to the pitch. Bairstow took matters to his own hands and removed the protester himself. But the the person was carrying some sort of powder which fell on the English keeper and he was forced to have a change of kit.

James Anderson with the first over. Swings one away from Warner second ball. Misses the outside edge. English players leap in excitement.

Ball four - Anderson pitches one up and Warner leans on his front foot to drive it through the covers for a four. Australia is off the mark.

Australian openers - Warner and Khawaja - are out in the middle. It is cloudy and dark and England bowlers will relish this conditions.

We were gonna have a bowl as well. One change. Starc in for Boland. Boland has been good for us, unfortunately he is going to miss out this week. We are selective with our history. It is a fresh start, new team really looking forward to playing here. Every Ashes here at Lord’s is special.

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jonny Bairstow(w), Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, James Anderson

David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins(c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

England wins toss, opts to bowl first

Taking the Ashes opener snub in his stride, Australian pacer Mitchell Starc said he is used to being “dropped the most in this squad” but he promised to remain battle-ready if he is picked for the second Test.

Left-arm pacer Starc was not part of the first Test against England, which the visitors won by two wickets.

“I’m used to it now coming to England. It’s a squad mentality, much the same as last time,” Starc told reporters about his non-selection for the opening Test at Edgbaston.

“I have been around long enough, been dropped enough. Probably been dropped the most in this squad so it is not something new for me. It probably won’t be the last time either.”

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Marnus Labuschagne said Australia, especially the pacers, did not even bring their “B Game” in the win against England in the Ashes opener, adding that there is plenty of room for the visitors to improve as the series goes on.

Australia edged out England to win the opening Test in Birmingham by two wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.

There were a number of impressive individual performances from the visitors but Labuschagne felt that the formidable Australian pace attack was not at its best.

“I don’t think we played our B-game. I think there’s a few guys that played exceptionally well. Usman (Khawaja) played really well, Nathan Lyon bowled exceptionally,” Labuschagne told SEN Cricket.

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England XI: Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (captain), Jonathan Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, James Anderson

Australia Probable Playing XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood

England captain Ben Stokes said an “awkward” changing room meeting with a new fan of Test cricket has underlined his faith in the team’s dynamic ‘Bazball’ method.

A policy of all-out attack has paid rich dividends since Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum joined forces last year, with England winning 11 out of 14 Tests.

But a thrilling two-wicket defeat by arch-rivals Australia in last week’s Ashes opener at Edgbaston led several former England internationals to warn Stokes’s men would need to curb their attacking instincts if they were to level the five-match series at Lord’s, where the second Test starts from Wednesday.

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