ENG vs AUS, Ashes 2nd Test Day 4 Highlights: England needs 257 runs to beat Australia on final day

Green with the last over of the day. Stoke more than happy enough to let this over go by without taking any undue risks. Green with some bouncers not in the body line and Stokes let them all go.

DAY 4 WRAP

England will be relieved with how it has ended the day. It started the day with some hyper-aggressive short bowling, which helped them restrict Australia’s lead under 400.

But Australia roared back into the game, scalping four English wickets under 50 runs. Duckett and Stokes recuperated the home side’s innings. England still needs 257 runs to level the series on the final day.

Green with a short ball and Duckett reaches out to get his bat on it. Flies to Starc at deep fine leg. Did Starc grass the catch? Oh yes he did. Duckett gets a life there. Australians can’t believe that decision went against them.

Short into the body from Starc and Duckett slaps it away for a single to get to his fifty, the second of the game. He has been in sublime touch in this Test.

Another short ball, this time against Stokes. He doesn’t hold down. Pulls it emphatically to mid-wicket fence. FOUR!!

Green comes into the attack and Duckett takes him on. Two boundaries in his first over. One a cut shot and the other an off drive. The English opener is growing into this contest.

Next over, Stokes taps one off Starc to the off side, runs a single and gets England to 100. This has been a solid recovery from the home side.

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The Travis Head experiment not helping Australia much. Both Duckett and Stoke have looked comfortable against his part-time off spin.

Duckett now trains his target of Starc, who offers half-tracker, which is duly swiped away for a four.

Head comes in to bowl. Stokes waits an over before going after him. Launches Head straight over his head. SIX!!! First sign of aggression.

Duckett too tries to take Head on. Top-edge, but it lands safely in the outfield.

These two have batted England out of a big spot of bother.

Captain Stokes out in the middle. He has an unenviable task in his hands now. A win looks improbable now, a draw even further unimaginable. The task now would be to see through this day and for that England needs to deal with a rampant Aussie bowling unit.

Double strike from skipper Cummins!!

Brook gets a each of a delivery. Pitches one on middle and off and it swings away a tinge. Clips the top of the off stump.

England in tatters.

Cummins surprises Root with a short one. Fends at it clumsily and it comes off his gloves. Easy catch for Warner. Australia on the ascent!!

ENG 41/3 in 12.2 overs

Root nudges one between the slips and gully to add another boundary, this time against Hazlewood. Not in complete control, but it doesn’t matter.

Root and Duckett has blunted Australia’s early momentum.

Root calms the English nerves with some assured batting. Nothing fancy, yet, from him.

Hazlewood gets his first over of the day. Goes down the leg side for Root and he glances it away for a welcome boundary.

Pope has his middle stump uprooted by a Starc special. Swung inside from fourth stump and clatters onto his castle. Australia has wind on its sails.

Duckett survives a close LBW call off Starc. England on the back foot in the early stages of this chase.

Starc and Cummins are tightening the screws on Duckett and new-man Ollie Pope.

A feeble dismissal.

Starc drifts down the leg side and Crawley nudges at it. Carey dives well to pouch that catch. England loses its first wicket.

DROPPED!!

Green’s magic streak at gully comes to an end. He drops Duckett after going with a full-length dive to his left.

Duckett earns a four from it and that kick starts the English chase.

Starc will handle the new ball. Duckett and Crawley out in the middle. England will be hoping for a repeat of the first innings from its openers.

Starc gets hold off on that one. Flies over deep fine leg. SIX!!!

Lyon bravely battles on and he is rewarded with a boundary. But his stint out in the middle comes to an end. Short from Broad and Lyon mishits it straight to Stokes at mid wicket.

England needs 371 to win

Stokes gets Hazlewood! The England captain sends in a back of a length delivery which Hazlewood nudges off his pads to Root waiting at short leg. One wicket to go for the hosts. Nathan Lyon walks down, hobbling due to his injury. A massive applause from the Aussie supporters for the spinner. Australia’s lead is currently 355

This time Cummins has to go back.

Another short ball, another awkard prod and Duckett is there to complete the catch.

Australia eight down!!

Cummins has had enough of it. Makes space on the leg side and slashes it over point for a four.

Australia’s lead creeps close to 350. Is a declaration around the corner?

More Drama!

It is another no ball wicket. Stokes gets Cummins to top edge and it is caught. But he has overstepped and has given his rival number a life.

Starc is the latest to get a taste of England’s short ball attack. Gets a ball straight on his chest.

Carey is the next to be snared. Pacy stuff on to the chest and he pokes his bat at it. Root pouches another one at short leg.

England well and truly in this game!

This has been a long, sustained spell of pressure from England. One must wonder how long Australia is planning to bat, considering it has go through a strong English batting lineup to secure a win.

Green loses his patience, finally. Short ball from Robinson and Green swats it straight at Duckett.

Plum on the helmet!!

Stokes attacks Green with a bouncer. It hits him right on the badge. That should require a concussion test. He gets one and continues on with no issue.

Australia is finding it extremely hard to score runs. England is piling on the pressure.

A tinge of width from Stokes and Carey cuts it past point for a four. That should ease the pressure on Australia.

Sharp bouncer from Stokes and Carey shifts under it. That was close.

Robinson vs Carey. Four dot balls to start with. Sharp in-swinger and Carey has to dig it out.

Green continues evading the bouncers as he looks to tire out the English pacers.

Robinson and Stokes are working in tandem. The duo keeps attacking Carey and Green with short pitch stuff. But the Australians are taking their time, not taking too many risks.

Robinson restarts the bouncer strategy. Green at the recieving end of it. He keeps ducking under it. Carey though is a little more aggressive on the face of the short balls.

He attempts a couple of pulls and cuts to keep the runs coming.

Ben Stokes with the first over for England in the second session. Carey and Green will be looking to rescue Australia after a calamitous first session.

Australia’s lead creeps over 300. Green and Crawley are settling in well as England start moving away from the short ball ploy.

Broad goes full and Green carves it through cover with a front foot drive. Broad pulls it back and Green rocks on to his back foot to thrash it on the off side. Four More!! And that is Lunch.

Carey gets a boundary against Tongue to ease some pressure. Australia’s lead is trickling towards 300, but it might not be enough against an English side which has made it a habit of chasing down big totals.

Anderson goes full and Carey drives it on the up. FOUR MORE!!

Head pushes his bat towards a well-directed short ball from Broad. Root, posted at short leg, dives to his left and clings on it. BRILLIANT CATCH!!

Australia Five Down!!

Two new batters - Head and Green - now out in the middle. England has a real opportunity to get back into this game.

English bowlers keep up the short ball strategy. Tongue thuds one into Head’s shoulder. Crawley, posted and short mid on, couldn’t get there on time.

DROPPED!!

James Anderson has dropped Travis Head. That was bad drop from the veteran pacer.

But England has a chance to celebrate soon enough. Smith too falls for the short ball ploy. Prods a Tongue lifter to deep backward square leg.

England storming back into the game!!

Finally, England’s plan reaps success. Khawaja goes after Broad’s short ball and can only find deep fine leg. That ends his vigilant knock.

Khawaja and Smith are growing in confidence against England’s short pitch ploy.

The pull shots are much more in control and along the ground. Tongue sneaks one past Khawaja’s defence. But the ball, which clipped off his gloves, drops in between fielders.

No respite from the barrage of short balls. But, Khawaja and Smith show great restraint.

Doesn’t take too much risk, but doesn’t crow down to it either.

Another bouncer from Robinson against Khawaja. Takes an under edge and bumps off his shoulder. Bairstow leapt unsuccessfully to get hold off it. CHANCE!!!

Australia’s lead is closing in on the 250-run mark. England is now taking a leaf out of the Australian play-book and attacking Smith and Khawaja with a few short stuff.

Smith ducks under a few of them, before pulling one ahead of square leg.

Tongue too sticks with the short ball strategy. Smith and Khawaja keeps the shots down, unlike the English batters.

Smith with the shot of the day, so far. Shuffles into the line of the ball, before driving Anderson through the covers. He adds one more boundary, this time with a straight drive. Add one more. Cut fiercely past point. He looks in pristine touch.

A spell of dot balls from the English pacers to start the day.

Robinson lets the pressure drop with one dragged down the leg side, which is clipped away for a single by Khawaja.

The Australia opener scores his first boundary of the day, against James Anderson. Slightly overpitched and Khawaja frees his arm to glide it through covers.

Robinson to finish off his pending two deliveries.

He draws an edge from Smith, but it goes in between leg gully and leg slip. That was a chance.

England is “about breaking records”, assistant coach Jeetan Patel said on Friday as the home team contemplates a huge run chase against Australia in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s.

Ben Stokes’s side, who lost the first game of the five-match series last week, collapsed to 325 all out on Friday’s third morning in London, playing a series of rash shots.

Australia then reached 130-2 in its second innings to extend its lead to 221 runs despite some accurate bowling from the hosts.

The on-field umpire’s decision to ask an injured Ollie Pope to field in Australia’s second innings during the ongoing second Ashes Test at Lord’s has left host England “bewildered”.

Pope, who left the field on the opening day after having injured his shoulder during a diving effort while fielding, was declared fit enough to bat in his usual position at No.3 in England’s first innings after receiving treatment.

He made 42 as England was all out for 325 in its first innings. Australia was 130 for two at Stumps on day three in its second innings, with a lead of 221.

Australia extends lead over England to 221 runs before rain ends Day 3 at Lord’s

Australia dug out a hefty lead of 221 runs against England before drizzle prematurely ended day three of the second Ashes test at Lord’s on Friday.

Usman Khawaja fronted Australia’s dogged fight in bowler-friendly conditions with an unbeaten 58 from 123 balls.

His 60-odd partnerships with fellow opener David Warner and then Marnus Labuschagne kept Australia on top. Khawaja had Steve Smith beside him on 6 when stumps was called at 130-2 in their second innings, and 25 overs left unused in the day

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