The Australia cricket team took a substantial lead of 221 runs against England before rain ended day three prematurely in the second Ashes test at Lord’s.
Usman Khawaja played a resilient innings, scoring an unbeaten 58 from 123 balls, and formed valuable partnerships with David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne to keep Australia in a commanding position.
At stumps, Australia stood at 130-2 in their second innings, with Khawaja and Steve Smith at the crease, and they will aim for a lead of around 450 to give themselves a chance to bowl at England before tea on Saturday.
England’s hopes were dashed as they squandered the gains from the previous day, with Mitchell Starc dismissing captain Ben Stokes early on the second ball of the day, leading to a collapse that saw them bowled out for 325, conceding a first-innings lead of 91 runs to Australia.
The Australian bowlers consistently capitalised on the favourable bowling conditions, while England struggled to make an impact in similar conditions.
Australia will have to overcome the absence of their frontline spinner, Nathan Lyon, who sustained a significant calf strain, but England’s spin bowling coach, Jeetan Patel, expressed confidence in their ability to chase a target if they can bowl Australia out within two days.
England’s batting lineup struggled in the morning session, enduring a collapse of six wickets for just 47 runs in less than 90 minutes, with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood among the wicket-takers for Australia.
Usman Khawaja and David Warner showcased England’s batting woes, with a slow partnership of 63 runs in 24 overs, highlighting Australia’s dominance in the match.
A full-toss from Broad gets put to the boundary, and brings up Khawaja’s 23rd Test half-century.
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Despite England’s disciplined bowling, Khawaja managed to find gaps and accumulate runs steadily, reaching his fifty off a full toss from Stuart Broad.
Josh Tongue, a newcomer to the Ashes, made an impact by dismissing both Australian openers in the first innings and had the opportunity to do so again, but Khawaja survived a close call when Tongue’s delivery narrowly evaded James Anderson’s grasp.
Australia’s opening batsman Warner fell victim to Tongue’s bowling, being trapped leg before wicket, while Labuschagne survived an lbw appeal from Stuart Broad, successfully overturning the decision upon review, before eventually falling to Anderson.
Despite the rain-shortened day, Australia remains in a strong position, aiming to set a challenging target for England to chase and maintain their series lead.
Heading into day four of the second Ashes Test, the betting landscape has again shifted greatly with Australia now emerging as the heavy favourites at $1.32 , while England finds themselves as the outsiders at odds of $6.75 according to the top cricket betting sites. The events of the third day, including England’s poor batting performance and Australia’s substantial lead have this ruled as a one sided show for the remainder of the second game.
