SECOND Ashes Test
AUSTRALIA 1st innings
David Warner b Josh Tongue 66
Usman Khawaja b Josh Tongue 17
Marnus Labuschagne c Jonny Bairstow b Ollie Robinson 47
Steve Smith c Ben Duckett b Josh Tongue 110
Travis Head st Jonny Bairstow b Joe Root 77
Cameron Green c James Anderson b Joe Root 0
Alex Carey lbw Stuart Broad 22
Mitchell Starc c Jonny Bairstow b James Anderson 6
Pat Cummins Not Out 22
Nathan Lyon c Josh Tongue b Ollie Robinson 7
Josh Hazlewood c Joe Root b Ollie Robinson 4
Extras 12b 14lb 12nb 0pen 0w 38
Total (100.4 overs) 416 all out
Fall of Wickets : 1-73 Khawaja, 2-96 Warner, 3-198 Labuschagne, 4-316 Head, 5-316 Green, 6-351 Carey, 7-358 Starc, 8-393 Smith, 9-408 Lyon, 10-416 Hazlewood
Bowling : James Anderson 20- – 5 – 53 – 1 (1nb),
Stuart Broad 23 – 4 99 – 1, (1nb), Ollie Robinson 24.4 – 3 – 100 – 3 ( 6nb),
Josh Tongue 22 – 3 – 98 – 3 (1nb), Ben Stokes 3 – 1 – 21 – 0 (3nb)
Joe Root 8 – 1 – 19 – 2.

……………………………………………
ENAGLAND 1st innings
Zak Crawley st Alex Carey b Nathan Lyon 48
Ben Duckett c David Warner b Josh Hazlewood 98
Ollie Pope c Steve Smith b Cameron Green 42
Joe Root c Steve Smith b Mitchell Starc 10
Harry Brook Not Out 45
Ben Stokes Not Out 17
Extras 8b 4lb 6nb 0pen 0w 18
Total (61.0 overs) 278-4
Fall of Wickets : 1-91 Crawley, 2-188 Pope, 3-208 Duckett, 4-222 Root
To Bat : Bairstow, Broad, Robinson, Tongue, Anderson
Bowling : Mitchell Starc 12 – 0 – 75 – 1, Pat Cummins 12 – 2 – 39 – 0,
Josh Hazlewood 11 – 1 – 63 – 1, Nathan Lyon 13 – 1 – 35 – 1,
Cameron Green 7 – 0 – 43 – 1, (6nb).

…Stephen Smith completes 32nd Test Century
ENGLAND came close to wasting a superb fightback with some brainless batting late on the second day of the second Ashes Test against Australia at Lord’s.
The home side had done much to reverse the damage of a poor opening day, bowling Australia out for 416 and reaching 188-1 in response.

But Ollie Pope, Ben Duckett and Joe Root all gifted their wickets to Australia’s telegraphed short-ball plan, Duckett falling for 98 and missing out on a maiden Ashes hundred.
The three wickets fell for 34 runs before Harry Brook, who had several near misses in his 45, and captain Ben Stokes, with a calm 17 from 57 balls, took England to 278-4, 138 behind.

The carelessness of England’s batting was compounded by the fact key Australia spinner Nathan Lyon was off the field with a calf injury that will be assessed overnight.
Steve Smith earlier completed his 32nd Test hundred before being dismissed for 110 by Josh Tongue.
That was part of an Australia collapse of five wickets for 65 runs on Thursday morning, with Tongue and Ollie Robinson finishing with three wickets apiece.

England risk taking Bazball approach too far
This was so close to being a magnificent day for England – for more than two sessions they were every bit as good as they were lethargic on Wednesday.
As the pitch quickened up, the home bowlers found more zip. The catching was sharp and the batting, led by the increasingly dependable Duckett, was grinding Australia down.

Indeed, as the touring bowlers battled in vain to extract any movement from the ball, England’s only error came from Zak Crawley, who ran down the pitch and was stumped down the leg side off Lyon for a handsome 48.
Then came eight overs of madness that threatened to derail any chance England have of regaining the Ashes. Their success under Stokes has been built on an attacking style, but the reckless way they allowed Australia back in defied cricketing logic.

What made the collapse worse were the warnings England failed to heed. Duckett had been discomforted by the short ball and Root caught off a no-ball, yet England refused to temper their aggression.
At the end of a breathless, action-packed day the Test is deliciously poised, though that does little to shake off the feeling of what might have been.

Reckless England undo Duckett’s good work
Duckett has been a revelation since returning to Test cricket in December – his average of 53.58 is the fifth-highest of all men to have done the job in at least 10 matches for England.
He added 91 in less than 18 overs with Crawley and another 97 in just over 20 with Pope, who was able to bat at number three despite the shoulder injury he suffered in the field on day one.
Duckett cut, clipped and played drives with style, but when Australia went short with as many as six fielders on the boundary, he and Pope took leave of their senses.

Pope, standing baseball style, miscued Cameron Green on 42 and Root only survived gloving behind in the same over because Green overstepped.
Duckett, with a hundred at his mercy, top-edged Josh Hazlewood and, most incredibly for a player of his class, Root flapped at Mitchell Starc. All three wickets were to catches behind square on the leg side.
Even then Brook continued to take the bouncers on, somehow avoiding being bowled when he was outfoxed by a Green slower ball and was dropped at square leg by Marnus Labuschagne when he hooked Pat Cummins.

Stokes, so often England’s biggest aggressor, played the situation sensibly, and the skipper has the chance to guide his team to a lead on Friday.

Australia gifted way back in
From 339-5 overnight, Australia had the chance to dominate the match, only to surrender the initiative then have it presented back.
Smith’s hundred seemed inevitable from midway through day one. Unbeaten on 85 at the beginning of the day, he drove James Anderson for four to reach his 12th Ashes hundred – only the great Don Bradman has more.

By that point, Alex Carey had been lbw on review to Stuart Broad and Starc slashed Anderson behind. Tongue, though, was the pick of the bowlers and enticed Smith to a drive to fifth slip to dismiss him for the second time this summer – he had earlier done so for Worcestershire playing against Smith’s Sussex.

When Robinson mopped up the tail, it completed an overall slump of seven wickets for 100 runs and Australia’s malaise continued in the field.
Like the first Test, fielders were scattered to the boundary, Starc and Hazlewood went at more than six an over, the injury to Lyon could still prove to be a pivotal moment in the series.
The short-ball plan was hatched in desperation and England’s compliance in their own downfall beggared belief.(BBC Sport).