Cummins and Lyon return to take charge for Australia
Scott Bailey |
Australia’s returning duo of Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon have the hosts on top in Adelaide, leaving England 5-132 at tea on day two in reply to 371.
Having bowled just two overs between them across the first two Ashes Tests, Cummins and Lyon took two wickets each on Thursday at Adelaide Oval.
From 4-71, Harry Brook’s 44 then threatened to stabilise England’s innings, before Cameron Green had him caught behind just before tea.
Skipper Ben Stokes (19no) is trying to hold the innings together in this must-win Test, as England face the reality of another 3-0 deficit in Australia.
It has said much about Australia’s dominance that they won the first two Tests without the injured Cummins, while Lyon barely bowled in Perth and was left out in Brisbane.
On Thursday, the pair showed their worth.
Cummins removed Zak Crawley for nine with a ball that angled in and did enough off the seam to catch the right-hander’s edge and have him caught behind.
Two overs later Lyon spun the game on its head with a double strike before lunch.
The spinner first ensured Ollie Pope’s miserable tour would continue, with England’s No.3 playing a poor shot when he turned a ball straight to Josh Inglis at mid wicket.
Three balls later Lyon came around the wicket to the left-handed Duckett, drifted the ball into the England opener and then turned it away to take the top of off stump.
Duckett looked stunned, offering a bewildered response similar to that of Mike Gatting after Shane Warne’s ball of the century at Old Trafford in 1993.
Lyon’s two wickets took him to 564 Test wickets, past Glenn McGrath and into second on the all-time Australian list and sixth world over.
Then after lunch it was Cummins again, drawing the edge of the world’s best batter in Joe Root on 19 to have him out for the 12th time in Test cricket.
Root had earlier survived a tight caught-behind review, with Chris Gaffaney deciding the ball had touched grass just before entering Alex Carey’s gloves.
And while DRS dramas have headlined this Test – snicko operators admitted human error meant Carey survived a review on 72 on the way to his century – Root’s favourable call mattered little.
With temperatures forecast to reach 39 in Adelaide on Thursday, England had the chance to make Australia work in the heat.
But Brendon McCullum’s side’s latest woes with the bat mean they are now fighting to stay in the contest, and deny Australia keeping the Ashes urn for a fifth straight series.
Earlier on Thursday, Mitchell Starc’s second straight half-century had helped Australia reach a competitive score, with the hosts able to add 50 for the final two wickets.
Starc crunched five boundaries through the offside in the opening few overs of the day, before Scott Boland finished 14no.
Starc and Lyon (9) both ultimately fell to Jofra Archer, England’s clear stand out bowler with 5-53 after a tough few Tests.
AAP
