England will eye early wickets on day two of the second Ashes Test after Steve Smith helped Australia make a strong start in their quest to move 2-0 up in the series.
Smith was unbeaten on 85 at the end of the first day at Lord’s with Australia able to close on 339 for five, a score which would have been even better had Joe Root not struck twice late on with his part-time spin.
David Warner and Travis Head contributed half-centuries as England disappointingly failed to make the most of winning the toss and bowling on a green-tinged wicket under cloudy skies in the capital.
Only Ashes debutant Josh Tongue, who claimed two for 88, was able to make a significant impact out of the hosts’ all-seam attack but captain Ben Stokes will hope that can change on the second morning despite the threat of rain.
View from the dressing room
Those two wickets Rooty got were crucial for that time of the game. They (Australia) were going at a good rate. Hopefully we can get a few more early (on day two).— England seamer Josh Tongue
Pope’s on ice
England have work to do before they can think about batting at the home of cricket, but they do have concerns over the fitness of Ollie Pope.
Vice-captain Pope injured his right shoulder while fielding soon after lunch and did not return to the field.
It has heightened fears he will not be able to bat during the rest of the Test.
The Surrey batter spent most of day one being treated with ice, but if fit he can bat in his usual number three slot and will not incur any penalty time for being off the field of play due to this being an impact injury.
Here’s Jonny!
The second Ashes Test was only six balls old when Just Stop Oil protesters ran on to the field and headed for the Lord’s wicket, but it was Jonny Bairstow who came to the rescue.
England’s wicketkeeper picked up one of the men and carted them over the boundary edge. The other protester, who momentarily attracted the attention of Ben Stokes and Australia’s David Warner, was intercepted by security staff.
Bairstow did have to change his orange-stained whites but his “swift hands” were praised by an official spokesman for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. All three protesters were arrested.
Organisers will hope the headlines from day two are just about the cricket.
Sloppy England overstep the mark
Root’s late double scalp helped spare England’s blushes on what had largely been a poor day.
The hosts’ sluggishness started with Root putting down a low catch from Usman Khawaja in the fifth over and while the Australian batter did not cash in, his fellow opener Warner did make the most of a life on 20 – when Pope dropped a sharp chance at third slip – to register a half-century.
Even more eye-catching than those drops were the 12 no-balls Stokes’ side bowled. After 23 no-balls at Edgbaston, it is an area where improvement is required – especially for Robinson, who overstepped on six occasions.
Josh gets Tongues wagging
A crumb of comfort for England was the display of Tongue. After being hit for a few early boundaries, he stuck to his guns and conjured up a superb inswinging delivery to dismiss Khawaja on the stroke of lunch.
Better was to follow in the afternoon session when the Worcestershire seamer produced a brilliant over of Ashes cricket.
With Warner at the crease, Tongue had the aggressive Aussie tied up in knots with no answer to both the inswinger or outswinger.
It was a wonderful delivery that jagged back in and went through Warner’s defence that did for the opener, with the ball clipping his leg-stump.
Red for Ruth Day
Rivalries will be put to one side on Thursday for the Ruth Strauss Foundation with both England and Australia players joining fans and pundits in turning Lord’s into a sea of red.
Former England captain Sir Andrew Strauss set up the charity in memory of his late wife Ruth, who died in 2018 from a non-smoking lung cancer.
The foundation supports thousands of families as they deal with the impact of terminal cancer diagnosis and day two will aim to raise more funds and awareness.
