Second Ashes Test, Lord’s (day two): England 425 v Australia 156-8
Match scorecard
By Oliver Brett
BBC Sport at Lord’s
James Anderson took four wickets as England seized control of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s with a tremendous bowling display late on the second day.
Replying to England’s 425, Australia had recovered from a poor start in which they slid to 10-2 and soon after tea had reached a solid position of 103-2.
But an outstanding running catch by Stuart Broad at fine leg to end Simon Katich’s innings on 48 triggered a collapse in which the Aussies crashed to 152-8, losing six wickets for 49 in 15 overs – a passage of play that will live long in the memories of those who witnessed it.
At stumps, with bad light having finally suspended Australia’s agonising slump, Australia were still 269 runs behind on 156-8, and needing another 70 to avoid the follow-on.
With a five-man bowling attack at his disposal captain Andrew Strauss will be tempted to impose the follow-on should he have the option to do so on Saturday.
Anderson, swinging the ball both ways under a thick blanket of grey cloud, ended the day with 4-36 having started it with a boisterous 29 in a 47-run partnership for the last wicket with Graham Onions.
Anderson was well supported by the other three seamers in England’s attack, and it was Onions who took the vital wicket of Katich, before Andrew Flintoff added an equally important strike, removing Michael Hussey for 51.
The excitement built as a capacity crowd stayed long beyond the scheduled 1800 BST finish – the delay imposed following two half-hour breaks for rain between lunch and tea.
And, to the delight of the home crowd, the wickets kept coming, with floodlights – used for the first time in a Test at Lord’s – permitting the play to continue.
England’s eventual first-innings total from an overnight 364-6 did not look outstanding on paper. But given that Strauss failed to add to his overnight 161 (bowled second ball by Ben Hilfenhaus as he shouldered arms), and that both Graeme Swann and Stuart Broad were swiftly despatched, it was not a bad result at all.
Anderson struck five boundaries off the inconsistent Mitchell Johnson, with some inventive shot-making through the off-side.
Ominously, the ball was swinging, but it was just that Australia were bowling poorly at England’s 10 and 11. However, the crowd’s fun was finally ended when Johnson switched to round the wicket and Anderson edged to gully.
Johnson ended with expensive figures of 3-132 from 21.4 overs. Here, as at Cardiff, he had been comfortably outshone by his new-ball partner Hilfenhaus (4-103).
The cricketing gods were certainly shining on Anderson, who removed Phillip Hughes for four in his second over, the third of the Australia innings, as he unluckily gloved a poor ball down the leg-side to Matt Prior.
And he also bowled some fine deliveries at Ricky Ponting, arrowing several balls at his off-stump, while also swinging some away. It was the non-swinging delivery that ended the innings of the Australian captain – in curious circumstances.
Anderson sent down a full-length ball which hit Ponting’s pad in front of the stumps, and the bowler immediately appealed for lbw. The ball then cannoned into Strauss’s hands at slip and there was a secondary appeal – for a catch.
Umpire Rudi Koertzen consulted his colleague at square-leg, Billy Doctrove, who agreed the catch had carried to Strauss – and Ponting was duly given out caught. As it happened, the replays showed it was lbw as no bat was involved, but the Australian captain was not exactly thrilled with the outcome.
The afternoon session began 10 minutes late to account for the fact that the players had been presented to the Queen, and was otherwise filled with showers and some doughty batting between Katich and Hussey.
Hussey was the more fluent of the two Aussie lefties, his cover-drive for four off Broad bringing up the 50-run stand.
606: DEBATE"To enforce the follow-on, or not Bat on, make at least 250 and set them a near impossible target"
Silk
Onions was the last of the four seamers to be given a go but, just as Broad before him, struggled for rhythm and when tea was taken late at 1620 BST Australia were in much better shape at 87-2.
Things improved further for the tourists when they raised the team 100 without further loss in an Onions over costing 10, but Strauss gave the Durham man another over and he repaid that faith with a well-directed bouncer at Katich.
Broad, at fine-leg, picked up Katich’s top-edged hook early but had to sprint 20 yards to his right to get to the chance, and, when he did, took the ball on the dive with both hands for a stunning catch.
Flintoff had been intelligently rested since lunch and in the midst of a ferocious six-over spell picked up the next breakthrough – the massive one of Hussey, who chose to leave a delivery pitching just back of a length, which hurried on and crashed into the top of off-stump.
Just four balls later, Australia vice-captain Michael Clarke was making the long walk back to the pavilion, after flicking Anderson’s inswinger to short midwicket, where Alastair Cook took a good, low catch and at 111-5 Australia were in big trouble.
Brad Haddin played brightly, but Marcus North’s contribution was a 14-ball duck, which ended when he bottom-edged a pull off Anderson onto his stumps.
Johnson has developed a reputation as a fearless lower-order hitter but only bothered the scorers for 11 deliveries, whereupon he hooked Broad straight to deep square-leg.
Cook easily swallowed that catch before collecting his third of the session when Haddin, who had played really well for his 28, completely misjudged his own pull shot and lobbed another easy chance to the Essex opening batsman.</p
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