"He had brought some hope" - Michael Atherton reacts to Jos Buttler's marathon innings in 2nd Ashes Test   

Former England cricketer Michael Atherton believes Australia could have won the second Test of the Ashes 2021 much earlier if Jos Buttler didn't get an early reprieve during his innings. Buttler made the most of it by showcasing exemplary grit and determination to give the visitors a glimmer of hope.

The English batter earned a lucky escape in the 48th over of the final innings, thanks to some confusion between Alex Carey and David Warner. The right-hander ultimately perished in a strange manner after having played 207 balls for his 26 runs.

Atherton, in his column for The Times UK, mentioned how Buttler's hit wicket ended his knock in anticlimactic fashion. He also pointed out that England could have been bundled out in the first session itself if Carey had managed to convert the chance.

He wrote:

"Playing his second longest Test innings, Buttler defied Australia through much of the morning, all of the afternoon, and until two overs after the tea break, to the point at which he had brought some hope where previously there had been none. There were 24 overs remaining when he was dismissed. The freakish nature of his dismissal only added to the pain.

"As the edge flew between him and David Warner at first slip, Carey feigned to go and then stopped, at which point Warner simply stepped aside to allow the wicketkeeper room to dive and the ball flew to the boundary. Had that been taken, England would likely have subsided by lunch, but Buttler did not give another chance until dismissed."

Australia won the contest by 275 runs to go 2-0 up in the 5-match series against arch-rivals England. The touring party have an uphill task ahead as they'll have to stage a miraculous turnaround to remain afloat in the series.

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"Root’s Ashes dreams hang by a thread" - Michael Atherton

Michael Atherton opined that England were completely outplayed in the recently-concluded encounter, despite their late fightback.

He has highlighted the batters' ordinary performance as a reason for England's downfall. With Pat Cummins making a return for the upcoming Boxing Day Test, things are bound to get even more difficult, as per Atherton.

He added:

"Once again the batting has been completely underwhelming and they face a returning and refreshed Pat Cummins next as Australia announced an unchanged squad for the Boxing Day Test. Root’s Ashes dreams hang by a thread."

The third Test of the Ashes 2021 will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The contest is scheduled to begin on December 26. Notably, Australia have named an unchanged squad for the rest of the series.