What happened on Day 4 of 2nd ENG vs AUS Ashes 2023 Test at Lord’s?

Australia maintained their ascendancy on Day 4 of the second Ashes 2023 Test at Lord’s on Saturday (July 1) reducing England to 114-4 after setting them a target of 371. England need 257 more runs for victory on Day 5.

Earlier, in the day, England’s bowlers took inspiration from their Australian counterparts and bounced out the visitors. The Aussies went from 187-2 to 279 all-out, but by stumps they were back in control of proceedings.

In pursuit of 371, England got off to a disastrous start, losing their first four wickets for 45 runs. Zak Crawley (3) was caught down leg off a full and swinging delivery from Mitchell Starc. The Aussie left-arm pacer then knocked out Ollie Pope (3)'s middle stump with a pacy delivery that swung back from outside off.

Australia captain Pat Cummins produced two beauties to dismiss Joe Root (18) and Harry Brook (4). Root fended a back of length delivery that got too big on him to first slip. Brook was comprehensively beaten by a delivery that was angled in from wide of the crease and straightened to breach the batter’s defence.

Ben Duckett (50*) and Ben Stokes (29*) featured in an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 69 to lift England. In Travis Head’s second over, Stokes charged down the pitch and lofted the part-timer for a six.

Duckett looked in control and kept finding the boundaries to keep the scoreboard moving. The England opener brought up his second fifty of the Test by pulling a short of length delivery from Starc for a single.

Immediately after reaching his half-century, Duckett hung his bat out at a short delivery from Cameron Green. The ball went towards fine leg, where Starc took a good sliding catch, or so he thought.

The third umpire, though, concluded that the catch was not clean, as the fielder dragged the ball along the turf as he completed the catch, and Duckett survived.

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England learn from Australia, successfully adopt short ball ploy

Taking a leaf out of Australia’s book, England’s bowlers also adopted the short ball ploy and tasted amazing success. The Aussies, who resumed their second innings on 130-2, were bowled out for under 280.

Steve Smith looked in good touch again and crunched James Anderson for three fours in an over early in the first session. However, Stuart Broad (4-65) unsettled Usman Khawaja (77) with a barrage of bouncers and got him to top edge a short ball to fine leg. Head could have been dismissed first ball as he slashed one from Josh Tongue to gully, but Anderson put down his second catch of the Test.

Tongue and England had a reason to celebrate the very next ball, though, as Smith (34) guided another rising delivery to deep backward square leg. Head (7) also fell to England’s bouncer ploy, fending one from Broad to fine leg, where an alert Root took a fine one-handed catch as the visitors went to lunch at 222-5.

England stuck to the successful script in the second session as well as Green (18) joined the list of Australian batters who perished to the short ball. He holed out to deep square leg off Ollie Robinson. Alex Carey (21) hung around for 73 balls but also perished in similar vein to his teammates, gloving Robinson to short leg.

On 8, Cummins survived a top-edged to point as his opposite number Stokes had overstepped. He eventually fell for 11, chipping another short one from Broad to gully.

After Josh Hazlewood (1) tickled Stokes to short leg, the injured Nathan Lyon hobbled out to the middle and almost in heroic fashion pulled Tongue for a boundary. He soon perished to Broad for four, miscuing a rising delivery to midwicket.