The Ashes 2013: 2nd Test at Lord's - Five players to watch out for on Day 4

Joe Root of England celebrates his century during day three of the 2nd Ashes Test against Australia at Lord’s Cricket Ground on July 20, 2013 in London, England. (Getty Images)

It was a disappointing day three for Australia at Lord’s as they allowed England to slip away from 31/3 to 333/5 as Joe Root exhibited great reserves of energy batting out the entire day. England lead by 566 runs in the match with two days to go and it is difficult to see how the Australian team, which has failed to cross the 250 run-mark in a single innings in the tournament so far, will put up a brave face in front of a mammoth 600+ run target.

England are expected to come out and bat for another 90 minutes allowing Root to complete his double-ton and sending the signal that they can bundle out their opponents in much less than six sessions of play.

Australia had a chance to pull the game back at the start of day three with Tim Bresnan, who came on as a night-watchman at the close of day two, batting alongside Root. They could have infused a bit of panic in the English ranks with a couple of quick wickets but it was not to be.

The shoulders dropped after the pair survived the first hour of play and it was England all the way from thereon. Credit must be given to the way Root played as he did not try to do anything extraordinary and played the ball to merit. Root also proved that he has the potential to play at the top of the order for England.

Ian Bell continued his good run of form and would have notched up another hundred if he did not get carried away at the prospect of a long hop delivered by Steven Smith.

Day four will be all about how Australia approach the mammoth target England will set for them. They can choose to block out everything, which will be a regressive attitude whereas they can try to apply themselves in a constructive manner.

In either case, the future looks bleak for them. Here is a list of five players who will be key to the action on day four:

Chris Rogers (Getty Images)

5. Chris Rogers

His dismissal in the first innings was quite an embarrassment but he remains Australia most competent batsman in such a situation as he can plug one end making sure that there is no catastrophic melt-down.

Rogers has the patience, the technique and the experience to play a long innings of substance but he can’t do it all by himself. He will need support from the other end and that will enhance his chances in the middle too. There have been a few occasions in this game now when he has watched wickets fall at the other end and joined the herd himself.

The odds are heavily against Australia, it is the kind of task for which the term ‘near-impossible’ was created, and yet Australia must give it their best shot if only in preparation of the rest of this series.

Stuart Broad (Getty Images)

4. Stuart Broad

Stuart Broad had a horrid time in the first Test at Trent Bridge. He suffered an injury while batting in the first innings that did not allow him to participate fully with the ball and then there was the ‘to walk or not to walk’ controversy that titillated a few cricketing nerds with the question of the ‘spirit of the game’.

However, he has made up for all that at Lord’s. It began with his breezy innings of 33 with the bat when the match was in balance that took England past the 350 mark. He backed that up with a decent bowling performance picking up the key scalp of Australian captain Michael Clarke.

The good run is likely to continue on day four. It will be another positive if he can play the protagonist ahead of Graeme Swann and James Anderson.

Michael Clarke (Getty Images)

3. Michael Clarke

The Australian captain had one of the harshest days of his cricketing career on day three as he could do nothing but look on while England piled on the agony. His form with the bat had been dismal and Australia look perfectly poised to go down 0-2 in this Ashes series raising alarm about yet another 5-0 whitewash.

The hope that was raised from their first Test at Trent Bridge has been put into perspective by their inferior display at Lord’s. Clarke will have an opportunity to save face by putting up some show of resistance when he gets his chance. He will hope that the day can be weathered out by his top-order batsman but that seems highly unlikely given the run-of-form so far.

James Anderson (C) (Getty Images)

2. James Andersom

The English pace-battery could not have hoped for better support from the batting department. The fast bowlers are well rested and have runs enough in their kitty to be extravagant. Australia’s greatest nemesis, James Anderson, will be running in with the new ball in the fourth innings.

The threat will be exaggerated by the magnitude of the target, and if he provides a few initial blows, we might get some rest on day five. Reverse swing has not set in as early as it did at Trent Bridge in this match as the surface is less abrasive but he will be making the best use of it when available.

Graeme Swann of England acknowledges his five wicket haul with James Anderson during day two of the 2nd Ashes Test vs. Australia at Lord’s Cricket Ground on July 19, 2013 in London, England. (Getty Images)

1. Graeme Swann

Swann’s performance in the first innings spelled doom for the Australian innings. He was negotiated with some ease by the Australian tail-end batsman at Trent Bridge and that prompted a few commentators to question the threat he poses but he has silenced those murmurs with a five-for.

He ran through the Australian middle-order and punctured the resistance of the lower-order that irked England in the first Test. The spinner has a lot of runs to work with and that means he can toss the ball up and invite the batsman to drive with aggressive field settings. He will be a more potent weapon given the conditions.