England will resume on 114-4, chasing 371 to win the second men's Ashes Test at Lord's after bowling Australia all out for 279 on day four; watch the conclusion live on Sky Sports from 10.15am on Sunday (first ball 11am)
Sunday 2 July 2023 11:08, UK
Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes led a late England revival on day four as the hosts chased 371 for an improbable victory over Australia at Lord's in the second men's Ashes Test.
Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith were able to add 57 more runs to Australia's overnight total as the holders made a solid start in the morning, but both fell in quick succession to Stuart Broad and Josh Tongue respectively as England mirrored their opponents' successful short-ball bowling approach.
Broad would go on to finish with figures of 4-65 from the second innings as the Australians were eventually bounced out for 279 just before the scheduled tea break, notwithstanding a valiant effort from the injured Nathan Lyon to come out and bat as last man.
In reply, England slumped to 45-4 as Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins ran through the top order with two wickets apiece after tea. Yet Duckett, who benefitted from the intervention of the third umpire when it appeared he had been caught by Starc, and Stokes saw them through to the close on 114-4, albeit still trailing by 257 runs heading into the final day.
The signs were ominous for England from the first ball of the day as Smith steered Ollie Robinson, finishing off the over which had been curtailed by rain the previous evening, down to fine leg for four.
Five overs later he opened up on James Anderson, driving through the covers for four, followed by finding the boundary again with a drive back down the ground and then cutting the seamer through backwards point for another.
That saw the introduction of Tongue into the attack from the Nursery End and England adopt some more aggressive short-ball tactics which the Australian bowlers utilised so well during the hosts' first innings.
Khawaja, in particular, wore a couple, but only added five more runs to his total after Jonny Bairstow missed a difficult chance to catch him out on 72 as Broad ended the third-wicket stand of 60 in his first over of the day, hitting straight to substitute fielder Matt Potts at fine leg after being struck on the shoulder the previous ball.
Tongue then got in on the act too. New batter Travis Head survived to scamper one run after being put down by gully fielder Anderson, but Smith was on his way back to the pavilion for 34 the very next ball after being drawn into pulling to Zak Crawley in the deep.
Head scratched around for seven before being undone by Broad in the 68th over, prodding at a short ball which was snaffled by Joe Root at short leg thanks to a spectacular acrobatic dive from the Yorkshireman - setting a new England men's Test record of 176 catches as a fielder in the process.
The bouncer barrage continued after lunch as Stokes brought himself on to bowl, with the England captain and Robinson plugging away with the old ball even after the new one became available six overs into the afternoon.
It was not until just over an hour into the afternoon session the approach yielded another wicket as Cameron Green decided to take on Robinson and succeeded only in finding Duckett on the square-leg boundary to go for 18, Australia's run-rate having slowed to fewer than three an over.
The Sussex seamer struck again in the 90th over, cramping up Alex Carey (21) who gloved the ball to close-in fielder Root, followed by Broad's return to the attack seeing him get Cummins (11) out on the pull, caught by Duckett, after being reprieved by a no-ball from Stokes while on eight.
Stokes did finally get a wicket to his name when Josh Hazlewood (one) became Root's third catching victim, and Broad eventually got the stubborn and hobbling Lyon to wrap up the innings - but only after the injured spinner had pulled one for four.
Even so, England were staring down the barrel of a record Test run chase at Lord's and four sessions of the match left to achieve it, with the previous best at this venue having been the West Indies' successful pursuit of 344 way back in 1984.
They could hardly have got off to a worse start though as Starc had Crawley out for three after he tickled one down the leg side to Carey in the third over and ripped Ollie Pope's (three) middle stump out of the ground with a snorting delivery two overs later.
Cummins then struck twice in four balls in the 13th over, with Root edging the seamer to David Warner in the slip for 18 and Harry Brook being bamboozled by one which beat his outside edge and clipped the off stump to send him packing for four.
Duckett, however, went on to reach the half-century mark for the second time this match with a pull through the leg side for four and was then granted an almighty reprieve when third umpire replays appeared to indicate the ball had touched the ground before Starc could complete a catch in the deep.
The Nottinghamshire opener would eventually end the day on 50 not out, with Stokes unbeaten on 29 and 258 more runs still needed for England to level the series at 1-1 on the fifth and final day.
Watch the thrilling conclusion to the second Test of this year's men's Ashes series live on Sky Sports Cricket on Sunday. Coverage from Lord's begins at 10.15am with the first ball at 11am. Also stream on NOW.
