London, Aug 16: England made the most of the seam-friendly conditions to dent Australia's top-order and leave them stuttering at 80/4 at lunch on Day 3 of the rain-affected second Ashes Test against Australia at Lord's on Thursday.

Advertisement

Steve Smith, whose twin tons helped the Aussies script a memorable 251-run victory in the first rubber at Edgbaston, remained at the crease on 13 off 40 balls (2x4) as other batsmen fell around him.

Advertisement

For England, pace spearhead Stuart Broad picked up two wickets with debutant Jofra Archer and in-form Chris Woakes scalping one each. England rode Rory Burns and Jonny Bairstow's fifties on Day 2 to post 258 after first day's play was washed out.

Resuming from overnight score of 30/1, the tourists lost Cameron Bancroft (13) who was trapped in front by Archer. Bancroft reviewed the decision but replays showed the ball nipping back nicely off the seam and hitting the pads in line.

Archer celebrated his first Test wicket to rousing applause from the packed crowd as Smith walked in to bat.

Usman Khawaja looked good for his 36 from 56 deliveries, before Woakes found his outside edge with a good length delivery outside off stump. Khawaja pushed at the ball to give Bairstow a regulation catch behind the stumps.

Advertisement

Travis Head (7) could not dig in for long as he was out plumb in front to Broad who was first turned down by umpire Aleem Dar with a review showing the ball hitting the middle stump with no inside edge.

At 71/4, the Aussies were in all sorts of trouble but Smith looked in a league of his own, once again trying to save his side from a collapse. Mathew Wade joined him at the other end and defended 19 balls without scoring when lunch was taken as it started drizzling.

Brief scores: 1st innings: England 258 all out (Rory Burns 53, Jonny Bairstow 52,; Josh Hazlewood 3/58, Pat Cummins 3/61, Nathan Lyon 3/68) Australia 80/4 (Usman Khawaja 36, Steve Smith 13 batting; Stuart Broad 2/26) At Lunch

Advertisement

About the Author

Saurabh Sharma
Saurabh Sharma is the Editorial Head of Cricketnmore Hindi and a passionate cricket journalist with over 14 years of experience in sports media. He began his journalism career with Navbharat Times, part of the Times of India Group, before moving to television media with Sadhna News. In 2014, he joined Cricketnmore and currently serves as the editor of the platform.
Known for his deep understanding of cricket statistics and unique storytelling approach, Saurabh specializes in cricket news, match analysis, records, and feature stories. Along with editorial responsibilities, he also works as a show producer for popular cricket video series such as Cricket Tales, Cricket Flashback, and Cricket Trivia. Read More
Latest Cricket News