London [UK], July 8 : Following the conclusion of day two's play in the third Ashes Test at Headingley, Australian coach Andrew McDonald lauded England's Ben Stokes and Australia's Pat Cummins, the skippers of the respective sides, for their performances, saying that one cannot feel being in total control while Ben is there on the crease and called Cummins' five-wicket haul as "outstanding."
Sublime bowling display from Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes provided England with the upper hand over Australia as the visitors finished on 116/4 in response to hosts 237, taking a 142 runs lead during the Day 2 of the ongoing third Ashes Test here at Headingley on Friday.
"I thought Pat Cummins was outstanding - six for, and what was his ninth five-wicket haul in Test cricket," McDonald said after day two at Headingley as quoted by cricket.com.au
"I think Ben Stokes is an incredible leader and we have got an incredible one in Pat Cummins as well. We are going to have to work out a way to navigate through Ben Stokes in the second innings, and Pat today was outstanding so that one-on-one showdown is a must-watch," he added.
McDonald said that he would love to view this match as a mere spectator rather than a coach because he would be able to appreciate it better.
"It has got everyone on the edge of their seats," he said.
"I think when Ben Stokes is there, you are never in total control. We have seen that over a period of time. We created a couple of opportunities so it was a bit of dysfunction there on our behalf. In Todd Murphy's first over it could have looked a lot better, and he was able to get a few boundaries away," he concluded.
At the time of stumps, Australia's score read 116/4 with Mitchell Marsh (17) and Travis Head (18) unbeaten at the crease. The guests took a first-innings lead of 26 runs after bowling out England for 237 on Friday.
England was in huge trouble in their first innings and was at 87/5 at one point. Another Headingley masterclass from Stokes (80 in 108 balls with six fours and five sixes) and important knocks from Moeen Ali (21) and Mark Wood (24 in eight balls, with one four and three sixes) took England to 237.
Pat Cummins, the skipper was the best bowler for Aussies, taking 6/91. Mitchell Starc took two wickets. Mitchell Marsh and Todd Murphy got one each.
England put Australia to bat first and the visitors were bundled out for 263 runs in 60.4 overs. Australia slipped to 85/4, but with a 155-run stand for the fifth wicket between Mitchell Marsh (118 in 118 balls, 17 fours and four sixes) and Travis Head (39 in 74 balls), the Aussies were back on track. But after the dismissal of these two batters, Australia experienced another collapse and was bundled out for 263 runs.
Wood (5/34) was the pick of the bowlers for England. Chris Woakes (3/73) and Stuart Broad (2/58) also bowled really well.
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