Birmingham [UK], June 18 : Following conclusion of day two of the first Ashes Test, England pacer Stuart Broad said that the pitch is "slow" and the side is happy with its bowling performances and remained hopeful of a comeback on day three.
Usman Khawaja's 126* and Alex Carey's 52* partnership led the charge with the bat as Australia managed to bounce back in the final session of day two of the first Test match of the Ashes 2023 series on Saturday. Australia trailed by 82 runs, scoring 311/5.
"Baz (head coach Brendon McCullum) mentioned to the bowlers it has been quite a slow, turgid pitch, so to still be 82 runs ahead of Australia with Pat Cummins and the tail next, we are pretty happy," Broad told Sky Sports.
"Things can happen pretty quickly for us in the first hour [on day three]."
"There was not a lot in that pitch, it felt slow from length and a lot of the energy got sapped from the ball from length, so to pick up their key batters relatively cheaply, we are pretty happy."
"Ultimately, our aim is for Australia to bat last on that and hopefully it keeps deteriorating," he concluded.
Australia had started the day at 14/0, but lost quick wickets of David Warner (9), Marnus Labuschagne (0) and Steve Smith (16), which reduced Australia to 67/3. An 81-run stand for the fourth wicket between Khawaja and Travis Head (50 in 63 balls, eight fours and a six) revived Australia's fortunes in the match.
A 72-run stand between Green and Khawaja and an ongoing 91-run stand between Khawaja and Carey has kept Australia in a solid position at the day's end.
England declared their first innings at 393/8 after electing to bat first. A century from Root (118* in 152 balls, with seven fours and four sixes), fifties from Jonny Bairstow (78 in 78 balls, with 12 fours) and Zak Crawley (61 in 73 balls, with seven fours) powered England to a huge score.
Nathan Lyon (4/149) was the pick of the bowlers for the Aussies. Josh Hazlewood picked up two wickets while Scott Boland and Cameron Green got a wicket each.
At the end of day 1, Australia was at 14/0, with David Warner (8*) and Usman Khawaja (4*).
Brief Scores: England: 393/8 (Joe Root 118*, Jonny Bairstow 78, Nathan Lyon 4/149) vs Australia: 311/5 (Usman Khawaja 126*, Alex Carey 52*, Stuart Broad 2/49).
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