Adelaide, Dec 18 Skipper Pat Cummins (3-54) and Nathan Lyon (2-51) led a dominant bowling show at the Adelaide Oval, reducing England to 213/8 in reply to their 371 on Day 2 of the third Test here on Thursday.
England appeared to be in a strong position after claiming the two wickets required to bowl Australia out for 371 on the second morning, but the visitors were reduced to 213-8, trailing Australia by 158 runs.
Starc and Nathan Lyon started from where they left off on Day 1 and took their overnight score of 326-8 to 344 in just two overs into the first session. Courtesy of his boundary-hitting spree, Starc reached his half-century off just 73 deliveries.
He sent the ball away for a four on the first ball that he faced after scoring a half-century, but Jofra Archer had the last laugh as the Aussie pacer’s impressive knock came to an end on the 75th delivery that he faced.
While Lyon showcased nerves of steel and put forth a strong defensive game, Scott Boland kept the run-scoring going and found boundaries at regular intervals. However, the spinner’s wicket in the 92nd over, off Archer’s delivery, brought the curtains down on the Australian innings as the hosts closed with 371 runs on board. With that final nail in the coffin, Archer also completed his fourth five-wicket haul, his third against Australia.
In response, England openers started positively, with Ben Duckett appearing more confident than Zak Crawley. Pat Cummins took a crucial wicket in the eighth over as Crawley was caught behind. After the opening partnership was broken, Lyon made an immediate impact in his first over, dismissing Ollie Pope and then trapping Duckett, just two balls later, with a superb delivery.
With this, he surpassed Glenn McGrath's record of 563 wickets and now ranks as Australia's second-highest wicket-taker in Test history.
England found some respite after a controversial call led to Joe Root surviving a scare as he stitched a 29-run stand with Harry Brook, but Cummins finally had him edging one to Alex Carey behind the stumps in the 17th over of the innings.
Skipper Ben Stokes then put on a show as he once again looked to anchor the innings and got decent support from Harry Brook, but the duo failed to score big as the opposition bowlers kept things tight with their bowling.
Brook fought hard for his 45, but Cameron Green got the edge as the former found his way to the dugout.
What followed was absolute drama as controversial sequences involving England’s Jamie Smith unfolded, raising doubts over the Snicko technology and umpiring. Cummins bowled a short ball that struck Smith’s helmet and popped to slip, but replays showed no bat or glove contact and the catch had bounced, resulting in a not-out decision despite a Snicko spike.
Starc criticised Snicko on the stump mic, dubbing it as the ‘worst technology’ and calling for it to be ‘sacked.’
Shortly after, Smith was controversially given out when another short ball carried to Alex Carey. Although replays showed a clear gap between bat and ball, a Snicko spike persuaded third umpire Chris Gaffaney, leaving the English skipper furious.
Stokes showed resistance alongside Archer after Scott Boland dismissed Will Jacks and Brydon Carse for cheap scores, courtesy of some brilliant glove work by Carey.
As a result, the hosts concluded Day 2 of the Test 213-8, reducing the visitors’ lead to 158 runs, and will aim for quick runs on Day 3 to keep the deficit manageable.
Brief Scores: England 213/8 (Harry Brook 45, Ben Stokes 45*; Pat Cummins 3-54, Nathan Lyon 2-51) trail Australia 371 (Alex Carey 106, Usman Khawaja 82, Mitchell Starc 54; Archer 5-53) by 158 runs
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