England’s ultra-attacking batting costs them dearly once again, with near misses during Australia’s second innings twisting the knife into Stuart Broad in particular.
Here are five big moments from the third day of the Lord’s Test.
1. Ben Stokes falls second ball of the day
After a calamitous spell of batting late on day two, captain Ben Stokes came out and appeared to be the man to calm things down for England.
He was just playing cricket shots — defending on the stumps, leaving outside off — but compared to those that came before, it was a revolution.
So, coming into day three, with six wickets in hand and just 138 runs left to catch Australia, Stokes was once again the key man for England.
Two balls later, he was gone, slicing Mitchell Starc straight to Cameron Green at gully.
A brutal start, and it only went downhill from there for England.
2. England just can’t help themselves
Stokes’s dismissal was a rough way to kick off proceedings for England, but they still had Harry Brook, who averages 70 in Tests, and two-time Ashes centurion Jonny Bairstow at the crease.
No reason to throw things away, right? Well…
Brook fell into the bouncer trap in a fittingly hideous manner and Bairstow chipped a simple catch to mid-on, leaving England’s fragile tail exposed and out in the cold.
“Shocking shot,” Michael Vaughan said after Brook’s ugly dismissal.
“England clearly like losing,”
The last three wickets — Ollie Robinson, Stuart Broad and Josh Tongue — fell for one run, completing a rank morning for the hosts, who lost 6-46 in 90 minutes.
3. Travis is Head boy
With Nathan Lyon having been confirmed to have suffered a “significant calf strain” on day two and not able to bowl, Australia might have been a bit flat.
Turns out, Australia didn’t need him.
Travis Head struck twice with his off spinners in a single over to help mop up England’s lengthy tail.
Ollie Robinson charged Head and got an edge to Carey.
Then, four balls later, Stuart Broad was trapped in front LBW.
Those were Head’s eighth and ninth Test wickets, giving him an impressive average of 28.77.
Lyon may have 496 Test wickets, but they’ve come at an average of 31.00.
Who needs the GOAT?
4. Stroppy Stuey
Stuart Broad was certain he had Marnus Labuschagne twice in the final two balls before tea — first caught behind, then LBW.
He was so certain he streaked away celebrating as if both were sure things without asking the umpire the question.
(A brief aside; according to article 2.1 of the ICC code of conduct, “celebrating a dismissal without appealing to the Umpire when a decision is required” is a breach.)
Broad was wrong on both counts, and his captain resisted his enthusiasm to review, wisely preventing his team losing both their remaining reviews.
Six overs after the break, Broad was once again adamant he had Labuschagne dead to rights LBW, taking off with his finger in the air rather than appealing to umpire Chris Gaffaney, who refused to follow phalangeal suit.
Broad implored Stokes to review it, but the boy had cried wolf too many times and the townsfolk were sick of it. No review. Then came the bad news.
As Broad kicked the dirt on the way back to the top of his mark, coach Brendon McCullum quietly raised a finger. He’d seen the ball-tracking, which showed a delivery snapping leg stump in half by more than enough to overturn the on-field decision.
“I told you it was out. I told you,” Broad shouted at his captain, seemingly forgetting that if Stokes had listened to him before tea, the team wouldn’t have had any reviews left anyway.
Mercifully for England, Labuschagne only added 14 more runs before handing Harry Brook a simple catch.
And speaking of simple catches…
5. Droppy Jimmy
Australia’s batters at times gestured as if the dim conditions created by thick grey clouds made the ball tough to see, and surely Jimmy Anderson would have searched for a similar excuse when he barely seemed to register an Usman Khawaja pull shot rocketing past him at catching height.
Khawaja was on just 19 in the 13th over when he creamed a pull shot through mid-wicket, where Anderson was perfectly set to pouch a sharp chance.
But the ball zoomed past the 40-year-old seamer and away to the rope, allowing Khawaja to carry on to his third 50-plus score from his first four digs of the series.
In a Test where chances have been given by batters more often than created by bowlers, the fielders need to play their part.
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