Australia celebrate after demolishing England by 405 runs and levelling the series at 1-1
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Australia levelled the ongoing Ashes series in emphatic fashion as they battered England by 405 runs at Lord’s.
Left-arm seamer Mitchell Johnson starred with the ball for Australia as he took three wickets, while Steven Smith excelled with the bat, scoring a quickfire 58.
Starting out the day on 108/0, David Warner and Chris Rogers only added six runs to their partnership before everyone was given a major scare when Rogers suffered a dizzy spell and had to be helped off the pitch. He retired hurt on 49.
Warner and Smith kept the runs flowing with a 51-run partnership before Warner was caught by England captain Alastair Cook at short extra cover off the bowling of Moeen Ali.
Warner’s brilliant knock of 83 came off 116 balls and included 12 boundaries.
Smith went on to make 58 off 48 deliveries, which included nine boundaries, before he was cleaned up by Ali.
Smith hammered nine boundaries during his knock of 58
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Australia finally declared on 254/2, which set England a target of 509 to win, after skipper Michael Clarke and Mitchell Marsh’s unbeaten 44-run stand.
Ali was the only bowler to take any wickets.
Chasing 509 to win, the England batsmen failed to fire right from the beginning as pace bowler Stuart Broad was the only player to surpass the 20-run mark. The highest-scorer after him was Joe Root with 17.
With none of the batsmen able to make a major contribution, England were skittled out for a dismal 103.
Johnson was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets, while Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon snapped up two wickets apiece and Marsh and Mitchell Starc claimed one wicket each.
Johnson finished with figures of 3-27 off 10 overs
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
Cook admitted that his side were outplayed, and said: “The standard we set ourselves at Cardiff, we’ve not backed it up here and it’s incredibly frustrating. Australia put us under pressure all game and were deserving winners. In Cardiff we did a lot of things very well and here we didn’t do that at all. We didn’t bowl well, didn’t take catches and didn’t score hundreds, so we failed in all three areas. The last few games we’ve been three down for not many and it’s hard for the middle order to keep helping us out. We’ve got some wonderful players with fantastic records but this is why you play sport, to test yourself against the best and we have to show character at Birmingham.
“[Batting problems?] Not sure, something the selectors might have to look at. It’s down to the players, we’ve got to get stuck in. It’s 1-1, credit to Australia for bouncing back but still all to play for. Shows how important the first couple of days of the Test are, the side that gets on top manages to stay on top. That’s the challenge. [Hopes for Edgbaston?] Good old English pitch.”
Clarke was ecstatic to have levelled the series at 1-1, and said: “Yeah, don’t think I could have asked for better performance from every single player, Chris Rogers and Steven Smith, David Warner got us off to a great start in the second innings and the intent from the bowlers was spot on. We didn’t talk much about Cardiff, our focus was turning up here and playing some of our best cricket. Today we can look at each other and say we played some pretty good cricket.
“[Mitchell Marsh?] His intent, the way he walked out to bat today and he executed really well with the ball, getting those two crucial wickets. The selectors made the call, we’ve got everyone fit to play. The advantage of having someone like Mitch [Johnson] is that he’s so fit he can bowl long spells, or short ones like today. Credit to the rest of the attack, they supported Mitchell. I’d like to be 2-0 [up] but I’ll accept where we are. We were outplayed in the first match but bounced back really well.”
Smith was named Man of the Match, and said: “Yeah, thought it was a good wicket, started well on day one, put us in a pretty strong position – Chris Rogers played fantastically well – and we went on from there. I haven’t had such a great run with the bat here at Lord’s so it was nice to get some runs in the first innings. I feel really decent at the moment so for me it’s about being patient and making the bowlers come to me. Yeah, a little bit, the wickets are a bit slower and the ball does a bit more than back home. So being patient, playing in my eyeline and letting balls go. We were all disappointed with the way we performed with the bat in Cardiff, we know Lord’s is a good place to bat and we made up for it.”