(Cricket news) After a below-par performance on day 1, England bounced back reasonably well on day 2. They picked up the remaining 5 wickets for just 77 runs to restrict Australia to 416. Steve Smith was the commander in chief as he scored 110 off 184 balls. Smith started the innings with real intent and then found his rhythm to guide Australia to a formidable total.

Josh Tongue was the one to finally get Smith’s wicket at a crucial time. Tongue was brilliant with the ball as he picked up 3 key wickets at important intervals. All England bowlers apart from Jimmy Anderson and Joe Root had an economy of above 4 as Australia put in a good 1st innings total.

In reply England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett got off to a perfect start. The conditions were nice and sunny which made it incredible for batting. Zak Crawley hit a run-a-ball 48 which included some authoritative shots. He was eventually stumped off Nathan Lyon’s ball but only after playing his part.

Ollie Pope also got off to a decent start as he scored 42 but Australia started testing him with bouncers and he eventually succumbed to Cameron Green’s short ball. Green wasn’t done there as he dismissed Joe Root on 1 but it was called a no-ball which wasn’t Green’s first of the day. Thankfully for the Australians Root didn’t cause much damage as Mitchell Starc got rid of him. The catch taken by Steve Smith was a controversial one as the ball seemed to have fumbled but the third umpire gave it out.

Harry Brook has played well for his 45 so far as he is joined by captain Ben Stokes. England are 278/4 trailing 138 runs with Jonny Bairstow still to come. The first session is going to be very crucial and it will decide the flow of the game further. The weather is expected to be cloudy so Australia will try to take advantage of it. The match is pretty much in the balance but Australia have a slight disadvantage because of the injury to Nathan Lyon.

The spinner was the one who took the first wicket in his 100th consecutive Test match. However, while fielding he injured himself and went back to the dressing room limping. His participation in the match seems doubtful which is a big blow for Australia. If Lyon doesn’t come back then Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head are candidates to take over as the spinner which is a big advantage for England.

Also read: India will be hoping to start the 2023-25 WTC on a high