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England v Australia second Test result and scorecard: Nathan Lyon stars for Australia

By Sporting Life
Cricket
Mon August 05, 2019 · 5y ago

England v Australia first Test scorecard - Australia win by 251 runs

Australia 1st inns: 284 all out - Smith 144, Siddle 44; Broad 5-86, Woakes 3-58

England 1st inns: 374 all out - Burns 133, Root 57, Stokes 50, Woakes 37*; Cummins 3-84

Australia 2nd inns: 487-7d - Smith 142, Wade 110; Stokes 3-85

England 2nd inns: 146 all out - Woakes 37; Lyon 6-49, Cummins 4-32

Australia turned 'Fortress Edgbaston' into a Lyon's den as they drew first blood in the Ashes with a thumping 251-run victory over England in the opening Test.

The hosts arrived on day five looking to recreate the rearguard that saw them escape from Cardiff with a draw in the first match of the 2009 series but instead found themselves knocked over for 146, with Nathan Lyon spinning his way to six wickets.

England had not lost a Test at their Birmingham stronghold since 2008 and toasted victory in each of their previous 11 matches here across all formats. Australia, meanwhile, had lost 15 successive games on Warwickshire's turf, dating all the way back to 2001.

But, just three weeks on from a historic World Cup success, the second part of English cricket's golden summer got off to a dreadful start as they were rolled over well before tea.

Rewind to the first morning and it seemed as though all those sequences would be extended, with Australia stumbling to 122 for eight after winning the toss. From there the game orbited around Steve Smith, who made wonderful centuries in each innings to swing the course of the game.

Lyon provided the finishing touches, bowling with verve and precision to sink any hope of a stoic salvage job, while Pat Cummins played the supporting role with four for 32.

For England there are tough conversations to be had ahead of the second Test at Lord's, with Moeen Ali and Joe Denly under the most imminent threat after hapless outings.

Jonny Bairstow's worrying Test form also continued, while Jason Roy and Jos Buttler did little to counter the idea they are batting in the wrong positions at this level.

Reaction

Joe Root: "It does hurt, bitterly disappointing. I thought we played some good cricket but credit to Australia. Two brilliant innings [from Smith], we have to keep working hard on trying to get him out. Hard losing Jimmy early on but these things happen. It's disappointing but we've got to try and respond to that at Lord's."

Tim Paine: "I wouldn't say surprised [by comeback], thought we were up against it at one stage but we had the best player in the world at the crease. We were excellent in the second innings, bat and ball. Running out to things to say about him [Steve Smith], probably the best Test match performance we've seen. Wadey [Matthew Wade], I've seen up close at Tasmania for the last couple of years, he's in form and a really good place. Always hard to come to a Test match on day five, with the pressure on your shoulders, but we put pressure on the other end as well. Nathan [Lyon] took the spoils but we shared it around. This morning, our bowling was sensational."

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