3 things Australia need to do right on Day 3 of Lord's Ashes Test
Two days into the second Ashes 2023 Test between England and Australia at Lord’s, the match is finely poised. England won the toss and bowled first under overcast conditions on Day 1. However, they failed to capitalize on the huge advantage, allowing Australia to reach an impressive 339/5 by Stumps.
Despite another fantastic hundred from Steve Smith, England did well to restrict the Aussies to 416 on Day 2 of the Test. The visitors lost their last five wickets for the addition of only 77 runs as pacers Ollie Robinson and Josh Tongue finished with three wickets each.
Responding to Australia’s first innings total, England got off to a confident start as their openers Zak Crawley (48) and Ben Duckett (98) added 91 runs. The Aussies, however, claimed a few quick wickets by employing the short ball tactic against the Englishmen. Ollie Pope (42), Duckett and Joe Root (10) all fell while attempting to take on rising deliveries.
At Stumps on Day 2 at Lord’s, England were 278/4, trailing Australia by 138 runs. Day 3 could be defining in the context of the Test match as it might provide hints as to which way the game is heading.
On that note, let’s take a look at three things that Australia need to do right.
#1 Break the Brook-Stokes partnership early
After claiming the big wickets of Pope, Duckett and Root in the last session of play on Day 2, Australia had England in a spot of bother at 222/4.
They could easily have had the hosts five wickets down if Marnus Labuschagne had hung on to a relatively simple catch offered by Harry Brook off Pat Cummins’ bowling when the batter was in his 20s.
Brook and England captain Ben Stokes (17*) rebuilt the innings, adding an unbroken 56 runs by stumps on the second day. As always, the first session of the Test on Day 3 will also be extremely crucial as it will set the tone of the day.
As things stand, a good partnership will give England the advantage, while early wickets will give Australia the edge.
If Brook and Stokes get going on Day 3, they will score at a swift pace. Brook, in particular, can whittle down Australia’s lead quickly because there is only one way he knows how to bat. And we all know what Stokes can do.
At the same time, their style of play would mean that they could offer chances as well. Australia need to ensure they don’t allow Brook and Stokes to get away.
#2 Australia's part-time spinners must not give away easy runs
Australia might have suffered a potentially telling blow in their Ashes 2023 campaign after off-spinner Nathan Lyon limped off the field in the last session on Day 2. It has been confirmed that he has a calf injury and is unlikely to feature in the Test again. In fact, according to some unconfirmed reports, Lyon’s Ashes 2023 campaign is as good as over.
The absence of the seasoned off-spinner from Australia’s bowling line-up is a massive advantage for England’s batters and they would look to capitalize on the same by targeting the part-time spinners.
Australia will have to bowl Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne in Lyon’s absence. There is Smith as well, who in fact came into the Australian team as a leg-spinner.
However, the Aussies might not depend a lot on him as the man has made it amply clear that he hasn’t been working on his bowling at all.
While a lot cannot be expected of the likes of Head and Labuschagne, they need to try and ensure that they do not leak easy runs. Of course, if they end up picking up some wickets as well, it will be a great bonus for the visitors.
#3 Restrict England to under 400
Since Australia have to bowl last in the Lord’s Test, they would like to defend as big a score as possible. For that, they will have to bat well a second time.
Before that, they will need to restrict England in the first innings, ideally to a total of under 400 . This might sound a bit difficult in the absence of Lyon, but Australia must remember that England have a long tail.
While Brook and Stokes are currently at the crease, they have the dangerous Jonny Bairstow to follow. However, there is not much after that with regard to batting talent. Stuart Broad is not the batter he once was. Robinson can hang around, but Australia should be confident of getting the better of Tongue and James Anderson quickly.
Nine wickets ☝
Three hundred and thirty-five runs 🏏
Another day of Test match cricket to savour 👇 https://t.co/48K4lXmk2J
Even if Australia allow England to go past 400, they must ensure that the hosts do not build a significant lead for that would put a lot of pressure on the Lyon-less bowling attack in the second innings.