"Didn’t use it well enough" - Ian Healy calls England out for failing to exploit the conditions on day 1 at Lord's
Former Australian keeper-batter Ian Healy blamed England for not using the conditions to their advantage on Day 1 of the 2nd Ashes Test at Lord's. Healy believes the England seamers bowled very short, allowing Australia's batters to ride the initial tough phase.
Australia had a solid opening stand of 73 between David Warner and Usman Khawaja before the latter perished for 17. Warner struck a quick-fire 66, while Steve Smith was unbeaten at 85 after sharing century partnerships with Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head.
48-ball half-century for Travis Head!
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Speaking on SENQ Breakfast, Healy stated the surface looked like a typical Lord's one, but England bowled too short, letting both openers settle down well.
"It looks like a very normal Lord’s wicket and under such skies will seam around. That’s exactly what it did. They were a real handful in the first session, but every one of the bowlers bowled too short. Khawaja was able to stay in his crease and just wait for the ball to come to him because it was short of a length. Warner was getting nothing to drive at a time when you wanted to entice the drives from batsmen because it was nipping away. It was seaming, it was beating the bat and they just didn’t use it well enough."
England have also missed a handful of catches on the field and bowled a staggering 10 no-balls so far. Amid tough batting conditions, Australia reached 339-5.
"They should read the conditions a lot better" - Ian Healy on England
The 59-year-old also criticized the Englishmen for standing too close to the bat, stating that the home side need to know their home conditions a lot better. Healy added:
"The Australians were very organised. It was a fantastic day, a really great first day by Australian in a very crucial Ashes contest. A brand new ball, seaming away from left handers and they’re standing too close to the bat. The touring team are supposed to do that sort of stuff, not the home team. They should read the conditions a lot better."
STUMPS: Australia finish day one on 5-339, navigating tough batting conditions for lots of the day.
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Smith, batting on 85, will hope to reach his century and carry Australia to a formidable first-innings total in Alex Carey's company.