[Watch] Alex Carey affects smart stumping as Nathan Lyon breaks strong opening stand on Day 2 of Lord's Test
Australia's lone spinner Nathan Lyon got his side the first breakthrough of the innings as he got England's dangerous Zak Crawley on day two of the second Ashes 2023 Test at Lord's on Thursday (June 29). Keeper-batter Alex Carey affected a brilliant stumping down the leg side to break a promising 91-run opening stand between Crawley and Ben Duckett.
The dismissal occurred in the 18th over of the innings as Crawley stepped down the track with the ball spinning past his legs. Carey, who had affected three stumpings in the first Test at Edgbaston, got his fourth of the tour as the Kent batter departed after a run-a-ball 48.
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England started breezily after bowling Australia out for 416 in the first hour of day two. Australia's three-pronged pace attack of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Pat Cummins struggled to make the breakthrough. However, it was Lyon who broke the opening stand. The 36-year-old is also only four wickets shy of 500 Test scalps.
Steve Smith's century propels Australia to 416 before Nathan Lyon breaks through
Steve Smith brought up his 32nd Test hundred in the first hour on day two to propel the tourists to a daunting first innings total of 416. The right-handed batter is now level with Steve Waugh for most Test tons for Australia, with only Ricky Ponting's 41 above them.
However, Smith lacked support from the other end as Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood couldn't contribute much.
Josh Tongue, who finished with three scalps, took Smith's wicket aside from dismissing David Warner and Usman Khawaja on day one. Ollie Robinson also picked up three, while Joe Root bagged a couple. At Tea, the hosts were 145-1.
Mitchell Starc, who replaced Scott Boland for the Test, has been expensive, conceding 55 in his seven overs. The visitors would expect him to keep the scoring rate down in the final session of play on Day 2.
Nevertheless, the tourists hold a 1-0 lead after an unforgettable win at Edgbaston as Cummins and Lyon shared an unbroken 55-run stand. England captain Ben Stokes' first-day declaration at 393-8 was among the big talking points from the match.