The Ashes 2013: 2nd Test at Lord's - Five players to watch out for on Day 2

Steve Smith of Australia celebrates the wicket of Matt Prior of England with Phil Hughes during day one of the 2nd Ashes Test at Lord’s Cricket Ground on July 18, 2013 in London, England. (Getty Images)

The first day of the second Test at Lord’s oscillated with every session of play as the day finished with England at 289/7. They will be hoping to add a few more runs to that total before the Australian openers take the crease.

The day opened with the royal visit of the Queen, after which Alastair Cook won the toss and elected to bat. Both the teams tinkered with their sides as Steven Finn was displaced by Tim Bresnan whereas Australia made two changes by including Usman Khawaja and Ryan Harris in place of Ed Cowan and Mitchell Starc.

The surface at Lord’s had a bit of grass on it but it was rolled in. The outfield looks lightning quick and the surface is hard promising an equal contest between bat and ball. It was not as abrasive as Trent Bridge and hence reverse-swing kicked in much later in English innings.

Australia made a couple of critical early breakthroughs. Michael Clarke observed the presence of some lateral movement early on and handed the ball to Shane Watson as early as the fourth over of the match and was rewarded with the scalp of the English captain.

Joe Root looked unsettled in his brief stay on the pitch but his nightmare was brought to a quick end by Harris. He justified his inclusion by sending Kevin Pietersen back to the pavilion with a full length delivery outside the off stump, which did enough to take an outside edge and carried to Brad Haddin. Australia were on top of the game at 28/3.

Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott steadied the innings before he succumbed to Harris while attempting an uncharacteristic pull-stroke. Jonny Bairstow paid back the trust invested in him by the team management as he weaved a critical partnership of 144 runs with Bell.

At that stage, it seemed like England would close the day out at about 300/4 but it was not to be as the Australia found their redemption through an unlikely source. Steven Smith, with his uncanny imitation of Shane Warne’s leg spin bowling, ran through the English middle-order, picking up three quick wickets.

Day two promises to be a fascinating encounter and here is a list of five players we can keep an eye on: