2nd Test: Australia vs England at London, Jun 28, 2023
Australia won by 43 runs
Australia 416/10 (100.4) & 279/10 (101.5)
England 325/10 (76.2) & 327/10 (81.3)
RR: 4.01
Last 12 Balls: 4 2 . . 1 . | 1 W
Batsman
Runs
Balls
4s
6s
Current Partnership: 50 runs, 11.1 overs, RR: 4.48 (Ben Duckett, Ben Stokes )
Last Wicket: Josh Tongue 19(26)
Pat Cummins | Australia skipper: Another wonderful game, right down to the wire. Crowd seems to enjoy it. Stokesy gave us some nervous moments. A world-class player like him, you start thinking the boundaries are too small. There wasn’t much in the surface as well. We tried to stay patient, have the field out, and stuck with it. Happy to go 2-0 up. (On Bairstow wicket) I think Carey saw it a few balls previously, there was no pause, he catches it and throws it straight at the stumps. I thought it was totally fair play. That’s the rule, some people might disagree but just like the catch yesterday, the rule is there and that is the way I saw it. (On Nathan Lyon) These were perfect conditions for him on day 5, to win without him was a great win. I wasn’t too happy to see him walk out to bat but he was keen to get out there. He did amazing and those 15-20 runs were crucial. The way the batters played under lights on the first day was also amazing. (On whether Nathan Lyon is ruled out) I think so, but we have Todd Murphy who did an amazing job in India so he will be sticking around for us
Ben Stokes | England skipper: (On his innings) Having experienced something similar, you are able to look back at it. Did take a lot out of Headingley but unfortunately not to be. Definitely felt we had a shout, but Australia changed their plans and that changed things for me. I had to take my risks to the longer side of the ground. Tough one to swallow, but it was a fantastic game. We are 2-0 down but we got 3 games to go. We have won 3-0 against Pakistan, 3-0 against NZ so we have the belief that we can do it. Quite some factors about that dismissal, I was looking at the umpires if they had called the over, they said no. At the end of the day, it is out. If the shoe was in the other foot, I’d probably have to think about this atmosphere and decide what to do. It has happened, it is out! When you win the toss and bowl, you want to restrict them under 300 and the first day the lads got criticism, but the number of times the ball missed the bat was frustrating. Great effort from the guys to keep bowling that way. The effort and energy everyone has put in can’t be faulted. In the end, we have lost the Test match but lots of positives to take. (On first innings approach) Reckless is an easy word to use, what me and Brendon have done is give guys complete clarity. We don’t ask them to play a certain way, but if they play a certain way they have the full backing of the dressing room. So the message out there is to play with clarity, I might play a bowler differently than someone else but when we are walking out there we have complete clarity. (On Josh Tongue) The first game against Ireland I didn’t know him well, I knew him as a great prospect. He has been brilliant. Great find for us, incredible the way he took responsibility and bowled for us. Quick turnaround now and we are 2-0 down, but we can make it 3-2.
Steve Smith | Player of the Match: A bit of deja vu, he (Stokes) is an unbelievable player. He is a freak for what he can pull off in cricket - in different formats, on this ground, in this country, he has done some incredible things. He was targeting the short end, and the first shot that he tried on the other end, he got out. (On the dropped catch) I didn’t pick it initially, quite difficult square of the wicket to pick the ball and eventually put it down. Difficult giving such guys a life, fortunately, hit one up the chimney later on. (On first innings) I think it was important to get a decent total on the board, we were looking to bowl as well looking at the overheads. To be able to navigate that stage and put a decent total helped us out. Incredible game of cricket. (On the shot ball ploy) It was a bit two-paced with variable bounce, wasn’t easy and there wasn’t much on offer when you pitched the ball up. So it was one way to shut the scoring and both teams kept playing rash shots. (On Lyon batting) They play a dangerous brand and we never know what is safe. Nathan showed great courage and got us some valuable runs in the end.
Australia win by 43 runs and go 2-0 up in the series.
81.3
W
W
Over 81.3 Mitchell Starc bowls a good length delivery to Josh Tongue, out Bowled!! Starc fired a full one at the stumps, Tongue was nowhere near with his slashing blade and lost his stumps.
81.2
2
2
Over 81.2 Mitchell Starc bowls a pitched up delivery to Josh Tongue, 2 runs, makes room and slaps the short ball straight down the ground and picks up a couple of runs
