Ashes, 4th Test, day 2: Bazball strikes, puts England in driver's seat following Crawley, Root show
Ashes, 4th Test: Crawley, Root put England in driver's seat after day two play
England is in the driver’s seat following the second day’s play in the Test at Old Trafford in Manchester. Zak Crawley’s Ashes-saving 189 from 182 balls and Joe Root’s 84 off 95 balls have put England on the front foot as they lead Australia by 67 runs with six wickets in hand and three days left. A day that belonged entirely to England, saw Chris Woakes completing his maiden Ashes five-wicket haul in the first innings.
For the nth time in this series, a batter got out on the first ball of the new day, as this time it was Aussie captain Pat Cummins who found Ben Stokes at covers off Woakes. Though Hazlewood tried contributing his best, it was Starc who churned out runs but couldn’t do it for longas England’s hero with the ball in hand - Woakes returned to dismiss the number 11 and finish with figures of five for 62.
England lost their opener, Ben Duckett, early to Starc as Australians continued troubling the English top order with some nasty short-pitch bowling in the first 10 overs. After weathering the storm for a good one hour, Moeen Ali and Crawley came good, having found a rhythm. Both batters started hitting bad balls for fours as tension seemed to rise a bit in the Aussie camp.
Much to England’s delight, both completed their respective fifties and stitched a 121-plus run-stand for the second wicket before Starc dismissed dangerous-looking Ali, caught by Usman Khawaja on 54.
What transpired later helped England put Australia on the mat completely.
Looking clueless against the lanky Crawley and England’s best batter Joe Root, Australian bowlers leaked runs after lunch as the pair closed in the gap with Australia's first innings total. While Crawley also completed his maiden Test hundred, Root looked in fine touch, reverse-hitting Hazlewood and Cummins over the slip cordon.
In no time, Crawley also surpassed the 150-run mark as England looked in a strong position. Just when everyone was gearing to celebrate Crawley’s maiden Ashes double hundred, he inside-edged one onto his stumps fora well-made 189.
Soon after, Root departed off Hazlewood’s delivery that stayed low as Australia found a glimmer of hope after a long day on the field. Captain Ben Stokes and Harry Brook hit a few fours as England ended day two on 384 for four in 72 overs, leading by 67 runs.
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