The Ashes: Australia fall for same short-ball trap as England fight back to keep Second Test alive
ustralia’s batters followed England’s lead in succumbing to a targeted short-ball ploy on the fourth morning of the Second Ashes Test at Lord’s.
The tourists are attempting to build a sizeable lead following England’s collapse on day three and carried it beyond 300, but only after losing Usman Khawaja, Steve Smith and the dangerous Travis Head before lunch as the home side fought back.
Resuming on 130 for two, 221 runs ahead, Smith and Khawaja largely cruised through a sedate first hour before the game sprung to life after drinks.
Stuart Broad made the breakthrough, with Khawaja out for 77 in the seamer’s first over as he picked out substitute fielder Matthew Potts in the deep.
Next man in Head was gifted a reprieve on nought when James Anderson dropped a simple chance at gully, the 40-year-old having also put Khawaja down on 19 on the previous evening.
Instead, Head escaped with a single to get off the mark, handing the strike to Smith. That, as it turned out, was a blessing for England, the first innings centurion hooking the very next ball from Josh Tongue straight to Zak Crawley. It was the third time in as many innings this summer that Tongue had claimed the Australian’s wicket, following the first dig here and Smith’s County Championship debut for Sussex against Worcestershire.
With Ollie Pope again off the field after aggravating a shoulder injury on Friday afternoon, Joe Root was forced under the lid at short-leg and produced a stunning one-handed catch to dismiss Head for just 7 and give Broad his second wicket.
The fall of wickets also stemmed the flow of runs and by the end of an extended morning session, Australia had added only 92 to their overnight score to lead by 313 with five wickets in hand but one of those – Nathan Lyon – not expected to bat due to a calf injury.
