"Difference for me has been Carey": Morgan

LONDON: Former England skipper Eoin Morgan has praised Australian batter Alex Carey who scored a crucial 52 (80)* in the first innings on the second day for the Ashes on Saturday. Usman Khawaja's 126* and Alex Carey's 52* partnership led the charge with the bat as Australia managed to bounce back in the final session of Day-2 of the first Test match of the Ashes 2023 series on Saturday. Australia trailed by 82 runs, scoring 311/5.

"I think it has been Australia's day. I would rather be sat in Australia's changing room right now and the difference for me has been Carey. You always expect an Australian to grind out some runs on this wicket. That impetus late on in the day and leading momentum into when the new ball came in from Khawaja and Carey was outstanding," Morgan told Sky Sports. Australia were on the back foot after losing the early wickets of David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, and Steve Smith. Australia were 67/3.

However, Khawaja and Travis Head built up a partnership for the fourth wicket. After Head dismissed Australia had put 148/4 on the board. Alex Carey played a heling knock and scored 52 (80)* whereas Khawaja clinched his maiden England test century.

Stuart Broad was the pick of the bowler for England, he took two wickets. Returning back to international test cricket, Moeen Ali also took two scalps. Captain Ben Stokes got one wicket. England declared their first innings at 393/8 after electing to bat first. A century from Root (118* in 152 balls, with seven fours and four sixes), fifties from Jonny Bairstow (78 in 78 balls, with 12 fours) and Zak Crawley (61 in 73 balls, with seven fours) powered England to a huge score.

Nathan Lyon (4/149) was the pick of the bowlers for the Aussies. Josh Hazlewood picked up two wickets while Scott Boland and Cameron Green got a wicket each. Brief Scores: Australia 311/5 (Usman Khawaja 126(279)*, Alex Carey 52(80) and Moeen Ali 2/124) vs England.