Duckett leads England’s charge

LONDON: Opening batter Ben Duckett fell agonisingly short of a hundred as England reached 278 for four at stumps on the second day of the second Ashes Test against Australia at Lord’s here on Thursday.

Responding to Australia’s first innings total of 416, which was powered by Steve Smith’s (110 off 184 balls, 15 fours) century, England was behind by 138 runs with six wickets in hand at close of play. Duckett first set the tone with opening partner Zak Crawley (48 off 48 balls, 5 fours) by sharing a 91-run partnership and then accumulated 97 runs with No.3 Ollie Pope (42 off 63 balls, 4 fours) for the second-wicket stand.

Harry Brook (45 batting off 51 balls, 4 fours) and skipper Ben Stokes (17 batting) were unbeaten in the middle at closure.

Smith, who began the day on 85 not out, notched up his 32nd Test century before departing for 110 as the visitor added only 77 runs with the England attack enjoying a lively first 90 minutes.

On an overcast morning, the England bowling department looked much more purposeful than the opening day and Stuart Broad (1/99) and James Anderson (1/53) quickly removed Alex Carey (22) and Mitchell Starc (6) respectively.

But, Smith, who on Wednesday became the fourth Australian to pass 9,000 Test runs, pressed on in his usual relentless manner to remain a thorn in the England side. He brought up his milestone with a cover drive but was dismissed by Josh Tongue (3/98), thanks to a superb catch by Duckett at second slip.

Australia captain Pat Cummins, who batted superbly to take the touring team home in the first Test, again looked assured to end unbeaten on 22 and. Australia’s tally represented something of a tail off as it was seemingly cruising at 316 for three on Wednesday afternoon. England set about its reply at a positive pace, scoring at almost five runs an over for the entire post-lunch session and generally looking untroubled.

Crawley looked particularly dominant with his trademark classy drives and seemed set for a 50 before being dismissed by Nathan Lyon (1/35).

BRIEF SCORES: Australia 416 in 100.4 overs (S Smith 110, T Head 77, D Warner 66, M Labuschagne 47, J Tongue 3/98, O Robinson 3/100) vs England 278/4 in 61 overs (B Duckett 98, Z Crawley 48, H Brook 45*, O Pope 42)