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29 March 2024

2nd Ashes Test ENG v AUS Day 1: England slump to 289-7 after Bell ton in 1st innings against Australia

Published
By Cricket Correspondent with Agencies

Ian Bell joined an elite trio on Thursday with his third Ashes century in successive tests after England had lost three cheap wickets on the opening day of the second Test against Australia at Lord's.

Bell, who came to the crease with England floundering at 28 for three on a perfect batting pitch at the height of a British heatwave, reached his 19th test hundred with 14 boundaries in exactly five hours.

He was finally out for 109 and joins Jack Hobbs (twice), Wally Hammond and Chris Broad at the only England players to score centuries in three consecutive Ashes Tests.

CLICK HERE FOR 'LIVE' REPORT OF DAY TWO

Bell's dismissal was the first of three wickets in the space of 31 minutes for Australian leg-spinner Steve Smith who reduced England from 271 for four to 289 for seven at the close of a sun-drenched day.

After his resolute second innings century in the first Test victory at Trent Bridge, Bell was in delightful touch from the start of his innings.

He drove sweetly, cut deftly and after tea took three boundaries off a James Pattinson over, including two exquisite drives off the back foot through the covers.

He was finally out when Michael Clarke turned to Smith's occasional leg-spin and was rewarded when Bell edged the final ball of his first over to the Australian captain at slip.

Smith followed up by tumbling to his left to take a return catch of Jonny Bairstow (67) who had batted confidently on the ground where he scored an impressive 95 against South Africa last year and helped Bell add 144 for the fifth wicket.

FORTUNATE BAIRSTOW

Bairstow had enjoyed a huge slice of luck when he was comprehensively bowled by Peter Siddle on 21 but won a reprieve when television replays showed the Australian paceman had over-stepped by a matter of millimetres.

Matt Prior (6) became Smith's third victim, slashing hard outside his off-stump and edging to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin.

Ryan Harris was the pick of the Australian bowlers, finishing the day with three for 43 after coming in for Mitchell Starc in one of two changes to the side who lost the first test at Trent Bridge by 14 runs.

Despite impressive test statistics, Harris, 33, had played only 12 tests because of a chronic knee injury which needs constant treatment.

Shane Watson made the initial breakthrough in the fifth over, bowling as first change from the Pavilion end and beating Alastair Cook (12) with his second delivery from a full length.

The ball struck Cook's front pad straight in front of the stumps and the England captain decided against a review.

His opening partner Joe Root (6) did go to the third umpire when he was struck on the pads by Harris but England lost a review when Marais Erasmus's lbw decision was upheld.

Kevin Pietersen fell four balls later to Harris for two, caught behind playing at a full delivery outside his off-stump and England were suddenly in trouble.

Jonathan Trott, who had started confidently with boundaries on both sides of the pitch from his first two balls, struck the ball firmly, hitting 11 fours.

But with the attack apparently at his mercy, he was out scooping a simple catch off Harris to Usman Khawaja, who replaced Ed Cowan at number three in the Australian lineup, at deep square-leg.

Smith's efforts late in the day meant the Australians, who laboured throughout the afternoon session with little reward, ended the day with honours at least even on a pitch still promising plenty of runs.

"Credit has to go to Australia, Harris coming back into the team bowled really well," Bell told Sky television.

"You know Australia are just going to keep coming at you and you've never got enough. Today was another great day of Test cricket.

"We'll see as the game goes on what a good first innings score is. If the dry conditions stay we know we have quality bowlers who can bowl reverse swing and then later on spin will come into it."

EVENING SESSION

Australia ended the opening day as they began taking three quick wickets as England finished the opening day on 289-7 in 89 overs in the first Ashes Test at Lord's on Thursday.

Steven Smith grabbed three wickets with his spinners including the wicket of centurion Ian Bell after England had clawed their back from 28-3 in the morning session.

Bell top scored with 109 as he completed his third consecutive Ashes century to lead England's fightback.

Trott (58) added 99 runs for the fourth wicket with Bell who shared in a 144-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Bairstow (67).

Bell's dismissal in Smith's first over triggered a collapse which saw England lose three wickets for 12 runs as they slumped to 283-7 in a dramatic final hour.

Smith returned figures of 6-1-18-3 with a sensational spell of bowling delaying the arrival of the new ball which was taken for the last two overs before the close.

Australia have taken the second new ball with England 287-7 in 87 overs.

Smith has taken his third wicket as Prior cuts only to edge it behind as England collapse to 283-7.

Matt Prior c Haddin b Smith 6 (18b 1x4 0x6)

Bresnan cuts Smith to third man for another boundary. Eng 283-6 in 83 overs.

Bresnan opens his batsman by smashing Smith through the covers for a boundary. Eng 279-6 in 81 overs.

Smith strikes again as Bairstow chips a full toss back to the bowler. Eng 274-6.

Jonny Bairstow c and b Smith 67 (146b 7x4 0x6)

Steve Smith gets a breakthrough in his first over as centurion Bell edges to Clarke at slip after having smashed a full toss to the fence the previous ball. Eng 271-5.

Ian Bell c Clarke b Smith 109 (211b 16x4 0x6)

It ended a superb 144-run partnership between Bell and Bairstow for the fifth wicket.

Bell celebrate the landmark ton which came off 203 balls by flicking Watson to fine leg for his 15th four. Eng 267-4 in 75 overs.

Bell completes his third consecutive Ashes century, his 19th Test hundred and second of the series, gliding Watson through the slip cordon for a couple.

Bell joins Jack Hobbs (1911/1912 and 1924/25), Wally Hammond (1928/29) and Chris Broad (1986/87) in achieving the feat.

Bairstow flicks Pattinson through to mid-on for a boundary. Eng 259-4 in 74 overs.

Bairstow also hits a boundary off Agar as England pile it on. Eng 247-4 in 69 overs.

Bell cuts Agar for another boundary to move into the 90s.

Bairstow completes his fourth Test half century off 96 balls and also brings up the 100 partnership for the fifth wicket with Bell.

Bells chops Agar to third man for another boundary. Eng 225-4 in 61 overs.

Pattinson goes for 16 as Bell smacks three boundaries. Eng 219-4 in 59 overs.

Bell drives Pattinson through the covers for yet another boundary.

Bairstow punches Harris down the to mid on for another boundary. Eng 194-4 in 56 overs.

Bairstow hits the first boundary after the tea interval smashing Watson over gully to third man. Eng 189-4 in 55 overs.

England battled to reach 183 for four in 53 overs at on the opening day of the second Ashes Test against Australia at Lord's on Thursday.

England dominated the afternoon session scoring 103 runs for the loss of Jonathan Trott  who made 58 off 87 balls with 11 hits to the fence.

He was associated in a 99-run stand for the fourth wicket with Ian Bell who remained unbeaten on 62 off 131 balls with nine hits to the ropes.

Jonny Bairstow was fortunate to be there with him on 28 after Siddle rattled his stumps only to find he had overstepped the line by a few millimetres.

Harris is the most successful bowler so far claiming three for 28.

AFTERNOON SESSION

Ian Bell restored England's fortunes after the home side had lost three cheap wickets with a composed unbeaten 62 at tea on the opening day of the second Ashes Test against Australia on Thursday.

The England number five helped Jonathan Trott (58) add 99 for the fourth wicket and was still at the crease at the interval with the home side on 183 for four after winning the toss.

He was accompanied by Jonny Bairstow (28 not out), who received a huge slice of luck when he was comprehensively bowled by Peter Siddle with his score on 21 but won a reprieve when replays showed the bowler had delivered a no-ball.

Bell is now on course for a third Ashes century in successive Tests after hundreds in Sydney in the 2010-11 season and at Trent Bridge where England went 1-0 up in the current series.

Trott started confidently with boundaries on both sides of the pitch from the first two balls he received and looked in prime form as he reached his half-century with 10 fours.

He seemed set for a big score when he scooped Ryan Harris to Usman Khawaja who ran in to take a simple catch at square-leg.

It was the third wicket for Harris, who celebrated his return to the Australia team by taking two wickets in five balls as England slumped to 28 for three on a blameless pitch at the height of the current British heatwave.

Harris dismissed opener Joe Root lbw for six after a lengthy review which finally confirmed the ball had brushed the bat but had first hit the pad. Kevin Pietersen fell in the same over caught behind for two pushing forward to a full delivery.

Shane Watson, introduced in the fifth over, made the breakthrough when his second ball beat captain Alastair Cook off the pitch and trapped him lbw for 12.

Cook, who had won the toss for the second Test in a row, made a brisk start on a hot, sunny day when play began 15 minutes late after the teams had been presented to Queen Elizabeth.

He pushed his second ball from the opening over by James Pattinson from the Nursery end through mid-wicket for four and took another to square leg when the bowler strayed down the leg-side again.

His dismissal with the score on 18 prompted a mini-slump as Harris, who replaced Mitchell Starc from the team who lost the first test by 14 runs, bustled in with energy and intent from the Pavilion end.

Harris's Test career has been hampered by a chronic knee complaint and he had played only 12 tests since making his debut at the age of 29 four years ago. His figures, though, are impressive with 47 wickets at under 24 runs each before this match.

Bairstow cuts Agar to third man for his third boundary. Eng 179-4 in 51 overs.

Bairstow survives after being bowled off a no-ball from Siddle.

Bell hits Pattinson uppishly over point for his ninth to reach his half century off 110 balls. Eng 159-4 in 44 overs.

Bairstow drives Agar past mid-off for a boundary.

Bairstow hits his first boundary cracking Siddle past point. Eng 141-4 in 39 overs.

Bell hits another boundary off Watson to complete 1,000 runs at Lord's. Eng 132-4 in 35 overs.

Harris strikes to break a 99-run stand for fourth wicket as Trott miscues a pull to Khawaja. Eng 127-4.

Jonathan Trott c Khawaja b Harris 58 (87b 11x4 0x6) 

Trott jabs Harris to third man for another boundary.

Bell cracks a boundary to third man off Watson who returns for another spell. Eng 123-2 in 33 overs.

Bell flicks Pattinson delicately to fine leg for another boundary. Eng 114-3 in 32 overs.

Bell punches Siddle straight down the ground with sublime timing for another boundary.

Trott flicks Pattinson to fine leg for his 10th boundary to bring up his 17th Test half century off 77 balls. Eng 105-3 in 30 overs.

Trott pushes Siddles through mid on for another boundary with superb timing.

Bell also gets into the act after lunch driving Pattinson through the covers for a boundary. Eng 92-3 in 28 overs.

Trott shows he is in good nick whipping Siddle through midwicket and extra cover for a couple of boundaries in the first over after lunch. Eng 88-3 in 27 overs.

An unfinished 52-run stand for the third wicket between Jonathan Trott (34) and Ian Bell (23) helped England recover to 80 for three in 26 overs at lunch on day one in the 2nd Ashes Test against Australia at Lord's on Thursday.

Opting to bat first, England lost skipper Alastair Cook inthe fifth over of the innings with Watson striking with his second delivery.

A double strike by Ryan Harris in the sixth over had England tottering at 28-3 trapping Root leg before and Pietersen giving a nick behind.

Harris who came in for Starc has figures of 9-3-21-2. so far.

MORNING SESSION

Ryan Harris celebrated his return to the Australia colours on Thursday with two wickets in five balls after his team appeared condemned to a long, fruitless day in the field on the opening day of the second Ashes Test at Lord's.

Harris dismissed England opener Joe Root lbw for six after a lengthy review which finally confirmed the ball had brushed the bat but had first hit the pad.

Kevin Pietersen fell in the same over caught behind for two pushing forward to a full delivery.

Shane Watson, introduced in the fifth over, made the breakthrough when his second ball beat captain Alastair Cook off the pitch and trapped him lbw for 12.

England were left floundering on 28 for three before reaching lunch on 80-3 with Jonathan Trott, who took boundaries off his first two deliveries, on 34.

Cook, who had won the toss for the second Test in a row, made a brisk start on a hot, sunny day when play began 15 minutes late after the teams had been presented to Queen Elizabeth.

He pushed his second ball from the opening over by James Pattinson from the Nursery end through mid-wicket for four and took another to square leg when the bowler strayed down the leg-side again.

His dismissal with the score on 18 prompted a mini-slump as Harris, who replaced Mitchell Starc from the team who lost the first Test by 14 runs, bustled in with energy and intent from the Pavilion end.

Watson, whose relationship with captain Michael Clarke had come under scrutiny again before the match with reports from Australia about a rift between the pair, played his part with four accurate overs of medium pace and the wicket of Root.

Harris's Test career has been hampered by a chronic knee complaint and he had played only 12 Tests since making his debut at the age of 29 four years ago.

His figures, though, are impressive with 47 wickets at under 24 runs each before this match.

Trott slams Harris to the boundary with a cover drive. Eng 71-3 in 24 overs.

Bell drives Harris through the covers for another boundary. Eng 56-3 in 18 overs.

Trott brings up the 50 of the England innings with a boundary to third man off Siddle's first over. Eng 52-3 in 17 overs.

Pattinson whips Pattinson through midwicket for another boundary. Eng 48-3 in 16 overs.

Trott continues to bat fluidly flicking Watson with superb timing to the square leg fence. Eng 42-3 in 13 overs.

Bell gets his first boundary driving a widish delivery from Pattinson to point. Eng 38-3 in 12 overs.

Trott gets his third boundary clipping Pattinson to long leg. Eng 32-2 in 9 overs.

It's a double strike by Harris as Pietersen is caught behind. Eng 28-3

Kevin Pietersen c Haddin b Harris 2 (4b 0x4 0x6)

It's a double strike for Australia as Root is adjudged leg before by Harris with England reviewing it but being unsuccessful in overturning a margin pad-bat decision. Eng 26-2.

Joe Root lbw b Ryan Harris 6 (14b 1x4 0x6)

Trott cracks consecutive boundaries off the first two balls he faced from Watson through square leg and point.

Michael Clarke's surprise bowling change pays dividend as his opposite number Alastair Cook is trapped plumb in front by Watson with his second delivery. Umpire Erasmus raising the dreaded finger after a long deliberation. Eng 18-1.

Alastair Cook lbw b Shane Watson 12 (14b 2x4 0x6)

Roots edges Harris late to glide the ball through the slips for his first boundary.

Cook glances the ball to fine leg for another boundary off Pattinson. Eng 12-0 in 3 overs.

Cook hits the first boundary of the match clipping Pattinson to the midwicket fence off the second ball of the innings.

Australia are in the middle followed by England openers Alastair Cook and Joe Root.

Former Australian captain Steve Waugh rings the bell to start proceedings at Lord's.

England have won the toss and will bat first in the second Ashes Test against Australia at Lord's cricket ground on Thursday.

Tim Bresnan has come in for Finn in the only change for England.

Australia have made two changes with Ed Cowan and Mitchell Starc being replaced by Usman Khawaja and Ryan Harris.

PLAYING XI

England - Alastair Cook, Joe Root, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Jonny Bairstow, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Greaeme Swann, James Anderson

Australia - Shane Watson, Chris Rodgers, Usman Khawaja, Phil Hughes, Michael Clarke, Steve Smith, Brad Haddin, Ashton Agar, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson, Ryan Harris

PREVIEW

Australia will be greeted by blazing sunshine and a venue where they lost only once last century when they arrive at Lord's on Thursday for the second Ashes Test against England determined to level the five-match series.

Britain is engulfed in a heatwave which is forecast to last throughout the match and conditions for the first Test at Trent Bridge were reminiscent of the Indian sub-continent.

After heroic last-wicket stands in each innings, Australia eventually lost by 14 runs on Sunday. But they will be buoyed by the resilience and resource they showed at the midpoint of a horrible year in which they have been beaten 4-0 in India and failed to advance past the first round of the Champions Trophy.

The touring side's cause was hardly advanced with news on Tuesday that their former South African coach Mickey Arthur, who was sacked 16 days before the Trent Bridge Test, had alleged he was the victim of discrimination and was demanding reinstatement or $3.6 million compensation.

Despite the narrow margin in Nottingham, England were ultimately deserved winners and James Anderson at the height of his powers produced the decisive deliveries of the game to account for two of his 10 wickets.

Anderson removed captain Michael Clarke in the first innings with the perfect delivery, a ball which swung late into the batsman then evaded the outside edge to hit the top of the off-stump.

The second key wicket was the final ball of the match which vice-captain Brad Haddin, whose gritty 71 had threatened to snatch victory from England's grasp, edged to Matt Prior.

Australia will relish the sun and the surroundings at the home of world cricket. To recover from one-down and regain the Ashes, though, their top-order batting must fire and Usman Khawaja may come in at number three to replace the out-of-form Ed Cowan.

"He had a tough game," said new coach Darren Lehmann. "We've told Ed how we want him to play and how we want him to bat. That certainly hasn't changed from when he first came into the side.

"He'll be disappointed with the shots. So are we.

"We've certainly got to bat better as a top order, that's probably the key. We're going to bowl very well and we know we can control their batters. It's a matter of making more runs."

WATSON IN SPOTLIGHT

Clarke, who enjoyed a wondrous 2012 with 1,595 runs at an average of precisely 106, failed in both innings after his buildup was hampered by a chronic back ailment.

The only other Australian batsman of comparable pedigree is the highly gifted but perennially frustrating Shane Watson who contributed 46 to a second-innings opening partnership of 84.

Australia urgently need an innings from Watson of a stature to match his talent and Lord's would be the perfect setting to shrug off the under-achiever's tag.

But he will be under even more pressure after it was reported in Australia that Arthur had claimed Clarke had described his former vice-captain as "a cancer" in the side.

Another option is to drop a batsman and play five specialist bowlers with off-spinner Nathan Lyon joining Ashton Agar.

Agar, who fell two short on his debut of becoming the first number 11 in Test history to make a century, took two for 82 from 35 overs in the second innings with his left-arm orthodox spin.

In contrast to Australia's fragile top order, England's key batsmen scored runs at critical times at Trent Bridge.

Jonathan Trott contributed 48 to their modest first-innings 215 and captain Alastair Cook (50) laid a solid foundation in the second with Kevin Pietersen (64).

The crucial innings came from Ian Bell, whose 109 in more than six hours was perfectly calibrated for a sun-baked pitch demanding intense concentation with its low, slow and sometimes unpredictable bounce.

England have named the same 13-man squad for the Test with the final decision again resting between the pacemen Steven Finn, Tim Bresnan and Graham Onions.

Finn, given the new ball in the first innings, dismissed two of the first three Australian batsmen cheaply on the first day.

Thereafter life was more difficult. He took no more wickets, conceded 117 from his 25 overs and was entrusted with only two overs on the final day which went for 25 runs as Haddin decided he was the bowler he could attack.

Teams (from):

England - Alastair Cook (captain), Joe Root, Jonathan Trott, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Jonny Bairstow, Matt Prior, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Steven Finn, James Anderson, Graham Onions.

Australia - Shane Watson, Chris Rogers, Ed Cowan, Usman Khawaja, Michael Clarke (captain), Phillip Hughes, Steve Smith, Brad Haddin, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson.