Starc strikes before reprieved Duckett gives England hope

Starc strikes before reprieved duckett gives england hope 0

On Sunday, Mitchell Starc caused an England collapse at Lord’s before Ben Duckett was awarded a contentious reprieve as the hosts continued their push for a miraculous triumph in the second Ashes Test.

This allowed the hosts to continue their attempt to win the match, which would be a remarkable achievement.

At the end of the fourth day of the match, England’s score was 114 for four, and they needed another 257 runs to achieve their goal score of 371.

In the second innings, England’s left-handed opener Duckett hit 98 runs, and he was now not out at 50. England’s captain, Ben Stokes, was also undefeated at 29 as the team was attempting to draw the five-match series even at 1-1.

Starc, who was brought back into the squad after Australia’s stunning victory by two wickets in the first Test played at Edgbaston the previous week, brought England’s score down to 13-2.

They were in a hopeless situation with 45 runs scored against them until Australia’s skipper Pat Cummins scored twice in one over.

After that, it seemed as if Duckett was going to be out for precisely 50 when he miscued Cameron Green to fine leg, where a sliding Starc held a great catch, but the ball ended up touching the ground instead.

To the obvious dismay of the Australian team, the third umpire Marais Erasmus ruled that the dismissal should not have been given because Starc had planted the ball before he was in full control of his body and had so failed to complete a fair catch.

At the end of the game, England still had a chance to win, despite the fact that such a triumph would be almost as unlikely as their one-wicket victory against Australia at Headingley in 2019, which occurred after Stokes produced an incredible unbeaten hundred.

Zak Crawley was’strangled’ by Starc down the legside, and wicketkeeper Alex Carey held a great diving catch to prevent more damage.

However, there was no questioning the quality of the left-arm fast bowler when he removed Ollie Pope from the game with an inswinger traveling at 90 miles per hour that began outside off and slammed into middle stump.

And Starc would have had Duckett leg before wicket for five had the review not gone in the opener’s favor by the narrowest of margins.

But Cummins had Joe Root deflecting to David Warner at first slip, and the England star became the latest batsman to fall victim to the short ball throughout this encounter. Root’s score of 18 indicated that he was outplayed by the short ball.

Three deliveries later, Cummins dismissed Harry Brook with a magnificent delivery that straightened off the seam to strike the top of off stump. Cummins was hoping to become the first Australia captain in 22 years to win an Ashes series in England.

Champions of the world in tests Even without Nathan Lyon in the lineup, Australia was able to make quick work of England’s top order.

The off-spinner was not on the field despite the fact that he surprised everyone by limping out to bat at No. 11 after sustaining a significant calf injury while fielding on Thursday. This was the off-spinner’s 100th straight test appearance.

Nevertheless, despite all of Lyon’s bravado, the 35-year-old was having trouble running. Because runners are not permitted in tests any more, Starc declined to bowl singles to a well-set field on many occasions in order to safeguard Lyon.

The gutsy Lyon’s stubborn four off 13 balls came to an end when he holed out against Stuart Broad, the experienced paceman claiming 4-65 as Australia’s second innings was over with them being thrashed for 279 runs.

As Lyon walked off the field, Stokes, who had just finished bowling 12 overs without a break, gave him a slap on the back, and the fans gave him a standing ovation. His courageous attempt was also a demonstration of the high esteem in which Australia held England’s ability to score runs.

Record high in the nation

In the last year, the team led by Stokes has been successful in achieving three of England’s best run chases in the fourth innings, including a national record 378 against India at Edgbaston in 2022.

However, the West Indies’ score of 344-1 in their fourth innings in a Test match at Lord’s in 1984 is the most any team has produced to win in that innings.

Australia started play on Saturday morning with a score of 130-2, but after losing three wickets for a total of 10 runs, their score dropped to 197-5 as a result of being bowled out in their batting positions.

Usman Khawaja, who hit 141 and 65 at Edgbaston, was the one who began the slide when he was out for 77 after spooning a Broad bouncer straight to fine leg. This was the first wicket to go in the losing streak.

It was a shot that was completely out of character for the left-handed opener, who had previously consistently avoided the bouncer earlier in the 187-ball innings that included 12 fours.

After scoring a hundred during Australia’s first innings, score of 416, Steve Smith then hooked a Josh Tongue bouncer straight to deep backward square.

The batting lineup of Australia was in a commanding position until they were bowled out by a relentless onslaught of bouncers, in contrast to the batting lineup of England, who was criticized for falling prey to an obvious short-ball tactic.

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