England vs Australia, Ashes first Test day 2 live: Latest updates from ...

Already more maidens on day 2 than in the whole of England’s innings. As we saw with their conservative fields, Australia are playing Test cricket their way, rather than trying to out gung-ho England. 

One interesting strand is that if Australia can minimise damage against the new ball, England will need one - or both - of Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali to bowl extensively. 

Anderson has four slips and a shortish backward point in for Khawaja. The second ball of the over shapes encouragingly towards the slips. Kahwaja digs it out as it’s a tad too full but the next is the perfect length, hoops away and Khawaja plays and misses. The cordon loves that. Anderson starts the next two on leg stump and Khawaja defends comfortably to midwicket, just a hint of overbalance in the second of those shots, perhaps. The last ball is wider still on leg stump, doesn’t swing back in enough and Khawaja scores the first run of the day with a flick down to long leg.  Moeen, the darling of his home crowd, receives a huge cheer when he fields. Or that might have been sarcasm aimed at Australia for finally moving the scoreboard on. 

Broad arrows a couple into middle from round the wicket, Warner clips positively but fruitlessly to midwicket. But then, perhaps feeling he’s being stifled by the dot balls, goes on the charge and wafts at one that is angled across him. Could easily have been strangled there as he had a flick at it from two yards down. 

Tenacious, relentless over from Broad, a third maiden in three overs, 50 per cent more maidens than Australia managed all day yesterday. 

Will was right. It’s Anderson, over the wicket to Khawaja who is wearing a long-sleeved short and sleeveless sweater. Anderson starts with a middle, middle and off line. Khawaja defends three. No movement yet. Khawaja averages less than 14 against right-arm over seam bowling in England. If he’s targeting the outside edge plus leg-before with an inswinger, he’s hiding the latter so far. Khawaja leaves the two wider ones that start on  off stump and swerve away. Another maiden. 

Will Macpherson reports:

Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad  were warming up early. Anderson didn’t take the new ball last night, but I’m sure we will see him first thing this morning. The pitch is flat as hell, but he will enjoy the atmospheric conditions. 

Broad gambols up to the crease, round the wicket to Warner, arrowing the ball into middle and off. Warner defends with a slightly, prematurely closed face. The ball comes off the leading edge safely. Warner defends the next two with a fuller face, maybe a quarter stride forward at most. Jerusalem finishes in the Hollies. Big shouts of ‘No run!’ after every defensive from Warner. Broad is up at 87mph. It ought to swing in these conditions even with the lacquer on the Dukes ball in tach after so few overs. But it should really start to move after 15-20. 

Broad starts with a maiden, on the money throughout. 

All 22, wearing their Bob Willis Fund caps to pay tribute to the late, great fast bowler. Off come the caps – to eb auctioned and on go the blues and greens. 

Stuart Broad has the ball in his hand. 

I just love Test cricket. Yesterday was incredible. The theatre, the contest, the spectacle. And today we wake up, and can do it all again. Our game is unique and we must protect the integrity of international cricket. On this flat day two surface Australia will be looking to cash in and go big in their first innings.

This is interesting from the former Australia spinner:

The Bob Willis Fund raises awareness and funds for research into prostate cancer. Its vital work deserves support. 

Boycott’s Briefing on day one’s play:

The rain has stopped, but it’s still very cloudy. The covers are being peeled back and the football’s out there for the warm-up. We should start on time in much better bowling conditions.

Two points to come out of the four overs of Australia’s reply last evening:

1. This pitch is offering no sideways movement - no swing or seam - for Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson. If any of England’s three main pace bowlers is going to get anything out of the dry and placid turf, it is going to be James Anderson, using the skills he has acquired during his years abroad: probably bowling very straight, with a short midwicket or two for the mistimed clip, and maybe Jonny Bairstow standing up to the stumps, which will be a challenge after his leg injury.

When the ball is old, that will be when England are really taxed. There is evidence already that the odd ball will keep low as this game progresses, and even climb as the surface deteriorates. And if one of Australia’s lefthanders is batting - they have four in their top seven – then the utility of the offbreaks of Moeen Ali and Joe Root will be much enhanced. But if two Australian right-handers, like Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith get stuck in, what will England do? They had no answer at Lord’s when Ireland’s lower-order Andy McBrine and Mark Adair started clubbing the old ball around Lord’s, but then Ben Stokes was not bowling so England did not have the option of trying bouncers. Yes, this is the big question today: how are England to avoid MAS? Mark Adair Syndrome. 

2. David Warner’s footwork was really sharp on the first evening. Not the old and tired footwork of a 36 year-old has-been but sharp and decisive from the moment Stuart Broad bowled his first ball too short at him. Warner is a boxer and he must have been doing plenty of lunges too, ready to play forward this time, instead of being caught on the crease as in 2019. Don’t forget he had a fine Ashes series in England in 2015, averaging 46, as well as the horror show of 2019.

If you’re having a bet on the first Test, you can find the best Ashes free bets to use throughout the remaining four days of play at Edgbaston ... or three days ... or two if you would be so bold. 

“Today’s the day we find out if Ben Stokes’ declaration was inspired or stupid, it certainly was a surprise,” says Sir Geoffrey Boycott in his latest Ashes audio update. 

“Normally a team would aim for 450 or as many runs as possible,” Boycott adds. “No, Stokes declared England at 393 for 8. Wow. Was it over confidence, or doesn’t he rate Australia’s batting?” 

The England great will be posting his analysis and comment for Telegraph Sport throughout the summer both at the start of play and at stumps. Listen to Boycott’s Briefing in full below.

Good morning and welcome to live coverage of day two of the second Ashes Test at Edgbaston which Australia begin, after the day one cyclone, 379 runs behind England with 10 first-innings wickets in hand. This correspondent was fortunate to be among the crowd yesterday and can report that during those four overs of Australia’s innings, the crowd was louder than any I have heard at a match in England, Australia or India. But it wasn’t like that all day. There were nerves and exasperation, too, a delight in the tone set by Zak Crawley from ball one but a sense – spells of the Joe Root-Harry Brook and Root-Jonny Bairstow partnerships apart – of how precarious it all was. But that’s England under Rob Key, Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes.

It always brings to mind that concluding speech from the schmaltzy film Parenthood which are hackneyed but nonetheless seem to have stuck for 35 years: “You know, when I was young, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster. Up and down, up, down. Oh, what a ride. I always wanted to go again. It was just interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened...so scared, so sick, so excited...and so thrilled all together. Some didn´t like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it.”

How do you judge the declaration – an act of hubris or chutzpah from England’s leadership? It’s a journalist;s cop out to ever write ‘only time will tell’ so let’s not bother. All I can say, having watched every minute of every Test of Ben Stokes’ captaincy, and written untold words chronicling them, that it felt right, the opportunity to try to expose Australia’s openers to the tension of seeing out those late overs. And David Warner was very skittish in that first over; he could have run himself or Usman Khawaja out twice.

What England are these days, as well as audacious, is shameless, in the best possible sense of the world. Whatever happens today – and it has been raining this morning followed by an afternoon of clouds and sultry temperatures – they will go to the grave with a ‘No Regrets’ positivity, like putting a Hell’s Angel at the wheel of a Mark II Jag. They’re going to use it for a blag.