England vs Australia LIVE: Cricket scorecard and Ashes updates ...
England 393-8dec, Australia 311-5 - Australia trail by 82 runs: Usman Khawaja led a thrilling Australian fightback after Stuart Broad’s morning heroics on day two
Hazlewood on Day 1 of Ashes: 'We'll stick to our guns and not get dragged into England's different brand of cricket'
Stuart Broad was in the thick of things as England cricket and Australia cricket vied for control on day two of the first Ashes Test, conjuring a big double breakthrough before reprieving centurion Usman Khawaja with a careless no-ball.
Broad raised the roof at Edgbaston in the morning when he dismissed old rival David Warner and the world’s No 1 batter Marnus Labuschagne with consecutive deliveries, but Khawaja batted from start to finish as Australia finished 82 behind on 311-5.
Khawaja’s supreme 126 not out dragged the tourists back from a parlous 67-3 but Broad will be kicking himself after bowling him late in the day only to be called for overstepping. England had already squandered a couple of chances at the other end, wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow fumbling a stumping against Cameron Green and dropping a regulation catch off Alex Carey.
While Ben Stokes has stayed true to his attacking principles – with bat, ball and by springing a surprise declaration at 393-8 on Friday afternoon – Australia have dug their heels in with a more conservative, traditional brand of Test cricket.
Follow the score and latest updates from Edgbaston below:
OK, that’s it from us today. We’ll be back tomorrow for full live coverage of day three and you feel the morning session could be decisive in deciding the direction of the match
Luke Baker17 June 2023 21:35
A truly great Ashes series is one that ebbs and flows, with both sides having their moments, having their periods of success and ultimately playing out Tests that are closely-fought right until the end.
Australia had declared in the build-up that they would see how ‘Bazball’ would fare against their bowling attack, in particular their prolific seam attack.
When it came to Australia’s turn to bat, it was an entirely different affair. They kept wickets in hand, but their 311-5 by the end of the second day, 82 runs behind England’s first innings total, lacked the same thrill and flair.
Australians will argue that their approach is ‘just as effective’, but having batted for less time, England had almost 100 more runs on the board.
Read Sonia Twigg’s full report from another enthralling day at Edgbaston:
Luke Baker17 June 2023 21:05
Kevin Pietersen wasn’t impressed by what England offered with the ball...
Luke Baker17 June 2023 20:36
Stuart Broad has given his thoughts on the day’s plays after he went through a full range of emotions from the joy of the two early wickets to the despair of being called for a no-ball having dismissed Khawaja
Luke Baker17 June 2023 20:04
Hitting a century in an Ashes match already put him among a select group of players but Usman Khawaja broke new ground when he showed up to the post-day press conference with his small daughter on his lap.
His opening words were: “She didn’t want to be away from me so…” and that set the tone for a unique media opportunity.
A warning was issued at the start that he did not know how long he would have, given his daughter was with him.
And there was a moment where he had to stop the press conference, put on his ‘dad hat’, and caution his daughter against swiping through the camera on one of the many phones in front of him recording the audio, telling her “you can play on Daddy’s phone later”.
Luke Baker17 June 2023 19:33
A truly great Ashes series is one that ebbs and flows, with both sides having their moments, having their periods of success and ultimately playing out Tests that are closely-fought right until the end.
Australia had declared in the build-up that they would see how ‘Bazball’ would fare against their bowling attack, in particular their prolific seam attack.
When it came to Australia’s turn to bat, it was an entirely different affair. They kept wickets in hand, but their 311-5 by the end of the second day, 82 runs behind England’s first innings total, lacked the same thrill and flair.
Australians will argue that their approach is ‘just as effective’, but having batted for less time, England had almost 100 more runs on the board.
Read Sonia Twigg’s full report from another enthralling day at Edgbaston:
Luke Baker17 June 2023 19:05
“A pretty good day, actually. It’s quite a slow, turgid pitch, so to still be 82 runs ahead of Australia with Pat Cummins and the tail next, we’re pretty happy. There wasn’t a lot in that pitch today. It felt like a lot of energy got sapped out of balls on a length so to pick up some of their key batters, we’re pretty happy.
[on another successful encounter with David Warner...] “It was a great battle. He played some really nice shots. It’s the sort of pitch where, as a bowler, you’ll take a drag on. It feels like the sort of pitch where a chop on is a genuine dismissal.
[...and on the follow-up to get Labuschagne first ball.] “It was the perfect ball that I’ve been looking to bowl to Marnus, designed to do exactly that, really. Getting a bit wider on the crease, looking to throw it a bit fuller and get it moving away early. For it to work first ball is pretty nice. Trying to beat Marnus and Smith on the inside edge on slower pitches is really tough, so I’m trying to bring the outside edge in a little more. It’s not a ball I’m going to look to use loads and lose, only to certain batters in certain conditions.”
(PA)
Harry Latham-Coyle17 June 2023 18:50
Usman Khawaja’s celebration after bringing up his ton really was a lovely moment, tossing the bat away after a cathartic innings to banish some bad memories of previous visits to these parts. He judges his innings beautifully.
Harry Latham-Coyle17 June 2023 18:41
Another gripping day of Ashes cricket, with Australia not dragging in to any BazBall frivolity. As they vowed ahead of the series, they’ve played their own brand of cricket with a measured day of classical Test match batting, headlined by an outstanding unbeaten hundred from Usman Khawaja, the opener’s first in England.
But England bowled well, giving away precious little and making the most of slate skies early on. It remains a good, if slow, batting deck - two very different approaches across these first two days, but you feel like the two sides might just end up about level at the halfway stage.
There are some storms forecast tomorrow afternoon, so we’ll see if that at all alters Australia’s approach first up. Tonight, though, Khawaja and Alex Carey can sleep contentedly having whittled down the deficit.
Harry Latham-Coyle17 June 2023 18:32
That Carey nick has induced a second slip, but that opens room on the onside, which Carey finds neatly with a deft crouching paddle.
Last ball of the day...blocked uneventfully to mid-off as Australia’s last recognised batting pair see their side safely through to stumps, 82 behind.
(Getty Images)
Harry Latham-Coyle17 June 2023 18:27
