After the impressive, yet still quite surprising victory inside four days from England in Cardiff, all eyes were on Lord’s as the second Test match got under way. From first glance the pitch looked nothing like the belter that New Zealand had been treated to last month and the toss was always going to be a crucial one with both captains agreeing they would have batted first. Unfortunately for the hosts, Michael Clarke called correctly and inserted his team on a day where bat looked to dominate ball.
The Ashes: Second Test, Day One Review
The day began with Chris Rogers feeling for a wide Anderson delivery, edging just over the slips for the first runs of the day. Straight away England must have thought a repeat of the ‘Cardiff Collapse’ was on. It was obvious wickets weren’t going to come easy and Australia prospered gleefully from this, milking the bowling to bring up a swift half-century.
Moeen Ali was inevitably brought on by Cook and straight away he was targeted by Warner, hitting back-to-back fours off of Ali’s first two balls. Strangely enough though, Warner wasn’t contempt with these two boundaries and with the trap set so early, he obliged Cook’s plan and launched into a lofted drive, only to find James Anderson hovering at long-off. Warner must have rued his mistake all day, and it didn’t help that the other two batsmen to grace the crease on the day, both brought up very tidy hundreds, continuing to milk the bowling around on any given occasion, the lightning fast Lord’s outfield not helping the home side as they had hoped at the start of play.
Both Smith and Rogers innings had class shots, but like most, they weren’t without a slice of luck. Smith had cruised to fifty in good time, only to shuffle across and play at a wider delivery, edging low to Ian Bell at slip who just couldn’t grasp his fingers around the ball enough to hold on. Apart from that chance and the edge from Rogers in the first over, Australia seemed to be in complete control, leaving Captain Cook to ponder overnight what he and his side can do come tomorrow morning.
