London: Australia's chances in the second Test rest heavily once again with Steve Smith after England took the upper hand in difficult batting conditions on Friday before rain intervened to spoil the third day at Lord's.
The match remains precariously placed with Australia 4-80, 178 runs short of Englands first-innings total, with two days to play. Importantly, Smith is still there, unbeaten on 13, but as was the case at Edgbaston he has lost partners quickly and not for the first time a great deal is on his shoulders and those of anyone who can stay with him.
While a draw is the most likely outcome, a result is not out of the question and the teams only need to look back to last years Lords Test when the first day was lost to rain and England still romped past India inside four days.
Joe Root's side will certainly fancy their chances of squaring the series here if they can run through the rest of the Australian order on Saturday, with boom fast bowler Jofra Archer, Lord's specialist Chris Woakes, senior campaigner Stuart Broad and all-rounder Ben Stokes having made life challenging in overcast conditions under lights.
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Jofra Archer celebrates his first Test wicket after dismissing Cameron Bancroft.Credit:PA
There was no play after lunch on Friday but England had the best of what transpired before it, with Australia losing 3-11 after progressing midway through the first session to 1-60.
The loss of opener Cameron Bancroft for 13, becoming Archers first Test victim, triggered the mini-collapse, with Usman Khawaja out for 36 three balls later and Travis Head coming and going for seven.
But Smith and Matthew Wade, who is yet to score, were able to avoid any further damage and the persistent drizzle meant Broad and co did not get another shot at them.
"Wed have liked to continue because that morning session put us in a good position," Broad said. "It's a real shame. Were pretty positive. Wed need to bowl Australia out by lunch tomorrow. Theres 98 overs for the next two days, which for both teams has been enough to bowl each other.
"Theres certainly hope for both sides. There could be quite an interesting, intriguing game left in this Test match although weve lost so much for rain. Our bowling units aim is to get the next six wickets by lunch and then ideally bat until an hour, half an hour before lunch on day five and try to force a result that way."
Saturday could well be a pivotal day in not only the match but potentially the series.
"I thought we did actually pretty well [on Friday]," Australia team mentor Steve Waugh said. "We talked about it before the series, the key to doing well over here is to not have a disastrous session.
"Youre going to lose some sessions but just lose them closely not by a big margin. Thats what weve talked about and thats what the guys did really well. When you lose a couple of quick wickets there is potential to lose five, six or seven and in the Test match youre going to struggle to come back from that.
"So we hung in there really well. I thought while Wade is … not out, he faced 20-odd balls. Steve Smith again looked pretty self-assured. That was a crucial partnership. If we lost a couple of more wickets there it could have been a tough session."
On the prospect of an outcome other than a draw, Waugh added: "England will think if they have a good session bowling they can force a result. If we have two good sessions batting we think we can force a result."
While Bancrofts occupation was halted after 45 minutes of play when he was trapped lbw by Archer, Khawaja would have been disappointed not to go on with Read More – Source
London: Australia's chances in the second Test rest heavily once again with Steve Smith after England took the upper hand in difficult batting conditions on Friday before rain intervened to spoil the third day at Lord's.
The match remains precariously placed with Australia 4-80, 178 runs short of Englands first-innings total, with two days to play. Importantly, Smith is still there, unbeaten on 13, but as was the case at Edgbaston he has lost partners quickly and not for the first time a great deal is on his shoulders and those of anyone who can stay with him.
While a draw is the most likely outcome, a result is not out of the question and the teams only need to look back to last years Lords Test when the first day was lost to rain and England still romped past India inside four days.
Joe Root's side will certainly fancy their chances of squaring the series here if they can run through the rest of the Australian order on Saturday, with boom fast bowler Jofra Archer, Lord's specialist Chris Woakes, senior campaigner Stuart Broad and all-rounder Ben Stokes having made life challenging in overcast conditions under lights.
Advertisement
Jofra Archer celebrates his first Test wicket after dismissing Cameron Bancroft.Credit:PA
There was no play after lunch on Friday but England had the best of what transpired before it, with Australia losing 3-11 after progressing midway through the first session to 1-60.
The loss of opener Cameron Bancroft for 13, becoming Archers first Test victim, triggered the mini-collapse, with Usman Khawaja out for 36 three balls later and Travis Head coming and going for seven.
But Smith and Matthew Wade, who is yet to score, were able to avoid any further damage and the persistent drizzle meant Broad and co did not get another shot at them.
"Wed have liked to continue because that morning session put us in a good position," Broad said. "It's a real shame. Were pretty positive. Wed need to bowl Australia out by lunch tomorrow. Theres 98 overs for the next two days, which for both teams has been enough to bowl each other.
"Theres certainly hope for both sides. There could be quite an interesting, intriguing game left in this Test match although weve lost so much for rain. Our bowling units aim is to get the next six wickets by lunch and then ideally bat until an hour, half an hour before lunch on day five and try to force a result that way."
Saturday could well be a pivotal day in not only the match but potentially the series.
"I thought we did actually pretty well [on Friday]," Australia team mentor Steve Waugh said. "We talked about it before the series, the key to doing well over here is to not have a disastrous session.
"Youre going to lose some sessions but just lose them closely not by a big margin. Thats what weve talked about and thats what the guys did really well. When you lose a couple of quick wickets there is potential to lose five, six or seven and in the Test match youre going to struggle to come back from that.
"So we hung in there really well. I thought while Wade is … not out, he faced 20-odd balls. Steve Smith again looked pretty self-assured. That was a crucial partnership. If we lost a couple of more wickets there it could have been a tough session."
On the prospect of an outcome other than a draw, Waugh added: "England will think if they have a good session bowling they can force a result. If we have two good sessions batting we think we can force a result."
While Bancrofts occupation was halted after 45 minutes of play when he was trapped lbw by Archer, Khawaja would have been disappointed not to go on with Read More – Source
