Rory Burns and England captain Joe Root yesterday kept Australia at bay on the second day of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston.
At lunch, England were 71-1 in their first innings — a deficit of 213 runs. Burns was 41 not out and Root unbeaten on 11.
England still had plenty of work to do to get back on level terms, but a session during which they lost just one wicket represented a vast improvement on their first-innings 85 all out in a Test win over Ireland at Lord’s last week.
England were 10-0, with left-hander Burns four not out and Surrey teammate Jason Roy six not out when play resumed yesterday in slightly overcast conditions.
That left them 274 runs behind Australia’s first-innings 284 built on a brilliant 144 from Steve Smith.
Australia were in dire straits at 122-8, but their last two wickets more than doubled their total, with No. 10 Peter Siddle making 44, the second-highest score of the innings, as he put on 88 with Smith.
It was not long before Smith was center stage again.
Roy in just his second Test never looked comfortable against Australia’s fast bowlers.
Therefore, it was no surprise when, on 10, he edged a good-length ball from James Pattinson low to Smith at second slip, with England then 22-1 in the eighth over.
Burns was then hit a glancing blow on his batting helmet by a Pat Cummins bouncer.
Root had returned to No. 3 from No. 4 in a bid to lead from the front with the bat, but he was almost bowled leaving off-spinner Nathan Lyon’s first ball, a sharply turning delivery that just missed the stumps.
Root, England’s best batsman, had an even bigger slice of luck on nine when he was given out caught behind off Pattinson only for his review to reveal the ball had hit the off stump without dislodging a bail.
Meanwhile, England fast bowler Mark Wood has been ruled out for the rest of the season, including the Ashes series, due to a side strain and a knee injury, the England and Wales Cricket Board said yesterday.
Wood, who picked up the strain last month during England’s win over New Zealand in the World Cup final, also had knee surgery this week to clear up excess cartilage.
Wood was England’s second-highest wicket-taker at the World Cup with 18 in 10 matches after Jofra Archer on 20.
England are struggling with injuries in the bowling department with Archer, who also strained his side, left out for the first Test against Australia and James Anderson reinjuring his calf during his opening spell on Thursday.
Additional reporting by Reuters
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