Cummins and Lyon put Australia on top in Adelaide Ashes Test

Adelaide: Skipper Pat Cummins (3-54) and Nathan Lyon (2-51) led a dominant bowling show at the Adelaide Oval, reducing England to 213 for eight in reply to Australia’s 371 on Day 2 of the third Ashes Test on Thursday. England appeared to be in a strong position after claiming the two wickets required to bowl […]

Adelaide: Skipper Pat Cummins (3-54) and Nathan Lyon (2-51) led a dominant bowling show at the Adelaide Oval, reducing England to 213 for eight in reply to Australia’s 371 on Day 2 of the third Ashes Test on Thursday.

England appeared to be in a strong position after claiming the two wickets required to bowl Australia out for 371 on the second morning, but the visitors were reduced to 213-8, trailing by 158 runs.

---

Mitchell Starc and Lyon resumed from the overnight score of 326-8 and took it to 344 in just two overs. Starc reached his half-century off 73 balls before Jofra Archer dismissed him. Lyon defended well while Scott Boland added runs, but Archer’s wicket of Lyon ended the innings at 371, giving him his fourth five-wicket haul, his third against Australia.

England’s openers began positively, but Cummins struck in the eighth over to remove Zak Crawley. Lyon then dismissed Ollie Pope and trapped Ben Duckett in the same over. With these wickets, Lyon surpassed Glenn McGrath’s record of 563 wickets to become Australia’s second-highest wicket-taker in Test history.

Joe Root survived a close call before being dismissed by Cummins, while Harry Brook fought hard for 45 before Cameron Green removed him. Skipper Ben Stokes resisted with an unbeaten 45, but wickets kept falling.

Drama followed with controversial decisions involving Jamie Smith. One catch was ruled not out despite a Snicko spike, while another saw Smith given out despite replays showing a gap between bat and ball, leaving England frustrated.

Boland later dismissed Will Jacks and Brydon Carse cheaply, with Alex Carey’s sharp glove work aiding the bowlers. England ended the day at 213-8, still trailing by 158 runs.

Brief Scores: England 213/8 (Harry Brook 45, Ben Stokes 45*; Pat Cummins 3-54, Nathan Lyon 2-51) trail Australia 371 (Alex Carey 106, Usman Khawaja 82, Mitchell Starc 54; Jofra Archer 5-53) by 158 runs.