The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Lord’s downpour leaves England feeling frustrated
Bowler Broad admits time is running out after rain halts promising start
Stuart Broad still believes England can overcome Australia and the weather to win the second Ashes Test at Lord’s – but accepts time is running out.
Just 24.1 overs were possible yesterday, meaning five sessions have been lost to rain in the first three days, rendering a draw the likeliest result.
England had most reason to feel aggrieved by the early finish after picking up three wickets for 50 runs before the downpour began, one each for Broad and Chris Woakes and a first at Test level for debutant Jofra Archer.
Having lost the series opener at Edgbaston, the hosts will also be more eager to force matters when play resumes with Australia 178 runs behind on 80 for four.
Broad has already started plotting how they might engineer a result. He said: “We’d need to bowl Australia out by lunch tomorrow. Our bowling unit’s aim is to get the next six wickets by lunch and then ideally bat until an hour, or half-an-hour, before lunch on day five and try to force a result that way.
“This pitch has got 10 good balls in it in each day. There’s 98 overs for the next two days, which for both teams has been enough to bowl each other out.”
Former Australia captain Steve Waugh, travelling with the team in a mentoring role, was also keeping hopes of a result alive.
He said: “We need to score some runs. We’re still 178 behind, so that’s our first target. If we can get there and get some more runs after that we’ve a chance. Both sides will be confident they can force a victory but there is a lot of work to be done.”
Broad was impressed with his latest new ball partner, with Archer showing pace and control in a seven-over spell that cost just eight runs and brought the wicket of Cameron Bancroft, trapped lbw.
With James Anderson out injured, Broad is the senior bowler in the side and he has performed his new-ball duties admirably by dismissing the dangerous David Warner cheaply three times in a row.
He has had no such luck with Steve Smith, though, and it is the latter who once again holds the key for Australia. After his match-winning twin centuries in the first Test he is ready to resume on 13 in the morning, knowing another epic could end England’s prospects.