Only an electric storm could have stopped Australia’s hurricane over England on Day 2. Australia have a stronghold on the Test match as they have declared for 473. England batters were forced to bat under the lights, which is usually lethal in a pink-ball Test match. England openers had another horrific outing as they fell early, thanks to Mitchell Starc and debutant Michael Neser.
England are in a bad position as they trail by 456 runs at the end of Day 2. Even though Cummins and Hazlewood are missing, Australia’s inexperienced pace attack duo of Neser and Richardson bowled with great grit and discipline.
Australia rampage over mediocre England
Marnus Labuschagne
Labuschagne was the star of the first session as he made his well-deserved sixth Test century. Labuschagne and Smith were the overnight batters, and it didn’t take Labuschagne long to bring up his century with a cheeky edge down to the third man. He survived getting caught behind of a no-ball off Robinson but was trapped LBW to the same bowler. He departed for a well-made 103 off 305 balls that included eight boundaries.
Alex Carey
In his second Test, the Australian wicket-keeper struck 51 off 107 deliveries to reach his maiden half-century. Carey came in after Smith departed, and the platform was set for him to play his shots freely. Carey had the burden of playing with the tailenders, and he took responsibility and batted beautifully to bring his maiden fifty.
Michael Neser
Neser, on debut, blew every person’s mind with an outstanding performance, surprisingly both with bat and ball in hand. Neser was in BBL mode as he hit the ball around the park. He took Woakes on and smashed him for boundaries. Neser hit five Fours and a Six in his innings of 35 from 24 balls. He was striking the ball at 145.83 and provided a boost to the Australian innings.
With the ball in hand, Neser caught Hameed off guard as he picked his wicket in his very first over. Neser has fought hard for his place in the international circuit and has bowled amazingly well in first-class cricket. Neser can pick wickets, and he showcased a gist of it in just 1.4 overs.
Steven Smith – A complete package
Steven Smith made his mark in his comeback innings as the captain of the Australian cricket team with an outstanding inning. Smith scored 93 runs off 201 balls at a strike rate of 46.26 but missed out on a well-deserved century.
Smith is a complete player, and he has never felt the burden of captaincy in his career. He has scored 3752 runs in 61 innings at an unbelievable average of 70.79. On the other hand, when he is not captaining the side, he has scored 3893 runs at an impressive average of 54.83. His highest score of 239 came while he was captaining the team.
Players like Smith enjoy the extra responsibility, and the current Australian vice-captain and captain for the second Test did justice to the responsibility given to him. Smith is a wonderful captain too, and his decision of declaring late in the day did prove wonders for his side as Australia are on the dominating side and have set a platform to win the second Ashes Test match.