Ashes 2023: England slip after Duckett hits

Ben Duckett in full flow at Lord’s yesterday. Pic/Getty Images, AFP

England hit back with the bat, thanks to Ben Duckett's 98, on Day Two of the second Test at Lord's here on Thursday, following Steve Smith's latest hundred for Australia.

At the time of going to press, the hosts were 226-4 in the post-tea session, still 190 runs adrift of Australia's first innings total of 416. Harry Brook was 14 not out and skipper Ben Stokes was unbeaten on one. Opener Duckett feel two short of his third Test century after he was caught by David Warner at fine leg off pacer Josh Hazlewood. His 134-ball knock was laced with nine fours. His opening partner Zak Crawley scored a run-a-ball 48.

Australia's Steve Smith celebrates his century on Day 2 yesterday

Earlier, Smith, who had flopped with scores of 16 and six during Australia's thrilling two-wicket win in the first Test at Edgbaston last week, recovered well.

Hosts recover

The 34-year-old put all that behind him, however, with a superb innings of 110 - the 32nd Test century of his brilliant career, his 12th in all Ashes contests and eighth in England. England, however, recovered well on Thursday by taking Australia's last five wickets for 77 runs.

Veteran pacemen James Anderson and Stuart Broad, the two most successful quicks in Test history, managed just two wickets between them. Instead, it was their fellow frontline seamers who did the bulk of the damage, with Josh Tongue taking 3-98 on his Ashes debut and Ollie Robinson 3-100.

Crawley starts off in style

Crawley launched England's aggressive reply in style, hitting five well-struck fours - the best a straight drive off fast bowler Josh Hazlewood. Off-spinner Nathan Lyon succeeded where Australia's pace men had failed. He left Crawley stranded out of his ground with a ball that turned sharply behind the batsman's legs before Alex Carey completed a sharp stumping to leave England 91-1. Lyon, in his 100th consecutive Test, was now just four wickets shy of 500 in Tests. But new batsman Pope, off the field for much of Australia's innings with a shoulder injury, maintained England's typically high tempo. He hit three successive fours off Mitchell Starc, with the left-arm fast bowler's seven wicketless overs costing an expensive 55 runs after he was recalled in place of Scott Boland. And left-handed opener Duckett went to fifty when he clipped Starc off his pads for a fifth four in 84 balls faced.

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