England and Australia strode out at the iconic Lord’s Stadium on Wednesday for the second Test match of the ongoing Ashes 2023 series to continue the exciting rubber.
England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bowl first, citing overcast conditions and greenery on the Lord’s pitch. Both England and Australia have made one change to their line-ups. England dropped off-spinning all-rounder Moeen Ali for fast bowler Josh Tongue while Australia bring back Mitchell Starc for Scott Boland.
Teams:
Australia (Playing XI): David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey(w), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins(c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
England (Playing XI): Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes(c), Jonny Bairstow(w), Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, Josh Tongue, James Anderson
Ollie Robinson screams fiercely after dismissing Labuschagne
Marnus Labuschagne can’t help but outside edge himself out in the ongoing Ashes series. While he was nicked off by Stuart Broad in the first Test at Edgbaston, it is Ollie Robinson who accounted for the dismissal of Australia’s number 3 and the top-ranked ICC Test batsman. With this wicket, Robinson broke the third-wicket partnership between Labuschagne and Smith that was worth 102 (155) as they dominated the second session.
Even though he got 47 runs in 93 balls with the help of 7 fours today at Lord’s, Marnus Labuschagne, like in the first Test in Edgbaston, never really looked settled at the crease and there were a few plays and misses outside the off-stump, with one eventually getting him out.
English Seamer smartly varied his release points as he went a bit far away from the stumps. With that angle the ball curled up into the right-handed Labuschagne, pitching on length. The ball was outside the off-stump, but Labuschagne, with his slightly exaggerated trigger that brought him across his off-stump, played at it and a faint edge was taken through to wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow.
That partnership was threatening to take the game away from England, and thus explained the energy-filled celebration from English Seamer
Here, watch the dismissal and Ollie Robinson’s passionate celebration:
YES ROBBO! 🔥
Marnus Labuschagne gone for 4️⃣7️⃣! #EnglandCricket | #Ashes pic.twitter.com/Sbzs6QfG5I
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) June 28, 2023
