Day two of fourth Ashes Test: England racing to beat Australia and the weather
The hosts enjoyed a productive first day with the ball as they reduced their opponents to 299 for eight.
England will be looking to press the accelerator on day two of their must-win Ashes Test as they bid to beat Australia and the weather forecast at Emirates Old Trafford.
The hosts enjoyed a productive first day with the ball as they reduced their opponents to 299 for eight, but with predictions of heavy rain over the weekend, they need to move fast to get ahead of the game.
Chris Woakes did everything in his power to advance the cause, collecting a superb four for 52 including all-rounders Cameron Green and Mitchell Marsh in the same over, while Stuart Broad bagged two to become the fifth bowler in Test history to reach the 600 mark.
England’s task now is to round things off as swiftly as they can before setting about a potentially explosive innings of their own. The ‘Bazball’ era has thrown up plenty of thrilling batting but rarely have they had to race against the clock with such high stakes.
While Australia can allow themselves the luxury of letting the match take its natural course, safe in the knowledge that a draw would see them retain the urn, England skipper Ben Stokes has made it clear he wants his side to do pull every lever they can to force a result.
With another full-house ready to roar them on the scene is set, but England must be careful not to go too hard, too often and blow up their own chances before the real storms arrive on Saturday.
Broad joins elite company
Stokes out to make history
Broad overtakes Botham
Unlucky for some
Stat’s all, folks
Ollie’s op
Ollie Pope took to his social channels to announce he has gone under the knife on the dislocated right shoulder that ruled the England vice captain out of the last three Tests. Pope suffered the injury when fielding in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s and exacerbated the problem later on in the match amid some miscommunication between England and the match officials. Scans highlighted the extent of the damage and Pope, who has twice suffered dislocations to his left shoulder, has started the road to recovery.
