Former Australia captain Steve Smith has completed 9000 Test runs. He is the second-fastest cricketer in history to reach the milestone. Only Kumar Sangakkara (172 innings) has played more innings than Smith (174 innings).
So far in his career, Smith has hit 31 hundred and 37 fifties. Meanwhile, he failed the first Test. The Australian Superstar was back amongst his fluent best in the second match.
Ben Stokes had won the toss and chose to bowl first in the second Test at Lord’s. Just five minutes after the start of the second Ashes cricket test between England and Australia on Wednesday, two protestors from the Just Stop Oil group ran onto the pitch at Lords and briefly halted play.
The environmental activists attempted to put orange powder on the pitch, but the players from England and Australia intervened.
Jonny Bairstow, England’s wicketkeeper, tackled one demonstrator and carried him about 50 meters (yards) before handing him over to security over the boundary hoardings. The other demonstrator was apprehended by England captain Ben Stokes and Australia batter David Warner. Australia dominated the first two sessions of the match. In the post-tea session, Australia scored 117 runs and lost the wicket of opener David Warner. England failed to capitalize on the favorable conditions and provided loose deliveries for Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to capitalize on. The Australian pair built a strong partnership, adding almost 100 runs for the wicket. Australia’s approach of patiently waiting for bad balls and punishing them paid off, despite a few close calls and missed opportunities for England. Josh Tongue and Stuart Broad were the standout bowlers for England, while James Anderson and Ollie Robinson threatened the batsmen but lacked penetration. Marnus, although not entirely comfortable, showed resilience and contributed 45 runs, while Smith displayed sublime form. Australia at tea are 190/2.
A successful final session would put Australia in a commanding position, given their formidable bowling attack and the pitch conditions.
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