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England no longer afraid of Nathan Lyon, still trouble at the top and why Australia’s tail needs to wag

Nathan Lyon rolled England at Edgbaston, but 0-102 in the second dig at Lord’s and no scalps in 21 second innings overs at Headingley suggest the hosts may have found a way to play the GOAT.

England’s hopes of moving to Manchester with the Ashes still alive were maintained by a second innings revival, led by under-pressure captain Joe Root.

However, with Australia needing seven wickets to seal victory and the hosts 202 runs behind the advantage is still very much with the tourists.

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Five things we learned from a frustrating day three at Headingley ...

AUSTRALIA NEEDS IT’S TAIL TO WAG TO WIN

As England pushed to 3-156 at stumps there’s no doubt the Australians would have been thinking about how enormous another 50 runs on their own total would have been.

Pat Cummins has the quality to add more precious late order runs.
Pat Cummins has the quality to add more precious late order runs.

Sure, England still has to make history to get 359, but 409 would have been near on impossible.

Marnus Labuschagne and James Pattinson put on 50-runs together, but the Aussies lost their last four wickets for 21 runs, after losing 4-6 to close the first innings.

Batting second at Edgbaston, Pattinson and Pat Cummins scored 73 between them to take that game away from England.

Their fingers will be crossed they have enough this time.

MISFIELDS MATTER

First ball after tea Joe Root drove a ball to Marcus Harris at cover, who couldn’t field it, and it went for four.

Usman Khawaja was one of a number of players guilty of sloppiness in the field.
Usman Khawaja was one of a number of players guilty of sloppiness in the field.

It was the exact opposite of what the Aussies needed after Root and Denly had already put on 75-runs before the break.

It got the sleepy crowd back up and about, and had the Australian fielders all looking at each other. Then a couple of overs later, as James Pattinson tried to build the pressure on Root, Usman Khawaja fumbled a straight forward one at gully.

Every miss gave England that little bit more comfort that after a long-hot day in the field, the Australian bowlers didn’t want them to have.

ENGLAND ISN’T AFRAID OF NATHAN LYON

When the Australian spinner took six final day wickets at Edgbaston it appeared the man they call the “GOAT” would be all over England this series. He took three more on day one at Lord’s too including some partnership breakers.

Nathan Lyon was a destructive force in the first Test but has found wickets hard to come by since.
Nathan Lyon was a destructive force in the first Test but has found wickets hard to come by since.

But since then Lyon hasn’t looked as threatening, and England look to be more comfortable against him. He took 0-102 in the second innings of the second Test, and was wicket-less in 21 second innings overs at Headingley, including three overs after tea on day three that went for 15 runs and resulted in him being immediately replaced.

He was better late, but still didn’t break through.

THERE’S STILL AN OPENING PROBLEM

Lost in the afterglow of Australia’s amazing day two was the fact that David Warner was out for a second ball duck in the second innings, his fifth single figure score in six innings this series.

David Warner has only posted one score in double figures across six Ashes innings this tour.
David Warner has only posted one score in double figures across six Ashes innings this tour.

Australia’s opening partnerships have totalled just 61 runs through the series so far.

Warner has been first man out five times too, and Marcus Harris, his second opening partner, should have made more than his 19 at Headingley, which was still more than anything Cameron Bancroft could manage in his four innings.

THANK GOODNESS CHRIS GAFFANEY IS GOING

When the Kiwi umpire gave Joe Root out LBW on 59 the English skipper was asking for a review before Gaffaney had even finished raising his finger.

There was such a huge inside edge that Root was smiling before the official review confirmed he wasn’t out.

It was Gaffaney’s sixth overturned decision for the match, in a series in which poor umpiring has been commonplace. The third Test will be Gaffaney’s last involvement in the series, having been both on-field and third umpire during the first two Tests.

Joel Wilson, who had a record 11 decisions overturned at Edgbaston, is also making way for Marais Erasmus and Kumar Dharmasena at Manchester.

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/cricket/england-no-longer-afraid-of-nathan-lyon-still-trouble-at-the-top-and-why-australias-tail-needs-to-wag/news-story/e09abf62c5221d2647f768be55b3a118