NewsBite

Ashes 2019: Rory Burns century has England on top in first Test against Australia

If day one was Steve Smith’s, day two belonged to an England opener and his maiden Test ton | WATCH

Peter Lalor and Tom Crystal
10 min read
4:02AMAugust 03, 2019.
Updated 10:53AMAugust 03, 2019
Print
Rory Burns celebrates his maiden Test century. Picture: Getty Images
Rory Burns celebrates his maiden Test century. Picture: Getty Images

Ashes 2019: Australia vs England, day two of the first Test, at Edgbaston. England reached 4-267 at stumps in reply to Australia’s first innings of 284.

Burns puts heat on Aussie bowlers

If day one was Steve Smith’s, day two was Rory Burns’ and England’s, Peter Lalor writes.

The home side are 4-267 from 90 overs, just 17 short of Australia’s first-innings total.

Burns is 125no and Ben Stokes 38no.

The ungainly Burns, 28, batted through the day, bringing up his maiden Test century and answering critics who suggested he should not be selected.

He played and missed a lot in what is just his eight game at this level, but the scoreboard does not lie.

Australia’s bowlers toiled hard all day with little reward for effort. James Pattinson dismissed Jason Roy (10) in the first session.

Peter Siddle had Joe Root (57) caught and bowled in the second and Pattinson picked up Joe Denly after tea.

Nathan Lyon had no success, but looked more dangerous in the earlier sessions.

It was hard work for the seamers, with Cummins and Siddle sending down 21 overs and Pattinson 17. Not the sort of workload the side wants to put into its bowlers with 16 wickets to get in the first Test.

Match blog below — how day two unfolded:

3.30am: Stumps

Rory Burns (125) and Ben Stokes (38) survive to the end of day two. Their partnership is worth 73 and has the home team within sight of Australia's first-innings total. James Pattinson has two wickets, while Pat Cummins and Peter Siddle have one apiece. Nathan Lyon bowled the most overs of the Australians but went wicketless.

Steve Smith, left, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft feel the strain on day two. Picture: Getty Images
Steve Smith, left, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft feel the strain on day two. Picture: Getty Images

3.20am: Lyon on the line

The pacemen haven’t had any joy with the new ball so Nathan Lyon is brought into the attack. He manages to get dangerous turn and bounce but a wicket eludes him. It’s been that sort of day for Lyon — he could have had Rory Burns out lbw early on but Australia failed to ask for a review.

Nathan Lyon endured a testing day. Picture: Getty Images
Nathan Lyon endured a testing day. Picture: Getty Images

3am: New ball taken

Pat Cummins is into the 82nd over of the innings and Tim Paine asks for the new rock. Australia need a wicket or two. James Pattinson thinks he has one in the next over. He persuades the skipper to send a rejected lbw shout for a review but it’s not close.

2.30am: Head turn

England are grinding their way towards Australia’s total and the new ball is not far away, so Tim Paine throws the ball to part-timer Travis Head. A relatively tidy over, until a half-tracker is dispatched to the deep cover boundary by Rory Burns. He has 114, Ben Stokes 22 and the deficit is down to 45 runs.

Rory Burns salutes the crowd after reaching his century. Picture: AP
Rory Burns salutes the crowd after reaching his century. Picture: AP

2.08am: CENTURY FOR BURNS!

England opener Rory Burns spends nine balls stuck on 99 before pushing Nathan Lyon to mid-on for a quick single. It’s the left-hander’s first Test ton, and it comes off 224 balls. Burns collected 14 boundaries along the way. He was in the 90s for almost an hour as some tight bowling kept him in check.

1.45am: WICKET!

Another one — this time Pat Cummins strikes, having Jos Buttler brilliantly caught by Cameron Bancroft at third slip for five. Game on.

1.30am: WICKET!

Well, well, well. The change of ball has done the trick for Australia. James Pattinson had it hooping about last over and he gets one to nip back and hit Joe Denly plumb in front. A big wicket for the visiting team.

The umpires inspect the ball during day two of the first Test. Picture: Getty Images
The umpires inspect the ball during day two of the first Test. Picture: Getty Images

1.20am: New ball please!

Officially, the next new cherry isn’t due for another 20 overs, but the Aussies have convinced the umpires that the old one is out of shape. James Pattinson gets his hands on a new-old ball and it’s already showing signs of swinging about. Rory Burns is on 92, Joe Denly has 18 and the deficit is now 95.

1am: And we’re on again

Nathan Lyon is thrown the ball to begin the final session, he’s bowling to Rory Burns. The off-spinner has looked dangerous but doesn’t have a wicket to his name. Tim Paine will be banking on that to change in the next two hours.

12.40am: Tea

England move along to 2-170 at the end of the second session. Rory Burns has 82, while Joe Denly is on nine. The middle stanza produced just the one wicket at a cost of 99 runs — a good spell for the home team.

12.30am: Missed conversion

Joe Root’s latest dismissal means he has 42 half-centuries and 16 centuries in 82-match Test career. Shane Warne, in the commentary booth, suggests that fact is getting into the England captain’s head. By comparison, Steve Smith has 24 Test tons and the same number of 50s.

12.16am: WICKET!

The Aussies finally get their man. Joe Root spoons a drive back down the wicket and Peter Siddle takes a smart one-handed catch to send the batsman on his way for 57. It ends a gritty 132-run stand. Siddle has his first wicket for the match.

12.03am: Fifty for Root

The batsman deflects Pat Cummins to the fine leg boundary, bring up his half-century off 110 balls. Rory Burns has 75 and this partnership looks ominous for Tim Paine’s men.

11.35pm: Ton up

Pat Cummins is clipped away for four by Joe Root to bring up the 100 partnership with Rory Burns. The skipper has 38 of those, Burns 53. The wicket is flattening out and the ball is getting older, so reverse swing and some Lyon magic may be Australia’s best hope for a wicket against this patient pair.

11.20pm: ‘They’ve had a poor game’

The overturned Joe Root dismissal prompts a blunt assessment from former England player, now commentator, David Lloyd. Aleem Dar gave Root out lbw but had to rescind the decision when replays showed the batsman had edged it onto his pads.

“Add that decision to the list (of wrong calls), and it’s a long list,” Lloyd says. “They’ve had a poor game, there is no doubt about it.”

Joe Root requests a review after being given out lbw. Picture: AFP
Joe Root requests a review after being given out lbw. Picture: AFP

11.05pm: Root escapes again!

The Aussies just can’t get Joe Root out. Peter Siddle crashes one into the skipper’s pads and gets the lbw decision. Root again immediately calls for a review and it shows the batsman has nicked it onto his pads. The home fans roar in relief.

10.55pm: Burns on fire

Left-hand opener Rory Burns nudges a fine leg glance to the boundary off Nathan Lyon, bringing up his first Ashes 50. The off-spinner responds with a few dangerous deliveries, including one that bounces and flies off the splice of the bat behind point, but safely. A good battle looms here.

10.40pm: Back underway

The second session begins with Peter Siddle operating to Rory Burns. The veteran right-armer was economical early, conceding just runs from six overs.

Peter Lalor 10.15pm: Close calls lift England

England are in a strong position at lunch on the second day, getting through the first session with the loss of just one wicket.

A wicket that tested the techniques of Australian batsmen on day one seemed to play better and only Jason Roy (10) was found out, cramped by a good delivery from James Pattinson which he pushed to slip.

It was the bowler’s first wicket at this level since early 2016 against New Zealand.

Burns is 41 from 95 deliveries and Root a careful 11no from 57. England are 1-71 at the break.

The seamers didn’t bowl badly, but it was Nathan Lyon who looked the most threatening and there are suggestions that spin may play a big part in this game as it continues.

The slow bowlers took 16 wickets on a similar pitch in a County match at Edgbaston earlier in the summer.

Lyon would have had the scalp of Rory Burns had the Australians referred an lbw in the middle of the session, but for the fourth time in two days a team opted not to call for a review.

Travis Head points at the bails after James Pattinson’s unlucky brush with the off peg. Picture: Getty Images
Travis Head points at the bails after James Pattinson’s unlucky brush with the off peg. Picture: Getty Images

10pm: Lunch

Joe Root (11) and Rory Burns (41) ride their luck as England end the first session on 1-71. Australia’s bowlers have toiled well without luck. Each bowler has been miserly with their economy rate, but Jason Roy is the only scalp to their credit so far.

9.35pm: Root bailed out

An incredible slice of luck for the England skipper. James Pattinson gets what looks like an edge from the right-hander, through to keeper Tim Paine, and is given out. The batsman, on nine, immediately asks for a review and the replay shows the ball scraping off stump, raising the bail slightly but not removing it. Pattinson can’t believe what the big screen is showing! For a moment there, England were 2-53. Not to be.

9.20pm: Anderson gets a workout

No medical update has been given on England’s record wicket-taker Jimmy Anderson but the 37-year-old seamer was seen at the ground doing some exercises, AP reports. He bowled four tight overs for only one run against the Australians before leaving the field and going for a scan on his right calf.

England paceman James Anderson stretches before play. Picture: AP
England paceman James Anderson stretches before play. Picture: AP

9pm: Lyon in wait

The first hour of play has produced one wicket and a few close calls, but not the prodigious swing that England’s bowlers managed on day one. Nathan Lyon looks like he could cause some problems.

8.45pm: Bowling change

First-innings batting hero Peter Siddle comes into the attack, in his first Test spell since October last year. Nathan Lyon is warming up, so it looks like a double change.

Jacquelin Magnay 8.35pm: Skipper steps in

Yesterday’s man of the day, Steve Smith took a smart catch near his boot straps. Joe Root comes in to the sound of boos — no, not really, but it sounds the same.

The Hollies Stand is getting agitated as the cloud cover comes in. Prime time now for Australia’s pace attack to work their magic.

8.25pm: WICKET!

James Pattinson strikes, having Jason Roy well caught by Steve Smith at second slip for 10. Pattinson has been dangerous early, getting the ball to shape away from the openers. It’s the injury-plagued bowler’s first Test wicket since 2016. Smith took a good catch centimetres off the ground. England are 1-22.

Jacquelin Magnay 8.20pm: Annoying ads punted

Television viewers in Britain have been able to watch the Ashes Test without any gambling advertisements following a ban which has come into effect this week.

No gambling advertisements are to be shown during any live sport that begins its broadcast before 9pm.

The gambling ban, which was a voluntary agreement with the gambling industry, came about after concerns about the impact of gambling on children and vulnerable people.

Gambling companies are still permitted to sponsor teams and advertise on hoardings around the ground but are not allowed to broadcast commercials.

The changes were implemented to take effect from this week and be in place not only for the cricket, but for the upcoming start of the Premier League.

However the new ban doesn’t include any horse racing or greyhound broadcasts.

8pm: Fine, sunny on day two

Australia’s batsmen had to contend with overcast conditions ripe for swing bowling but not so much today. It’s a lot brighter as England openers Rory Burns and Jason Roy take to the middle. Pat Cummins and James Pattinson will share the new ball.

England openers Rory Burns and Jason Roy. Picture: AFP
England openers Rory Burns and Jason Roy. Picture: AFP

Umpires under fire

The Decision Review System (DRS) dominated large parts of the opening day of the first Test, with differing results for England and Australia, AAP reports.

On another chastening day in English conditions for many of the tourists’ batsmen, umpires Aleem Dar and Joel Wilson also struggled.

Former Test star Shane Warne labelled the umpiring display horrific.

Dar gave David Warner an early life from the very first ball the opener faced after he failed to spot the faintest of edges to a Stuart Broad delivery that was pouched by Jonny Bairstow.

England opted not to review the decision but did so from the first ball of Broad’s second over, only to burn it when footage showed the delivery would have gone over the stumps.

It was a rare triumph for Dar, who four balls later gave Warner out lbw when the ball was spearing down the leg side.

But surprisingly the New South Welshman, who had little consultation with opening partner Cameron Bancroft, walked back to the pavilion without reviewing the decision.

England went upstairs again to third umpire Chris Gaffney to dismiss Usman Khawaja after the left-hander’s edge behind off Chris Woakes was missed by Dar. Travis Head’s departure was also confirmed by DRS with the South Australian skipper convinced another Woakes delivery was too high, only for Gaffney to uphold Dar’s on-field decision.

Matthew Wade’s luck was also out after he was initially reprieved by Wilson following a huge leg before appeal by Broad.

However Gaffney was forced to overturn the decision with footage showing he was trapped plumb in front of the stumps, and departed with just a run to his name. Australia breathed a huge sigh of relief when Steve Smith, who went on to score 144, successfully overturned an lbw decision by Dar when he appeared to be trapped on the back foot playing no shot when he was on 34.

James Pattinson, who was dismissed for a second-ball duck for lbw by Broad, would have been reprieved had he reviewed, after footage showed the delivery would have missed the stumps.

Peter Siddle had no hesitation in making the T-sign with his bat after being given out when the outstanding Broad thudded the ball into his pads.

Dar’s awful day continued as it was revealed he had failed to see a huge inside edge from the Victorian and was forced to change his decision.

His difficult afternoon then took another turn for the worse in the final hour of play when he was stung by a wasp.

— AAP

Smith makes up for lost time

It was like Steve Smith never left, Peter Lalor writes. It made you wonder how the team ever coped without him.

His triumphant return came in the nick of time for rarely had his team needed him so. Read more here

Steve Smith reaches a century on day one. Picture: AFP
Steve Smith reaches a century on day one. Picture: AFP

Returning hero not done yet

For followers of the Australian team so far this summer, one sound has been constant, Gideon Haigh writes. Clop, clop, clop: it has been the sound of Steve Smith at practice. Read more here

Ashes attract a big audience

The first day of the 2019 Ashes and Steve Smith’s triumphant return to Australian Test cricket caught the attention of television viewers, Zoe Samios writes. Read more here

Interest in the first Australia-England Test is huge. Picture: AFP
Interest in the first Australia-England Test is huge. Picture: AFP

Additional reporting: Jacquelin Magnay and Agencies

More Coverage

Pattinson puts injury behind
Gideon Haigh
Battling Burns rewards faith
Mike Atherton
Read related topics:Ashes

Add your comment to this story

To join the conversation, please Don't have an account? Register

Join the conversation, you are commenting as Logout

More related stories

Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/cricket/ashes-2019-live-australia-vs-england-day-two-first-test-at-edgbaston/news-story/9c8c5b24dd179465a04cda8c59ee270b