Day-Night Ashes Test: Australia in command over England
What's the story
Australia currently have an upper hand over England in the ongoing second Ashes Test, a Day-Night affair, which is underway at The Gabba, Brisbane. England scored 334/10 in the first innings, with Joe Root remaining unbeaten on 138. In response, Australia were at 378/6 at stumps on Day 2 - leading by 44 runs. Australia's top-order batters were among runs as Marnus Labuschagne, Jake Weatherald, and Steve Smith got fifties. Here is the Day 2 report.
Information
England perished for 334
England, who resumed at 325/9, concluded at 334/10 early on Day 2 after Jofra Archer's dismissal for 38 off 36 balls. Root returned unbeaten on 138* off 206 balls -his maiden Test ton Down Under. Brendan Doggett had put the final nail in the coffin.
Match highlights
A strong response from Australia
In response, Australian openers Travis Head (33) and Weatherald batted aggressively and added 77 runs in quick time before Head departed. Weatherald further added 69 runs with Labuschagne for the second wicket. The former then stitched 50 runs with Smith before departing. The stand-in Aussie skipper took his team near 300 with a 95-run stand with Cameron Green (45). Some late strikes in the day allowed England to bounce back as Australia went from 291/3 to finish at 378/6.
Bowling performance
Carse took three wickets on the day
England's bowling attack was led by Brydon Carse, who took three wickets for 113 runs in his 17 overs. He dismissed Cameron Green (45), Steve Smith (61), and Josh Inglis (21). While Ben Stokes (2/93) also chipped in with a couple of wickets, Archer (1/74) claimed the remaining scalp. Meanwhile, Alex Carey (46 off 45) and Michael Neser (15* off 30) returned as unbeaten batters. The former's aggressive approach tightened his team's grip over the game.
Weatherald
Weatherald hammers his maiden Test fifty
Weatherald's 72 off 78 balls saw him smoke 12 fours and a six. The batter, who managed scores worth 0 and 23 on his Test debut, recorded his 27th fifty in First-Class cricket, as per ESPNcricinfo. He also owns 13 tons with a best score of 198. Playing his 79th FC game, Weatherald has raced to a total of 5,417 runs at 37-plus.
Labuschagne
Labuschagne becomes 1st player with this record
Labuschagne made 65 off 78 balls, a knock laced with nine fours and a six. During his stay, the Australian became the first cricketer in history to score over 1,000 runs in Day/Night Tests. The batter, who is playing his 10th pink-ball game, has an impressive average of 63.93 in these Tests. He has now raced to 1,023 runs as his tally includes four tons and five fifties.
Stats
4,500 runs in Test cricket
With his fifth run, Labuschagne went past 4,500 runs in Test cricket. As per ESPNcricinfo, Labuschagne reached the 4,500-run mark (now 4,560) in his 60th Test appearance, as he averages 46.53 in the format. The right-handed batter has scored 11 centuries and 25 half-centuries in his career so far. He has also completed 1,141 runs in 16 Ashes Tests at 42.25. The tally includes nine fifties and a couple of tons.
Smith
Smith becomes 4th Australian with this milestone
Smith's 85-ball 61 had five fours and two sixes. During his stay, Smith became the fourth Australian batter with 10,500-plus runs in Tests. Having played 121 matches, Smith has completed 10,557 Test runs at 55.85. His record includes an impressive 36 centuries and 44 half-centuries. Root (13,689) is the only active batter with more Test runs than Smith.
Smith
Seventh 50-plus score in Day-Night Tests
This was Smith's seventh 50-plus score in Day-Night Tests as he also owns a hundred. He has raced to 876 runs across 14 games in this regard at 38.08. Only Labuschagne (1,023) has more runs in pink-ball Tests. In the Ashes, he has scored 3,497 runs at 55.50. This includes 14 fifties and 12 tons.