Teams:
Australia (Playing XI): Cameron Bancroft, David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Matthew Wade, Tim Paine(w/c), Pat Cummins, Peter Siddle, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
England (Playing XI): Rory Burns, Jason Roy, Joe Root(c), Joe Denly, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow(w), Chris Woakes, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, Jack Leach
Australia have won the toss and have opted to field
Joe Root: We were looking to bowl first as well. Very good surface, get through that early phase and hopefully get a big score. Might be a good toss to lose, and it still won’t change our approach and we are looking to put up a big first innings score. Forced change with Jimmy and Jack Leach comes in for Moeen Ali.
Tim Paine: We are gonna have a bowl first. Bit of weather around and the wicket has been under and also its gonna be a shortened game. We got one change, Hazlewood comes in for Pattinson and Josh’s got a great record here and its going to be exiciting to see him today morning. We want to make sure that James plays for Australia for the next 4-5 years, fitness is our main priority and that’s why we rested him.
Vish’s corner: Sam Curran is the man to miss out from England’s 12-man squad, meaning Joe Denly and Jack Leach play, along with debutant Jofra Archer. Australia, as per yesterday, have brought in Josh Hazlewood to rest James Pattinson.
ICYMI: No early start means an extra half-hour shall be added towards the end of each of the remaining four days to make up for lost time. Enough time to get a result, eh?
10:30pm local, 03:00pm IST: ‘Weather set fair for play today‘ reports our correspondent Vithushan Ehantharajah from the ground. We are hearing murmurs that the pitch has lesser grass and as compared to the Ireland Test and with just four days of play left in this Test, do you agree with Time Paine’s decision to bowl first?
10:15am local, 02:45pm IST: Start..camera..rolling..action…#Take2…off we go. Hello and welcome to the scheduled second day’s play of the Ashes fever. First up, it’s going to be a special day at Lord’s with most fans expected to turn up in red for the inaugural Ruth Strauss Foundation Day – a special occasion which attempts to raise awareness and funds for rare forms of lung cancer. The players too shall sport commemorative red caps and wear red numbers on the back of their shirts. Andrew Strauss and Glenn McGrath, recently, spoke in length about the challenges a family (the kids in particular) faces whilst soaking all shades of emotions. There’s lot more to this great initiative than meets the eye. Brace up, it indeed is a special day at the Home of cricket…
4.20pm local, 8.50pm IST: That’s it for the day, play has been abandoned, not that we got any in the first place. Weather should be much better tomorrow. It’s still a 11am start, with an extra half-hour added towards the end of each of the remaining four days to make up for lost time. Let’s hope the quality of cricket compensates for it too. That’s all for now. Goodbye!
3.15pm local, 7.45pm IST: Not very promising from Vithushan: “Just as we were all getting excited about Jofra Archer being presented his England Test cap by Chris Jordan as the pitch was mowed and rolled, the rains have returned. As we speak, they might be heavier than they have been for any other time today.”
2.55pm local, 7.25pm IST: Chris Jordan gives Archer his Test cap, which is such a nice touch considering the role he’s played in shaping his career. Meanwhile, it has started spitting againat Lord’s and they’ve covered the pitch. Looks like another delay coming up.
2.40pm local, 7.10pm IST: Lo and behold, we have a start time! Umpires have scheduled play for 3.30pm local, with the toss at 3pm. Weather permitting, play can go on until as late as 7.30pm, with a total of 48 overs lined up. That’s still very sizeable, considering how bleak it was looking not so long back.
2.10pm local, 6.40pm IST: One inspection begets another. Umpires have had a look and will assess the conditions again at 2.30pm local.
1.40pm local, 6.10pm IST: An update from the Lord’s Twitter account: “It has currently stopped raining at Lord’s, so there will be a pitch inspection at 2pm.” Hope this inspection doesn’t meet the same fate as the previous one.
12.45pm local, 5.15pm IST: It’s just one of those days folks. An early lunch has been taken for obvious reasons and let’s hope the rain takes a break too. More updates as and when we have it. Time to swipe the food menu for now…
12.00pm local, 4.30pm IST: Nothing new to report, won’t be for a while yet, if at all. Although we do have the above Peter Siddle interview to lift the gloom momentarily, wherein he tells Bharat Sundaresan how this is the most relaxed he’s felt in an Australian setup.
Let’s come back to Smith, who must’ve faced a few thousand balls in the week preparing for this Test. He had a double-hundred in his previous outing here in 2015. Australia, in general, do well at Lord’s. So, in a way, the roles have reversed from Edgbaston, with England now having to overcome past history. And they’ll have to do it without their leading wicket-taker this year, having left out Moeen Ali. You’re only as good as your last game, they say. England took it too seriously. Anyway, it allows them to test Jack Leach against Smith, who averages in the mid-30s against left-arm spin. Dare I say they’re reaching.
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