England batters showcased brilliant on-field prowess on Day 2 of the fourth Ashes 2023 Test after bundling out Australia for 317 on 90.2 overs. England finished the day on a score of 384 with a lead of 67 runs and six wickets still in hand.
Resuming their innings on 299/8, Australia added valuable 18 runs to their total before being bowled out by the hosts. Chris Woakes emerged as the most successful bowler for the English side, bagging an impressive fifer for his team. Stuart Broad also ended with two scalps to his name.
In reply, England lost one of their opener Ben Duckett quite early with just 9 runs on the board. However, Zak Crawley and Moeen Ali then stood up to web a 121-run stand for the second wicket, pushing the Aussie side on the back foot. Moeen contributed 54 runs off 82 deliveries, while Crawley slammed a sensational 189 runs supported by 21 fours and 3 sixes.
After the dismissal of Moeen, Crawley found able support in Joe Root, who added 84 runs. Although the England opener looked well set, he failed to convert his score into a double ton and was dismissed by Cameron Green. On the other hand, Root also missed out on a well-deserved hundred, falling prey to Josh Hazlewood’s unplayable delivery. Root’s dismissal came in a really disappointing manner, and the disbelief was clearly visible on the face of the right-handed batter as he took some time to leave the ground.
It all happened on the first ball of the 62nd over when Hazlewood produced a length ball, and it kept very low with Root not being able to get down on time and the red-leather sneaking in from the toe end of the former England skipper’s bat to crash into the stumps. Root was seen extremely surprised by the in-dipping delivery from the Australian seamer.
Here’s the video:
The only way to get him out 😉
Nothing you can do about those, Joe… #EnglandCricket | #Ashes pic.twitter.com/2RYAhrfHcM
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 20, 2023
Speaking of the match, England are in a stronghold of the position with Ben Stokes (24) and Harry Brook (14) still on the crease.