The 2023 Ashes series between England and Australia promises to be one for the ages.
The storied rivalry between England and Australia rarely disappoints and it’s been a fascinating watch to see the two sides battle it out..
The first two Tests produced edge-of-the-seat action that went down to the wire. While the first Ashes Test of the summer saw Australia just about edging England at Edgbaston, the second Test at Lord’s was even more dramatic.
Relive the second Ashes Test here
Who won the Ashes second Test?
Australia, who had won a thriller at Edgbaston, managed to outlast England at Lord’s as well and have roared into a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Australia, put in to bat, managed to score 416 in the first innings with star batter Steve Smith scoring a sumptuos ton (110). England, in their reply, were at a comfortable 279/4 before Australia’s concerted short-pitch bowling sparked a collapse. England were bundled out for 325, conceding a lead of 91 runs.
That proved to be vital as Australia scratched their way to 279 in the second innings on the face of a bouncer barrage from the England pacers.
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Set a daunting target of 371, England got off to the worst possible start. Pat Cummins was inspirational as Australia reduced England to 41/4. But Ben Stokes (155) and Ben Duckett (83) mounted a fightback. Despite the latter’s dismissal and the controversial runout of Jonny Bairstow, Stokes kept going, invoking memories of when he single-handedly won a Test at Headingley in 2019.
In fact, Stokes and Broad raised a 108-run stand for the 7th-wicket. When it seemed Aussies had no answer to Stokes’ hard-hitting, he holed out going for a big hit. Once his wicket fell, with the target still 70 runs away, Australia managed to wrap the tail up with ease and go 2-0 up in the series.
Ashes second Test Scorecard
Here’s the scorecard of the second Ashes Test.
Despite Ben Stokes’ heroic effort in the chase, it was Steve Smith who was named the Man of the Match.
When does the third Ashes Test start?
The third Ashes Test between England and Australia will begin on July 6 at Headingley.