More than two hours since our scheduled start time, the Aussies, in the dazzling canary yellow, are cutting striking figures near the boundary in the gloom of Lord’s. We’ll be up and running shortly.
Finally the wait is (almost) over!
Micth Starc has the ball in his hand. My goodness, we’re actually going to get some cricket!
Phil Salt is out there in a jumper, taking guard. Looks like middle and leg if you’re interested.
1st over: England 1-0 (Salt 1, Duckett 0) Starc gets us going and he’s a little leg-side to start. The first delivery pops off a length and thuds Salt’s glove but then the England opener works a single behind square. The left-hander Duckett provides a tantalising angle for Starc who looks to bring a fuller one away from him. Two slips hover. Ducket leans into a flashing drive but doesn’t get hold of it. The last ball is a beauty that almost finds the edge.
2nd over: England 1-0 (Salt 1, Duckett 0) Hazelwood opens the other end and delivers a maiden. He’s such a top quality bowler and he’s on the money immediately, hitting an awkward length and finding a tantalising fourth stump line. Some zip off the pitch means Salt isn’t sure where to play it from and is more or less stuck on his crease. Salt comes out the crease to negate the movement away through the air but he can’t work the single. Lovely bowling.
3rd over: England 7-0 (Salt 1, Duckett 6) Starc almost holds onto a sharp return catch off Duckett from the first ball of the over. Angling in from that slingy left arm, he finds swing away from the left-hander and beats him. Duckett does well though not to follow it and nick off. There’s a wild slash that flies down to deep third for two and another two worked through square leg. Duckett then makes it a hat-trick of twos with a punch through a gap in the covers. Good comeback from the opener.
4th over: England 14-0 (Salt 2, Duckett 10) Duckett climbs into a long-off from Hazlewood who digs in a bumper but the England opener is all over it, rising with the bounce and rolling his wrists as he pulls it for four in front of square. It’s a good retort from Duckett who was well beaten on his outside edge the ball before with a wobble-seam delivery. At the top of the set, Salt tickled a single off his hips.
5th over: England 17-0 (Salt 5, Duckett 10) Starc twice beats Salt who decides he’s going to fight back. A big swoosh gives him two and then a bunt off a yorker ends with a scampered single down the ground. Morally the bowler is winning this battle but Salt endures.
6th over: 23-0 (Salt 11, Duckett 10) Salt is opening up. He trots out his crease and wafts at a tight delivery from Hazlewood that lifts off a good length. It catches a thick outside edge and flies over Steve Smith at second slip for four. Salt swishes at the next ball and doesn’t get anywhere near it. The next is hacked with no feet and dribbles back up the pitch. He’s having a go, no doubt about it. Good fielding in the covers keeps him on strike which means there’s time to get beaten – again – on his outside edge.
7th over: England 33-0 (Salt 12, Duckett 18) Duckett gets a life as Starc’s extra bounce off the deck means the lbw shout is turned down on review. Starc was confident but Joel Wilson was unmoved. The umpire’s decision meant that even though it might have been clipping the bails, Duckett remained not-out.
He then spanked Starc over cover for four, lofted another over mid-on for three and was almost caught on the leg side after a leading edge that ended with Duckett diving at the non-striker’s end. A direct hit might have seen him gone.
An eventful over adds 10 to the total.
Duckett survives a lbw review! Starc pinned him on the crease but the umpire’s decision was not-out. Had Joel Wilson given it Duckett would’ve been on his way. Umpire’s call on height keeps England’s opening pair intact.
8th over: England 35-0 (Salt 13, Duckett 19) After getting pulled for four, Hazlewood goes back to line and length and it’s effective. Duckett faces four balls but can’t work a gap. On his fifth he squeezes a single past a diving backward point. Salt keeps the strike and closes out the powerplay with a single of his own.
9th over: England 47-0 (Salt 22, Duckett 21) Abbott comes into the attack but can’t find his line. His first two balls are wide outside off stump and Salt lashes them both to the point boundary. Abbott straightens and Salt then picks a single off his pads. Duckett inside-edges and almost gets four, but Carey, diving at fine leg, keeps it to two. A leg-bye off the final ball means it’s an expensive start for Abbott.
10th over: England 49-1 (Duckett 21, Jacks 1) Quality again from Hazlewood. Just one run – to the new man Jacks who punched past cover – and the wicket. What a bowler. England might want to get a move on now and target Abbott at the other end.
Hazlewood deserves that! He’s been so tight, forcing the England batters to manufacture something and this time he’s snagged the breakthrough. Salt advances, looking to hit the bowler off his length, but he cramps himself and squirt a drive to backward point where Marnus holds on well to one that was dropping on him.
11th over: England 56-1 (Duckett 27, Jacks 1) Duckett survives his second lbw review and then responds by thwacking Abbott’s half-volley down the ground for four. A two worked off the back foot keeps his score ticking along. Jacks adds a single with a punch through the covers.
Big shout for lbw as Abbott pulls out the celebrappeal! Again Joel Wilson says not out as Duckett is pinned on the stumps. Height isn’t the problem this time. That pitched outside the line of leg stump. Australia lose a review.
12th over: England 63-1 (Duckett 32, Jacks 3) The skipper, Mitch Marsh, is into the attack. He’s got a ring field and is looking to bowl wicket to wicket. Duckett wafts at a full ball and though he looks a little awkward he gets a big piece of it and creams it past the wide mid-off for four. A tickle down to fine leg from Duckett, a caress to deep backward point from Jacks and a wide down the leg side add a combined three runs to the score.
13th over: England 69-1 (Duckett 33, Jacks 8) Abbott continues and he continues to get a pasting. He strays onto Jacks’ pads and is nonchalantly flicked for four through midwicket. Two singles elsewhere means its’s not the worst return, but Marsh would have wanted greater control from his change bowler.
And another for Marnus! Sure, there was movement away through the air and off the seam, but that is a tame end for Jacks who swatted as this one without any real shape or intent. Not a half-volley by any stretch, he still chucked his hands as it lifted off the deck. The movement meant it caught the outside half of the bat but the batter must shoulder some blame himself. Smart grab from Labuschagne.
14th over: England 72-2 (Duckett 33, Brook 1) Earlier Morgan said that this Lord’s pitch can sometimes be tricky, which means that batters can’t (and shouldn’t) tee off, but England are in a bit of bother now. Tidy bowling from Marsh who has found some tasty movement. Jacks, who picked up a couple earlier in the over with a hack over point, smacked his bat in frustration after getting out. The new man is Brook who gets off the mark with a single into the off-side.
15th over: England 81-2 (Duckett 36, Brook 7) Starc back into the attack. He’s angling it into Duckett, who clips to midwicket for three, and away from Brook, who smokes one to the sweeper in the covers for one. Too full from Starc, but perhaps that’s an over-correction after his first ball which was absolute dross and got feathered down to fine leg off Brook’s tickling blade.
16th over: England 92-2 (Duckett 37, Brook 16) Brook is cooking. His skips down the track and clips Marsh’s first ball fir four through midwicket. A pair of singles gets him back on strike and then the England captain unfurls the shot of the day, shifting his weight back and half-driving, half-punching off the back foot to the straight midwicket boundary. That is not an easy shot to play and is always a sign of a batter in form. A wide down the leg side, which Brook attempts to scoop, means it’s 11 off that Marsh over.
17th over: England 97-2 (Duckett 40, Brook 18) Starc is aiming for that magic yorker but can’t find it. When he did bang it in shorter he lost his line but that still seemed to get the wicket he was after. Brook flicked it, Inglis caught it diving forward behind the stumps, but only on the half-volley. The umpire’s own review saved the England skipper. Five singles from every other ball has the scoreboard ticking along. They’re going at 5.7 to the over. They might want to accelerate once they get back from a drinks break.
Another controversial moment at the Home of Cricket! Brook tickled Starc down the leg side and Inglis dived forward and caught it. Or so he thought. On review the ball bounced an inch short of his gloves. So Brook remains at the crease and the Lord’s crowd have another reason to show their disdain for an Aussie ‘keeper.
18th over: England 109-2 (Duckett 50, Brook 20) Zampa into the attack and Duckett comes out his crease and pops the wrist-spinner for a wonderfully timed six over mid-on. That was a fantastic show by a man who has taken to this opening slot in the ODI side as if he was made for it. A single – one of four to go along with a couple at the top of the over – takes Duckett to a run-a-ball half-century.
19th over: England 114-2 (Ducket 53, Brook 22) Duckett carves Abbott over backward point but Zampa cuts it off so the good looking stroke is only worth two. There’s a chance for Labuschagne to hit down the stumps with a direct hit, but he misses so Duckett gets a single. There’s also a single from Brook down the leg side.
20th over: England 123-2 (Duckett 53, Brook 31) Zampa tosses it up and Brook unfurls a gorgeous drive that splits the two fielders in the covers. Zampa drops it shorter and Brook rocks onto the back foot and scythes an open-faced drive that pierces the off-side again. Those consecutive fours raises the 50 partnership off just 30 deliveries. This has been brilliant batting and England are gaining a real ascendency in this match.
21st over: England 132-2 (Duckett 58, Brook 35) Ducket grts out the ramp and executes to perfection. He’s in position so early and watches it all the way as he dinks Abbott’s full ball away to the fine leg boundary. Five more runs that were ran (know what I mean) adds up to nine from the over. It’s been one of those innings where you look up and suddenly England are 132-2 after 21 overs.
22nd over: England 145-2 (Duckett 59, Brook 45) Maxwell comes into the attack and his first over costs 13. Australia just can’t get a grip on this. The over starts with a wide and soon enough Brook is whacking two boundaries in two balls. One is a drag down and smacked through the covers. The next is clipped through square leg where the fielders in the deep make a bit of a mess of things. There’s another wide and a single apiece. What a platform England have now. The last five overs have gone for 9.4 an over.
23rd over: England 150-3 (Brook 46, Smith 0) Over to Brook after Duckett falls for a well earned 63. The ball before he spooned Zampa to fine leg, he drilled a boundary through the covers. Zampa was getting some tap but that wicket could prove to be a turning point. We shall see.
The change of ends works for Zampa! That was a fantastic knock from Duckett who played the right shot but for once couldn’t execute. It was there to be swept, so Duckett got low and went for the big ‘un. Perhaps a bit of extra bounce played a role here as the ball caught the top edge of the swishing bat and Abbott at fine leg had the simple task of running in and pouching it.
24th over: England 156-3 (Brook 50, Smith 1) The England skipper follows up a tone in the last match with a half-century here. He’s been brilliant, facing only 37 balls and clattering seven fours. Smith, the new man, shows his intent by charging Marsh but the slog only catches the inside edge and he gets a single off his pads. Brook takes five off the over as he runs two twos, and a single that’s tucked into the leg side.
25th over: England 171-3 (Brook 59, Smith 8) England have targeted Zampa and it’s worked. Both Smith and Brook blast sixes on the on-side. Brook’s was a drag-down from Zampa and deserved what it got, but Smith’s was a stroke of pure class as he pounced on a fuller delivery and sweetly timed it over wide long-on. A quickly run two for Brook closes out the over.
26th over: England 184-3 (Brook 64, Smith 12) Abbott again and he’s just not having his best day out. In fact, he’s not had the best series, has he? There’a a wide down the leg side that trickles past Inglis and costs three runs. Then there’s a slower ball bumper that catches Brook’s top edge but there’s enough wood on it to see it skip down to the fine leg boundary. Otherwise the England duo are in complete control, milking five additional runs from that Abbott set worth 12 to the total.
27th over: 191-3 (Brook 70, Smith 14) There’s a boundary every over now. This time it’s from another short ball from Zampa and Brook cuts hard past Head at deep cover. Four more runs are collecting through good running and accurate placement.
28th over: England 201-3 (Brook 31, Smith 23) Labuschagne into the attack now which is a sign of Australia’s inability to keep things tight. His second ball is in the slot and Smith spanks him back over his head for six. A full toss is smeared into deep cover for two and after a decent response from Marnus, Smith dinks a single from a sweep.
29th over: England 213-3 (Brook 78. Smith 28) It’s all going England’s way. Brook, who kicked off this Zampa over by pulling another boundary to the square leg fence, hits one down to fine leg an easy two. But Inglis took aim at the stumps, hit them and was helpless as the ball continued on its way to the opposite boundary for ‘six’ overthrows. Australia look ragged.
30th over: England 224-3 (Brook 87, Smith 29) Marsh has chucked the ball to Hazlewood to wrestle back some control. He can’t find it. Brook welcomes the big man back into the attack with a premeditated scoop that finds the fine-leg fence. Two balls later Brook spins as he pulls to find the big gap at deep square leg and pings it perfectly. Hazlewood fights back well by finding a tricky length and a bit of nip back into the right hander and keeps a free-hit tidy after over-stepping.
31st over: England 232-4 (Smith 36, Livingstone 1) Australia have the wicket they were after but England still on the up. Three twos – all for Smith – as well as a pair of singles either side of the Brook wicket means its a decent haul. Some sharp fielding from Australians in the deep. They’re not giving up.
32nd over: England 241-5 (Livingstone 7) With that I’ll leave with you the great Jimbo Wallace. Over to you Jim
A brilliant grab in the deep ends a stunning knock! Zampa fired it in and Brook obliged by whacking it over his head with some force. But he didn’t quite get the elevation he was after which meant Maxwell was in the game. The ball dipped as it approached him at long-on and almost over-ran it. he adjusted and got his hands down low to grab it before it hit the deck.
One brings two! Smith leans back and tries to slice Maxwell past backward point. But he picks out the tall timber of Hazlewood who holds on. It looked soft but I think that was fair enough. He had to try and force it.
