Australia’s Steve Smith returned to make 92 after a sickening blow to the neck before England captain Joe Root fell for the first golden duck of his Test career as Pat Cummins took two wickets in two balls on a dramatic fourth day of the second Ashes clash at Lord’s. England were 96-4 in their second innings — a lead of 104 runs — when rain forced an early close on Saturday. [caption id=“attachment_7180461” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Jofra Archer (R), with his searing pace and bounce, set up a thrilling battle with Steve Smith (49) on day four. AP/Alastair Grant[/caption] But with one day left, Australia know early wickets on Sunday could leave them in a position to press for a victory that would put them 2-0 up in a five-match series. England will now look to Ben Stokes, dropped twice on his way to 16 not out, and Jos Buttler (10 not out), to keep Australia at bay. Smith’s 92 was the centrepiece of Australia’s 250 all out in reply to England’s first innings 258. The star batsman had made 80 when he was felled by a bouncer from fast bowler Jofra Archer, making his Test debut, timed at 92.4 mph. The ball struck him on the side of the neck and head. Stuart Broad took 4-65 in 27.3 overs and Woakes 3-61 in 19 while Archer finished with figures of 2-59 in 29. England then suffered an a familiar collapse, Jason Roy, caught and bowled by Cummins (2-16) off a leading edge. Next ball, 9-1 became 9-2 with Root caught behind off a superb delivery. Joe Denly survived the hat-trick before being caught and bowled by Siddle (2-19), who also removed Rory Burns. On the Ashes Daily, Australian journalists Geoff Lemon and Adam Collins are following the action all around England and Wales. Their long weekly podcast The Final Word has been going for five years. Every day, The Final Word will team up with Firstpost to bring you a new episode from wherever Geoff and Adam are on the road. On trains and buses, in pubs, on the street, in parks, on barges floating down rivers, and anywhere else that they might end up. They are also watching an awful lot of cricket, and can summarise all the matches that you didn’t have time to see, or can bring you into the discussion about the ones you did watch. So tune in to enjoy the coverage of one of the oldest rivalries in the history of cricket. With inputs from AFP
In today’s episode of The Final Word Ashes Podcast, Geoff Lemon and Adam Collins discuss an intriguing day four at Lord’s.
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