England v Australia at Lord's
Storified by Ken Borland ·
Sun, Jul 21 2013 08:24:57
Tony Hill must be fired forthwith - The third umpire has clearly brought the game and DRS into total disrepute in this Test. Tony Hill should be removed forthwith from all international cricket if the ICC are serious about running Test cricket and the DRS system properly. Agar being given out caught behind on review is an absolute disgrace. On-field umpire Marais Erasmus gave Agar not out, but England reviewed. HotSpot showed nothing, there was absolutely no shred of evidence to overturn Erasmus's decision, but that's what Hill does. For heaven's sake ICC, sort this technology/DRS debacle out!!!! According to TV commentators, Hill said there was a clear deflection and a noise. The deflection was because the ball hit the footmarks - they've gone to gully from there today - and as for a noise, again, how on earth can Hill overturn the on-field decision??? There's not much wrong with the DRS system, it's just being operated by absolute incompetent buffoons.
Ashton Agar c Prior b Bresnan 16 (13b, 4x4)
Australia 154-7 Haddin 1*, 28.1 overs left today
The condemned Australians resume after tea with two batsmen at the crease who haven't yet faced a ball - Brad Haddin and Ashton Agar.
Tea - Australia 136-6 (50.5 overs) Brad Haddin 0*. 122.1 overs left
Graeme Swann 17-3-44-2, Joe Root 4-1-8-2
So a session that started so well for Australia ended disastrously with three quick wickets for England. Joe Root was once again at the centre of the action, but credit too to Alastair Cook for some clever captaincy.
England are now odds on for a massive four-day victory, their biggest in terms of runs since beating Australia by 675 runs in Brisbane in 1928.
Bresnan chips in - Steven Smith drives loosely at a back-of-a-length ball from Tim Bresnan that just shapes in a bat and is given out caught behind. England were very confident, while Smith immediately reviewed and clearly doesn't think he hit it. But HotSpot shows a little scratch on the inside edge and there was a noise as well, so umpire Marais Erasmus was correct.
Steve Smith c Prior b Bresnan 1 (14b)
Two for Root - Joe Root has actually been turning the ball too much, beating the outside edge and spinning the ball out of the rough to the slips. So now he bowls a straighter line, the ball drifts in nicely before turning away to find the edge of Usman Khawaja's forward-defensive, looping a catch to second slip.
Usman Khawaja c Anderson b Root 54 (133b, 7x4)
Australia 135-5 Smith 1*; 123 overs left
Clarke Rooted out - What a Test Joe Root is having as the second-string off-spinner removes the Australian captain! Root pitched in the footmarks just outside Clarke's leg stump and he went for the glance, which was not the brightest shot considering where the ball pitched and that England captain Alastair Cook had just moved himself into leg-slip, taking a sharp catch.
Michael Clarke c Cook b Root 51 (85b, 7x4)
Australia 134-4 Khawaja 54*; 125.4 overs left
Timely 50 for skipper - Beleaguered captain Michael Clarke gets a timely half-century as he throws his bat at a very wide delivery from Tim Bresnan and gets it down to third man for four. He's been at the crease for nearly two hours and faced 80 balls, hitting seven fours. How important is that missed stumping by Matt Prior when Clarke had just two? Obviously not in terms of this Test, but the rest of the series and Clarke's future ...
Khawaja 50 - The rookie Khawaja has done a great job for his team and he notches his second Test 50 as he works off-spinner Joe Root off his pads through midwicket for a couple of runs. He's faced 113 balls and batted for 146 minutes, stroking six fours. Compact and composed, Khawaja's lifted some of the gloom around Australia's batting. Australia 121-3 Clarke 42*
Good first hour after lunch - Australia have moved on to 104 for three. Usman Khawaja has stuck it out well, with Swann bowling into plenty of rough outside his off stump, to get to 40*, while Michael Clarke is starting to fire on 35*, having been tested by some fiery short bowling from Stuart Broad. Australia only have another 134 overs to survive ...
100 up in fine fashion - Michael Clarke dispatches a shortish delivery from Jimmy Anderson outside off stump for four, slapping it through cover-point in fine fashion. 101-3 Khawaja 38*
Clarke worked over - Usman Khawaja has successfully pulled Stuart Broad for three boundaries, but the paceman, who also needs two wickets to become just the fourth bowler to take 50 wickets at Lord's, is really working Michael Clarke over with the short ball. He hits the Australian captain square on the badge of the helmet with a lifter, and Clarke tries to hook the next delivery, but it is an unconvincing stroke bringing just a single to square-leg. That brings up the 50 partnership. 86-3 Khawaja 36* Clarke 21*
The other bowlers to take 50 wickets at Lord's are Ian Botham (69), Fred Trueman (63) and Jimmy Anderson (60).
The leading overseas bowler at Lord's is Glenn McGrath with 26 wickets in three Tests, while Allan Donald is the leading South African with 12 in his two Tests there.
An eventful over - Usman Khawaja drives Graeme Swann to mid-off and hares off for the single, colliding with Swann at the other end and sending him to the ground with a painful blow in the lower back. Swann has gone down like a sack of potatoes but is up soon enough to bowl again. Michael Clarke immediately comes down the pitch and lofts the off-spinner inside mid-off for four. Clarke is down the pitch again to the next ball, but this time an inside-edge on to pad loops just over silly point. 65-3, 149 overs left
Australia edge past 50 - Australia start the second session with a boundary first ball after lunch. But it's edged through the slips as Usman Khawaja pushes forward to a Stuart Broad delivery angled across him. At least Khawaja kept the thick edge down. He also pulls for four later in the over.
Lunch - Australia 48-3 (22 overs) Khawaja 8* Clarke 11*
Swann 7-3-10-2
Australia's top-order has failed once again and look all at sea against a quality bowling attack. Top-quality Test batsmen should not be getting out as easily as Watson, Rogers and Hughes did.
The mental disintegration is clearly shown by how Watson, trying to fix his lbw problem, changed his guard from middle/middle & leg to leg stump for this innings. But that just made him even more of an lbw candidate as it made it harder for him to get outside the line of off-stump!
Australia have 151 overs left in order to survive, but they will be fortunate to last the 61 overs remaining today.
It could have been worse - Oh boy, Australia are fortunate their captain, best batsman and best player of spin, Michael Clarke is not out for just two as Matt Prior misses a stumping. Clarke came down the pitch, as he enjoys doing against spinners, but Graeme Swann's delivery went straight on, past the outside edge and hit the wicketkeeper on the inside of the knee. A wicket then and Australia would surely have succumbed today already.
Hughes out, one review gone - Graeme Swann gets another and it's a classic modern dismissal of the left-hander by the off-spinner. Phil Hughes is thrusting the front foot down the pitch and defending, but now Swann doesn't go for the footmarks but bowls a straighter ball, it straightens enough and Hughes is out lbw. He tries for the review but that shows the ball hitting leg stump.
Phil Hughes lbw b Swann 1 (21b)
Australia 36-3 Khawaja 7*; 157.3 overs left
Swann strikes immediately - Danger man Graeme Swann takes just five balls to strike and it's another embarrasing dismissal for Chris Rogers. The off-spinner is bowling around the wicket to the left-hander and Rogers decides to leave a delivery that pitches just outside off. Unfortunately for the batsman, it's the one that goes straight on and the angle takes it into off-stump.
Chris Rogers b Swann 6 (29b)
Australia 32-2 Khawaja 6*; 163.1 overs left
Familiar tale - Shane Watson steps forward boldly and drives Jimmy Anderson through the covers for four. He tries the same thing to the next delivery, but this time Anderson gets the ball to nip back in at the right-hander and now that planted front leg is a liability. Watson vainly tries to get bat to ball, but he can't get around that leg and is once again trapped lbw. Chris Rogers asks him about a review but Watson forlornly shakes his head ... there was no way he was going to review that after the furore on the second day. And quite rightly too as it was plumb.
Shane Watson lbw b Anderson 20 (23b, 3x4)
Australia 24-1 Rogers 4*; 166.2 overs left
Stuart Broad opens the bowling from his favoured Nursery End, needing just one wicket to become the 15th Englishman to take 200 Test wickets. It's his 59th game and his current average of 30.91 would be the third-highest of the 200 club, ahead of Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison.
Shane Watson takes first strike against Jimmy Anderson as Australia look to bat for 172 overs.
Watson has made starts in his previous two innings but, typically, has failed to go on. He's under pressure to perform.
He's off the mark with a thick edge between gully and the slips for four off Anderson's second delivery.
