Australia survive late onslaught to get draw
The second Ashes Test was drawn as Australia, chasing 267 to beat England, ended on 154 for six after an absorbing final day at Lord’s on Sunday.
Player-of-the-match Ben Stokes made a brilliant unbeaten 115 and England declared on 258 for five before Jofra Archer claimed two early wickets to give the hosts the sniff of an unlikely victory.
But Marnus Labuschagne, replacing Steve Smith as test cricket’s first substitute, made 59 and Travis Head an unbeaten 42 to lead the Australians to safety and keep them 1-0 up in the series.
Smith was ruled out of the final day suffering from concussion symptoms after being struck on the neck by an Archer bouncer on Saturday and Labuschagne was hit on the helmet by the second ball he faced from the Barbados-born fast bowler.
The 25-year-old was able to continue batting, however, showing courage and composure under intense pressure to reach his second test fifty in his sixth match.
Labuschagne was caught by Joe Root off Leach, the England captain diving forward to clutch the ball before a lengthy video review to confirm it had not touched the ground. The right-hander fumed after the decision, exchanging words with Root and others but eventually walked off.
However, Australia captain Tim Paine was proud of the result and did not kick up as much of a fuss about the dismissal.
“Look, I can only see what I’ve seen [of Root’s catch]. As cricketers, you dive forward, you catch those balls, in Joe’s position I’d say I’d caught that and that’s the way it goes. Part of becoming a good team is being able to get draws out of days like today,” Head said.
He also reserved praise for Labuschagne, saying: “Really pleasing to see him do that -- to get 150ks in the face and then stand up was really pleasing.”
Archer, who walked away with five wickets, including crucial second-innings wickets of David Warner, Usman Khawaja and Travis Head, received praise from Head, as well as from Root and Stokes.
Stokes also reflected on what he called a ‘great game’. “It was nice to get a hundred. We fought incredibly hard there towards the end. Fair play to Australia for holding out. That’s why it’s the best format to play -- ups and downs emotionally throughout five days, but it’s the pinnacle of any cricketer’s ambition,” Stokes said.
SCORES IN BRIEF
ENGLAND: First innings 258 and second innings 258 for 5 decl (Stokes 115 not out, Buttler 31; Cummins 3-35, Siddle 2-54)
AUSTRALIA: First innings 250 and second innings 154 for 6 (Labuschagne 59, Head 42 not out; Archer 3-32, Leach 3-37)
Result: Match drawn.
Player-of-the-match: Ben Stokes.
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