Ashes 2nd Test LIVE Score, AUS vs ENG: Steven Smith, Labuschagne see off testing English phase of bowling
Ashes 2nd Test Day 2 LIVE Score, Australia vs England: Jake Weatherald was taking the game away from England with a fine half-century, and it needed a moment of magic from Jofra Archer to send him packing. A fast, full, straight yorker, a toe-crusher that got his man LBW on 72. | Cricket
Earlier, England were wrapped up for 334, adding only nine runs to their overnight total. Marnus Labuschagne's spectacular grab in the outfield removed Jofra Archer, Joe Root stranded on 138* at the other end.
The second day of the opening Test was chaos incarnate in this series. The less said about what happened in Perth, the better, as far as England are concerned. This is a new Test, they have batted well on the opening day, just about hold the advantage with some late hitting, and finally managed to break Joe Root's Aussie duck by seeing him score an excellent century despite coming in to bat as early as the 3rd over.
Root's 135* so far has been the backbone of the innings. He settled things down and helped England fight back from being down 5/2, as he stitched together key back-to-back partnerships with first Zak Crawley then Harry Brook. After Brook's dismissal, England lost their way just a touch: Mitchell Starc did what he has been doing best, just being effective with taking wickets, delivering for Australia whenever he is called upon. Starc took six as England collapsed to 264/9, a score that would have been under-par on a surface where batting is expected to get tougher.
Instead, Jofra Archer joined forces with Root and swung his bat around a little bit, with both batters connection often enough for a 61-run stand overnight. From here, every run will be seen as a bonus, more to put pressure on Australia with.
Now, Day 2 will be about Australia's batting response: can England's bowlers find the way with the pink ball? How will Australia approach this innings? Do England have an answer to Travis Head? And will we have at the very least a heavy favourite by the end of the day, even if the Perth-esque two-day fate is avoided by this match.
Australia vs England 2nd Test Playing XIs
Australia Playing XI: Travis Head, Jake Weatherald, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith (c), Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Brendan Doggett
England Playing XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith (wk), Will Jacks, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer
