England’s batting woes continued in the second innings of the first Ashes Test against Australia. England were all-out for 273 runs in the second inning. However, the Englishmen got a lead of 281 runs over the Australians. Still, England’s batting needs some improvement if they want to win the Ashes 2023.
In the second inning, Crawley was out for 7, edging a delivery from Scott Boland to Alex Carey at second slip, while Duckett was caught in the hands of Cameron Green for 19 off the bowling of Pat Cummins.
Ollie Pope and Joe Root were at the crease at lunch. The hosts team hoped their top order could provide some stability in the second half of the day, as they look to build a lead that will give them a chance of winning the match.
However, their batting has been a major concern in the very first match of the series, and they will need to improve if they are to have any chance of regaining the Ashes.
The host lost Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett cheaply in the morning session. Even first-inning centurion Joe Root could not add much to England’s score in the second innings and got out at 46. Captain Stokes strived a bit as he went on to hit 43 runs but failed to capitalize on his inning.
Harry Brook initially looked consistent as his 46 off 52 made a slight impact. Apart from these batsmen, no other batters could bring any impact and the whole team were all out at 273, putting Australia to chase the target of 281.
It is still too early to say whether England will be able to win the first Ashes Test, but their batting woes will need to be addressed if they are to have any chance of success. Australia are currently at 193 with the loss of 6 wickets. They need 88 more runs to win the match.
