Coral’s Ashes 2nd Test at Lord’s update LIVE! England v Australia

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Coral’s live updates from the Ashes 2nd Test at Lord’s, London. England v Australia.

Day Five

No action, England lost.

Day Four

Thank you for joining us on our live Ashes blog, catch us back in Edgbaston for the third Test from July 29th – 3rd August.

Best performers of the Test at Lord’s:

Australia
Steve Smith – 215 runs in first innings
Chris Rogers – 173 first innings
David Warner – 83 second innings

Mitchell Johnson – match bowling figures of 6-8

England
Alastair Cook – 96 first innings
Ben Stokes – 87 first innings

Stuart Broad – first innings figures of 4-83

A number of factors could have swayed this second Test, including Bell dropping Steve Smith on 50 in the first innings, but no can argue the Aussies were by far the better team.

(16:41) ALL OUT! England bowled out for 103 as Australia level the series at 1-1. Hazlewood gets the last wicket after clean bowling last batsman James Anderson. Baggy Greens wins by a whopping 405 runs.

This guy sure knows how to get out of an impossible fight, maybe the England side should watch it back…

(16:31) WICKET! Might as well get it done with, Root gives up and is clean bowled by Hazlewood.

(16:27) WICKET! From brief high to devastating low, Broad (25) is out the next ball, caught by Voges at cover off Lyon’s delivery.

(16:26) 100 UP! Well England have at least avoided being skittled out in double figures. Broad smashes a six to take the hosts to 101-7.

Changing sports briefly – we might as well – to lift up British fans’ hopes. GB have reached the tennis Davis Cup semis after Andy Murray defeated Gilles Simon of France to give his side an unreachable 3-1 lead. It’s the first time they’ve made it to the last four since 1981.

(16:21) Root (17) and bowler Stuart Broad in bat now. 91-7.

Elsewhere in the cricketing world, Jonny Bairstow has just scored a century for Yorkshire in the County Championship. We may be seeing him in the next Test at Edgbaston. Former England football goalkeeper Nigel Martyn certainly thinks so…

As a result of England’s collapse, Coral have suspended the match betting. You can still find in-play odds here, though.

(16:05) WICKET! Another one bites the dust. Johnson on fire as he grabs his third wicket after forcing Ali to hit to short leg. 64-7.

(16:00) WICKET! First ball after tea, and Buttler edges to the keeper off Johnson. 64-6.

(16:00) Evening session begins.

Here is that run-out again…

(15:42) TEA. There will be a lot of heads pointing to the ground in the England dressing room during tea, but they have to do something to at least make the Aussies nervous. 64-5.

If I can borrow a phrase from former football manager Neil Warnock to his Huddersfield Town against Shrewsbury Town at half-time in 1994/95, the England team really have been “soft as s***” in this second Test. Woeful all-round performance by the hosts at the Home of Cricket.

(15:33) WICKET! From bad to just embarrassing and stupid. Stokes (0) is run out after forgetting to plant his bat or foot or anything! He’s skipping in the air! Johnson with a brilliant throw. 52-5.

(15:30) 50 UP! It has seemed an age, but England finally ave 50 on the board. 50-4 now, only 457 runs to win…

(15:27) WICKET! Another under-pressure batsman that fails this innings, Bell goes for 11 after hitting onto his pad before being caught out off spinner Nathan Lyon. 48-4.

Interesting stat…

Very, very true. However, wouldn’t get your hopes up too much.

(15:06) DROPPED! Voges can’t hold onto a difficult catch after Bell edges off Johnson. England are lucky, and remain on 46-3.

If you fancy Joe Root (currently on 1) to reach 75 runs this innings, take tempting odds of 29/10 in Coral’s in-play betting.

The three Mitchells (and Peter Nevill) are certainly on fire today…

They say a good Yorkshire means a good England, but Lyth and Ballance have been less than useful this series so far, managing just 148 runs between them in their first four innings.

(14:45) WICKET! Just after the drinks break, Ballance (yup you guessed it) caught behind and is the next to go for 14 off Mitchell Marsh’s bowling. England now 42-3.

(14:21) Big innings’ needed from Ballance (7) and Bell (9), whose places in the team are seriously under threat! England are 34-2 and 474 runs behind.

Johnson is targeting another that is heavily under pressure this series, Ian Bell.

England top order failing once again, hate to agree with him but maybe Mr Morgan’s obsession for Kevin Pietersen is for a reason…

(14:07) WICKET! Both openers out now, as Cook (11) is caught behind too. Mitchell Johnson with the wicket. 23-2.

The Baggy Greens are attempting to pile the pressure on already with a number of fielders in close.

Aussies already counting down to victory…

(13:47) WICKET! Lyth (7) goes cheaply yet again this series. He edges to the keeper off Mitchell Starc’s delivery. 12-1.

(13:40) Afternoon session begins. 152 overs to go in this Test, England are 501 runs behind and currently on 7-0. Josh Hazlewood bowling to Lyth after the break.

We’ll leave you with this until play re-starts…

(13:01) LUNCH. Phew, England fans can relax… for now. The hosts make it to lunch on 7-0 (Lyth 2, Cook 5).

Great stat here…

(12:52) Early LBW scare for England, but Cook edges it anyway.

(12:49) England’s second innings begins. Just over 10 minutes until lunch.

Openers Adam Lyth and Cook walk out to the middle now. The likes of Lyth, Gary Ballance and Ian Bell are surely playing for their places for the next Test. Cook will be gutted not to get a century in the first innings, while Joe Root will be hoping to bounce back after going for just 1 last time out. It’s all set, c’mon England!

As Geoffrey Boycott would say, keeping digin!

The pitch still looks good, as Australia just proved. England need 509 to win (odds of 16/1), though the Baggy Greens are heavy favourites at 1/6. With a day-and-a-half left, a draw at 5/1 seems unlikely now.

(12:40) Australia declare. After smashing their way to a 508-run lead, the visitors declare on 254-2 to put England into bat just before lunch.

(12:38) Six runs! And they’ve surpassed the lead of 500, Marsh hitting two consecutive sixes helps the Aussies 508 runs ahead.

(12:37) With just under 25 minutes to go until lunch, Australia now well on course to get a 500-plus lead. They are currently on 240-2 (Clarke 31, Mitchell Marsh 14), and are ahead by 494.

Update on Rogers, following his retirement from the innings on 49 after suffering from dizziness. He will continue to be monitored, but it seems nothing serious.

To be fair, Fred did call it…

(12:19) WICKET! Smith’s charge ends, though, as Ali clean bowls him for 58 off just 48 balls after he went for another big hit. Great innings.

(12:18) Aussies now lead by 463. 209-1 (Smith 58, Clarke 14).

(12:14) HALF CENTURY! Smith continues his fine form by reaching 50 in strange fashion, inside edging it.

Australia continuing to hit out, as they aim for a lead of around 500. Can they do it before lunch?

Well said again fictional character Fred…

Australia attacking the England bowlers now as they attempt to up their run-rate. Smith (37) and Clarke (6) really giving it some welly, although can’t quite get it over the boundary yet. 180-1, lead of 434.

(11:49) WICKET! Good catch by Alastair Cook off Moeen Ali to get Warner (83) out. Aussies now 165-1, lead by 419.

Oh, spoke too soon. Here’s Shane Warne now into the Sky Sports commentary box… Mute your TVs and follow the Coral live feed, it’s the only way!

(11:30) There’s something about Michael Holding’s calm, soothing voice that makes you forget that England are losing heavily. Australia now onto 133-0 (Warner 67, Smith 12).

(11:10) Moment of worry from players and the crowd as Rogers (49) signals to come off the pitch seemingly due to dizziness. Steve Smith replaces him, let’s hope he’s alright.

(11:00) PLAY BEGINS. James Anderson bowls to Chris Rogers.

Coral are now offering odds of 9/2 for a draw here in the in-play betting, while Australia are heavy odds-on favourites at 1/6. If you fancy England to do the impossible then back them at 20/1 for victory.

Cricket fan Piers Morgan is already up and expressing his affection for Kevin Pietersen, following England’s continued top order collapse.

As it stands, Australia didn’t enforce England to follow-on, and openers Chris Rogers (44) and David Warner (60) are comfortably increasing their lead by 362 runs after closing the day on 108-0 in their second innings.

(9:45) Good morning cricket fans, are you ready for another day of Ashes action? Will Australia continue their dominance at Lord’s, or can England fight back and save the (next two) day(s)?

Day Three

We’ll leave you with this; sums up England’s performance in this second Test…

That’s it for today folks, join us here tomorrow with day four’s action of the Ashes.

(18:30) PLAY ENDS. Australia finish the day in bat on 108-0, with a lead of 362. Rogers on 44 and Warner with 60.

(18:28) Finally a cheer for the England fans, however at the expense of some poor women in the crowd that was caught on camera missing her seat as she sat down. It gave even enemies Joe Root and David Warner a moment to share a laugh about.

(18:25) 100 UP. 103-0, Aussies continue their lead by 357 now, with the close of play nearing.

(18:18) HALF CENTURY! Warner passes 50 (51 off 71) to take Australia to 91-0.

Rogers (37) and Warner (36) showing England that the pitch is still perfectly decent to bat on. 74-0, lead by 328.

Cricket-related news… Scotland have qualified for the 2016 World Twenty20 after beating Oman. Better news for the nation, after the golf Open Championship in St Andrews is enduring some terrible weather to disrupt the event.

(17:55) Both batsmen on 31 as Aussies reach 63-0.

Can we rewind back to Cardiff when Aussies were not so smug?

(17:36) The lead is now up to 300 for the Aussies. A win is all-but out the window for England, they just need to hope for rain and that the pitch will stay flat for their second innings.

Australia looking comfortable now after a couple shaky shots early on. 27-0 (Rogers 16, Warner 10).

Some sledging going on in the Sky Sports commentary box between England and Aussie legends. Someone’s dug up these old photos…

(16:56) Dropped! Poor attempt at a catch in the slips by Adam Lyth after David Warner edges.

(16:45) Aussies second innings begins. Chris Rogers, who got a whopping 173 in the first innings, faces the first ball to James Anderson (wicket-less so far in this Test).

Go with Coral in the in-play Ashes betting. England are 20/1 to win this Test, while the Aussies are heavily odds-on at 2/9. A draw is a very tempting 7/2.

Good-ish news for the hosts, though, as they won’t be asked to follow-on. Clarke has decided to give some of his players a rest and bat with over two days to go. Is that wise, with rain forecast tomorrow and the pitch still looking fairly good?

(16:35) ALL OUT! Johnson now gets his third wicket as he forces Broad to edge to the slips. England finish their innings on 312.

(16:23) WICKET! Hazlewood gets his third wicket of the innings to bowl out Wood (4). 306-9 now, a seemingly un-gettable 61 runs to avoid the follow-on.

(16:20) 300 UP! England hitting out more now to try and chase the follow-on mark. 301-8.

England need 73 runs from somewhere to avoid the follow-on. Mark Wood is the new batsman.

(16:12) WICKET! Spoke too soon, Ali trapped out LBW by Hazlewood. The all-rounder calls for a review but replays show it’s absolutely plumb. 294-8.

Broad (13) and Ali (39) hoping to help England avoid the follow on.

(15:40) TEA. 285-7.

(15:26) New ball. The third umpire brings out the new ball, Starc to test it out first.

(15:18) WICKET! Cook is gone for 96, caught by Mitchell Marsh, heartbreaking for the captain.

(15:09) Boundary for Cook, moves to 4 away from the century.

(15:06) Maximum for Moeen Ali who smashes that one over the boundary.

Cook is averaging 63 in 2015, compared to last year 38 and the year before 35, great improvement from the captain.

(14:43) Drinks break.

Great sportsmanship from Buttler to start the walk, should we see more of that? Let us know via out twitter page – https://twitter.com/Coral

(14:22) Wicket! Buttler gets a faint edge on the ball and Nevill makes no mistake with the mitts this time, England 210-6

(14:09) Dropped catch! Cook sends it straight to Steve Smith and what should have been an easy catch ends up on the grass.

Sorry guys, the rules are the rules!

(13:54) Close! Buttler edges the ball towards Nevill and England fear the worse. Replays show the ball grazed the grass before finding the mitt of Nevill.

(13:02) LUNCH. Overall, a solid start to the day for England, although Stokes will be annoyed he got out on 87 when he was looking comfortable. The hosts are now 181-5 (Cook 56, Buttler 5).

(12:52) Cook’s body seems to keep attracting the ball in this Ashes series, this time he takes a nasty blow to his elbow. Hopefully this should waste a bit of time with lunch fast approaching, though.

Dramatic odds shift in Coral’s in-play betting. England now 28/1 chances for victory in this Test, Australia shorter at 4/11, while a draw is 21/10.

(12:45) WICKET! completely out the blue just when the hosts were looking comfortable just before lunch. Stokes is bowled after he hits onto his own stumps from Mitchell Marsh’s delivery. Jos Buttler is the new man. England are 175-5.

Despite England’s decent start to day three, their odds with Coral to win the Test are still very long at 20/1, with the Aussies odds-on favourites at 8/13 (from 1/6) in the in-play betting. A draw at 7/5 might be you best shout of winning big, though.

More congrats to Cook…

(12:18) HALF CENTURY! Cook now reaches the milestone, his 43rd Test 50, and incidentally helps England to 150-4 in the process.

England pushing on to 141-4 now (Stokes 70, Cook 41). Keep it up lads!

Good stat here…

(11:49) Michael Clarke reviews an LBW decision, but it turns out the ball pitched outside the line.

After inexplicably padding up yesterday, 12th man Shane Watson is actually on the field for today in place of Adam Voges, who took a nasty hit to the hip yesterday. Watson is very debatable as an all-rounder, but one thing he can do is catch, and he’s been placed right in the slips…

(11:22) HALF CENTURY! Stokes reaches 52 after hitting Mitchell Johnson for four.

(11:15) 100 UP! Steady and more positive start by England as they reach 100 runs at a loss of 4 wickets still.

(11:00) PLAY BEGINS. Weather is looking great unfortunately. Josh Hazlewood begins by bowing to Stokes.

Captain Alastair Cook (21) and all-rounder Ben Stokes (38) are the batsmen tasked with saving England’s innings this morning.

(10:29) Good morning cricket fans, in case you missed the action from the last two days, do the rain dance and quick! Australia completely dominated with bat and ball, finishing their first innings on 566-8d before skittling through England’s top order for 85-4.

Day Two

Standout performers on day two

Australia
Chris Rogers – 173 off 300
Steve Smith – 215 off 346

Mitchell Johnson – 2-16

England
Stuart Broad – 4-83

(18:27) PLAY ENDS. England finish the day on 85-4 (Stokes 38, Cook 21), and they’ll be very disappointed being 481 runs behind Australia’s terrific total of 566-8d.

Not long left to go today, things are looking slightly less dreadful…

Nice try Australia…

(17:55) SIX RUNS! Stokes decides that the best form of defence is to attack, as he makes 34 off 39 balls, with a six along the way. The steadier Cook is on 17 as England now reach 77-4.

(17:57) Ouch! Short-leg Voges takes one for the team as Stokes smacks a shot at his hip. The fielder is grounded for a few minutes, hopefully he’s ok…

Cook looks a bit like Superman right? Let’s hope he really is Clark Kent and can help rescue the damsel in distress that is England…

(17:36) FIFTY! That’s 50 runs in total for England…

England’s odds for victory at Lord’s with Coral now way out at 33/1 in the in-play betting, while the Aussies are heavily odds-on at 1/6. With rain potentially on the way this weekend, a draw is tempting at 4/1.

(17:21) Much-needed drinks. For those very few optimistic England fans, think back to Cardiff when England were 43-3 in their first innings and yet finished on a high. They are currently on 41 for a loss of just one more wicket (Cook 8, Stokes 8)…

Australians will be sleepy but happy for sure right now…

It may be wise to tune into the golf or tennis right now yes, Brits are doing well there…

No Mr Morgan, not even KP could’ve saved us today…

Let’s just blame it on pure luck, it was definitely a good coin toss to win for Australia!

In case Aussies need their spirits lifted higher…

(17:04) WICKET! Nope, Root goes for just 1, edged off Johnson. 30-4. The Aussies will certainly be happy…

Right, can Joe Root save the day (and Test)… again, and carve out a big partnership with Cook? Rain is apparently forecast for this weekend, let’s all hope and pray.

(16:56) WICKET! Beginning to get embarrassing now… Bell now misses a great delivery from Josh Hazlewood, who its the stumps. 29-3.

Ian Bell the next batsman, can he make up for his dropped catch of Smith on 50? Cook in need of runs too.

(16:51) WICKET! Definitely not England’s Test, as Ballance (23) now is clean bowled by Johnson. 28-2.

(16:37) England attempting to finish the day without a further wicket; Ballance (17) and Cook (4) doing well so far. 21-1.

(16:20) Groin watch returns! Cook hit where it hurts, however this time he shows no sign of pain perhaps due to having a box this time. Maybe his hit in the googlies at Cardiff toughened him up…

(16:15) WICKET! Aaaand the worst possible start for England as Lyth goes for nothing after edging to Nevill. Starc very nearly steps over the line for a no ball, but he is just safe. 0-1.

(16:14) England’s 1st innings begins. Adam Lyth faces the first ball from Starc, with Cook at the other end.

(16:04) WICKET! Johnson hits up in the air off Broad, with Anderson the catcher. As a result, Australia have DECLARED too on 566-8.

(16:00) Evening session Begins.

(15:40) TEA. The two Mitchells (Johnson on 12 and Starc on 11) have steadied the wicket loss, as Australia reach 562-7.

A few factual Tweets…

If you do fancy England to comeback and win this Test, take odds of 14/1 with Coral now in the in-play betting. Australia remain odds-on favourites at 5/6, while a draw is 23/20.

(15:18) WICKET! Root gets another! This time Nevill, who leaves after getting 45. Caught well low down by Ali. 536-7.

(15:09) KEY WICKET!!! Smith finally out, though, now on 215. Brilliant innings. He is trapped LBW by Root after an unsuccessful review. 533-6 now, England still have a chance if they can keep the wickets tumpling.

Like Haddin in the 1st Test when he dropped Root (who went onto get a match-winning 134) on 0, Ian Bell will be left wondering what might have been if he caught Smith on 50.

(15:03) Australia (531-5) upping the run-rate now to add to their already impressive score. Nevill playing terrifically well in his first Test innings as he reaches 43 from just 53 balls. Smith now on 214.

And here is the moment it happens…

(14:49) DOUBLE CENTURY!!! Just one minute later, as expected, Smith gets a maiden double ton, becoming the first Australian to score 200 at Lord’s since 1938, when Bill Brown achieved the feat. Twitter goes tribute crazy…

(14:48) 500 UP! The visitors reach 500 runs for a loss of five wickets.

Cook back on the pitch and puts Root into bowl against Smith, who is so close to his first 200 now. The Aussie team have stood up to get ready to cheer the milestone…

(14:40) Close call for England as they review another LBW shout, this time from Moeen Ali. It shows the ball is clipping Nevill’s leg stump, therefore the decision stays with the umpire’s original call of not out.

Alastair Cook temporarily leaves the field, meaning this man Joe Root is on-field skipper…

Anderson hoping to avoid a century of runs against him without a wicket this innings, like counterpart Mitchell Johnson managed in Cardiff. The record England Test wicket taker is currently on figures of 0-94.

Brilliant by Broad after taking three wickets so far today, surpassing the late great former England and Yorkshire ferocious fast bowler Fred Trueman at Lord’s…

Shane Watson is walking round the boundary padded up… does he not know he isn’t in the XI for this Test?

England getting carried away now…

Another new face steps into the crease, this time international debutant Peter Nevill, who replaced Haddin. Smith (175), by the way, is quietly edging towards his first double ton. His previous best Test and career score in any form of the game is 199.

(14:02) WICKET! Much better, Aussie batsmen falling far more quickly now. Marsh goes for just 12, although is unlucky as Broad’s dismissal seemingly stays low and hits the underside of the bat onto the stumps. Not really a good sign for England’s batters, though. 442-5.

The first of three Mitchells (Marsh) now enters the crease, after replacing Shane Watson in the side.

(13:45) WICKET! Great start from England in the second over after lunch. Voges (25) edges to wicketkeeper Jos Buttler off Broad, who gets his second dismissal of the innings. 426-4.

(13:42) Afternoon session begins.

(13:01) LUNCH. Aussies still looking strong at 424-3 (Smith 168, Voges 24) despite losing two wickets in the morning.

(12:32) England are unsuccessful in their attempt to overrule the umpire’s decision, that Ben Stokes’ delivery was not hitting the wicket. Replays show less than half of the ball was clipping the top of the stumps.

(12:17) WICKET! Clarke (7) caught by Gary Ballance off Mark Wood. It wasn’t Broad but England will certainly take it. Let’s hope for a nice Aussie crumble now! 383-3.

(12:11) DADDY TON! Smith is onto 151, great innings from the in-form batsman. Australia on 383-2.

England’s odds for victory in this 2nd Test have slightly shortened with Coral now to 16/1.

Another promising stat here at Clarke’s expense…

Smith will be hoping to emulate former Baggy Greens ‘bowler’ and current Yorkshire head coach Jason Gillespie…

Here’s a stat, thankfully in England’s favour… No bowler has dismissed Clarke more times than Broad in Test cricket (10). Let’s hope that number increases very soon.

Captain Michael Clarke, whose scores in Cardiff were 38 and 4, is the new man. He is odds-on at 8/13 to be the next Aussie batsman to go this innings in Coral’s in-play cricket betting.

The crowd rightly give Rogers, whose home ground was Lord’s for around four years whilst at Middlesex, a standing ovation after his Daddy Ton.

(11:26) WICKET!!! Finally a man out, and Rogers goes after a heroic total of 173 off exactly 300 balls. Broad gets the wicket, after his delivery hit the inside of the bat onto the batsman’s pads and then wicket. Australia now 362-2.

(11:16) A couple of LBW appeals from Anderson and Staurt Broad are met with blank looks from the umpires. Desperate appealing from the England pacemen.

(11:00) PLAY BEGINS! First ball James Anderson gives Rogers a warm welcome by hitting him right in the helmet. Ouch that’s got to hurt, never nice to see that and it will almost certainly rattle the usually composed batsman.

(10:57) Rogers and Smith enter the field along with England’s rather dejected-looking fielders. Play about to get underway.

Former Aussie fast bowling legend Brett Lee rings the five-minute bell today…

England players limbering up…

Meanwhile, the hosts’ odds to win this second Test at Lord’s have drifted all the way to 18/1. A draw is far more fancied at 5/4, and the Baggy Greens are the odds-on favourites to level the series at 8/11.

Australia start the day on a whopping 337-1, with Chris Rogers on 158 and Steve Smith on 129. You can take respective odds of 11/10 and 15/8 with Coral for the duo to go onto make a double hundred.

(10:00) Good morning again cricket fans, and hopefully it is a better morning and day even for England supporters in particular following a dominant batting display from the Aussies yesterday.

Day One

Star performers on day one

Australia
Chris Rodgers – 158 off 282
Steve Smith – 129 off 217

England
No one of note

(18:14) And that’s it for today, the Australians finish on 337-1, great reply by the Aussies but England need a better start tomorrow.

For once Piers we agree with you…

(18:11) Australia 337-1 (Rogers 158, Smith 129) Further misery for the England fielders as the edge does not quite carry to Bell.

(17:30) Triple ton up! Aussies inflict more misery on the hosts as they reach 300-1. Rogers now on 139, Smith on 112.

Relive Rogers’ century, might as well…

England are now huge outsiders at 12/1 to win this second Test at Lord’s with Coral. A draw is more fancied at 7/5, while Australia are firm 7/10 odds-on favourites to level the series.

(17:06) Rogers and Smith reach 200 run partnership, terrific batting by this duo fair play.

The Aussies are impressed…

England international Nick Compton isn’t impressed, neither are we to be honest…

(16:54) Not looking good for England, as Australia now move on to 254-1.

Rogers’ hundred even sparks a Tweet from former Germany footballer and cricket fan Didi Hamann…

(16:48) CENTURY! Rogers follows suit, as he gets his fifth Test hundred – also fourth against England – at last after failing to convert his previous seven 50s!

(16:40) CENTURY! Smith wins the race to reach a century, his 10th in Tests and fourth against England, after hitting a four off Anderson. Australia certainly in control as they are now on 247-1.

(16:36) SIX RUNS! Root bowls to rival Smith, who smashes him for six to reach 93. Rogers on 97, who will hit a hundred first?

(16:23) Aussies continue their fine start and reach 212-1. Rogers nearing a century on 87, while Smith is 10 behind on 77.

(16:00) Evening session begins.

(15:42) TEA. Lyth managed a maiden, just before the players go into the pavilion for tea. Australia 191-1 now, Rogers on 81, Smith on 62.

(15:40) England seemingly getting desperate now, as they bring another Yorkshire part-time spinner into the action. This time batting opener Adam Lyth gives it a shot.

(15:26) Strong LBW appeal against Smith from bowler Wood, however replays show that it was going over the stumps. 182-1 now.

(15:13) DROPPED! Ian Bell puts one down in the slips after Smith edges from Ben Stokes’ delivery. It was low down, but certainly a missed opportunity. Could that be as crucial as Haddin’s drop off Root in the first Test?

(15:07) HALF CENTURY! Smith hits fifty, his 12th in Tests. Australia now 167-1.

(14:50) Australia now pushing on, as they reach 152-1. Rogers with 64 and Smith on 40.

(14:26) First Test batting hero and part-time off-spinner Joe Root, who got two wickets here in the 2013 Ashes as well as a brace at Cardiff this year, now comes into strike as England hope to break the growing partnership of Rogers and Smith.

(14:20) As Australia reach 128-1, they are now odds-on at 4/5 to win the second Test.

(13:55) HALF CENTURY! Rogers amazingly reaches his eighth Test 50 in his last nine innings, can he now finally convert that to a ton? His previous nine innings… 55, 55, 57, 69, 95, 56, 95, 10, 51*

(13:42) Afternoon session begins.

(13:01) LUNCH. Australia have started well, despite the loss of Warner to a wild shot, and go into lunch on 104-1.

(12:46) HUNDRED UP! Australia reach 100-1. Rogers on 43 and Smith with 14.

Steve Smith next into bat, can the until-recently world number one Test batter improve on his two innings scores of 33 last time out? He is 17/20 with Coral to get over 39.5.

Classic Geoff Boycott quote…

(12:10) WICKET! And about time too. Warner (38) hits one high up in the air off Ali’s delivery, which is then caught well by Anderson. 78-1.

(11:50) Australia now on 42-0, with Rogers on 23 and Warner on 18.

In case you didn’t know, Scotland are also playing cricket today against Canada, who played in the first ever official international back in 1844 (against USA).

(11:37) Anderson and Stuart Broad couldn’t penetrate the Aussie openers, so Mark Wood comes onto strike. Australia are 34-0.

(11:21) Despite a couple of edges, Australia have started brightly, as they reach 23-0 after five overs.

(11:02) So close! Rogers edges for four but just hits the fingertips of the slips. Promising start for Anderson despite the loss of four runs.

(11:00) PLAY BEGINS! James Anderson opens the bowling for the hosts to Rogers.

(10:57) Aussie openers Chris Rogers (95 and 10 in his two innings in Cardiff) and David Warner (17 and 52) walk into the crease, along with the England fielders.

(10:55) Former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting rings the Lord’s bell to signal five minutes until the start of play.

England’s odds to win this Test have already lengthened since the toss with Coral to 21/10 (from 7/4), while the Baggy Greens are shorter at 11/10 (from 11/8).

You can take enticing odds of 4/1 with Coral for Steve Smith to be top Australian batsman this first innings!

ENGLAND: Cook (c), Lyth, Ballance, Bell, Root, Stokes, Buttler (wk), Ali, Broad, Wood, Anderson.

AUSTRALIA: Warner, Rogers, Smith, Clarke (c), Voges, Marsh, Nevill (wk), Johnson, Starc, Lyon, Hazlewood.

Despite doubts regarding Moeen Ali’s fitness, England are unchanged from the first Test, while debutant wicketkeeper Peter Nevill and Mitchell Marsh come in for Haddin and Shane Watson respectively.

(10:31) COIN TOSS! Australia captain Michael Clarke wins the toss and has chosen to bat first.

Before the start of play, Coral had tempting odds of 7/4 for an England win here, 5/2 for a draw, while the Aussies were the slight 11/8 favourites to level the series.

Just for a recap, the hosts convincingly beat their visitors by 169 runs in a thrilling opening Test at Cardiff’s SWALEC Stadium.

(10:00) Good morning cricket fans! Catch the Ashes action with Coral for all the main events that happen during this second Test between England and Australia at Lord’s. On top of that, we will be sharing all the in-topic Tweets from former pros and celebs!

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