Nathan Lyon's Double Strike Leaves England Reeling in Ashes Test
England Struggles After Lyon's Early Breakthroughs
Adelaide [Australia], December 18: England found themselves in a precarious position as Nathan Lyon's two quick wickets put them in trouble during the first session of day two in the third Ashes Test against Australia at Adelaide. By the end of the session, England was struggling at 59/3, with Joe Root (11*) and Harry Brook (6*) remaining at the crease, trailing by 312 runs.
Australia resumed day two at 326/8, with Nathan Lyon (0) and Mitchell Starc (33*) at the crease. Starc began the day positively, hitting two boundaries off Jofra Archer and Brydon Carse, and reached his second fifty of the series in just 73 balls, featuring eight fours.
However, the Australian celebration was short-lived as Jofra Archer dismissed Nathan Lyon for 9 runs off 35 balls. Australia was eventually bowled out for 371 in 91.2 overs.
Archer was the standout performer for England, taking 5 wickets for 53 runs, while Brydon Carse and Will Jacks contributed with two wickets each, and Josh Tongue added one more.
England began their first innings aggressively, with Ben Duckett hitting four boundaries in the opening four overs against Starc and captain Pat Cummins. However, their momentum was halted when Zak Crawley (9 runs off 19 balls) edged a delivery to Alex Carey, giving Cummins a crucial wicket. England's score stood at 37/1 after 7.4 overs.
Nathan Lyon struck twice in the ninth over, dismissing Ollie Pope, who scored just 3 runs off 10 balls, and then trapping Duckett lbw for 29 runs off 30 balls, which included five fours. England found themselves in dire straits at 42/3 after just 10 overs.
With this performance, Lyon surpassed Glenn McGrath to become Australia's second-highest Test wicket-taker, trailing only the legendary Shane Warne (708 wickets).
England managed to reach 50 runs in 12.4 overs, as Joe Root and Harry Brook ensured that no further wickets fell during the session.
Earlier, Australia concluded day one at 326/8, with Alex Carey scoring his first Ashes century (106 runs off 143 balls, including eight fours and a six) after the team had been struggling at 94/4. Usman Khawaja also made a notable return to the side, scoring 82 runs off 126 balls, featuring 10 fours.
Brief Scores: Australia: 371 (Alex Carey 106, Usman Khawaja 82, Jofra Archer: 5/53) vs England: 59/3 (Ben Duckett 29, Joe Root 11*, Nathan Lyon 2/14).