WATCH: Stuart Broad takes a page from Aussies; changes bails to dismiss Marnus Labuschagne

Labuschagne's wicket seemed to open the floodgates for the England seamersย who had endured a touch of misfortune in the initial hours of the day.

 By Chandra Moulee Das Updated: Jul 29, 2023, 17:08 IST
Stuart Broad - Marnus Labuschagne?width=963&height=541&resizemode=4

On Day 2 of the final Ashes Test at The Oval, Australia appeared steady with their performance as they reached 91 for 1 during the morning session. In the 43rd over, Stuart Broad executed a clever move, to dismiss Marnus Labuschagne on the following ball. The Aussie was spectacularly caught by Joe Root at first slip off Mark Wood's bowling but it was Broad with his wizardry of changing bails that brought a stroke of luck for England.

Labuschagne's wicket seemed to open the floodgates for the England seamers, who had endured a touch of misfortune in the initial hours of the day.

Broad told reporters after the day's play, โ€œIโ€™ve heard itโ€™s an Aussie change of luck thing. Iโ€™ve seen Nathan Lyon do it. We had a few play and misses in the morning session and we needed to make a breakthrough and I thought: โ€˜Iโ€™ll have a little change of the bails."

With considerable effort, Australia managed to secure a 12-run lead in their first innings, though it took them nearly twice as many overs to achieve it. 


Smith-Cummins make amends for Australia

The recovery of the Australian team came in the form of Steve Smith's impressive score of 71, frustrating England and helping the tourists establish a first-innings lead. Eventually, Australia's innings concluded at 295, with the last ball of the second day, putting them 12 runs ahead of England's 283.

Initially, England seemed to be on track for a significant advantage when Stuart Broad initiated a slump that saw Australia's score decline from 115-2 to 185-7.

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However, Steve Smith and Australia's captain, Pat Cummins, thwarted England's efforts with an eighth-wicket partnership of 54. In addition, off-spinner Todd Murphy, who was recalled to the side after the rain-affected third Test at Old Trafford, further contributed to England's woes with an outstanding score of 34, defying his position as No. 10 in the batting order

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