Australia within four wickets of victory
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Australia moved within four wickets of victory in the second test and a 2-0 Ashes series lead after ending Joe Root’s defiant innings late yesterday and exposing the England lower order once again to a hostile barrage of short-pitch bowling.
Set an improbable 531 to win when Australia declared its second innings at 132-3 before play resumed on day four, England lost captain Alastair Cook (1) in the second over and struggled to 247-6 at stumps.
Root (87) and Kevin Pietersen (53) shared a defiant 111-run partnership and Ben Stokes contributed a valuable 28 batting at No. 6 in his first test to help England force the match into a fifth day in Adelaide.
With the lights on in the gloomy, overcast conditions, and the crowd clapping in time with Mitchell Johnson’s run-up, Matt Prior (31) and Stuart Broad (22) batted resolutely and added an unbeaten 37 runs in a temper-fraying last six overs against the new ball to ensure the Australian paceman was restricted to just the one wicket on day four.
Also on the positive side for the English, it was the first time in the series they’ve put on more than 180 runs in an innings.
And with rain in the forecast for today, it may well help the visitors avoid another defeat.
“Everyone knew ... we weren’t going to lie down and we were going to show a bit of fight and a bit of courage and be there at the end of the day,” Root said.
Despite their strong position the Australians will be nervous about the forecast in Adelaide, where they failed by two wickets to finish off South Africa last November when Faf du Plessis batted all day to salvage a draw.
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