Tags: The Ashes 2023,
England vs Australia, 1st Check at Birmingham, Jun 16-20, 2023,
Australia,
England,
Usman Tariq Khawaja
Printed on: Jun 18, 2023
Scorecard
| Commentary
| Graphs
Opener Usman Khawaja notched up his fifteenth Check hundred as Australia ended Day 2 of the primary Ashes Check at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Saturday, June 17 at 311/5. Resuming their first innings at 14/0, Australia misplaced David Warner (9), Marnus Labuschagne (0) and Steven Smith (16) cheaply.
Khawaja, nonetheless, returned unbeaten on 126 off 279 balls, putting 14 fours and two sixes in his resilient knock. He discovered good help from Travis Head (50 off 63), Cameron Inexperienced (38 off 68) and Alex Carey (52 not out off 80) as Australia rebuild brilliantly within the final two classes. They ended the day trailing England by 82 runs.
Australia’s begin was fairly in distinction to their finish. They misplaced Warner and Labuschagne to Stuart Broad of consecutive deliveries. Warner fell to his nemesis for the fifteenth time in Check cricket, dragging a large supply onto his stumps. Labuschagne then nicked an outswinger, going for a tentative jab. Smith hung round for 59 balls, however was trapped lbw by an in-dipper from Ben Stokes that he missed.
Khawaja and Head then added 81 runs for the fourth wicket. Each batters had been extreme on Moeen Ali. The latter hit eight fours and a six, however fell precisely after reaching his fifty, miscuing a supply from Moeen to midwicket. Khawaja was then joined by Inexperienced and the 2 featured in a 72-run stand for the fifth wicket. The latter hit 4 fours and a six earlier than bowled by a superbly tossed-up supply from Moeen.
On the different finish, Khawaja went previous three figures by way of a late minimize off Stokes. His roaring celebrations and throwing of the bat demonstrated what the knock meant to him. England might have had the Aussie opener on 112 as Broad produced a magnificence to knock him over. Nonetheless, Khawaja survived because the England pacer had overstepped.
Khawaja and Carey ensured Australia completed Day 2 on a excessive, that includes in an unbroken 91-run stand for the sixth wicket. The latter, who made vital contributions in Australia’s World Check Championship (WTC) last triumph in opposition to India, notched up one other precious fifty at a swift tempo. He struck seven fours and a six because the Aussies minimize down England’s first innings result in below 85 by stumps. They’ll now look to construct an enormous lead on Day 3 in Birmingham.
–By A Cricket Correspondent
