"Faith in technology, certainly, a sentiment shared by both sets of players. But for England there was a broader loss of belief in their attacking philosophy after having it systematically dismantled by Australia. This could have been the day that England finally made a statement with the bat in this Ashes series. It was a 40C (104F) furnace out in the middle for the bowlers, the breeze akin to a hairdryer."
"And the pitch, bone dry, had none of the bounce that proved England's undoing during those sorry defeats in Perth and Brisbane. And yet by stumps they had crawled to 213 for eight from 68 overs, still 158 behind, and a 3-0 scoreline in Australia's favour was loading. Ben Stokes was unbeaten on 45 after three hours of bullish defiance but only one captain glowed with authority."
A sweltering second day in the so-called city of churches produced intense heat and a bone-dry pitch with little bounce. England crawled to 213 for eight from 68 overs by stumps, still 158 runs behind, and faced the prospect of a 3-0 series deficit. Ben Stokes remained unbeaten on 45 after three hours of defiant batting. Australia delivered relentless, disciplined bowling, extracting every shred of movement and stifling England's attacking approach. Pat Cummins led the attack with figures of three for 54. Missing key players did not blunt Australia's consistency or control.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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