Ashes 2019: 1st Test – Burns shines as England grind it out on Day 2

At the end of play on Day 2, it was England who walked away with the edge in the 1st Test of the Ashes. Rory Burns, under pressure at the start of the series, was the hero as his gritty knock edged England closer to Australia’s total. He was given good support by skipper Joe Root, as they slugged it out against a disciplined Australian bowling performance.

Here we look at the key takeaways from Day 2 of the Edgbaston Test.

Rory Burns’ day out in the sun

For the second day running, the crowd at Edgbaston witnessed a century which was full of character and resilience. After Smith’s heroics on Day 1, it was Burns’ turn to announce his arrival in Test cricket. The grit which he displayed was highly reminiscent of Alastair Cook slugging it out against the opponents. He finished the day unbeaten on 125, with Ben Stokes lending him decent support. England’s scorecard read 267-4, only trailing Australia by 17 runs. With a fair bit of batting still to come, England will now hope to build a commanding lead over the Aussies.

That maiden Test ? feeling!#Ashespic.twitter.com/hvIYgDlG7K

— ICC (@ICC) August 2, 2019

Australia a bowler short?

By the end of the Test, Australia may well rue the fact that they played a bowler short in the match. The four frontline bowlers were knackered by the end of the play. They will have to resume the thankless task again today with England looking to build a commanding lead. They might have also missed the trick in not playing Josh Hazlewood or Mitchell Starc. For all of Peter Siddle’s work-rate, he simply does not offer the same penetration as the other two. Despite not being far off the mark, the bowling unit ultimately lacked the cutting edge to trouble England.