Hazlewood takes five as England slump to 67 all out in third Test

Australia’s Josh Hazlewood took five wickets as England collapsed to just 67 all out on the second day of the third Ashes Test at Headingley yesterday. In a match they had to win to square the five-Test series at 1-1, England arrived at Yorkshire’s headquarters having dismissed Australia for a seemingly modest 179, with fast bowler Jofra Archer taking 6-45, on Thursday.

But with Hazlewood returning figures of 5-30, England were bowled out inside 28 overs to leave Australia with a first-innings lead of 112. Joe Denly, with 12, was the only England batsman to reach double figures, with their total seven fewer than the 74 scored by Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne, in for concussed star batsman Steve Smith, on Thursday.

But whereas Labuschange and David Warner (61) fought hard during their partnership of 111, few England batsmen showed anything like the same willingness to sell their wickets dearly, with several playing key roles in their own dismissal for all Australia’s good bowling. England’s slump was no great surprise, however, but rather the latest in a line of recent Test collapses that have seen them dismissed for 58 by New Zealand (Auckland 2018), 77 by the West Indies (Bridgetown 2019) and 85 by Ireland at Lord’s last month.

But what made this collapse all the more troubling was that the blue and sunny skies above Headingley yesterday ought to have made conditions for batting easier than the gloom of Thursday, when England captain Joe Root won the toss. World Cup-winning opener Jason Roy took guard having made just 40 runs in four innings this series.