England opener Rory Burns has appeared in all sorts of trouble during the two Test against Australia at the Ashes so far. Following scores of 0 and 13 in the 1st Test at the Gabba, Burns endured another failure in the first innings of the Adelaide Test, getting dismissed for 4.
However, in the second innings, Burns managed to score 34 but it was a pain-staking innings, especially against Nathan Lyon. On a Day 4 Adelaide surface, Lyon generated plenty of turn and bounce, leaving Burns clueless. There were numerous plays and misses, coupled with the occasional ‘catch’ shouts and Burns’ struggle against Lyon was evident.
hindus To it, Lyon went up to Burns and cheekily said, “Rory, you’re playing me really well. I wouldn’t change a thing to be honest,” which, as later revealed, was picked up by the stump microphone.
Burns was batting on 29 when the incident took place, and could add only five more runs to his tally before edging Jhye Richardson to Steve Smith at slips. England find themselves battling all the odds to save the Test match. At the 92nd over mark, England were 169/7, needing to play out 41 overs to draw the match. Meanwhile, Australia, at this juncture, are three strikes away from going 2-0 up in the series.
After winning the toss and opting to bat, Australia put on a big total of 473/9 declared with Marnus Labuschagne peeling off a century, aided by half-centuries from David Warner (95), Steve Smith (93) and Alex Carey (51). In reply, England were bowled out for 236 with Dawid Malan’s 80 and Joe Root’s 62 being the only two vital contributions.
