After the dismissal of James Anderson to the first ball of the day, thus denying Alastair Cook the opportunity to extend his marathon innings, Australia had reduced their deficit by 70 runs at lunch for the loss of Cameron Bancroft and Usman Khawaja as England’s bowlers battled a lifeless pitch and some determined rear-guard batting from David Warner. Bancroft and Warner had posted 51 for the opening wicket when Chris Woakes, at the end of a tidy spell, squeezed one through Bancroft’s defences — with the help of the inside edge and pad — for England’s first success of the morning. Anderson followed that up at the start of his second spell by inducing a thin edge from Khawaja to a ball that moved a little in…

Source: The Times December 29, 2017 01:52 UTC