ADELAIDE: Nathan Lyon took two wickets to surpass Glenn McGrath at No. 2 on Australia’s all-time bowling list, and returning skipper Pat Cummins took his first wickets of the series as a relentless bowling attack kept England in trouble in the third Ashes Test.
Australia resumed Day 2 at 326-8 and was out for 371 with Mitchell Starc posting a half-century before Jofra Archer finished off the tailenders to return 5-53, his fourth five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
By stumps England had struggled to 213 for eight, still 158 behind.
England was coasting at 37-0 in reply until Cummins struck. Lyon then took two wickets in his first over as England lost three wickets in 15 balls.
It was a struggle the rest of the day for England, which needs to bat long to revive its chances in this five-Test series on a pitch and conditions that traditionally favour batting at the Adelaide Oval.
The Australian bowlers and fielders spent most of the day in the field in temperatures hitting 40C (104F), but most of the heat was on England skipper Ben Stokes.
He spent around four hours at the crease, getting hit on the helmet and the body and appearing to struggle with cramping. His mood wasn’t helped by more contentious outcomes from the Decision Review System technology.
His defiant, unbeaten 45 from 151 balls and his unbroken 45-run stand with No. 10 Archer (30) at least helped England’s innings go into another day.
Cummins was recovering from a back injury when he missed the wins in Perth and Brisbane which gave Australia a 2-0 series lead. In his first spell on return, he dismissed opener Zak Crawley (9) to trigger a top-order slide.
Lyon was introduced for the 10th over and the 38-year-old offspinner had immediate success with two wickets in four balls to remove Ollie Pope (3) and Ben Duckett (29) as England slumped to 42-3.
Pope’s wicket allowed him to equal retired paceman McGrath’s career haul of 563.
Lyon soon bowled Duckett with a drifting delivery that took out off stump. TV coverage showed McGrath in a stadium commentary booth pretending to throw a chair around in mock annoyance.
Only Shane Warne — with 708 wickets in 145 Tests from 1992-2007 — is above Lyon on the Australia’s list of Test wicket-takers.
It was a huge comeback for Lyon, who only bowled two overs in Perth and was omitted from the lineup that won the second Test in Brisbane.
He bowled 22 overs for figures of 2-51. Cummins had 3-54 and Scott Boland returned 2-31.
“It’s a pretty big effort so (we’ll) rest up, recover and we’ll have another crack in the morning,” Lyon said of Australia’s bowling attack. “We’re in a great position.”
Brief scores: Australia 371 in 91.2 overs (A Carey 106, U Khawaja 82, M Starc 54, J Archer 5/53) vs England 213/8 in 68 overs (H Brook 45, B Stokes 45 batting, P Cummins 3/54)