Ashes 2019: England v Australia second Test, day three abandoned after rain – as it happened

Jofra Archer took his first Test wicket as England reduced Australia to 80 for four at lunch - but then it rained for the rest of the day

6.33pm BST

Related: Jofra Archer off mark for England but threat of second Test draw looms

Related: Stuart Broad aiming for quick wickets to force win in soggy Ashes Test

Related: Jofra Archer quickly becomes England’s go-to bowler for all occasions | Andy Bull

5.46pm BST

The forecast is much better for the last two days, so I’d be loath to assume a draw at this stage. Please join Adam and Tanya in the morning for all the action/unexpected rain. Thanks for your company - bye!

5.22pm BST

“I think you’re being a bit unfair to Ricky Ponting here,” says Jeremy Yapp. “After all he made 13,378 Test runs so with 15 dismissals that means he averaged 891.87 against runouts, which is pretty handy.”

5.22pm BST

Who knew?

5.17pm BST

We’ve all been doing it wrong this whole time! #HallaBol pic.twitter.com/lw0TUUXkv6

5.08pm BST

“Many batsmen at the top of the run-out list,” says Speedy, “are clearly only there because there was no other sodding way of getting them out.”

5.02pm BST

There will be another inspection at 5.20pm, and some of the covers are coming off. I’m off to ingest some coffee, just in case. See you in 15 minutes.

4.56pm BST

“I think what Simon is getting at is how can a batsman’s innings total be split,” says Gerard Mullally. “But as the calculation is total runs scored against spin divided by wickets lost against spin, there’s no need to consider an individual innings score. I guess if a batsman scores 50 runs, 30 of which is against seam, and is bowled by a seam bowler, it would be the equivalent of being 20 not out for his spin stats, and 30 and out for his seam stats. What I want to know is what happens if the batsman is run out? Did Inzamam-Ul-Haq have unusually high averages against all types of bowling due to his wonderfully confusing running between wickets?”

Ha. He was only run out six times in Tests, you know. The record is 15. Guess who?

4.38pm BST

Dear umpires, just call it off. I can’t call it off for you.

4.33pm BST

“Regarding the prospect of a result, here’s one I made earlier,” says Phil Harrison. “If England get Smith in the first half hour or so, game on! Adelaide 2006 it is then...”

Scarred minds think alike.

4.32pm BST

“For bowlers, that kind of stat makes some sense, not for batsmen,” says Simon. “When people say “he averages 25 against spin” what is the calculation that is being done? It isn’t clear to me. A batting average is the number of runs divided by the number of dismissals (I hope I’ve got that right) so what is the calculation when you’re just including a subset of the balls in each innings?”

It shows his or her ability against certain types of bowling, no? Steve Smith is the obvious example – in the last three years or so he averages 21 against left-arm spin, and 48.2 million against all other types of bowling. That has to mean something.

4.30pm BST

I still think we might get a result in this game. The forecast is fine for the last two days, so there could be up to 196 overs still to bowl. There could be considerable scope for England to have an Adelaide in the third innings.

4.23pm BST

“Hi Rob,” says Andrew Goldsby. “The 2005 Ashes started at 10.30am because Channel 4 wanted to be finished for Hollyoaks. The Free-to-Air-at-all-costs folks tend to forget that C4 wasn’t all that much in love with cricket towards the end.”

A 10.30am start is one thing, 9am quite another. I can’t see how it would work, and there’s a fairness issue as well. That said, I know the square root of diddly squat about golf, so would be interested to find out more about how they do it.

4.22pm BST

It’s raining again. Bye then!

4.19pm BST

“Where has all this, ‘He averages 11 against short balls and 26 against spin’ stuff come from?” says Simon Gates. ‘Is there some sort of new toy that all the commentators are playing with? It’s maddening because it’s all meaningless. It would make sense to talk about runs per ball or per over, but averages are just weird. PS I am a statistician.”

Why are they weird? I think those stats, though inevitably overdone, are generally a very good thing. Take one example – Nathan Lyon’s averages against left-handers (25ish) and right-handers (35ish). That’s a great stat, which reinforces what we see every time he bowls.

4.18pm BST

“What we spectators don’t usually see is all the preparation each day,” says John Starbuck. “If the match days were to begin at 09am there wouldn’t be time enough for people to catch the right bus/train (which in rush hour would be packed out anyway), the administrators to work out when sustenance breaks should be (elevenses followed by a late lunch?), the catering staff to do their shopping, the groundsman’s staff to paint lines and nurture the grass, the members to put in their drinks orders etc. unless you wish to upset a great many people. Given its cricket, the whole project would last three years minimum. Makes Brexit look like a picnic.”

4.15pm BST

“Egads!” says Peter Lee. “What are Julie Wilson and Spencer Robinson thinking about starting earlier.... at 9am? We all know deep down inside that the joy of cricket is the sublime knowledge that someone out there is a person of leisure, whose only role in life is to cast a red ball around (slowly or fast, whatever) and perhaps knock it about a bit. Unlike the rest of us who toil at the four-letter thing we call ‘work’. Starting earlier would make cricketers just like us nine-to-fivers..... and that simply won’t do.”

4.12pm BST

Eoin, marry me

He did it. He actually flippin’ did it.

An honour be be presented with a silver cap today. A very special day https://t.co/n6FBd5qgF1

4.04pm BST

“The vid of the kid getting a wicket is great,” says Mark Dawson. “More weirdly, the truncated/repeated laugh of the cameraman sounds just like the loop in ‘Hands Around My Throat’ by Death in Vegas. Spooky.”

4.02pm BST

There will be an inspection at 4.30pm. The rain has almost stopped, so the umpires are going to take another look in half an hour. If there’s no rain, we’ll get some play tonight. But the forecast is dreadful, so.

3.48pm BST

“How would starting earlier be messy?” says Julie Wilson. “Playing later seems to be manageable. Starting earlier seems an obvious thing to do.”

I’m not sure. Who decides when play starts? In England, certainly, the ball moves around a lot more before 11am (remember all those NatWest Trophy finals in the 1980s and 1990s). What happens if a team is bowled out in helpful conditions from 9-11am and then it doesn’t rain all day? They would feel cheated. Imagine if a series as important as, say, the 2005 Ashes was decided because of a rogue weather forecast.

3.44pm BST

“Given that there’s no play in the Test, surely someone has time to make a montage of ‘Steve Smith leaving the ball’ set to the sort of music used in the training sequence of an 80s movie?” says Cath Hanley. “I’d watch it …”

Oh my goodness, that’s a great idea. And, with a tip of me hat to Matt Dony in yesterday’s OBO, I think we all know what the soundtrack would be.

3.42pm BST

The umpires have brought tea forward to 3.40pm, so that we can have a longer evening session if it stops raining in the next 12 seconds or so. There are a few spectators hanging around, but it appears the majority have started weekending.

3.37pm BST

“Hi Rob,” says Spencer Robinson. “When bad weather is forecast at golf tournaments here in Asia, tee-times are invariably brought forward to try and ensure the full number of holes can be completed. Given that everyone knew it was going to bucket down at Lord’s this afternoon, why on earth was play not started at 9am? At least then we may have got through two sessions.”

I like the idea in principle, but I fear it would be a can of worms. It’s different in golf, when everybody plays 18 holes in the same conditions. In cricket, when one side is batting and another bowling, it could get a bit messy. But it’s worth trialling, maybe in 2ndXI cricket.

3.34pm BST

“Fantastic photo at the top of the page,” says Bill Hargreaves. “‘England captain Joe Root calls for a review”. The expressions make it look like it was directed by Caravaggio. The ‘T’ sign being made by Joe - does that stand for ‘telly’? Also, did you see this wonderful clip?”

pic.twitter.com/OBVd4mxhTS

3.25pm BST

No news is bad news

It’s still raining. You’re welcome to hang around if you want, but please don’t expect a euphoric experience. My prediction is that play will be abandoned for the day at 5.02pm.

3.22pm BST

“Speaking of indoor cricket, I was at this match,” says Ben Mimmack, “which was apparently the first indoor ODI. My main memory of the game is that during the break they had spectators trying to hit a ball up to the roof to win a prize and one bloke swung so hard he fell over. Also a couple of Aussies bludgeoned centuries. Do you know why indoor ODIs aren’t played more often - I suppose weather isn’t really an issue during the Australian summer.”

3.12pm BST

In this #Ashes so far, Australia's top three batsmen have made 130 runs from nine innings – Rory Burns made a few more than that in one. England's top three have 334 from their nine. And #SteveSmith has 299 from two and a bit @GeoffLemonSport

3.04pm BST

“Following on from the Wear Red for Ruth Day at Lord’s, I wanted to let you know about an event happening in Oxford this Sunday,” says Sarah Whatman. “Thirteen teams will be taking part in Naida’s Netball - a mixed netball tournament (each team must include some men). This tournament is part of Naida’s efforts to raise money for the Cancer and Haematology Centre, Day Treatment Unit at the Churchill Hospital, which is where she has been treated for breast cancer since the start of the year.

“The original fundraising target of £1500 has been passed and will hopefully reach £2000 with the tournament, raffle and cake sale this weekend. We’re hoping that unlike the cricket, there won’t be any rain delays. Many of Naida’s teammates, friends and colleagues are taking part on Sunday and there are a lot of husbands, brothers, boyfriends and sons genning up on the rules of netball as I write. Naida’s fundraising page can be found here.”

2.59pm BST

It’s still raining at Lord’s, and the forecast suggests there is unlikely to be any more play. The outlook for the last two days is much better, however, so a result is still possible. So is world peace, I suppose.

2.53pm BST

Ali Martin writes...

Eoin Morgan has stated his desire to stay on as England’s limited overs captain and lead the side into next year’s Twenty20 World Cup in Australia – provided he can overcome a longstanding back injury.

2.50pm BST

Thanks Geoff, hello everyone. You want rain chat? I can give you rain chat. There are ways. You don’t wanna know about it, believe me. Hell, I can give you rain chat by 3 o’clock this afternoon. But first, some news on Eoin Morgan.

2.47pm BST

That’s enough rain chat from me. Get ready for some rain chat from Rob Smyth. I’ll be back on day five to continue the rain chat then. Thanks for your company as ever.

2.44pm BST

“The hat is not the answer,” writes Geoff Saunders. “I used to work in Moscow and on every official holiday we had lovely sunshine - never rain. How? Because the then Mayor – Luzhkov – had the clouds around the city seeded so the rain fell outside the city and no clouds got inside the city boundaries (or outside when they had the airshows out in the boonies).”

I think the links between London and Moscow are already rather stronger than we might like.

2.42pm BST

It was a very good call from Slough, anyway, about the rain starting at lunchtime. I don’t know if Slough has any intelligence (ha ha) about when the rain might stop. It’s faintly drizzling still at the Home of Damp and Cricket.

2.32pm BST

“I’ve just checked with my team of consulting engineers and they said the idea of putting a roof on is so 1980s. These days, apparently, we’d go for a fleet of hydroscopic (or something) micro drones. About ten million of them should do it, according to their rough calculations.”

We’re back to the drones. Thanks, Garry Sharp.

2.19pm BST

“If we go with Arran Watson and put a hat on Lords I wonder if you’d be able to fiddle with the aircon and get it to swing all day. It’d be tampering but it’d be so clever I don’t think anyone would mind.”

Just home ground advantage, Chris Lingwood, surely?

2.11pm BST

Arran Watson writes in. “Call it a knee-jerk reaction if you will, but with all this global warming & stormy summers we can expect in UK in years to come, isn’t it becoming sensible to finally get round to sticking a roof on cricket grounds?”

I’m not sure how easy it would be to just whack a roof on the ol’ Lord’s. Maybe some sort of transparent umbrella canopy might suit the style. It might also be a good idea to put the kibosh on all of these charmers trying to get fracking going in the UK, and maybe put the heat on Australia to stop trying to open a new coal mine every five minutes.

2.07pm BST

“This may be a foolish question, but if the average for top order batsmen against balls on the stumps is really 15, does that not suggest a winning strategy?!”

Very fair question, John Cox. I’ve got the boffins on it. My inclination would be that it works better as an occasional surprise ball, given the ball on the stumps should be one of the easiest to hit. If you only bowl on the stumps, the delivery becomes easier to play, but if it’s once in a while then the mistake is more likely. Also a batsman can miss outside the stumps and not be out, but any miss in line with the stumps means a wicket.

1.49pm BST

What I meant to say what that it’s raining still, and lunch was over 9 minutes ago. So we’re losing match time with each passing minute now. What can be done? Surrender to the elements.

1.48pm BST

“This is a much better content strategy from The Guardian: the content which was all rainy was bad content, and the content when Australia batted forever was not content which had been optimised for the domestic audience. The current content is good content. I’m content.”

I’ll have you know, Paul Griffin, that I resent this wildly. Our rain content on the first day was excellent content, so good that the New York Times wrote it up in their sports newsletter as singularly worthy of praise for our efforts in covering eight hours of nothing happening. That’s as existential as it gets.

1.39pm BST

Here’s Romeo. “If I were a very talented Test very fast bowler (and I’m not Archer, sadly) I’d bowl a whole over of yorkers to Smith. Vary the pace, some slow, but mainly 95 mph jobs, right on middle and leg. And if that didn’t work I’d do it again next over, and repeat until it did. At some point, he’d not get his leg out of the way or his bat on it. And I wouldn’t go for many runs.”

Except... you would, because Smith scores most of his runs off his pads. In the last four years, on the CricViz numbers, he averages over 50 to balls on his stumps. The average for top-order batsmen is 15. Smith doesn’t get lbw (18 out of 103 dismissals in Tests) because he’s too good at hitting the ball. He doesn’t miss.

1.31pm BST

The marching band is still going around in the rain. Something about wearing a furry hat in this country makes people think they can treat you horribly.

1.28pm BST

“Ben Stokes will keep bowling to Matthew Wade after the break, hopefully” ... and presumably to Smith with very little hope at all.

Very good, Robin Hazlehurst.

1.26pm BST

If you want something to do during the break, why not Emma’s latest Spin episode. Adam Collins, Andy Bull and Bharat Sundaresan on this Test as well as whether cricket should be in the Olympics and which players should have been booked for Strictly Come Dancing.

1.04pm BST

Quite the first session. Three wickets for England, but they won’t quite feel it was their session because Smith is still there, and looking good. He’s the key again, and whether he can get enough support from a couple of Tasmanian wicketkeepers and the bowlers. England still lead by 178, so one wrong step could see them well on top.

DRS did its job: England would have been robbed had Head not been lopped off, and would have committed a burglary had they got Wade.

12.59pm BST

On your cricket day...

Here it comes. Not heavy, but there. Two minutes before lunch, so we’ll hit the sandwiches early.

12.56pm BST

37th over: Australia 80-4 (Smith 13, Wade 0) Just two slips for Smith already against Broad. Two men out on the hook, plus a backward square leg. Broad isn’t exactly the most threatening with the short ball. He bowls thigh pad, and Smith glances it so crisply that it beats fine leg for four.

12.53pm BST

36th over: Australia 76-4 (Smith 9, Wade 0) Yet another leg-side nudge from Smith gives Wade the strike against Stokes, and from the last ball of the over Stokes thinks that he’s through. Right-armer swinging the ball into the left-hander from over the wicket, beating his flick and nailing him in front of middle. Only problem is it pitched outside leg stump, which looked pretty obvious. Gaffaney gives it out but Wade immediately appeals to a higher authority (not God) and wins.

12.46pm BST

35th over: Australia 75-4 (Smith 8, Wade 0) Broad full to Wade, who plays to square leg but straight to the field. Not afraid to look to score, and he does so again with a bit of width outside off, smashing the square drive straight at Roy at backward point. Good shot but for the exact placement. Wade gives up and blocks straight back down the pitch. Three slips in for him, plus Roy. Cover, mid-off, mid-on, midwicket, long leg. Archer runs over from mid-off to chat to Broad, who then bowls on a length outside off. Sound advice, Jof. A third scoring attempt from Wade goes straight to cover. Three maidens in a row.

George gets his answer from Richard O’Hagan. “I’m about five miles from Slough and it isn’t raining yet. On the other hand, it does look like it will hose it down any moment. Rain to start during lunch would be my guess.”

12.41pm BST

34th over: Australia 75-4 (Smith 8, Wade 0) Ben Stokes on to bowl now, from the Nursery End, and he looks the most likely against Smith in the space of two balls. First he gets some swing past the outside edge, and there’s another of those embarrappeals from the cordon. Then he nearly slants one onto Smith’s pads, and draws a scrappy leading edge in defence. A maiden.

12.38pm BST

33rd over: Australia 75-4 (Smith 8, Wade 0) Broad again, and Wade plays out another maiden solidly. You can even sense his confidence when he’s defending.

12.37pm BST

32nd over: Australia 75-4 (Smith 8, Wade 0) There is a little more pressure for Smith to get the score moving at four down, and he helps that by pulling Woakes for four. Nothing has gone well for Woakes with the short ball today. No score from the rest of the over.

A number of readers are taking issue with my earlier mention of a Louisiana crossroads on the basis that the similar blues-guitar story took place in Mississippi. The Devil gets around, people. He’s running secret crossroad meetings, not a corner store. The British obsession with queuing is untenable.

12.30pm BST

George Davidson emails in. “When I lived in Super Slough and the cricket was on terrestrial, it took exactly 29 mins for the weather to go from us to Lords. Any OBO readers in Slough who can advise when the rain comes please? There’s been a WICKET! Is it Smith? Oh, it’s Head. Slight feeling of disappointment. Great expectations.”

12.28pm BST

31st over: Australia 71-4 (Smith 4, Wade 0) One left-hander for another, for another, for another. Matthew Wade is the latest off the conveyor belt. He plays Broad well at first, defending where needed, playing a hard drive to mid-on when pitched up, and leaving when wide.

12.24pm BST

Broad is fit and firing right now though! He comes from wide on the crease to Head, around the wicket. Angles the ball in sharply. Straightens it down the hill too I fancy, so instead of missing leg stump it would have been crashing into middle. It hits Head under the knee roll, front leg. Somehow, Aleem Dar gives it not out. Two noises, perhaps? The angle confusing him? I don’t know. But th –at’s what the DRS is for – the completely obvious wrong decision. Broad’s appeal had been more a leap of celebration, and England immediately reviewed hadn’t when they saw it hadn’t been upheld. Plumb.

12.23pm BST

30th over: Australia 71-3 (Smith 4, Head 7) Woakes to head, angling up the hill across him, and this time Head manages to play inside the line deliberately. He gets a ball on his legs and glances a single, and it’s time for more Smith shuffling and leaving.

“Although unofficial, I think we might actually be witnessing Jimmy Anderson’s cricketing funeral,” writes a rather morose Jason Ali. “He’s absent and unlikely to return anytime soon; the team have moved on. It’s a rather strange moment.”

12.20pm BST

29th over: Australia 70-3 (Smith 4, Head 6) Broad comes back into the attack for Archer, who has done most of the lifting with 13 overs so far. Broad is bowling wide to Smith trying to get an injudicious stroke, but Smith leaves five alone, and works the one straighter ball for two runs. Doubles his score again. At this rate England are in real trouble.

12.16pm BST

28th over: Australia 68-3 (Smith 2, Head 6) Smith facing Woakes plays the weirdest defensive shot he’s played, and that’s saying something. Walks across and blocks it out to cover, then sidestep crab-shuffles and follows the ball for about three paces, like a goalkeeper moving along his line. Like the ball was somehow going to curve back from cover and try to bowl him? Eventually he tucks a single to double his score. Head plays the way Head plays, pushing hard at a ball for an inside edge past leg stump for two, then compactly driving a ball close enough to his stumps to feel safe against, through cover point for four.

12.13pm BST

27th over: Australia 61-3 (Smith 1, Head 0) Archer is getting movement in the air. He’s around the wicket to the left-handed Head, and a couple in his last over swerved as well, including a bouncer that Bairstow could barely get to. This time he bends one into the pads. The over is a bit erratic, losing it down the leg side here and there, but it’s a maiden and every ball still feels dangerous.

12.05pm BST

Travellers, distant friends, you may listen to all your faves here.

12.04pm BST

Drinks break. “A question from the unsighted,” writes Jonathan Taylor. “Is Archer making the batsmen play? Last night it wasn’t really the corridor of uncertainty – more definitely leave. The ball should have been going down Bakerloo but was going down the Glasgow subway instead. So is he actually making them play or think about playing?”

Mostly he’s been bowling at their sternums, so yes, they’ve played. But when he’s gone to off stump it’s been close enough, yes.

12.01pm BST

26th over: Australia 61-3 (Smith 1, Head 0) Woakes is bowling outswing from the Nursery end, meaning it will go down the hill away from the right-hander. Smith is so confident of his judgement of line that he steps across to one ball and just lets it hit his pad. Outside off stump. Then Woakes gets one down leg side off the hip. The prospect of getting Smith out is so remote that England’s players are too embarrassed to appeal for either. They have the slightest burble of a “Howz....”, like when you thinking someone is waving at you and start to wave back but then you realise and it fizzles into a move of running your fingers through your hair. (The whole sequence could be called: Peter Handscomb.)

11.57am BST

25th over: Australia 61-3 (Smith 1, Head 0) What in the rosy gates of Hell... I swear that Smith must have sold his soul at a Louisiana crossroads one dark night. He is batting on another plane. This is just a single, right. In the scorebook as one. But this... Archer did Bancroft with this delivery six or eight times. Nasty, aggressive, back of a length and sizzling in at the ribs. Bancroft got his several times. He skewed it wide of leg-side catchers a couple of times. His edged it into his body. He couldn’t lay bat on it with any control.

The same ball to Smith? He steps across his stumps, raises his wrists with the height of the ball, rides the bounce, and guides it off the full face of the bat into the ground behind square, into the gap in the field, and away for a run. As calm as you like, as controlled as you like. To get... off the mark. What.

11.52am BST

24th over: Australia 60-3 (Smith 0, Head 0) So. A decent little partnership of 49, survival of 45 minutes on a cloudy morning, and then two wickets fall on the same score. Two men on nought are at the crease. Travis Head, bolshie lefty, pulls his bat inside the line of a Woakes ball, close enough to playing it to make the slip cordon break into song. Head plays at his feet to blunt a yorker. Survives.

11.48am BST

Back to back wickets! Woakes finally gets his line and his length together. Angled across Khawaja, close enough to the stumps to draw a shot, again the batsman pushing from the crease, and this time a simple edge! Twist, meet turn.

11.47am BST

23rd over: Australia 60-2 (Khawaja 36, Smith 0) Well, if there was a buzz before thanks to Archer’s bowling, there certainly is now. Steve Smith walks to the crease. All of England is so preoccupied with him that if he gets out early here, as cricketers sometimes must, the roar might damage the heritage buildings. The last ball is very wide and Smith leaves.

11.42am BST

Not sure this will be out in the end... it looks high. But by the barest of margins, it is! A proper bail-trimmer on the DRS. It was a brilliant delivery from Archer, it was pitched up just enough and seamed in wickedly down the slope. Bancroft was thinking of leaving on the line, then tried desperately to play. It cut in, beat his shot and smashed into his pad, almost outside the line of off. Hitting the knee roll, it looked wide and high for mine on a first glance. But the computer generation suggests it was cutting in as far as middle stump, and clipping the top. Archer’s fine work gets reward!

11.41am BST

22nd over: Australia 60-1 (Bancroft 13, Khawaja 36) Woakes gets his length right in an over to Khawaja, though not so much the line as the batsman is able to leave every ball but one. Still, the lack of short balls will please Richard O’Hagan.

“When I was 11, a group of schoolfriends and I were caught playing football when we had been explicitly told not to do so, and were made to spend a break time standing like statues in the playground. On the basis that England’s bowlers were told to pitch the ball up and let it swing, rather than dropping every delivery short, I reckon they should be sent to guard the square during the next rain break and think about what they’ve done.”

11.37am BST

21st over: Australia 60-1 (Bancroft 13, Khawaja 36) Archer has the smarts to correct immediately, bowling just the one bouncer in this over to Bancroft. Pitches up and looks for something, and again beats a flick to hit the pads, then draws a miscued push through mid-on for a couple of runs. He’s surviving a torrid spell.

11.34am BST

20th over: Australia 58-1 (Bancroft 11, Khawaja 36) First bowling change, with Chris Woakes on for Archer. He’s coming right-arm over the wicket to the left-handed Khawaja, angling across, and drawing a big edge first ball! Flying past Stokes to split slip and gully for four! Woakes bowls the same ball and Khawaja is edging again, stuck on the crease and prodding, but softly enough that this time it bounces to slip. It’s cat and mouse, as Khawaja defends off his pads, then counterpunches as Woakes bowls too short, Khawaja standing up to force off the front foot through cover point. Four, and again with another short ball, this time that batsman using almost an uppercut flick to get the ball through point. Three boundaries from the over, and two near wickets.

“Feeling like it could be Khawaja’s day today,” emails Peter Salmon in timely fashion. “Ever since Barney Ronay described him as ‘skulking around the Australian top six like Banquo’s ghost’ he’s looked out of sorts, but looks he’s due for a career definer. Like when Greg Ritchie scored 146 at Nottingham. That sort of innings.” Very good. Writing alongside Ronay is a bit like playing midfield with Messi. It elevates you, but you’ll never match it.

11.27am BST

19th over: Australia 46-1 (Bancroft 11, Khawaja 24) Archer to Bancroft, and the fireworks continue to pop. Bang! A short ball hits him in the ribs. Fizz! There’s almost a catch down leg, but the ball has just missed glove and lifted over the keeper from Bancroft’s hip. Pop! Bancroft reaches for an outswinger and edges it fine for four! Bancroft goes from 7 to 11, much like a popular convenience store. Crack, shimmer, Archer gets a bit carried away and sends down two more short balls than the over requires. Compelling viewing from right behind the batsman.

11.20am BST

18th over: Australia 38-1 (Bancroft 7, Khawaja 24) Broad is testing out Khawaja, in at the stumps once, twice, thrice... then he slips in the short ball. Bang. It doesn’t get up very high, and Khawaja nails it backward of square. There are two men out though, so they combine to keep the scoring to two. Broad resumes an off-stump attack, and Khawaja resumes a corresponding defence.

11.17am BST

17th over: Australia 36-1 (Bancroft 7, Khawaja 22) Archer now to Bancroft and this is heating up. A sharp bouncer startles the batsman but it started too wide of off stump to really bother him. A couple on a better line tuck him up for room at his ribcage. A fuller ball slides in and hits the pad, going down, then another holds its line up the hill from the Pavilion End to beat the edge! What an over from the man on debut.

11.15am BST

16th over: Australia 36-1 (Bancroft 7, Khawaja 22) Broad is onto his line in his second over, and onto it well. Locks Bancroft down around the off stump, but Bancroft eventually shows one of his skills in managing a simple forward press to find a gap at cover and dart a single. Getting off strike is often undervalued in an opener. It’s not so good for Khawaja though, who is beaten by a beauty to end the over, just outside off and seaming away against the slope from the Nursery end.

11.08am BST

15th over: Australia 35-1 (Bancroft 6, Khawaja 22) Here’s the real business: Jofra Archer. Can he just bowl at both ends? He’s so beautiful to watch with that easy run. I’d happily watch him make a sandwich. Or hang a painting. Or even be on that show where you watch him watching TV. He’s bowling now, drawing a false shot from Bancroft, the attempted flick beating by pace and ballooning in the air behind square leg, but there’s no one there. There is a leg slip, but it goes square of him. To Khawaja, Archer draws a big appeal from the slips as a ball slips down leg and beats the attempted glance.

11.04am BST

14th over: Australia 34-1 (Bancroft 5, Khawaja 22) Good morning from England, all. Thanks JP for the build-up extravaganza. I hope that’s not overstating the case. Stuart Broad starts in understated fashion, with a proper loosener on the thigh pad that Khawaja glances for two. Thanks very much. Then another goes in a similar direction, not quite as short and a bit squarer. Another leg-stumper is flicked square cleanly but a boundary is saved as it goes straight to the man at square leg.

10.59am BST

The players and officials are making their way out to the middle at Lord’s. The clouds have rolled in, it’s cool, and the floodlights are on. England will be hungry for Australian wickets.

Stuart Broad is at the top of his mark... Now it’s over to Geoff.

10.57am BST

Jimmy Anderson has been out warming up, jogging, and rolling his arm over. There’s still little expectation of seeing him in whites before the fourth Test but encouraging nonetheless to see him active.

10.55am BST

Mike Daniels has greater confidence in Jason Roy than some of us. “Roy’s got a perfectly ok technique to play Test Cricket,” he emails. “Those wanting to criticise his technique on the basis of yesterday’s dismissal are barking up the wrong tree. Far more important is the lack of red-ball batting he has had and being asked to open in Test cricket when he doesn’t do that in red-ball cricket anyway. He’s looking out of his comfort zone because he is.”

10.52am BST

Almost time for the five-minute bell. It will be rung today by Shane Keith Warne.

10.48am BST

“I was much excited to see Jason Roy make the transition from ODI to Tests in the mould of Virender Sehwag,” emails Amod Paranjape. “I am no expert but watching him I feel he has changed his game and is much better playing his natural game.”

I’m not sure we’ve seen enough of Roy out in the middle to be certain what he’s doing. It appears to me as though his technique is ill suited to opening against attacks as disciplined as Australia’s at Test level (see Gary Naylor’s tweet below). However, I don’t feel as though I’ve seen him throw the bat at everything and bludgeon his way into Test cricket a la David Warner, which may be the way forward, rather than pretending to be something he isn’t.

10.45am BST

@JPHowcroft @GeoffLemonSport Siddle is the Mark Seymour of cricket.

Thanks Rick. Any excuse to roll out this banger.

10.43am BST

10.40am BST

You don't need data to know that England have batting problems @JPHowcroft. Have a look at the two stills here - https://t.co/m9okhQqAwj. If feet, hands, head and ball are misaligned, how can a batsman be balanced at the crease? And if you're not balanced, you're out pretty soon.

Sky did some lovely analysis on this yesterday, highlighting the box outside of which Roy’s hands should not move, but tend to all to often.

10.38am BST

Nathan Lyon matched Dennis Lillee’s career haul of Test wickets yesterday and as Ali Martin reports the Australian was as unfazed and knockabout as ever at reaching the milestone.

I really struggle to see myself up with the likes of Warne and McGrath. It doesn’t sit well with me. Those guys are legends.

Related: England’s Jofra Archer ready to return fire following Australia blitz

10.33am BST

The TMS link for overseas listeners has been supplied by Peter Crees.

10.31am BST

After watching yesterday’s play, what you would not be minded to do, writes Geoff Lemon, is write about Peter Siddle. So guess what Geoff’s done? He’s only bloomin gone and written about Peter Siddle.

Siddle was not fashionable then nor is he fashionable now. He bowls seam on a length, over and over. He does not have rocket-speed or booming swing. During every match he plays for Australia you will find people questioning his presence, Australia supporters well represented among them. And during every match you will find Siddle striving to do what needs to be done.

Related: Unheralded Peter Siddle proves to be durable if not fashionable | Geoff Lemon

10.31am BST

“Currently lying in a hammock in SW France” humblebrags Dan Catton, “as my kids charge around a tree-climbing and zip-wire park. Not a cloud in the sky and beach weather forecast for later.” Ok, ok, we get it. “Given the state of play, should England fans pray for the rain to come sooner or later in St John’s Wood?”

Ask Geoff again in an hour or so. With overcast conditions and a newish ball England will expect to make early inroads into Australia’s batting order this morning. Should they fail then rain will be prayed for. Should they succeed then they’ll want to keep on as long as possible.

10.27am BST

More brilliance from the superb Ben Jones.

For ages, England’s batting returns have been low because on average, the conditions they’ve faced - particularly at home - have been extremely tough.

Typically, they’ve outperformed expectations. In 2019 they haven’t, and so their issues need to be taken seriously. #Ashes https://t.co/DsnRYmGxhL

10.27am BST

“Why are we playing the Ashes in the Autumn rather than in Summer?” asks Paul Cunningham, somewhat rhetorically. “Because the former pinnacle of cricket now has to play second fiddle to the ODI tournament?”

Well, it is still summer, and the World Cup was a roaring success, so I’m not sure we’re going to be on the same page with this one.

10.22am BST

Dean Kinsella is worried. I share his sentiments. “I fear.” he emails. “I fear for England and Wales. I don’t see this ending well. I’m also somewhat concerned that the cricket may not go too well today. Personally, I wouldn’t have taken Broad out of the attack so quickly last evening. He looked like he might have been on a roll. Should have been backed to the hilt and wound up to really blast out some Aussies. Instead, the new toy had to be played with - untested and unable to bowl the right line. England’s next innings will be after some rain and a covered pitch. I fear they will taste Ireland’s dismay from a couple of weeks back. I fear.”

Alternatively, skittle Australia out before lunch, smack a quick 250 on Saturday and have 120+ overs to level the series on a day five pitch? Nah, I don’t think so either.

10.19am BST

Don’t forget that fundraising continues for the Ruth Strauss Foundation following yesterday’s emotional scenes at Lord’s when the home of cricket was resplendent in red and Andrew Strauss ensured there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

10.15am BST

Rory Burns was one of the few England batsmen to prosper yesterday, giving Andy Bull the opportunity to ruminate on the work ethic of the lucky.

Even Burns’s nearest and dearest surely would not say he was a handsome batsman. His stance makes him look as if he spent the previous night sleeping in the front seat of a car. But it works for him, and he weathered two superb spells, one from Josh Hazlewood at the Nursery End and another from Pat Cummins coming in from the Pavilion.

Related: Rory Burns counts his blessings amid England fragility at the crease | Andy Bull

10.11am BST

Speaking of the forecast, here’s some more detail.

Biggest question at Lord's today will be how much cricket gets played before the rain sets in?

It moves in sometime between 12 and 2pm. I'll take a friendly sweep stake for an exact time they come off? #bbccricket | @bbctms | #Ashes pic.twitter.com/KIn6FgZc7D

10.10am BST

Graeme Hull takes line honours for the day’s first email, and he opens the floodgates with a very popular question, for which there is no satisfactory answer. “Given the forecast,” he asks, “is there any real reason why play couldn’t start at 9am to give more real playing time, rather than waiting for the scheduled start?”

10.05am BST

Here’s how the most important 22 yards of cut and rolled London turf look this morning. You’d have to expect the variable bounce we witnessed yesterday will only continue, and it certainly looks dry enough for spin to become increasingly important.

Day three #Ashes pic.twitter.com/4NckJBxDYS

9.58am BST

Before play resumes there’s plenty of time to put the kettle on, make a brew, read the paper and have a chat. What better place to begin than with Vic Marks’s report from day two?

Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad and Jack Leach all hung around long enough for Bairstow to post his 50, his first excursion into double figures in Test cricket this summer. There were signs the old fluency was returning until he attempted to wallop a Lyon off-break into the grandstand. He managed only to find Khawaja at deep square-leg but at least England had crept to a disappointing total rather than a disastrous one.

Related: Jonny Bairstow rescues England after afternoon mid-order collapse

9.39am BST

Hello everybody and welcome to live OBO coverage of day three of the second Test from Lord’s. After rain washed out Wednesday this contest moved on apace yesterday with 11 wickets falling, leaving the match delicately poised. For the sake of the series England can ill afford to underperform during the opening couple of hours of play this morning.

That said, with the weather forecast as it is we may not actually see more than a couple of hours of play all day. Rain is expected around lunchtime and it is set to linger.

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