Duckett set the pace as England fights back at Lord’s

Opener Ben Duckett hit 98 as England raced to 278-4 in an another high octane “Bazball” batting display to continue their Ashes fightback on day two of the second Lord’s test on June 29 after bowling Australia out for 416 on a memorable day’s action.

Opener Ben Duckett hit 98 as England raced to 278-4 in an another high octane "Bazball" batting display to continue their Ashes fightback on day two of the second Lord's test on Thursday after bowling Australia out for 416 on a memorable day's action.

In the latest extraordinary display of modern-day test cricket, England enjoyed their best Ashes opening stand for 11 years and rattled to their total at almost five an over.

However, the counterpoint of their all-action approach meant they also gifted key wickets when well-set batsmen refused to back down in the face of Australia's somewhat desperate short-pitched approach.

As the chaos mounted after tea, veteran Australian radio commentator Jim Maxwell described it as "the most bizarre hour's cricket I've ever seen - this is madness at the home of cricket," and few in the packed Lord's grandstands would disagree.

England, so flat on Wednesday, began the day much more purposefully as Australia resumed on 339-5 with Steve Smith on 85, as Stuart Broad and Jimmy Anderson quickly removed Alex Carey and Mitchell Starc.

However, Smith, who on Wednesday became the fourth Australian to pass 9,000 runs, pressed on to claim his 32nd test century before finally departing for 110 via a superb catch by Duckett at second slip to give Josh Tongue his third wicket. Captain Pat Cummins, who batted superbly to bring Australia home in the first test, again looked assured to end unbeaten on 22 and, though he will be delighted with his team's final tally, it represented something of a tail off from when they were seemingly cruising at 316-3 on Wednesday afternoon.

England set about their reply at their now customary speed and Duckett and Zak Crawley's 91-run partnership was their best opening stand in the Ashes since Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook put on 98 in Sydney in 2011.