Ashes series 2013 England vs Australia 2nd test match England win,Second Test: England v Australia at Lord's, London

The shadow from the floodlight behind the Warner stand had already stretched out well beyond the pitch as Graeme Swann ran in to bowl the third ball of the final over of the fourth day. England had taken the extra eight overs allotted to try to ensure a finish but so obdurately had the final Australia pair batted for more than an hour that the game seemed destined to go into the final day, something that, with refunds as well, was likely to cost MCC half a million pounds just to open the ground irrespective of refunds.

It may have been one of the most valuable deliveries Swann has produced. Pitching on the line of the stumps to the left-handed James Pattinson, it straightened and caught him right in front. Marais Erasmus thought for a moment and then responded to the vehement appeal. England had won the second Ashes Test by 347 runs and lead by 2-0 with three Tests to go, the first time they have won the opening two matches of an Ashes series at home.

It is a trouncing of such proportion that it all but rendered redundant their own second innings, with Joe Root's momentous 180. Only once, in Brisbane in 1928-29, the match in which Donald Bradman made his debut and saw his side defeated by a barely comprehensible 675 runs, has Australia lost as heavily as this in terms of runs. It represents their sixth successive defeat and the prospect looms of them equalling the worst run of losses, seven, a record that goes back to 1888, and even exceeding it.

The Ashes are all but safe for England.Australia, for all their apparent buoyancy having come tantalisingly close to winning the first Test, stand as much chance of getting back into this series now as Shane Watson has of entering into a civil partnership with his captain, Michael Clarke.

Such a turnaround has been known only once between the two countries. In 1936-37 England, under Gubby Allen, won the first two Tests, in Brisbane and Sydney. Then at the MCG they were caught on a sticky dog of a pitch, Australia reversed their batting order, Bradman made 270 at No7 and England lost by 365. He then made 212 in a 148-run Australian victory in Adelaide, and completed it with 169 back at the MCG when they wrapped up the series by an innings and 200 runs. Australia have one of the world's finest batsmen in Clarke but he is not quite Bradman.

There were excellent half-centuries from Clarke, 51, and Usman Khawaja, 54, with a fourth-wicket partnership of 98 but beyond that, until the last rites, the remains of the batting was abject once more, clueless as the ball spat and turned out of the rough first for Swann, who added four for 78 to his first innings figures to finish with match figures of nine for 122, and then Root, who claimed Clarke and Khuwaja at a bargain price, demonstrating that he will be a significant all-rounder for England in the future.

Tim Bresnan chipped in with a couple of wickets and there were two for Jimmy Anderson as well, beginning with Watson, who biffed his usual 20 or so at the start before getting his pad in the way yet again, the 10th time he has been lbw in 18 dismissals by England. Not even he, the great compulsive DRS gambler, had the gall to put his shirt on this one. For the fourth time in this series it took England longer to end Australia's innings than they would have liked, as Pattinson, 35, and Ryan Harris added 43 for the final wicket, the second highest partnership of their innings. Such things tend to put to shame what went before but it has already become a familiar story. Pattinson looks an accomplished player and Harris got in behind and battled it out rather as he had done with the ball.

The crowd became edgy, as if this was the final session of the match. The England bowlers strained for the coup de grace. Anderson came and went – a modest game by his monumental standards – while first Broad and then Bresnan gave it a new-ball burst. Bats were dead, the ball was hitting the middle sweetly. Occasionally one ripped past the outside edge to groans, oohs and aahs. It was dramatic in its way but it was concocted drama.

Scoreboard

England first innings: 361 for 10 (100.1 overs)
Australia first innings: 128 for 10 (53.3 overs)
England second innings: 349 for 7 (114.1 overs)
Australia second innings: 235 for 10 (90.3 overs)

England win by 347 runs

England first innings

Batsman		Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
Extras:	21
Total:	361 for 10 (100.1 overs)
Fall of wickets:	1-18, 2-26, 3-28, 4-127, 5-271, 6-274, 7-283, 8-289, 9-313, 10-361
Alastair Cook	lbw Shane Watson	12	14	2	0	85.71
Joe Root	lbw Ryan Harris	6	14	1	0	42.86
Jonathan Trott	c Usman Khawajab Ryan Harris	58	87	11	0	66.67
Kevin Pietersen	c Brad Haddinb Ryan Harris	2	4	0	0	50.00
Ian Bell	c Michael Clarkeb Steven Smith	109	211	16	0	51.66
Jonny Bairstow	c andb Steven Smith	67	146	7	0	45.89
Matt Prior	c Brad Haddinb Steven Smith	6	18	1	0	33.33
Tim Bresnan	c Brad Haddinb Ryan Harris	7	29	1	0	24.14
James Anderson	c Brad Haddinb Ryan Harris	12	29	2	0	41.38
Stuart Broad	c Brad Haddinb James Pattinson	33	29	5	1	113.79
Graeme Swann	not out	28	26	5	0	107.69

Bowler	O	M	R	W	Econ
James Pattinson	20.1	3	95	1	4.71
Ryan Harris	26.0	6	72	5	2.77
Shane Watson	13.0	4	45	1	3.46
Peter Siddle	22.0	6	76	0	3.45
Ashton Agar	13.0	2	44	0	3.38
Steven Smith	6.0	1	18	3	3.00

Australia first innings

Batsman		Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
Extras:	7
Total:	128 for 10 (53.3 overs)
Fall of wickets:	1-42, 2-50, 3-53, 4-69, 5-86, 6-91, 7-96, 8-104, 9-104, 10-128
Shane Watson	lbw Tim Bresnan	30	42	6	0	71.43
Chris Rogers	lbw Graeme Swann	15	45	0	0	33.33
Usman Khawaja	c Kevin Pietersenb Graeme Swann	14	35	1	0	40.00
Phillip Hughes	c Matt Priorb Tim Bresnan	1	8	0	0	12.50
Michael Clarke	lbw Stuart Broad	28	41	4	0	68.29
Steven Smith	c Ian Bellb Graeme Swann	2	14	0	0	14.29
Brad Haddin	c Jonathan Trottb Graeme Swann	7	42	1	0	16.67
Ashton Agar	run out Matt Prior	2	21	0	0	9.52
Peter Siddle	c Graeme Swannb James Anderson	2	24	0	0	8.33
James Pattinson	not out	10	24	1	0	41.67
Ryan Harris	c Kevin Pietersenb Graeme Swann	10	25	1	0	40.00

Bowler	O	M	R	W	Econ
James Anderson	14.0	8	25	1	1.79
Stuart Broad	11.0	3	26	1	2.36
Tim Bresnan	7.0	1	28	2	4.00
Graeme Swann	21.3	5	44	5	2.05

England second innings

Batsman		Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
Extras:	23
Total:	349 for 7 (114.1 overs)
Fall of wickets:	1-22, 2-22, 3-30, 4-129, 5-282, 6-344, 7-349
Alastair Cook	b Peter Siddle	8	28	0	0	28.57
Joe Root	c Steven Smithb Ryan Harris	180	338	18	2	53.25
Jonathan Trott	b Peter Siddle	0	6	0	0	0.00
Kevin Pietersen	c Chris Rogersb Peter Siddle	5	11	1	0	45.45
Tim Bresnan	c Chris Rogersb James Pattinson	38	137	4	0	27.74
Ian Bell	c Chris Rogersb Steven Smith	74	103	11	0	71.84
Jonny Bairstow	c Brad Haddinb Ryan Harris	20	54	2	1	37.04
Matt Prior	not out	1	8	0	0	12.50

Bowler	O	M	R	W	Econ
Ryan Harris	18.1	4	31	2	1.71
Shane Watson	12.0	5	25	0	2.08
Peter Siddle	21.0	6	65	3	3.10
James Pattinson	20.0	8	42	1	2.10
Steven Smith	14.0	0	65	1	4.64
Ashton Agar	29.0	5	98	0	3.38

Australia second innings

Batsman		Runs	Balls	4s	6s	SR
Extras:	10
Total:	235 for 10 (90.3 overs)
Fall of wickets:	1-24, 2-32, 3-36, 4-134, 5-135, 6-136, 7-154, 8-162, 9-192, 10-235
Shane Watson	lbw James Anderson	20	23	3	0	86.96
Chris Rogers	b Graeme Swann	6	29	0	0	20.69
Usman Khawaja	c James Andersonb Joe Root	54	133	7	0	40.60
Phillip Hughes	lbw Graeme Swann	1	21	0	0	4.76
Michael Clarke	c Alastair Cookb Joe Root	51	85	7	0	60.00
Steven Smith	c Matt Priorb Tim Bresnan	1	14	0	0	7.14
Brad Haddin	lbw Graeme Swann	7	32	0	0	21.88
Ashton Agar	c Matt Priorb Tim Bresnan	16	13	4	0	123.08
Peter Siddle	b James Anderson	18	62	1	0	29.03
James Pattinson	lbw Graeme Swann	35	91	3	0	38.46
Ryan Harris	not out	16	40	1	0	40.00