Defeat in the second Test extended England’s miserable Ashes record at Lord’s to seven wins in 38 matches.
Ben Stokes’ staggering 155 was not enough to avoid a 43-run defeat which stretched England’s winless run against their arch-rivals at the Home of Cricket to a decade.
Here, the PA news agency takes a statistical look at Australia’s visits to Lord’s.
No home comforts
The Lord’s hospitality may be world famous – Sunday’s unsavoury confrontations in the Long Room notwithstanding – but unfortunately for England, their visitors from the other side of the world have too often made themselves at home.
Sunday saw the conclusion of Australia’s 16th win at Lord’s, drawing 15 Tests along the way to leave England winning just 18 per cent of their meetings.
England’s back-to-back wins in 2009, in a game set up by Sir Andrew Strauss and Sir Alastair Cook’s opening stand of 196 and clinched by Andrew Flintoff’s five for 92, and 2013 when Joe Root made 180 and Graeme Swann took nine wickets in the match are their only successes in 23 attempts since winning in 1934.
In fact, England won more Ashes Tests at Lord’s prior to 1900 – four out of seven, having only played the first in 1884 – than their three in the 123 years since.
The ground witnessed only that solitary 1934 home win in the whole of the 20th century, when Hedley Verity took 15 wickets to condemn the great Sir Donald Bradman’s side to an innings defeat.
Australia have won on seven of their last 11 visits since a run of draws in the 1970s and early 1980s, and all by comfortable margins.
Sunday’s was easily the closest by runs, with Australia victorious by 239 in 2005 and 405 in 2015 as well as chasing targets with four, six and eight wickets to spare and completing a thumping innings win in 1993 after declaring on 632 for four.
Smith closing on the Don
Bradman is the leading run-scorer in Ashes Tests at Lord’s, closely followed by Steve Smith after his first-innings century this time around.
Bradman scored 551 runs in eight innings, including scores of 254, 102 not out and 89. Smith’s record is very similar, with 215 in 2015, 110 across Wednesday and Thursday and 92 in 2019, adding an extra half-century with 58 in the same game as his double-century.
He has also had one innings fewer than Bradman, having been forced off by concussion in 2019 as Marnus Labuschagne took his place.
Allan Border scored 503 runs in nine Lord’s innings, meaning only Australian batters have reached 500 in Ashes Tests there. David Gower, with 467, is the only Englishman in the top six, with Stokes’ efforts over the weekend lifting him to 387.
Among those to have played at least twice, ex-Australia captain Steve Waugh’s 115.50 is the highest average. Waugh scored 231 runs in five innings with only two dismissals.
Compatriots David Boon, Warren Bardsley and Border also averaged over 100 at Lord’s, with Percy Chapman (91.00) the only Englishman in the top 10, even if excluding Australia pace bowler Dennis Lillee, who scored 115 in three innings with no dismissals and therefore no average.
Glenn McGrath edges Verity as the leading wicket-taker, 26 to 21, with both men averaging just over 11 in those games. England’s Fred Trueman and Australia pair Charlie Turner and Shane Warne took 19 apiece.
Johnny Briggs boasts the best average, taking 15 Australian wickets at 7.26 in Lord’s Tests.
Bob Massie, with 16 at 8.56, is the leading Australian, with Englishman George Ulyett (eight at 10.12) also below Verity and McGrath’s averages among those with at least five Ashes wickets at HQ.
Turning the tide: Windies captain Powell cautiously optimistic about comeback in T20 series against England
Though facing an uphill task in their five-match T20 series against England, West Indies captain Rovman Powell is cautiously optimistic that they can produce a comeback to not only overturn a challenging 2-0 deficit but to go all the way in the series.
Powell’s sentiments served as a rallying cry of sorts as they stare down a must-win situation in the third encounter at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia on Thursday to keep the series alive.
Still, Powell expressed confidence that the Caribbean setting, coupled with a few strategic changes, will bolster their fightback.
“St. Lucia is always a good place for us. It provides an opportunity for us to play good cricket, and the wicket is generally a good one, probably the best one in the Caribbean,” Powell said in a pre-game interview.
“The people of St Lucia always come out to support us, which is also good, and so we're looking forward to the next three games. Hopefully they can come out and support us, and we can deliver some good cricket,” he added.
After two tough matches in Barbados, which England won by eight wickets and seven wickets, respectively, Powell emphasized the significance of a renewed focus while also pointing to the need for every player to take personal accountability heading into the crucial contest.
“I think it’s a case of each guy reflecting on how things have gone so far from an individual perspective to see if we as individuals are bringing enough to the table, and then we try our best to try to put it together as a team. We have areas that definitely need work, but the guys are in good spirits. We had a good training session today, so we’re hoping to hit the ground running,” Powell explained.
St Lucia is not only familiar territory but also presents a new beginning, especially with the return of key pacer Alzarri Joseph from a two-match suspension.
Powell believes Joseph’s presence will fortify a bowling attack that has struggled in the opening games, as England easily chased down 182 and 158 in both games.
“If you should look at our bowling department, we really needed him in those games. So, it's important for him to come and hit the straps and hit the ground running. As a bowling group, we have areas where we need to control the power play because the middle overs generally take care of themselves, and he will come to bowl some of those overs in the backend,” he shared.
Despite the uphill battle, Powell cited the Caribbean side’s recent successes over the past 18 months as a reminder of their potential.
“It's a little uncomfortable being 2-0 to be honest; it's a position that we haven't found ourselves in in a long time, but it's an opportunity for us to show what we are made of as a T20 team,” Powell declared.
“England is a team that we have played quite often these days, and we have had good results against them. It's just unfortunate that Barbados wasn't good for us in terms of T20 cricket, but St Lucia provides a new opportunity for us to come out and play some good cricket,” the Jamaican reasoned.
Finally, Powell reiterated the importance of a victory on Thursday, not only to stay in the series but also to set the stage for an exhilarating weekend of cricket. The final two encounters are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.
“It's a case of us getting back into the series; we just need a win, and once we get the win tomorrow, we can go from there. The guys are upbeat; even though we are 2-0 down, they are in a good frame of mind and ready to play good cricket,” the captain ended.
Tilak's unbeaten ton helps India take lead against South Africa
Tilak Varma smashed an unbeaten 107 as India went 2-1 up in their T20I series against South Africa, claiming a nail-biting victory in Wednesday's third match in Centurion.
Following their surprise defeat in Sunday's second match, the tourists bounced back to earn their 10th win in their last 12 outings in the format, putting them on the brink of a series triumph.
Tilak was the star of the show as he produced comfortably the best score of his T20I career, surpassing a knock of 55 versus Bangladesh last year in some style, while only facing 56 balls.
He hit eight fours and seven maximums to set South Africa a target of 220 for victory, with Abhishek Sharma scoring 50 from 25 deliveries in support before Keshav Maharaj broke their partnership in the ninth over.
Despite six of India's batsmen scoring 18 runs or fewer and four – Sanju Samson (0), Suryakumar Yadav (1), Rinku Singh (8) and Axar Patel (1) – being limited to single figures, the damage had largely been done already.
South Africa were then dropped to 84-4 within their first 10 overs as Varun Chakravarthy claimed the crucial wickets of Reeza Hendricks (12) and Aiden Markram (29).
Heinrich Klaasen's incredible 54 off 17 balls dragged South Africa back into contention, and they required 18 runs from four deliveries in a grandstand finish, but Arshdeep Singh trapped the hosts' dangerman lbw to secure India's victory.
Having fallen short of their target by just 11 runs, the Proteas must now win Friday's fourth match to salvage a 2-2 draw from the series.
Data Debrief: Big-hitting India on the brink
Tilak recorded a strike rate of 191.07 while Abhishek was at 200.00 as their early partnership powered India towards victory.
India have now hit over 200 sixes in T20I matches this calendar year, only previously surpassing that figure in the format in one previous year – recording 289 in 2022.
Kusal and Avishka centuries take series opener for Sri Lanka
Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando guided Sri Lanka to a 45-run victory via the DLS Method in the first match of their ODI series against New Zealand on Wednesday.
On a rain-soaked day, the hosts ended their eight-match losing streak at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium with a dominant display from start to finish.
After electing to bat, Sri Lanka were dealt an early blow when Pathum Nissanka (12) was caught by Nathan Smith from Jacob Duffy's delivery in the second over.
However, Kusal would join Avishka at the crease and put the hosts in control, with the pair putting on a 206-run stand.
The duo's contribution formed the bulk of Sri Lanka's 324-5, with Sadeera Samarawickrama (five), Charith Asalanka (40) and Janith Liyanage (12 not out) concluding their innings.
New Zealand started well in their run chase through Will Young (35) and Tim Robinson (35) before the latter was stumped by Mendisb Theekshana in the 13th over.
That kickstarted the tourists' collapse, with the dismissals of Young, Henry Nicholls (six), Mark Chapman (two) and Glenn Phillips (nine) leaving New Zealand 110-5 after 17 overs.
Michael Bracewell's 34 from 32 deliveries steadied the ship somewhat but the damage had been done, with the tourists falling short of their target by 45 runs.
Data Debrief: It's coming home
Sri Lanka have won five of their last six multi-game bilateral men’s ODI series (L1), including each of their last two, and they got off to a perfect start in Dambulla.
The Lions' victory was their first in the format at the Rangiri Dambulla International Stadium since a seven-wicket win against Pakistan back in August 2014.
They were helped by Kusal's knock of 143 from 128 deliveries, which was his fourth ODI century but his first on home soil since 2020.
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