Australia vs England, 2nd Ashes Test, Day 2 Stats Review: Marnus Labuschagne's feat, Mitchell Starc's record and other stats

Marnus Labuschagne smashed his sixth hundred in Tests as Australia declared the innings for 473/9 while batting first at the Adelaide Oval. England then lost both their openers and were struggling at 17/2 at stump’s on Day 2. For Australia, Steve Smith and wicketkeeper batter Alex Carey both scored half-centuries while Mitchell Starc and Michael Neser, who is on his Test debut, scored handy runs lower down the order.

Smith missed his 28th Test century by just seven runs when James Anderson got him out LBW. Carey, who is playing only his second Test, made 51 as he too got out to Anderson. Starc and Neser both scored valuable thirties when Australia decided to declare the innings.

Rory Burns again became a victim of Mitchell Starc when he edged to the waiting hands of Steve Smith in the slips for just four. Michael Neser took his maiden Test wicket in form of Haseeb Hameed as England’s struggles started all over again. It started to pour down and the day was called off a tad early as the players were headed back because of the threat of lightning. Captain Joe Root and Dawid Malan are present at the crease on 5 and one run respectively.

Both England players, who scored the fifties in the first Test, would like to do the same on the third day as England will look to cut the deficit of 456 runs as much as they can. The visitors will also hope for Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes to contribute in a big way to keep them alive in the match. Meanwhile, Australia with a strong first-innings total are in the driving seat and has an early advantage in the Test, especially with those first two English wickets.

Meanwhile, here are the important stats and numbers from Australia vs England, 2nd Ashes Test Day 2:

6 – Marnus Labuschagne equaled England captain Joe Root for scoring most centuries (6) in WTC.

74.08 – Marnus Labuschagne has the best average among any batter with over 500 runs in WTC.

21 – Steve Smith equaled Mark Taylor for scoring most 50 plus scores (21) in the Ashes. Don Bradman (31), Allan Border (26) and Steve Waugh (24) are ahead of them.

3 – The consistent no. three batter for Australia, Marnus Labuschagne has now scored most tons (3) in Day/night Tests. Pakistan’s Asad Shafiq has two centuries in Day/night affairs.

1 – Michael Neser on Test debut picked his maiden wicket off just his second ball in form of Haseeb Hameed.

1 – Marnus Labuschagne is on top for scoring most hundreds (3) for Australia in Day/night Tests. Peter Handscomb, Shaun Marsh, David Warner, Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja all have scored one century each.

47 – Mitchell Starc has now taken most wickets (47) in Day/night Tests. His bowling partner Josh Hazlewood has 32 scalps and is on second.

29 – Mitchell Starc has also taken most wickets (29) in Day/night Tests in Adelaide. Josh Hazlewood is agains behind him with 28 wickets.

1852 – With 1852 runs, Marnus Labuschagne is second behind Joe Root (2318) for scoring most runs in WTC.

12 – Steve Smith equaled Babar Azam (12) and now has joint-second most 50-plus Test scores in WTC. Labuschagne and Root both have 16 such scores and are jointly holding the pinnacle posution.

5 – With 34 wickets, James Anderson is the fifth highest wicket-taker in Tests this year.