'There was frustration coming out' - Ricky Ponting opines on England bowlers' performance on Day 3 of Lord's Test

Australia great Ricky Ponting opened up on England’s frustrations on Day 3 of the second Ashes Test, played at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in London. Notably, the Aussies took a solid 221-run lead after scoring 130 runs in the second innings of the contest on Day 3.

While the Aussies maintained domination in the high-voltage clash, the Three Lions could only manage to get two scalps at the close of Day 3. Seasoned pacer James Anderson could not pose a threat to the rival batting unit, getting just one wicket for 41 runs in his 14 overs, whereas Stuart Broad failed to get any breakthroughs in his 13 overs, at the end of the day’s play. 

With this, former Aussie skipper Ponting highlighted that Anderson looked frustrated for not adding the threat with the ball. Likewise, he also pointed out England missing out on the LBW review of Marnus Labuschagne, which eventually led to the frustration growing within the setup.

"I think England bowled a whole lot better in the second innings than they did in the first. Their lengths were filler but they still didn't get the edges. There was also some frustration coming out with Anderson not looking comfortable and Broad with that review not being taken. There was frustration coming out and Aussies would be loving that,” Ponting told on the 'The Ashes Podcast' on Sky Sports Cricket.

Khawaja, Smith have made it difficult for England: Ricky Ponting

Ponting further stated that England’s ‘Bazball’ approach has helped their bowlers get enough time to land the breakthroughs during a match. However, Australia’s Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith have counter-attacked the English approach by staying long in the middle, thereby making it difficult for their arch-rivals. Notably, Khawaja remained unbeaten on Day 3 with 58 off 123 balls, whereas Smith added an unbeaten six off 24 balls.

"By playing Bazball, they give as much time to their bowling attack as possible to take twenty wickets. But Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith, they just bat and bat and take time out of the game and make it difficult for England,” concluded Ponting.