Twitter Reactions: England's batting woes continue as Australia eye a 4-0 scoreline

England’s horrendous run in Ashes 2021-22 continued on Day 2 of the ongoing fifth Test in Hobart. Having lost the first three games and the preceding encounter resulting in a draw, Joe Root’s men have already lost the series and they have nothing but pride to play for. However, considering the proceedings of the Day-Night Test so far, the English side is unlikely to avoid a defeat in the fifth Test.

The visitors did pretty well to take Australia’s remaining four wickets quickly, bundling the home team out for 303. While Stuart Broad and Mark Wood took three wickets apiece, Ollie Robinson and Chris Woakes dismissed two batters. While the bowlers did the job in the opening session of the bat, the batters continued to disappoint.

Sam Billings, Chris Woakes took England to respectable total

The top order had no clue against the moving pink ball as England suffered yet another top-order collapse. Having lost their five wickets inside 90, the visitors never seemed like posting a respectable total. However, debutant Sam Billings and Chris Woakes played handy knocks, taking the Three Lions to 188. Skipper Pat Cummins took four wickets for Australia while Mitchell Starc sent two players back in the hut.

Australia this way earned a 115-run lead in the first innings. However, their second innings didn’t start on a delightful note. David Warner bagged another duck, his second of the match. The top-ranked Test batter, Marnus Labuschagne also got out for 5 as the England found themselves back in the hunt. Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja did do some repair work but the latter fell prey to Mark Wood on the stroke of lunch.

Australia eventually ended the day at 37/3 with Steve Smith and night watchman Scott Boland being the two batters in the middle. The home team’s current score might encourage England but the fact of the matter is Australia have a 152–run lead. Hence, they are still firmly in command and the visitors need to bowl their heart out to bring England back in the hunt.

On the other hand, the Pat Cummins-led side would like to add at least 100 more runs before losing all their wickets. Day 3 of the contest is all but likely to decide the fate of the game. England would definitely need to overcome their batting woes to comeback in the hunt. On the other hand, the Aussies must not get too complacent.

Meanwhile, let’s look at how Twitterati reacted to Day 2 proceedings: