Follow the latest updates live from the final day of the Ashes Second Test where both England and Australia harbour faint hopes of a victory.
Ben Stokes’s century has given England an outside chance of victory after he smashed his way to three figures, with Nathan Lyon taking the bulk of the punishment. The call came soon after Stokes reached his century to declare on 258-5, setting Australia an appetising 267 to win and 48 overs remaining in the day.
Australia also lost star batsman Steve Smith to a concussion, after he was struck on the neck by a Jofra Archer ball yesterday, and he will also miss the third Test at Headingly under the new ICC laws that rules players out for at least six days following a head injury. Follow the live updates below.
Jofra Archer has revealed England’s plan was to get Steve Smith “rattled” during an intense battle on day four of the second Ashes Test.
The fast bowler hit the Australia batsman on the neck with a bouncer leading to him retiring hurt, before returning to make 92.
England struggled to contain Smith during the first Test, with the batsman making two centuries to inspire victory at Edgbaston.
But Archer thrived on his Test debut at Lord’s, consistently bowling north of 90 mph to give the hosts a new dimension to their bowling attack.
Steve Smith has been ruled out of the fifth day of the second Ashes Test at Lord's and the entire third Test due to concussion.
The Australian batsman was hit on the neck by a bouncer from England bowler Jofra Archer on day four, forcing him to initially retire hurt before returning to make 92.
But now Smith has been diagnosed with concussion and will not be allowed to train or play for six days - meaning he will be unavailable for the third Test at Headingly, which starts August 22.
Rain has delayed the start of day five at Lord's, with England 104 runs ahead in their second innings on 96/4. Australia lead the five-match series 1-0.
"I started to feel a little bit of a headache coming on last night as the adrenaline I guess got out of my system. I was able to get a good sleep in, which is somewhat rare for me, but woke up feeling a little bit groggy and with a headache again.
"I had some tests done and upon some further assessment, deemed to be a mild concussion, unfortunately, and I've been ruled out for the rest of this Test match.
"They've declined a little bit. We did a test this morning here at the ground and did one last night and the results changed slightly. Unfortunately that and how I'm feeling have contributed to me being ruled out for the rest of the Test."
When is it?
The second Test takes place on 14-18 August at Lord’s.
Where can I watch it?
The match will be shown live on Sky Sports The Ashes and Sky Sports Main Event from 10am on each day’s play.
Odds
England to win: 14/1
Australia to win: 15/4
Draw: 1/2
Prediction
Draw: With rain expected to washout most – if not all – of Wednesday and Saturday and severely hamper the rest of the second Test, it’s difficult to look beyond the draw and Australia maintaining their 1-0 advantage.
