It wasn't as bad as the first innings, but England batting once again collapsed in the second innings of the Lord's Test against Ireland.
After nightwatchman Jack Leach scored 92 and put on 145 for the second wicket with Test debutant Jason Roy, who struck a fine 72, the world champions lost seven wickets for 77 runs to finish day two on 303/9 - an overall lead of 181.
The result of the Test match is as uncertain as the England batting at the moment. While Ireland would like to take the last English wicket and keep the target to less than 200, it is going to be a tough task for the Test newbies to chase a total on a pitch that is becoming difficult to bat on.
Leach's contribution is immense in the context of the game but it does not hide the failure of the team's regular openers in the recent past. The 92 was the second highest by an England opener since Alastair Cook's retirement in September - after Keaton Jennings's century in Sri Lanka. In total, England openers have recorded just three half-centuries between them in the six Tests played over the winter.
If opening batsmen have been non-contributors off late, the Test against Ireland also shows the middle order in poor light ahead of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston starting August 1. In fact, apart from Roy's half century in the second essay, the rest of the batsmen have failed miserably.
Starting at the top, opener Rory Burns has scored 6 and 6, Roy scored 5 in the first innings, star batsman Joe Root has scores of 2 and 31, Joe Denly has contributed 33, Jonny Bairstow has bagged a pair, Moeen Ali hasn't fared any better (0 and 9).
This was the perfect Test for England to make sure they tick all the right boxes, but as far as batting department goes, it has proved to be a futile effort.
At 303 for 9, England don't look good to score a lot on day three at Lord's. Another innings will probably go by with England failing to put up a big score.
In fact, England have now made 400 only once in their previous 32 Test innings and in their last 14 innings, they have reached 350 only once.
These numbers are sure to give the England management some sleepless nights ahead of the Ashes.
from Sify.com
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