Sport

Rain stops play in Adelaide after England suffer Stoneman setback

England were 29-1 in reply to Australia’s 442 for eight declared at Adelaide Oval on Sunday

England’s Alastair Cook runs off the field with umpire Aleem Dar due to the rain which ended the second day of the second Ashes cricket test match. Photograph: David Gray/Reuters

Sun Dec 3 2017 - 10:57

Mark Stoneman was dismissed for just 18 runs as England suffered an early setback in their bid to respond to Australia’s daunting 442-run total in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide.

After Shaun Marsh's unbeaten 126 piled the pressure on England, Stoneman and Alastair Cook emerged under the floodlights at the Adelaide Oval.

But the Surrey batsman, after surviving two lbw appeals from Josh Hazlewood, walked when Mitchell Starc rapped his pads in the seventh over, with the umpire’s decision being upheld on review.

Marsh put on 85 with Tim Paine (57) for the sixth wicket and then 99 more for the eighth with Pat Cummins — the fourth half-century stand in Australia's first-innings 442 for eight declared after they were put in here by Joe Root.

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England were stalled by a successful review each for Marsh and Paine — on 29 and 24 respectively — when James Anderson twice won an initial lbw decision.

The wicketkeeper eventually fell for 57, caught mis-pulling Craig Overton. But Marsh kept going to complete his fifth Test century in almost five-and-a-half hours from 213 balls.

The players ran for cover when rain stopped play in the 10th over.

England head coach Trevor Bayliss remains optimistic of picking up a result to keep the tourists’ Ashes hopes alive and he also defended captain Joe Root’s decision to bowl first in the second Test.

Bayliss said: “I was very happy with his decision, it is a well-documented fact now that we struggle to take wickets on flat ones (pitches) and Joe wanted to give our bowlers the best opportunity to take 20 wickets in the match.

“Before the first rain break, I thought we bowled pretty short but we came out after that and thought we bowled pretty well. We went past the bat a lot, but that’s the game.

“Another day, with an extra couple of nicks, it could have been a completely different story, but that’s gone and we have to concentrate on our batting tomorrow.

“It’s not nice to bat under the lights, so I guess it is a bit of a bonus there for us. We look forward to tomorrow and hopefully batting big.

“It’s another full day tomorrow and hopefully (we can get) some big runs, with two days to go, there is plenty of time for a result.

“Look, 440-odd is not a huge score here in Australia on good wickets and hopefully this one flattens out as it goes on. I’m sure they will come out tomorrow and make a good account of themselves.”

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