Second Ashes Test: England 68-2 at dinner, chasing a record 354 for win

Jimmy Anderson gave England an outside chance with his best haul ever Down Under, claiming 5-47 to restrict Australia's second innings to 138.
A bouncing delivery has England's Mark Stoneman, front, and Australia's Tim Paine, left, beaten during the fourth day of their Ashes Test match in Adelaide, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017. | AP
A bouncing delivery has England's Mark Stoneman, front, and Australia's Tim Paine, left, beaten during the fourth day of their Ashes Test match in Adelaide, Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2017. | AP

ADELAIDE: Chasing records to level the series, England reached dinner at 68-2 on the penultimate day of the inaugural day-night Ashes test after being set a target of 354 for an unlikely win.

Jimmy Anderson gave England an outside chance with his best haul ever Down Under, claiming 5-47 to restrict Australia's second innings to 138.

The 35-year-old Anderson and Chris Woakes (4-36) exploited the extra swing and seam with the pink ball, starting with two wickets each under lights on Monday night, and continuing in the same fashion on day four to ensure no Australian batsman surpassed 20 in the second innings.

That left England needing to beat its record for a successful fourth-innings run chase — 332-7 in Melbourne in 1928 — to win the second test after losing the opener in Brisbane last week by 10 wickets.

Skipper Joe Root was unbeaten on 7 and James Vince on 8 at the long break, leaving England with eight wickets and four sessions remaining.

The big test will come under lights a night after Australia's top order slumped to 50-4 after electing not to enforce the follow-on despite having a 215-run first-innings lead.

England lost two wickets in the evening session, which started with a lucky reprieve after Alastair Cook was given not out to an lbw appeal when Josh Hazlewood hit him on the pads directly in front of the stumps. The Australians decided not to review the decision, and ball track technology showed that they should have.

Cook went on to make a scratchy 16 from 66 balls before offspinner Nathan Lyon again trapped him lbw but didn't get the umpire's decision. The Australians reviewed it this time and the TV umpire overturned the decision, making England 53-1.

Mark Stoneman (36), who had confidently stroked Mitchell Starc for three consecutive boundaries to get off the mark, was out with the addition of one to the total when he sliced the same bowler to Usman Khawaja at gully.

The Australian attack was hoping on Tuesday to emulate England's success under lights, which inspired Anderson's 25th five-wicket haul in test cricket and helped the tourists get back into the contest.

Australia resumed day four at 53-4, a lead of 268, but weren't able to put any partnerships together — the best being 34. Khawaja and Starc top scored with 20 in an innings that was the complete opposite of their composed 442-8 declared in the first.

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