WTC Final: Ball dance continues on Day 2 but Oz hold upper hand

(RNS, 13-06-25) TEST cricket's biennial showpiece careened towards a sensational and lightning finish after both batting units folded in the face of some tight and accurate bowling either side of tea.

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Even if the scores may suggest that the pitch may come under scrutiny, the Lord's curator could escape censure.

Ben Jones of CricViz posted that '... all the tracking data for this Test is normal, in some areas less movement than is typical for Lord's' (CricViz is a data solutions company who supply data to sporting bodies including ICC).

The broadcaster's own graphics backed up that assertion there was nothing alarming about the average seam or swing movement over the first two days. It was just good bowling vs not so good batting. That perfect storm set-up resulted in a loss of 14 wickets in the day, including 13 after lunch on Thursday. As the players walked off the field, Australia will perhaps rightly believe they have their noses in front as they lead by 218, with two second innings wickets in hand.