Ashes rivals still eyeing result amid the rain

Despite losing five of a possible nine sessions to London's soggy summer weather, both Ashes rivals believe there remains the chance of a result emerging from the final weekend of the second Test at Lord's.

However, the blueprint for reaching that point is understandably different, depending upon which dressing room provides the vantage point.

England seamer Stuart Broad, who set his team on the potential path to victory with a couple of crucial wickets before the rain arrived at lunch on Friday, believes the best chance of a home-team win is to clean up Australia's final six wickets before the lunch break on Saturday.

Former Australia skipper Steve Waugh, whose 2001 outfit was the most recent from Down Under to win an Ashes series in the UK, claimed the visitors might be able to contemplate a push for victory if they can bat through Saturday, and possibly beyond, to build a lead.

However, at 178 runs in arrears and Steve Smith (13 not out) and Matthew Wade (0 not out) as the last specialist batters, Australia's scenario appears a little more distant than that put forward by England.

"We're pretty positive," Broad said at day's end. "There's 98 overs for the next two days, which for both teams has been enough to bowl each other out (in earlier innings of the opening Test).

"Our bowling unit's aim is to get the next six wickets by lunch (on Saturday), and I suppose ideally bat until an hour or half an hour before lunch on day five, and try and force a result that way.

"I think this pitch has got 10 good balls in it each day, so hopefully we'll be bowling last.

"There's a bit of dryness, so Leachy (left-arm spinner Jack Leach) could come into the game with some good foot holes there."

From Waugh's perspective, the immediate challenge for Australia – having lost 3-11 in 40 minutes of carnage before the rain set in on Friday – is to "stem the blood loss" and aim to still be batting at close of play on Saturday.

That's provided no more time is lost to rain, with further showers forecast over the weekend in London.

"You can't go too far ahead," said Waugh, whose tenure as mentor with the men's team is due to end at the conclusion of the current Test.

"We have to bat well, we have to have good partnerships so we can get close to the England total and hopefully we have some wickets in hand, and then we can have maybe (launch) a bit of a counter-attack.

"Bat most of tomorrow if not all of tomorrow, see where we are at, and if we've got enough runs, I think the pitch will probably play a few tricks.

"Both sides, I think, will be confident that they can force a victory but there is a lot of work to be done.

"Tomorrow is important, but our first goal is to get on par with England."

Waugh also noted that Australia has been dealt the trickiest of the batting conditions in a match that was played beneath clear skies for much of Thursday, and heavy, low cloud when it resumed on Friday morning.

But even when Australia's openers went out to face the new ball on Thursday evening, the clouds had begun to gather and the Lord's floodlights were on to add an element of difficulty to the challenges already posed by new-ball pair Broad and Jofra Archer.

Then, when day three began in cool and damp conditions with the artificial lights again in operation from the start of play, there were times when it seemed a wicket might fall at any moment.

Certainly Broad has seen that before, having destroyed Australia inside the first session at Trent Bridge four years ago when he claimed an extraordinary 8-15 and Australia were knocked over for 60.

"We know in England it's not necessarily the pitch which plays a huge part, but the overhead conditions and that you need a bit of luck with when you're batting or bowling," Broad said.

"We know here at Lord's that if the sun comes out you can quite easily go out and get a wicket-less session with the bat.

"You also know if it clouds over and the humidity rises, you can get 10 wickets in a session.

"You need a bit of luck when those conditions fall.

"Both bowling attacks have got a lot of confidence in taking wickets. I think this series will be quite intriguing.

"The weather's obviously played a part in this Test match, and there's still a chance of a result.

"I can't see too many draws coming from the next three (at Headingley, Old Trafford and The Oval), I think they'll be result Test matches."

Waugh conceded that a clatter of wickets in quick succession has been a hallmark of Australia's four preceding Ashes campaigns in the UK, all of which have seen England emerge as victors.

But the 54-year-old, who also admitted that being back at Lord's had stirred within him a passion to be back and playing, believes those batters who tackled the tough conditions on Thursday evening and then Friday morning performed well in the circumstances.

And he added that while losing the wickets of Cameron Bancroft (13), Usman Khawaja (36) and Travis Head (7) in a hurry was far from ideal, the salvage job from Smith (who survived for 73 minutes) and Wade (32 minutes without scoring) was admirable in the face of such threatening opposition.

"We talked about it before the series, the key to doing well over here is to not have a disastrous session," Waugh said.

"You're going to lose some sessions, but just lose them closely, not by a big margin.

"That's what we've talked about and that's what the guys did really well.

"When you lose a couple of quick wickets there is potential to lose five, six or seven, and in a Test match you're going to struggle to come back from that.

"So we hung in there really well.

"I thought while Wade's nought not out, he faced 20-odd balls, and Steve Smith again looked pretty self-assured - that was a crucial partnership.

"If we lost a couple of more wickets there it could have been a tough session."

2019 Qantas Ashes Tour of England

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Pat Cummins, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner.

England squad: Joe Root (c), Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Jack Leach, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes (vc), Chris Woakes.

First Test: Australia beat England by 251 runs at Edgbaston

Second Test: August 14-18,Lord's

Third Test: August 22-26, Headingley

Tour match: Australians v Derbyshire, August 29-31

Fourth Test: September 4-8, Old Trafford

Fifth Test: September 12-16, The Oval