England Face Record Chase at Lord’s After Australia Declare With 508-Run Lead

London: England were left needing to rewrite cricket’s record books after being set a mammoth 509 to win by Australia on the fourth day of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s on Sunday. At lunch, England were seven without loss, Adam Lyth two not out and captain Alastair Cook five not out after Australia skipper Michael Clarke had declared his side’s second innings on 254 for two. No side have made more in the fourth innings to win a Test than the West Indies’ 418 for seven against Australia at St John’s in 2002/03. However, Sunday morning’s play was overshadowed not by records but by the concerning sight of Australia opener Chris Rogers leaving the field with a dizzy spell. Rogers, who in the first innings of this match scored a Test-best 173, had added five run to his overnight 44 not out when, after two overs’ play on Sunday, he crouched down by the side of the pitch and then sat motionless. He then received several minutes’ on-field treatment before walking off unbeaten on 49, with Australia 114 without loss. A team spokeswoman said the left-handed batsman, who had shown no signs of illness before play started Sunday, was still at Lord’s. The 37-year-old Rogers, who has said he plans to retire after the Ashes, missed Australia’s recent 2-0 series win in the Caribbean with concussion after being hit on the head while batting in the nets. And Friday saw Rogers struck on the helmet by James Anderson during his marathon first innings effort. Rogers’s fellow left-handed opener David Warner, dropped on nought by Adam Lyth in the gully on Saturday, started Sunday on 60 not out. Warner was missed again, on 66, when a leaping Joe Root at short extra-cover could only get fingertips to a mistimed pull off Mark Wood. But with a coveted hundred at Lord’s his for the taking, Warner fell on 83 when he drove Moeen Ali to Cook at short extra-cover. Steven Smith, who made a Test-best 215 in Australia’s first innings 566 for eight declared, had come in when Rogers retired. With complete freedom to hit out, the audacious Smith several times stepped well outside off-stump to flick deliveries legside during the course of a 48-ball 58 that featured nine fours. Smith was eventually bowled swinging at off-spinner Ali, the only member of England’s attack to take wickets in the innings. Clarke (32 not out) and all-rounder Mitchell Marsh (27 not out) added further runs before the captain, looking to lead his side to a series-levelling win after England’s 169-run victory in the first Test in Cardiff last week, called a halt. When England started their second innings, there were a minimum of 155 overs left in the match. Only eight sides have survived for more than the equivalent of 150 six-ball overs to draw a match in the 138-year history of Test cricket.