Australia declare, set England 531 runs to win
Australia declared on its overnight second-innings total of 132-3, setting England 531 to win.
ADELAIDE (AP) - Australia captain Michael Clarke didn t want to leave anything to chance in securing victory in the second Ashes test, declaring before play Sunday with a lead of 530 runs, two days to play and rain on the forecast.
Australia declared on its overnight second-innings total of 132-3 just before play on day four, setting England 531 to win.
David Warner remained unbeaten on 83. England has not scored more than 180 runs in its first three innings of the series, and has never scored more than 400 runs in the fourth innings to win a test match. No team has scored more than 418 in a winning fourth-innings chase in test cricket.
Australia won the first test by 381 runs in Brisbane and is determined to take a 2-0 lead before heading to Perth for the third test.
Mitchell Johnson, the main destroyer for Australia with nine wickets in the first test and seven in the first innings in Adelaide, struck an early blow again when he had England captain Alastair Cook (1) out hooking on Sunday morning.
England was 1-1 after nine balls, with dark clouds looming over the Adelaide Oval and forecasts of rain on the way.
Cook s squad arrived in Australia only three months after wrapping up a 3-0 Ashes win on home soil and chasing a fourth consecutive Ashes series win for England for the first time since the 1800s.
