AP, Cardiff :England exceeded expectations on the second morning of the Ashes Test when its first innings ended on 430 on Thursday.England resumed on 343-7, with Australia favored with a still-shiny second new ball to take the last three wickets quickly.But England added 87 runs, enduring for more than 14 overs and 40 minutes.Moeen Ali, the bowler who bats to England’s mind, moved from 26 overnight to 77, his second highest Test score in his Ashes debut.He and Stuart Broad, who scored 18, made 52 together in a stand that wasn’t broken until the 10th over of the day.Fast bowler Mitchell Starc took the last two wickets for his first Ashes 5-for, and offspinner Nathan Lyon broke the Ali-Broad stand with Broad’s wicket, his second of the innings.By lunch, Australia was 26 without loss in reply, with Chris Rogers on 15 and David Warner on 5.England picked up from day one with positive intent, hitting fast bowler Jason Hazlewood’s first over of the day for 13 runs and removing him from the attack.Broad was lucky to survive on 11 when he fended a Mitchell Johnson bouncer straight up, and Adam Voges made the catch at Broad’s feet. Broad walked, but returned when video showed Voges unknowingly grounded the ball in the catch.Ali was dropped in the batting order during the New Zealand series from No. 6 to 8 to bolster Ben Stokes’ confidence (successfully), and define his true role as a bowler who can bat. While his offspin has been poor this year, this 77 was a much-needed bonus for an England side which elected to bat first.He brought up his fifty with a seventh boundary that was streaky, an inside edge off Starc, but played offside shots that teammates higher in the order would have been proud to own.
