England’s top batsman Joe Root was stumped by Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon as he scored 46 off 55 balls in the second inning and other batsmen got off to a good start but failed to make good on their chances.

I know sometimes it can seem like just moments of madness, but all the decisions that are made are well thought out and aimed at the end goal, Pope said at the press conference.

These decisions are not just rash thoughts. They are well thought out and discussed by senior players in the locker room. We come to the group decision and support it 100 percent. Once a decision is made, you can’t look back.

Another defeat at Lord’s would leave England’s hopes of a return to the Ashes in the balance and threaten their first home series loss to Australia since 2001.

We may find ourselves in a similar situation this week, who knows? Stokesy and Baz (Brandon McCullum) are very good at this, they read the conditions very well, Pope said about whether England could declare again.

We will talk about it consistently throughout the Test match if a decision is made, like the first day at Edgbaston.

If we feel there will be (favorable bowlers) top conditions one night and we have a half hour opportunity to get some wickets and get in their middle order the next day, then we’ll talk about it.

Lords is traditionally a field favorable to seamers, but spin is likely to come into play, as it did at Edgbaston, and Pope offered good news about off-spinner Moen Ali’s finger.

Moeen got a cut at Edgbaston and had a tough time in Australia’s second innings when he took one wicket for 57 in 14 overs, with Root eventually taking over spinner duties.

I think Mo is fine, hopefully he will be fit to play, said Pope, who met Moen in training Monday.What happened was quite unfortunate, and hopefully he has taken care of himself over these few days.England has called up 18-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed as a possible replacement for Moen.