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Buttler’s dour batting helped keep England in a match long after
their other front-line batsmen departed with Chris Woakes also
contributing an important late order 44 runs before being bowled
by Jhye Richardson.
England are 180-8 at tea but Australia will be confident of
getting the last two wickets in the final session and go 2-0 up
in the five-match series.
Stuart Broad was yet to open his account after surviving 16
deliveries.
England earlier resumed on 82-4, needing 386 more runs for an
improbable win or to at least bat out three sessions to force a
draw after being outplayed from day one.
Losing Ben Stokes for 12 was a body blow but Woakes and Buttler
resisted Australia for nearly 32 overs with a 61-run stand
before being separated.
Australia began with their senior bowlers, Mitchell Starc and
Nathan Lyon, who have thrived in this test in the absence of Pat
Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.
Ollie Pope lasted seven balls, a boundary through midwicket his
sole contribution, before he nicked Starc to Steve Smith in the
slips.
Smacking his bat against his foot as he walked off, Pope has had
a poor tour to date and will be worried about his place for the
third test, which starts on Sunday.
Stokes was England's last major hope of salvaging a draw and his
batting was restrained, a sweep to the boundary off Lyon in the
55th over a highlight.
A few minutes later though, Lyon delivered a ball that replays
showed to be hitting leg stump and Stokes was gone lbw for 12
runs in 110 minutes.
Buttler smacked Richardson through point for four runs off the
quick's second delivery but England highlights were otherwise
sparse.
(Editing by Amlan Chakraborty, Peter Rutherford)
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