Cummins finished with figures of 3-61 from 21 overs as England were dismissed for 258 after Australia won the toss and elected to field in the rain-affected match that saw the opening day washed out.

England recovered to record a competitive total after slumping to 6-138 following Cummins' dismissal of Rory Burns for 53 that had led to a collapse of three wickets for 22 runs.

Joe Denly (30) and Burns both suffered blows to the body from Cummins and the outstanding Josh Hazlewood, who marked his return to the side with three wickets as the Australian quicks worked desperately to get something out of a sluggish pitch.

Burns, who revealed he was warned by Nathan Lyon early in the day to be prepared for some chin music, followed up his century at Edgbaston with a more assured innings.

But that was ended by a stunning short-leg catch from Cameron Bancroft after the opener fended off another a brutish delivery from Cummins only to see the West Australian dive full length and grab the ball millimetres from the ground.

Jonny Bairstow and Chris Woakes guided England to tea without any further losses before Tim Paine handed the ball to his big quick for an unbroken seven-over stint.

Woakes, who scored 74 runs in the match in the series opener, had looked reasonably untroubled from the moment he joined Bairstow in the middle.

But that all changed in the space of seven balls as a fired-up Cummins had him ducking and weaving in a hostile spell.

The first ball of the over was called wide by umpire Aleem Dar and Woakes was rattled by the second as he just managed to duck and avoid the ball.

After mishooking for a fortunate six that flew over the slips, Cummins then softened up the allrounder further with a brute of a delivery that thudded into his helmet.

The Australian slip cordon and Cummins immediately went to check on Woakes as the England team doctor came out to conduct a mandatory concussion check and issue him with a new helmet.

But any sympathy immediately ended with another short-pitched ball that Woakes awkwardly flipped down the leg side.

Sniffing blood, Cummins steamed in again from the pavilion end and brought Woakes' vigil to a close for 32 when another rising ball grazed his glove and was caught by Paine behind the stumps.

Woakes' departure brought debutant Jofra Archer to the crease and Cummins' welcomed his fellow quick to Test cricket by forcing to duck for cover.

Ten runs later Archer was gone, handing Cummins his third wicket as he squared up by a ball that caught the shoulder of his bat and Usman Khawaja took a smart running catch.

England opener Rory Burns has warned Australia to be ready for some chin music of their own after his side were subjected to a barrage of short-pitched bowling.

Burns, who scored 53, was hit on the chest several times by Pat Cummins, who later struck Chris Woakes on the head after Josh Hazlewood delivered a ball that flew off Joe Denly's helmet just before lunch.

Burns said he enjoyed the battle with the bowlers but warned that debutant Jofra Archer, who delivered the fastest ball of the match when he hurled down a 144.8 kph delivery to Cameron Bancroft late in the day, will be happy to ruffle the Aussie batsmen on Friday.

"It's always nice to get in the scrap a little bit," Burns said.

"He (Cummins) obviously got two dead in the same spot, which was nice. But, yeah, just getting in amongst it and trying to tough it out.

"I think Nathan Lyon ran past me this morning and mentioned it within about three balls so I was well versed and prepared for what I was getting. It's just a good battle, isn't it?"

Nathan Lyon feels sheepish sitting alongside Dennis Lillee on Australia's list of all-time Test wicket-takers, having declared the best is still to come after celebrating his 355th scalp.

Lyon removed Ben Stokes, Stuart Broad and Jonny Bairstow on day two of the second Ashes Test at Lord's.

In terms of sheer beauty of the dismissal, Bairstow's attempt to hoike a delivery over the leg-side fence is unlikely to feature in Lyon's career highlight reel.

But Usman Khawaja's catch in the deep was a momentous milestone for the offspinner, whose stunning transformation from Adelaide Oval groundsman to frontline tweaker will forever be part of Australian cricket folklore.

The scalp of Bairstow lifted Lyon's career tally to 355 Test wickets, drawing him level with pace legend Lillee.

The only Australian bowlers to have enjoyed more prolific Test journeys are Shane Warne (708 wickets) and Glenn McGrath (563 wickets).

"I really struggle to see myself up with the likes of Warne, McGrath, Lillee. It doesn't sit well with me," Lyon told reporters.

"Those guys are true legends of the game and I'm just some bloke trying to bowl offbreaks."

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