Flintoff, bowling through pain in his right knee that led him to announce that he will retire from tests after this series, finished with figures of 5-92. He bowled ten consecutive overs from the start of play to earn his third five-wicket haul in tests on his final appearance in a test at Lord's. Off-spinner Graeme Swann had 4-87 and removed Michael Clarke, who made 136 and was Australia's main hope in an attempt to reach a record run chase total of 522. Australia, seeking to retain the Ashes, was eventually dismissed for 406 with Mitchell Johnson contributing 63 from 75 balls. England heads to Edgbaston for the third test on July 30 intent on keeping its lead in the series.

The hosts were humiliated in the 2006-07 Ashes series, losing by a 5-0 margin. The first test in Cardiff was drawn after a battling match-saving effort by England. James Anderson set an early positive tone for England with two lbw appeals in the first four balls of the day, though both were given not out by umpire Billy Doctrove.

Flintoff then claimed the first wicket of the morning before Australia had registered a run. Brad Haddin's resistance, which spanned 196 minutes, came to an end when he edged to Paul Collingwood at second slip for his overnight score of 80. The score was then 313-6. Flintoff's bowling speeds were consistently above 90 mph and, to emphasize his threat, struck established batsman Clarke on the glove with a spiteful bouncer. The next ball swung into Clarke and cut away from the outside edge of his bat.

Johnson experienced similar hardship against Flintoff and was hit on the shoulder when he failed to connect with a hook shot when on 11. Two balls later he connected for one of his nine boundaries. Johnson edged Stuart Broad towards Flintoff at second slip when on 15 but the ball just failed to carry and the batsman scrambled a single. Later in the same over, Clarke reasserted his authority by cover driving for a well-timed boundary.