Chris Woakes led the way in which with the ball sooner than England openers Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett held company to offer England the higher hand in a must-win 3rd Ashes Take a look at for the hosts in opposition to Australia at Headingley on Saturday. Woakes, enjoying his first Take a look at since March closing 12 months, took 3-68 as Australia have been disregarded for 224 of their 2nd innings on a rain-marred 3rd date. That left England, who path 2-0 within the five-match form, wanting 251 to win.
England had greater than two days to get the runs on a grassland the place there have simplest been 5 earlier a success chases in huge of 250 to win a Take a look at — together with their very own 362-9 in a dramatic one-wicket win over Australia 4 years in the past constructed on wave captain Ben Stokes’s superior 135 no longer out.
They have been 27-0 off simply 5 overs at Saturday’s similar, with Crawley 9 no longer out and Duckett 18 no longer out.
“I’d like to think we’re in a really good position, obviously we’ve still got another 220 runs to chase to win this Test match, but I think if we were given this opportunity at the end of the first innings, I think we would’ve taken it,” Woakes instructed the BBC.
The 34-year-old seamer added: “The opportunity was put in front of us to bowl in decent bowling conditions, I think we did well to obviously bowl them out.”
– Australia’s ‘backs up the wall’ –
Ashes-holders Australia have been previous indebted to Travis Head’s 77 on a in large part dark date that favoured England’s quicks.
“We’ve been in similar positions where we’ve had our backs up the wall as such, but this game has ebbed and flowed…It’s a huge day in the series tomorrow (Sunday),” Head instructed newshounds.
Later a long raindrops lengthen, the duel resumed at 1545 GMT with international Take a look at champions Australia 116-4 and England a bowler unwell, with Ollie Robinson no longer old later his first-innings again spasm.
However, Mitchell Marsh — who had marked his first Take a look at since 2019 with a run-a-ball 118 in Australia’s first innings — drove a Stuart Large inswinger unwell the grassland sooner than square-cutting Woakes for every other 4.
Woakes, alternatively, had his revenge with a explode of 2 wickets for seven runs in 13 balls.
He first disregarded Marsh (28) when the all-rounder attempted to extract his bat to an outswinger simplest to edge to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow.
Unutilized batsman Alex Carey walked out to a refrain of boos from a society nonetheless disappointed by way of his position within the debatable stumping of native hero Bairstow right through Australia’s 43-run win in the second one Take a look at at Lord’s closing moment, when the Yorkshireman believed the ball was once useless.
However the jeers became to deafening much appreciated when Carey fell for 5 as he additionally attempted to let go a Woakes supply simplest to glove the ball onto his stumps.
Mark Timber’s outright velocity had helped the injury-prone Durham rapid bowler mark his go back to Take a look at cricket with 5-34 in Australia’s first innings. And he struck once more when Mitchell Starc skyed the ball for Harry Brook to shoot a superb diving catch.
Timber later had Australia captain Pat Cummins, frequently a deadly lower-order batsman, stuck in the back of for only one later he fended outdoor off stump.
However pristine batsman Todd Murphy, in his first recreation of the form later fellow spinner Nathan Lyon’s tour-ending calf harm at Lord’s, stylishly cover-drove Timber for a first-ball 4.
Head counter-attacked, smashing Timber thru midwicket to finish a reliable fifty together with his 6th 4 in 94 balls.
The left-hander, whose arise of 155 with Marsh have been the cornerstone of Australia’s first-innings general, endured his attack by way of pulling Woakes for 6.
Head additionally hooked two successive Timber deliveries for 6 sooner than he was once closing guy out, going for every other six off Large (3-45), the senior England bowler in an assault with out the rested James Anderson.
England are bidding to develop into simply the second one workforce to win a Take a look at form from 2-0 unwell later the Australia aspect, impressed by way of batting superb Don Bradman, that took the 1936/37 Ashes 3-2.
(With the exception of for the headline, this tale has no longer been edited by way of NDTV team of workers and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
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