Ashes 2023: England’s Strong Start in Ashes Chase, Finish Day Three on 27/0

Despite rain interrupting the first two sessions of Day Three of the ongoing third Ashes Test at Headingley, the remaining session saw a fast-paced action unfold.

England managed to reach 27/0 at stumps while chasing a target of 251, after their bowlers took advantage of the overcast conditions to dismiss Australia for 224. Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley remained not out on 18 and 9 respectively, leaving England with 224 runs to win.

Australia, starting the day at 116/4 with a lead of 142, could have been in a worse position if not for Travis Head’s impressive innings of 77 in challenging batting conditions.

Chris Woakes (3-68) quickly dismissed Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey, while Mark Wood (3-66) removed Mitchell Starc and captain Pat Cummins, reducing Australia to 170/8.

At that point, Australia’s lead stood at 196, but Head, along with Todd Murphy (11), forged a crucial partnership of 41 runs for the ninth wicket before Murphy was given out lbw by Broad (3-45). Broad ultimately ended Australia’s resistance by catching Head at deep midwicket, shortly after Head hit Wood for consecutive sixes.

Head’s aggressive batting towards the end ensured that Australia surpassed the 200-run mark, which seemed unlikely when they were eight wickets down.

A victory for England would keep the Ashes series alive, while a win for Australia would mark their first series triumph in England in 22 years.

Brief scores:

Australia 263 & 224 all out in 67.1 overs (Travis Head 77, Usman Khawaja 43; Stuart Broad 3-45, Chris Woakes 3-68) lead England 237 & 27 for no loss in 5 overs (Ben Duckett 18 not out, Zak Crawley 9 not out) by 224 runs