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Day 3 of the first Ashes Test in Cardiff proved to be a see-sawing affair, with both sides dominating throughout periods of play.
Shane Watson had to step up this morning, but unfortunately another LBW blunder has placed his career in the balance. Watson’s issues with LBW continue to cost him. He was exploited by Stuart Broad as soon as he started batting this morning, only lasting a few balls before being caught on the crease.
In an innings where four of the top order only managed a combined total of 37 runs more than Chris Rogers’ 95, it was again left to Brad Haddin and the bowlers to try and put a decent total on the board.
Nathan Lyon was the next to go; a half volley from Mark Wood thudding into his front pad resulting in another LBW dismissal. Things had just started to look more stable with Mitchell Johnson and Haddin at the crease, but the introduction of the new ball paid off for England, with Haddin nicking the ball to the keeper, dismissed for 22.
The Australian innings only lasted another 15 balls after Johnson clipped a ball from Broad to James Anderson at midwicket, with Mitchell Starc edging the ball to Joe Root in the slips, leaving Australia with a first-innings total of 308.
Australia’s bowlers really had to step up their game if they wanted to remain a chance of winning this match, after the top order performed well under par with the exception of Rogers. It’s a grave sign of things to come when only one batsman scores above 40 in an innings.
England came out to bat with about 10 overs left before lunch, and were looking fairly steady until Lyon took a screamer off a Starc delivery, dismissing England captain Alastair Cook for 12. Gary Ballance and Adam Lyth managed to stave off the Australian attack until lunch, ending what was a very successful English session at 1/21.
Josh Hazlewood struck just after lunch, a short ball catching Ballance high on the bat which flew through to Haddin, sending him back to the pavilion without troubling the scorers. Ian Bell and Lyth started to put on the runs, scoring 50 in just five overs, before Australian captain Michael Clarke took a screamer at slip to remove Lyth, sending him back after making 37.
Root and Bell went after the Australian bowlers throughout the rest of the middle session, and again after tea, before Johnson got his first wicket of the series. Just a few balls earlier an edge fell short of Haddin, then he was hit for four, before he clean bowled Bell on 60, ending their 103-run partnership.
The run rate slowed once Bell departed, and 12 uneventful overs came and went before Root was bowled by an absolute gem from Hazlewood, clipping the top of off-stump. Root managed 60 runs from 89 balls.
Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes started pushing the run rate up again, before Lyon struck again. Moeen Ali got a life early in his innings, when an edge hit the top of Haddin’s glove and popped just out of reach of Clarke, before running away to the boundary.
Starc’s first ball of the next over sent Stokes packing, after an inside edge crashed back onto the stumps, but his quick-fire 42 already did a lot of damage to what was already a tough chase for Australia.
Another marvellous piece of Australian fielding brought another wicket, with Hazlewood diving forward to catch Broad out. Wood was the next to come in, and he quickly brought England’s lead over 400, hitting 10 runs off one Nathan Lyon over.
As Wood played some beautiful shots, Moeen Ali started feeling the pressure, succumbing by edging the ball to Haddin when he flashed a drive at a ball from Johnson. Lyon then finished off England, bowling Anderson on the first ball of the last over.
Australia bowled much better on Day 3, with Lyon picking up four wickets, and Starc, Johnson and Hazlewood all picking up two each. However, there’s still a big task ahead of the Australians, needing to make 412 runs to win the first Test.
The middle order need to perform far better than they did in the first innings, and the team can’t afford to leave it to the tail to pick up the slack, a trend which has become increasingly prevalent in recent years for the Test side.
Only time will tell whether Australia’s batsmen can chase down what would be a record-breaking run chase.
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