- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Australia look to be on the verge of a fifth test win after enforcing a follow-on for England.
>>REPORT: Aussies on cusp of dead rubber win
England’s only hope at this point is for significant rain delays to give them a chance at a draw.
England were blown away in their first innings by Peter Siddle and Mitchell Marsh and now must dig deep to make a comeback against Australia in the fifth Ashes 2015 Test. The third day of this fifth Test match will be played at The Oval on Saturday and you can follow our live blog from 8:00pm AEST.
Flat pitch, runs on the board and the city of London, that’s all that was needed for Australia to dominate in this series it seems.
After piling on 481 in their first innings, Australia bowled themselves into a winning position on the second day and will now hope they can finish off the careers of the captain Michael Clarke and Chris Rogers on a high.
England, who had gotten themselves to 0-30 at one stage in reply, lost Alastair Cook off the last delivery before the tea break and then capitulated to 8-107 by stumps. Unable to face either the spin of Lyon or the seam of Siddle and Marsh, the English batsmen looked like their jobs for the series had already been done.
With that being their mental state, they also came up against two bowlers with a lot to prove – the Siddle selection has come under a lot of criticism, although for no fault of his own, while Marsh was returning back to the side after having been dropped from the previous game for no plausible reason.
And the pair combined and gave the English batsmen the working-over of the series.
None of the batsmen got to more than Cook’s 22, with Adam Lyth, Ian Bell, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes getting into double-figures but falling soon after. Siddle got prodigious movement off the pitch from the word go while Marsh got it in the right areas and ensured there was just the right amount of deviation to keep the batsmen on their toes.
Earlier, Australia lost four wickets in the first session and looked to be in a danger of being bowled out for less than 400 but a late flourish from the bats of Steven Smith and Mitchell Starc ensured no such heroics from England.
The pair added 91 runs for the eighth wicket which pushed Australia towards the 500-run mark and while Smith (146) and Starc (58 from 52) went in quick succession after that, they did enough to ensure Australia hadn’t lost the momentum.
The only question facing Clarke now is whether to enforce the follow-on if they manage to get themselves a lead of around 350. Clarke doesn’t like to put the sides back in and there are two factors to consider – the weather and getting himself and Chris Rogers their last innings in Tests.
Despite there being a forecast for some rain later in the Test, there’s a good chance Clarke will want to bat again, score a quick-fire 200 as a team and set England an improbable chase. England just need to bat a lot better in their second dig, whenever that comes around, and hope for weather to bail them out.
Follow the live scores and blog of this third day of the fifth Ashes 2015 Test between England and Australia from 8:00pm AEST on Saturday and post your comments in the section below.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.