Australia bowled England out for 281 on the second afternoon of the third Ashes Test at Edgbaston, before reaching 73-2 at tea. The visitors trail by 72 runs.
Australia bowled England out for 281 on the second afternoon of the third Ashes Test at Edgbaston, before reaching 73-2 at tea. The visitors trail by 72 runs.
A plucky 87-run eighth-wicket stand between Moeen Ali (59) and Stuart Broad (31) could turn out to be a match-winning one for the hosts, after Mitchell Johnson (2-66) had threatened to ram his way through the England line-up in the morning with two wickets in his first over of the day.
The 87 crucial runs out of England's lead of 145 when they were bowled out seemed to have deflated the Aussies, even though it was 50-odd short of what England would have least expected when they began their innings. None of the last three English wickets to fall -- for just four runs -- were celebrated by the Australians, who appeared to have shown the white flag.
David Warner grafted his way to a ninth 50-plus score in 11 previous attempts in the third innings of a Test. He lost his opening partner, Chris Rogers (6) and one-down Steve Smith (8), early, before being joined by his struggling captain, Michael Clarke (2*).
The duo managed to stick it out to tea, reducing their team's deficit to 72 runs. What waits for them is an extended three-hour session, to make up for the overs lost on Wednesday due to rain. The likelihood of the pair walking back to the pavilion at the end of the day is as much as Australia saving this Test.
Warner is obviously the key man for Australia, being the most prolific batsman in the third innings of a match in the last two years. He has already scored 56 of Australia's 73 runs, in just 37 balls. For Australia to grab an extremely unlikely win, he will have to convert that into a big hundred, along with hoping the rest of line-up does not crumble like it did in the first innings.
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