Australia captain Pat Cummins refused to rule out axing David Warner for the Ashes run-in after the opener’s struggles against Stuart Broad continued at Headingley.
Warner is coming to the end of the road in Test cricket, having flagged his intention to retire in January after a final homecoming game against Pakistan in Sydney, but he may not get the chance to bow out on his own terms.
The 36-year-old was dismissed for one and four in England’s three-wicket victory in the third Test, with his old nemesis Broad making short work of the left-hander on both occasions.
Warner now averages 23.50 in the series with a solitary half-century and, having fallen 17 times to Broad over the course of his career, Australia could find themselves pondering a difficult decision in the nine-day gap before battle resumes at Emirates Old Trafford.
Mitch Marsh made a major impact as an injury stand-in for Cameron Green, scoring a powerful first-innings century and taking two wickets, but both all-rounders are expected to be fit for the next Test.
Asked if Warner could be sacrificed to fit them both in, Cummins said: “We’ll keep all our options open. We’ve got nine or 10 days now, so we’ll take a deep breath.
“We’ll go away for a few days but everyone comes back into it. Greeny should be fit for Manchester, we should have a full roster. So we’ll have a look at the wicket, have a chat and work out the best XI.”
While there was precious little for for Warner to cling on to in those words, Cummins seemed more robust when the idea of Marsh dropping out again was raised.
“It’s possible, but it was a pretty impressive week wasn’t it?”
For Cummins, seeing England chase down 251 to get get themselves back in the series at 2-1 down with two to play was a rare negative experience in a summer of successes.
He led his team to the World Test Championship title against India last month, played the innings that got them over the line at Edgbaston and then claimed victory at Lord’s. All three games against England have been see-saw affairs, with chances for both sides to come through and tight finishes across the board.
“It seems like a series where each session swings in one team’s favour and then the next session the other team picks it up. I was just chatting to Stokesy, saying I wouldn’t mind a stress-free one.
“It’s not my preference but they’ve been great viewing. It’s just tense out there. I actually really enjoy being out there and feeling you’ve got some kind of control of the situation when you’re in the middle of it. It’s 100 times worse when you’re in the changing room and you wish you could do something about it but you can’t.
“I’ll have another look at it and see if there’s anything we might do differently, but it felt like we made some decent decisions out there.”
ECB chief insists no decision made on Mott future
England and Wales Cricket Board chief executive Richard Gould has denied reports a decision has already been made on Matthew Mott's future as white-ball coach.
Mott's future has been called into question in the aftermath of England's failure to defend their T20 World Cup crown in the United States and West Indies, losing to India in the semi-finals.
Mott also oversaw England's calamitous 50-over World Cup campaign last year, as they lost six of their nine matches in India and crashed out in the group stage.
Reports earlier this week suggested the decision had already been made to dispense with Mott's services, with Eoin Morgan a contender to succeed him, though the former limited-overs captain has since said he has no interest in the role.
Asked by BBC Test Match Special if Mott's future had already been decided, Gould said: "That's not true. That's certainly not true.
"Matthew Mott is a really good guy and coach. He's got a great track record and it is the same with [captain] Jos [Buttler].
"We are always assessing options - that is what happens in high-performance sport, you are always assessing your options.
"You never want to be drawn into being given the dreaded vote of confidence or anything like that. Competitive sport always brings scrutiny and decisions.
"We'll constantly want to assess our options but we'll always want to do the right thing by the sport, the team and individuals."
West Indies grab three late wickets on day one as third Test against England in the balance
England lost three wickets in a dramatic end to day one of the third Test against West Indies, leaving them in a precarious position after restricting the tourists for 282.
Gus Atkinson finished with figures of 4-67, while Chris Woakes took 3-69 for England, as only a fine sixth-wicket stand from Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva saved West Indies from being bowled out for a much lower total.
But England, chasing a 3-0 series whitewash, let their dominant position slip when taking up the bat for the final 35 minutes, Zak Crawley (18), Ben Duckett (3) and Mark Wood (0) being dispatched as bowler Jayden Seales dropped them to 38-3.
Windies skipper Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and chose to bat, leading his side to a solid start before a spell of three wickets in five overs before lunch put England on top.
Atkinson accounted for Mikyle Louis (26) and Alick Athanaze (2) on either side of Wood sending stumps flying with a full delivery to dismiss Kirk McKenize for 12.
Brathwaite's knock of 61 was brought to a halt shortly after the action resumed, the captain gloving Wood's leg-side ball to Jamie Smith as the tourists slid from 76-0 to 115-5 in 45 balls.
Holder (59) and Da Silva (49) then shared 108 to drag the Windies towards a respectable total, but things looked bleak for them when the latter feathered Woakes' ball through to Smith.
Having gone 30 overs without a wicket, England needed just 14 more to polish off the tail, the highlight being a terrific diving catch from Joe Root to send Gudakesh Motie (8) packing.
England were given just over half an hour with the bat to cap Friday's action, but any hopes of a serene finish were soon dashed.
Holder made two terrific catches off Seales' bowling, the first from Crawley's thick outside edge and the second to dismiss Wood for a duck, either side of Alzarri Joseph's cracking delivery accounting for Duckett.
That spell ensured what had been a good day for the hosts ended on a sour note, with the Windies sure to target quick wickets when the action resumes on Saturday.
Data Debrief: Atkinson and Seales dominate
This series began with all the focus on James Anderson as England's greatest-ever bowler bowed out at Lord's, but Atkinson has taken centre-stage since making his Test debut in the opening match and now has 20 wickets through five innings.
That is eight more than West Indies' Jayden Seales, the next-most prolific bowler in this series, has managed.
Seales was determined to have an impact on day one, though, and his two wickets at the death have set the stage for a far more competitive match than those England won at Lord's and Trent Bridge.
Bairstow set sights on swift England Test return
Jonny Bairstow bit back when asked if he was targeting an England return, insisting it is "all I want to do."
Bairstow was dropped from England's Test team for the ongoing series against West Indies.
The 34-year-old was part of England's T20 World Cup squad, and played in all five Tests of the tour of India earlier this year.
Bairstow has made 100 Test appearances, and when asked what his immediate target was, the wicketkeeper-batsman told former England captain and now-BBC Sport pundit Michael Vaughan: "All I want to do is play for England. That's end of.
"You don't need to ask me that do you? I think you know me well enough and I think you've known me for long enough to know that."
Bairstow did, however, enjoy a break away from the game, having had four weeks off before he joined the Welsh Fire for the Hundred.
He said: "At the same time it's been a great period of time.
"I had the best part of seven months away from home. Since January, I had five nights at home in my own bed since, until three weeks ago.
"That's the thing you have to sacrifice, time at home but at the same time, when you are away for that period of time, it takes its toll."
England are 2-0 up against the Windies in their three-match series, with the final Test starting at Edgbaston on Friday.
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