England were left cursing their luck after losing both openers under dark skies in a 20-minute spell that may have altered the course of the first Ashes Test.

Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley fell in successive overs on the third afternoon as they battled fiercely difficult batting conditions and an Australian attack intent on seizing its chance.

The pair had walked out under thick, dark skies after a 75-minute rain delay and failed to survive a mini-session that saw 22 balls bowled, two runs scored and two wickets fall under the floodlights.

Further downpours spared Ollie Pope and Joe Root, who will resume on 28 for two and attempt to turn a narrow lead of 35 into a match-winning position.

The Dukes ball, which had offered nothing over the first two days, came to life during that brief period, but it took considerable skill from Pat Cummins and Scott Boland to ensure it did not go to waste.

Cummins had Duckett (19) brilliantly taken in the gully, the latest on Cameron Green’s production line of outstanding catches, while Crawley (seven) endured a handful of close calls before Boland finally took his outside edge.

Beyond that there were half-a-dozen loud appeals as the ball wobbled through the air and zipped off the pitch, and England will be relieved not to have suffered further losses before the rain returned to bring an early end to proceedings.

Until their struggles in failing light and unsettled overheads, England had enjoyed the best of the day and moved themselves back into a strong position.

They took Australia’s last five wickets for 48, bowling the tourists out for 386 to sneak a slim first innings lead of seven. Ollie Robinson belatedly announced himself in the series, following a wicketless outing on Saturday with three dismissals, with James Anderson and Stuart Broad taking one apiece.

Australia began on 311 for five, 82 behind but seemingly well set with centurion Usman Khawaja at the crease alongside Alex Carey.

Anderson almost parted them with the fourth delivery of the morning when he took Carey’s inside edge from round the wicket.

Anderson had already started to celebrate as Jonny Bairstow tumbled low to his right, but watched in dismay as the ball squirmed free from the wicketkeeper’s glove.

It was a painful start for Bairstow, who already had a missed stumping against Green and another dropped catch off Carey on his ledger, and his frustration was plain to see.

Anderson went back to the drawing board and got his man for 66, forcing one through Carey’s defences and trimming the bails.

Moeen Ali started up at the other end, fresh from receiving a fine from the ICC for using an unauthorised drying agent on his hands during Saturday’s play. If that was an unwanted present on the spinner’s 36th birthday, then things did not get a lot better as he worked through a messy spell.

A return to first-class cricket after almost two years in retirement has clearly caused some damage to the all-rounder’s spinning finger – hence the spray which caught the match referee’s attention. He got away with one loopy full toss but could not stop Cummins launching him for a couple of sixes as he struggled to get any purchase on the ball.

Ben Stokes began to set some highly unusual fields in a bid to knock Australia off their stride and it seemed to work when Robinson uprooted Khawaja’s off stump for 141.

With a ring of catchers stationed in front of square on both sides of the wicket, the centurion tried to manufacture a blow through the covers and ended up misreading a precision yorker.

The tail was knocked over with efficiency after that. Nathan Lyon pulled Robinson straight to deep square-leg and Boland backed away visibly before popping Broad to silly point for his third of the innings. Cummins was last to go for 38, holing out off another Robinson short ball.

Duckett and Crawley made a measured start after lunch, taking advantage of Australia’s cautious fields to pick up easy singles for the second time in the match.

After 6.5 overs they had moved to 26 without loss, in no trouble at all. The subsequent rain delay, and the sharp deterioration in conditions, meant things were incomparable when they re-emerged in nightmare circumstances at 3.30pm.

The rain was close, but not close enough to spare the top-order pair as Australia made full use of the assistance to claim the upper hand.

England lost both openers under dark skies at Edgbaston as Australia seized the initiative on day three of a gripping first Ashes Test.

England lost Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley in consecutive overs in desperately difficult batting conditions in a mini afternoon session slotted awkwardly between two heavy rain showers.

That left the home side 28 for two, a fragile lead of 35 with everything still to play for.

The hosts had rallied impressively with the ball in the morning session, taking the last five Australian wickets for 75 runs to eke out the narrowest of seven-run leads.

Their openers then added another 26 after lunch in untroubled fashion, only for everything to change in dramatic circumstances after a 75-minute rain delay in the afternoon.

The teams came back out under thick black clouds at 3.30pm, with the floodlights cranked up and batting conditions suddenly the most precarious of the match.

Only 22 deliveries were possible before an almighty downpour, with England losing two wickets for just two runs as the Dukes ball came alive in fading light. Duckett (19) fenced at one that wobbled in the air and straightened up off the pitch from Pat Cummins, with Cameron Green pulling off the latest in a long line of outstanding catches in the gully.

Crawley (seven) then followed in the next over, Scott Boland capping an outstanding burst from the Birmingham End by finally to taking a thin nick after multiple close calls. There were half a dozen loud appeals in addition to that crucial double strike, with each batter seemingly clinging on in trying circumstances.

When the rain did come it was a sweet relief for Ollie Pope and Joe Root, surely sparing England further losses.

The day began with Australia on 311 for five, still 82 behind but seemingly well set with half their wickets in hand and two set batters at the crease. England needed early breakthroughs to nudge themselves back in front and James Anderson almost delivered one when he took Alex Carey’s inside edge with his fourth delivery of the morning.

Anderson had already started to celebrate as Jonny Bairstow tumbled low to his right but watched in dismay as the ball squirmed free from the wicketkeeper’s glove.

It was a painful start for Bairstow, who already had a missed stumping against Cameron Green and another dropped catch off Carey on his ledger, and his frustration was plain to see.

Anderson continued to cause the left-hander problems and got him after 20 minutes, forcing one through Carey’s defences from round the wicket and trimming the bails with precision.

Moeen Ali started up at the other end, fresh from receiving a fine from the ICC for using an unauthorised drying agent on his hands during Saturday’s play. If that was an unwanted present on the spinner’s 36th birthday, then things did not get a lot better as he worked through his spell.

A return to first-class cricket after almost two years in retirement has clearly caused some damage to the all-rounder’s spinning finger – hence use of spray which caught the match referee’s attention.

He got away with one loopy full toss but could not stop Cummins launching him for a couple of sixes as he struggled to get any purchase on the ball.

Ben Stokes began to set some highly unusual fields in a bid to knock Australia off their stride and it seemed to work when Robinson uprooted Khawaja’s off stump for 141.

With a ring of catchers stationed in front of square on both sides of the wicket, the centurion tried to manufacture a blow through the covers and ended up mis-reading a precision yorker.

The tail was knocked over with efficiency after that, Lyon pulling Robinson straight to deep square-leg, Boland backing away and popping Stuart Broad to silly point and Cummins holing out off another short ball.

Zak Crawley punched the first ball of the much-awaited Ashes through the covers for four but England’s progress was stymied within the first half hour by Ben Duckett’s dismissal at Edgbaston.

The opening exchange of this series has frequently gone Australia’s way, from Steve Harmison’s alarming wide in 2006 to Rory Burns being bowled round his legs by Mitchell Starc 18 months ago.

Australia’s decision to omit Starc – with Josh Hazlewood returning to the line-up – led to captain Pat Cummins taking the new ball and he served up a full and wide delivery that was clattered by Crawley.

An expectant crowd roared their approval as the ball raced away to the boundary, with Crawley and Duckett settling quickly to vindicate Ben Stokes’ decision to bat first under gloriously sunny skies.

The first hint of trouble came when Duckett (12) inside edged Hazlewood for his second four but his luck immediately ran out. Hazlewood continued to dangle the carrot, sticking to a fuller and wider line which this time drew a thin outside edge that was gratefully accepted by wicketkeeper Alex Carey.

Crawley, despite speculation about his place in the side after a lean run of form, and Ollie Pope continued to keep England ticking at more than four an over, prompting Cummins to turn to Nathan Lyon’s off-spin in the 10th over.

After Lyon’s opening foray, England were on 47 for one after Crawley (22 not out) clattered the off-spinner authoritatively just wide of mid-off for his third four.

Page 3 of 3
© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.