Tale of two captains as series sits on a knife edge

By Charlie On Jul 7, 2023

Australia 263 and 116 for 4 lead England 237 (Stokes 80, Cummins 6-91) by 142 runs

Australia retained their slender advantage in the third Test at Headingley on another day of Ashes cricket in fast-forward. They were not at their clinical best in Leeds against a flagging England side, yet could still clinch the urn this weekend.

This was a day that highlighted the brilliance of the two captains. Pat Cummins, who took two wickets on the first evening, added four more to complete his first five-wicket haul on English soil, finishing with 6 for 91, while Ben Stokes produced his second superhuman innings in six days.

Stokes had resumed after lunch unbeaten on 27 as England struggled to find a middle ground between attack and defence, losing four wickets in the morning – three of them to aggressive shots, despite their slowest-scoring session of the series.

But Stokes and England shifted gears after the break, adding 95 runs in 62 balls for the loss of their final three wickets, in a frenzied hour in the Leeds sunshine. Stokes was the last man out, looking to hit Todd Murphy for his sixth six, but his 80 dragged England to a deficit of only 26.

Stuart Broad struck early for England, removing David Warner for the second time in the match, third time in the series and 17th in Test cricket, before Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne restored some calm, adding 55 for the second wicket.

Then Labuschagne and Steven Smith fell in quick succession to Moeen Ali – Smith was his 200th Test wicket – and when Khawaja edged Chris Woakes behind, England sensed an opening. Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh took them through to the close, leading by 142 and with the game just about in their control.

More to follow…

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