England take control as Australia wilt in fifth Test
LONDON: England seized control on the third day of the fifth Ashes Test on Saturday, building a likely match-winning lead of 382 as they look to square the series.
With two full days of play to come and the weather in London set fair, the home side, on 313-8 in their second innings, appear certain to pull level at 2-2 barring a miraculous fightback from Australia. Nathan Lyon slowed England’s progress in the morning session, taking the wickets of Rory Burns and captain Joe Root but those were rare early bright spots for the tourists on a pitch that offered little help.
Opener Joe Denly and Ben Stokes, playing as a specialist batsman, put on 127 for the third wicket as a tiring Australia attack ran out of steam in the September sunshine.
Off-spinner Lyon bowled Stokes after tea for 67 with a beautiful delivery that spun past the left-hander’s forward defensive shot while seamer Peter Siddle had Denly caught at slip for a Test-best 94 shortly afterwards.
But the in-form Jos Buttler, who top-scored for England with 70 in the first innings, started fluently as he and Jonny Bairstow took the lead past 300.
Bairstow was caught by Steve Smith—who on Friday went past Inzamam-ul-haq’s record of most consecutive fifties against a single Test opponent with his 10th fifty-plus score—in the slips off the bowling of all-rounder Mitchell Marsh for 14 to give Australia a glimmer of hope.
But they missed a big opportunity when, in the next over, they failed to review a not-out decision against Buttler after an appeal for lbw, with replays showing Lyon’s ball would have hit the stumps.
It was the second time that Australia had proved over-cautious. Denly should have been out lbw earlier on 54 but Australia skipper Tim Paine opted not to review.
Stokes, dropped on seven by Smith, started his innings slowly but accelerated, reaching his fifty off 89 balls with a huge six off legspinner Marcus Labuschagne over wide long-on.