Half-centuries from Joe Root and Ian Bell and a late cameo from Mark Wood ensured that England ended Day Three of the first Ashes Test against Australia at Cardiff on Friday in control, having taken a lead of 411 after being bowled out for 289. Root and Bell were dismissed for identical scores of 60 off 89 balls, while Wood hit some lusty blows to remain unbeaten on 32 off only 18 balls. Live Blog: England (ENG) vs Australia (AUS) Ashes 2015 1st Test at Cardiff, Day 3
The duo of Bell and Root put on 97 for the fourth wicket before Bell was cleaned up by Mitchell Johnson. Root was joined by Ben Stokes, and the pair added a few quick runs of their own before Root was knocked over by Josh Hazlewood. Stokes was the next man to be dismissed when he was cleaned up by Mitchell Starc for 42. Live Scorecard: England (ENG) vs Australia (AUS) Ashes 2015 1st Test at Cardiff, Day 3
Jos Buttler was guilty of playing a rather frivolous shot, falling for a reverse sweep off Nathan Lyon only to be caught behind for 7. Stuart Broad too looked a bit casual, trying to go big against Lyon only to be caught in the deep for 4. Moeen Ali edged Johnson behind to Brad Haddin for 15 while James Anderson was cleaned up by Lyon off what proved to be the final delivery of the day. READ: The Moeen Ali conundrum
Earlier, Mitchell Starc had Alastair Cook drive in the air to point to leave England at 21 for 1, ahead by 143 runs at lunch. Gary Ballance did not survive the first over after the break, edging Josh Hazlewood to Brad Haddin for a duck. Adam Lyth took on Nathan Lyon, hitting him for a few shots against the turn. However, he finally fell to a terrific catch by Michael Clarke at slip off the bowling of Lyon to leave England in trouble at 73 for 3 before Root and Bell rescued them. Bell looked on a different plane than he has been in recent times, hitting the ball from the middle of the bat almost from the start. READ: Australia’s ‘Dad’s Army’ leader Chris Rogers makes intention clear
England managed to clean Australia out for 308 in the first innings to take a 122-run lead. Australia resumed at 264 for 5 on the third morning, but were soon 265 for 7 with both overnight men back in the hut. Shane Watson was the first man to go on Day Three, trapped LBW by Stuart Broad in the second over of the day for 30. Nathan Lyon was the next man out, LBW for 6 to Mark Wood. Brad Haddin looked good for his 22, but ended up edging behind off James Anderson. Mitchell Johnson then flicked one from Anderson to Gary Ballance for 14. Mitchell Starc was last man out, edging Anderson to Joe Root at slip for a duck. Australia had lost five wickets for 44 on the third morning. READ: Ashes 2015 1st Test at Cardiff: Australia must learn to thrive on flat decks
Chris Rogers‘ solid 95 proved to be by far the highest score of the innings, as all the other batsmen were guilty of squandering their starts. David Warner, Steven Smith, and Michael Clarke were guilty of throwing their wickets away with avoidable strokes. Adam Voges, Shane Watson, and Brad Haddin too let the team down with avoidable dismissals. Complete Coverage: The Ashes 2015
Brief scores:
England 430 (Gary Ballance 61, Joe Root 134, Ben Stokes 52, Moeen Ali 77; Mitchell Starc 5 for 114, Josh Hazlewood 3 for 83) and 289 (Ian Bell 60, Joe Root 60; Nathan Lyon 4 for 75) lead Australia 308 (Chris Rogers 95; James Anderson 3 for 43) by 411 runs.
(Shiamak Unwalla, a reporter with CricketCountry, is a self-confessed Sci-Fi geek who loves cricket more than cricketers. His Twitter handle is @ShiamakUnwalla)
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