Ashes, 5th Test: England take commanding lead on Day 3
It was all England on day three of the fifth Ashes Test at the Kennington Oval in London. The hosts started the second innings with aplomb and the middle-order batters scored quick runs on a good surface and outclassed Australia. At stumps on day three, England are 389/9 with a lead of 377 runs. Stuart Broad and James Anderson are still at the crease.
Day 3 summary
England started their second innings on day three in London. They wiped out Australia's 12-run lead in no time as Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley added 79 runs. The English batters made full use of the platform that was set. Crawley, Joe Root, and Jonny Bairstow slammed crucial fifties. For the Aussies, Mitchell Starc was the pick of the bowlers with a four-wicket haul.
A dominant knock from Crawley
Crawley gave England a flying start on day three as he added 79 runs with Ben Duckett. The opener smashed a 76-ball 73, which was laced with nine boundaries. Crawley registered his 10th Test half-century and his third against Australia. Crawley has raced to 2,204 runs in 39 Tests at an average of 31.48. He has scored the most runs in this Ashes (480).
England openers with highest aggregates in the home Ashes series
As per Cricbuzz, Crawley now owns the sixth-highest aggregate runs in an Ashes series for England at home. 554 - John Edrich, 1968; 553 - Michael Atherton, 1993; 490 - Tim Robinson, 1985; 487 - Graham Gooch, 1985; 486 - Jack Hobbs, 1926 are ahead.
Root smashed his 60th Test fifty
England's talisman Root was exceptional once again. He compiled 91 off 106 deliveries. Root hammered his 60th Test fifty and his 18th against Australia. He stitched a 110-run stand with Jonny Bairstow, taking England beyond the 300-run mark. He has amassed 11,416 runs in 135 Tests at an average of 50.29. Root has compiled 2,428 runs in 34 Tests at 40.46 versus Australia
Joint most fifty-plus scores for England in Test cricket
Root registered his 90th fifty-plus score in Tests and equaled Alastair Cook who owns the most fifty-plus scores by an English batter in Test cricket. Cook has amassed 57 fifties and 33 hundreds in Tests (90). Ian Bell is third with 68 fifty-plus scores.
Bairstow's game-changing knock
Bairstow played another blinder as he clocked his 26th test fifty. He slammed a 103-ball 78, which was laced with 11 boundaries. The 33-year-old wicket-keeper batter has slammed three fifties in this Ashes series while scoring 322 runs. Playing his 95th Test, Bairstow has compiled 5,804 runs at an average of 37.20. Besides 26 fifties, he has smashed 12 centuries in this format.
Third-highest runs by an English wicket-keeper in an Ashes series
Bairstow has amassed 322 runs in this Ashes series at an average of 40.25. He smashed three fifties in this series. Only two wicket-keepers, Alec Stewart (378 runs) in the 1993 Ashes and Alan Knott (364 runs) in the 1974-75 Ashes have scored more runs.
Starc and Murphy shine for Australia
A tough day at the office for the Australian bowlers as all of them went for runs. But Starc was the star of them all, as he finished the day with figures 4/94. On the other hand, Todd Murphy, who was mostly taken to the cleaners, also scalped a three-fer (3/110). Murphy was very expensive but he dismissed Stokes, Root, and Mark Wood.
