Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.
Venue- Headingley Cricket Ground, Leeds [July 2023].
After losing the second test of the series at Lords, England were now in a precarious situation. They were 0-2 down in a 5-match series. One more defeat would have costed them the Ashes. In a do or die game at Headingley, English Captain Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to field first. The decision turned out to be a good one because the Aussies did not get the best of starts as they were reduced to 85/4 in 24.2 overs. It appeared that the English would crush the Aussies in no time. However, in the second session of the day's play, Mitchell Marsh launched a counterattack which no one could have ever imagined. He scored a quickfire 118 and took his team to a fighting total of 263. It appeared that he was playing on a different wicket and his teammates were playing on a different wicket. At one stage it even looked that the Aussies would cross 300, but Mark Wood with his sheer pace help England reduce Australia at a modest score of 263. Wood ended up the first innings with an impressive figure of 5-34.
In response the English were bowled out for just 237 runs. It could have been even worse for the hosts if their Captain Ben Stokes would not have scored a gritty 80 of 108 deliveries. Stokes played a crucial knock in one of his favorite stadiums and kept his team in the tie. On the other hand, Australian Skipper Pat Cummins smoked the English batting line-up and ended up with figures of 6-91. Both the Captains gave their best, but it was the Aussies who had a slim lead of 26 runs.
Unfortunately, the Aussies did not get a great start in the second innings as well as Stuart Broad dismissed Warner for just 1 run. This was the 17th time in Test Cricket that Broad dismissed Warner. However, after the fall of first wicket, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne stitched a 57 runs stand and brought Aussies back into the game. But, after the tea interval Moeen Ali immediately dismissed the two dangerous players, Labuschagne (33) and Smith (2), with the latter being his 200th Test wicket. Following the drinks break, Woakes removed Khawaja for 43 as Head and Marsh formed a partnership, helping Australia to close on 116/4 and a 142-runs lead at the eve of second day.
Due to the weather, day three's play was postponed until the evening session. Only one over was bowled before play was again halted. However, the delay was just for 20 minutes, and when the meeting resumed, Woakes was able to dismiss Marsh and Carey. After Starc and Cummins were removed by Wood, Head launched an assault on England and reached his half-century with a boundary. Before falling to Broad for 77, Head hit back-to-back sixes to increase Australia's lead after Murphy was lbw for 11. Australia was eventually all out for 224, giving England a target of 251. Australia failed to take a wicket in its final five overs as England reached a score of 27/0 on the stumps of day 3. The English needed 224 runs to win, whereas the Aussies needed 10 wickets. The game can go anywhere.
Five overs into the morning, England lost their first wicket when Duckett was out caught by Starc for 23. Moeen Ali unexpectedly came out to bat at number 3 after the Brook experiment in the first innings failed. This was unsuccessful as well since Ali was bowled by Starc for only 5. After Moeen Ali's wicket, Joe Root came out to bat. The English needed a strong partnership between Root and Crawley, but the opener was soon dismissed for 44 after being caught behind by Marsh, leaving England 93/3. When Brook came out to bat at his usual position, he played himself in before increasing his score with boundaries off Boland and Starc. Root attempted to score a boundary down the leg side but gloved the ball to Carey for just 21 runs.
Captain Stokes started from where he left. He hit boundary of the first ball and then stitched a partnership with Brook. The English Scorecard read 153/4 as the players went for lunch. The Hosts needed 98 runs, whereas the visitors needed 6 wickets. After lunch, Stokes was dismissed similarly to Root when he edged down the leg side to Carey of Starc for 13. Two overs later, Bairstow was clean bowled by Starc for 5. Woakes joined Brook at the crease as Brook reached his 50 of 67 balls. However, after the drinks break, Brook was out, top edging a catch to Cummins of Starc for 75, as the fielder and bowler almost collided while attempting to make the catch. England still needed 21 when the last recognized batsman was out.
Mark Wood joined his bowling partner Woakes in the middle and, replicating his first innings strategy, scored a quickfire 16* runs in 8 balls. Whereas Woakes finished with a score of 32* and secured a 3-wicket victory for England, bringing the series score to 2-1 heading to Old Trafford. For his all-round performance, Mark Wood was awarded the Man of the Match Award.
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