England take full control of 5th Ashes test , Root, Bairstow hit sparking knocks

 

England must win the fifth Test against Australia to save the loss in the Ashes series.  Stokes & Co batted aggressively in the second innings on day 3.  Australia looked somewhat defensive and their bowlers  looked jaded after a long tour  .

 England started the second innings on Saturday trailing Australia by 12 runs.  England's two openers, Jack Crawley and Ben Duckett, filled the deficit of 12 runs in the first over.  After that, Ben Stokes, Root & Bairstow  batted in a similar aggressive mood throughout the day.  At the end of the third day of the Oval Test, England scored 389 for 9 in the second innings.  Stokes' team remained ahead of Australia by 377 runs.

 England camp in relief at the end of the third day of the fifth Test of the Ashes series.   Pat Cummins' tactics looked a bit defensive in front of the cricket.  England's batsmen scored about five runs per over.  It is clear from England batting that they want to leave the field with a win.  Apart from this, there is no way for them to save the series loss as Australia is leading 2-1.  A draw or a loss for England at the Oval means Australia will win the Ashes series in England after 20 years.

 In reply to England's 283 in the first innings, Australia's first innings ended on 295 on Friday.  England started to bat from the beginning on Saturday.  The two openers put on 79 runs for the first wicket.  42 runs from 55 balls from Duckett's bat.  He hit seven fours largely feasting on Starc's erratic first spell . Later Starc had him caught behind courtesy a review by skipper Cummins . 

 Crawley later got more aggressive.  He played an innings of 73 runs off 76 balls.  Nine spanking  fours came from his bat as he drove ferociously and played other shots too till Cummins had him caught in the slips off another drive after lunch  .

All England's first-order batsmen scored runs except Harry Brook (7) who was caught behind off Hazlewood.  As a result, several effective pairs were formed.  The pace of runs was maintained.  Skipper Stokes came at number three and scored a fluent 42 runs.  His 67-ball innings included three fours and a six before he hit Murphy to Cummins .  Former captain Joe Root was the driving force behind England's innings on the third day of the Oval Test.  He didn't get a hundred even though he came close.  He played an innings of 91 runs off 106 balls.  He hit 11 fours and a six .  He batted with the responsibility of one end of the wicket and took controlled risk playing delightful drives,  flicks and pulls . Finally Root was bowled by a vicious turner from Murphy 

  Wicketkeeper-batsman Jonny Bairstow also was aggressive .  He scored 78 runs.  He completed the 103-ball innings with 11 fours all full of imperious shots and had a great 110 run stand with Root . Finally Bairstow was caught behind of Starc 

 However, after Bairstow's dismissal, England's innings did not progress much.  The speed of England's runs also decreased quite a bit.  After Bairstow returned to the dressing room, Moeen Ali was the hope of England's innings.  He was dismissed for 29 runs by Mitchell Starc.  Wood (9) was sent back to court by Todd Murphy.  James Anderson (8 not out) and Stuart Broad (2 not out) continued to bat till close 

 None of the Australian bowlers could trouble the English batsmen in the second innings.  Rather, Cummins looked a little frustrated at times in the face of England's thunderous cricket.  Starc is the most successful Australian bowler.  He took four wickets for 94 runs.  Todd Murphy took three wickets with 110 runs.  Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins took one wicket each.