England took charge of the final Ashes Test at The Oval, finishing the third day at 389-9 with a commanding 377-run lead over Australia. The trio of Joe Root (91), Jonny Bairstow (78), and Zak Crawley (73) led the charge for the hosts, who are trying to avoid an Ashes defeat in England since 2001.
Crawley set the tone early, driving the first ball from Mitchell Starc to the boundary, and he and Ben Duckett had a fluent opening partnership of 79. Duckett fell for 42, but Australia’s success in reviewing an umpire’s decision was their only highlight of the morning as England continued to pile on runs.
After lunch, Crawley’s aggressive play ended when he edged a wide delivery from Pat Cummins to Steve Smith in the slips. Root then partnered with Ben Stokes, adding 63 runs for the third wicket before Stokes was caught by Cummins while trying to loft Todd Murphy over long on.
Root, in superb form, notched up 11 fours and a six, but his quest for a century fell short by nine runs as Murphy deceived him with a turning delivery. Bairstow followed suit, displaying attacking intent with 11 boundaries before a lazy cut shot gave Carey an easy catch off Starc.
Harry Brook managed to strike a six before being dismissed for seven by a lifting delivery from Josh Hazlewood. Root’s departure left England at 317-6, but Bairstow’s fighting knock continued until he was caught behind.
Chris Woakes and Mark Wood fell cheaply, but Stuart Broad and James Anderson held on, giving England the opportunity to further extend their lead before attempting to bowl Australia out.
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