England end day three on 220-2 as Joe Root sets new record and leads incredible fight back to keep Ashes hopes alive

THAT’S more like it.

Joe Root and Dawid Malan produced a superb partnership that finally brought joy and kudos to England in the First Test.


By the close of day three, the pair had added 159 for the third wicket and reduced Australia’s lead to a manageable 58 runs.

England spent two days being hammered and humiliated but now they were believing they could escape with a draw – or maybe even force a sensational victory.

Captain Root, who was out for a duck in England’s miserable first innings total of 147 all out, batted brilliantly and continued his remarkable form of 2021.

He became England’s all-time leading run-scorer in Test cricket in a calendar year, overhauling Michael Vaughan’s aggregate of 1,481 in 2002.

Root finished day three on 86 not out and has two further Test matches to add to his total. He is on the brink of his seventh Test century of the year.

Malan was recalled in the summer for his first Test appearances for three years. England wanted him in Australia because his play is suited to the quicker and bouncier pitches.

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It was an action-packed third day down underCredit: PA
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Aussie ace Travis Head reached 150Credit: Getty
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Nathan Lyon celebrates a wicketCredit: EPA


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Although not as secure as Root, Malan played well and his footwork and driving against Nathan Lyon’s off spin was especially eye-catching. He will resume on day four with 80 not out.

The longer they batted, the fewer alarms Malan and Root experienced. The occasional delivery jumped but, generally, the pitch played okay and the Aussie bowlers became less threatening as the ball softened.

And one of their key bowlers, Josh Hazlewood, sent down just eight overs out of 70 and appeared to be struggling with injury.

David Warner was off the field suffering with bruised ribs after being struck by Ben Stokes during his innings of 94 on day two. X-rays revealed no break but Warner was said to be in considerable discomfort.

The start of the day continued to go Australia’s way as more rapid runs took their first innings total to 425 all out – and a massive lead of 278 runs.

Travis Head extended his fairytale innings to 152 and there were useful runs from Mitchell Starc, who contributed 35 to an eighth-wicket stand of 85.

Stokes bowled three overs on the third morning which suggested the wrench to his left knee that he suffered the previous day was not inconveniencing him too much.

Spinner Jack Leach went for 102 runs in just 13 overs and grabbed an unwanted record – the quickest to concede a century of runs in an Ashes Test.


Leach’s 100th run arrived from 12.1 overs – taking more of a pounding even than previous record holder Brett Lee, who conceded a ton from 14.2 overs at Edgbaston in 2005.

Rory Burns was on a king pair after being dismissed by the first ball of the series 48 hours earlier.

And he was clearly worried – he didn’t face the first delivery of England’s innings for the first time in his Test career.

But he could not escape the music for long.

To his third ball, Burns was given out lbw to Starc by umpire Paul Reiffel. But Burns reviewed and ball-tracking showed it was going over the top of the stumps.

The Surrey left-hander was not able to capitalise, however, and on 13 edged behind a snorter from Pat Cummins in the first over after lunch.

Haseeb Hameed looked comfortable for the second time in the match but again was not able to get beyond the 20s as he gloved a legside catch off Starc.

The Aussies reviewed a catch behind when Malan had scored 16. HotSpot was not conclusive – although it suggested Malan had not edged the ball – but Real Time Snicko was not available to give a more definitive verdict.

The explanation was that the gizmo had broken down and, because of Covid border restrictions in Queensland, nobody could be sent to fix it.

With the auto no-ball detector also malfunctioning, it has not been a good game for technology. It’s the Ashes, for goodness sake. This stuff should be sorted.

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