LEEDS: Moeen Ali struck twice in quick succession in the third Test against Australia at Headingley on Friday after England captain Ben Stokes’s dynamic 80, his latest dashing innings, had kept the hosts’ Ashes hopes alive.

Australia were 116-4 in their second innings at stumps on the second day, a lead of 142 runs, as they looked to go 3-0 up in the five-match series and secure a first Ashes campaign triumph in England since 2001.

Mitchell Marsh was 17 not out, with Travis Head unbeaten on 18.

The pair’s partnership of 155 had been pivotal in securing a first-innings lead and another big stand would likely bat England out of the game.

Australia had been in command at 68-1 on Friday only for off-spinner Moeen to take two wickets for two runs in nine balls while removing Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith — two of the world’s top three-ranked Test batsmen.

England risked conceding a large first-innings lead when they slumped to 142-7 at lunch.

But all-rounder Stokes’s brilliant knock took England to 237 all out, a deficit of just 26 runs, despite Australia captain Pat Cummins’s fine return of 6-91.

Stuart Broad then removed David Warner for the 17th time in Tests, the left-hander caught in the slips for one.

Australia, however, looked to be grinding down England a bowler light with paceman Ollie Robinson off the field because of a back spasm, until the recalled Moeen’s stunning double strike.

Labuschagne, dropped on 33 when under-fire wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow couldn’t hold a tough diving chance, hadn’t added to his score when he carelessly swept Moeen to deep square leg.

Smith, in his 100th Test and just days after his fine hundred at Lord’s, was then out for a mere two when he whipped Moeen straight to midwicket as the bowler took his 200th Test wicket. Usman Khawaja fell for 43 when caught behind after being squared-up by Chris Woakes.

Earlier, England resumed on 68-3, with Joe Root 19 not out and Bairstow on one.

Root, however, fell for his overnight score to just the second ball of the day when the batsman tentatively edged Cummins to Warner at first slip. Bairstow then exited for 12.

England were seven down when Woakes was out to the last ball before lunch.

Stokes, in at 68-4, upped his tempo after the dismissal of Wood (24).

But he was reprieved twice on 45 off successive deliveries from off-spinner Todd Murphy. Starc dropped Stokes in the deep before Murphy failed to hold a hard-hit return catch.

Stokes went to fifty in style when he drove Murphy for a straight six and promptly repeated the dose the very next delivery.

He launched Murphy for another six before he holed out to end a 108-ball innings featuring six fours and five sixes.

SCOREBOARD

AUSTRALIA (1st Innings) 263 (M. Marsh 118; M. Wood 5-34, C. Woakes 3-73)

ENGLAND (1st Innings, overnight 68-3):

Z. Crawley c Warner b Marsh 33

B. Duckett c Carey b Cummins 2

H. Brook c Smith b Cummins 3

J. Root c Warner b Cummins 19

J. Bairstow c Smith b Starc 12

B. Stokes c Smith b Murphy 80

M. Ali c Smith b Cummins 21

C. Woakes c Carey b Starc 10

M. Wood c Marsh b Cummins 24

S. Broad c Smith b Cummins 7

O. Robinson not out 5

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-3, NB-9, W-5) 21

TOTAL (all out, 52.3 overs) 237

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-18 (Duckett), 2-22 (Brook), 3-65 (Crawley), 4-68 (Root), 5-87 (Bairstow), 6-131 (Ali), 7-142 (Woakes), 8-167 (Wood), 9-199 (Broad)

BOWLING: Starc 14-3-59-2 (1nb); Cummins 18-1-91-6 (3nb, 1w); Boland 10-0-35-0 (3nb); Marsh 3-1-9-1 (2nb); Murphy 7.3-0-36-1

AUSTRALIA (2nd Innings):

U. Khawaja c Bairstow b Woakes 43

D. Warner c Crawley b Broad 1

M. Labuschagne c Brook b Ali 33

S. Smith c Duckett b Ali 2

T. Head not out 18

M. Marsh not out 17

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-1) 2

TOTAL (for four wickets, 47 overs) 116

STILL TO BAT: A. Carey, M. Starc,

P. Cummins, S. Boland, T. Murphy

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-11 (Warner), 2-68 (Labuschagne), 3-72 (Smith), 4-90 (Khawaja)

BOWLING: Broad 10-1-36-1; Woakes 9-0-28-1; Wood 10-2-12-0; Root 1-0-4-0; Ali 17-3-34-2

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2023