Ashes third Test day two, England vs Australia live: Latest updates and expert analysis

“A fascinating game of cricket, all the players out there have given absolutely everything and it has been a tremendous battle. It was bad for England who lost two early wickets but Stokes was able to help his team get back.

“Can England keep the Ashes alive? At the moment, it’s well within their grasp.”

Wood will finish the day. Can he get a wicket in the final over of the day? He cannot get a wicket in the final over and Australia close on 116/4, 142 runs ahead. Like this time yesterday, the game is finely poised.

Moeen makes sure he gets through his over quickly so Wood can get another over in. Maiden over and a decent spell from Moeen. Head will not be happy that he has to face another quick over from Wood.

A huge roar from the Headingley crowd as Mark Wood returns to the attack to replace Broad. He is not who the Australians want to be facing. Head does not play the first short ball comfortably but he gets off strike. Wood sends down an absolute snorter of a short ball later in the over but Head gets his gloves out of the way. Wood is testing Head out with the short ball as the Australian has not played it well in this series so far. Wood nearly gets a wicket off the final ball but the ball falls short of Duckett at gully.

Moeen will continue. He bowls a tight over with just the two singles, one each for Marsh and Head. Just under 10 minutes to go on day two. Three more overs hopefully.

Broad hits Marsh on the pads at the start of the over but no appeal comes. Marsh then drills Broad through the covers for four. England need to be careful here. Marsh is looking a little dangerous already.

Head finally manages to score a run off Moeen as he tucks it into the leg-side for a couple. Just two off that latest Moeen over. Will Mark Wood return at Moeen’s end for one last blast tonight?

Another maiden over for England. A tight, probing over from Broad at Marsh.

Head is struggling to score off Moeen at the moment and is getting a little bogged down. The pressure is starting to build on Head here. Maiden over from Moeen.

It will be Stuart Broad to replace Woakes for one final spell today. Just over 30 minutes to go on day two.

A lovely cover drive from Marsh after a few probing balls from Broad brings four for Australia. England need to get the first-innings centurion out quickly here or else Australia’s lead could grow quickly. Brings up the 100 for the visitors. Broad then gets one to nick back into Marsh who gets an inside edge. It does not carry to Bairstow, who does stop the ball from racing away for four. Off the last ball he advances and late cuts away for four more. It was probably slightly finer than he would have wanted but he will not care.

How will Marsh play Moeen? Nearly a run-out as Marsh just starts wandering down the wicket trying to go for a single but he gets back in time. Moeen bowls an awful half-tracker but Marsh only belts it straight at mid-wicket. Just the one single from that over.

With Robinson struggling with his back and Stokes seemingly unable to bowl Moeen has played an important role so far this afternoon, taking the wickets of Smith and Labuschagne. He does though owe a lot of gratitude towards Wood for the way he has bowled, which has probably earned those wickets for Moeen.

Thanks Rob. Head swivels on a pull shot off the first ball to get a single. Next up Marsh comes across his stumps and is hit on the pads by Woakes. Maybe going down leg. Marsh gets underway with a single tucked into the leg-side. The replays show that appeal was rightly given not-out as it was sliding down leg. A couple more singles to end the over for Australia.

England try to close the vice with dot balls and Moeen beats Head outside off on the cut, the ball turning and bouncing. Even when Head drives, Stokes is there to save runs at cover but he does add one off the last ball, whisking it for a single. 

Here’s Kieran Crichard to take you to the close. 

It’s almost a replica of the first innings when Woakes ekes out Khawaja and Marsh walks out to join Head. Australia lead by 116. 

Khawaja c Bairstow b Woakes 43  Woakes gets him from over the wicket, following the ball with his hands, feet planted, nicking off to Bairstow who hangs on diving to his left.  FOW 90/4

Just the two singles off Moeen’s 11th over. He has two for 28 in this spell. He has taken two wickets in an innings twice before at Headingley, in 2014 and 2017 but the seamers usually do the work in Leeds. 

Khawaja steers a single through point but is beaten by the last ball of Woakes’ over that leaves him as he fiddles after it. Head had given him the strike back by working one off his hip. England have put a bullseye on his ribs and armpit but haven’t found the bounce so far to get it right into his blindspot.  

Lovely shot from Head, who has replaced the slug-balancing with a stubble goatee, smacking a drive through mid-off for four. Speaking of goats, Nasser Hussain reports that what got Steve Smith’s was Bairstow saying, ‘See you, Smudge.’ Pretty tame. 

Head flaps at a leg stump bouncer and almost gloves it through to Bairstow. Again there appeared to be a noise but Sky does run UltraEdge on that one and there was no tremor. Head handles another short one better, cuffing it round the corner for a single.  

Mark Wood may not have taken a wicket this spell but he has opened up the game. Moeen Ali has the two wickets, but offen in cricket, the partner benefits from lion hearted efforts at the other end. That was a great spell from a bloke I reckon you would love to have in your team. He looks a beauty every time I watch him play.
 

Only Deadly Derek, who is not easily categorised, and Graeme Swann have crossed the threshold of 200 wickets as England spinners before Moeen. He resumes with some turn, bounce and skid. Three singles come off the over and he, worryingly, ends it staring at his index finger. 

Mark Wood has left the field. Chris Woakes will replace him down the hill. 

A brutal over from Wood, brutal for him as well as Khawaja who is struck on the shoulder by a snorter and has to jack-knife out of the way of another that Bairstow takes with great agility above his head. Head has to face two after Khawaja can’t find the energy to come back for two when he bunts to a vacant mid-off and Wood has to haul himself up off the ground to chase.

He is footsore and cooked and can only force Head to flinch inside the line of a legside bouncer.

On come the drinks. Australia lead by 99. 

Well, who’d have thought it? Smith emulates Labuschagne with a rotten shot and has to go. Someone gave him a send off, Sky says Bairstow. I think that’s right. 

Smith c Duckett b Moeen 2  Smith chips it straight to short midwicket. There has been some turn for Mo and now he bags his 200th Test wicket. Bairstow says something to him as he departs and Smith responds in kind. FOW 72/3

Smith walks across his stumps and somehow manages to jam his bat down to skewer a single down to fine leg and get off the mark. Wood throws his hands up to his head as for most other batsmen, that would have cannoned into their knee. 

Australia lead by 97. 

Jonny Bairstow will be breathing a sigh of relief. The pressure has been mounting on his wicket keeping. From outside the camp of course. Marnus Labuschagne making two mental errors in a couple of balls is uncharacteristic for Australia’s number 3 batsman. Generally he goes on with his starts. Not so this series so far. This partnership between these two senior pros Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja is crucial to the momentum of this game.

That’s 199 Test wickets for Moeen. But it was more a case of Labuschagne giving it away and he departed like a truculent child, at a snail’s pace, as if he couldn’t believe what he’d done. 

Wood will have another over now Smith’s in. Carpe diem. 

Marnus Labuschagne has been absolutely superb at finding ways to get out in this series. There were about two minutes between the drop by Bairstow and the catch from Brook, and it took him about two minutes to leave the field, as per.  

Labuschagne c Brook b Moeen 33  He’s out two balls later, top edging a slog sweep to the midwicket sweeper and Burley in Wharfedale bails out York by doing what Bairstow couldn’t, diving forward to cling on. This time it doesn’t cost Bairstow and England.  FOW 67/2

This should be Wood’s last over as he flirts with a warning for running down the pitch. Labuschagne neatly ducks a nasty bouncer then aborts the hook when the next short one takes off.

Wood comes round the wicket, strikes the Labuschagne glove and Bairstow drops it diving low to his left, the ball spilling out of the webbing between thumb and forefinger of his left hand. The plan worked … but then it didn’t. Hang on, though!

Australia milk Moeen for three singles as they play the long game, putting miles into the legs of England’s broken attack. No Stokes, no Robinson, Wood limited to four-over bursts since Root broke him in Sydney and Hobart. 

As Australia proceed towards an insuperable lead on a hot afternoon, it is time for the next generation of potential England leaders to stand up and not leave everything to Ben Stokes. Under the cosh in the field and when batting, and in the absence of vice captain Ollie Pope, which of England’s top three batsmen will stand up with bright ideas or brilliant stops?

On the first ball of this Test series Pat Cummins started with a deep backward point. Much was said about the strategy. ‘UnAustralian’, ‘negative’, ‘conservative’. Whatever way it was described it was an obvious strategy to counter England’s style of batting. In the last hour of the first Test Ben Stokes pushed the field back, and in my opinion paid the price for it. Today, England are doing the same thing. Field spread. Easy singles. Pressure off Australia. The outfield is so fast the margin for error is very small for the bowlers. I wonder what this strategy is called compared to Australia?  Just a thought. 

The Barmy Army rouses the crowd with the original, 28-year-old chant as Wood charges in. Wood slices a back-foot cut to gully and then pulls for a single. 

Khawaja brings up the fifty partnership by going up on his toes to steer one to point. Wood stays round the wicket to the right-handed Labuschagne who flips a single fine off his sternum, riding the bounce. Khawaja uppercuts for a single. 

Khawaja rocks back to thump Moeen through cover. Wood chases it down from point sweeper, dives, claws it back and hurls it in. They run only two. Khawaja’s immobility hasn’t punished Australia yet but he has left plenty of runs out there in three Tests while facing something approaching a thousand deliveries. 

Wood comes round the wicket to Khawaja who pats the ball round the corner off his hip for a single. Back over for Labuschagne who leaves the first two and cracks the third to cover point. ‘No run,’ he bellows, truly. 

Labuschagne ducks the bumper and then misses when he tries to tickle the last ball fine. He is not happy, constantly fussing with his bat and grip, replaying the stroke, talking to himself.  

Labuschagne nails the drag down and cleaves the long hop for four through point. Three balls later Brook makes a fine, diving stop to stop him doing the same again. Wood is coming back for a second spell. 

After those two spliced defensives from Labuschagne, Stokes moves third slip to gully. Broad angles one in and jags it away off the seam. Labuschagne didn’t follow it as it did too much. And, don’t you know it, when Broad does find the edge Labuschagne squirts it along the ground for four past Stokes’ left hand at gully. No foot movement … which ought to encourage Broad, Wood and Woakes. 

Most expensive 6+WIs:
5.92 Jeff Thomson 13-1-77-6 v WI 1977/78
5.68 Kapil Dev 38.4-3-220-7 v PAK 1982/83
5.34 Mitchell Starc 28.5-3-154-6 v SA 2012/13
5.30 Makhaya Ntini 18.5-2-100-6 v AUS 2005/06
5.18 Abrar Ahmed 22-1-114-7 v ENG 2022/23
5.05 Pat Cummins 18-1-91-6 v ENG 2023 https://t.co/wKx6g8uZb2

— Abhishek Mukherjee (@ovshake42) July 7, 2023

First sign of big turn and bounce for Moeen to Khawaja from round the wicket. The ball drifts in, dips, grips and rags away off the surface rather than a foothold. 

Labuschagne spears a drive off Broad through cover for four. Nice shot even if it was a half-volley. But then, as Woakes did before tea, Broad gets one to trampoline brutally off a length and strike the splice. The ball ricocheted into his biceps and that was enough to divert it away from the slips to fall harmlessly to earth at gully. 

Khawaja presses a single to cover and England withdraw a boundary rider at long off to tempt him into hitting over the top. But he turns down the invitation, tapping the ball through cover for a single instead. 

Interesting on two counts from England. One, that they have spin from both ends. Two, Ollie Robinson is out there. He was briefly fielding at leg slip, but has now been moved to a rather immobile mid-on spot.  

Thick edge from Labuschagne as he defends with deft hands, sending the ball squirting through third man for four. Broad tightens his line as he comes down the hill. Got my ends mixed up there. The point of that Root over was to allow Broad to come on from the Kirkstall Lane End having bowled the over before tea from the Football Stand End. Der. 

Broad uses the crease to change the angle. Labuschagne has him lined up well and leaves two, defends three. Broad needs some swing or seam to change that.  

Maiden for Moeen to Khawaja who plays him out without concern into the offside. 

Root starts round the wicket with a slip, leg slip and short leg. Labuschagne flicks a single off his toes, Khawaja does the same. No turn. Labuschagne cuffs a single when Root drops short and the only encouragement for keeping him on comes with one that skids through outside off. Usman left it, though, nose over his bat. 

It isn’t Broad from the Football Stand End but Moeen. 

Is out with the team. Joe Root will open the session, presumably to help Stuart Broad change ends. 

Australia have this Test in the palm of their hands and, once again in this series, England are hoping a miracle performance will save their skins.

England’s woeful first innings was given some gloss by the destructive qualities of their captain, batting on one leg and smoking sixes. After the soporific first session when England lost three for 74, Mark Wood signalled the inertia was over by hitting 16 off his first three balls.

But it was Stokes, limping badly and constantly flexing his right leg, who had the fans on their feet or ducking the ball as he lumped 56 off 41 balls after lunch, England hitting 95 in 10.2 overs from the start of the afternoon until Stokes holed out for 80.

Credit to Australia however. They did not panic. They continued with spinner Todd Murphy despite Stokes smashing him into the stands four times. Panic would have been taking him off. Instead he stayed on and eventually Stokes was caught in the deep. Four years ago Australia lost the plot when Stokes got on a roll. Here and at Lord’s last week they have stayed calm, and are ahead of the game because of it.

England have turned a terrible morning around by virtue of Mark Wood’s hitting, Ben Stokes’ miracle-working and Stuart Broad’s stranglehold over Davie Warner. But they need to break this partnership. As Justin Langer said, England will fancy their chances in a chase even against Pat Cummins who, now, I think deserves to be put in the highest echelon alongside DK Lillee, RR Lindwall, GD McGrath and KR Miller. But there are limits. Chase 280? Yes, doable. 400? No chance even with Ben Stokes in the side. Lightning doesn’t strike four times … or does it? 

A session of two halves. Bonkers and banal. England closed the gap, then Australia set about reopening it. The game remains in the balance due to the record of teams chasing here in recent years.  

Khawaja is a master of ensuring he’s still there at a break … by getting down the other end as quickly as he can in the over before they go off. This time it takes him one ball, working Broad through midwicket for a single. 

Broad follows Wood’s lead by using the crease to Labuschagne and posting one, then two leg slips. Labuschagne uses the angle of the final ball to tap a single between mid-on and midwicket. 

Australia lead by 55. 

Wood pins Khawaja with one that may have hit leg stump but he was so wide of the crease the ball pitched outside leg. His use of the crease always leaves that get-out for the batsman but it also messes with their angles during a four-over spell. They run a leg-bye.

With his last ball, Wood goes wider, luring Labuschagne into the drive but the ball whistles past the edge. Now Broad gets his way and is allowed to bowl, this time from the Football Stand End. This should be the last over before tea.

Broad wants the ball but has been off the field too long and will have to sit this one out. Woakes continues. Khawaja defends patiently until he employs his getaway cuff through midwicket for a single. Labuschagne leaves two and blocks one of the last half of the over. 

That ‘ghostly snick’ sound again as Labuschagne has an attempt at a tickle off Wood, the ball comfortably away from the pads. What is it? The replay seems to suggest it may have feathered off the bat but Sky hasn’t tested it with UltraEdge yet. No appeal from Wood or Bairstow. 

Wood hasn’t hit the consistently high speeds of yesterday but is still rapid given how little rest England’s bats give him and the rest of the attack. 

Woakes fancies bowling Khawaja round his legs because every now and then he targets leg stump. But Khawaja knows where his feet and wicket are. No Rory Burns is he. Khawaja fiddles it off his backside for four. 

Woakes responds by beating him outside off as he played and missed. There was a deceptive sound on the TV as the ball passed the bat. That seems to have happened several times this summer, ghostly ‘snicks’ that bring hope but are not in fact, backed up by any visible evidence.  

Wood starts with good pace and carry, thumping the ball into Bairstow’s gloves. Khawaja chisels out the yorker then tucks a single off his navel. Labuschagne defends a couple either side of a perfume ball which the batsman plays well, keeping his eyes on it and limboing out of the road by bending his knees. 

Woakes with an absolute brute to Labuschagne that rears up like a cobra from a decent length to clatter the splice and loop wide of third slip. Woakes is bowling very well. 

Hold on to your hats … here comes Mark Wood.

As a batsman I preferred to bat on a poorer wicket with a fast outfield rather than a flat wicket with a slow outfield. At least that way you always got value for your shots. Leeds has been the perfect mix. A fast, true pitch with an outfield as fast as an ice rink. 

A great place to bat and that’s why Australia will need to set England a big target to feel on top of the match. Having been in David Warner’s shoes with a nemesis opponent, it’s no fun. The game is so much about problem solving and when you can’t solve a particular puzzle it’s never far off your mind. This is a mentally tiring period.

Just the single of Broad’s third over, Khawaja filching the strike off the last ball with a strike-rotating midwicket flick. Broad needs to go and change his boots which will open the Kirkstall Lane End for a Mark Wood burst.

Marnus Labuschagne had a first-class average of 129 at Headingley before this Test, with a century and three 50s in his four innings. But he had his work cut out defending against Mark Wood in his first innings: how soon will Wood get another go down the hill?

Khawaja works a single through square leg off Woakes who then squares Labuschagne up a little as he tried to fiddle a straight one through midwicket. 

Labuschagne eschews the bat and pads up to one that was vaulting the stumps then edges along the ground through gully for two. Soft hands. 

Broad bags Warner for the 17th time. Only Alec Bedser’s hold over Arthur Morris (18 times) and Glenn McGrath’s over Michael Atherton (19) lies ahead. Same old line, angled in from round the wicket, arrowing towards off stump. Warner had to play but was squared up and nicked off. He walks away smiling.  

Labuschagne comes in and is beaten by an absolute jaffa outside off. Broad is bowling beautifully. The crowd is on his side and he’s racing in. Labuschagne gets off the mark with a crisp, front-foot punch for four through mid-off. 

Broad and Warner. Again. Incredible. He’s had him taken at second slip in both innings for a combined total of five runs. That’s 17 times in Test cricket now. Mike Atherton wouldn’t mind if he could get him a few more times in the series, given his record against Glenn McGrath.  

Warner c Crawley b Broad 1  Well, for all his other faults, Crawley is England’s best fielder and snaffles a low edge from Warner to his right as Broad does him again.  FOW 11/1

Warner completely befuddled by the length of Woakes’ opening delivery after the heavy roller. The ball kept low and Warner helicoptered his bat above it, gasping as he was through the shot. Stokes is at third slip and limps to catch the ball as it balloons off Warner’s thighpad. Was there an inside edge? The crowd wish so. But Stokes knows there wasn’t. Warner tucks a single off his hip and then Khawaja wears the next ball flush in the goolies as he tried to pull.

After counting ’em and regaining his breath. Khawaja whisks four off his pads and pulls the final ball for four more.

Khawaja takes first hit. Broad gallops in, three slips, round the wicket. The left-hander lets two go, defends one that kept a little low hastily and then skelps a single off his pads. Quiet start no Warner v Broad match-up. Chris Woakes will share new-ball duties. 

Dan Lawrence, who scooted down to Edgbaston yesterday to fire Essex into Blast finals day, is back as the sub fielder. 

Stokes is fit to field. Robinson, lumbago struck, cannot realistically bowl. 

It is a glute injury that Stokes has got. He looks in genuine pain with every shot, and it’s hard to see how he can field anywhere but slip, if at all. This has been a quite incredible 50 minutes of cricket.

A lead of 26 is not exactly game-defining, but what now for England? Stokes will not be fit to bowl – will he even field? Robinson has a back spasm that did not inhibit him too much with the bat, but will surely prevent him bowling just 24 hours after suffering it. So it’s left to Broad, Woakes, and, most importantly, Wood. Moeen Ali may have a bit of bowling to do. I reckon we might see Harry Brook get a bowl.

To play half of a great innings within a week of his 155 at Lord’s, that was so brilliant from England’s captain.

Fair to say that the Western Terrace relished that remarkable passage of play after lunch. They enjoyed comparing Todd Murphy – unflatteringly – to Harry Potter; they enjoyed what Ben Stokes thought of Murphy’s Ashes debut even more. The fatalism at lunch, when England were 142-7, has been replaced by hope that England can now engineer another of their classic Headingley Ashes turnarounds. 

Australia lead by 26. At lunch the lead was 121 and hope had been abandoned. But by virtue of Mark Wood and Ben Stokes, Durham titans, there is a glimmer of hope. 

Stokes c Smith b Murphy 80  Six and out. Stokes mowed the previous delivery over square leg for six but Murphy darts the next one in as Stokes crouched deep on the back foot and cloths it long off to old flypaper hands.  From sand to fly … they write themselves. I’m here all week.  FOW 237

Cummins drops short against Robinson who steps back and carts it over midwicket for four. Out go the fielders to the boundary again. Robinson is in pain but manages to slap the next ball for a single to gully.

Stokes turns down a single then accepts one down to third man. Stokes is batting like a man on stilts now. The flexibility of his right leg is non-existent. Like Albert Poop-Decker’s tin prosthesis in Carry on Jack. 

Robinson has two to face and drops the hands as Cummins looks for the top of off, then plays Brigadier Block effectively. 

Stokes slog sweeps the second ball of Murphy’s over for six then dances down and cloths the next. But he is so powerful it still sails for six over long on. The deficit falls to 38 runs. 

Stokes is cramping badly now after being forced very wide by Murphy who tosses the next one similarly wide but still a legitimate delivery. In they come to save a single and Murphy keeps Stokes down that end with flight and guile. 

Robinson will have to face Cummins now. 

Great baptism of fire for young Todd Murphy. Bowling to Stokes in this mood is daunting to the most experienced players. This ground can be scary for the bowlers. We saw it four years ago and again today. Mitch Marsh capitalised yesterday. Superman Stokes today. Game evenly poised again.

Cummins starts with a slower ball to Stokes and he swings and misses. Clever lad. Stokes charges Cummins next up but can’t beat the infield. The fielders are spread like a Mike Brearley ODI field circa 1979 and Australia are slowing it down, as they did at Lord’s when under assault. Cummins gets away with a very high bouncer then bowls an absolute jaffa that angles in and swings late past the edge. He hooped it. 

After Stokes lets another wide one go, he clubs the last ball down to long on for a single to farm the strike. Australia could have let it go for four but decided against it. 

Stokes smashes the first ball of Murphy for six over the bowler.

The second goes for six more, further back into the stands at long on.

Murphy throws the next wider and Stokes stretches himself to drill it to mid-off.

Stokes sweeps the next fine but isn’t interested in a run. Murphy has recovered well. 

But Stokes still steals a single to midwicket to farm the strike. 

England trail by 51. 

Cummins takes the pace off and gulls Stokes who was trying to scoop him, having jumped into a two-eyed stance. He improvises to keep it out but doesn’t take the run to short third man. 

Stokes whisks a single through midwicket. He wants two but Broad wouldn’t have made it. Stokes ran it very hard, which is encouraging. Broad pays for only being able to run one by falling next ball. 

Enter Robinson who ducks the bouncer and leaves the attempted yorker that arrows past his pads. 

Broad c Smith b Cummins 7  A brilliant, running, diving catch off a tope-edged hook, barely 12 inches in from the rope.  FOW 199/8

Two dropped chances off successive deliveries. Stokes cloths a slog sweep and Starc shells it running in. Then Murphy spills a return catch hammered at him. He got his hands to it as he dropped to his haunches but it burst through and struck him on the thigh. 

Drama with every ball. Stokes works a single through the onside to give Broad one to survive, which he does.

Class from Broad when Cummins pitches up. Yes, he backs away but he middles it off the back foot, thumping it through cover for four. He pulls the next into the ground and they sprint a single.

Stokes carves the next ball for four through point. Murphy tries to save it on the rope but can’t meet it with his frantic dive, Cue cries of ‘You’re just a s— Harry Potter.’ Cummins sprays the next ball wide of Stokes and the keeper for five wides and oversteps when Stokes chipped a single down to backward point off what should have been the final ball.

Broad has one to survive and carries on his Lord’s heroics by getting in line and fending it safely off his chest. 

England trail by 66. 

Time for Murphy

Broad rides Starc’s bouncer and cuffs it to deep backward square for a single. After a big wind up which only finds the fielder with his on drive, Stokes flicks the next ball off his pads for four. He’s out of the blocks now. Starc bounces him and he pulls it off the front foot through midwicket for four. He absolutely lamped it.

The next ball is full, outside off and Stokes hammers it through point for a hat-trick of fours. Who is this man? 

Cummins continues and Stokes pats his first delivery for a single through point. The field spreads for Wood. 

Cummins bounces him and he pulls it for six more to reduce the deficit to 96! Big top edge but who cares? From no hope to a tonic for the troops in six balls. 

But then he departs for an eight-ball 24, SR 300. Cummins has five for 66.

Enter Stuart Broad. The field is still spread and Broad edges the first ball through the vacant cordon for a single to the catching fine third man. 

Cummins wants to keep Stokes down that end with his final ball so gives him a bouncer that is just within the limits of legitimacy but out of reach.

Wood became the first Englishman since Lord Beefy v Craig McDermott at Edgbaston 1985 to hit his first ball for six in an Ashes Test. 

Wood c Marsh b Cummins 24  Hit his first ball of the over for six and skied his third. Marsh took the steepler at midwicket. FOW 167/8

Rob Bagchi with you for this session and it starts with Starc bouncing Wood who swipes the first for six over midwicket and scythes the second over the slips for four. Ha! What a cricketer he is! An absolute human tonic. 

Starc bounces him again, and he he hooks it for six. What a start! 6-4-6!

Starc pushes the next up and across and Wood’s closer to square leg than the stumps as it sails by. Stokes is smiling again. 

The last ball is supposed to be the yorker but doesn’t land and Wood slaps it through cover for two. 

By Nick Hoult, Chief Cricket Correspondent, at Headingley

The Ashes are racing away from England. Four wickets in the first session of a pivotal day in the third Test have put Australia in command and England really only have themselves to blame.

Joe Root edged to the slips the second ball of the day, playing the kind of guiding shot that is often his downfall against Australia. Steve Smith held on to a flying edge off Jonny Bairstow and the nature of the two big wickets summed up the difference between the teams.

Root and Bairstow dropped crucial chances on day one; Australia have held onto theirs. It has been a pattern for the series: chances gifted to Usman Khawaja in the first Test and the drops in the first hour of the second Test when England badly needed a lift with the new ball in good bowling conditions. On day one of this Test, they dropped Mitchell Marsh and he made them pay. England’s profligacy has cost them 428 runs in this series (that is how many extra runs reprieved batsmen have scored). And they wonder why they are 2-0 down. 

Bairstow showed no footwork, launched himself at a ball he could have left. Moeen Ali batted patiently but fell in the leg trap, the same for Woakes. Both batsmen have weaknesses against bouncers and Australia are the masters at exploiting such problems. 

Ben Stokes is nursing a buttock strain, and it has inhibited his batting. England scored just 74 runs in the session, the Bazballers muted by the fine bowling and catching of their opponents.

Explore cricket’s greatest rivalry through archived Telegraph articles in our Ashes custom gift book – the perfect present for all cricket lovers.

13 out of the last 24 wickets the Aussie seamers have taken have fallen to Englands pull shots .. I will give them a clue .. it’s not working .. #Ashes

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) July 7, 2023

Can you call it deja vu if it keeps happening? Once again, it’s Ben Stokes vs Australia in a crucial Test. He will resume on 27 from 67 balls after a miserable morning for England, although I’m not sure whether’s he’ll be able to attackas he did at Lord’s because he is struggling with a back/hip injury.

Joe Root fell to the second ball of the day, a good one from Pat Cummins, and Australia have had their foot on England’s throat ever since. Jonny Bairstow was out for 12, suckered by a wide ball from his nemesis Mitchell Starc.

England tried to absorb the pressure after that, with Stokes and Moeen Ali sensibly adding 44 in 15 overs. Then Moeen played a wretched shot and Chris Woakes was bounced out without fuss or mercy.

Woakes c Carey b Starc 10 It was never going to last long. Woakes tries to hook Starc and thin-edges through to Carey. He reviews, maybe in the hope UltraEdge is having a day off, but there’s a slight spike and that’s the end of his innings. And, indeed, of a bruising morning session for England. FOW: 142/7

🚨 WICKET 🚨

Chris Woakes goes to review but the umpire had it right. England lose another wicket on the last ball before lunch ❌ pic.twitter.com/qXx5ybh1yN

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 7, 2023

Hello! Woakes pulls Cummins mightily over midwicket for six, the first of England’s innings. Normally you’d except Woakes to hang around and support Stokes but I think this is the right approach if they are going to bomb him. He can’t just stand there and wear it.

He continues to take it on, pulling for two down the ground and then one to midwicket.

Good captaincy and bowling by Patty Cummins. Once again though I can’t get my head around a dismissal like that. Another man back. Short ball. Hook down his throat. Strange. Australia well on top here. 

Stokes is almost knocked off his feet by a nipbacker from Starc. Australia enquire for LBW but it was too high. The clue was in Stokes’s wince, because the ball hit him in his private office.

Woakes turns his head away from a bumper from Starc that smashes into the side of his helmet. That’ll mean another concussion check.

Play eventually continues, and a bruising over concludes with another nip-backer that hits Stokes in the business area. This time he is properly knocked off his feet.

Woakes was bombed on fast pitches in the 2017-18 Ashes, and Cummins’ first two balls to him are predictably short. Woakes tries a massive yahoo at the second and is beaten.

It is hard to say anything positive about that piece of cricket from Moeen Ali. He got lucky, once, so Australia changed the field, and he fell into that trap, too. It’s frustrating because he’d batted with so much patience until then. 

Moeen Ali c Smith b Cummins 21 A hitherto responsible innings from Moeen Ali ends with an awful shot. He top-edged a pull off Cummins earlier in the over, with the ball landing safely behind square on the leg side.

Cummins moved Smith to exactly where the ball landed – so Moeen kindly repeated the shot, only with a bit more oomph. It went high in the air and Smith ran in to take a simple catch. FOW: 131/6

Starc replaces Murphy, who bowled a crafty spell of 4-0-4-0, and is worked for three low-risk singles. After a torrid start this is a relatively serene passage of play for England, which paradoxically increases the fear that they will lose a wicket.

In other news, England have confirmed that Ollie Robinson, who suffered a back spasm yesterday, will be fit to bat if required. 

Eoin Morgan says that, if Stokes is unavailable for Old Trafford, he would make Moeen Ali captain. That’s a brilliant call actually.

Wickets falling have drawn a slight change in approach from England this morning, who have defended 41% of deliveries in the session.

This is the highest defensive shot percentage played by England in a session of the series so far (min. 100 balls faced) #Ashes2023 #ENGvAUS

— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) July 7, 2023

Stokes hooks the new bowler Cummins for a single, then immediately signals to the England balcony that he needs some painkillers. With Ollie Pope injured, goodness knows who England’s captain will be if Stokes is unavailable. Normally I’d say Stuart Broad but he’s due a rest at some stage.

Moeen Ali gets his second boundary with a gorgeous cover drive. When he’s good, he’s exquisite. He’s also playing very responsibly, for now. Stokes won’t go quietly, if at all, and he gets four more with a crisp clip through midwicket. After absorbing pressure for an hour or so, Stokes and Moeen are trying to put some back on the Aussies.

Stokes again receives treatment at the end of the over.

At 112-5 a troubling sign, when a ball from Scott Boland seems to deviate off a crack. It is a hot day and if the cracks expand then batting last will be more demanding than four years ago here. An England lead becomes all the more crucial. 

Stokes reverse sweeps Murphy for the first time, though he’s unable to beat backward point. An enquiry for LBW against Moeen is turned down. Had it been pad first it would have been very close; it wasn’t.

I must inform you with great sadness that Todd Murphy looks the real deal. He’s only 22 and England will probably see a lot of him when Nathan Lyon retires.

Stokes is beaten by another peach from Boland, which growls off the seam and past Stokes’ defensive push. Steve Smith might have nicked that, not sure about anybody else.

Moeen then softens his hands to ensure an edge falls short of Smith in the slips. His figures are ordinary (10-0-35-0) but Boland has been a constant threat this morning. 

Stokes is early on a wild slog-sweep at Murphy and is hit in the stomach. For a kid playing his first Ashes Test, Murphy has started superbly; he gets a nice drop on the ball which was what defeated Stokes

Boland, who is bowling beautifully here, beats Moeen with a bit of extra bounce from around the wicket. England are going nowhere, though you can understand their caution in the circumstances. 

Moeen does finally play an attacking stroke, driving Boland’s last ball classily to the cover boundary. Maybe that’s the start of the counter-attack. England trail by 152.

Stokes needs treatment at the end of the over, possibly for a glute injury. He’s going to continue but that doesn’t look good.

Stokes and Moeen will want to go after Todd Murphy sooner rather than later. The trick is knowing when, and how. It’s such a shame Jonny Bairstow isn’t around for this passage of play, especially with Murphy turning the ball into him.

Another tight over from Murphy, a single from it. It’s been ten overs since the last boundary, which is worth about four days in Bazball time. Stokes did charge the last ball but ended up playing a defensive stroke.

Interesting getting Murphy in the game early. He will love bowling to a pair of left-handers who Nathan Lyon has dismissed regularly, but there’s a short boundary at that end that they will feel even a miscue could clear. Tidy first over, though, with no risks taken.

Moeen, feeling defensively, is beaten by a jaffa from Boland. Three of England’s five wickets have been to defensive strokes. This has certainly been their most traditional batting performance of the series (the run-rate is around 3.3 per over), and Brendon McCullum – who prefers batsmen to get out attacking – may be experiencing a peculiar, unsatisfactory kind of smugness. 

The offspinner Todd Murphy comes into the attack. That’s an excellent move from Pat Cummins, a tempter for Stokes and especially Moeen. 

This is only Murphy’s 13th first-class match, but five of those are Tests and he is very highly rated. It’s a tidy first over, with no funny stuff from England, and that’s drinks.

How good is this Headingley wicket? Test cricket is so much fun to watch when there is an even contest between bat and ball. Good pace. Good bounce. Fast outfield. High quality batsmen score runs. Bowlers have a chance to make it hard for the best of them. Brilliant viewing. 

In the last five years, since his recall against India in 2018, Moeen averages 16.46 from 29 Test innings. There are a few reasons for that, including England using him like polyfilla, but it also reflects a certain looseness on his part. 

He made an innings of admirable substance on this ground in 2014, almost saving an apparently long-lost Test against Sri Lanka. What England would give for something like that today. He has started very carefully, with no windy woofs, and flicks Boland for a low-risk single. 

Boland’s relentless accuracy from round the wicket is causing Stokes one or two problems, hence the slow pace of scoring: we’ve had 15 runs from the last seven overs, none in boundaries. 

There’s a run-out chance off the last ball of the over. Stokes flicks a single to Cummins at mid-on, and Moeen is short of his ground when Cummins’ throw whistled past the stumps. I say ‘short’, Moeen actually got his bat stuck just in front of the crease. 

Starc hits Stokes in the breadbasket, knocking him off his feet. For now all he wants to do is survive. Because if he goes before lunch, England are in all sorts.

Relentless from Australia this morning, even more impressive without Josh Hazlewood and Cameron Green. No sign of Todd Murphy yet, but with two left-handers together could be a good time for his first bowl to Ashes cricket – England will attack him as they did New Zealand’s Michael Bracewell here last year.

Boland on for Cummins, who detonated England’s top order. Stokes, on the walk, survives a big LBW appeal. I’m pretty sure he got outside the line – but Cummins has gone for the review.

Hang on, this is close… but Stokes is not out. Oof. It was much tighter than I thought, though, and had it been given on the field Stokes would be out. It was umpire’s call on the point of contact.

That’s an excellent over from Boland, who looks a good match-up (from Australia’s point of view) against both Stokes and Moeen.

Stokes leans into a Starc outswinger and pushes it with soft hands for a single. Thus far he has played a sensible, orthodox innings, with not a waft in sight.

Australia are bowling a lot of short balls to Moeen, as you’d expect, with the occasional fuller one. Moeen flicks Starc towards fine leg, where Boland does well to save the boundary.

Poor Mark Wood. Flogged his guts out on day one, bowling to the extreme limits of the human physique, and now he has to pad up… and bowl again on the afternoon of day two.

Don’t do it, Jonny, don’t fall for the bait.

Cummins continues, with Australia one wicket away from the tail. That’s a bit harsh on Chris Woakes, but it’s worth recalling that he really struggled against the short ball on faster Australian pitches in 2017-18. This is a Perth pitch in nature, a Headingley pitch in name.

Stokes continues to leave with authority, an unspoken teamtalk to those on the balcony. While he’s at the crease, Australia won’t relax.

The two wickets England have lost this morning have been to familiar foes. Pat Cummins has got Joe Root out 10 times, more than anyone else. Mitchell Starc has got Jonny Bairstow out 10 times, too. I was shocked Australia didn’t start with Starc, but he struck in his first over.

A consequence of this false start from England is that a) Australia will probably get to bat in the best conditions of the match and b) the bowlers will again have had little rest. England have played some really good cricket at times in this series, but they are right on the precipice now.

Bairstow c Smith b Starc 12 Mitchell Starc replaces Scott Boland. Nobody has dismissed Bairstow more often in Tests – think Ferris Bueller – and five of those have been bowled or LBW.

Oh lord, make that ten times. Bairstow has gone! He chased a very wide, full delivery and slashed it towards second slip, where Steve Smith took a sharp two-handed catch above his right shoulder. Bairstow was looking really good, and then he was gone. England’s Ashes hopes have probably gone with him. 

That was a sucker ball from Starc, and Bairstow’s eyes lit up. It was also a terrific catch from Smith, another demonstration of the single biggest difference in this series. FOW: 87/5

Bairstow and Stokes have left well so far, but it’s an ongoing challenge and one false move can be fatal. All four England dismissals have been to balls that could have been left on line or length, sometimes both. They weren’t bad shots, but they were avoidable dismissals.

I suppose Root’s dismissal was a reminder of why he has never scored a Test century in Australia. That extra bounce, that urge to get bat on ball, that tendency to look to third man… in other words he could have left it.

A wide ball from Boland is cut savagely by Bairstow and stopped by Murphy at deepish point. He beats Murphy next ball with a one-handed square drive. I can’t overstate how many runs are out there for somebody today, particularly when the ball gets old.

Cummins starts outside off stump and then moves closer to the pads of Bairstow, who mistimes a couple of attacking strokes. A quick single off the last ball takes Bairstow to 6 from 28 balls – that seems slow by his recent standards, but a few of his savage innings last year started cautiously.

I don’t have the data to hand, but it feels like England have lost a lot of wickets in this series immediately after a restart: the start of the session, after a drinks break or even a rain delay.

Massive start for Australia. Fast bowling is reigning supreme here at Leeds, and there are none better than Pat Cummins at the moment. Great to watch. Game on.

It’ll be Scott Boland rather than Mitchell Starc, which is slightly surprising given Starc’s record against Bairstow (nine dismissals at an average of around 17).

Boland goes around the wicket to Stokes, who thick edges his first boundary. It was safe enough, and another reminder that this outfield is lightning fast. After a few solid strokes from Stokes, Boland snakes a lovely legcutter past the outside edge. High-class stuff already.

David Warner took some blinding catches in the 2019 Headingley Test, and he’s taken two excellent ones here again. Sometimes catches look like they are in slow motion here, but they can wobble in the air. 

That’s the 10th time Pat Cummins has got Joe Root out in Tests, at a cost of 22 each: another mark of his greatness as a bowler. Why he is so well-suited to bowling to Root? Root loves to force off the back foot – Cummins’s pace, accuracy and extra bounce makes that a much riskier proposition.

That was a really fine catch from Warner, because the ball seemed to wobble before it reached him. In hindsight Root didn’t need to play, but it was a very good ball day so early in the day.

Stokes gets off the mark with a single, then Bairstow (1 for 21 balls at this point) cuts crisply for four. There are a lot of runs out there today for one team or another.

Whether you agree with Pat Cummins’ decision on Sunday or not, only a one-eyed fool would be unable to admire the relentless brilliance of his bowling. I wondered whether being the bad guy for the first time in his life, on top of the fatigue from Lord’s, might affect his game. Figures of 3/33 would suggest not.

Root c Warner b Cummins 19 A stunning start for Australia – Joe Root has gone second ball! He fenced at a lifter from Cummins and edged to first slip, where Warner took a difficult catch with aplomb. That’s a savage blow for England. FOW: 68/4

Buckle up, folks, the Ashes rollercoaster is about to open for business.

If you haven’t seen it, Mark Wood’s interview at the close of play last night is a joy.

“I was really happy that I could show it on home conditions” 😅

Mark Wood said it was a great feeling to grab five wickets especially in front of his parents ❤️ pic.twitter.com/RVVvqHouDj

— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 6, 2023

For many in the Western Terrace, the whole day had merely been a prelude to this moment: “I’d love it if Bairstow got Carey out the same way that Carey did,” one fan could be overheard saying a few minutes after 11 o’clock. 

Read more…

We have nothing official on Ollie Robinson’s back spasm yet, and England will hope that he is not required to bowl today. The good news is that he is out there stretching with England’s strength and conditioning coach Pete Sim. He’s doing some gentle jogging, too. 

When you’re part of an Ashes squad, you’re dying to get in the side. It was amazing to be back. It’s been a rollercoaster of a series and yesterday was no different.

Mitchell Marsh played beautifully didn’t he? He came out, attacked and put the pressure back on us. You do sometimes just have to doff your cap when someone comes out and hits the ball as cleanly as that.

My first 2-3 overs up the hill, I struggled a fraction. But once I got a bit of rhythm I found a nice length and just tried to utilise the conditions. There was a bit off the wicket, not a massive amount in the air until later in the day. I tried to challenge the top of off stump and thankfully got some rewards.

Dropped catches are costly but that is the game. In a perfect world we’d take those chances and today’s a different day. But we took some good catches after that and bowled them out for what we think is a decent score.

The outfield is rock hard. I don’t think I’ve played on a harder outfield in England. [On having a touch of cramp yesterday] I haven’t bowled a load of overs coming into this game and the occasion plays a part – it doesn’t matter how experienced you are. 

We feel like we’ve got plenty of batting to come. We found yesterday afternoon that when two guys get going on this ground – good pitch, fast outfield – it can be heard to stop. We’ll be positive, that’s the mantra. Hopefully we’ll have a good day.

Ben Stokes made two observations about Wood on the eve of the game. The first was that Wood is the sort of bowler who does not need a bank of warm-up cricket to immediately hit his straps in a Test. He was proved right. The other was that Wood is “not just an out and out bloke who runs in and tries to hit people. He is a very skilful bowler as well”.

Read more…

It would not be right to say that, so far as these Ashes are concerned, all of England’s eggs are in one basket. But they do rest on two partnerships, between Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, and between the survivor and Ben Stokes. Against four quick bowlers, two world class, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes cannot be expected to make more than 20 or 30, the others even less, so it is up to the big three to get England a lead.

You might well point out that in the 2019 Ashes Test here, England were far behind on first innings, giving Stokes even more scope for his epic runchase, but better to get the runs now. And it is a sunny batting day.

England have won the conditions again. It’s beautiful here, with just a few wispy clouds in the sky. It’s a fast, flat pitch and the outfield is rapid. Mark Wood and Chris Woakes said in an interview overnight that they think it’s the hardest English outfield they’ve ever known. There are runs to be had; can England’s meaty, experienced middle order find them?

Ben Stokes’ bold proclamation that he wanted “flat and fast” pitches was eyebrow raising at the time but was fully justified after a scintillating day of cricket, one for the ages on a ground with a long history of Ashes spectacle.

Read more…

Scyld Berry has written about the damaging impact of England’s dropped catches, with four more going down on the first day.

Instead of throwing a cordon of steel around Australia’s batsmen, England have put up a couple of colanders.

Read more…

Nobody on the planet knows more about batting at Headingley than Geoffrey Boycott. He scored tens of thousands of runs on his home ground during a unique career. Today he just wants to see a few hundred more from England.

Good morning and welcome to Telegraph Sport’s live, over-by-over coverage of day at Headingley. If you’re an England fan, there’s only one song to have on loop this morning. The weather forecast at Headingley is the stuff of England’s dreams. Sun is shinin’ in the sky/there ain’t a cloud in sight. This should be the best day for batting in the match, and England have to capitalise.

Yesterday was about two newbies: Mitchell Marsh and Mark Wood, who stole the show in their first match of the series. England hope today’s play is about two Yorkies: Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow will resume this morning, having batted with fierce determination during a tricky spell last night.

Both have wrongs to right. Root dropped Marsh and Alex Carey, unbecoming errors that cost England 110 runs, and celebrated with rare anger when he finally caught Travis Head. Bairstow dropped two more catches – one difficult, one straightforward – and has a peedie bit of unfinished business from Lord’s. It’s Jonny against the world once again, and that’s often when he plays his best innings. If he gets through the first half hour, anything could happen.

England will resume on 68 for three, a deficit of 195 after that exhilarating first day. Their tail is both longer (Moeen Ali at No7) and shorter (Chris Woakes at No8) than it was at Lord’s. Ideally they will bat time as well as runs – to keep a weary Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc in the field, to keep Australia’s batsmen away from the crease while the sun is shining.

We’ve said it about a dozen times already this summer, but this, the 12th day of the series, is absolutely crucial. If England get a three-figure first-innings lead, they will be in business. If they fail to capitalise on the best batting conditions of the match, as they did at Lord’s, it may well be all over.