On the third day of England vs Australia, the 1st Test match of The Ashes 2023, heavy rains washed out most of the day at Edgbaston. As the day started, Australia began the day from where they had left off, that is, with an overnight score of 311/5, with Usman Khawaja and Alex Carey on the crease.
English side got its first breakthrough when Jimmy Anderson clean bowled Carey at a score of 66 runs. From hereon, Khawaja along with the skipper Cummins built a crucial 34-run partnership, which took the Aussies to a total of 372 runs before Khawaja was bowled out by Ollie Robinson at a score of 141, breaking the partnership.
Finally, Australia’s first innings ended at a score of 386, which gave a marginal lead of 7 runs to the English side. Talking about England’s bowling front, both seamers, Broad & Robinson, were quite impressive with the ball as both claimed three wickets each while being economical in giving away runs. Off-spinner Moeen Ali will be remembered in this match for the magical spin claiming the wicket of Cameron Green, though later on the spinner was fined with 25% of the match fees for applying drying spray on his hands.
Soon after the hosts started their second innings, they lost their first two wickets back to back at a score of mere 27 runs when the game got interrupted by rain. Initially, the match was halted after lunch when English side posted 26/0 on the score board.
As the game restarted, the Australian side took advantage of the overcast conditions with Pat Cummins taking the wicket of Ben Duckett who got brilliantly caught by Cameron Green in the gully. Within a span of three balls, Zak Crawley got caught behind on a superb delivery by Scott Boland, giving the English side a second dent. With Root & Pope on the crease, the stumps were called off as the rain disrupted the match again.