The Ashes 2023: England clinches an unbelievable victory in 3rd Test (Day-4) Match Report (England vs Australia)

Day-4 of England vs Australia’s third test of the Ashes 2023 was beyond a thriller wherein the host England registered a fantastic 3-wicket win against the Aussies who have been dominant throughout this series. Though, England’s top order succumbed to the furious bowling attack by Australia, Harry Brook played an anchor innings of 75 runs which ensured England clinching this memorable victory.

The Ashes 2023, 3rd Test (Day-4): England’s top order failed

The day-4 for England didn’t start well as they lost their first wicket in a matter of 15 runs which were added further to the previous day’s 27/0 on the score board. Duckett became the first one to find his way back to pavilion as he got leg before on a full and straight delivery by Starc. Having added 16 runs to the total, Moeen Ali became the second to follow Duckett’s footsteps as got bowled on a straight and quick delivery by Starc at a score of 60 runs on the board. Next in the line was Crawley, who missed his half-century when he played a cover drive and got an edge getting him caught behind.

At this stage, the hosts were 93/3 and couldn’t stop giving away their crucial wickets at regular intervals. As now, Root & Brook were on the crease with England requiring 158 more runs to win this match, the hosts needed a stable partnership. But in contrast, having added 38 runs to the total further, Root lost his wicket at a score of 131 when he played a misjudged shot on a ball by Cummins and got caught behind.

Now came the time, when the skipper, Ben Stokes needed to play a responsible innings and take his team out of the crisis. But to the team’s disappointment, at a score of 161, Stokes found his way back to pavilion soon, by adding a mere 13 runs to the total. The skipper tried to play a delivery by Starc, bowled down the leg side & got ticked off and got directly into the hands of the wicketkeeper Carey.

This once again got the Aussies back into the game as England still required 90 runs with just five wickets in hands which included three tail-enders. But hereon, Brook took the charge in his hands and post lunch, he completely his half-century of 67 balls. After Stokes’ departure, hardly 10 runs were added to the total when Bairstow got an inside edge towards the wickets to get him bowled out. This further deepened the trouble for England as now they were six down at a score of 171 and still required 80 runs to reach the target. Moreover, Brook was the only middle order batsman left along with three tail-enders.

The Ashes 2023, 3rd Test (Day-4): How Brook along with tail-enders rescued England

From hereon, Brook & Woekes built a strong 59-run partnership when at a score of 230, the big fish, Brook as he got a top edge towards the off-side where he was caught by Cummins on a delivery by Starc, which also made him achieve a 5 wicket haul. Finally, the tail-enders played a pivotal role in ensuring England’s successful run chase as both Woekes & Wood built the final partnership of 21 runs without giving away their wickets and scored the winning runs, thereby ending the match on the fourth day itself. 

BRIEF SCORE: Day-4 (3rd Test), The Ashes 2023
Australia: 263/10 (Marsh 118, Head 39, Wood 5/34, Woakes 3/73)
England: 237/10 (Stokes 80, Crawley 33, Cummins 6/91, Starc 2/59)
Australia: 224/10 (Travis Head 77, Khawaja 43, Broad 3/45 Ali 2/34, Woakes 3/68)
England: 254/7 (Brook 75, Crawley 44, Starc 5/78)

England wins by 3 wickets

The Ashes 2023, 3rd Test (Day-4): Match Details

• Venue: Headingley Stadium, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
• Dates: 6 Jul – 10 Jul
• Toss: Won by England, Chose to Bowl first
• Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SL) & Nitin Menon (IND)
• TV umpire: Joel Wilson (WI)
• Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (SL)
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