England need 251 to win after rain-hit Day 3

England stormed into the ascendency on a rain-hit day three of the third Test at Headingley to keep their Ashes hopes alive. Only 25.1 overs were sent down on a stop-start day in Leeds, but the hosts took control of the Test in the final session, bowling Australia out for 224 to set a fourth-innings target of 251 to pull one back in the five-match series.

Six hours after the scheduled start of play, the two sides took to the field under gloomy Edgbaston skies. Only one over was delivered before another brief stoppage for a passing shower, but once the rain eventually cleared, the two teams engaged in some pulsating action to set up a riveting conclusion to the third Test.

The visitors had to contend with tricky conditions upon the resumption of play, with the ball hooping around. Mitchell Marsh carried on his good form into the second innings with a couple of early boundaries but ended up gloving a Chris Woakes delivery he intended to leave to give England their first scalp of the day.

Woakes struck in a similar fashion a few overs later, with Alex Carey suffering a moment of indecision and chopping one onto his stumps while attempting to leave the delivery. Carey’s dismissal left Australia reeling at 139 for 6, and Mark Wood added to the visitor’s misery as he bagged Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins in quick succession. The left-hander top-edged a sharp bouncer from Wood, with Harry Brook taking a fantastic running catch from short-leg, while the skipper nicked off an over later.

Australia led by just 196 when Cummins trudged back to the pavilion, but Travis Head played an invaluable hand alongside the tail, adding 54 runs for the last two wickets to give the visitors a respectable score. The left-hander took on England’s barrage of short deliveries, lifting Australia’s lead past 250 with a pair of sixes behind square against Mark Wood before eventually holing out in the deep against Stuart Broad to bring an end to the innings.

Chasing 251, England had to contend with a tricky 25-minute spell before stumps against the new ball, and the openers, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley, managed to come out of that period unscathed. The pair shaved off 27 runs from the target in the five overs they faced, while also getting Australia to burn a review, leaving 224 more needed on day four to keep the series alive.