Third Ashes Test. Headingly.

[K]

Root gets a quick run. There are cheers.

Stokes marks his guard at that end.
Stokes: "Two, Joel. Thanks."

Warne: "It's about accumulating runs. Wearing the bowlers down."

A thickish edge from Stokes runs along the ground to gully.
Stokes is currently 2* from 64 balls.
If he stays in, that's fine. If he gets out, then the new batsman just gets exposed to the new ball.

Pattinson beats Stokes to end the over.

[K]

Finally, Lyon comes on.

Warne says Pattinson looks threatening.

Warne: "I just wonder if they delay the new ball while they're not getting any runs. ... If Lyon can bowl tight, I wouldn't mind..."
Nasser says he'd defer to his two new-ball bowlers.
Nasser: "What do you want to do?"

Lyon gets Root. A brilliant catch by Warner!
An inside edge went off pad over Paine's head and Warner dived to his left to take the catch.

England 4/159 (77.3).

A crucial wicket before the new ball.

[Donny]

Root. Gorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrnnnn

Warner takes his 6th. catch of the Test.

Lyon's wicket.

[K]

Healy: "The pressure told on Joe Root. Where did that come from?"

Chappell: "Stokes is almost playing to get out."

And Lyon goes past D.K. Lillee.

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The pressure is right on England now, with the new ball imminent.

[Donny]

I'm watching it on radio.

K, Did Root charge Lyon ?

[K]

Root skipped down a little, but not a charge, no.
But he then swiped across the line a bit, instead of defending with the full face of the bat.

[Donny]

Warner needs one more catch to equal 2 other Aussies for most catches by a fieldsman in Tests - Greg Chappell & Matt Hayden.

[K]

The broadcast predictor says:
Oz 87%
England 12%
Draw 1%.

Odds:
Oz ~81%
England ~19%
Draw <1%.

[K]

Pattinson beats Stokes again off the last ball of his over.

--------------------------------

I don't mind seeing batsmen use their feet to the spinners.
I thought Marnus and Wade looked quite good doing that.
You can always defend if you don't quite get to the pitch of the ball.

--------------------------------

Lyon continues.

Holding: "Not many people would have been nominating Joe Root for that wicket."
Holding tells us that's the second time he's been dismissed coming down the pitch. The first was to Ashwin in 2016.
Isa adds that Root is generally regarded as good against spin.
[If it's twice in his entire Test career, that doesn't sound like a lot to me!]

Meanwhile, Stokes comes forward and hits his first boundary through midwicket.

Holding: "I don't think Lyon should be too perturbed by that."
He notes that's hitting against the spin.

[K]

New ball is due. Cummins comes on, so it looks like they're taking it immediately.

Two deliveries later, Joel holds up the new ball.

Holding: "With the new ball, the field changes immediately. ... Three slips and a gully."
Isa: "No mid off."
Holding: "Hard new ball will do a lot more..."

Stokes is checking his guard again.
Stokes: "Two there, Joel, please. Check two there, Joel."

[K]

Hazlewood from the other end.

Bairstow is marking his guard.
Bairstow: "Middle stump."

He leaves the first ball on length. The ball comes back, but is well clear of the stumps.

The next ball goes away.

Holding talks about creating excitement behind the stumps. "Aah...", as if it's really close to the stumps. And then the next ball goes the other way.

Isa: "It's all about the theatre, Mikey."

They get two lb from a ball straying down leg that trickles not too far. There are wild cheers.

Then a wide, wide of off stump. More cheers. The umps have been far more strict this Test.

Quick running gives them 3, with Stokes coming back to the danger end. Well run, that.

Stokes leaves and impresses Isa. If it had hit the off bail, she would not have been so impressed.

Holding: "Again, that's left on length. ... I don't think Ben Stokes should have been too worried about that."

186 more runs needed.

[K]

Stokes has a swing and top edges, but it falls safely in all that empty space on the leg side. It was to Cummins from around the wicket.

That is not how he played his previous 80 balls!

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Holding thinks Oz are well on top at the moment.

But Bairstow cover drives a 4.
Holding says even though he got a four, first and second slip were applauding Hazlewood.
But Bairstow thick edges for another 4.

Bairstow is living dangerously.

An expensive over from Hazlewood.

England 4/186 (84). Drinks.
England require 173 more runs.

[K]

Healy: "They've got to stay patient."
He thinks they're overpitching a bit.

Chappell thinks Bairstow could get Stokes going. He thinks it's unnatural for Stokes to play like this.

And now Stokes upper cuts for 4.

Ponting: "A rare poor delivery from Cummins."
Ponting says Stokes can't change the way he's batting now. He has to stay with what he's decided on.

Ponting thinks the bowlers have been "a little bit erratic with their lines and lengths" this morning.

These two batsmen have been running hard.

[K]

Bairstow drives the overpitched Hazlewood ball down the ground for 4.

The new ball is not doing much, and the runs are beginning to flow.

Ponting says Hazlewood might be beginning to show the pinch. I'm not sure Paine should have started this morning with him.

Ponting: "He's lost his line and length."

Ponting on the new ball: "There certainly hasn't been any swing."

The target is now down to 160 runs.

[K]

Pattinson now. Cummins may be swapping ends, Ponting says.

The hand comes off the bat, but they get a couple and the England 200 comes up.

Oz need a wicket.

On the Bairstow sliced stroke...

Gower: "In front of the pad. Technically, you want to ball to come a little more to you."

Ponting: "His head's back. His head stays back. He doesn't quite get his head to where he wants the ball to go."


Now 4lbs. The bowling is becoming a bit ragged. Pattinson grimaces.

Gower: "It now looks to me a very good pitch to bat on."

5 wides. This is pathetic bowling.
It nutmegged Warner at first slip, and Labu couldn't chase it down.

This is where it'd help if senior players got them together and calmed them down.

50 partnership of 58 balls.