England and Australia were up in a close contest. It was the third test match of Ashes 2023, where the hosts had the only option of winning the match. Harry Brook struck all the possible chords to make it happen for the side. England finally landed a 3-wicket win over the visitors on the 4th day’s second session.
The target was 251. England had a deficiency of 27 runs in the first innings. Meaning the Aussies had the lead, and they just had to maintain it for the win. What made 2nd innings interesting was Starc bagging 5 wickets for 78 runs in 16 overs at 4.88 economy. However, that did not work when the 24-year-old batter came down from the pavilion.
One of the key moments that the cricketing world will inscribe on their minds is Brook playing a knock of 75 runs for 93 balls. This play came when the in-form skipper departed at just 13 runs. This followed an interesting power of 80 runs in the first innings. Stokes, fortunately, held on to his nerves and promoted Woakes for the 7th wicket partnership. This was for 59 runs.
This was the 10th test match for Brook. He has 5-50s and 4-100s, with the highest registered score of 186.
England winning against Australia is a key moment in itself purely on the basis of the last time it experienced a similar moment. That was on September 16, 2019. Australia has been able to beat England every time since then. Things have been difficult; England could not be on the road to redemption.
Assuming the hosts win the series, then this will be for the first time since 2015 that England win Ashes. The last time they came closer to the series win was in 2019, but it was balanced by 2-2, offering the retainer to the Aussies.
Pat Cummins was out attacking the opponents in the first innings. He led the bowling attack by claiming 6 wickets for 91 runs in 18 overs – including 1 maiden over. With a higher economy, definitely, he was still able to contribute to restricting Ben’s army to a lower total.
Talking captaincy, Ben Stokes now holds the record for the most number of 250+ success chases in test matches. The record was previously held by MS Dhoni, now retired from international cricket, with four 250+ successful chases in the red ball format.
David Warner has come under the scanner for his poor performance. His total in the 3rd installment of Ashes 2023 comes to 5 runs from 10 balls. Adding spice to this is the side’s loss in the event. Management has reportedly taken note of this. Chances are he would be given fewer chances in the upcoming matches, even pitching an early retirement.
England and Australia started with almost an equal chance of claiming the win. It was when Brook started bashing the scoreboard at a decent enough rate that the odds on top cricket betting sites transitioned to their side.
Both are next scheduled for the 4th test from July 19, 2023, to July 23, 2023, at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester.
