England have a crucial victory within their grasp in the third Ashes Test; the hosts resume on 27-0 on day four, needing another 224 runs to beat Australia and make it 2-1 in the series; watch live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.15am (first ball 11am)
Sunday 9 July 2023 10:17, UK
We assess how a potentially pivotal fourth day of the third Ashes Test is shaping up as England chase a crucial win over Australia at Headingley to keep the series alive...
Quite simply, England need another 224 runs to win the third Test and they have all 10 wickets in hand after openers Ben Duckett (18no) and Zak Crawley (9no) saw them through to 27-0 at the close on day three.
The hosts are chasing a target of 251 to secure victory and keep the Ashes alive, with Australia currently holding a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series after winning by two wickets at Edgbaston and 43 runs at Lord's.
Time is on England's side as well as they have two days to knock off the runs, although it is difficult to imagine them taking their time in this 'Bazball' era, and Ben Stokes' side will no doubt look to wrap up victory as soon as possible.
Play did not get under way in Leeds until 4.45pm due to persistent rain throughout the morning and afternoon, but England's bowlers took full advantage of the favourable conditions when the match did eventually restart.
Seam duo Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes finished with three wickets apiece, while the express pace of Mark Wood saw him claim two wickets in the gloom as Australia's second innings was wrapped up for 224.
But a valiant 77 from Travis Head, before he was caught by Duckett off Broad, ensured Australia were able to post a reasonable target for England to chase.
According to WinViz, England have a 75 per cent chance of taking the win they need to keep their hopes of wresting back the Ashes from Australia alive, with the tourists having a 25 per cent chance of getting the victory which would see them retain the urn.
Their target of 251 is well within the hosts' grasp, having chased down a seemingly improbable 362 to win at Headingley against the same opponent four years ago. That was the highest successful Test run chase at this venue.
A fourth-innings target of 296-plus runs has been successfully chased down in Leeds on five occasions in first-class cricket since 2017 as well, with only Dunedin in New Zealand equal to that, and an England side which has spent the past 12 months pulling off stunning run-chases will not be daunted by what lies in store.
Part of the reason England are still in with a chance of victory is the first-innings 80 from captain Stokes, which ensured they remained within touching distance of Australia as the tourists began their second innings. However, all-rounder Woakes knows the rest of the team must step up to the mark if they are to be successful in this chase.
"Obviously we've still got another 220 runs to chase to win this Test match, but I think if we were given this opportunity at the end of the first innings, I think we would've taken it," Woakes said.
"We don't want to be relying on Ben all the time, we want to perform all the way down the batting line-up.
"Although he is superhuman, he cannot do it every time. He is a world-class player but, one to 11, we all need to help."
Australia batter Head is expecting England to go on the offensive when play resumes on Sunday, although he believes the tourists are still in with a chance of wrapping up the series after his 77 helped them take the target for victory past 250 runs.
"I had to battle through it today for periods and put some pressure on them at the end," Head said. "We are in a position to win this Test match, so you take it.
"I just tried to hit targets and not be predictable. We worked through it well. I don't think you can compare me to Stokes.
"We know how they are going to attack things, but we have to stay true to how we bowl. Headingley does weird things but hopefully there will be some clouds tomorrow and we can get the ball swinging around a bit. There is a lot on the table."
Day four of the third Ashes Test is once again live on Sky Sports Cricket, with coverage getting under way from 10.15am and the first ball set for 11am. You can keep up with the action and watch video clip via our live blog on the Sky Sports app and website. Also stream on NOW TV.
