BIRMINGHAM: Australia were left hoping for another major innings from Steve Smith as England took charge of the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston on Saturday.
When bad light cut short the third day’s play, Australia were 124-3 in their second innings — a lead of just 34 runs.
Former captain Smith, who had made a superb 144 in the first innings of his first Test since completing a 12-month ban for his role in last year’s ball-tampering scandal in South Africa, was 46 not out.
Travis Head was 21 not out, with the pair’s stand worth 49 runs.
“We leaked a few too many (runs) tonight,” England’s Chris Woakes told Sky Sports.
“At the same time 34-3 is not a bad spot,” added the all-rounder, who earlier made a valuable 37 not out on his Warwickshire home ground.
“If we come back in the morning and get two wickets then 50-5 will be pretty good.”
Woakes, asked how Smith could be dismissed, replied: “Have you got any ideas? He is a world-class player and world-class players don’t make many mistakes. On a wicket like that you have to build pressure and hope they make a mistake.”
Australia will want to bat long enough to leave England with an awkward chase on a wearing pitch.
“Anything over 150 going into last day on this wicket (will be tough to get),” said Australia fast bowler James Pattinson.
Ashes-holders Australia, looking to win their first series away to England in 18 years, were in trouble at 27-2 after openers David Warner and Cameron Bancroft — also returning to Test duty after the ball-tampering scandal — both fell in single figures.
In a match full of overturned decisions, England had to review umpire Joel Wilson’s original not out verdict when Warner feathered a catch behind to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow to give Stuart Broad his 450th Test wicket.
It was an important blow for Broad, who took 5-86 in Australia’s first innings of 284, as new-ball partner James Anderson was absent with a calf injury that meant England’s all-time leading Test wicket-taker only bowled four overs first time around.
Birmingham-born off-spinner Moeen Ali then had Bancroft caught off bat and pad by Jos Buttler at short leg.
Smith’s arrival at the crease prompted a huge chorus of boos from England fans who earlier in the day had taunted him with chants of “Crying on the telly, we saw you crying on the telly” in a reference to the star batsman’s emotional press conference in Sydney after he was sent home from South Africa.
Usman Khawaja might have been out for 11 but Buttler, now in the slips, failed to hold a tough chance off Moeen.
Khawaja made an attractive 40 before the left-hander was undone by all-rounder Ben Stokes’s second ball, a superb delivery that cut back sharply to have him caught behind.
Australia were now 75-3, still 15 runs behind.
Smith, on 41, was struck on the side of the head by a Stokes bouncer after missing an intended pull, but was passed fit to bat on by Australia’s team doctor.
Soon afterwards, although the floodlights were on, the umpires decided it was too dark to continue and halted play shortly before heavy rain fell.
Earlier, England opener Rory Burns batted for nearly eight hours for 133 — his maiden Test hundred — in an innings of 374 featuring captain Joe Root’s 57 and vice-captain Stokes’s 50.
England lost three wickets for four runs to slump to 300-8 — a lead of just 16.
But a ninth-wicket partnership of 65 between Woakes and Broad (29) boosted their total.
England resumed on 267-4, with Burns 125 not out and Stokes 38 not out.
Off-spinner Nathan Lyon finally ended left-hander Burns’s marathon innings when a delivery that turned and bounced took the outside edge and was well caught by Australia captain and wicketkeeper Tim Paine.
Burns faced 312 balls, with 17 fours.
By contrast, new batsman Moeen lasted just five balls before he inexplicably shouldered arms to Lyon (3-112) and was clean bowled for a duck.
Australia look to Smith again as England take charge of first Ashes Test
Australia look to Smith again as England take charge of first Ashes Test
- When bad light cut short the third day’s play, Australia were 124-3 in their second innings — a lead of just 34 runs
- Travis Head was 21 not out, with the pair’s stand worth 49 runs
Home hero Piastri edges Antonelli in second Australian GP practice
- McLaren’s Oscar Piastri powered to the fastest time ahead of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli in second practice for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Friday
MELBOURNE: McLaren’s Oscar Piastri powered to the fastest time ahead of Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli in second practice for the season-opening Australian Grand Prix on Friday as drivers grappled with sweeping new engine changes.
The Australian sent 125,000 fans at his home track into a frenzy by blasting round Albert Park in one minute 19.729secs, 0.214 clear of Antonelli.
Antonelli’s teammate, pre-season favorite George Russell, came third, a fraction clear of Ferrari’s seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton.
“A lot of learnings but overall a reasonably good day,” said Piastri, who won seven times last year but could only finish the championship in third.
“FP2 ran smoothly and we were able to find a bit more consistency and the car behaved more as we expected, which was good.”
After a dismal debut season with Ferrari last year, an upbeat Hamilton was encouraged by what had been achieved so far by the Scuderia.
“It was challenging at times on track, but we maximized our laps and executed to the best of our ability, getting some good information,” he said.
“Lots of work to do but I’m looking forward to getting back in the car tomorrow.”
Charles Leclerc, in the other Ferrari, was fifth with four-time world champion Max Verstappen sixth after spending half the session in the garage having stalled his Red Bull.
McLaren world champion Lando Norris clawed his way to seventh, more than one second off the pace, after managing only seven laps in first practice due to gearbox issues.
“We’ve got some good bits of data to go over from the second half of FP2 and there’s plenty we can learn from what our competitors have been doing,” said Norris, while admitting to “a tricky first day.”
Racing Bulls’ impressive rookie Arvid Lindblad banked an eye-opening eighth, a place ahead of Isack Hadjar — the man he replaced and who is now Verstappen’s teammate.
F1 begins new era
It was the first proper test of far-reaching new engine and chassis rules with the hybrid power units now 50 percent traditional combustion and 50 percent electric.
With a finite amount of energy available, drivers had to carefully manage their batteries on each lap, working out when to deploy while building it up back through braking.
The challenge of Albert Park is its long sweeping straights, which deplete batteries, and relatively few twisty turns to brake and charge it up again.
There have also been changes to the aerodynamics of the cars, which are lighter and smaller.
On a perfect Melbourne afternoon, Nico Hulkenberg led them out, but it was Hamilton who set the opening time.
Verstappen had an inauspicious start, stalling in the pit lane, while Russell clipped Lindblad on his way out and needed a new nose.
Verstappen’s car was wheeled back into the garage, apparently stuck in gear, where he stayed for almost half an hour.
The drivers started on a mix of medium and hard tires and Russell soon upstaged Hamilton as they jockeyed for places.
At the halfway mark it was Italy’s Antonelli, Russell, Hamilton and Piastri.
Russell locked up and hit the gravel at Turn 3 as he pushed hard, as did Hamilton, but they both kept enough momentum to get back on track.
Piastri blasted to the top of the timesheets on soft tires with 25 minutes left as Verstappen began climbing the leaderboard.
But the Dutchman was trying too hard and careered into the gravel at Turn 10 with debris flying off his car, ending his day early.
Fernando Alonso clocked 18 laps and Lance Stroll 13 as the troubled Aston Martins battle extreme vibration caused by the new Honda power unit.
Newcomers Cadillac — the 11th team on the grid — also struggled with Valtteri Bottas 19th and Sergio Perez last.
In first practice, Leclerc outpaced Hamilton with Verstappen and Hadjar third and fourth.
