Early wickets dent England on rain-hit Day 3

England were dented early in the second essay after taking a slender 7-run lead in the first innings on a rain-hit third day in Edgbaston, on Sunday (July 18). Only 69 balls were bowled after the Lunch session, in which the hosts lost their openers for only 28 runs.

Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett had made an assured start after Australia were bundled out for 386 in the morning session. However, a brief period following an hour and a half of a rain-spell pushed them on the backfoot. With the ball moving considerably and causing ample discomfort, Duckett fell poking at an angling away delivery from Pat Cummins. Cameron Green, at gully, took another splendid catch to send the southpaw back.

Soon enough, Crawley was squared up by Scott Boland's outswinger, edging to the 'keeper and reducing England to 27 for 2. Ollie Pope and Joe Root too were put to test against the moving ball. Neither could get off the mark but remained safe till another spell of rain ended play on the third day.

Earlier in the day, in a period of 22 deliveries England ripped through Australia's last four wickets and bundled them out for 386, seven short of the score they had declared on in the first innings. The wrecker-in-chief was Ollie Robinson, who bagged three of those wickets.

Australia, however, had made a fairly strong start to the day, despite losing Alex Carey early. The wicketkeeper was dropped by Jonny Bairstow when he inside edged a drive off James Anderson in the first over of the day. In the next over by the pacer, he got an outside edge for a boundary to bring up the century stand of the sixth-wicket partnership, having resumed on 91 earlier in the day.

He cracked a couple of more boundaries off Anderson - a flick through the legside and a cut behind point off successive deliveries before eventually getting bowled. A delivery angling in crashed on to the stumps after deflecting off his pads.

Cummins didn't waste too much time and took the attack to Moeen Ali, going down the track and smashing the offie for two sixes in an over to lead Australia's charge in the morning. He added 34 runs for the seventh wicket in the company of Usman Khawaja, who was the more watchful of the two.

The opener, who had batted through the entirety of the second day, was cleaned up by a yorker from Robinson, on 141 - adding only 29 runs to his overnight score. With the pacers not getting ample help from the surface, Stokes employed an umbrella field in front of the batter in a catching range. In order to outwit the field plan, Khawaja decided to step out but was foxed by the bowler's yorker.

That dismissal began Australia's collapse. Robinson had Nathan Lyon pulling to deep backward square leg in the next over before Boland fended off a short ball by Stuart Broad to Ollie Pope at silly point. The short ball ploy worked against Cummins as well as he top edged one and allowed Stokes to complete a fine running catch.

Brief scores: England 393/8 decl. (Joe Root 112*, Jonny Bairstow 78, Zak Crawley 61; Nathan Lyon 4-149, Josh Hazlewood 2-61) & 28/2 lead Australia 386 (Usman Khawaja 141, Alex Carey 66, Travis Head 50; Ollie Robinson 3-55, Stuart Broad 3-68) by 35 runs.