The Ashes 2023: England v Australia, first Test, day three – live | Ashes 2023

99th over: Australia 338-6 (Khawaja 135, Cummins 0) Career Test wicket 686 for James Anderson. England’s lead stands at 55. Australia’s captain to the crease.

WICKET! Carey b Anderson 66, Australia 338-6

98th over: Australia 330-5 (Khawaja 135, Carey 58) Moeen might want some burn cream right now, as Khawaja batters him for six down the ground! Hit so hard that the ball comes back out of shape, and they have to take some time to choose a replacement. A couple of singles with the new(ish) ball, then Moeen gets one to turn past Khawaja’s edge.

News just to hand from Ali Martin, our cricket correspondent: Moeen Ali has been fined 25% of his match fee for using some sort of medical spray on his fingers while bowling yesterday. There was a similar incident with Ravindra Jadeja using painkilling cream on his bowling finger when Australia toured India earlier this year. Foreign substances being a no-no, and all that.

97th over: Australia 322-5 (Khawaja 128, Carey 57) Hectic cricket! Very wide from Anderson. Down on one knee and crashing the ball away is Carey, so wide the bat is almost horizontal rather than angled. But Stokes at a short cover point stops that ball clean. It was hit so hard, brilliant fielding. Anderson follows up by drawing a thick edge from Carey, wide of slip for four.

England’s lead shrinks to 71 runs.

96th over: Australia 318-5 (Khawaja 128, Carey 53) Another keeping miss, though narrowly not a wicket chance. Nearly another edge from Carey, who reaches for an off-break that spins sharply away. Outside the off stump. Pitched nicely, drawing him forward. Bairstow misses it behind the stumps, it was a hard one that goes between he and slip. Four byes. A couple of singles follow.

95th over: Australia 312-5 (Khawaja 127, Carey 52) Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Jeremy is a psychic. Khawaja glances a single first ball, then Carey aims a big cover drive. It’s a great ball from Anderson, around the wicket swinging in ath the lefty, bending late towards the gate. Carey gets an inside nick, and Bairstow grasses it to his right. Straightforward keeper’s catch there. Needed some quick hands but it wasn’t too far away. Bairstow in resignation just chuckles about it afterwards, which might not please some people too much either.

Umpires out to the middle, play not far away. Might be some rain interruptions this afternoon but we’re on for the start.

Here’s Jeremy Boyce. “Just wondering if England aren’t being hoisted by their own p’tard, picking big JB as gloves man ahead of Foakes, like they wanted the best of both worlds all in one, rather than picking the best gloves man for the job. I’m betting the house that Foakes would not have missed that stumping. And he could easily have scored the runs JB did without getting out… stumped. JB deserves his place for his Bazball batting alone. But then who would you drop? An interesting first hour in prospect”

Foakes did make a ton while chasing 500 in the champo a few days back. Given they seem to have picked Brook for his bowling in this match, can’t see that the keeper choice is too wild. There just isn’t a spot for both.

But yes, Bairstow does tend to be the type to take some blinders and miss some straightforward ones. Foakes wasn’t flawless with the gloves for England either. Everyone gets better in the imagination when they’re out of the side.

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This is some clever psychological ploy from Andrew Benton to extract something from me.

“I found a neat way to avoid needing to ask for the TMS overseas link – I moved back to Britain !! Not an option for everyone of course, but definitely worth considering.”

Very well, here is the TMS overseas link.

Then there was Jonathan Liew, who has joined us in the City of a Thousand Trades. And what was not to enjoy about Moeen Ali bowling absolute pearls of deliveries in between being thumped for sixes.

My contribution yesterday was, unsurprisingly, about Usman Khawaja. It would have been anyway, but his century celebration was perhaps the most extraordinary I’ve seen of the genre.

For anyone who likes their daily wrap in podcast form, I’ve got you covered.

The opening session of the day was all about Stuart Broad, and Barney Ronay turned his thoughts to the England evergreen.

The Women’s Ashes will start with the standalone Test at Trent Bridge two days after this match ends. Tanya Aldred caught up with England’s best bowler, the left-arm spinner Sophie Ecclestone.

Andy Bull had the colour and movement and silliness and meaning of the day, through our Guardian Ashes Diary.

Ali also had time to hit the press conference and get Stuart Broad’s unimpressed reaction to the pitch, and Khawaja’s response to his ton.

If you’re catching up on yesterday, you should obviously start with our friend Ali Martin and his match report.

Preamble

Geoff Lemon