Australia face an uphill task as England set a target of 412

Ian Bell made 60 before getting bowled by Mitchell Starc

Australia will have to chase an Ashes record tomorrow in order to take a lead in the series as England ended day 3 on a strong note. After dismissing Australia for just 308 in the first innings, the English batsmen led by fifties from the bat of Ian Bell and Joe Root helped the team post 289 as the day came to a close.

The Aussies had a disastrous start to the day as they lost Shane Watson in the second over. They could add only 44 to their overnight score and were bowled out for 308. James Anderson was the pick of the bowlers as he fetched 3 wickets. Stuart Broad, Moeen Ali and Mark Wood picked two wickets each.

England went in with a healthy 122-run first innings lead, but lost their captain Alastair Cook early in their second innings. Hazlewood then removed Gary Ballance for a duck, but Adam Lyth kept the scoreboard ticking. He was then dismissed by the off-spinner Nathan Lyon for 37.

Ian Bell then joined forces with first innings centurion Joe Root as they both put on a stand of 97. Bell got out for 60 from 89 deliveries, and Root followed him soon for an identical score. Ben Stokes then got out for a quickfire 42, but it was Mark Wood’s cameo that hurt the Aussies in the end as he plundered 32 runs from just 18 deliveries.

Even though Australia will have two full days to get to the target, the pitch isn’t an easy one to score on. Day 4 will prove to be very exciting indeed.