Ashes 2015 : England cruised to an eight-wicket victory in the third Test

Tags: The Ashes 2015, England Vs Australia - 3rd Test at Birmingham, Jul 29-Aug 2, 2015, Australia, England, Steven Thomas Finn, Ian Ronald Bell, Mitchell Aaron Starc

Published on: Aug 01, 2015

Scorecard | Commentary | Graphs

England defeated Australia in the third Test by 8-wicket at Edgbaston to go 2-1 up in the five match Ashes series.

England defeated Australia in the third Test by 8-wicket at Edgbaston to go 2-1 up in the five match Ashes series. Australia second inning were restricted at 265 which means England had to chase only 121 to win the match which they done successfully with 8 wickets remaining.

Australia started the day at 168 for seven and their lower order fought very hard. A 64-run eighth-wicket partnership between Peter Nevill (59) and Mitchell Starc (58) ensured Australia set a defendable target of 121 for England to win the third Ashes Test at Edgbaston. The day started with the news coming from the English dressing room that James Anderson will not be available for the fourth Test at Trent Bridge due to side strain. It was frustrating news for all Englishmen and the eighth wicket partnership between Nevill and Starc added bit more frustration. Visitors started the day effectively at 23 for seven, but the lead was boosted to 62 within six overs. Starc flashed his bat at everything and got the result too. The pair brought 50-run partnership off 86-ball and they taunted Anderson less England bowling attack for 45 minutes before Nevill was adjudged caught behind down the leg side off Finn. The score was 217 for 8 and effectively 72 for 2 after Nevill dismissal which was no way near a defendable total.

The dismissal of Nevill didn’t affected Starc and he continued to play aggressive shots. Starc added another 48 runs with last two batsmen and he was the last wicket to fall with the score on 265, and lead by 120 runs. In the process, Starc completed a courageous half-century. Steven Finn took 6 wickets for 79 runs.

England were asked to chase a target of 121 runs which they did without any panic. The start for them was not that good as skipper Alastair Cook was bowled by Starc in the fifth over and the score was just 11. Ian Bell came and played a counter attacking inning and denied any chances Aussies could have thought coming into field. Bell was getting boundaries at will and on the other side Adam Lyth was struggling to get run and his struggle came to an end when Jos Hazlewood trapped him lbw. Joe Root and Ian Bell added 73 for the third wicket to complete an easy chase and England will go to Trent Bride 2-1 up.

The fourth Ashes Test match will start on 6th of August at Trent Bridge.

Man of the Match: Steven Finn

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