As the umpires entered the two dressing rooms shortly after 6pm to announce the third day was caput, there was no doubt as to which team was the happier. A two-innings shootout to settle this first Ashes Test had been set up by England’s enterprising efforts with the ball first thing but the hosts were in no mood to get back out there.
And who could blame them? A bright morning session had seen them seize the initiative, Ollie Robinson securing a slender seven-run first innings lead when his three-wicket spell rolled Australia for 386 all out before lunch. The start to England’s second innings was promising too, Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley reaching 26 for no loss on this torpid surface before the first rain delay.
