England have finally broken Usman Khawaja’s resistance, as Ollie Robinson picked up his first wicket of the innings on day three of the opening Ashes Test. The left-hander resumed at 126 on day three, but could only add 15 more to his total to depart for 141.
Khawaja’s dismissal occurred in the 113th over of Australia’s innings as Ben Stokes formulated a packed field, headlined by six catchers. The southpaw, trying to break the shackles, stepped out, but Robinson delivered a yorker and it uprooted the middle stump off the ground.
The wicket ended a handy partnership of 34 with Pat Cummins, who walked out after James Anderson dismissed Alex Carey for a well-made 66 off 99 balls. The partnership of 121 between the 36-year-old and Carey was the highest for Australia in the innings.
Usman Khawaja was part of two significant partnerships on day two
Usman Khawaja, who held Australia’s innings together after a lack of significant contributions from David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, and Steve Smith, added strong partnerships with Travis Head and Cameron Green.
However, Moeen Ali struck at the right time to remove Head and Green for 50 and 38, respectively. Australia finished day 2 at 311-5, with Khawaja and Carey batting on 126 and 52, respectively. It’s worth noting that the left-hander got a reprieve as Stuart Broad had stepped over the line despite Khawaja seeing his stumps disturbed.
England came out on day three and wrapped up Australia’s innings for 386 as Robinson and Broad finished with three scalps each. They will come out to bat after lunch with a seven-run lead. With rough available outside off-stump, Nathan Lyon will look to add to his four wickets that he nipped out in the first innings. With Australia having three tall quicks along with an all-rounder, they will also look to threaten the English batters on the track.
It will be interesting to see how England will bat on the wicket.
