Marcus Harris top-scored with a battling 76 against a dangerous English attack led by veteran Jimmy Anderson, who was at his fearsome best with 4-33 off 23 overs. After heavy defeats in Brisbane and Adelaide, England must win to keep the five-Test series alive, with Australia only needing a draw to retain the urn as holders. But faced with surviving the final hour against a revved-up Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, England collapsed again, slumping to 31-4 at the close. Struggling opener Zak Crawley never looked comfortable and was caught by wicketkeeper Alex Carey for five off Starc. Dawid Malan was out first ball to Starc lbw after an unsuccessful review, then Scott Boland ruined Haseeb Hameed’s day on seven, with Carey gloving an edge. 

Brilliant Boland

Poll

Who will win the Punjab Elections?

BJP 32.79%

AAP 42.62%

INC 24.59%

Submit

View All In Poll

Fired up, Boland bowled Jack Leach to leave skipper Joe Root unbeaten on 12 and Ben Stokes on two—and England in deep trouble. Earlier, England took their chances with the wickets of Marnus Labuschagne (1) and Steven Smith (16), along with nightwatchman Nathan Lyon, before lunch. Harris (76) and Travis Head (27) surrendered in the second session before England mopped up the rest.

Brief scores
England 185 & 31-4 (J Root 12'; S Boland 2-1, M Starc 2-11) v Australia 267 (M Harris 76, D Warner 38; J Anderson 4-33, O Robinson 2-64, M Wood 2-71)

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever