Ashes, 5th Test: Woakes, Wood strike to help England stage comeback against Australia (Lunch, Day 5)

Jul 31, 2023

London [UK], July 31 : Chris Woakes and Mark Wood provided the early breakthrough on Day 5 of the ongoing fifth Ashes Test to help England stage a fine comeback against Australia here at Kennington Oval on Monday.
At Lunch, Australia's score read 238/3 with Steve Smith (40) and Travis Head (31) standing unbeaten at the crease, needing 146 runs to win.  
Australia's openers Usman Khawaja and David Warner continued to lay a dependable foundation for the big chase with an unbeaten stand after resuming their innings at 135/0, needing 249 more to win. 
In the 41st over of Australia's innings, Chris Woakes made Warner dance on his tune as the batter managed to get some bat on an inswinger before it hits his pads.
But the very next ball the seamer removed Australia opener Warner as the batter's slight edge was carried by wicketkeeper Bairstow to gratefully snaffle. Warner's innings in England ends on 60 and it was the breakthrough the hosts desperately needed.
The right-handed batter Marnus Labuschagne then came out to bat. A couple of overs later, Woakes in red-hot form gave visitors another blow as he delivered a swing-back ball in at left-hander Khawaja and struck him on the stumps.
The batter decided to take a review, with three red dots shown on the crease indicating Khawaja to go back in the pavilion.
Woakes did the damage in the morning, bowling beautifully to dismiss David Warner caught behind and Usman Khawaja lbw, sending both Aussie openers went back into the pavilion.
Australia was in a bit of bother early on the fifth day, but got still plenty of batting to come. Steve Smith then came out to bat for Australia and the batter got off to the mark from the final delivery as it raced away for four off the outside edge.
In the 49th over, Mark Wood found the edge of Labuschagne's bat and it was carried enough for Zak Crawley to take the catch in the slips, leaving Australia struggling at 169/3.
Travis Head then came out to bat for Australia. The direction continued to shift as Smith slammed two boundaries in James Anderson's over.
Smith went on the attack in the first session and Head gave him able support. Head took a liking to some of Anderson's bowling and found boundaries off veteran England pacer as he drove the ball through mid-on, then pushed through the covers for four on the next delivery. 
Anderson managed to keep things tight for the remaining four balls of the 56th over, but Australia crossed the 200-run mark, needing 178 more runs to win.
The partnership of Smith and Head brought Australia back into the game after early blows. The Smith-Head partnership passed the 50-run mark as the lunch breaks get closer.  
At the end of the first innings of the fifth day, Australia's score read 238/3 with Steve Smith (40) and Travis Head (31) standing unbeaten at the crease. 
Brief Scores: England: 283 and 395 (Joe Root 91, Jonny Bairstow 78, Mitchell Starc 4/100) vs Australia: 295 and 238/3 (Steven Smit (40*, Travis Head 31*).