Stumps England 283 and 389 for 9 (Root 91, Bairstow 78, Crawley 73, Starc 4-94, Murphy 3-110) lead Australia 295 by 377 runs
Saturday at The Oval was never going to be quiet. After Australia had tried and failed to quieten the crowd here on day two of this fifth Ashes Test, England turned the volume back up to 11 on day three with a sensory overload of a second innings to assume control of this final round of an engaging series.
With 389 runs scored, they led Australia by 377 at stumps, with their innings still going into day four, unless they decide upon an overnight declaration. Granted, they are down to the final wicket, with veteran quicks Stuart Broad and James Anderson as valiant as ever. But a sizeable lead against a weary Australian team has them in complete control of their destiny for a change. Such has been their speed of play in both innings, they have even stolen a march on the rains forecast for day five.
Unsurprisingly, a team driven by entertainment used their final Test innings of the summer to produce a “best of” performance. There were contributions throughout the line-up, with the biggest from the main headline grabbers over the last six weeks.