Revitalised Aussie bowling attack piles pressure on England
Published:Australia’s bowlers have ensured their side will go into day four of the third Ashes Test against England still in the hunt for victory.
The hosts finished the day on 294/7 needing 34 runs just to reach the follow-on target set by their rivals.
So it’s no surprise that Australia are available at 5/2 with Ladbrokes while England are the 16/1 outsiders.
Kevin Pietersen’s superbly crafted century looked to have swung the pendulum slightly back in England’s favour.
But with the team’s most flamboyant run-maker finally dismissed for 113 runs, England are now relying on their lower order to score the required runs to avoid batting again.
Five wickets fell in total on day three and the Aussie bowling attack will be keen to quickly rip into both Stuart Broad and Matt Prior once play resumes.
This duo’s best work with the bat so far in this series came in the second innings of the first Test at Trent Bridge.
Then, scoring 65 and 31 runs respectively the pair’s efforts were crucial in amassing a large total that proved enough.
However, this time the momentum is firmly with the boys from down under and Mitchell Starc and Ryan Harris will be fully focused on continuing the fine work that accounted for Pietersen, Ian Bell and Jonny Bairstow.
If two full days of play are possible then Alastair Cook’s men, in the face of a heavy first innings deficit, will be under pressure for the rest of the Test.
But with rain forecast to help them on both Sunday and Monday the draw appears to represent the safest bet (priced at 1/3).
Australia will be anxious to skittle out their opponents though. And they’ll be hoping the meteorologists have got their forecasts wrong so that they can haul themselves back into this year’s Ashes rather than settle for a share of the spoils.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing
