19 June 2023 , 18:51
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The stage is set for a day five finale, with England’s Bazballers primed for another great Ashes heist at Edgbaston thanks to Stuart Broad.
No-one fires up for Ashes cricket than Broad, that is why he was picked in this team, and he was at it again adding two more seismic wickets to the England cause.
With a target of 281 to defend, Broad removed both the No.1 and No.2 batsmen in the world for just 19 runs between them to turn the fourth evening from a quiet gathering into a raucous party as both Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith played their final shots in this match.
With one day left England still have seven Aussie wickets to claim, while the World Test Champions need another 174 runs to take first blood. It has all the makings of another Edgbaston classic. You know the one. Back in 2005 when Australia needed 282 to win. It couldn’t be tighter.
“Any day you have Labuschagne, Smith and Warner back in the hutch is one to be delighted,” said Broad. “There are still two results on the table.
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“In days gone by this game would have been a draw so us forcing the game forward makes a result possible. We feel pretty confident we can go and get seven wickets on the final day.”
Whether by design or circumstance England have indeed made so much of the running in the game in the push for victory, and after being skillfully rebuffed by the Aussies for large parts their scrappy endeavour might just get rewarded.
It has been a messy and at times sloppy performance, but in between the dropped catches and dubious strokeplay there has been a sprinkling of magic that is what this England team is all about.
They are trying to string together enough of these moments over the course of a match that they get to the finish line first, and with Broad leading the charge in the last innings, they have given themselves every chance of doing just that.
Stuart Broad of England celebrates the wicket of Marnus LabuschagneHaving been dismissed for 273 on the stroke of tea, Australia set about their target with relative calm and ease with their opening pair even silencing the Hollies stand with patient resistance.
But with 61 on the board Ollie Robinson finally struck and their batting wobbled in the face of England’s most competitive Test match animal.
Perhaps David Warner thought, having seen off Broad’s first spell, that he was safe from torment but Robinson’s cross seam delivery found the edge and a relieved Jonny Bairstow took the catch.
Relieved because in addition to his error strewn display behind the stumps in the first innings, he had already given Usman Khawaja another life by dropping him at the start of the second off James Anderson.
But mistakes are not to be dwelt on in this dressing room, and even though Khawaja remains 34 not out with nightwatchman Scott Boland for company, Bairstow got his focus back for the next two edges that he safely pouched.
Nathan Lyon of Australia celebrates the wicket of Ollie Robinson (Getty Images)Earlier England’s batting swung wildly between the stoic and the ridiculous with Joe Root setting out his stall with a reverse scoop first ball.
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England flew to 150-4 in just 33 overs, but neither Root nor Harry Brook, both with 46, nor Ben Stokes with 43 could nail down the score that gave them control.
It may not have mattered with Stokes determined to set the game up. This way it will come to an organic and entertaining finish.