Australian skipper Pat Cummins has given his team a massive breakthrough in the form of Joe Root just before Lunch on Day 4 of the ongoing Ashes Test in Headingley, Leeds, on Sunday.
The star England batter did look a bit out of sorts throughout his innings and found it hard to time the ball well. His wicket eventually summed up his frustrating stay at the crease as he was caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Alex Carey.
Pat Cummins bowled a back-of-a-length delivery and Joe Root tried to swivel it behind square leg. However, the ball seemed to skid a bit after pitching and didn’t bounce as much as Root would have anticipated. The batter could only glove it to Carey, who completed a pretty simple catch.
Here’s a video of Root’s dismissal after making 21 runs off 33 balls:
England with their noses in front despite Australia’s strikes
While the Aussies managed to pick up four wickets, England will be the happier side with the way things have panned out for them in the first session on Day 4. Zak Crawley looked to bat positively in the first hour and got the hosts going despite them losing a couple of wickets at the other end.
The ball change seemed to help Australia as they got Crawley dismissed almost immediately. However, Harry Brook has looked assured at the crease and has continued to score runs at a high tempo. He is currently unbeaten on 40* and has captain Ben Stokes at the other end.
With just 98 runs more needed, the hosts will fancy their chances to win the Headingley Test. However, Australia will know that a couple of wickets just after Lunch will ensure it could well be all over for England. It will be interesting to see whether the visitors employ the short-ball barrage early on in the second session in a bid to trigger a batting collapse.