Watch! Twitter reacts to Stuart Broad getting the big wicket of Steve Smith
Day five of the 1st Ashes test promises to be a thriller as Australia need 174 runs to win with 7 wickets in hand. The English team had set a target of 281 to win for the Australians on day 4. England, were bowled out for 273 with an overall lead of 280 thanks to some amazing bowling by the newly crowned World Test Championship Champions.
The story so far –
Stuart Broad who turns 37 in a few days was the hero with the ball for England in the 1st innings with 3 wickets. On Monday the focus of the fans was Broad again as he looked to continue his good form with the ball. The right arm pacer has a special relationship with the fans at Edgbaston and is a crowd favorite.
Broad sets up Smith and dismisses him next ball –
The battle of the day was between Stuart Broad and Steve Smith. Both the players were key for their respective sides. Broad was bowling the 26th over to the Australian vice captain. The first ball of the over saw Smith get a peach of a yorker which he blocked.
The 3rd ball of the same over saw Broad maintain the off stump line. The ball held its line after pitching. Smith who was batting on 6, looked to go for a drive. The ball though took the edge and Bairstow did the rest as Broad went off on a celebratory run.
England bowled out for 273 –
Day 4 began with England starting the day 28/2 with a lead of 35. None of the English batters were able to get a big score after getting a good start. Joe Root was out stumped off Lyon for 46. Harry Brook then was out for 46 off Lyon caught by Labuschagne. Captain Ben Stokes scored 43 before he was out LBW to Pat Cummins.
There were decent contributions with the bat lower down the order with, Moeen Ali (19), Bairstow (20), Robinson (27), Broad (10*) and Anderson with 12. England were all out for 273 to take an overall lead of 280. Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon picked 4 wickets each with the ball.
Khawaja and Warner give Australia good start before England fightback –
Chasing 281 to win, David Warner and Usman Khawaja gave the visiting a good start. The pair added 61 runs for the 1st wicket in under 18 overs as they mixed caution with aggression. Warner was the first to fall when he edged behind off Robinson to Bairstow. Warner scored 36 off 57 balls with 4 fours, Labuschagne who was out for a 1st ball duck scored 13 off 15 balls with 3 fours. The right hander became the first wicket for Broad in the 2nd innings as he gave Bairstow his 2nd catch of the day.
Twitter reacts –
Cricket fans took to Twitter to have their say on the amazing dismissal of Steve Smith off the bowling of Broad. You can read all the tweets from the fans below.