England made hay in favourable conditions during the first session on Day 5 of the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval. However, Australia also made decent progress in spite of losing three wickets, thanks mainly to an unbroken 69-run alliance between Steve Smith (40*) and Travis Head (31*), as the visitors scored 103 runs in 28 overs to head into Lunch at 238/3, needing 146 more to win the series 3-1.
As Lunch approached near, Moeen Ali got Smith to glove a turning off-spinner to leg-slip where Ben Stokes timed his jump well to hold on to the ball but in his attempt to fling it in celebration, he inadvertently hit his right knee and the ball popped out, much to England’s chagrin.
Having put away a full delivery from Stuart Broad for a boundary, Head struck James Anderson through midwicket and sliced one past point for two consecutive fours, ushering Australia past 200 in the process.
Brief scores: England 283 & 395 lead Australia 295 & 238/3 (Usman Khawaja 72, David Warner 60, Steve Smith 40*; Chris Woakes 2-24, Mark Wood 1-34) by 145 runs.
"Strap yourselves in!" 😰
Australia 238-3 at lunch! ⏳ pic.twitter.com/8CwT4gNlon
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) July 31, 2023
