ASHES Stumps Day Three: Tense day three leaves first test in balance

The match is precariously poised, and whilever Steve Smith is at the crease England will have some nerves.

Australia's hopes of winning the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston seems to once again lay with Steve Smith, after England made a serious push for victory on day three.

Despite a middle-order collapse that threatened to undo England's good work on day two, the hosts' tail wagged enough for them to take a 90-run lead after being bowled out for 374.

The game then looked as good as gone for Australia when it lost three early wickets while still in arrears, but the cool head of Smith took his side to 3-124 and a lead of 34 when bad light stopped the day's play.

In many ways, Australia's second innings has so far felt an awful lot like the first.

After Smith was the only frontline batsman to stand up in the first innings, Australia would have been hoping for a better result from the top order in the second, but it did not come from the openers.

David Warner was back in the pavilion after three overs, caught behind while trying to leave a Stuart Broad delivery, and Cameron Bancroft fell equally cheaply, popping a simple catch to short leg as he got stuck between going forward or back to the spin of Moeen Ali.

Despite sitting uncomfortably at 2-27, Usman Khawaja and Smith went on the counterattack, blazing along at five runs per over before Ben Stokes broke through with his second ball of the innings, finding Khawaja's inside edge on the way through to Jonny Bairstow.

But as long as Smith was at the crease, Australia seemed to have hope. He calmly guided Australia to stumps, the only moment of concern coming when a sharp Stokes bouncer rattled him on the helmet.

Smith carried on after the blow, and alongside Travis Head saw out the day with Australia still in the hunt.

It was a finish that seemed unlikely earlier on day three, as England looked destined for a far bigger first-innings total than it ended up with.

Having spent 25 overs together to end day two, England's dominant partnership of Rory Burns and Stokes looked similarly imperious for the first seven overs of day three, before being torn apart seemingly out of nowhere, when Stokes wafted at a ball outside off and departed with his team two runs shy of Australia's first-innings total.

Burns soon joined him in the sheds when he finally nicked the sort of spinning, bouncing Nathan Lyon delivery that missed his edge countless times the previous day. He was warmly applauded by an English crowd that greatly appreciated what looked to be a match-saving 133, the latter part of which had taken England into the lead.

The cheers had barely died down when, at the end of the same over, Ali shouldered arms to Lyon only to see his off stump removed. One over later, Bairstow prodded a Peter Siddle ball to Warner at first slip, and England had gone from cruise control at 4-282 to panic stations at 8-300, leading by just 16.

Australia's bowlers had completely flipped the script but, just as was the case on day one, a ninth-wicket partnership flipped it back.

Perhaps emboldened by Smith and Siddle's 90-run pairing on Thursday, Chris Woakes and Broad went about righting the ship and frustrating Australia.

The 65-run partnership included a 67-ball stay for Broad, his longest innings since 2013, and tipped the scales back in England's favour.

Broad eventually fell to a short-pitched barrage by Cummins and when the injured Jimmy Anderson holed out to Lyon for 3, England was all out for 374 with a lead of 90.

THE STAR

Nathan Lyon is congratulated by team mates after dismissing Rory Burns.

Nathan Lyon went 30 overs without taking a wicket, and then within two overs dismissed century maker Rory Burns and then Moeen Ali for a duck. He finished with 3 for 112 off 43.5. Lyon was the main contributor on a very even third day.

THE MOMENT

The Australians are left amazed by a successful DRS by Joe Root.

England were cruising, at 5 for 296 they had already gained a lead and looked to push it well past 100 with 5 wicket remaining. Instead, Lyon would remove both century maker Rory Burns and then Moeen Ali without a change to the score. Siddle would have Jonny Bairstow when the score had only progressed to 300. It was a crucial period for Australia, as it thwarted a potential disaster for the Australians on Day Three.

THE FAILURE

David Warner walks back after being dismissed for 8 in the second innings.

David Warner's second consecutive failure has heaped pressure onto the Australian's, as has the twin failures of Cameron Bancroft. With Joe Burns coming off 180 against Sri Lanka in Australia's last test, consistent failures won't be tolerated by The Australian selectors.

THE STAT - The GOAT, his bunny and a duck

Nathan Lyon has continued his domination of England's all-rounder Moeen Ali, dismissing him for the eighth time in test cricket, and even more tellingly, the eighth time in the past 10 Ashes innings, as Australia ran riot in the first exchanges of day three.

Photo of the Day

David Warner will have won at least a few fans back.

Singing "He's got sandpaper, in his hands" to the tune of "He's got the whole world, in his hands", David Warner cheekily played along with the English crowd, which will go along way in winning over the crowds and fans of cricket after his involvement in Sandpapergate.