London: In reply to Australia first innings total of 492, hosts England were 247 for four on the third day of fifth and the final Ashes Test at Oval on Friday. England are still trailing by 245 runs and need 46 runs to avoid the follow-on. The hosts added just 213 runs in 98.3 overs with their run-rate hardly moving above two an over.
England have already won the Ashes 2013 as they have the invincible lead of 3-0 and the final Test looks more heading towards draw. If England win this Test, it would be the first time for English team to have won four Tests in Ashes on their home soil. Australia has to win this Test because if they don’t, it would be for the first time after 1977 that they would fail to win even a single Test in an Ashes series.
Bell, who has already scored 500 runs in this series so far, including three tons, remained unbeaten at 29 off 110 balls that he faced in his stay of nearly two-and-a-half hours at the crease. He was very well accompanied by the Chris Woakes, who remained not out at 15 runs off 49 balls that he played in the last session of the day when the playing conditions were not so easy.
England fell after getting a good start. Even explosive Kevin Pietersen played a slow innings of 50 in 133 balls.
Earlier in the day, England resumed its innings on 32 after the mind-boggling centuries from Shane Watson and Steve Smith Australia on day one and two respectively had given Australia an edge. Alastair cook and Joe Root gave England a solid start but Cook’s habit of chasing the ball of outside the off-stump made him pay the price as he edged Harris straight into the hands of Brad Haddin on 25.
Root kept his guard on and soon reached the fifty run-mark when he pulled off Peter Siddle to get his eight boundary off the 145th ball he faced in this innings. He couldn’t continue his form for too long as just after the lunch he was dismissed for 68 and it was Nathan Lyon who did the trick by getting the top-edge of his willow and the ball went straight into the hands of Shane Watson. England were reduced to 2/118.
The new ball soon did the trick for Australia as Mitchell Starc struck with the very first delivery tor remove Jonathan Trott for 40.
Bell started off his innings with a boundary when he played an exquisite square-drive for four off the same over of Starc.
Pietersen wasn’t able to come out of this defensive style of play but he somehow managed to reach his half-century when he got the bottom-edge of his bat for four and that was England's first boundary in 14 overs which came off Test debutant James Faulkner. However Starc got rid of KP and England were 4/217.