Ashes 2023: 3 Moments that decided fate of Headingley Test

England thrashed Australia in the third Test by three wickets to keep their Ashes quest alive. Australia is currently ahead of the five-match series 2-1 following England’s victory over Australia. On top of that, we will look here at the three moments that decided the fate of the third Test.

1. Mark Wood’s decisive cameo (24 off 8)

English star pacer Mark Wood enabled England to narrow their lead in the Ashes in 2023 with his outstanding bowling performances in both innings, which marked his great comeback Test match. The right-arm seamer faced eight balls in each inning and struck some powerful hits to relieve the pressure on the England squad. The 33-year-old struck out 16 off eight in his second inning, which proved to be extremely significant, as well as 24 off eight during the first inning, which changed the momentum of the game.

2. Moeen Ali dismissing Labuschagne and Smith in successive overs

The home side, which seemed to be in serious trouble at one stage, eventually won owing to an unbeaten 24-run stand between Chris Woakes (32*) and Mark Wood (16*). Notably, England needed 224 runs as the day’s play started off on the final day, yet they had all 10 of their wickets. English star opener Zak Crawley succeeded in scoring 44 runs, while other English batters faltered against Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, as well as other Aussie bowlers. The great partnership between Woakes and Wood helped England capture their third Ashes against tough visitors.

3. Woakes-Wood partnership

Moeen Ali had already boosted England’s squad by putting them in a winning position on Day 2 of the third Ashes match by taking two of the visitors’ wickets—Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne—and restricting them to just 263 runs. The English cricketer returned to Headingley after missing the second Lord’s Test after suffering a finger injury. The great Aussie batter Marnus Labuschagne was bowled out for 33 and Smith was out for two in consecutive overs, owing to the great English all-rounder, which helped his side win their third Ashes and kept their hope alive of winning the prestigious title of Ashes 2023.