Chris Woakes and Mark Wood. (Photo Source: Stu Forster/Getty Images)
The third Test of the Ashes 2023 finally came to an end with the hosts, England, coming out victorious after a thrilling run chase on Sunday, July 9. Australia came into bat first after losing the toss, and found themselves on the wrong end as the English bowling attack brought them to their knees early on in the first innings.
Openers David Warner and Usman Khawaja were sent packing soon for four and 13 runs, respectively as the pressure mounted early. Furthermore, with Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne’s early wickets, it was the knock of Mitchell Marsh that stabilised the innings for the Aussies. Marsh amassed 118 runs in just as many deliveries and helped his side post 263 runs in the first innings.
Star pacer Mark Wood was the highest wicket taker for England in the first innings. The 33-year-old took a brilliant fifer to limit Australia to a reasonable total. As the hosts came out to bat, their top order failed to make an impact on the game as well.
Only the knock of skipper Ben Stokes, who amassed 80 runs in 108 deliveries, and Zak Crawley, who added 33 runs at the top of the order, helped the side minimise the first innings deficit as much as possible. Skipper Pat Cummins wreaked havoc in the first innings, taking a whopping six wickets and helping Australia maintain a slender 26-run lead going into the second innings.
Coming out to bat, looking to maximise their lead and set a huge target for England to chase down, Australia put in a subpar performance with the bat as the English bowling attack terrorised their batters. Usman Khawaja scored 43 runs in 96 deliveries, opening the innings. Furthermore, as the top order collapsed, Travis Head stepped up on a significantly shortened Day 3 and helped his side post a reasonable target on the board.
Head accumulated 77 runs to his name and helped the side score 224 runs in their second innings. The Ben Stokes-led England required 251 runs to win the third Test and keep their hopes in the marquee series alive.
Aiming to chase the target down, Zak Crawley opened the innings with a brilliant 44 runs to provide his side with just the start that it needed. However, it was the knock of Harry Brook that propelled the hosts to their first win of the Ashes 2023. Brook scored 75 runs in 93 deliveries under pressure and played a brilliant innings, helping England win the game by three wickets.
Here are the best memes from the game:
Test Cricket you magnificent b@stard! 🏏 #TheAshes2023 #ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/9bG1TbtY57
— Conrad Adams 🇬🇧🇪🇺🇺🇦 (@CRad_Adams) July 9, 2023
#ENGvAUS pic.twitter.com/rV2mjMqFgk
— Lila 🇬🇧 (@Lila83095429) July 9, 2023
#Ashes2023 pic.twitter.com/MtGIJStaWF
— Lewis Hatchett (@lewis_hatchett) July 9, 2023
Mark Wood 🫡 pic.twitter.com/7buqMga314
— Dennis🕸 (@DenissForReal) July 9, 2023
If we being honest!! pic.twitter.com/6kubrp2nme
— deady_dankee (@deady_dankee) July 9, 2023
Test cricket at its best🔥 pic.twitter.com/H7iwmGGa2t
— rozgar_CA (@Memeswalaladka) July 9, 2023
Finally a win for Bazball after ages pic.twitter.com/I5LJ9a2wAS
— cricket wala ladka (@cricketwalaldka) July 9, 2023
Test fans when they see a four and a drop catch when 7 needed of 10000 balls so they can tweet they’ll take this over IPL anyday. pic.twitter.com/CFSrB4hhv1
— Heisenberg ☢ (@internetumpire) July 9, 2023
pic.twitter.com/6YGXaqE7dX
— Cricket Shouts (@crickshouts) July 9, 2023
Mitchell starc with 5fer pic.twitter.com/mbyraSsuXB
— Vaibhav Hatwal ◟̽◞̽ 🤧 (@vaibhav_hatwal) July 9, 2023
Mitchell Starc every world cup year pic.twitter.com/paK1W3Bwfm
— NayeemQ (@nayeemkhi) March 20, 2023