The third Test of the Ashes 2023 at Headingley, Leeds is already underway and is witnessing England dictating terms to the visitors. Being 0-2 behind in the series, England skipper Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bowl first on a wicket with a tinge of green on it.
England made three changes to their playing XI for the game and brought in Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood in place of Ollie Pope, Josh Tongue and James Anderson.
The decision to bowl first was vindicated in the first over itself as Stuart Broad dismissed David Warner getting him out caught at second slip. From the other end, Mark Wood steamed and consistently clocked over 145 kmph. The searing pace instantly paid dividends as he dismantled the stumps of the in-form Usman Khawaja.
The speedster bowled a fuller length delivery from over the wicket which came back in and found the inside edge of Khwaja’s bat and crashed into his leg stump. The delivery clocked 152 kmph on the speedometer and managed to take Khawaja by surprise by virtue of its sheer pace. As a result, England saw the back of the highest run scorer of the series so far (313 runs) for just 13 runs.
It’s full and straight and far too quick for Usman Khawaja 🌪️
Australia are 2 down and Mark Wood is on fire! 🔥 #EnglandCricket #Ashes pic.twitter.com/y5MAB1rWxd
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 6, 2023
Wood has been brought in to fill in the big shoes of the veteran seamer James Anderson, who has been dropped for his lack of rhythm in the first two Tests. Wood last played a Test against Pakistan in Karachi in December 2022. The Ashington-born pacer has 90 wickets to his name in his Test career in 28 matches.
David Warner falls prey to Stuart Broad for 16th time in Tests
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Stuart Broad dismissed David Warner for the 16th time in his Test career. The southpaw got the Test off to a brilliant start with a boundary off the first ball of the game. However, he once again fell prey to his old nemesis as he edged a delivery from around the wicket to Zak Crawley at second slip. The Pat Cummins-led side is in a spot of bother, having lost the top-four with just 90 on the board.