Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson’s prowess with the ball set up a perfect Day 5 for the first Test match of the Ashes 2023 at Edgbaston on Monday.
Australia ended the day with a score of 107/3, with Usman Khawaja and night watchman Scott Boland unbeaten on the crease with scores of 34 (81)* and 13 (19)*, respectively. Australia started the session aggressively, as David Warner and Khawaja looked to gather runs quickly. They neutralised the threat of the new ball with their precision and flawless batting technique.
Warner looked in his best shape with a couple of shots he played to find boundaries. It looked as if both batters would do the majority of the work in the final session, but Robinson inspired his team to make a comeback as he dismissed Warner for a score of 34 (81).
After that, Stuart Broad joined the action and stole the entire limelight with his fierce bowling. He sent Marnus Labuschagne off with a beauty. Broad has been Marnus Labuschagne’s nightmare, and the Australian has been doing his best to avoid this matchup. But once he came face-to-face with the English bowler, the result was clear.
The ball swung away from Marnus, he ended up kicking the ball, and it went straight into the hands of Jonny Bairstow.
Broad struck once again, and this time he got the big fish: Steve Smith. He went for the shot but found a slight knick, and Bairstow caught it quite comfortably.
Boland came in to see off the rest of the day, and he managed to do so. Australia will be back to chase the remaining 174 runs on the final day.
