Adelaide: England finally got the pink ball to swing on the third night of the second Ashes Test here, but it still looked too little, too late and Australia will go into day four on 53 for four with a lead of 268 runs.
Australia skipper Steve Smith elected not to enforce the follow-on after the tourists had been dismissed for 227, a first-innings deficit of 215, and probably rued his decision as England attacked under the Adelaide Oval lights.
James Anderson led the way with the wickets of Cameron Bancroft (four) and Usman Khawaja (20) while Chris Woakes removed David Warner and Smith. That the usually free-scoring Warner took 60 balls to eke out 14 runs was an indication of the tough conditions at the Adelaide Oval here.
Night-watchman Nathan Lyon survived to the end of the day and will resume with Peter Handscomb. Both were batting on three apiece at stumps.
Lyon had earlier taken four wickets as he and Australia’s pace trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood combined to humble England’s top order and build on the 442-8 declared the hosts had accumulated in their first innings.
England starting the day at 29 for one lost James Vince for two in the second over. Desperate for a decent partnership to bolster the top order, expectations were high when Root came out to join Alastair Cook in the middle.
Root made just nine before he got a thick edge to a Cummins delivery, however, and Cook (37) departed prodding at a Lyon tweaker with Smith gobbling up the catch at first slip.
Dawid Malan got a life when he successfully referred an lbw decision but made his exit for 19 when he got a bit of glove on another snorter from Cummins soon after England had reached the hundred mark.
England were looking down the barrel, courtesy two outstanding return catches by Lyon to see the back of Moeen Ali and Jonny Bairstow. An eighth wicket stand of 66 between Chris Woakes (36, 62b, 2×4) and Craig Overton (41 n o, 79b, 5×4) took them past the 200-run mark to give some semblance of respectability to the total. Once Woakes departed again caught by Starc off his own bowling, the writing was there on the wall for England.
Brief scores: Australia 442 for 8 decl and 53 for 4 (Chris Woakes 2/13, James Anderson 2/16); England 227 (Craig Overton 41 n o, Nathan Lyon 4/60, Mitchell Starc 3/43). Match to continue.
