Ashes 2013: 5th Test, Day 3 - Heroes of the Day

It was an agonizingly slow performance from the England batsmen as they set out in pursuit of reducing Australia’s lead on the third day of the fifth and final Ashes Test at the Oval.

Resuming on their overnight total of 32/0, England slowly chipped away at the runs, losing four wickets in the process, before finishing at 247/4. Despite batting at snail’s pace, there were good contributions from three of the four top-order batsmen.

Ian Bell and nightwatchman Chris Woakes will resume the innings on the morrow – the former batting on 29 and the latter on 15. If the fourth day turns out to be drier than a bottle of Chablis, we may as well see this game peter out into a draw.

Here are the heroes of the day:

Joe Root (68 runs off 184 balls – 11 fours)

Joe Root of England hits out watched by wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke of Australia during day three of the 5th Investec Ashes Test match between England and Australia at the Kia Oval on August 23, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

The Yorkshire youngster made his second most substantial score in the series after his brilliant 180 at Lord’s. He added 68 for the first wicket with captain Alastair Cook and another 50 with Jonathan Trott.

Root struck 11 boundaries in his innings – five of them came off Victorian fast bowler Peter Siddle, who struggled a bit with his line. He also tonked left-armer Mitchell Starc for three boundaries and took a couple off James Faulkner as well. He finally fell to off-spinner Nathan Lyon; the ball spun a little too much for his liking, resulting in a top edge off an attempted sweep straight into the hands of Watson at short fine leg.

It was a good innings, but Root consumed too many deliveries and played too cautiously. He would do well to keep the scoreboard ticking with the ones and twos if the boundaries aren’t coming.

Kevin Pietersen (50 runs off 133 balls – 4 fours)

Kevin Pietersen of England bats during day three of the 5th Investec Ashes Test match between England and Australia at the Kia Oval on August 23, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)

The maverick batsman scored a steady half-century coming in at No. 4 after Root’s dismissal. With fellow South African-born Trott, KP put on 58 for the third wicket, scoring his runs at a very slow pace. He also added 41 with the in-form Ian Bell in 20.2 overs.

The right-hander hit four boundaries in all – getting off the mark with a blistering off-drive off Starc, before charging down the track to loft leg-spinner Steven Smith over his head into the gap between long -on and long-off. He then pulled Ryan Harris to the fine-leg fence before an attempted flick off Lyon resulted in four byes.

Pietersen reached his 32nd Test fifty with a bottom edge off Faulkner – an uncharacteristically subdued innings by his standards. Almost immediately after, he edged Starc to Watson, thus becoming the fourth England batsman to fall during the day.

Jonathan Trott (40 runs off 134 balls – 2 fours)

Jonathan Trott of England hits out during day three of the 5th Investec Ashes Test match between England and Australia at the Kia Oval on August 23, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

Continuing the trend of slow scoring, Warwickshire’s South African-born batsman Jonathan Trott played an innings that can only be described as a blend of caution mixed with more caution – and then some more. Just two boundaries in 134 balls does not make spectators sit up and take notice.

It is good that Trott got a decent hit in the middle after having a terrible series with the bat – at the very least, this knock should give him some confidence when England hit the Australian shores for the return series. Steadiness has its own place, but it’s better to keep the scoreboard moving if you want to save your team from the follow-on.