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England race out of blocks in second innings of 5th Ashes Test / Photo: Adrian DENNIS - AFP
England race out of blocks in second innings of 5th Ashes Test
Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett got England off to a blistering start in their second innings in the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval on Saturday with a fifty partnership inside nine overs.
England had yet to start their innings when play resumed on the third day, with Australia 12 runs ahead after Steve Smith's 71 had led them to 295 all out.
But England, in a match they have to win to square the series at 2-2, needed only one over to erase that deficit.
Crawley, who had struck a cover-drive for four off the first ball of the series, played a similar shot off Saturday's first ball from Mitchell Starc to the delight of a packed crowd.
But it was left-hander Ben Duckett who was the more aggressive of England's openers on a sunny day ideal for batting.
He drove Starc's fifth ball for a four through mid-on before clipping the sixth, a half-volley, through midwicket for another boundary as England took the lead.
And when Josh Hazlewood presented Duckett with another legside boundary, that too was confidently clipped away for a four as well.
Starc's first two overs cost an expensive 22 runs and Australia captain Pat Cummins brought himself on at the Pavilion End in place of the left-arm fast bowler.
Duckett, however, deliberately glided Cummins past gully for yet another boundary.
Cummins went around the wicket to Duckett in a bid to cramp him for room, but the batsman responded with a pull that sped to the fine leg rope as England's fifty came up in just 8.4 overs.
Australia, as the holders, have already retained the Ashes at 2-1 up.
But they must avoid defeat at The Oval if they are to win their first Ashes series in England since 2001.
A.Dupont--PS
