The Bazball finally came off in its entirety in the ongoing Ashes series for England as the hosts are in prime position to seal the fourth Test against Australia in Manchester and level the series 2-2. After bowling out Australia for 375 on a good Old Trafford surface, England's faith in Zak Crawley finally paid off as the opener smashed a quickfire 189 to peg the Australians back. After which the likes of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow with an unbeaten 99, Harry Brook and skipper Ben Stokes with fifties helped the hosts take a 275-run lead.
It was always going to be a tough ask for Australia to come back into the Test match, having conceded such a huge lead and the batters were clearly under pressure. After getting off to good starts, both openers Usman Khawaja and David Warner got out cheaply. Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne stopped the wicket procession for a while before Mark Wood dismissed the former not only to break the 43-run stand but also to pick up his 100th wicket in the format.
Wood didn't stop there and got the big wicket of Travis Head before the end of the day to leave Australia reeling at 113-4 at stumps. With Wood's triple strike, England created history in Test cricket. It was the first playing XI in the 146-year history of Test cricket that featured six players with 100-plus wickets in the format.
England, who are playing with three genuine all-rounders, had the likes of James Anderson (689), Stuart Broad (600), Moeen Ali (201), Ben Stokes (197), Chris Woakes (142) and now Wood (101). The hosts' bowling attack has looked on a different level altogether after the inclusion of Woakes and Wood and the duo has already had a game-changing impact at Headingley first and now in Manchester as England stand on the heels of a massive victory in the fourth Test.
Australia are still 162 runs behind and they will need a big effort from the likes of Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green and Alex Carey to avoid an innings defeat as it seems that the fourth Test could be over on the fourth day itself.
