England within 224 runs of keeping Ashes alive after engrossing action at Headingley

By Nick Hoult, at Headingley

It was a golden Sunday at Headingley four years ago that went down in Ashes history and those lucky enough to have tickets this Sunday are in for another memorable occasion.

England require a further 224 runs to win the third Ashes Test and stay in the series. Australia need 10 wickets to retain the urn and win their first series in England since 2001. Turn on the television, turn up the radio and log on to the live blog. Everything is on the line and it’s sure to be a showstopper.

Those who stayed at Headingley on Saturday after hours of driving rain were rewarded with 25.1 engrossing overs. Australia lifted their score from 116 for four to 224 all out in 20.1 overs of high-grade entertainment before England’s two openers confidently started the chase, England closing on 27 without loss, and walking off with their chests puffed out. The WinViz calculator gave them a 75 per cent chance of victory.

Australia are still in the Test because Travis Head played a brilliant hand with the tail to give his side a defendable total, adding 54 for the last two wickets. He was 34 off 83 balls when Cummins fell, and scored another 43 from 29 deliveries before he was caught in the deep for 77.

Gifted perfect bowling conditions for swing and seam, England persisted with the short ball assault against Head rather than looking to nick him off like they did successfully to batsmen at the other end.

A bit of variable bounce when the bowling was from the Football Ground End was fully exploited by Chris Woakes, who bowled a nine-over spell running up the hill for two for 40, surprising batsmen with extra bounce — Mitchell Marsh caught behind trying to leave and Alex Carey played on off his glove.

Once Woakes had broken through, Stokes summoned Mark Wood to fly in and blow away the tail like he did in the first innings. It worked at first, Pat Cummins not fancying the pace and nicking off for one. Then Mitchell Starc was caught athletically by Harry Brook running around from short leg to dive forward and pluck a skier that should have been the keeper’s catch but Jonny Bairstow, down on confidence, hesitated and left for his team-mate.

Now Australia had nothing to lose and Head was transformed into an Australian Ben Stokes, taking on the short ball and bisecting the fielders with clear-eyed precision while Todd Murphy offered decent support. Head struck Wood for two sixes and three fours, and launched Woakes into the Western Terrace.

Wood bowled a seven-over spell, giving everything knowing he has a week off between Tests but Broad could have been more of a threat, his movement through the air and nip off the pitch was more suited to these conditions, especially as Wood lacked the slower-ball variation that could have worked against batsmen swinging for their lives.

When Broad came back he broke through straight away, with his fifth ball trapping Murphy on the crease leg before. Wood stayed on for one more over and was twice swung into the leg side for six by Head, valuable runs, before holing out to deep midwicket off the first ball of Broad’s next over.

It gave England 20 minutes to bat in the evening sunshine, as Headingley basked in the best weather of the day. A confident start was vital and Zak Crawley picked Cummins off his pads for four as England took eight off the opening over.

Australia chewed up a review in the second over when Ben Duckett wafted down the leg side. Lost reviews cost Australia the Headingley Test four years ago, will it have a bearing again? Duckett was lucky, edges dropped short of slip or over the cordon and he took a painful blow on the hand from Cummins but somehow survived.

This team loves chasing a total. It suits their mindset because so many have been brought up in white-ball cricket and they can play their shots with freedom knowing they have the backing of the management. Of course, they have Stokes too.

Last year they chased down four scores in a row of more than 250 but never under such pressure. The Ashes is a different beast to Test series against every other nation and get this one wrong and they have lost the series. Stokes needs some help from his friends. He cannot don the Superman cape every day.

Sunday will shape the immediate futures of a couple of players. Brook could do with some runs and a convincing performance at no 3 and Bairstow owes his team a performance.

One who deserves another match is Woakes. He slipped out of contention before the Ireland Test when England had a late change of heart and blooded Josh Tongue instead.

As it turns out, the extended break has done him some good. He returned for this game looking fitter and fresher than he did at the start of the season for Warwickshire and he was also lucky to have missed the pitches for the first two Tests that rendered James Anderson impotent and would have done the same to Woakes.

He has done enough to keep his place for Old Trafford with six wickets at Headingley, his best match performance against Australia. He went past 100 Test wickets in England too at a bargain bucket price of just 22 runs each, better than Anderson, although from a smaller sample size.

It could well be a choice between the two in Manchester next week with Tongue almost certain to replace Ollie Robinson who did not bowl again after leaving the field during Australia’s first innings. Anderson is no longer a certainty to play on his home ground.

England gambled on their attack but Chris Woakes has proved his value

By Scyld Berry, at Headingley 

Before this Ashes series Ben Stokes declared that he wanted eight pace bowlers on tap. It has been the fifth and sixth such bowlers used by England, Mark Wood and Chris Woakes, who have given them a chance of winning this third Test in taking 13 wickets between them.

Wood has taken all the headlines, and deservedly, for putting the wind up Australia’s batsmen. If his seven-over spell on the third evening, after the rain, was not quite so vivid as his first burst of the match when he touched 95 mph, it was still hair-raising stuff — hair-raising and glove-hitting, as even Travis Head found when he tried to be Australia’s answer to Ben Stokes.

Overall, in this game, Wood has been as fast as anyone this correspondent has seen, alongside Jofra Archer in 2019, Wood himself in the St Lucia Test earlier that same year, and Brett Lee at the WACA in Perth. Of bowlers in the period before speed-guns, and resilient helmets, Patrick Patterson on his Test debut in his native Jamaica, on a broken pitch in 1986, might or might not have been so quick but was more of a threat to limb and life, namely England’s.

Wood, however, is not the only pace bowler who has returned to the sunlight of active Test service after a long lay-off. Woakes too has excelled on his recall, bowling some archetypal English swing-and-seam, coupled with plenty of short balls when his captain demanded — all on the back of only two championship matches this season and some T20 Blast games for Warwickshire with a maximum of four overs.

It was due reward for Woakes to register his 100th Test wicket in England when dismissing Alex Carey to widespread approval: 100 Test wickets, at 22 runs each, striking once every 44 balls on average. This is the stuff — or at least the figures — of which some of England’s finest pace bowlers, Truemans and Stathams, Goughs and Frasers, would have been proud.

What we never see are all the hours on the treadmill and couch which injured quick bowlers have to endure. The hours, days, weeks and months of tedium with only a physio and earphones for company: they sap desire. Yet Woakes went through it all over again and emerged on the other side, aged 34, and not past it, but ready to resume his England red-ball career.

Woakes kept England going from the Football Stand end until Stuart Broad returned and mopped up the last two Australian wickets. It might have been wiser if Woakes had pitched the ball up to Head in conditions designed for his outswing and seam, but the team strategy, starting at Lord’s, has been to bounce Head on every occasion; and we will soon see whether it was right or whether Ben Stokes should have begun the third day with Plan A and bowled normally to Head, before resorting to Plan B for bouncer.

In addition to his six wickets, Woakes still has his second innings, and it is unlikely that England’s run-chase will be the calm and seamless procession to 251 which would spare our nerves. This is what distinguishes Woakes from the bulk of fast-medium bowlers who have represented England: the capacity to score 27 on average in a Test, and as much as 34 in England.

The ball is going to be flying past England’s ears on day four, on a pitch which may become increasingly uneven. It will be time for the stoutest hearts. With bat as well as ball Woakes may prove to be made of English oaks.

England set 251 to win on rain-affected day in Leeds — as it happened

08:50 PM BST

Boycott's Briefing: 'England overdid the short stuff'

08:49 PM BST

The look (and thumb) that says 'we'll be OK'

08:39 PM BST

It's all set up for yet another cracker of a day

This series just doesn’t want to do dull. Every day has been an engrossing feast of Test cricket, and today - although hugely rain-affected - was no different, more than living up to the blockbuster billing of these Ashes.

When winning the toss and putting Australia into bat on Thursday, Ben Stokes and Co would have backed themselves to chase down a total of 250ish. It just so happens that they’re trying to chase down 251 with the bonus of having already scored 27 of those runs without the loss of a wicket.

Tomorrow is sure to be another fascinating day with a twist or two, so please join us for the action tomorrow morning.

08:13 PM BST

More from Woakes, who is feeling confident

08:09 PM BST

Stone the crows!

Glenn McGrath has changed his traditional 5-0 to Australia prediction.

The Australian great said on the BBC’s TMS: “If England do get up and win this Test match tomorrow I am happy to change my prediction from 5-0 to 4-1. Those chances in the first innings in the context of this match could be costly for Australia but they do still have a chance to win here.”

08:00 PM BST

Gone in 90 seconds

All the wickets on another enthralling day of this engrossing Ashes.

07:59 PM BST

Chris Woakes speaks to the BBC - 'Conditions helped us'

07:34 PM BST

England need 224 tomorrow to keep the Ashes alive

That was a great 25 minutes from Crawley and Duckett - both batted with poise and confidence.

WinViz gives the hosts a 75 per cent chance of victory - not sure how it works, tbh, but it’s a stat that nonetheless should make any England fan smile.

07:32 PM BST

OVER 6: ENG 27/0 (Crawley 9 Duckett 18)

This will be the last over - I’m not a cricketing genius when I say ‘stay in’ is the order of the day...

Boland is the man to bowl it and he immediately gets one on Duckett’s off peg, moving it away. The England opener does well to squirt the ball to the off side for a run. A Crawley single follows before Duckett’s outside edge is taken, luckily for him and England it falls short of Khawaja.

Both openers survive the evening and that was, all in all, a great day (or at least part of it) for England.

07:27 PM BST

OVER 4: ENG 25/0 (Crawley 8 Duckett 17)

The first bit of luck goes England’s way as Starc gets one to climb on Duckett before takign the outside edge. BUT if flies high and over the slips for four. A single follows before Crawley leaves two well - yep, things really are going England’s way, Crawley is leaving well...

07:22 PM BST

OVER 3: ENG 20/0 (Crawley 8 Duckett 12)

Cummins to Duckett and the left-hander is again beaten - this time the ball flirts with rather than take the outside edge. Next up the Australia skipper gets one to leap up off a length - the ball clatters into his glove and that hurts. Indeed, a man with the magic spray comes out to check on the left-hander. That was a similar length to the deliveries that got Marsh and Carey out earlier and an illustration that these runs won’t be easy to chase on this track...

Duckett’s bottom hand looks fine as he then cuts for four in front of square - that looked good. The next ball is full and the opener then punches down the ground for another boundary, he doesn’t even bother to run - delightful.

Don’t want to tempt fate but both batsmen are looking good here...

07:16 PM BST

OVER 2: ENG 11/0 (Crawley 8 Duckett 3)

As expected Starc takes the new ball from the other end and Duckett clips one off his hips for a single. Starc then pushes two across the right-handed Crawley before getting one to hoop right into him which the England opener does well to get a bat on for a run. Starc then goes leg side to Duckett who has a dart before the ball ends in the gloves of the man and barnet of the moment, Alex Carey. There’s a huge appeal and it’s not clear why. Even less clear is why the tourists review it - the replay showing enough space for a jumbo jet to fly between bat and ball. The next ball Duckett is squared up and edges to second slip - not clear whether it carried to Smith. The replay reveals...it didn’t...good over from Starc, though

07:11 PM BST

OVER 1: ENG 8/0 (Crawley 7 Duckett 1)

Crawley works the first ball to deep square for one to huge cheers from the patient (and thankfully now rewarded) Headingley crowd. The good news for England is that the crowds have parted and the sun is now out...if ever there was a good time to chase 251 on a largely rainy, overcast day it’s now...Crawley plays a glorious clip through mid-wicket for four before a solid forward defence that the MCC textbook would have been proud of. Good start for the hosts - eight from it.

07:06 PM BST

The batsmen are out in the middle

And we’ve a fascinating 25 minutes in prospect...

07:03 PM BST

Will Macpherson at Headingley

06:58 PM BST

England set 251 for victory

That would have been the sort of total they’d have been OK with when they won the toss, this time yesterday, and when play got under way this afternoon.

That was a great session for the hosts who - bar going too short to Travis Head - bowled really well and did what they had to do in helpful conditions.

If there is a silver lining for Australia it’s that they now have 20 minutes at Crawley and Duckett (and possibly more) under the lights...

So, England it’s over to you.

06:57 PM BST

WICKET!!!

Head c Duckett b Broad 77

Broad bowls full, Head tries to launch him long for six but only finds the mitts of Duckett in the deep.

AUSTRALIA ALL OUT FOR 224.

06:55 PM BST

OVER 67: AUS 224/9 (Boland 0 Head 77)

When Head hits it well it, as the saying goes, stays hit. He launches Wood well over the deep square boundary for a huuuuge six. The very next ball Head does exactly the same...

You’d think they’d try and pitch one up to him by now. This is slightly bonkers cricket from England, Head is just waiting for the short ball and helping it on its way to the boundary.

Two dot balls follows and the field is brought in for the last ball of the over. Can they keep Head at that end? No, they cannot. He dabs one off side and saunters a single...

WinViz has England having a 60 per cent chance of win - the Australia lead is now 250...

06:48 PM BST

OVER 66: AUS 211/9 (Boland 0 Head 64)

That partnership was worth 41 runs. Those could prove vital come this time tomorrow...with one wicket needed by the hosts the lead is 237...ooooohhh, this is another cracking Test...

06:47 PM BST

Tim Wigmore at Headingley

06:46 PM BST

WICKET!!!

Murphy lbw b Broad 11

Broad returns and beats Murphy with a beauty - round the wicket, angled in and moves away, far better batsmen than the Australian spinner would have been beaten by that delivery. He’s then beaten by one that goes straight on - the ball wrapping him on his pads. It’s given out in the middle is reviewed AND stays out - it was umpire’s decision on height...

FOW - 211/9

06:42 PM BST

Head is holding up any possible England victory charge

06:40 PM BST

OVER 65: AUS 211/8 (Murphy 11 Head 64)

Light and rain depending, they can play until 7.30, so possibly just under an hour’s play left.

Head is on strike with Wood steaming in. Head makes room first ball and slaps a ball to long-off, but turns down the easy single. The field is spread - again - but Head still manages to hit down the ground for four.

Nasser Hussain on Sky is suggesting that England went short to Head too early, when conditions were tailor-made for going full (as they did with for the other batsmen).

Head then gloves one over Bairstow - he looks hurt but continues without the need to se the medical staff. Can England keep Head down that end the last ball of the over? Yes, they can and they will bowl at Murphy now...

It’s tense, and the lead is now 237.

06:33 PM BST

OVER 64: AUS 207/8 (Murphy 11 Head 60)

Murphy gets off strike first ball of this Woakes over - just what the tourists wanted. That brings up the 200. The 206 is brought up as Head launches Woakes into the Western Terrace - a pull for a maximum - he’s playing so well and help to get his side to what they will think/hope is a defendable total. Which is, I reckon, something north of 260ish..the lead now is 233.

06:28 PM BST

OVER 63: AUS 199/8 (Murphy 10 Head 53)

It’s Wood to Head and the field is spread - expect the short ball. And indeed one comes but Head nails it - pulling with authority and Duckett out in the deep can do nothing to stop it.

What next? A full toss that Head squirts away - he declines the single, though. The Australian then turns a one into a two, he’s hogging the strike well. He is, however, unable to keep the strike for the next over because he thumps the last ball for four - for all the talk of him struggling with the short ball he ain’t half playing it well here as he brings up his half-century...

06:20 PM BST

OVER 62: AUS 189/8 (Murphy 10 Head 43)

The rest of his Australian innings rest on the shoulders of Head - he pulls imperiously for four. On the basis of the last over he can trust Murphy at the other end and he has to as he cuts the penultimate ball for four. Or does he? Nope, he gets a single off the last - nine from the over and the lead is up to 215...

06:15 PM BST

OVER 61: AUS 180/8 (Murphy 10 Head 34)

Murphy is off the mark straight away with a lovely drive through the covers - watched it all the way onto the bat, beautiful. That makes the lead 200. Next up Murph tucks one around the corner, it looks as though it’s going for four until a diving Moeen slides in, feet first and prevents it reaching the boundary - he’s a big Liverpool fan and Klopp would be happy with that nifty bit of footwork...

The over ends with Murphy fending one behind and past a diving YJB - not a real chance for Bairstow. It’s a four and the lead is now 206...64 for four so far today.

06:11 PM BST

WICKET!!!

Cummins c Bairstow b Wood 1

Wood bowls back-of-a-length, Cummins gets on the back foot and flings his bat away from his body and feathers an edge to YJB...England are well on top now...The Australian captain reviewed, more in hope than expectation, I imagine....

FOW - 170/8

06:07 PM BST

Harry Brook or Superman?

06:06 PM BST

OVER 60: AUS 170/7 (Cummins 1 Head 34)

It’s more of Woakes A head single gets Cummins on strike and the Baggy Greens skipper is beaten all ends up by one that moves away late and gets a bit of bounce.

06:02 PM BST

OVER 59: AUS 168/7 (Cummins 0 Head 33)

Patsy Cummins is the new man in and Wood goes round the wicket. The Australian skipper deals with the threat well.

Since play started the tourists are 52 for three - the lead is 194.

06:00 PM BST

WICKET!!!

Starc c Brook b Wood 16

Can Wood’s express pace get a seventh wicket for the hosts? YES.HE.CAN. Starc tries to fend a rising delivery off his hip and balloons one high, high, high in the gloomy sky behind square. Is it Brook’s (at short square) catch or Bairstow’s? They are asking the same question as the ball re-enters the atmosphere and they decide it’s Brook’s, who takes the catch brilliantly. 

FOW - 168/7

05:55 PM BST

OVER 58: AUS 166/6 (Starc 15 Head 32)

Starc edges Woakes for four - it wasn’t a chance but these runs could well be vital ones for the tourists. Woakes then produces a jaffa, from over the wicket he gets one to move away from Head’s bat and bounce...YJB taking it chest high...

05:50 PM BST

OVER 57: AUS 161/6 (Starc 10 Head 32)

Wood to Head - the Australian cuts uppishly and the ball falls just short of Woakes in the deep. Wood then gets one to hoop right into Starc who clips it for two. Wood then bowls a bouncer that does well to get well over Starc and even better to fly well over Young Jonny Bairstow for four byes (harsh on YJB - bar grow another two feet I am not sure what he can do...).  Starc then pushes down the ground for four - at 93mph all the Australian had to do was get the full face of the bat on ball and he did that with aplomb. The lead is up to 187...

05:44 PM BST

OVER 56: AUS 149/6 (Starc 4 Head 31)

Woakes has been the pick of the (three) bowlers used so far today, he’s the one pitching it up and giving it a chance of turning round corners. It’s more of the same during this over but not edges (flirting with or otherwise) with two singles from it.

05:42 PM BST

The joy of wickets for England

The Marsh wicket

The Carey wicket

05:41 PM BST

OVER 55: AUS 147/6 (Starc 3 Head 30)

It’s time for out-and-out pace - yep, it’s Mark Wood. The crowd noticeably get more audible as he goes over the wicket to Head and he, too, nearly plays on - that loosener was 91 mph - tasty...The second ball is then punched of the back foot for four through the covers, great shot. Starc then gets off the mark with a similar shot for two.

The lead is currently 173...and Win Viz has England as favourites by one per cent...

05:34 PM BST

OVER 54: AUS 139/6 (Starc 0 Head 24)

Fair to say this session is going the way of England - they’re pitch the ball up and letting the pitch and conditions do the rest. Carey was slightly undone by the bounce there...

05:33 PM BST

WICKET!!

Carey b Woakes 6 

Woakes comes over the wicket to Carey - he tries to slant one across the left-hander and gets an edge BUT it’s played with soft hands and goes for four between second slip and gully. Then, two balls later, he, like Marsh, tries to leave one but only succeeds in playing on.

FOW - 139/6

05:28 PM BST

OVER 53: AUS 134/5 (Carey 1 Head 24)

Broad comes round the wicket to Carey and bowls an absolute jaffa - angled in and moves away. It flirts with the outside edge but has no joy. The England man is so good against left-handers (one in particular...) and he serves up another peach that Carey does very well not to edge...The over ends with one that comes in and that was a fine (maiden) over from the bandana bowler.

05:23 PM BST

OVER 52: AUS 134/5 (Carey 1 Head 24)

Another solid pull from Head gets the man and the barnet of the hour on strike. And Carey gets off the mark with a tuck off his pads. Two from the over.

05:19 PM BST

OVER 51: AUS 132/5 (Carey 0 Head 23)

The Western Terrace is singing ‘Alex Carey is a (insert rude word here)’...He doesn’t seem too put off as he defends the rest of the Stuart Broad over following a Head single.

05:16 PM BST

OVER 50: AUS 131/5 (Carey 0 Head 22)

There are loads of boos which may well have been heard in Hull - yep, it’s Alex Carey whose new (alleged) trim is alas hidden by the lid...he survives the last ball, as England have the wicket they so desperately wanted.

05:14 PM BST

WICKET!!

Marsh c Bairstow b Woakes 28

Poor from Woakes as he drops one short and Marsh cuts in front of square and, even with the rain, it races to the boundary. The Australian is looking more positive today that he did last night...that is until he tries to leave one but only succeeds in feathering a glove to Young Jonny Bairstow.

131/5

05:09 PM BST

OVER 49 : AUS 126/4 (Marsh 24 Head 21)

It’s Stuart Broad from the other end. First ball is full and clipped leg side by Marsh. It’s vital not only that the England attack pitch the ball up, but also that they keep the ball dry...not as easy as it sounds...

To Head England are clearly trying to mix it up - short balls in among some full ones...the Australian pulls for one. Then next up it’s a big inswinger from Broad and Marsh plays a delightful on-drive for four. He’s in seriously good nick.

They then go short to Head again and he has a dart and the ball falls just short of the men out in the deep. The over ends with a beauty to Marsh that beats him all ends up.

05:04 PM BST

Play is about to get under way

AGAIN!

05:00 PM BST

I am the bearer of good news

The covers are coming off - hurrah!

04:59 PM BST

England will be desperate to get back out there

These are perfect conditions to bowl in and there was enough in that Woakes over to suggest the ball will move a fair bit.

What’s the opposite of a rain dance? A drought jive?

04:51 PM BST

It's not heavy

But it’s enough to get the covers back on the pitch and the players off it.

Let’s hope it’s a passing shower...

04:50 PM BST

And...

It starts raining again...

04:50 PM BST

OVER 48 : AUS 118/4 (Head 18 Marsh 19)

It’s Woakes to start the day/late afternoon - here’s the start of what could be a huge session. Perfect bowling conditions, the lights are on, rain is around surely give the ball a chance to move and pitch it up there - no short stuff followed by short stuff please... As I type the England bowler goes back of a length and Head pulls for one. There are two slips in and Woakes gets one up there and there is away swing. Decent enough start that, two singles from it...

04:43 PM BST

The players are out on the hallowed Yorkshire turf

And we’re moments away from play (finally) on day three.

04:41 PM BST

Will Macpherson at Headingley...

04:37 PM BST

Neck your pint and get to your seat...

04:25 PM BST

Scyld Berry reports from Headingley

04:12 PM BST

Play to start at 4.45pm

Nick Hoult reports

04:08 PM BST

Brighter news

TMS reports that all the big covers are off or in the process of being taken off and there are more cheers from a long-suffering crowd.

03:52 PM BST

Cheers as the covers start to come off

This has happened a couple of times before today but, at last, it has stopped raining and the Super Soppers have been working non-stop to remove the surface water.

03:44 PM BST

Will Macpherson reports from Headingley

03:44 PM BST

The rain has stopped - new inspection at 4.15pm

Should it take them 90 minutes to clear up from that point they could start at 5.45pm if, of course, it does not rain again. They have to be on the field by 6pm to play until 7pm. If it’s not fit to play at 6pm but is at 6.01pm, tough. Play would be abandoned. Some things make no sense, never have but never seem to change.

03:29 PM BST

The sky has brightened

But it’s still raining.

03:17 PM BST

Ashes washouts

We have had quite a few recently – day three at Edgbaston in 2009 was lost completely, as was day four at the Oval in 2013 and day one at Lord’s in 2019. All three of those matches were subsequently drawn. The way England play these days and Australia’s response to it means the loss of a day should not lead to that outcome.

There is still a light drizzle at Headingley so despite the optimism/desperation among those there, another lost day is looking ever more likely.

03:02 PM BST

Inspection at 3.45pm

Pending no further rain.

02:51 PM BST

Hang on ... hope!

02:47 PM BST

Not currently looking any brighter, sadly

02:23 PM BST

What happens if Stokes cannot lead the side in the field?

Nick Hoult filed this yesterday after his innings and it was lost in heavy traffic.

If not Root, who? Stuart Broad? Moeen Ali?

02:21 PM BST

Guess what?

Yep, raining again.

02:20 PM BST

Hokey cokey

The covers are being mopped. What that means I cannot tell you as the radar still shows rain until just after 3pm. But it seems to have stopped.

02:00 PM BST

At least one game is taking place

Sky has panned back to live pictures ... and it is still raining.

Has that policeman pulled a Boycott cap-reversal manoeuvre?

01:43 PM BST

No update from YCCC yet

As it is still raining. More of a smirr than a shower but wet and annoying enough to keep the covers on

01:14 PM BST

The benefits of rain?

Mark Wood has a longer rest and if they’re on and off all afternoon he can stay relatively fresh while making the intervals tend to damage batting momentum more than bowling. And a bit of nip and zip should help Broad, Robinson and Woakes.

01:07 PM BST

On TMS Aggers said

Play would start at 1.30pm if there was no more rain but then announced it had started to spit again. But if it’s a light shower, most of the preparatory work has been done and all the significant mopping up of the earlier deluges.

12:46 PM BST

It has stopped raining and the covers are coming off

So the mopping up can begin in earnest.

12:09 PM BST

The rain has relented at Headingley

But it is still very damp. Lunch will be taken early and end at 1.10pm but they won’t be able to take the field until 90 minutes after it stops.

Sky is currently showing Butcher’s Test, the 2001 victory at Headingley. Fond memories indeed.

Butcher carries the day for England.

11:59 AM BST

On Ollie Robinson

He is expected to bowl today. He was forced off during the Hobart Test in 2021-22 with a similar problem, having taken two for 24 off eight overs, including the wickets of David Warner and Steve Smith, the latter for a duck.

He did bowl in the second innings, starting very gingerly at 73mph but he gradually speeded up and got through his work, getting through 11 overs for 23 runs and no wickets as Mark Wood ran riot with six for 37. We’ll settle for that today ...

11:39 AM BST

Will Macpherson reports from Headingley

11:33 AM BST

Early lunch will be taken at 12.30

The groundstaff report that it will take 90 minutes to mop up as soon as it stops raining. It isn’t raining very hard at the moment but it’s still pretty moist, the mizzle.

11:22 AM BST

Will Macpherson reports on Barnetgate

Here’s the TMS ‘anecdote’

And the ‘robust’ response:

11:10 AM BST

Right as rain? Not our Will

11:08 AM BST

Seeing the Test is in Yorkshire ...

And it’s chucking it down, here’s the Great Rainmaker himself, alongside Sir Geoffrey, Sir Michael and our own Nick Hoult on a return trip to Shaw Lane, 60 years on:

11:02 AM BST

No Northern Ashes Tests in 2027

Glad to see Trent Bridge back on the calendar in 2027, alongside Edgbaston, Lord’s, the Oval and a debut for the Ageas Bowl. But no Tests at Headingley or Old Trafford, like in 2015, can’t be right. Very vanilla. Given ‘fortress Edgbaston’ has fallen in 2019 and 2023, should that be sacrosanct. Two London Tests by virtue of tradition and the size of the grounds? The great thing about going to Old Trafford is all the folk from North Wales, Cheshire and the Lakes who go and the same for Headingley with people from Yorkshire, Scotland and the North-East.

10:56 AM BST

JL on his changed perspective

10:54 AM BST

Still raining

Athers on the pain of bunnydom is worth your while as we wait:

10:38 AM BST

Another shower passing through now, sadly

Siling it down over the ground.

10:22 AM BST

Live pictures from Sky

Show a shower passing through but the tail-end still above the ground. Umbrellas are up and the covers are glistening with moisture.

10:17 AM BST

England believe - our two wise men

10:14 AM BST

Read all about it

Explore cricket’s greatest rivalry through archived Telegraph articles in our Ashes custom gift book – the perfect present for all cricket lovers.

10:13 AM BST

Leeds scenes

It’s bright overhead but the covers were still on in Leeds this morning at 10.05am.

10:09 AM BST

Rain due

Brolly weather in the West Riding this morning.

09:57 AM BST

Having a bet on the third Test?

Find the best Ashes free bets to use throughout the five days.

09:55 AM BST

Boycott's Briefing: England have an opportunity, but chasing a small total could be tough

09:50 AM BST

Preview: Rally round the captain

Before we discuss the state of play, it is worth emphasising that the weather forecast for Leeds today is poor. Rain is expected throughout the morning and heavier bursts are due to return in the late afternoon and early evening. There is a decent prospect so far of intermittent play through the afternoon but it is such a shame that it is likely to be bitty given Saturday at Headingley is usually a feast day for cricket fans from the Broad Acres, Durham and Northumberland.

A shame, too, as the Test is set up perfectly for yet another Ashes nipper between two ostensibly well-matched sides ... apart from their catching prowess. Yesterday, in the field, after Mark Wood breathed life into a moribund England response by blasting boundaries before another Stokesian masterclass, a wounded bowling attack rallied round their captain and clawed them back into the game and the series. By dismissing Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labsuchagne and Steve Smith with Australia’s lead still fairly modest, England have opened the door. If their bowlers can eke winkle out Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh cheaply and unleash Wood on the rest, they will contain the lead to gettable proportions, by which I mean beneath 260. They are capable of chasing more – they did it last year multiple times – but their form and the excellence of Pat Cummins should make everyone cautious.

To have any hope of turning promise into achievement and keep the Ashes live when it crosses the Pennines, a batsman is going to have to stand up. Joe Root, we’re looking at you here. Since tweaking the nose of the cricketing gods with that declaration when in imperious nick at Edgbaston, he has been out on the charge, hooking and twice when trying to open the face to balls that climbed on him. There’s the not inconsiderable matter of dropping Marsh on 12 before he went on to make 188, too. It’s a team game, of course. But Root knows better than anyone that if he can deliver, the Test and the series can be saved.