England openers dismissed as heavy rain brings end to Day 3 of first Ashes Test

England’s opening batsmen struggled in the second innings as Cameron Green’s sublime catch removed Ben Duckett for 19 before Zak Crawley was dismissed three balls later.

But gloomy conditions at Edgbaston caused delays to the action – with less than 33 overs possible – and a pitch inspection just after 6pm eventually bringing day three of the first Test to a close.

England batted first and registered a score of 393-8 in their first innings – declaring in 78 overs with Joe Root 118 not out – while Australia were 386 all out in 116.1 overs as Brendon McCullum’s side led by seven runs.

With England 28-2 in the second innings, they now lead Australia by 35 runs heading into day four of the first Test.

England bowler Ollie Robinson, quizzed about his team’s start to the second innings, told the BBC: ‘It was sort of the first time the pitch came out a little bit in three days.

‘The lights and overhead gave it a bit of nip and carry. If we carried on batting, it might have been a slightly different approach, but still positive. I think [if we score] anything over 300, we are right in the game.’

Asked about his yorker to dismiss Usman Khawaja in the first innings, Robinson added: ‘[I was] trying to get him to play shots he’s not comfortable with.

‘Before the ball, [Ben Stokes] said go back to Rawalpindi and Pakistan and the umbrella field.

‘I’ve been practising a bit of T20 recently, went to the yorker and it came off. You have to be ready for all formats and it was great that it came off in Test cricket.’

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