England sweating on two Ashes gambles after Australia strike back on day three

It took just 21 minutes and 22 deliveries, crowbarred in between storm clouds on a rain-affected day, for Australia to strike and wrench a lurching Ashes Test back in their direction. And when play was finally abandoned for the day at shortly two and half hours later just after 6pm it was England who were breathing the heaviest sigh of relief.

Joe Root and Ollie Pope return this morning with England on 28-2 and with a second-innings lead of 35. But they might not have been had Australia’s pumped-up bowlers had much more sight of them either in the 21 minutes spell from 3.30pm or in the late evening when play threatened to resume under similar overhead conditions.

As it was those 22 deliveries proved the last of the day but enough to remove Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley as Australia grabbed the chance to bowl under forbidding cloud with the ball nipping. With Pat Cummins and Scott Boland racing in, Root survived two raps on pads and survived an Australian review for a caught behind that had just failed to kiss the edge of his bat.

England had earlier polished off the Australian innings at a cost of 75 runs to leave them seven runs short of their own first innings total and set off in sunshine with Crawley and Duckett reaching 26-0 in just under seven overs. Yet after a 45 minute break for rain and with the sky turning slate grey behind the Hollies Stand, they returned with the new ball dancing to a new tune at 3.30pm.

It took a superb grab low to his left by Cameron Green at gully to send Duckett on his way and a seaming beauty from Boland to remove Crawley. Root survived eight further deliveries – two of which beat his defences and two struck his pad – before the heavens opened.

England had earlier done well in the field to polish off the five remaining Australia wickets stopping the tourists’ reply at 386. It was a bowling performance which saved England’s brains trust red faces given most felt they had left perhaps as many as 40 runs out there on Friday evening with their declaration.

Jimmy Anderson had lit the fuse with a seaming ball to breach Alex Carey’s defences in the fifth over of the morning and Ollie Robinson with three and Stuart Broad with one had exploded the tail. Given the tourists would have hoped to establish a first-innings lead the weakness of their tail – the last three wickets fell in 11 deliveries – will give England hope for the remainder of this game and the series.

Robinson dislodged Usman Khawaja with a peach after Ben Stokes had loaded two forward slip cordons either side and in front of his eyeline with his “umbrella field” – a tactic which England will claim worked for all that Khawaja top-scored with 141.

Nathan Lyon, Scott Boland and Pat Cummins, who had launched a few lusty blows to reach 36, all followed. Moeen Ali had felt the heat, smoked for a six by Khawaja and two by Cummins as he struggled with his sore spinning finger and his fitness to bowl in the final innings will be a huge concern for England.

Like the declaration, his inclusion after nearly two years out of Test cricket was a gamble which England are still sweating on.