England vs Australia: Day four of the first Ashes Test in a nutshell
Watch day five of the first Test from 10am on Sunday
Monday 5 August 2019 11:48, UK
Ali's Paine-ful day, Stokes treads a fine line and sensational Smith. Day four at Edgbaston defied expectations...
The Report
England have got a battle on their hands to save the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, having been set 398 to win after a second Steve Smith century in the match on day four - writes Dave Currie at Edgbaston.
The Ashes - Live
Smith followed up his first-innings 144 with 142 to become just the fifth Australian to score centuries in each innings of an Ashes Test.
Smith's superb century, as well as a maiden Ashes ton - and first for over six years - for Matthew Wade (110) helped Australia up to a massive 487-7 declared, leaving England with a tricky seven-over spell to see off before stumps. Jason Roy (6no) and Rory Burns (7no) did just that, seeing England through to the close at 13-0.
Moment of the Day
Moeen Ali produced the perfect off-break to bowl Aussie captain Tim Paine through the gate - but it was a delivery of mixed blessings for England, offering an indication of just how tough Nathan Lyon might be to play in the last innings of the match. Ali's celebration was suitably muted given England's position and perhaps given his own underwhelming performance.
A decent spell with the ball might have done wonders for Ali's poor form with the bat but the spinner's action lacked zip for much of the day. "It's as though he is just putting it there," observed Nasser on commentary. That was practically a blessing after Ali began the day with a moon ball that Smith tried to dismiss with an overhead smash. It got better but not to the extent England would have hoped for, a second full bunger over Pattinson's head causing even Stokes to flinch at slip.
Stat of the Day
Talking Point
When David Gower pops up with a book of the Laws of the Game you know something's up. In this case it was the wicket of Travis Head that caught his eye, the Australian given out caught behind despite suspicions it might have been a back-foot Stokes no-ball.
Australian eyes might have seen Stokes infringing - the law stating that a bowler's back foot must not have any part grounded on or beyond the return crease at the point that it lands. But technology helped clear Stokes - a split-screen showing definitively that the first point of impact his first made was just inside the line and therefore the delivery was legitimate and Head had to go.
One thing's for sure - it's impossible for the standing umpire to give that.
Tweets of the Day
What they said
Steve Smith: "Yesterday I was quite fortunate to get off to quite a quick start to my innings and I was able to get some momentum and the ball probably got a bit soft towards the end of yesterday.
"This morning it was about grinding it out, getting myself in again and once you do that things always get easier. I had a couple of really good partnerships with Travis Head and Matthew Wade."
Mike Atherton: "England have a very difficult decision to make about Moeen Ali. He looks very low on confidence with the bat at the moment and Smith's record against off-spin is exceptional while his record against left-arm spin is less good. Whether you fashion your attack around getting just one man out, who knows?"
Watch day five of the first Ashes Test between England and Australia live on Sky Sports The Ashes and Main Event from 10am.
You can also follow over-by-over commentary and in-play clips on our rolling blog on skysports.com and the Sky Sports app.
