England have bounced back brilliantly after the massive defeat in the second Ashes Test by 405 runs. Now they have gone on to beat Australia by eight wickets in the third Ashes Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham to go up 2-1 in the series.
Steven Finn was adjudged the man of the match for his impressive bowling performances throughout the match. Finn picked up six wickets in the second innings that left the Aussies reeling.
There were many positives that England can take from this match. The change in the line-up and the batting order worked really well for the skipper Alastair Cook and coach Trevor Bayliss. They had dropped Gary Ballance and brought in Jonny Bairstow. This move pushed Ian Bell at number three position and he did produce runs that he desperately needed.
Bell scored 118 runs in this match and he remained unbeaten in the second innings alongside Joe Root. Root and Bell made sure that their side go over the line and built a wonderful partnership after Cook and Adam Lyth were dismissed early.
Australia will have to work a lot more on their batting that looked shockingly fragile in front of James Anderson and Steven Finn. Anderson rattled the Aussie batsmen in the first innings and Finn did the same in the second innings. This gave England the impetus to take control of the third Test match and go up 2-1 up in the series.
Anderson suffered a side strain on Thursday and he was forced to leave the field without completing his over. Root later completed that over. Earlier on Friday, ECB confirmed that he will miss the fourth Test match that will be played at Trent Bridge from Thursday.
Anderson has an incredible record at Trent Bridge and he simply loves to bowl at that particular ground. He has picked up 53 wickets in eight matches at an astounding average of 19.42. Australia would feel relieved that they would not have to deal with the venomous swing of Anderson in the fourth Test match. Chris Woakes or Mark Wood would replace England's highest wicket-taker for the next Test match.
Australia would want to forget this defeat as early as possible and get back to business as soon as possible. Their batsmen will have to produce way more than what they have done in this Test match. Michael Clarke, the captain, needs to get back to scoring ways and take the onus to guide his side to bounce back in this series. The conditions will be the key and Aussie bowlers will have to make the most out of it.
