By Chris Barrett
CARDIFF: Australia are staring at the prospect of starting the second leg of the Ashes series at Lord's next Thursday not only 1-0 behind but without their most dangerous bowler after Mitchell Starc continued to wince and hobble despite having painkilling injections on an ankle injury.
After a third day of the first Test dominated by England, Michael Clarke's team have been set a victory target of 412, with the buoyant hosts reaching 289 in their second innings thanks to some late hit-and-giggle from tail-ender Mark Wood that lifted a jubilant crowd to full voice.
Australia had arrived at the Swalec Stadium on Friday with high hopes. However, from the moment Shane Watson was trapped lbw in the second over, their day - and with it their chances of salvaging something out of this match - spun off course. Despite a brief fightback inside the last hour they have a mountain to climb as challenging as the steepest terrain up in Snowdonia. A successful pursuit would be an Ashes record, the highest ever successful fourth-innings chase in England and the third highest of all time.
"Records are made to be broken," said spinner Nathan Lyon. "We're remaining positive. We've got a world-class batting line-up and we bat right down to 11 so there is no reason why we can't get these runs if we apply ourselves properly within our top order and make some big partnerships,"
England's Ben Stokes plays a sweep shot during day three of the first Ashes Test cricket match, in Cardiff, Wales.Credit: AP
If the task set for them on an increasingly difficult wicket to bat on sounds imposing, to make matters worse they also appear to have a major issue confronting them with Starc's condition.
The 1.97m left-armer battled bravely through discomfort in sending down 16 overs in four spells on Friday, and took his tally to seven wickets for the match when he removed England captain Alastair Cook (12) and all-rounder Ben Stokes. Starc (2-60) bowled at pace, too, ticking over the 150kmh mark in the afternoon in a gutsy display essentially on one leg. However, the way in which he often pulled up from his follow-through, sometimes almost bouncing in an effort to shake off the pain, was not a good sign.
The 25-year-old has previously played with bone spurs in his right ankle before having surgery in the lead-up to the last Ashes tour here two years ago, and it's thought this could be a similar injury.
The short turnaround between the first and second Tests means Starc will be up against it to back up at Lord's, which would be a serious blow to the Australians given how troubling he has been for England's batsmen when he has got it right here.
Gutsy effort ... Mitchell Starc celebrates after bowling Ben Stokes. The 25-year-old Baulkham Hills native was regularly hitting speeds over 150km/h despite operating with an injured ankle. Credit: Getty Images
"Starcy's performance carrying an injury is fantastic. To have the courage to come out there and still bowl consistently 140kmh, the credit goes to Mitch," Lyon said. "Lucky enough the bowlers dug deep today to give him a couple of extra days' rest before the second Test. Starcy is a world-class bowler and surely he'll keep going."
If Starc doesn't get up for Lord's Australia do have Peter Siddle in reserve but after the sudden retirement of Ryan Harris last weekend they may need to draft in another back-up bowler, with Pat Cummins having only just arrived and probably needing a tour match under his belt given he's not played a first-class game in two years.
Stuart Broad is caught by Australia's Josh Hazelwood (not pictured) off the bowling of Nathan Lyon.Credit: Reuters
An Australian spending the winter in county cricket - such as 2013 Ashes tourist Jackson Bird, who is at Hampshire - could well be called upon as cover.
If the outlook wasn't bright on that front it was similarly grim on the scoreboard in Cardiff. Via statistically similar innings from Ian Bell and Joe Root - both scored 60 from 89 balls - and later Stokes (42), England rattled along at four runs an over for much of the afternoon.
Australia captain Michael Clarke dazzled in the field on day three of the first Ashes Test in Cardiff against England, taking a superb slips catch to remove Adam Lyth, but he and he teammates will need to be similarly impressive with the bat if they are to achieve the target of 412 across the final two days of the match.Credit: AP
There were brief causes for optimism: Clarke took a magnificent, one-handed catch to see off Adam Lyth, Mitchell Johnson (2-62) finally jagged a couple of wickets when he bowled Bell and had Moeen Ali caught behind, and Josh Hazlewood (2-49) was typically on target to knock over Root after tea.
Lyon (4-75), too, could also hold his head high after picking up a string of second-innings scalps, including those of opener Lyth (37) and later Jos Buttler (7), who erred in trying to reverse sweep the off-spinner. In the process Lyon quietly moved past 150 Test wickets.
Tail wagging ... Mark Wood lashes the ball to the boundary, helping England reach an overall lead of 411.Credit: Getty Images
If Australia had re-gathered just a smidgen of momentum, though, it was blown away in the final 30 minutes by Wood (32 not out from 18 balls), who made hay as the sun went down to career England's lead beyond 400.
England are in the box seat to take a series lead to Lord's but are not getting carried away just yet.
"In Ashes cricket anything is possible and I'm sure they will back themselves to get close, if not knock it off," Bell said. "We know we've got a lot of hard work to do tomorrow. We've got to rest up and come out and bowl like we did this morning."