3 records that can be broken during Day 5 of the 1st Ashes Test between England and Australia
The stage is set for a riveting final day of the opening Ashes Test between England and Australia at the Edgbaston Stadium in Birmingham on Tuesday (June 20).
After four days of exciting cricket, it all has come down to the wire. Chasing down the target of 281 runs, Australia need 174 more runs to win the game, while the hosts need seven more wickets in order to clinch the contest. With a bit of rain expected, all three results are possible.
In their run-chase of 281, Usman Khawaja and David Warner got Australia off to a flyer. Both left-handers looked solid and added 61 runs for the opening wicket. Just as they were looking to take Australia closer to the target, Ollie Robinson provided the breakthrough for England when he induced an edge off Warner's bat.
Ben Stokes then handed the ball to Stuart Broad and the experienced pacer delivered with aplomb, doing the damage by scalping both Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith inside four overs.
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End of Day 4 at Edgbaston and England holds a slight advantage over Australia.
The stage is set for an exciting final day of the match.🔥🏏
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With Australia at 89/3, Scott Boland came in as a nightwatchman and saw the day out. He is currently batting on 13* alongside Khawaja (34*) with Australia's score currently reading at 107/3.
The all-important Day 5 of the Ashes Test will also offer both teams to break multiple records. On that note, let's take a look at the top three milestones that could be reached during the last day of the opening Ashes Test between England and Australia.
#3 James Anderson could complete 100 wickets in WTC
It has been a quite Test so far for James Anderson. The veteran pacer, who often spearheads the English pace unit with venom, has taken only one wicket in the Test as of yet.
He will look to provide England with crucial wickets on the final day and if the right-armer manages to bag at least two scalps today, he will complete 100 wickets in his World Test Championship (WTC) career.
Since the WTC began in 2019, Anderson has taken 98 wickets at a phenomenal average of just over 20 across 50 innings in the tournament. So far, only four pacers in Pat Cummins (131), Stuart Broad (117), Tim Southee (106) and Kagiso Rabada (104) have taken over 100 wickets across WTC matches.
#2 Usman Khawaja and Travis Head could complete 2,000 runs in WTC
Usman Khawaja and Travis Head have been two of Australia's consistent run-getters for some time now. Although both batters have quite different ways of attacking bowlers and mustering runs, they have both been extremely crucial to their side's success.
It's a no brainer that the two will be crucial for Australia if they are to have any chance of winning the first Ashes Test. Both Head and Khawaja will also have a chance to complete a personal milestone on the final day against England.
Both left-handers could complete their 2,000 runs in WTC. While Head (1,929) requires 71 more runs to get there, Khawaja (1,918) needs 82 more runs to complete the landmark.
Australia will hope both the batters reaches to their respective milestones and power the side to a remarkable Ashes win on Tuesday.
#1 Australia could become the visiting team with the joint-highest successful run-chase at Edgbaston
Chasing in fourth innings of a Test match is quite a tricky task, as the ball starts to do a lot more as compared to the first innings.
With England setting up a target of 281 runs for Australia, the task for the visitors is an arduous one.
However, with seven wickets in hand and requiring 174 runs, the chances of Australia chasing down the target aren't unimaginable.
Will Australia join the ranks of successful chasers at Edgbaston? 🤔
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If the Pat Cummins-led unit manages to hunt down the target on Day 5, they will script history and become the visiting team with the joint-highest successful run-chase in a fourth innings of a Test match at Edgbaston.
Previously, South Africa also chased down a target of 281 runs against England at Edgbaston in 2008.