Ashes 2013: 5th Test, Day 3 - Heroes of the Day

It was an agonizingly slow performance from the England batsmen as they set out in pursuit of reducing Australia’s lead on the third day of the fifth and final Ashes Test at the Oval.

Resuming on their overnight total of 32/0, England slowly chipped away at the runs, losing four wickets in the process, before finishing at 247/4. Despite batting at snail’s pace, there were good contributions from three of the four top-order batsmen.

Ian Bell and nightwatchman Chris Woakes will resume the innings on the morrow – the former batting on 29 and the latter on 15. If the fourth day turns out to be drier than a bottle of Chablis, we may as well see this game peter out into a draw.

Here are the heroes of the day:

Joe Root (68 runs off 184 balls – 11 fours)

Joe Root of England hits out watched by wicketkeeper Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke of Australia during day three of the 5th Investec Ashes Test match between England and Australia at the Kia Oval on August 23, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

The Yorkshire youngster made his second most substantial score in the series after his brilliant 180 at Lord’s. He added 68 for the first wicket with captain Alastair Cook and another 50 with Jonathan Trott.

Root struck 11 boundaries in his innings – five of them came off Victorian fast bowler Peter Siddle, who struggled a bit with his line. He also tonked left-armer Mitchell Starc for three boundaries and took a couple off James Faulkner as well. He finally fell to off-spinner Nathan Lyon; the ball spun a little too much for his liking, resulting in a top edge off an attempted sweep straight into the hands of Watson at short fine leg.

It was a good innings, but Root consumed too many deliveries and played too cautiously. He would do well to keep the scoreboard ticking with the ones and twos if the boundaries aren’t coming.