The Ashes 2013: 2nd Test at Lord's - Five players to watch out for on Day 4

Joe Root of England celebrates his century during day three of the 2nd Ashes Test against Australia at Lord’s Cricket Ground on July 20, 2013 in London, England. (Getty Images)

It was a disappointing day three for Australia at Lord’s as they allowed England to slip away from 31/3 to 333/5 as Joe Root exhibited great reserves of energy batting out the entire day. England lead by 566 runs in the match with two days to go and it is difficult to see how the Australian team, which has failed to cross the 250 run-mark in a single innings in the tournament so far, will put up a brave face in front of a mammoth 600+ run target.

England are expected to come out and bat for another 90 minutes allowing Root to complete his double-ton and sending the signal that they can bundle out their opponents in much less than six sessions of play.

Australia had a chance to pull the game back at the start of day three with Tim Bresnan, who came on as a night-watchman at the close of day two, batting alongside Root. They could have infused a bit of panic in the English ranks with a couple of quick wickets but it was not to be.

The shoulders dropped after the pair survived the first hour of play and it was England all the way from thereon. Credit must be given to the way Root played as he did not try to do anything extraordinary and played the ball to merit. Root also proved that he has the potential to play at the top of the order for England.

Ian Bell continued his good run of form and would have notched up another hundred if he did not get carried away at the prospect of a long hop delivered by Steven Smith.

Day four will be all about how Australia approach the mammoth target England will set for them. They can choose to block out everything, which will be a regressive attitude whereas they can try to apply themselves in a constructive manner.

In either case, the future looks bleak for them. Here is a list of five players who will be key to the action on day four: