The Ashes 2013: Breaking Down Top Performers in England vs. Australia Series

With The Ashes series between England and Australia essentially halfway over, there has been much discussion about how the tests have played out thus far.

England escaped with a win in the first test, and dominated the second, but Australia took a commanding lead in the third, and look set to get back in the thick of things.

Several players have contributed on both sides, but there have been a few standouts who have shone brighter than the rest. It will be interesting to see if those stars are able to use the momentum to continue playing well.

Here is a breakdown of the three players who have made the biggest impact in The Ashes so far, and may very well do so for the remainder of the series.

James Anderson

If not for the bowling of James Anderson, it is entirely possible that England would be on the verge of going down 2-1 in this series. Anderson was fantastic in the first test, as clutch as they come. England won by a mere 14 runs in a highly-competitive test with Anderson closing it out with his 10th wicket of the match, according to BBC Radio 5 Live.

For his efforts, Anderson was named man of the match at Trent Bridge in Nottingham. It was impossible to ignore what Anderson achieved in the first test—he certainly delivered.

Joe Root

One of the rising stars of English cricket, there was plenty of pressure on Joe Root to play well in The Ashes. Root was somewhat tentative in the first test, but he absolutely asserted himself in the second, and was the driving force behind England's win.

According to BBC Test Match Special, Root became the youngest English cricketer to make 100 runs in a test at Lord's Cricket Ground in London.

The 22-year-old finished with 180 runs and was named man of the match. Veteran players are generally the ones who come up big in important situations such as this one, but Root proved in the second test that he is a guy England will be able to count on under pressure moving forward.

Michael Clarke

Entering the third test, Australia supporters knew that they needed someone to come through with an major effort to keep the series alive. That is precisely what happened on Friday when Australian captain Michael Clarke was unstoppable during the second day.

According to ESPN Cricket Info, Clarke racked up the first 100-run performance by an Aussie in the past six test matches.

Clarke didn't just stop at a century and scored an impressive 187 runs. Although the third test runs through Aug. 5, Australia seemingly have an insurmountable lead thanks to Clarke's clutch performance.

Clarke had struggled a bit heading into the match as English bowlers were having success getting his wicket, but he bounced back in a big way in the third test.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter