England vs. Australia, 5th Test, Day 3: Visitors on the Verge of Convincing Win

After three days of the fifth Test at The Oval between England and Australia, the away side are in the ascendancy having asked the hosts to follow on.

England find themselves 203-6 at the close, still behind by 129 runs and with four wickets left to try and stave off what is almost certainly going to be a crushing defeat.

For the Australians, it looks set to be a good consolation victory, even with The Ashes urn already prised from their grasp.

However, any celebrations will have to wait until the fourth day, after England just about managed to hold out and prevent themselves being bowled out twice.

With that in mind, let’s examine some takeaways from the third day.

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Is Adam Lyth’s Test career over?

In his final Ashes 2015 innings, Adam Lyth would have been desperate to put on a big score and secure his position atop the order for future series.

He has endured a desperately poor run and so would have wanted to remind England’s fans and selectors about his obvious abilities.

However, Lyth could not make it happen and was removed for 10, caught by Michael Clarke off Peter Siddle and forced to depart.

His disappointment was obvious, and he may well feel that his chance in Test cricket has gone, at least for now.

As if to make things worse, Alex Hales gave a timely reminder of his talents with 189 for Nottinghamshire against Warwickshire in the County Championship.

It may be the death knell for Lyth’s international career.

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Alastair Cook misses out on a home Ashes century

Alastair Cook has never scored a century against Australia at home, and for a time, he looked on course with a battling effort to try and save the game.

Even as wickets fell at the other end, he continued to dig in and provided glue to the home side’s efforts and led from the front.

However, he would be denied with his score on 85, as he fell to the part-time leg spin of Steven Smith, who had him caught by Adam Voges at short leg.

It was a disappointing end for England’s captain, who may face the prospect of never scoring an Ashes century at home.

Some support but not enough from England batsmen

In support of Cook, there was precious little on offer once Lyth had been removed.

Ian Bell applied himself well over the course of his 40 balls but struggled against Mitchell Marsh and was removed for 13, having done a decent job of crease occupation.

Joe Root did OK, but a Mitchell Johnson bouncer exposed and dismissed him for 11, while Ben Stokes swiped at a wide one from Nathan Lyon and was caught at slip.

Jonny Bairstow was impressive, as he reached 26 from 48 but then succumbed to Lyon, with the opportunity surely begging for him to push on to a big score even in defeat.

In fact, the most impressive resistance came from Jos Buttler, who heads into Day 4 on 33 not out from 80 balls, a very strong effort indeed.

It is something of a surprise given his usual, aggressive style, but if more batsmen had played like Buttler, things might have been different for England.