The Ashes best bets for day four and odds: Starc and Lyon spark England collapse

Free cricket tips, best bets and analysis for the Ashes between Australia and England.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 4am Sunday

Scoreboard
Australia 473-9d (Labuschagne 103, Stokes 3-113) & 45-1 lead England 236 (Malan 80, Starc 4-37) by 282 runs

Best prices
2-9 Australia, 50-1 England, 9-2 Draw

Story of day three

Joe Root and Dawid Malan had provided the only resistance with the bat for England in the first Test and it was a similar story in the first innings at Adelaide.

Resuming on 17-2, the third-wicket pair batted through the first session unscathed, scoring at a decent rate to reach 140-2, but Australia stifled them impressively after the interval.

Root was the first to fall, caught at slip off Cameron Green for 62 – the eighth time in 20 Test innings in Australia that he has been dismissed between 50 and 89 – and Malan soon followed his skipper back to the hutch for 80.

That exposed England's soft middle-order to the Aussies quicks and the expert spin of Nathan Lyon and only Ben Stokes, with a hard-fought 34 off 98 balls, and Chris Woakes, who hit five boundaries in a breezy 24, stuck around for long.

Mitchell Starc enhanced his excellent pink-ball record with 4-37 but Steve Smith unexpectedly opted against enforcing the follow-on under the lights.

Australia stretched their lead to 282 by the close of play and England's only breakthrough came when a mix-up between the openers ended in David Warner being run out for 13.

Star of the day

Starc finished as Australia's top wicket-taker in the first innings but Lyon's miserly spell after lunch put the skids on England. The off-spinner conceded eight runs in his first eight overs before dismissing Ollie Pope, Chris Woakes and Ollie Robinson and he could cause havoc in the fourth innings of the match.

Moment of the day

Root's dismissal is always a crucial moment, especially as he and Malan had steadied the ship for England. The tourists lost six wickets for 68 runs after the skipper was out in the second innings at the Gabba and their latest collapse saw them crumble from 150-2 to 236 all out.

View from the camp

'It was an outstanding day. We're pretty happy. England played me pretty well in the first session, but we went back to basics. We were leaking both ends, but as soon as we controlled one end, you create opportunities.'

Nathan Lyon, Australia bowler

Day four preview

Smith's decision to bat again has given his quick bowlers a rest and should make spinner Lyon an even bigger threat in England's second innings and Australia are in total control of the Test.

With two days remaining in the match, they will not need to go hell for leather for quick runs in the first two sessions and it is perfectly set up for them to have a crack at England's batsmen in the twilight on day four.

Marcus Harris, who has scored only two half-centuries in his first 11 Tests, will be desperate to convert his start of 21 into a sizeable contribution and he is 11-8 with Hills to reach 50.

Harris's partner is nightwatchman Michael Neser, who could enjoy himself against England's attacking fields. The Test debutant is a handy batsman, averaging almost 25 in first-class cricket, and he whacked 35 off 24 balls to set up the hosts' first-innings declaration.

Neser scored 55 off 30 in a 50-over game at the Adelaide Oval in October and he should have the licence to go after England's bowlers early on day four. He resumes on two not out and looks a decent price to make at least 26.

Coral are looking ahead to England's second innings and their top-runscorer betting is dominated by Root at 2-1 and Malan at 4-1. Opener Rory Burns, who has made nought, 13 and four in his first three innings of the series and can expect another evening examination by Starc, is 6-1.

Best bet

Michael Neser to score over 25.5 runs
1pt 7-4 bet365

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