ASHES THIRD TEST PLAYER RATINGS: Mark Wood sizzles with bat and ball as England keep the Ashes alive

England kept the Ashes alive on Sunday as they beat Australia by three wickets at Headingley.

It was something of a nervy finish after Harry Brook was dismissed for an excellent 75 with 21 still needed, but Chris Woakes and Mark Wood held their nerve to get the hosts over the line.

Wood enjoyed a fabulous return to the side, taking seven wickets in the match and making important contributions with the bat in each innings.

David Warner‘s struggles against Stuart Broad continued as the seamer dismissed him cheaply in each innings.

Below, Mail Sport‘s Lawrence Booth examines how each player performed at Headingley.

Mark Wood took seven wickets on his return to the Test side as England beat Australia

Chris Woakes helped keep the Ashes alive with an unbeaten 32 in the second innings

Harry Brook led the chase brilliantly as he made 75, but struggled in the first innings 

England

Crawley 6 Twice looked the part as he did the hard work, twice played an ambitious drive against Marsh. Scores of 33 and 44 seemed to sum up his career. At least he held his catches in the slips.

Duckett 4 Back down to earth after scores of 98 and 83 at Lord’s. Undone by one of his off-stump fiddles in the first innings, then wasted a review without consulting Crawley about his lbw in the second.

Brook 8 Looked all at sea on his promotion to No 3, but a different beast back at No 5 in the second, when his 75 proved the crucial innings in England’s chase.

Root 4 Can’t escape the clutches of Cummins, who has now removed him 11 times – and three in a row in this series. His unusually fallible slip catching nearly cost England the game.

Bairstow 4 It all seemed set up after Lord’s for Bairstow to channel his indignation into something match-winning at his home ground. It wasn’t to be: two failures with the bat, and another shaky performance behind the stumps.

Stokes 7.5 Kept England in the hunt with five sixes after lunch on the second day, but was then strangled down leg after lunch on the fourth. Couldn’t bowl because of his ailing body. Might have changed tactics more quickly against Head.

Ali 6 A mixed bag. His first-innings dismissal, top-edging Cummins for the second ball in a row, had Bazball critics tearing their hair out, and his promotion second time round to No 3 didn’t work. But his removal of Labuschagne and Smith was a pivotal moment.

Zak Crawley looked fluent in both innings’ without passing 50 and appeared frustrated at his second innings dismissal

Ben Stokes made a vital 80 in the first inning but fell cheaply during England’s final day chase

Follow MailSport on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@mailsport

Woakes 8.5 What an under-rated cricketer. Took six wickets – all in Australia’s top seven – in his first Test for 16 months, then shepherded England over the line on the nerve-jangling fourth afternoon. Has to play in Manchester.

Wood 9 His performance on the first day, when he touched 96.5mph, was one of the highlights of the series, earning him a first Test five-for at home. Kickstarted England’s first-innings recovery with 24 off eight balls, and finished off the chase with 16 not out off eight.

Robinson 5 Went wicketless before he left the field with a back spasm, possibly a hangover from his nine-over spell of bouncers at Lord’s. Hard to see how he plays at Old Trafford.

Broad 8 All over Warner, and also bagged Smith on the first day. Used all his nous to wrap up Australia’s second innings on the third evening as Head was cutting loose. Now has 16 wickets – more than anyone on either side.

Australia

Khawaja 6 Undone by a 94.6mph thunderbolt from Wood in the first innings, he was out-thought by Woakes in the second. Even so, he has now faced 908 balls in the series, and remains Australia’s glue.

Warner 2 Broad’s bunny didn’t make it beyond the third over of either innings, and may now be fearing for his place. Avoids a score of one because he held two slip catches to dismiss Crawley and Root.

David Warner made just five runs across the Test and has now been dismissed 17 times by Stuart Broad

Mitchell Marsh scored a thrilling run-a-ball hundred in his first Test for four years

Travis Head dealt superbly with England’s bodyline tactics in the second innings and made 77

Labuschagne 5.5 Try as he might, he just can’t get into the series: that’s no fifty in six innings, but four scores between 21 and 47. His slog-sweep off Ali on the third afternoon opened the door for England.

Smith 3 The run-glut promised by his Lord’s hundred did not materialise. Smith was lucky to make 22 in the first innings, and played a terrible shot against Ali in the second, when he was upset by Bairstow’s vicious ‘See ya, Smudge.’ Brilliant in the field.

Head 8 Not at his fluent best on the first day, but still made 39. He then dealt superbly with England’s Bodyline tactics in the second innings, almost matching Stokes for big-hitting, and giving Australia a chance.

Marsh 8.5 After being dropped on 12 by Root, he turned Australia’s first innings on its head with a run-a-ball century in his first Test for four years. Removed Crawley twice, and also made a useful 28.

Carey 3 Couldn’t reach double figures after being ruffled by Wood in the first innings. His keeping remained immaculate.

Starc 8 Bowled heroically on the last day to reach 50 wickets in Tests in England, but lacked support. When he batted, he was unsettled twice by Wood’s pace.

Mitchell Starc took five wickets in the second innings but could not get Australia over the line

Todd Murphy was given just 9.3 overs to bowl across the Test but did dismiss Ben Stokes

Cummins 7 Purred in during England’s first innings for a high-class six-for, but couldn’t stem the runs during the chase, and ended up conceding 5.09 an over in all – easily the most expensive Test of his career.

Murphy 5 Hard to judge the young off-spinner: Cummins gave him only 9.3 overs all match, including just two on the final day, when Australia badly missed Nathan Lyon. Picked up the wicket of Stokes, but only after he’d carted him for five sixes.

Boland 3 Match figures of none for 84 take his series tally to two wickets at 115, with a run-rate of 5.91. He was supposed to be Australia’s metronome, but he may just have played his last Test of the series.

Follow MailSport on Threads here: https://www.threads.net/@mailsport