The Ashes 2023: England set up chance to level series with Australia

England gave themselves a golden opportunity to level the Ashes series on day three of the fifth Test before Stuart Broad announced his retirement.

The home side piled up 389-9, a lead of 377 over Australia at The Oval, with Broad unbeaten on two when he spoke at the end of the day to confirm this will be his final game of cricket.

Almost all of the top order made contributions. Zak Crawley set the tone by driving Mitchell Starc's first ball of the day for four, laying the platform for an opening stand of 79 with Ben Duckett.

Crawley made 73 and Duckett 42, the same score as captain Ben Stokes, who was promoted to number three in place of the injured Moeen Ali.

When England endured a slight wobble in losing two wickets for nine runs, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow combined for a fifth-wicket stand of 110. Root fell nine runs short of a deserved century, while Bairstow was out for 78.

Moeen, batting at number seven, added a cameo of 29, but was part of a flurry of England wickets late in the day. Starc picked up 4-94 and off-spinner Todd Murphy 3-110 as England lost 4-19.

By that stage, England had already got to the stage where Australia would need to complete the highest-ever successful chase in a Test on this ground.

There is rain forecast for Sunday, though not enough bad weather to emulate the wet end to the drawn fourth Test at Old Trafford or ruin what will be an emotional farewell to Broad, England's second highest wicket-taker of all time.

England are looking to draw the series 2-2, while Australia are looking for the 3-1 win that would give them a first success in this country for 22 years.

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England dish out one last Bazballing

This match was beautifully poised after two days, both first innings complete with Australia only 12 runs ahead, leaving England's batting effort on Saturday to shape the contest.

What followed was one last show of England's swashbuckling style, a final Bazballing handed to the Australians to send them on the plane with their heads spinning. It was never reckless or careless, but a supreme demonstration of controlled aggression, positive intent and crisp shotmaking.

England wiped out the deficit inside the first over and never looked back - never before has an Australian bowler leaked more than the 13 runs conceded by Starc in the opening over of an Ashes innings. Australia instantly retreated and were powerless to stop England building their lead on a true pitch.

In contrast to Australia's crawl on day two, when they scored only 54 runs in the morning session, England had as many inside 10 overs. When Root reverse-scooped Mitchell Marsh for six, it was England's 41st maximum of the series, an Ashes record. Only once before in Ashes Tests have England reached 300 quicker than the 57.4 overs here and that was at Old Trafford last week.

The late collapse took some of the shine off England's day and left them short of where they might have been.

When last man James Anderson made his way to the crease, Australia dawdled long enough to ensure they would not have to bat on Saturday evening, meaning his batting partner Broad will emerge to a hero's welcome on Sunday morning.

Crawley and Duckett set tone

For the first time in more than a decade, Crawley and Duckett have removed questions over England's opening partnership. Both men end this series with their reputations enhanced.

Any suggestion that England might find themselves under early pressure was removed by Crawley, who repeated his sensational boundary from the first ball on the opening day of the series.

With Duckett busy and Crawley elegant, the England openers set the tone for the rest to follow. Australia's bowlers lost their discipline; fielders were scattered to all parts of The Oval.

They were only parted when Duckett edged a drive at Starc and was given out on review. Stokes, though, emerged to a stirring reception and picked up the baton.

Crawley and Stokes added 61 for the second wicket before Crawley's drive at Cummins resulted in an edge to second slip.

Stokes was angry with himself when he dragged Murphy to mid-on, ending a stand of 73 with Root, and, in the next over, Harry Brook edged a beauty from Josh Hazlewood.

Root and Bairstow push on

In scoring 412 runs, Root has enjoyed his most successful Ashes series with the bat since before his spell as captain.

He batted with all his trademark class, poise and urgency. He looked destined for a hundred before Murphy got one to keep low, the second time in as many matches Root has been undone by variable bounce and he left visibly frustrated.

Bairstow was a reassuring presence when England needed it, doing the bulk of the scoring in his partnership with Root. He crunched the ball through the off side with meaty cuts and drives.

After being left on 99 not out at Old Trafford, he had a first Test ton for more than a year in his sights, only to edge behind off Starc.

Moeen, struggling with a groin injury, was given a rousing ovation in what is likely to be his last Test. On 10, he top-edged a hook off Starc that a diving Hazlewood got nowhere near at fine leg, a moment that summed up Australia's day.

With the lower-order swiping, Moeen, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood all holed out, leaving Anderson fending off Starc bouncers in the company of Broad, the veteran bowlers batting in tandem in what will be their last Test together.

When Anderson reverse-swept Murphy in the final over and followed up with a slog for back-to-back boundaries, it drew the loudest cheer of the day, almost matched when he successfully overturned being given out lbw.