Australia collapse gives England faint hope - reaction

England have got to be full, they've got to have learnt from their mistakes. Pitch the ball up, get it swinging and nipping around.

The two big guns have gone and if you get two or three early on tomorrow you could be into them.

This it for me tomorrow. England have to bowl Australia out for 120 and get themselves back into the series.

If England were to bowl them out cheaply they would have a chance to bat tomorrow afternoon and get quite a few hours in before the night time.

Chris Woakes also looked like a better bowler under lights and he had the prize wickets of David Warner and Steve Smith to show for his efforts.

So, what's the plan for day four?

"We need to come out in the morning and do exactly what we have tonight," said Woakes. "If it doesn't move around we need to stay patient.

"Wickets are key for us."

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Chris Woakes and Craig Overton showed their top order how to bat with their innings as the pair put on 66 to give some respectability to England's innings.

"It was fantastic [from Craig Overton]," said Woakes.

"He showed great character. When you first come out into an Ashes Test match on debut you expect to get a few verbals and a few around your earholes and he certainly did.

"But he played fantastically well and it was great to bat with him at the other end."

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One of the plus points from England's batting performance was the contribution of debutant Craig Overton.

He was brought in as a bowler who could provide a few runs and he certainly showed he knows what to do with the bat.

As expected, Australia reverted to chin music to try to mop up the tail but Overton stood firm and top scored for England with 41 not out. Well done.

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There was just the thought about what might happen under the lights with the pink ball and sure enough James Anderson and Stuart Broad looked like different bowlers compared to the first innings.

Mitchell Starc, speaking to BT Sport: "It is not ideal to be four down but we are 260 ahead and England have only faced 10 overs in the lights. We have got two night sessions ahead."

Asked on the decision not to enforced the follow-on: "There was no debate. It was up to the skipper. There was no conversation with the bowlers. There were pros and cons on both sides. The bowlers get a rest but it was tough work and England bowled pretty well."

Asked if he felt the bowlers would have been able to bowl again, Starc said: "Probably but it is up to [Steve] Smithy. He is captain and leads that way. The rest might let us come back and bowl quicker and put England under the pump big time."

SMS Message: Much better from England, seemingly waking up after a game and a half. The problem of course is that Australia may well have enough runs on the board already. from Richard in Sheffield

Much better from England, seemingly waking up after a game and a half. The problem of course is that Australia may well have enough runs on the board already.

Dubsguy: No idea why everyone's celebrating? England are not capable of chasing 300, this test is still as good as over and with it, any chance of retaining The Ashes.

As soon as this ball moves around, England look like they'll be very competitive against Australia. The ball swung for the first time in the series tonight.

Going back to the first Test, there were some concerns over the fitness of James Anderson but he bowled an 11 overs of England's 26 in that final session. That should ease any worries.

"I'm not shy of bowling a long spell. When the weather is like this it's pretty easy to do. It's cold and windy so it doesn't take much out of you in that respect," said Anderson.

"I got into a good rhythm and just wanted to keep going."

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A absolute corker of a day Down Under today. Here's a brief look back..

• James Vince was out in the second over of the day before Joe Root and Alastair Cook soon followed playing loose shots
• Dawid Malan (19) fell to Pat Cummins to leave England 102-5 in their 38th over
• Moeen Ali (25) and Jonny Bairstow (21) were brilliantly caught and bowled by Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Starc respectively
• Chris Woakes (36) and Criag Overton (41 not out) showed some resistance as they put on 66
• England were all out for 227 - 215 behind - but Australia chose not to enforce the follow-on
• The tourists fought back as Australia lost Cameron Bancroft, David Warner, Usman Khwaja and Steve Smith on the way to 53-4 at the close

Chris Woakes on Australia's decision not to enforce the follow-on: "It might have been a tricky situation for them going into the evening session. But also the fact they have only got four bowlers played a part. They will have wanted them to rest up and come back for the fourth innings.

"It is still a good pitch. At night it gets tricky under lights but if you get through the tough periods anything is chaseable."

Nige Savage: The last hour of today's play is exactly why test cricket is the greatest sport on earth. Phew!

The Blight Ducks CC: A Dubai teaching days starts just before play and finishes just after the last over. It’s safe to say there was minimum British teacher input in that evening session. I did hear the Head of History celebrating as Smith was given!

England have given themselves a sniff. They have hauled themselves back into this Test match. They will have gone into the dressing room more pumped up and happier with life.

They could have bowled Australia out in that session. They were going past the bat once an over. England will have taken heart from that even if gives them more steel with the bat.

England duo James Anderson and Chris Woakes took two wickets apiece as they made the most of the night-time conditions at the Adelaide Oval.

It was the first time the tourists' attack showed some serious intent and caused the hosts plenty of problems.

The big question is: why couldn't they do that in the previous day? But now, can they repeat their exploits tomorrow?

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Anyway, back to the Ashes.

Aussie captain Steve Smith chose not to enforce the follow-on today, even though England would've been batting under lights in the night session at the Adelaide Oval.

He might be regretting that decision after his top order had to deal with a ball that was "hooping" all over the place as Michael Vaughan put it.

Cameron Bancroft (4) was the first Aussie batsman to go after he edged a James Anderson delivery to Jonny Bairstow.

Usman Khwaja (20), David Warner (14) and Steve Smith (6) all went as the Aussies were reduced to 53-4 by the close.

That's still 268 in front but could it be a turning point?

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Australia's nightwatchman Nathan Lyon was doing all he could to stall play late on and get to the 11:00 BST close by facing as few deliveries as possible.

If he was a footballer, the FA might be taking retrospective action for simulation but his ploy worked to the frustration of England.

The tourists appeared to have a few choice words with Lyon and Peter Handscomb on the way off the pitch before umpire Aleem Dar stepped in to try to calm things down.

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