Nathan picks off 3 key wickets to set Australia on course for Ashes series win

Nathan Lyon severely dented England’s desperate Ashes survival bid with three quick blows: vice-captain Harry Brook, bowled; captain Ben Stokes, bowled; leading scorer Zak Crawley, stumped.

Just as England was starting to gain confidence Saturday, chasing what needed to be a world-record 435 to keep the Ashes series alive, Lyon returned to the Australian attack.

Crawley (85) and Brook (30) had combined in a 68-run stand to revive England’s innings from 109-3 to 177-3 after Australia skipper Pat Cummins took out the top order.

Then Lyon, who moved to number 2 on Australia’s all-time list of wicket-takers in the first innings, started a new spell in the evening session.

On his second ball, Lyon dismissed a cavalier Brook, who reached too far and completely missed an extravagant reverse sweep. The 38-year-old spinner quickly took three wickets for eight runs in a sequence that ripped through the middle order and suddenly England was 194-6.

Stokes, England’s totemic leader, was out trying to defend against Lyon but missed a turning ball that rattled his off stump. Crawley, batting patiently in pursuit of a sixth test century, was deceived by a drifting Lyon delivery and stumped by Alex Carey.

At stumps on Day 4, England was 207-6 and needing 228 runs for an improbable victory in the third test. Australia, which hasn’t lost an Ashes test at home since 2010-11, needed four wickets to clinch the five-match series with two tests to spare.

Crawley said England had been outplayed by Australia.

“Obviously, we’ve been slightly short of our best but credit has to go to them, they haven’t allowed us to be at our best,” Crawley said. “It’s disappointing, we came here to win the Ashes and we’re staring down the barrel now.” State of the series after losing the first two tests in Perth and Brisbane, England needs a win in Adelaide to have any hope of reclaiming the Ashes. Australia needs only a draw to retain the old urn.

“We’ll reflect on today and make plans for tomorrow,” Australia wicketkeeper Carey said in a post-match TV interview, trying to play down his team’s strong position.

Of Lyon’s impact, Carey added: “He toiled away all day, finally got some reward.” Cummins rattled the top order in three spells, dismissing Ben Duckett (4) and Ollie Pope (17), both caught by Marnus Labuschagne, on either side of the lunch interval. Then he had Joe Root, the No. 1-ranked batter in test cricket, caught behind for 39.

It was the 13th time Cummins has dismissed the former England captain in test cricket. And it was an all-too familiar setup — Cummins repeatedly putting the ball on a perfect length before getting Root to dabble at a ball that shaped in and seamed away.

Even his Australian teammates, late in the afternoon, were mildly taunting Lyon, who said in a TV interview earlier this month he was “filthy” at being dropped for the second test in Brisbane. Chirps of “C’mon Big Fil. C’mon Filthy” echoed around the stumps as fielders encouraged the veteran spin bowler.

Lyon hadn’t taken a wicket in 27 overs and had figures of 0-50 from 10.1 overs in the second innings on Saturday before he dramatically swung the momentum.

For much of Day 4, England was playing the better cricket.

Australia resumed at 271-4 in its second innings, a lead of 356, with Head unbeaten on 142 and Carey on 52.

Head’s dismissal for 170 triggered a lower-order collapse, with the last six wickets falling for 38 in 11 overs. The Australians were all out for 349, a lead of 434.

Head’s 162-run stand with Carey ended when he pulled a short ball from Josh Tongue (4-70) high and deep into the outfield.

Stokes then had Carey out for 72, tucking a short ball around the corner and caught at leg slip in a smart piece of field positioning.

Brydon Carse (3-80) dismissed Cummins (6) and Lyon on consecutive balls but Scott Boland left a wide ball to deny England its first Ashes hat-trick since 1999.

The highest successful fourth-innings run chase in test history was West Indies’ 418 in a three-wicket win over Australia in 2003.

England has successfully chased 370-plus targets twice to win against India in the last three years.