The Ashes, 5th Test: As it happened, England vs Australia - Bell, Woakes see England home to 247/4 at stumps on Day 3

The tourists are hoping to build on commanding knocks from Shane Watson and Steve Smith and further punish England in an inconsequential fifth and final Ashes Test. Catch all the highlights here: (Scorecard | Commentary)

 

23:25 (IST): And that is it for the day. England end at 247/4, 245 runs behind Auatralia with Bell (29) and Woakes (15) at the crease. Day 4 is expected to be a very interesting phase in this Test match.

 

23:18 (IST): England happy to play the waiting game as they play for stmups.

 

23:07 (IST): Australia try spin from both ends as they look to stem the flow of runs.

 

22:55 (IST): Ian Bell playing some good shots and displaying the form he has maintained in the series.

 

22:44 (IST): Bell and Woakes looking solid as they negotiate the overs in a bid to make it to stumps.

 

22:27 (IST): Pietersen goes! Starc gets the wicket and Australia have a chance to get back into the game. England 217/4 in 100.3 overs, trail by 275.

 

22:14 (IST): Fifty to Pietersen as England looking to get as close as possible to Australia's score. England 213/3 in 98.3 overs, trail by 279.

 

22:00 (IST): Australia desperately looking for a wicket as this partnership develops.

 

21:45 (IST): Both batsmen happy to take singles as they keep the scoreboard ticking with just over 23 overs left in the day.

 

21:35 (IST): Pietersen and Bell looking comfortable at the crease as Siddle is brought back into the attack by Clarke.

 

21:27 (IST): Nathan Lyon resorting to bowling around the wicket as he tries to keep the runs down. England 196/3 in 88 overs, trail by 296 runs.

 

21:17 (IST): Kevin Pietersen looking in good touch and having got a start is looking for a big score.

 

21:06 (IST): Ian Bell has been in prime form with 3 centuries in the series so far. Australia shall look to get him out early for once he's set he can play a long innings.

 

21:01 (IST): Time for the final session which could go on to determine the state of the game. Lights are on and there is a little rain in the air.

 

20:44 (IST): And that will be tea. A good session overall for England but Australia will be boosted by the wicket on Trott towards the end. England 181/3 in 82 overs, trail by 311.

 

20:40 (IST): A bit of movement in the air as the Australian bowlers get a hint of swing at The Oval.

 

20:31(IST): WICKET! England lose their third wicket. England 176 for 3 in 80.1 overs, trail by 316 runs. Australia get a crucial breakthrough.

20:29 (IST): Australia have taken the second new ball. England 176 for 2 in 80 overs, trail by 316 runs.

20:23 (IST): Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott have added 52 runs for the third wicket - England's third fifty-plus stand in this innings so far. England 170 for 2, trail by 322 runs.

20:19 (IST): Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott have fought hard to take England past 150. England 163 for 2, trail by 329 runs.

19:58 (IST): Steven Smith, who hit his maiden Test hundred yesterday, is introduced into the attack. England 149 for 2, trail by 343 runs.

19:42 (IST): STAT! England batsman Jonathan Trott has scored 3673 runs in Test format without hitting a six, the most by any cricketer.

19:21 (IST): Kevin Pietersen survives a run out. He played it towards David Warner at cover and ran to the non-striker's end. It was a direct hit but replay showed KP was quicker. England 130 for 2, trail Australia by 362 runs.

19:13 (IST): It's been an hour into the second session and Australia have bagged the crucial wicket of Joe Root. England 123 for 2, trail Australia by 369 runs.

19:07 (IST): Kevin Pietersen has joined Jonathan Trott after the departure of Joe Root. He gets off the mark with a four. England 123 for 2, trail Australia by 369 runs.

18:53 (IST): WICKET! Joe Root departs after scoring 68 - his third Test fifty. Root attempts to sweep Nathan Lyon but ends up getting a top edge to Shane Watson at short fine leg. England 118 for 2, trail Australia by 374 runs.

18:48 (IST): Joe Root (68*) and Jonathan Trott (14*) have added 50 runs for the second wicket. England 118 for 1 in 53 overs, trail Australia by 374 runs

18:13 (IST): Left-arm pacer James Faulkner starts proceedings after lunch. England 105 for 1 in 45 overs, trail Australia by 387 runs.

17:33 (IST): LUNCH! That's the end of first session's play on Day 2 and it belonged to England. Joe Root scored his third half-century in Tests. Australia pacer Ryan Harris bagged the lone wicket of skipper Alastair Cook (25). England 97 for 1 in 44 overs, trail Australia by 395 runs.

17:28 (IST): FIFTY! England opener scores his third Test half-century. England 92 for 1, trail Australia by 400 runs.

17:16 (IST): Right-arm spinner Nathan Lyon comes into the attack for the first time in this match. England 81 for 1 after 40 overs, trail Australia by 411 runs.

17:06 (IST): STAT! With Alastair Cook's catch, Brad Haddin took his tally of dismissals to 26 in the series. He needs two more to equal Rod Marsh's world record 28 dismissals by a keeper in any series. England 78 for 1 after 38 overs, trail Australia by 414 runs.

Test victims of Ryan Harris on most occasions: 5 J Trott/A Cook 4 I Bell 3 J Root/N Deonarine #Ashes #EngvAus

- Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) August 23, 2013

16:36 (IST): WICKET! Ryan Harris draws first blood. He lures England skipper Alastair Cook into drive, who ends up edging it to keeper Brad Haddin. England 68 for 1 after 31.3 overs, trail Australia by 424 runs.

16:26 (IST): Australia lose a review after third umpire turn down their lbw appeal against skipper Alastair Cook as it was pitching outside leg stump. England 64 for no loss after 30 overs, trail Australia by 428 runs.

15:54 (IST): England skipper Alastair Cook and Joe Root have put on their first fifty-plus opening stand in nine innings. England 53 for no loss after 24 overs, trail by 439 runs.

15:30 (IST): England skipper Alastair Cook and his opening partener Joe Root are out in the middle. Peter Siddle bowls the remaining three deliveries to complete his sixth over.

15:00 (IST): Australia coach Darren Lehmann was fined 20 per cent of his match fee by the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday after accusing England's Stuart Broad of "blatant cheating".

The 27-year-old Broad angered Australia during England's narrow 14-run first Test win at Trent Bridge when he refused to walk after a thick edge deflected off the wicketkeeper's gloves to slip. (Read)

 

.@KP24 gets a picture with a fan on day 3 here at the Kia Oval #Ashes pic.twitter.com/eqpBPWlSus

- England Cricket (@ECB_cricket) August 23, 2013

14:20 (IST): England great Geoffrey Boycott accused Alastair Cook's men of "poor cricket" as the over-rate slowed to a crawl on the second day of the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia at The Oval on Thursday.

Hosts England may have already won the series at 3-0 up but they have so far been on the ropes in this match. "The field placing was disappointing, England knew Australia were going to declare, but it's poor cricket when a team is bowling five overs in half an hour," Boycott said while commentating for BBC Radio's Test Match Special. (Read more)

 

Gorgeous day in our Capital!! If you're coming to The Oval 2day wear Blue for @cricketunited ! pic.twitter.com/wFgHYGCpKo

- Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) August 23, 2013

13:50 (IST): Jackson Bird became the latest Australia bowler to leave the Ashes tour of England early when Cricket Australia announced he was returning home due to a back injury.

The 26-year-old Tasmania paceman's only appearance in the ongoing Ashes series was during the fourth Test in Durham where he took two for 58 and none for 67 in a match England won by 74 runs to take an unbeatable 3-0 lead.

13:30 (IST): "I was a bit nervous after getting out for 89 at Old Trafford but I had a chat with Hads (Brad Haddin) and said with Trotty bowling I thought I'd give it a go," Smith said.

"I'm very happy to get the hundred under my belt, I feel like my game's going OK at the moment, I'm probably leaving the ball better than I have done before. I just tried to get as many runs as I could and not worry about the over-rate. The pitch is still pretty good, while the ball is still hard it will be important to take a few wickets in the morning," he added. (Read more)

13:00 (IST): Steven Smith's maiden Test hundred ensured Australia maintained their grip on the Ashes finale at The Oval on Thursday. Smith's 138 not out powered Australia to an imposing first innings total of 492 for nine declared on the second day as they sought a consolation win after England had already taken the series at 3-0 up.

When bad light ended play for the day, England were 32 without loss, a deficit of 460 runs. England captain Alastair Cook was 17 not out and Joe Root 13 not out. (Read Day 2 report)

An embarrassing post-tea session for England where Cook set excessively defensive fields even when the tailenders, rather than Smith, were on strike, saw a mere 11.5 overs in just over an hour as Australia still scored 95 runs.

"I didn't really think about the over-rate, I was just trying to get as many runs as I could," said Smith.