Even though adverse weather conditions forced the cancellation of around half of the day’s play, the third day of the Ashes was a whirlwind of activity at Edgbaston.
At Edgbaston on Sunday, Australia’s bowlers struck twice in rapid succession during a devastating period against England before heavy rain wiped out the latter sessions on the third day of the series-opening Ashes test match. Australia is now leading the series 1-0.
After the morning session, Australia had been bowled out for 386 in response to the hosts’ first-innings total of 393. England had reached 28-2, giving them a lead of 35 runs going into the afternoon session.
Usman Khawaja’s monumental effort came to an end before midday when Robinson bowled him for 141. This brought the total for Australia’s first innings to 392 runs, which was seven runs shy of England’s score of 393.
Khawaja played with excellent control for the majority of his innings; but, when England captain Ben Stokes heaped on the pressure with a bold field placement, the 36-year-old took the bait and hit Stokes’s ball over the fielder’s head.
In an effort to hit a shot over the’reverse umbrella’ field, he came rushing down the wicket; however, Robinson’s inch-perfect yorker uprooted his off-stump.
After putting up an unorthodox wall configuration for a couple of deliveries on the on-side field, skipper Ben Stokes decided to mirror it on the off side by putting six catchers in front of Khawaja in a field that some people have referred to as the “Brumbrella.”
The period of Ben Stokes contributed significantly to the development of the current cricket language. After the words Bazball, Bazbait, and Nighthawk were established, a whole new term emerged: the Brumbrella. It was originally used to refer to a big pitch cover that was used to protect the ground; however, it can also be used to describe the ludicrous field that Stokes and Ollie Robinson created in order to end Khawaja’s resistance of 321 balls.