FANS have been left stunned after the incredibly tight stats were revealed following the conclusion of the Third Ashes Test.
England kept their Ashes hopes alive by beating Australia by three wickets in a dramatic Headingley finale yesterday.
Chris Woakes and Mark Wood reignited England’s Ashes hopesRichard Pelham / The Sun
Harry Brook hit a superb 75 but it was bowlers Chris Woakes and Mark Wood that dragged England over the line.
England still needed four when Wood was dropped by Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey.
But Woakes, who finished unbeaten on 32, whacked home the winning runs to make it 2-1 in the series.
Last week saw the Aussies go 2-0 up in the series, with skipper Pat Cummins insisting that he would repeat the controversial stumping of Jonny Bairstow, which saw his side booed and branded ‘cheats’ at Lord’s.
Now the heroics in Yorkshire have left the series on a knife-edge ahead of a nine-day break.
But following the conclusion of the third Test, the stats show that there is hardly anything between the two nations.
Australia have scored 1,850 runs for a total of 58 wickets.
Meanwhile, England are 1,809 for 55 after 943.4 overs in total.
That means that there are just 41 runs between the two teams after three dramatic Test matches.
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England’s three-wicket win was achieved despite Ben Stokes’ dismissal for just 13, a soft nick down the leg-side robbing the hosts of their inspirational captain and the architect of their 2019 Ashes miracle at the start of the decisive final session.
But in Brook they had a new hero, ready to carry the burden all the way to final furlong before passing it over to Woakes and Wood – making an emphatic first impression on their belated introductions to the series.
The series is now perfectly poised at 2-1 to Australia, with two Tests to play but it was overshadowed by controversy after Bairstow was controversially stumped by wicket keeper Carey in the Second Test.
Lord’s members scrapped with “cheating” Aussies after the unsporting incident.
Now fans cannot wait for the next installment after the stats showed how close the pair are.
One tweeted: “Nothing between these 2 teams…except a few dropped catches. Top 2 test teams in the world at the moment. Putting on a great show.”
Another wrote: “Interesting. I think both teams are quite well matched player for player. Some of the Aussie batters haven’t quite fired yet but plenty of talent in both teams. Quite satisfying to see a bit of youthful Yorkshire grit helping to see England home in this Test.”
While another commented: “Absolutely wonderful viewing this series, Test cricket at its absolute finest, Deserves to go to the Oval all square for the mother of all deciders.”