Sydney: England posted 258/7 on day three of the fourth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground with Jonny Bairstow (103) and Jack Leach (4) on the crease.
Bairstow scored his ninth Test century and stitched a 128-run partnership with Ben Stokes to avoid a follow on after a shaky start for the team.
For Australia, Skipper Pat Cummins and Scott Boland scalped two wickets each. Mitchell Starc, Cameron Green and Nathan Lyon picked one wicket each.
The hosts dominated the opening session with four quick wickets. England were reeling 36 for 4 in response to 416 made by Australia.
England struggled since the beginning of the session. In the third over, Haseeb Hameed was dropped by Alex Carey off Starc. The pacer, however, knocked out Hameed for 6 as he missed a straight one while playing the drive.
Then, Zak Crawley was removed by an exceptional delivery from Boland for duck. Crawley wanted to drive down the ground but the ball hit the outside edge and went to the stumps.
Soon, Boland claimed the crucial wicket of skipper Joe Root, who chased that wide ball and looked to power it through cover-point. But he got the edge and the ball landed in the hands of Smith.
Green got rid of Dawid Malan, who tried to deflect a ball but it went straight to Usman Khawaja in the slip.
Stokes (22*) and Bairstow (12*) continued to be on the pitch to recover the visitors from the early loss. England head on to lunch break with 72/4.
After the break, Stokes and Bairstow brought up a 50-run stand to steady England, taking the total from 36/4 to 135/4 at tea. The Aussies went wicketless in the second session.
In the final session, Stokes and Bairstow established a 128-run partnership before Nathan Lyon struck to dismiss Stokes for 66 and gave Australia a big breakthrough.
Soon after, Cummins bagged his first wicket as he removed Jos Buttler for duck as his top edge landed straight into Khawaja's hands.
With just a few overs left in the day, Cummins removed Mark Wood for 39 -- his second wicket. (UNI)
