Ashes 2023 5th Test: Australia fight back through Steve Smith and Travis Head to reach 238/3 at lunch

Steve Smith (Pic: AFP)

Australia recovered from losing three quick wickets and were mounting a recovery through Steve Smith and Travis Head in their bid for a series-clinching win over England on the final day of the fifth Ashes test on Monday.

Chasing 384 to win the fifth Test and clinch the series 3-1, the Australians were 238-3 at lunch, needing 146 more runs over the last two sessions of Day 5 at The Oval.

Smith was unbeaten on 40 and Head was 31 not out, with their partnership up to 69 runs.

England had almost got Smith in the final over of the session but captain Ben Stokes, who took a fine, leaping, one-handed catch off the batter's glove, lost control of the ball as he brought his arm down and brushed his thigh. He was adjudged to have dropped the ball before having complete control.

England resumed with Australia on 135-0 and finally found some seam movement and swing with a new ball -- and it accounted for David Warner, Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne in an 11-over spell in which the tourists hit just 34 runs.

Warner went for 60 in his final innings on English soil, edging Chris Woakes behind.

Woakes then removed Khawaja for 72, trapping him lbw, and a review by the batter proved to be a waste with replays showing it was plumb.

Mark Wood then entered the attack with his express pace and found the edge of Labuschagne (13), with Zak Crawley taking a sharp catch at second slip.

With cloud cover and the floodlights on, more wickets seemed likely but Head -- joining Smith in the middle -- counterattacked and was soon flaying veteran pacemen Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad to the fence.

A dreamy cover drive from Smith raced for four to bring up the fifty partnership and he survived Stokes' botched catch late in the session in what was another big moment in a series full of them.

Australia is looking to complete the highest ever chase at The Oval. It would be the eighth highest in test history and the second highest by Australia.

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The Australians are assured of leaving England with the urn but haven't won an Ashes series in England since 2001.

Brief Scores:

England 1^st innings 283 (Harry Brook 85, Ben Duckett 41; Mitchell Starc 4/82)

Australia 1^st innings 295 (Steve Smith 71, Usman Khawaja 47; Chris Woakes 3/61)

England 2^nd innings 395 (Joe Root 91, Jonny Bairstow 78; Todd Murphy 4/110)

Australia 2^nd innings 238/3 at lunch (Steve Smith 40 batting, Travis Head 31 batting; Chris Woakes 2/24)

(With AP inputs)