England 200 for 5 (Burns 81, Root 71, Hazlewood 4-48) trail Australia 497 for 8 dec (Smith 211, Broad 3-97) by 297 runs
Manchester: Australia consolidated their position on day three of the fourth Test in the ongoing Ashes as they managed to restrict England to 200/5 in the first innings.
The third day of the match was hampered by rain and as a result, the lunch session was washed out.
Resuming day three at 23/1, England got off to a steady start as both Rory Burns and Joe Root played cautiously to see off the new ball.
The duo did not let Aussie bowlers get on top of them and played out the session till tea without losing any wicket.
Both batsmen stitched together a partnership of 141 runs, which saw both Burns and Root bringing up their respective half-centuries.But after the tea break, Australia was able to spring a comeback as Josh Hazelwood dismissed both Burns (81) and Root (71) in quick succession to leave England at 175/4.
Hazelwood had Burns caught at second slip whereas he had caught Root plum in front to get him adjudged leg-before wicket.
Jason Roy (22), who got shifted from top-order to middle-order in this match, once again failed to leave a mark as his stumps got rattled by Hazelwood and England was reduced to 196/5.
Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow ensured the team does not lose any more wickets before the close of play.
Bad light forced stumps early on day three.Earlier, Australia scored 497/8 in their first innings, owing to Steve Smith's double century.England will resume day four of the fourth Test at 200/5.