Ashes schedule and TV Time: When does day four of the first Test start?

England staged a fightback on day three of the first Ashes Test but Australia should still be considered to be on top heading into day four.

Australia established a 258 run first-innings lead after they were bowled out for 425.

England got off to a wobbly start to their second innings with Rory Burns struggling to 13 before being undone by a rising delivery from Aussie skipper Pat Cummins. Haseeb Hameed looked in good touch until he too departed and England were 61 for 2 still trailing by 217.

Joe Root and Dawid Malan led the England rally though with an unbroken 159-run stand that left the tourists 58 runs behind Australia at stumps on day three.

The first Ashes Test continues at the Gabba in Brisbane from 09:30 local time on Saturday.

What time does The Ashes start on UK TV?

With overs lost earlier in the Test, play will start at 23:30 (GMT) and will be broadcast on BT Sport.

The BBC will be sending out a highlights package each day at 17:00 on the iPlayer, while they will also be showing ‘digital in-play clips’ on their live coverage online.

Teams: First Test – England vs Australia

Australia: 1 David Warner, 2 Marcus Harris, 3 Marnus Labuschagne, 4 Steven Smith, 5 Travis Head, 6 Cameron Green, 7 Alex Carey (wk), 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood

England: 1 Rory Burns, 2 Haseeb Hameed, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Joe Root (capt), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Ollie Pope, 7 Jos Buttler (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Ollie Robinson, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Jack Leach

The Ashes 2021 schedule

As is traditional, the Ashes will be contested over five Tests, with the Boxing Day and New Year’s Tests taking place at their customary venues in Melbourne and Sydney.

The second Test will be a day/night affair from the Adelaide Oval, while the fifth Test will be played at a venue yet to be announced after Perth was forced to give up its claim to the fixture.

The Bellerive Oval in Hobart could be the venue chosen to stand in for the Optus Stadium.

First Test
Date: 8th – 12th December 2021
Venue: The Gabba, Brisbane
Second Test
Date: 16th – 20th December 2021
Venue: Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
Third Test
Date: 26th – 30th December 2021
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
Fourth Test
Date: 5th – 9th January 2022
Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Fifth Test
Date: 14th – 18th January 2022
Venue: TBC