England 393 for 8 declared and 26 for 2 lead Australia 386 (Khawaja 141, Carey 66, Robinson 3-55, Broad 3-68) by 35 runs

Australia took two wickets for two runs in a compelling 22-ball micro-session between rain breaks to edge ahead in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, as England lost both openers within four balls of one another.

Duckett looked longingly at the groundstaff moments before his dismissal, who were getting the hover-cover ready on the midwicket boundary as the rain drew closer. As his focus returned to Cummins at the top of his mark, he pushed away from his body at a ball in the channel outside his off stump, and Cameron Green swooped low to his left to add another brilliant gully catch to his extensive collection.

Crawley had been worked over by Boland in the previous over, twice struck on the pad by good length balls that nipped in off the seam. He was forced to play at the first ball of the next one, drawn forwards to defend another in-ducker, and his thin edge flew through to Alex Carey. For the first time in the Test match, Australia's bowlers were the protagonists.

It was a stark contrast to the final stages of play before lunch, when the same players had subsided meekly to give England a seven-run first-innings lead. Australia's innings finished with a collapse of four wickets for 14 runs, as Ben Stokes set increasingly funky fields as if to see whether the lower order would manage to pick them out.

Carey offered England a chance in the first over of the day, inside-edging James Anderson's inswinger through to Jonny Bairstow as he shaped to drive through cover. But Bairstow's difficult return to Test wicketkeeping duties continued: he dived low to his right, only to put the catch down.

He edged Anderson for four in his next over, then peeled off two in a row with a cut and a flick, but fell straight after. Anderson's wobble-seam ball nipped in from a good length, beating Carey on the inside edge and pinging into the top of the stumps.

He was thumped down the ground for six by Khawaja in his first over of the day and let two full tosses slip to Cummins, who clobbered the second of them over midwicket. Cummins slammed a second six down the ground three balls later, but Australia were dried up by England's short-ball ploy as Moeen left the field and the seamers returned.

Stokes set a subcontinent-style field for Khawaja, first deploying four short midwickets and then the close catchers in front of the wicket on either side of the ground. Khawaja skipped down, trying to squeeze the ball through point, but only managed to york himself; Robinson gave him a send-off, but Khawaja wandered off to a standing ovation.

Crawley and Duckett made a busy start after lunch, ticking over the strike with Duckett deftly paddling Lyon for a single boundary before the showers started. The rain cleared up just enough for a quick burst under dark skies; England quickly wished it hadn't.