BEN Stokes took five wickets to put England on the brink of regaining the Ashes at a jubilant Trent Bridge.The hosts declared on 391-9 after Joe Root’s 130 and a rapid 58-run partnership between Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad on the second morning.
Chris Rogers (52) and David Warner (64) briefly threatened an Australian fightback with a 113-run opening partnership.
But Stokes produced some magnificent swing bowling either side of tea to post figures of 5-35 and reduce the tourists to 241-7, still 90 runs behind England, when bad light ended play.
Adam Voges will resume today unbeaten on 48, but it is surely only a matter of time before England wrap up the series by taking an unassailable 3-1 lead with one match to play.
An England victory would avenge the 5-0 whitewash Down Under in 2013-14 and extend Australia’s winless run on UK soil to four Test series.