Broad's wickets see momentum swing back towards England at Edgbaston

Broad got England's 'fortress' rocking in the evening session as he had Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith – numbers one and two in the Test batting rankings – caught behind during an electric spell.

With adrenaline coursing through his veins Broad would have loved nothing more than a crack at the man who occupies third place on that list, but Australia opted to shield Travis Head from the late pressure and sent out Scott Boland as nightwatchman.

Australia ended a gripping fourth day on 107-3 chasing 281, with all results on the table heading into what is set up to be a classic finale.

The tourists had made an assured start to the chase, with Usman Khawaja and David Warner putting on 61 for the first wicket before former Yorkshire bowler Ollie Robinson got one to clip the latter's outside edge to get his side up and running.

England had earlier been bowled out for 273, an erratic but entertaining innings punctuated with dashing strokeplay but haunted by a feeling of impermanence. There was not a single half-century on the card, with White Rose pair Joe Root and Harry Brook both reaching 46 and Ben Stokes contributing 43.

Had any of the three lasted the course, the game might have slipped away from Australia entirely, but Root was stumped for the first time in his 131 Test career as he charged Nathan Lyon and Brook tried too hard to generate a boundary that was not on offer.

Stokes, whose attacking principles run through the DNA of his side, played a notably responsible knock but was stopped in his tracks by his excellent opposite number Pat Cummins.

Resuming on 28-2, Root set an audacious tone, attempting his trademark reverse ramp off Cummins' first delivery of the morning and hitting fresh air. Root has all but mastered the stroke but, even by his own standards, attempting it so early – with a crucial Test match on a knife-edge – showed remarkable chutzpah.

Undeterred, he went back to the well twice in the next over, launching Boland over the wicketkeeper's head for six and then flicking four more beyond the slip cordon.

Cummins produced a gem of a yorker to see off Ollie Pope (14). He went on to claim 4-63 – an outstanding effort amid the chaos.

The arrival of Brook ensured the tempo did not slow. He took just three balls to register his first four, punching Cameron Green down the ground and spraying 13 off Lyon's first over. England were going nicely but Root took a gamble too far when he ran down the pitch and allowed Alex Carey to swipe the bails.

Yorkshire’s Jonny Bairstow was trapped in front by Lyon and Stokes was cut off by the relentless Cummins after almost two hours of studied observance, a tight lbw decision going against the captain.

Moeen Ali added 19, Robinson scrapped hard for 27, while England's last two wickets squeezed out a vitally important 44.

Faced with a target eerily close to the 282 the Australian class of 2005 missed by just two runs, the openers chipped away at the total as the trail began to go cold, but Robinson got one to straighten up off the seam and take Warner's edge for 36.

Broad then picked his moment to take centre stage. Having dismissed Labuschagne for a golden duck on day two, Broad produced a similar dismissal as he prodded an edge through to Bairstow and a skittish Smith followed suit with just six to his name.