Aussies declare with big lead after calamitous start
Australia have posted their highest total in a home Ashes Test innings, declaring with a first-innings lead of 259 runs shortly after lunch on day four in Perth.
Day four of the third Test got off to the worst possible start for Australia with a calamitous run-out following two early wickets.
Aussie allrounder Mitchell Marsh (181) was the first to go for the hosts - given out LBW off James Anderson on just the second ball of the day in Perth.
EPIC SLEDGE: Vaughan destroys Cook with hilarious comment
STILL FUMING: England lodge complaint over Ashes umpiring
INCREDIBLE: Smith breaks 50-year world record in epic knock
The home side challenged the decision but DRS showed the ball just clipping the top of the stumps meaning the umpire's original decision stood.
Skipper Steve Smith (239) was the next to go, adding 10 runs to his overnight score before also being trapped LBW by Anderson.
This time, the umpire's original decision was not out but an English challenge proved correct as ball-tracking showed the ball hitting the top of Smith's stumps.
However, things were about to get worse for the Aussies and it was a shocking mix-up between Tim Paine and Mitchell Starc that saw England grab their seventh wicket of the innings.
Paine was at the crease when he was hit on the pads, with Starc keen to take a quick single as the ball flew to gully.
The Aussie wicketkeeper was clearly not on the same page as his teammate but eventually started moving down the other end of the pitch.
Both Paine and Starc were caught horribly out of position in the middle of the pitch but it was the latter who decided to sacrifice his wicket as England claimed one of the easiest run-outs imaginable.
The embarrassing mishap left Australia at 7-561 with a lead of 158-runs, after England set 403 in their first innings.
The Aussies recovered from the triple setback to go into the lunch break at 7-643 with a lead of 240 runs.
Tim Paine and Pat Cummins further demoralised England in a 93-run stand.
Root set defensive fields and opted against taking the third new ball, waiting for Smith to declare.
Stuart Broad finished with figures of 0-142 from 35 overs, the worst of his Test career.
England paceman Craig Overton, who has a cracked rib, left the field after diving to stop a ball in the deep.
Australia eventually declared at 9-662 with a lead of 259 runs.
Smith achieved the third highest score by an Australian captain in an Ashes Test, having faced a staggering 399 deliveries as he pushed for an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series.
Mother Nature, not mother country, looms as the biggest threat to Australia capturing the urn in Perth.
A thunderstorm is expected to disrupt play on Sunday afternoon, while more rain is predicted on Monday's final day of play.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann admitted prior to the start of play on Sunday the weather would be a factor in any declaration.
"You sort of think about that a little bit," Lehmann said.
England paceman Craig Overton, who has a cracked rib, left the field after diving to stop a ball in the deep.
With AAP