England are on the verge of winning The Ashes after Ben Stokes’ second Test five-wicket haul left the hosts just needing just four more wickets for victory after the second day at Trent Bridge. 

Alastair Cook called his men in after they had compiled a mammoth 339-run first-innings lead on the second morning against the old enemy, giving his bowlers three unsuccessful overs at the Aussie openers. 

Mitchell Starc bowled his best spell of the series thus far - finishing with Test best figures of 6/111. But it sparked the thought of too little too late for the visitors, with Starc looking dejected as he raised the ball to the crowd after his fifth wicket. 

The left-armer dismissed centurion Joe Root (130) after finding a good rhythm, sliding the ball across from the right-handers, instead of constantly bowling in-swingers and attacking the stumps, before uprooting the stumps of night watchman Mark Wood and the struggling Jos Buttler with two pearlers. 

Chris Rogers (52) and David Warner (64) put on 113 for the opening partnership, during the afternoon session. But not before the latter was dropped twice in the slip cordon, once by captain Cook, and the second by Ian Bell - how things change in 27 hours. 

Things looked to have gone from bad to worse for England, as Wood dismissed Rogers, only for the decision to be reversed because the Durham man had overstepped - meaning that Root's spectacular grab diving to his left was overturned.

Stokes the hero for England

The error was rectified a few overs later, when Stokes dismissed the left-hander with Root taking a second stunning catch, reminiscent of Andrew Strauss' one to dismiss Adam Gilchrist a decade ago.  

A fiery eight-over spell from Ben Stokes (5/35) turned the afternoon on it’s head as he took three wickets in three overs just before lunch - with all three wickets coming from the last ball of their respective overs. 

Broad wicket 

And once Stuart Broad (1/36) dismissed the world’s no.1 Test batsmen, Steve Smith for five, Australia had slumped from 113/0 to 136/4 - and Broad had his ninth scalp of the match. 

After the tea break, Australian captain Michael Clarke lasted just 37 balls before he was snicked off for 13. Taking his 2015 Ashes run tally to 117 at an average of 16.71 - with the demotion back to his favoured number five not working at Trent Bridge. 

A gutsy 50-run sixth wicket stand between Adam Voges (48*) - who was on the verge of being dropped after Edgbaston - and Peter Nevill (17) was broken by Stokes who came back onto the field after suffering from a tight hamstring. 

Nevill was adjudged LBW by umpire Sundaram Ravi after the wicket-keeper padded up to a delivery that nipped back off the seam, striking him in front of middle stump.

Stokes claimed his fifth by dismissing Mitchell Johnson moments before the Australians went off for bad light.