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Test Cricket News, Ben Stokes & Jonny Bairstow’s stole the show for England on Day 3 but Australia still ahead in the 4th Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground

by Sports Benches

It’s been a competitive Day 3 of the 4th Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground where England fought back as of late thanks to Ben Stokes who scored 66 while they got a finally century for the first time so far this tour from Jonny Bairstow on 103*, but England are still behind by 158 runs on 258-7 after they lost a couple of wickets earlier in the day to Australia.

It’s a shame that England’s top-order pair of Joe Root & Dawid Malan didn’t stay that long but the opening slot looks way worse as it still needs to be resolved urgently after Haseeb Hameed got exposed by Mitchell Starc yet again for another low-figure score on 6 while Zak Crawley haven’t found a decent score since his recall last week, there are some upsides though in the middle-order with Bairstow and Stokes batting dynamically in the middle with much-needed runs on the board. We also want to credit Mark Wood down in the tail end at 8 who did a great job backing Bairstow up, he also executed some nice shots downtown like a smashing T20 player & although we would love to see Wood get his quickfire 50 but just unlucky not to continue on 39.

And great to see Australia still holding on top spot with Scott Boland always up and running having taken two wickets after a unreal Test debut last week in Melbourne, Skipper Pat Cummins also picked up the same amount of wickets as Boland when Australia had to make up lost time on the field while Bairstow & Stokes were there which is disappointing but they’re in a good position now to finish the job ASAP tomorrow.

As just said right now, Australia needs to finish up England’s 1st innings batting spell quickly before they bat again since there’s no longer a follow-on option and increase the lead to another 200-250, then declare going into the 5th & final Day on Sunday & win 4-0.

And England needs Bairstow badly to stay as well as some backup from the other end if they can, otherwise it’ll take a miracle to make up a huge Australian batting collapse with the ball or it’s one step closer towards a 5-0 whitewash the wrong way by Hobart next weekend.

#Ashes #Cricket #Australia #England #BenStokes #JonnyBairstow #MarkWood #ScottBoland #PatCummins #AUSvENG

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Test Cricket News, Usman Khawaja’s return to Test Cricket with a huge ton has helped Australia on Day 2 of the 4th 2021-22 Test in Sydney

by Sports Benches

What a day for the Aussies on Day 2 of the 4th Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground thanks to the returning Usman Khawaja as they scored 416/8 before the declaration while England are on 13/0 with a trail of 403 runs, Khawaja scored a whopping 133 before he was bowled out by Stuart Broad who just got his 5fer but his sensational knock of 137 today outsmarted the whole England side where he came in at five in place for Travis Head after he was tested positive to COVID rather than the usual opening/top-order role.

Usman is just a proper test player having scored countless of runs before in red ball cricket especially via the domestic format both in Australia & England, yes it’s true that he was not a regular in the Australian Test team whether it’s through injuries or loss of form but at age 35 he still has the ability and determination to play Test for another few years before retiring.

Without Usman it wouldn’t be possible for Australia to reach 400 with Steve Smith also piling the runs on 67 as well as a brilliant quickfire spell from Mitchell Starc at the tail end on 34, regardless of the weather conditions tomorrow they need their bowlers to get the job done ASAP then think about following on or bat a bit more.

Meanwhile, it’s great to see Stuart Broad secure his 5fer for England which is incredible especially when he dismissed plenty of key opposition players with the ball, but unfortunately the rest have let him down while Smith & Khawaja prolonged Australia’s 1st innings batting spell past 400 that left England a very difficult task to catch up tomorrow before their opening pair (Haseeb Hameed & Zak Crawley) gets exposed cheaply yet again.

Leaving Broad out at the start of the Ashes in Brisbane even though he still has the pace to burn at 35 like a fine wine alongside another experienced ageless star in Jimmy Anderson (age 39) is a huge mistake, yes England’s bowling has been okay so far after three tests but not on par as Australia’s if you leave out Broad and Anderson.

#AUSvENG #Ashes #Cricket #Australia #England #UsmanKhawaja #StuartBroad #SteveSmith #SydneyCricketGround #MitchellStarc

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Test Cricket News, Rain halted most of play during Day 1 at the Sydney Cricket Ground but England ahead with three wickets as Australia 126-3

by Sports Benches

Mother Nature may have interrupted for most of today but at least we’ve seen some of the action at the Sydney Cricket Ground where Australia won the toss and elected to bat first, they are on 126-3 right now at stumps after Day 1 but it’s England who took up the early wickets especially at the expense of both of Australia’s openers (David Warner & Marcus Harris) plus Marnus Labuschagne.

Australia did fire off for a start having formed two 50-run partnerships but just pressed the panic button when they were caught behind the keepers’ gloves or the slips & couldn’t have the opportunity to make up big numbers of their own. There’s still time to turn it around though with Steve Smith in there on 6* as well as the returning Usman Khawaja at 5 in place of Travis Head on 4*.

And England credits the wet weather to their strong start with the ball, they read the off-stump well alongside a full length that saw the opposition edged straight into their hands & now they want to get Smith & Khawaja out early + the remaining tail tomorrow then they hope to produce a big total in return if England want to be closer to the box seat which hasn’t happened so far in this Ashes tour even though they already lost another series here 3-0.

#Ashes #Cricket #SydneyCricketGround #Australia #England #MarkWood #StuartBroad #JamesAnderson #DavidWarner #MarcusHarris #MarnusLabuschagne #SteveSmith #UsmanKhawaja #TestCricket

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Test Cricket News, Australia wraps the 3rd Test up in 2 1/2 days at the MCG as they won by an innings & 14 runs + retain the Urn in 3-0 Ashes Series win with 2 to go

by Sports Benches

Unreal stuff from Scott Boland with his maiden 5fer at six wickets for seven runs during England’s 2nd innings spell & did that on test debut at age 32 which is incredible, Australia bowled England all out for 68 in the 3rd innings as they won by an innings and 14 runs that was enough to win the five-match Ashes Series 3-0 as well as retain the famous Urn.

Love the way Boland dismissed Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Mark Wood & Ollie Robinson all done this morning where he bowled a super good line & bounce that punished them under their skin, we can’t forget the moment he got out Haseeb Hameed & clean bowled Jack Leach towards the end of Day 2. Credit to Mitchell Starc who dismissed Ben Stokes that quick for 11 straight from a well-earned rest from last night including Zak Crawley (5) & a first ball LBW to Dawid Malan yesterday afternoon and Cameron Green finished off the game for Australia with a peach clean bowl delivery to James Anderson.

What Australia can do now is win two more games to wrap up 5-0 as their fast bowling arsenal may be modified a bit to accommodate Josh Hazlewood’s return from injury, they should still give Marcus Harris a bit more time as opener before we can fairly judge him to make up a pattern of consistent big scores after his half-ton on 76 yesterday.

Meanwhile, I don’t have a lot of good things to say right now for England when they still have yet to win a game so far in this series as well as no Urn that was taken away by Australia since 2017-18.

We’ll start at the Opening pair who still failed miserably with Hameed out & Jos Buttler promoted up first with Crawley by handing over the gloves to Bairstow, while Chris Woakes should’ve stayed in place of Ollie Robinson which didn’t happen & it’s best if they swapped Stokes & Bairstow in the middle-order at 5 & 6 respectively with the rest okay through Root, Malan, Wood & Anderson.

Although England should give Dom Bess an chance in Leach’s place as spinner since the surface there in Sydney suits these types of bowlers.

Game 3 is done, Happy New Year & can’t wait for the New Year’s Sydney Test.

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Test Cricket News, Australia out in front with four early wickets late in Day 2 while both openers’ horror show & Dawid Malan first ball LBW dismissal from England

by Sports Benches

How good is it to end Day 2 with four early wickets on hand from the Aussies at the MCG where Mitchell Starc bowled two stunning back to back wickets, he produced a brilliant straight line that executed well with speed which made Zak Crawley hesitate with the edge before he strapped Dawid Malan first ball LBW. We also saw Scott Boland pick up two wickets as well having targeted a great area off Haseeb Hameed without that off-stump protection including a peach of a delivery two balls later which punished Jack Leach straight into the stumps. And hats off to Alex Carey with two stunning catches off both England’s openers behind the gloves as these fielders gotta be on their toes tomorrow & not make up dropped/unlucky catches.

Meanwhile, England have lost it when they lost both openers, Malan out first ball at 3 & a nightwatchman (Jack Leach) got sent back really quickly despite a brilliant 1st innings spell with the ball for the majority of Day 2 today. Crawley and Hameed just couldn’t kick on before they were held accountable by the Australian quicks as it’s probably the last time we’ve seen Hameed at Test level for now before the 4th Test in Sydney, it’s best if Jos Buttler hands over the keeping gloves to Jonny Bairstow or Ben Foakes and be a makeshift opener with Crawley who knows how to defend & take his time.

Stumps at Day 2: England 31-4 and trails by 51 runs.

Australia gotta keep that strong start and inflict more damage on Joe Root (12) & Ben Stokes (2) before they can finish up the job on the middle and lower end & retain the Series Urn once again for the third straight time that goes back from their last Ashes tour at home in 2017-18, while England needs Root & Stokes to build a huge partnership that could determine their stance towards the next three days of this test or else it’s too late.

#AUSvENG #Ashes #Cricket #TestCricket #Australia #England #MelbourneCricketGround #ScottBoland #MitchellStarc #ZakCrawley #HaseebHameed #DawidMalan #JoeRoot #BenStokes #JackLeach #AlexCarey

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Test Cricket News, Jimmy Anderson still thriving with the ball at 39 as Australia all out for 267 with a 82 run lead

by Sports Benches

Great to see Marcus Harris secure his Test 50 after, but disappointed not to turn into a 100 especially when batting in front of his home crowd after he was caught by Joe Root on 76. Although Australia just overtook England for the lead a while ago, it’s just the middle and tail end who weren’t up to the chase against the England bowlers after they were all out for 267 but it’s still okay when Australia are ahead by 82 runs.

England on the other hand are still blessed to have Jimmy Anderson firing up with the ball, who picked up four wickets including Harris plus two key men off David Warner & Steve Smith which is incredible figures from such a ripe age of 39 while most others retire from the game.

We also want to give a shoutout to skipper Joe Root when he made a couple of decent catches that not cleared up Australia’s Top 6 arsenal ASAP it became a big part of England’s brilliant Day 2 on the field today.

England has a huge chance now to turn it around and build a big total with the bat, while Australia hopes to deliver a few early wickets towards the end of this session ahead of stumps & come back to finish the job on Day 3 tomorrow.

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Test Cricket News, England bounce back with the ball this AM on Day 2 at the MCG

by Sports Benches

England did a great job in this opening session on Day 2 at the MCG despite chaos surrounding off the field with COVID tests overnight, Jimmy Anderson fit and firing as always at age 38 who not only caught out Dave Warner (38) from late yesterday afternoon but also made Steve Smith (16) knick that edge straight through the stumps with great read to mix some speed & build this kind of pressure.

Hats off to his supporting seamers from Ollie Robinson & Mark Wood with the early wickets especially when Wood produced that bounce & length, he successfully got rid of the dangerman Marnus Labuschagne for 1, who felt vulnerable in the end as he edged straight to Joe Root at 1st slip.

Australia have been okay when you still have Marcus Harris in the middle at 48 as of lunch, he’s doing great so far hanging in there and should continue that progress if a 50 and 100 on home soil comes to him. But it’s disappointing for most parts when the nightwatchmen gamble didn’t pay off in Nathan Lyon (10) as well as the top-order being blown away so fast for bare single & double digit scores by the fiery English bowling attack.

Score: Australia 131-4 and trails by 54 runs.

Communication is very important where Harris and Head were lucky to escape a direct hit possibility on occasions which reflects Australia’s poor start with the bat in this 1st innings spell, it’s best to play it simple by going back to square one and shave off that run trail first before building a big total going into Day 3. England has to keep that strong start off the ball and finish the damage on Harris & Head before getting the job done on the lower-order as their new-look batting line-up still needs to be tested if they are to win this Test match.

#AUSvENG #JamesAnderson #SteveSmith #MarnusLabuschagne #NathanLyon #MarcusHarris #TravisHead #Australia #England #MCG #Cricket #MarkWood #OllieRobinson #TestCricket

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Test Cricket News, England may have stayed in there but not for long as Australia continued to pile a few wickets in the middle session on Day 1

by Sports Benches

It’s been a quiet middle session mightily for England when Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow hung in there to block & score some runs on the board but Stokes couldn’t execute that ramp shot over the rope as he was caught by Nathan Lyon at gully for 25.

The same goes for Joe Root who reached his test 50 after a great spell in the middle but got caught straight away when his head was not in-line & edged it to Alex Carey’s keeping gloves.

And while Australia’s momentum wasn’t the same after lunch, they saw Mitchell Starc & Cameron Green share the two wickets off Root & Stokes respectively before Nathan Lyon became the standout star when he caught Stokes at gully before he made Jos Buttler (3) mis-timed that loft drive to Scott Boland at deep square leg on the last ball of this session.

Score at Tea: England 128-6

All England can do now is gotta keep staying in there & block the good balls out with Bairstow on 21* with Mark Wood to come ahead of Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach & James Anderson while Australia hopes to finish off the England tail end before they can begin batting towards the end of Day 1 today.

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Test Cricket News, Pat Cummins’s return to the Australian Test team on a flyer this morning with three wickets v England

by Sports Benches

Great start by the Aussies at the MCG with skipper Pat Cummins back on the field after a short time in quarantine and smashing it with all three of England’s wickets so far this morning, love the way he produced some brilliant speed that matches with the line & areas which knicked the opposition straight into the slips & keeper.

Meanwhile, Joe Root needs his help to turn England’s poor AM start around after lunch when both openers (Haseeb Hameed & Zak Crawley) were gone cheaply with no idea to stop Cummins as well as Dawid Malan who was out a while ago on 14 as he was disappointed not to make up a big score in this 1st innings run.

All eyes on Ben Stokes to smash it big including Jonny Bairstow & Jos Buttler next in-line for England, while Australia let’s hope that Cummins continues his strong start alongside some support from the other quicks and spinner Nathan Lyon.

Score: England 61/3

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Test Cricket News, England make four changes to their XI in the 3rd Ashes Test of 2021-22 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

by Sports Benches

England made four changes to their XI ahead of the third test today at the Melbourne Cricket Ground v Australia.

Happy to see Rory Burns replaced by Zak Crawley after an unfortunate first two tests, it’s not just the mediocre batting numbers but he also paid the price for poor fielding too. Meanwhile, Haseeb Hameed stayed on despite plenty of fans suggesting that he should be joining Burns towards the chop, but at least Hameed scored a couple of okay double-digit scores & deserves to be tested with a different opening partnership of Crawley.

No need to change the top-order pair that worked so well in skipper Joe Root & Dawid Malan as they hope to make up damage to the Aussies, but hopefully the promotion of Ben Stokes at 5 would help England at least deliver them a century or two in order to stay in contention.

Jonny Bairstow in for Ollie Pope at 6, who hopes to be an upgrade to help stretch England’s run chase as Pope may have fired off well in the 1st Test at The Gabba but couldn’t keep it consistent ever since which saw him walk out the door. And let’s hope that Jos Buttler continues where he left off from the 2nd innings in Adelaide last week by hanging in there & blocking out these good balls but he’s also under pressure to improve his catching behind the keeping gloves too.

Ollie Robinson stays at No.8 who continues to shine with the ball and can bat a bit, while Stuart Broad’s return last week in Adelaide didn’t help much for England despite a fantastic 1st innings v Australia’s batting so they got Mark Wood back in his place at 9. Now it’s kinda harsh to pull the plug on Chris Woakes on this one when he too showed some late form with the bat on 44 & should’ve replaced Robinson at 8 but he hasn’t done much with the ball though as England opted for a frontline spinner in Jack Leach & James Anderson retains his spot at No.11.

Both openers are unfortunately gone early just a while ago with Root & Malan up to the task to turn England’s poor start around as they are 35-2.

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