The Ashes Archives

England stick on for a thrilling final-over draw

SYDNEY: England’s batters – Stuart Broad and James Anderson held their nerves calm; assisting the visitors to draw the fourth Ashes Test to avoid the whitewash.

Broad and Anderson batted sensibly in the final two overs of the match, preventing the touring side from their fourth loss in the ongoing Ashes series.

Broad remained not-out for his eight of 35 balls, while Anderson faced six deliveries. England, in the end, managed to finish with 270/9 on the final day of the fourth Test; chasing 388.

Resuming at an overnight score of 30/0, the touring side again fumbled as Haseeb Hameed departed after scoring only seven as the left-arm pacer – Mitchell Starc castled the batter with a brilliant inswinger. The side lost its first wicket for 46, could only add 16 runs on the final day.

Soon after the side slipped to 96/3 as their top-scorer Zak Crawley departed after a brilliant 77; including 13 boundaries. English captain – Joe Root and Ben Stokes recorded a valuable partnership for the team; adding 60 runs before Root departed after scoring 24.

Last inning centurion for the visitors – Jonny Bairstow then joined Stokes at the crease, the pair could only add 37 runs before Stokes perished. He scored a brilliant 60 off 123 balls.

The side then slumped to nine-down for 270 as the lower-order hero Jack Leach walked back to the pavilion after a valiant 26 off 34 balls. However, the duo of Broad and Anderson resisted and avoided the touring party from the defeat.

For Australia, Scott Bolland starred; picking three wickets, while Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon claimed two wickets each. Starc and Steven Smith shared one wicket apiece.

On the fourth day, the Aussies set a massive target of 388 for England on the back of Usman Khawaja’s brilliant century in the second innings. Khawaja scored 101* as the home side declared at 265/6.

For scoring centuries in both the innings, Khawaja was adjudged as the Player of the Match.

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Belligerent Bairstow’s century assists England fighting

SYDNEY: England’s right-handed batter – Jonny Bairstow scored a valiant century; aiding his side to fight back with 258/7 on the third day, in response to Australia’s 416.

Bairstow, who struggled to score in the third Ashes Test, recorded a magnificent century in the first innings of the fourth Test. He remained unbeaten for his 103 off just 140 balls, laced with eight boundaries and three sixes at the end of the day’s play.

At the start of the day, England resumed their innings at 13/0, halted by a poor start again as the side lost their first four wickets at a combined score of 36. The side appeared to be in trouble, but, Bairstow and Ben Stokes’ partnership pulled the side out of the suspected danger.

The pair added an astonishing 128-runs partnership before Stokes walked back to the pavilion after scoring a half-century. He scored 66 before getting trapped by Nathan Lyon. Soon after, Jos Buttler also departed after bagging an eight-ball duck. Following Buttler’s dismissal, the touring side slipped to 173/6.

Bairstow, on the other hand, kept scoring runs and went on to smash a terrific century. Mark Wood, too, played a helping knock; scoring a valuable 39 off 41 balls.

For Australia, Pat Cummins and Scott Boland bagged two wickets each, while Lyon, Cameron Green, and Mitchell Starc shared one wicket apiece.

Bairstow (103*) and Jack Leach (4*) will now resume the innings for the touring side at 258/7 on the fourth day of the ongoing Test.

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Returning Khawaja hits century to drub England

SYDNEY: Australia’s left-handed batter – Usman Khawaja smashed a magnificent century after making his way into the side after 28 months; assisting his side to 416/8 (dec) in the first innings of the ongoing fourth Ashes Test.

Khawaja, who played his first match after 2019, scored a sunning Test century as Australia declared at 416/8 in the first innings.

Australia, resuming at an overnight score of 126/3, started the second day of the ongoing Test magnificently. Steven Smith and Khawaja put on a century stand; taking control for the home side. The duo batted brilliantly; both scoring half-centuries. Smith, however, fell short after scoring 67 as the batter fell short to Stuart Broad’s brilliant delivery. Following this dismissal, Broad has now dismissed Smith most number of times in Test cricket than any other bowler.

Khawaja, on the other hand, remained composed as the side was losing wickets at a consistent rate at the other end. He kept the scoreboard ticking and went on to score a magnificent century, his ninth overall in Test cricket. He scored a well-craft 137 off 260 balls, including 13 boundaries.

Khawaja then recorded an astonishing 67-runs partnership with Mitchell Starc. The batter looked to accelerate the innings but fell short to Broad, who castled the left-hander with a magnificent delivery. Starc, however, remained unbeaten with his 34 when the Australian skipper – Pat Cummins opted to declare the innings at 416/8.

For England, Broad starred; bagging his Test career’s 18th five-wickets haul, while James Anderson, Mark Wood, and Joe Root claimed one wicket apiece.

In response to Australia’s 416, English batters could only manage to play five overs before the stumps were called. England finished day two on 13/0. Haseeb Hameed (2*) and Zak Crawley (2*) will now resume the proceedings for the touring side on the third day.

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Late wickets bolster England on the rainy opening day

SYDNEY: England finished the first day of the fourth Ashes Test on a high after the seamers provided late breakthroughs on a rain-affected day.

Australia finished at 126/3 as the heavy rain forced early stumps and only 47 overs could be bowled.

At the toss, Australian captain – Pat Cummins elected to bat first after the coin flipped in his favour. Batting first, the openers provided a decent start to the side; putting on a brilliant fifty-plus opening partnership. The opening pair appeared to be solid, but, David Warner dismissed after scoring 30. He smashed six boundaries.

Marcus Harris and the top-ranked Test batter – Marnus Labuschagne then put on a magnificent partnership, the pair added 60 runs to the team’s total before Harris fell short to James Anderson after scoring 38.

Soon after, in the next over, Labushagne also lost his wicket. The right-handed batter nicked the ball straight into the hands of Jos Buttler on Mark Wood’s back of a length delivery. He managed to score 28 off 59 balls; hitting four boundaries.

Following his dismissal, the home side slipped from 111/1 to 117/3; handing the touring side a late advantage. Steven Smith (6*) and Usman Khawaja (4*) will now resume the proceedings for Australia at 126/3 on day two of the ongoing Test.

For England, Anderson, Wood, and Broad claimed one wicket apiece.

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England’s head coach Chris Silverwood tests COVID-19 positive

MELBOURNE: England men’s head coach Chris Silverwood has tested positive for COVID-19, on Sunday, English media reported.

Silverwood, who was already in the isolation; following one of his family members contraction to the widely spread virus, has returned a positive test.

As per the English media, Silverwood was asymptomatic, and will now be in isolation until January 8.

The head coach had already been due to miss the fourth Ashes Test, since the 46-year-old isolated himself.

Assistant coach Graham Thorpe will take Silverwood’s place in the fourth Test, starting from January 5 in Sydney.

In the most recent round of testing, all current Australia squad members, staff, and families returned negative Covid-19 results.

It is apropos to mention here that England has already lost the five-match series 3-0, with two matches to go.

READ: COVID-19 keeps denting England’s camp during The Ashes

COVID-19 keeps denting England’s camp during The Ashes

MELBOURNE: England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) informed that the seventh COVID-19 positive case was reported in their camp during The Ashes.

England’s head coach Chris Silverwood has been sent to isolation for 10 days after one of his family members was tested positive for the virus.

Earlier, three support staff and four family members were tested positive for COVID-19 in the PCR testing regime since Monday 27 December.

Assistant coach Graham Thorpe will take Silverwood’s place in the fourth Test, starting from January 5 in Sydney.

Meanwhile, the match referee David Boon has also contracted the virus and will miss the upcoming fourth Test between the arch-rivals.

It must be noted here that England has already lost five-match series 3-0, with two matches to go.

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Debutant Boland stars as Australia win The Ashes 3-0

MELBOURNE: Debutant Scott Boland picked up six wickets to help Australia bowl out England for paltry 158 and win the third Test by an innings and 14 runs here at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on Tuesday.

Resuming Day 3 of the third Test at 31-4, England’s batters remained helpless in front of debutant medium-fast bowler Boland who took four wickets on the result-oriented day.

The 32-years-old bowler went through the batting line to rattle the visitors and dent them The Ashes series 3-0.

On Sunny day here at MCG, England’s skipper Joe Root and his partner Ben Stokes came out in search of a rescue effort. But, Mitchell Starc started the proceedings by bagging Stokes in just the fifth over of the day.

The left-handed batter was removed after he scored 11 runs including two boundaries. Root, who was the only man who resisted in the first innings of this Test with his 53rd Test half-century, managed to get just 28 runs this time around.

The captain saw his team falling apart for just 68 runs in 27.4 overs. His innings included four boundaries. No other batter, apart from Root and Stokes, was able to get into double figures.

Starc bagged three wickets alongside Boland who registered 6-7 to start his Test career. Cameron Green also managed a wicket.

The fourth Test of the Ashes will be played from fifth January in Sydney.

READ: Bowlers’ day at Melbourne as Australia remain in control

Bowlers’ day at Melbourne as Australia remain in control

MELBOURNE: England finished the second day of Boxing Day Test at 31/4 before James Anderson’s four wickets helped England dismiss Australia for 267 in the first inning, on Monday.

Australian bowlers fired back at the English batters; taking four wickets for just 31 runs. Joe Root (12*) and Ben Stokes (2*) managed to hold their nerves calm before stumps called on the second day. The two batters will resume the innings for England with a 51-runs deficit.

Earlier, England’s top-order failed again, the opening pair could only add seven runs. Zak Crawley was the batter, who dismissed after scoring just five. Soon after, Dawid Malan dismissed after bagging a golden duck. Haseeb Hameed (7) and Jack Leach (0) also failed to make an impact with the bat.

For Australia, Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc picked two wickets each.

Australian batters, resuming at an overnight score of 61/1, also could not make the most of the provided foundation. Marcus Harris top-scored with his 76 off 189 balls; hitting seven boundaries. The rest of their batters could not go big, and the Aussies, in the end, bowled for 267.

For England, James Anderson starred; picking up four wickets. Ollie Robbinson and Mark Wood each took wickets. Whereas, Stokes and Leach shared one wicket apiece.

READ: Aussie bowlers push England on the back foot in Boxing Day Test

Aussie bowlers put England on the back foot in Boxing Day Test

MELBOURNE: Australia bowled out England for a paltry 185 in the first innings of the Boxing Day Test before adding 61/1 at the stumps of day 1.

In the third match of the ongoing Ashes series, Australian captain – Pat Cummins won the toss and invited England to bat first. Batting first, the touring side again failed with the bat; losing their opener, Haseeb Hameed for a duck.

With Hameed’s duck in the first innings, England completed 50 ducks in the ongoing year of Test cricket.

Soon after, the side kept losing wickets at a consistent pace, and none of their batters could score much except their skipper, Joe Root, who scored a hard fought fifty. He scored 50 off 82 balls; hitting four boundaries. Jonny Bairstow, too, showed resistance; scoring 35 runs, but, he too could not hold on for long against the Australian bowling attack.

For Asutralia, Cummins and Nathan Lyon each bagged three wickets, while Mitchell Starc claimed two wickets. Scott Boland and Cameron Green each struck out a batter.

In response, Australian openers looked solid, the pair added unbeaten 50-runs partnership; putting their side into the commanding position against the touring side. David Warner was keeping the scoreboard ticking, while Marcus Harris took his time to settle.

The both openers seemed to have finished the day without a loss, but, Warner fell short in the second last over of the match edging the ball into the hands of Zak Crawley on James Anderson’s out-swinging delivery. Warner scored 38 off 42 balls; smashing five boundaries.

Harris (20*) and the nightwachman for the Kangaroos – Nathan Lyon (0*) will resume the proceedings for Australia on day two.

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Australia hands crushing defeat to England in second Test

ADELAIDE: Aussie pacer, Jhye Richardson bagged a five-fer to push England to their second defeat in the ongoing Ashes, on Monday.

Australia completed the consolidating victory against England, in the second Test; defeating the touring party by a massive 275 runs margin. Australian pacer, Richardson, fired with the ball; taking a five-fer, leading his side to the victory.

England, resumed at an overnight score of 82/4, again halted by a poor start, losing their fifth wicket after adding just four runs to their previous day’s score.

Ollie Pope dismissed after scoring four off seven balls, the batter nicked the ball into the hands of Steven Smith; standing at the slip. After showing some resistance, Ben Stokes, too, dismissed by Nathan Lyon, as the bowler trapped him in legs.

Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes, however, tried to anchor the innings, both the batters were looking solid. The pair recorded an important 61-runs partnership, before Woakes walked back to the pavilion after scoring 44, he faced 97 deliveries, and smashed seven boundaries. He remained the top-scorer for his side in the second innings.

The touring side, then ran into yet another brief collapse, and Buttler, too, departed, after a bizarre dismissal. Buttler departed after stepping onto the stumps on Richardson’s delivery, he scored 26 and faced a mammoth 207 balls; smashing just two boundaries.

The side, then soon bundled out for a paltry 192; losing the match by 275 runs.

For his brilliant batting display in both innings, Marnus Labuschagne awarderd as the player of the match. He scored a brilliant century followed by an astonishing half-century in the two innings, respectively.

The two teams will now face off in the Boxing Day Test, which will take place from December 26 to December 30.