Australia
England (196/4)
Stumps - Day 1
Day 2
Australia 165-4; England 302
Captain Smith helps stabilise hosts after England take four early wickets
The grim-faced Australian captain battled away to prevent England from gaining a first innings lead in a Test match that has, so far, been surprising, not just to the locals. On an unusually sluggish Gabba pitch upon which the spinners have often seemed the most threatening of the bowlers, England’s much maligned tourists – the unnamed ones destined to being whitewashed according to some Queenslanders – were still in the game after two days of old-fashioned cricket, which has been fascinating despite the sluggish progress of the batsmen.
At the close on Friday Australia were 165-4 in response to England’s 302 and their innings had been stitched together by Steve Smith, now the lord of this manor rather than the court jester. Smith, 64 not out at the close, allowed himself no flights of fancy; his side were in too much trouble for that. His chief ally, to the relief of the Australian selectors, was Shaun Marsh, a controversial choice, who now seems a good one. It has been an unusually good game for selectors so far.
Meanwhile England, adopting the template that was so successful on the 2010-11 tour, ensured that run scoring was almost as arduous for Australia as it was for the tourists in the first innings of the match. Only in the last hour did Smith score with freedom. Before that he put his head down and grafted. Australia’s situation demanded nothing less. At one point they sunk to 76-4, whereupon Smith was grateful for the appearance of the patient, technically sound Marsh of stout West Australian pedigree.
The other west Aussie, Cameron Bancroft, had not lasted long on his debut. In Stuart Broad’s second over he prodded aimlessly outside the off-stump and was caught behind. With two left-handers at the crease Joe Root summoned up Moeen Ali for the ninth over of the innings and that decision was soon justified when Usman Khawaja was lbw on the front foot.
So Australia’s two batting trump cards were together and for 40 minutes they looked untroubled. England opted to keep David Warner’s boundary count down by employing sweepers square of the wicket but the Reverend appeared to recognise the virtue of patience. Then Jake Ball was introduced and Warner played that short-armed jab of a pull which caused his downfall in England in 2015 on several occasions. The ball went straight to Dawid Malan at mid-wicket and the catch was held, albeit after an alarming little juggle.
After tea Peter Handscomb, with the curious technique and impressive Test record, was lbw to Jimmy Anderson. His feet planted wide apart with the right one just a few inches in front of his stumps. He missed a full, straight delivery. Now the situation was serious for the home side but Marsh dug in alongside his captain. Anderson and Broad were cagey and frugal, Ball and Chris Woakes less so. Moeen was given much responsibility but as the ball softened the ball it was less inclined to turn. The wicket was sleeping. Serenity had returned.
For there had been some serenity for English batsmen at the start of the day before another vivid reminder that nothing can be taken for granted in these contests. In the morning Malan and Moeen added another 50 runs against the second new ball with remarkably few alarms. Then England slumped from 246-4 to 250-7 in the space of 17 deliveries.
During that early period of tranquillity any problems stemmed from Nathan Lyon, who was still finding substantial turn, which had the ball beating the outside edge of both left-handers. The off-spinner, an increasingly combative and opinionated Test cricketer, now propels the ball at quite a pace sometimes reaching 60mph. His control of length in this innings was impeccable partly because he was seldom challenged by the English batsmen.
His line against the left-handers could have been better; the modern way against them is to ensure that the ball pitches in line with the stumps, whereupon the front foot lbw is a constant threat. Instead Lyon, to his increasing exasperation, kept beating them outside the off-stump.
A Mitchell Starc bouncer accounted for Malan but not before he had registered his third and most important Test 50. He was caught on the square leg boundary from a top-edged hook. His 56 took 130 balls, eleven of which he hit for four, a statistic of some significance. This was an admirable, gutsy innings – even if the end was ugly – but it is clear that Malan would be even more effective if he could find a way to manipulate some singles along the way. Perhaps that is being greedy at such an early stage in his Test career. The simple, encouraging fact was that Malan’s 56 meant that this was the first time three Ashes newcomers had passed the half-century mark in the same match.
Now Lyon struck. First Moeen, sensing the need to consolidate, was lbw pushing forward. Then Woakes, driving waywardly, was bowled through the gate. Suddenly 300 was a distant dream especially after Jonny Bairstow was caught from a top edge as he tried to pull a not-so-short delivery from Pat Cummins, who has impressed in his first home Test match.
From here the Australians satisfied the call of Thursday’s front-page headline of “Bodyline” in the local paper. England’s tail was bounced incessantly though there are no reports of Root starting any sentences with: “There are two teams out there; one is playing cricket” outside the Australian dressing room. In fact given his recent travails against the short ball Broad resisted nobly while making 20 though he was assisted by a dropped catch by Marsh on the boundary. By the close Marsh had made amends.
Day 3
• England 302 & 33-2; Australia 328
• Tourists jolted by two late wickets after Smith carves out lead
Day 4
• England 302 & 195; Australia 328 & 114-0 (need 56 to win)
• Lyon and Starc dismiss England cheaply in second innings
The chances of England storming the Brisbane fortress diminished to almost zero as the Reverend kept the assembled throng entranced on a sunny Sunday evening. David Warner held sway and the Gabba congregation applauded every stroke, not so much with an Alleluia as a C’mon Aussie, C’Mon”. He was guiding his flock home in some style.
Australia, having bowled England out for 195, required 170 to win the first Test and preserve their remarkable record in Brisbane. By the close Warner had led the way alongside a fresh and willing disciple, Cameron Bancroft.
At the close Australia were 114-0, with Warner on 60, Bancroft 51 and the retiring curator, Kevin Mitchell, could sleep easily. His remarkable record was intact. As Warner could no doubt confirm Australia have not lost at the Gabba since Robert Runcie was the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The English bowlers lacked the pace or zip of their Australian counterparts as the sun beat down on a blameless strip of turf. Suddenly batting was a breeze. In part this was because the tourists had not had much respite since leaving the field on Saturday evening. Moreover they lack the pace that can overcome a true surface.
After biding their time against the new ball and England’s old guard Warner in particular expanded his repertoire. Neither Chris Woakes nor Jake Ball could make an impression as Warner skipped around the crease and it was not long before Joe Root replaced Moeen Ali, who has struggled here partly because of a lack of bowling but also due to a cut on his spinning finger, an injury that can obviously be a major impediment. Bancroft cruised along impressively in Warner’s wake. Barring thunderstorms of biblical proportions the game was up. England had been unable to score enough runs.
There were moments of hope but no expectation throughout their innings. Little partnerships were formed but they could never flourish. The Australians, even though their pace attack was not quite so ferocious as on Saturday night, were on their game.
Root was required to undergo another concussion test before resuming his innings and he showed no ill effects from Saturday’s blow to the helmet. A crisp cover drive for four off Mitchell Starc confirmed that all was well. He was able to score quicker than most – because he is better than most – usually square of the wicket and it only took 35 minutes for Steve Smith to call up Nathan Lyon.
At the other end Mark Stoneman had dealt with the pacemen with aplomb but this proved to be a morning when Australia’s off-spinner would torment two of England’s left-handers. Lyon now bowls quickly for a finger spinner and when the ball is gripping that makes him ever more dangerous. He becalmed Stoneman and then found his outside edge from a forward defensive stroke. Within six overs Dawid Malan was dismissed in identical fashion.
Lyon relishes the left-handedness of England’s line-up. When his confidence is high – as it is now – he offers no freebies. The only way one could imagine Stoneman and Malan scoring off him was from the occasional square cut. Of Lyon’s five wickets in this Test four have been left-handers. Root played him far more easily conjuring singles without much trouble. England, like Australia, lean too heavily upon their captain for their runs. Root had hit 51, which was never enough, when he was dismissed in similar fashion to the first innings. Josh Hazlewood slanted a full-length delivery inwards and the ball thudded into Root’s left pad as he aimed to hit it wide of mid-on. There is a chink here.
After lunch there was another tantalizing partnership for English supporters. Moeen Ali was determined to be proactive against Lyon and he took two fours in an over with a lofted drive and a firm sweep; Jonny Bairstow skipped down the pitch and hit the off-spinner for six over mid-wicket. At last Lyon was being challenged and oddly enough he was no longer as pinpoint accurate.
Then came the excruciating dismissal – for those in the English camp – of Moeen. The ball beat his outside edge as he pushed forward to Lyon and Tim Paine whipped off the bails. Then the replays from every conceivable angle began. Was any part of Moeen’s boot behind one of the thickest, though perhaps not the straightest, of white lines ever painted on a cricket pitch? Umpire Chris Gaffaney eventually concluded that the answer was “No”.
So Moeen’s cameo was ended; so too were England chances of setting Australia a taxing target.
There was one other small partnership between Woakes and Bairstow that at least allowed the English supporters to dream as the score crept up to 185-6. But England would only muster another 10 runs. Starc produced another well-directed short ball, which Woakes could only fend into the slip cordon; Bairstow, no doubt scenting that he was running out of partners, tried an upper cut but only sent the ball straight into the hands of Peter Handscomb, who had been stationed at third man for just such a shot.
Broad was bemused to be caught behind after a review and Ball received a succession of bouncers – in another age the umpires might have intervened – the last of which flew from his bat handle to Handscomb loitering conveniently behind the keeper. As in 2013-14 it is hard to imagine England’s tail ever wagging against such a barrage.
Day 5
• England 302 & 195; Australia 328 & 173-0; Australia win by 10 wickets
• David Warner and Cameron Bancroft share 173-run stand for first wicket
On a disappointingly sunny Monday morning for England supporters Australia completed the job without any alarms. Their victory was emphatic in the end: a 10- wicket romp, which represented some comeback from the depths of 76 for four on the second day. The winning runs came from a scorching straight drive by Cameron Bancroft, a wonderful way for him to end his debut Test match. This completed a terrific fightback by Australia peculiarly overshadowed by far more important matters like “alleged” headbutts in a swish drinking establishment in Claremont, Perth, four weeks ago.
Australia, having bowled England out for 195, required 170 to win the first Test and preserve their fantastic record in Brisbane. By the close Warner had led the way alongside a fresh and willing disciple in Bancroft.
Australia were 114 without loss, with Warner on 60, Bancroft 51 and the retiring curator, Kevin Mitchell, could sleep easily. His remarkable record was intact. As Warner could no doubt confirm, the hosts have not lost at the Gabba since Robert Runcie was the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The English bowlers lacked the speed or zip of their counterparts as the sun beat down on a blameless strip of turf. Suddenly batting was a breeze. In part this was because the tourists had not had much respite since leaving the field on Saturday evening. Moreover, they lack the pace that can overcome a true surface.
After biding their time against the new ball and England’s old guard, Warner in particular expanded his repertoire. Neither Chris Woakes nor Jake Ball could make an impression as the left-hander skipped around the crease and it was not long before Joe Root replaced Moeen Ali, who has struggled here partly because of a lack of bowling but also due to a cut on his spinning finger. Bancroft cruised along impressively in ‘Reverend’ Warner’s wake. Barring thunderstorms of biblical proportions, the game was up. England had been unable to score enough runs. There were moments of hope but no expectation throughout their innings.
Little partnerships were formed but they never looked like flourishing. The Australians, even though their pace attack was not quite as ferocious as on Saturday night, were on their game.
Root was required to undergo another test for concussion before resuming his innings and he showed no ill effects from Saturday’s blow to the helmet. A crisp cover drive for four off Mitchell Starc confirmed that all was well. He was able to score quicker than most – because he is better than most – usually square of the wicket and it took only 35 minutes for Steve Smith to call up Nathan Lyon.
At the other end Mark Stoneman had dealt with the pacemen with aplomb but this proved to be a morning when Australia’s off-spinner would torment two of England’s left-handers. Lyon now bowls quickly for a finger spinner and, when the ball is gripping, that makes him ever more dangerous. He becalmed Stoneman and then found his outside edge from a forward defensive stroke. Within six overs Dawid Malan was dismissed in identical fashion.
Lyon relishes the left-handedness of England’s lineup. When his confidence is high, as it is now, he offers no freebies. The only way one could imagine Stoneman and Malan scoring off him was from the occasional square cut. Of Lyon’s five wickets in this Test, four have been left-handers. Root played him far more easily, conjuring singles without much trouble. England, like Australia, lean too heavily on their captain for their runs. Root had hit 51, which was never enough, when he was dismissed in similar fashion to the first innings. Josh Hazlewood slanted a full-length delivery inwards and the ball thudded into Root’s left pad as he aimed to hit it wide of mid-on. There is a chink here.
After lunch there was another tantalising partnership for English supporters. Moeen was determined to be proactive against Lyon and he took two fours in an over with a lofted drive and a firm sweep; Jonny Bairstow skipped down the pitch and hit the off-spinner for six over mid-wicket. At last Lyon was being challenged and oddly enough he was no longer as pinpoint accurate.
Then came the excruciating dismissal – for those in the English camp – of Moeen. The ball beat his outside edge as he pushed forward to Lyon and Tim Paine whipped off the bails. Then the replays from every conceivable angle began. Was any part of the batsman’s boot behind one of the thickest, though perhaps not the straightest, of white lines ever painted on a cricket pitch? Umpire Chris Gaffaney eventually concluded that the answer was “No”.
So Moeen’s cameo was ended; so too were England’s chances of setting Australia a taxing target.
There was one other small partnership between Woakes and Bairstow that at least allowed the visiting supporters to dream as the score crept up to 185 for six. But England would muster only 10 more runs. Starc produced another well-directed short ball, which Woakes could only fend into the slip cordon; Bairstow, no doubt scenting he was running out of partners, tried an upper cut but sent the ball straight into the hands of Peter Handscomb, who had been stationed at third man for just such a shot.
Stuart Broad was bemused to be caught behind after a review and Ball received a succession of bouncers – in another age the umpires might have intervened – the last of which flew from his bat handle to Handscomb loitering conveniently behind the keeper. As in 2013-14 it is hard to imagine England’s tail ever wagging against such a barrage.
2nd Test
Day 1
Australia 209/4 (81 ov)
England
There have been bigger gambles in Ashes history and there have been worse outcomes. But the decision to put Australia in, the first time England have done so here since the ill-fated decision of Bob Willis on the 1982-83 tour, did not look so good after the 81 overs that were bowled on Saturday.
At the end of a blustery day and night when play was interrupted by several squally showers Australia were delighted to be 209 for four at the close of play at 10.05pm, which was dangerously near to England’s midnight curfew.
There was some tufty grass on the pitch but it was not quite as long or as green as in previous day/night matches here. The decision to put the opposition in had much more logic than in 1982 – after all, Australia have won both day/night matches here batting second – but the end product was grim for Joe Root. Inserting the opposition brings an additional pressure to the bowlers, since there is the expectation that the opposition should be dismissed for around 250 to justify that decision. Early on, England may have felt that burden of expectation; their bowlers were tentative and a bit short in length. Moreover, the pink ball behaved all too decorously, declining to swing on a cold and windy day – by Adelaide standards.
Before the start John Emburey gave a brief, expletive-free speech to the English huddle before giving Craig Overton his first cap. The first Devonian to play for England since Chris Read in 2007 replaced Jake Ball. The sun briefly made an appearance at the singing of Advance Australia Fair, which was the last thing that Root wanted to see. Then the Australia openers advanced warily but with few problems; the ball seldom beat the bat during the 13.5 overs before the first interruption.
That break upset the batsmen’s concentration, which was not evident from their strokeplay but their running between the wickets. David Warner pushed the ball gently towards short extra cover, where Moeen Ali fumbled. From there the ball trickled towards Chris Woakes at mid-off. Warner spied a single, a macho, annoying single and he advanced down the pitch, bellowing: “Yes.” Cameron Bancroft dutifully responded, whereupon Warner changed his mind. Woakes took aim and hit the stumps with Bancroft stranded.
Immediately, Root removed Woakes from the attack, replacing him with Anderson. This seemed an odd thing to do. Woakes must have been buzzing after his superb intervention and it was surely worth keeping him going for an over or two. Occasionally, Root can be too hierarchical with his bowlers.
Usman Khawaja settled alongside Warner. Overton bowled his first over in Test cricket respectably; Moeen was summoned specifically to bowl at Khawaja and did not seem to be too hindered by his damaged spinning finger. Nor were the batsmen hindered much. Suddenly, 20 runs came in two overs in part due to a bad misfield by James Vince to the delight of the majority of the 55,317 spectators.
Australia were cruising when Warner nibbled at Woakes and for the first time in 84 overs in this series an English bowler had taken a wicket.
Another should have followed soon after when Khawaja, on 44, top-edged a hook shot to the leg-side boundary, where Mark Stoneman ran to his right only for the ball to bobble out of hard hands on to the turf. Dinner, a movable feast, was taken at 7.10pm with Australia 138 for two.
With darkness descending it did appear to become harder to bat after the break even though the ball was 51 overs old. In that crepuscular hour Khawaja drove airily away from his body and sliced a catch to Vince in the gully, but Steve Smith remained unperturbed.
England had managed to rattle the Australia captain early in his innings more by something they said rather than through a sequence of venomous deliveries. It seemed that Stuart Broad said something that Smith did not find particularly funny; in fact it irked him; we know not what since my campaign to keep the pitch microphones permanently switched on does not appear to be gaining any momentum. One assumes that Broad remained on the appropriate side of the mythical line that has been endlessly spoken about in the past week, though the umpires did feel obliged to have a word themselves.
The Australia captain progressed slowly but then he appears to be in a phase when he actively enjoys taking his time frustrating the England bowlers and sapping their energy.
Soon Overton was summoned for another spell. His first ball was full in length and beat the inside edge of Smith’s bat; then it flicked the batsman’s left pad before disturbing the stumps; the bails lit up magically and Overton had his first Test wicket, the first taken for England by a Somerset bowler since Richard Johnson had Kumar Sangakkara lbw on Sunday’s date in 2003. It was a scalp much-celebrated out in the middle, as well as in Instow and Westward Ho! From here onwards, Overton certainly did not look out of place.
Still, there was no clatter of wickets in the darkness, which might suggest that upon this surface the ball is not darting around as much in previous years – we will know more when we see Australia bowling.
Peter Handscomb’s early runs all came behind the wicket and often from the edge of his bat. His innings was not pretty – he gets into some extraordinary positions and he played and missed more often than most – but it was valuable. Like Smith, he does not possess a technique that you will find in any coaching manual but batting in a Test match is not a beauty contest. Shaun Marsh was more orthodox and more convincing as yet another partnership developed. It was not a pulsating day and night but it was Australia’s.
Day 2
Australia 442-8 dec (149 overs): Marsh 126*, Paine 57, Overton 3-105
England 29-1 (9.1 overs): Stoneman 18, Starc 1-13
England face a battle to stay in the second Ashes Test after a Shaun Marsh century put Australia in complete command on day two in Adelaide.
Marsh ended on 126 not out, taking Australia to 442-8 declared with the help of Tim Paine (57) and Pat Cummins (44).
England spent 149 overs in the field after winning the toss and when they came to bat, facing an Australia attack armed with a pink ball under the floodlights, it seemed like a recipe for the top order to be blown away.
The tourists lost Mark Stoneman, lbw to Mitchell Starc for 18, before rain arrived to wipe almost 19 overs off the day.
England closed on 29-1, 413 behind, with Alastair Cook on 11 and James Vince yet to score.
With Australia 1-0 up after a 10-wicket win in Brisbane, it is no exaggeration to say that England's hopes of retaining the Ashes are already under huge threat, especially as the next Test comes in Perth, where England have not won since 1978.
Day 3
Australia 8 for 442 dec and 4 for 53 lead England 227 by 268 runs
First, the good news for England. They still hold the Ashes. And they had the ball hooping and Australia's batsmen hopping in a tense final session on the third day. But lest anyone get carried away with this impressive bowling display, led by James Anderson, it is worth remembering that Australia lead by 268 runs, with six wickets in hand. Unless they can roll Australia for under 117, England will need their all-time highest successful Test chase to win this match.
This was a day on which England clearly won the final session, reducing Australia to 4 for 53 in their second innings. But it was also a day on which their top scorer was the debutant No. 9, Craig Overton, with an unbeaten 41, and a day when they gave Steven Smith the option of enforcing the follow-on. He chose not to do so, preferring to give his bowlers a rest, but it was an interesting decision to make at the start of the tricky twilight batting period.
He must hope that his call will not backfire as Joe Root's choice at the toss had. Root sent Australia in on a good batting surface, and watched as they batted into their sixth session and declared at 8 for 442. It was this hefty platform that gave Smith the confidence to bat again. By stumps, Smith was one of the four men to have lost his wicket, and Australia had Peter Handscomb at the crease on 3 alongside the nightwatchman Nathan Lyon, on 2.
Anderson and Chris Woakes had each picked up two wickets as the ball curled under the Adelaide Oval floodlights. Cameron Bancroft felt at an Anderson outswinger and was caught behind for 4. Usman Khawaja was squared up by an Anderson delivery that nipped away, and was lbw for 20. David Warner edged to slip off Woakes for an uncharacteristically subdued 14 off 60 balls. And Smith was lbw to a Woakes ball that nipped back in for 6.
Such a summary can barely capture the intensity of the session. For the first time in the match, Australia were playing for survival. Anderson in particular seemed to have the ball at his mercy, and was a few centimetres from having three wickets himself when Smith was given lbw to an inswinger from around the wicket, that was shown on review to have pitched a hair's breadth outside the leg stump. But is it too little, too late for England?
Never one to mince his words, former England captain Michael Vaughan had said before play that his country needed to win every session today or the Ashes were lost. Within two hours, the word "whitewash" was beginning to cross his mind. That England fought back in the final session could undo the fact that they had collapsed to be all out for 227. Whatever the final prognosis, that alone affected the health of their campaign.
Four wickets in the opening session were followed by three in the second, and the innings was wrapped up quickly after the dinner break with two more breakthroughs as Lyon had Stuart Broad caught behind and then trapped Anderson lbw. In doing so, Lyon moved, if temporarily, to the top of Test cricket's wicket tally for the 2017 calendar year. Like the chimera of Greek myth, Australia's hybrid GOAT-Lyon creature is in fire-breathing form.
England had started the day at 1 for 29, knowing that a solid day of batting might have dragged them back into the contest. Instead, they lost James Vince from the ninth ball of the day when he tried to force Josh Hazlewood off the back foot and edged behind. That left England at 2 for 31, but it also brought together their two best batsmen as captain Joe Root joined his predecessor Alastair Cook at the crease.
But in trying to play positively, Root fell for 9 when he drove at a fullish delivery from Pat Cummins and edged to third slip, where Bancroft snapped up the opportunity. Cook too succumbed to a needless stroke when he pushed at an offbreak from Lyon and edged to Smith at slip on 37. Dawid Malan made 19 before he failed to negotiate a sharp delivery from Cummins that nipped back in and bounced, taking his inside edge on the way through to the wicketkeeper Tim Paine.
England were 5 for 128 at tea, and although their lower order fought, the damage had been done. Remarkably, all three wickets that came between tea and dinner were caught and bowled, and two of them among the most spectacular examples of the dismissal. Moeen Ali, who had managed 25 off 57 balls, began the trend when he was done by Lyon's dip, driving uppishly away from the bowler, who dived full-length and plucked the chance in his left hand to leave England at 6 for 132.
Not to be outdone, Mitchell Starc threw his right hand out to intercept a well-struck Jonny Bairstow drive, and the ball lobbed up behind Starc, allowing him to complete the catch on the second grab. Near the end of the session, Starc completed the easiest of the trio of return catches when Woakes top-edged an attempted pull and the bowler barely needed to move to collect the skied opportunity.
Woakes and Overton had put together a 66-run eighth-wicket stand. Combined with the fine bowling in the last session, it was enough to keep England in the match. But only barely.
Day 4
Australia 442/8d & 138
England 227 & 176/4 (62 ov, target: 354)
England require another 178 runs with 6 wickets remaining
Momentum is a curious, intangible beast, impossible to measure but easy to see. There are players who claim that it doesn't exist, yet what else but momentum can explain the fact that England are even remotely back in this Test match? England, who were thrashed by 10 wickets in Brisbane. England, who here sent Australia in, saw them bat into six sessions and declare at 8 for 442. England, who batted so poorly that they gave Australia the chance to enforce the follow-on.
And therein lies the crux of this momentum shift. Steven Smith did not make England bat again, preferring to give his bowlers a rest. In doing so, he made his own men bat under lights on the third evening, when England's bowlers hooped the ball around and gained confidence. On the fourth day, Australia were knocked over for 138, and James Anderson claimed the first five-wicket haul he had ever managed in 15 Tests in Australia. The previously anosmic England had the trace of a sniff.
By stumps, England had doggedly worked their way to 4 for 176, with their captain Joe Root the key man, unbeaten on 67, alongside Chris Woakes on 5. The momentum had threatened to swing back to Australia late in the evening when Pat Cummins rattled the top of Dawid Malan's off stump, and might have done so had Woakes not jammed down on a sizzling Cummins yorker from the penultimate ball of the day.
In the end, England went to stumps needing a further 178 runs with six wickets in hand. Yet if Australia's position was much the stronger, England might have felt that they won the day, for they ended it with more chance of victory than when they had started. In the final session it was the Australians who looked nervy, Smith losing both of his side's reviews in the space of three balls as he sought a fourth wicket.
Objectively, this made little sense. To win, England would need to rewrite history. Never before have England chased down a target as high as the 354 they were set here. For nearly 90 years, their record chase has been 332, achieved by a team that boasted Jack Hobbs, Herbert Sutcliffe and Wally Hammond in their top four. To triumph at Adelaide Oval would not only break England's record, it would be one of the top 10 chases in all of Test history.
Australia's mood was not helped by an incident in the fourth over, when Josh Hazlewood rapped Alastair Cook on the pads from around the wicket. The lbw appeal was turned down by umpire Chris Gaffaney, presumably feeling the ball was sliding down leg. Neither Hazlewood nor wicketkeeper Tim Paine seemed desperate to convince Smith to review, and Australia left it alone. Ball-tracking would have given them the wicket, the ball smashing into leg stump.
Perhaps that played a role in Smith's eagerness to review later, first when Pat Cummins thought he had Root caught behind and then when Hazlewood struck Malan on the flap of the pad in the next over. No Snicko, no Hot Spot, no "umpire's call", just lost reviews that would not be refreshed. At least in the meantime, Smith had made one good review, when Nathan Lyon straightened one to trap Cook lbw for 16.
Cook and Mark Stoneman had given England just the solid start they required, but on 53 their partnership was broken by Cook's departure, and Stoneman fell with only one more run added to the score. Having scored at a run a ball for his first 28, he had been stifled for some time when on 36 he tried to glide Mitchell Starc away to the off side and succeeded only in sending a catch to Usman Khawaja at gully.
James Vince did little for his Test reputation by driving breezily at Starc and edging to first slip for 15, which left England wobbling at 3 for 91. But Root and Malan worked hard through the tricky evening period for a 78-run stand. Root in particular was excellent, seeking not just to survive but to score - though he had a nervous moment when given out lbw playing no shot to Lyon, a decision that was overturned on review. If Smith's hundred was the defining innings at the Gabba, Root could yet make the difference here.
The day had started with Australia on 4 for 53, leading by 268 runs with six wickets in hand. It was a powerful position by any standards, yet England had gained confidence on the third evening and they did not let Australia slip away too much on the fourth day.
Anderson finished with 5 for 43 and a torn pair of trousers sustained while diving in vain for a return catch. He began by removing the nightwatchman Lyon, who chipped a catch to mid-off for 14, and followed by having Peter Handscomb caught at third slip for 12. Handscomb is the only Australian who might be considered in danger of losing his place any time soon, and did little in this innings to show his form as anything but scratchy.
Paine made 11 before he was brilliantly caught by Craig Overton, running in from fine leg and diving to collect the top-edged hook off Woakes, who then grabbed his fourth wicket by bowling Shaun Marsh for 19. Starc made 20, the equal top score in the innings (along with Khawaja) before he skied a catch off Anderson to give the fast bowler his fifth wicket.
The innings was wrapped up when Hazlewood sent a catch to gully off Overton, leaving Cummins not out on 11. It meant that Australia's 138 was the highest total in Test history in which no batsman had scored more than 20. That was one record broken. Now England hope that another will follow.
Day 5
Australia 442/8d & 138
England 227 & 233 (84.2 ov, target: 354)
Australia won by 120 runs
England arrived at Adelaide Oval on the fifth day knowing that hope springs eternal, or at least until Joe Root gets out. And so England's hope sprung for only 17 deliveries. By the time the day was three overs old, Josh Hazlewood had dismissed Root and Chris Woakes, and within two hours Australia had won the Test and taken a 2-0 lead in the series. At least the England fans who had awoken in the small hours back home in anticipation of a tense final day could get some sleep.
The day began with England 178 runs from victory with six wickets in hand. They added only 57 to their overnight total for the loss of all six of those wickets. That England even fought back into this match, that they entered the final day with any sort of hope whatsoever, was a surprise in itself. But if Australia officially won the Test on the fifth afternoon, in reality England had lost it on the first two days, when they sent Australia in and saw them make 442.
It left England needing their all-time highest successful chase to win this match, and the final day began badly when Woakes edged behind off Hazlewood from the second ball - Snicko confirming his fate despite a review. In Hazlewood's next over he claimed the key wicket of Root, who did not add a run to his overnight score of 67. On a surface that had been good for batting all match, a ball finally stayed a touch low and kissed the toe of Root's bat on the way through to Tim Paine.
From then on it was only a matter of time, and not even much of that. Moeen Ali was trapped lbw trying to sweep Nathan Lyon on 2, and the rest of the damage arrived with the new ball. Mitchell Starc curled the very first delivery with the new pink Kookaburra in to the pads of Craig Overton, who was lbw for 7; Stuart Broad edged behind off Starc for 8; and the result was confirmed when Jonny Bairstow chopped on against Starc for 36.
Starc had finished with 5 for 88, but it was Hazlewood's two early strikes that set the tone for the final session of this Test. After a day of England fight, normal service had resumed. And if the Gabbatoir is the fortress at which Australia like to open their summer, the Adelaide Oval day-night Test is becoming a strong occasion for them as well - the Australians have now won all three pink-ball Tests played in Adelaide.
Now the teams fly to Perth with Australia just one win away from regaining the Ashes. And if Root wins the toss at the WACA, don't expect him to do anything but bat.
3rd Test
Day 1
For a while it all went quiet out there, too damn quiet – at least for the Australians. After all the braggadocio in the build-up to this series, the actual cricket seemed to be taking place in a library. Seldom can 30,000 assembled Aussies have been so hushed. But in the final session of a rain-affected day the crowd found their voice as their team snaffled the vital wicket.
As the sun dipped below the stands in Brisbane, Joe Root was dismissed by Pat Cummins and there was a roar in the stands and embraces in the field. England’s captain had gone and the tenacity displayed by two Ashes newcomers, James Vince and Mark Stoneman – both of whom recorded their career bests in Test cricket – was in danger of being squandered. England finished a tense and absorbing opening day on 196-4.
Vince and Stoneman had, at the very least, prevented a calamitous start for the tourists with their 125-run partnership from 53 overs, which was sometimes painstaking and always diligent. With admirable composure they managed to allay the nerves of a dressing room which had witnessed the loss of their most experienced batsman, Alastair Cook, in the third over of the day.
Vince played his best England innings by a country mile, which ended with the pursuit of an ill-judged single and a direct hit from cover by Nathan Lyon. Vince had 83 at the time and had looked set for many more. Nonetheless, here was a remarkable early vindication of a controversial choice for this tour. From the safety of the press box we happily criticise selectors when their men falter, so in these circumstances they are due a public pat on the back.
Vince will have batted in more taxing conditions. The Gabba pitch was true but surprisingly slow, not quite what the Aussies were craving from Kevin Mitchell Jr’s last strip – maybe the unseasonably cool weather has contributed to that. There is always a peculiar tension to an Ashes opener and Vince, until he pushed to cover and ran, dealt with that in the most matter-of fact manner. So too did Stoneman even though he never achieved the fluency of his partner while accumulating 53 runs from 53 overs. Indeed the great virtue of Stoneman’s knock was that he struggled for timing throughout, yet battled on regardless.
By contrast Vince’s strokeplay was often silky. That cover drive, so often exasperating rather than enchanting throughout his brief Test career, was working well. He first impressed Duncan Fletcher with his trademark shot almost a decade ago but in Test cricket his strongest stroke had become his greatest vulnerability. Not at the Gabba on Thursday.
Throughout his innings Vince’s footwork was precise and decisive, which was not the case in Cook’s brief knock. The timing of his pre-delivery movements were all awry against Starc. The opener was still moving forward with his right foot no further than the popping crease when he tried to make contact with a full-length delivery. Cook was out of control with his bat way in front of his body and he edged to first slip where Peter Handscomb held a neat catch.
Vince earned his first boundary with a cover drive, and this was where he would score the vast majority of his runs. The Australian bowlers invited the cover drive – understandably so given Vince’s record – and those invitations were readily accepted.
There were not many other thrills or frills in a hard-fought morning. At lunch England were 59-1 from 29 overs and the off-spinner, Lyon, who had already bowled six overs, was arguably more challenging than any of his fast bowling colleagues.
Then it rained for almost 90 minutes, not proper Brisbane rain but gentle April showers that stubbornly refused to go away. Upon the resumption the partnership continued to flourish,and Stoneman hung in like an old pro. Aside from his helmet he would not have looked out of place back in 1970, when Brian Luckhurst made his England debut here at the age of 31 and scored runs with John Edrich. Somehow, Stoneman was redolent of those two old English battlers.
The ball seldom beat the bat in that afternoon stretch. Vince played and missed no more than three times – twice with attempted cover drives, of course. The first lbw appeal, a poor one, came from Cummins in the 47th over. Then Vince, on 68, was dropped by Tim Paine behind the stumps off Lyon, a moment the Aussie selectors would not have enjoyed.
It was not going to plan for the hosts, but they were able to claw their way back either side of a late tea interval. Pat Cummins, while never hitting the anticipated 150kph (93mph) mark , began to trouble Stoneman when bowling around the wicket. Soon enough, a full-length delivery darted between bat and pad, and Root came to the crease, surviving four deliveries before the interval.
Vince and Root briefly hinted at acceleration. Throughout the day England had progressed at little more than two runs an over thanks to a lush outfield and disciplined bowling, especially from Starc and Lyon, who also conjured some turn. Yet it was Lyon the fielder who dispensed with Vince. The projected single may have been ill-judged but the throw had to hit the stumps, and to Vince’s despair it did.
England were now becalmed. Root lost his impishness, partner Dawid Malan was wary and Cummins found more rhythm. A full-length ball found Root falling over to the off side and the ball thudded into his front pad. Marais Erasmus gave Root not out, but Australia reviewed and the captain was palpably lbw. England were wilting and grateful for a plucky unbeaten stand of 33 between Malan and their new number six, Moeen Ali. Malan survived a late lbw review from Mitchell Starc as the tourists repelled the second new ball before stumps.
Day 2
Australia 165-4; England 302
Captain Smith helps stabilise hosts after England take four early wickets
The grim-faced Australian captain battled away to prevent England from gaining a first innings lead in a Test match that has, so far, been surprising, not just to the locals. On an unusually sluggish Gabba pitch upon which the spinners have often seemed the most threatening of the bowlers, England’s much maligned tourists – the unnamed ones destined to being whitewashed according to some Queenslanders – were still in the game after two days of old-fashioned cricket, which has been fascinating despite the sluggish progress of the batsmen.
At the close on Friday Australia were 165-4 in response to England’s 302 and their innings had been stitched together by Steve Smith, now the lord of this manor rather than the court jester. Smith, 64 not out at the close, allowed himself no flights of fancy; his side were in too much trouble for that. His chief ally, to the relief of the Australian selectors, was Shaun Marsh, a controversial choice, who now seems a good one. It has been an unusually good game for selectors so far.
Meanwhile England, adopting the template that was so successful on the 2010-11 tour, ensured that run scoring was almost as arduous for Australia as it was for the tourists in the first innings of the match. Only in the last hour did Smith score with freedom. Before that he put his head down and grafted. Australia’s situation demanded nothing less. At one point they sunk to 76-4, whereupon Smith was grateful for the appearance of the patient, technically sound Marsh of stout West Australian pedigree.
The other west Aussie, Cameron Bancroft, had not lasted long on his debut. In Stuart Broad’s second over he prodded aimlessly outside the off-stump and was caught behind. With two left-handers at the crease Joe Root summoned up Moeen Ali for the ninth over of the innings and that decision was soon justified when Usman Khawaja was lbw on the front foot.
So Australia’s two batting trump cards were together and for 40 minutes they looked untroubled. England opted to keep David Warner’s boundary count down by employing sweepers square of the wicket but the Reverend appeared to recognise the virtue of patience. Then Jake Ball was introduced and Warner played that short-armed jab of a pull which caused his downfall in England in 2015 on several occasions. The ball went straight to Dawid Malan at mid-wicket and the catch was held, albeit after an alarming little juggle.
After tea Peter Handscomb, with the curious technique and impressive Test record, was lbw to Jimmy Anderson. His feet planted wide apart with the right one just a few inches in front of his stumps. He missed a full, straight delivery. Now the situation was serious for the home side but Marsh dug in alongside his captain. Anderson and Broad were cagey and frugal, Ball and Chris Woakes less so. Moeen was given much responsibility but as the ball softened the ball it was less inclined to turn. The wicket was sleeping. Serenity had returned.
For there had been some serenity for English batsmen at the start of the day before another vivid reminder that nothing can be taken for granted in these contests. In the morning Malan and Moeen added another 50 runs against the second new ball with remarkably few alarms. Then England slumped from 246-4 to 250-7 in the space of 17 deliveries.
During that early period of tranquillity any problems stemmed from Nathan Lyon, who was still finding substantial turn, which had the ball beating the outside edge of both left-handers. The off-spinner, an increasingly combative and opinionated Test cricketer, now propels the ball at quite a pace sometimes reaching 60mph. His control of length in this innings was impeccable partly because he was seldom challenged by the English batsmen.
His line against the left-handers could have been better; the modern way against them is to ensure that the ball pitches in line with the stumps, whereupon the front foot lbw is a constant threat. Instead Lyon, to his increasing exasperation, kept beating them outside the off-stump.
A Mitchell Starc bouncer accounted for Malan but not before he had registered his third and most important Test 50. He was caught on the square leg boundary from a top-edged hook. His 56 took 130 balls, eleven of which he hit for four, a statistic of some significance. This was an admirable, gutsy innings – even if the end was ugly – but it is clear that Malan would be even more effective if he could find a way to manipulate some singles along the way. Perhaps that is being greedy at such an early stage in his Test career. The simple, encouraging fact was that Malan’s 56 meant that this was the first time three Ashes newcomers had passed the half-century mark in the same match.
Now Lyon struck. First Moeen, sensing the need to consolidate, was lbw pushing forward. Then Woakes, driving waywardly, was bowled through the gate. Suddenly 300 was a distant dream especially after Jonny Bairstow was caught from a top edge as he tried to pull a not-so-short delivery from Pat Cummins, who has impressed in his first home Test match.
From here the Australians satisfied the call of Thursday’s front-page headline of “Bodyline” in the local paper. England’s tail was bounced incessantly though there are no reports of Root starting any sentences with: “There are two teams out there; one is playing cricket” outside the Australian dressing room. In fact given his recent travails against the short ball Broad resisted nobly while making 20 though he was assisted by a dropped catch by Marsh on the boundary. By the close Marsh had made amends.
Day 3
• England 302 & 33-2; Australia 328
• Tourists jolted by two late wickets after Smith carves out lead
After two soporific sessions at the Gabba the stadium came to life as the sun started to dip. First the 30,000 locals roared their approval at a superb, hard-earned century by Australia’s captain, Steve Smith, who has imposed himself on this series at the earliest opportunity. Then there was joyous celebration at the departure of England’s former captain, Alastair Cook, in time-honoured fashion at this modern cricketing Colosseum.
England began their second innings with a deficit of 26. By the time they had cleared it Cook had gone to the opener’s sucker punch. Josh Hazlewood, the least impressive of the Australian pacemen in the first innings, propelled a bouncer; Cook hooked without control and Mitchell Starc on the long-leg boundary held a fine tumbling catch.
Hazlewood was energised now and in his next over he found the edge of James Vince’s bat; the ball flew into the safe hands of Smith at second slip. The wicket was sleeping no longer. Mysteriously it seemed to have quickened up.
In strode Starc with those massive strides and a bouncer thudded into the helmet of England’s new captain, Joe Root. Starc, an old team-mate, was concerned; Root smiled before checks upon his own condition and his helmet; Smith took his paceman to one side. After a long delay play was resumed and Starc delivered another quick, well-directed bouncer; this time Root ducked successfully – and smiled again, a nervous smile, one suspects.
By the close the deficit was cleared –England led by seven runs with eight wickets remaining – but it was never an easy process. Mark Stoneman was peppered by Pat Cummins but he survived impressively throughout 75 minutes he will not forget in a hurry; he even managed to exude a certain calmness; crucially, so did Root. This was technicolour cricket in contrast to much that had preceded it on a surprisingly sunny Saturday.
When England were in the field we seemed to be witnessing 20th century cricket in a 21st century stadium. Runs trickled at less than two and a half per over, the sort of rate we have often witnessed in another purpose-built stadium in Dubai, albeit with 32,000 fewer spectators, but seldom in Brisbane.
They were patient in the stands as well as on the pitch. After all this was the Ashes; Smith is the national captain and he was tenaciously holding a fragile batting line-up together. On another day we might have been worried about the future of the five-day game but here most seemed to enjoy the novelty of a batting crawl in a tight contest, whose outcome remained hard to predict.
Smith was mighty impressive, displaying qualities of self-denial as well as technical excellence that are not so commonplace now. Without him Australia would have been in the mire. Queenslanders looking on marvelled at an innings that was more reminiscent of Slasher Mackay, a local hero of the 60s, than Matthew Hayden, though my suspicions are that Mackay seldom kissed the badge of his baggy green quite so enthusiastically upon reaching a landmark. But old Slasher certainly had a reputation for taking his time at the crease.
Smith’s 21st Test century was comfortably his slowest. It was also the highest score by an Ashes captain in his first Test in charge. In part Smith’s sedate progress was due to the discipline of the England bowlers and the fact that Root set cunning, containing fields to reduce his boundary count. It was almost as if England acknowledged that Smith might be around for the duration so they would concentrate upon ousting his partner. Smith scored 17 in the first session, 32 in the second before accelerating after tea.
At one point England must have fancied a substantial first innings lead. In the morning Root began with his senior fast bowlers and they were miserly.
Shaun Marsh reached 50 with a neat square drive but then, with the run-rate stalled, he spooned a gentle catch to mid-off from another of Broad’s leg-cutters.
Enter Tim Paine, who made his Test debut in the same game as Smith at Lord’s against Pakistan in 2010. On that occasion Paine batted above Smith but there was no doubt who was the senior partner now. Australia’s wicketkeeper scored his first Test runs for seven years with a crisp, square cut boundary off Jake Ball, but he had more problems against the new ball when it was in the hands of Jimmy Anderson. Paine edged a good delivery, which provoked a fine catch by Jonny Bairstow diving to his right.
Starc’s contribution was in contrast to the rest of the Australian innings: six and out. He drove a glorious, straight boundary over the ropes, which prompted no more than a wry smile from Broad the bowler (a feature of this England side so far is that they have seemed remarkably relaxed out there).
In the same over Starc presented a return catch and there was no way that Broad was going to drop that.
So at 209 for 7 there was a reasonable expectation of a first innings lead for England but Smith now found a most reliable ally in Cummins. He is a fast bowler who bats properly, sound in technique and not seduced by the thought of smashing everything into the stands. Cummins defended stoutly; like his captain he was prepared to play the long game. England plugged away and switched their bowlers; there was the suspicion that Moeen Ali, who had a side strain earlier in the tour, was restricted; certainly he bowled more slowly than on Friday; now there seemed minimal turn for him.
Eventually, after a partnership of 32 overs and 66 runs Chris Woakes, who bowled with greater control on Saturday, grabbed his first wicket of the series when Cummins edged a drive to Cook at first slip. Soon Hazlewood missed a straight ball from Moeen but there was a last-wicket partnership of 30 between Smith, who finally began batting skittishly, and Nathan Lyon.
By now most of England’s bowlers, who had toiled valiantly, looked short of fuel, so Root put himself on and eventually Lyon glided the ball into the hands of Cook at leg slip. Smith, unbeaten on 141, gave the impression there was still plenty left in his tank.
Day 4
• England 302 & 195; Australia 328 & 114-0 (need 56 to win)
• Lyon and Starc dismiss England cheaply in second innings
The chances of England storming the Brisbane fortress diminished to almost zero as the Reverend kept the assembled throng entranced on a sunny Sunday evening. David Warner held sway and the Gabba congregation applauded every stroke, not so much with an Alleluia as a C’mon Aussie, C’Mon”. He was guiding his flock home in some style.
Australia, having bowled England out for 195, required 170 to win the first Test and preserve their remarkable record in Brisbane. By the close Warner had led the way alongside a fresh and willing disciple, Cameron Bancroft.
At the close Australia were 114-0, with Warner on 60, Bancroft 51 and the retiring curator, Kevin Mitchell, could sleep easily. His remarkable record was intact. As Warner could no doubt confirm Australia have not lost at the Gabba since Robert Runcie was the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The English bowlers lacked the pace or zip of their Australian counterparts as the sun beat down on a blameless strip of turf. Suddenly batting was a breeze. In part this was because the tourists had not had much respite since leaving the field on Saturday evening. Moreover they lack the pace that can overcome a true surface.
After biding their time against the new ball and England’s old guard Warner in particular expanded his repertoire. Neither Chris Woakes nor Jake Ball could make an impression as Warner skipped around the crease and it was not long before Joe Root replaced Moeen Ali, who has struggled here partly because of a lack of bowling but also due to a cut on his spinning finger, an injury that can obviously be a major impediment. Bancroft cruised along impressively in Warner’s wake. Barring thunderstorms of biblical proportions the game was up. England had been unable to score enough runs.
There were moments of hope but no expectation throughout their innings. Little partnerships were formed but they could never flourish. The Australians, even though their pace attack was not quite so ferocious as on Saturday night, were on their game.
Root was required to undergo another concussion test before resuming his innings and he showed no ill effects from Saturday’s blow to the helmet. A crisp cover drive for four off Mitchell Starc confirmed that all was well. He was able to score quicker than most – because he is better than most – usually square of the wicket and it only took 35 minutes for Steve Smith to call up Nathan Lyon.
At the other end Mark Stoneman had dealt with the pacemen with aplomb but this proved to be a morning when Australia’s off-spinner would torment two of England’s left-handers. Lyon now bowls quickly for a finger spinner and when the ball is gripping that makes him ever more dangerous. He becalmed Stoneman and then found his outside edge from a forward defensive stroke. Within six overs Dawid Malan was dismissed in identical fashion.
Lyon relishes the left-handedness of England’s line-up. When his confidence is high – as it is now – he offers no freebies. The only way one could imagine Stoneman and Malan scoring off him was from the occasional square cut. Of Lyon’s five wickets in this Test four have been left-handers. Root played him far more easily conjuring singles without much trouble. England, like Australia, lean too heavily upon their captain for their runs. Root had hit 51, which was never enough, when he was dismissed in similar fashion to the first innings. Josh Hazlewood slanted a full-length delivery inwards and the ball thudded into Root’s left pad as he aimed to hit it wide of mid-on. There is a chink here.
After lunch there was another tantalizing partnership for English supporters. Moeen Ali was determined to be proactive against Lyon and he took two fours in an over with a lofted drive and a firm sweep; Jonny Bairstow skipped down the pitch and hit the off-spinner for six over mid-wicket. At last Lyon was being challenged and oddly enough he was no longer as pinpoint accurate.
Then came the excruciating dismissal – for those in the English camp – of Moeen. The ball beat his outside edge as he pushed forward to Lyon and Tim Paine whipped off the bails. Then the replays from every conceivable angle began. Was any part of Moeen’s boot behind one of the thickest, though perhaps not the straightest, of white lines ever painted on a cricket pitch? Umpire Chris Gaffaney eventually concluded that the answer was “No”.
So Moeen’s cameo was ended; so too were England chances of setting Australia a taxing target.
There was one other small partnership between Woakes and Bairstow that at least allowed the English supporters to dream as the score crept up to 185-6. But England would only muster another 10 runs. Starc produced another well-directed short ball, which Woakes could only fend into the slip cordon; Bairstow, no doubt scenting that he was running out of partners, tried an upper cut but only sent the ball straight into the hands of Peter Handscomb, who had been stationed at third man for just such a shot.
Broad was bemused to be caught behind after a review and Ball received a succession of bouncers – in another age the umpires might have intervened – the last of which flew from his bat handle to Handscomb loitering conveniently behind the keeper. As in 2013-14 it is hard to imagine England’s tail ever wagging against such a barrage.
Day 5
• England 302 & 195; Australia 328 & 173-0; Australia win by 10 wickets
• David Warner and Cameron Bancroft share 173-run stand for first wicket
On a disappointingly sunny Monday morning for England supporters Australia completed the job without any alarms. Their victory was emphatic in the end: a 10- wicket romp, which represented some comeback from the depths of 76 for four on the second day. The winning runs came from a scorching straight drive by Cameron Bancroft, a wonderful way for him to end his debut Test match. This completed a terrific fightback by Australia peculiarly overshadowed by far more important matters like “alleged” headbutts in a swish drinking establishment in Claremont, Perth, four weeks ago.
Australia, having bowled England out for 195, required 170 to win the first Test and preserve their fantastic record in Brisbane. By the close Warner had led the way alongside a fresh and willing disciple in Bancroft.
Australia were 114 without loss, with Warner on 60, Bancroft 51 and the retiring curator, Kevin Mitchell, could sleep easily. His remarkable record was intact. As Warner could no doubt confirm, the hosts have not lost at the Gabba since Robert Runcie was the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The English bowlers lacked the speed or zip of their counterparts as the sun beat down on a blameless strip of turf. Suddenly batting was a breeze. In part this was because the tourists had not had much respite since leaving the field on Saturday evening. Moreover, they lack the pace that can overcome a true surface.
After biding their time against the new ball and England’s old guard, Warner in particular expanded his repertoire. Neither Chris Woakes nor Jake Ball could make an impression as the left-hander skipped around the crease and it was not long before Joe Root replaced Moeen Ali, who has struggled here partly because of a lack of bowling but also due to a cut on his spinning finger. Bancroft cruised along impressively in ‘Reverend’ Warner’s wake. Barring thunderstorms of biblical proportions, the game was up. England had been unable to score enough runs. There were moments of hope but no expectation throughout their innings.
Little partnerships were formed but they never looked like flourishing. The Australians, even though their pace attack was not quite as ferocious as on Saturday night, were on their game.
Root was required to undergo another test for concussion before resuming his innings and he showed no ill effects from Saturday’s blow to the helmet. A crisp cover drive for four off Mitchell Starc confirmed that all was well. He was able to score quicker than most – because he is better than most – usually square of the wicket and it took only 35 minutes for Steve Smith to call up Nathan Lyon.
At the other end Mark Stoneman had dealt with the pacemen with aplomb but this proved to be a morning when Australia’s off-spinner would torment two of England’s left-handers. Lyon now bowls quickly for a finger spinner and, when the ball is gripping, that makes him ever more dangerous. He becalmed Stoneman and then found his outside edge from a forward defensive stroke. Within six overs Dawid Malan was dismissed in identical fashion.
Lyon relishes the left-handedness of England’s lineup. When his confidence is high, as it is now, he offers no freebies. The only way one could imagine Stoneman and Malan scoring off him was from the occasional square cut. Of Lyon’s five wickets in this Test, four have been left-handers. Root played him far more easily, conjuring singles without much trouble. England, like Australia, lean too heavily on their captain for their runs. Root had hit 51, which was never enough, when he was dismissed in similar fashion to the first innings. Josh Hazlewood slanted a full-length delivery inwards and the ball thudded into Root’s left pad as he aimed to hit it wide of mid-on. There is a chink here.
After lunch there was another tantalising partnership for English supporters. Moeen was determined to be proactive against Lyon and he took two fours in an over with a lofted drive and a firm sweep; Jonny Bairstow skipped down the pitch and hit the off-spinner for six over mid-wicket. At last Lyon was being challenged and oddly enough he was no longer as pinpoint accurate.
Then came the excruciating dismissal – for those in the English camp – of Moeen. The ball beat his outside edge as he pushed forward to Lyon and Tim Paine whipped off the bails. Then the replays from every conceivable angle began. Was any part of the batsman’s boot behind one of the thickest, though perhaps not the straightest, of white lines ever painted on a cricket pitch? Umpire Chris Gaffaney eventually concluded that the answer was “No”.
So Moeen’s cameo was ended; so too were England’s chances of setting Australia a taxing target.
There was one other small partnership between Woakes and Bairstow that at least allowed the visiting supporters to dream as the score crept up to 185 for six. But England would muster only 10 more runs. Starc produced another well-directed short ball, which Woakes could only fend into the slip cordon; Bairstow, no doubt scenting he was running out of partners, tried an upper cut but sent the ball straight into the hands of Peter Handscomb, who had been stationed at third man for just such a shot.
Stuart Broad was bemused to be caught behind after a review and Ball received a succession of bouncers – in another age the umpires might have intervened – the last of which flew from his bat handle to Handscomb loitering conveniently behind the keeper. As in 2013-14 it is hard to imagine England’s tail ever wagging against such a barrage.
2nd Test
Day 1
Australia 209/4 (81 ov)
England
There have been bigger gambles in Ashes history and there have been worse outcomes. But the decision to put Australia in, the first time England have done so here since the ill-fated decision of Bob Willis on the 1982-83 tour, did not look so good after the 81 overs that were bowled on Saturday.
At the end of a blustery day and night when play was interrupted by several squally showers Australia were delighted to be 209 for four at the close of play at 10.05pm, which was dangerously near to England’s midnight curfew.
There was some tufty grass on the pitch but it was not quite as long or as green as in previous day/night matches here. The decision to put the opposition in had much more logic than in 1982 – after all, Australia have won both day/night matches here batting second – but the end product was grim for Joe Root. Inserting the opposition brings an additional pressure to the bowlers, since there is the expectation that the opposition should be dismissed for around 250 to justify that decision. Early on, England may have felt that burden of expectation; their bowlers were tentative and a bit short in length. Moreover, the pink ball behaved all too decorously, declining to swing on a cold and windy day – by Adelaide standards.
Before the start John Emburey gave a brief, expletive-free speech to the English huddle before giving Craig Overton his first cap. The first Devonian to play for England since Chris Read in 2007 replaced Jake Ball. The sun briefly made an appearance at the singing of Advance Australia Fair, which was the last thing that Root wanted to see. Then the Australia openers advanced warily but with few problems; the ball seldom beat the bat during the 13.5 overs before the first interruption.
That break upset the batsmen’s concentration, which was not evident from their strokeplay but their running between the wickets. David Warner pushed the ball gently towards short extra cover, where Moeen Ali fumbled. From there the ball trickled towards Chris Woakes at mid-off. Warner spied a single, a macho, annoying single and he advanced down the pitch, bellowing: “Yes.” Cameron Bancroft dutifully responded, whereupon Warner changed his mind. Woakes took aim and hit the stumps with Bancroft stranded.
Immediately, Root removed Woakes from the attack, replacing him with Anderson. This seemed an odd thing to do. Woakes must have been buzzing after his superb intervention and it was surely worth keeping him going for an over or two. Occasionally, Root can be too hierarchical with his bowlers.
Usman Khawaja settled alongside Warner. Overton bowled his first over in Test cricket respectably; Moeen was summoned specifically to bowl at Khawaja and did not seem to be too hindered by his damaged spinning finger. Nor were the batsmen hindered much. Suddenly, 20 runs came in two overs in part due to a bad misfield by James Vince to the delight of the majority of the 55,317 spectators.
Australia were cruising when Warner nibbled at Woakes and for the first time in 84 overs in this series an English bowler had taken a wicket.
Another should have followed soon after when Khawaja, on 44, top-edged a hook shot to the leg-side boundary, where Mark Stoneman ran to his right only for the ball to bobble out of hard hands on to the turf. Dinner, a movable feast, was taken at 7.10pm with Australia 138 for two.
With darkness descending it did appear to become harder to bat after the break even though the ball was 51 overs old. In that crepuscular hour Khawaja drove airily away from his body and sliced a catch to Vince in the gully, but Steve Smith remained unperturbed.
England had managed to rattle the Australia captain early in his innings more by something they said rather than through a sequence of venomous deliveries. It seemed that Stuart Broad said something that Smith did not find particularly funny; in fact it irked him; we know not what since my campaign to keep the pitch microphones permanently switched on does not appear to be gaining any momentum. One assumes that Broad remained on the appropriate side of the mythical line that has been endlessly spoken about in the past week, though the umpires did feel obliged to have a word themselves.
The Australia captain progressed slowly but then he appears to be in a phase when he actively enjoys taking his time frustrating the England bowlers and sapping their energy.
Soon Overton was summoned for another spell. His first ball was full in length and beat the inside edge of Smith’s bat; then it flicked the batsman’s left pad before disturbing the stumps; the bails lit up magically and Overton had his first Test wicket, the first taken for England by a Somerset bowler since Richard Johnson had Kumar Sangakkara lbw on Sunday’s date in 2003. It was a scalp much-celebrated out in the middle, as well as in Instow and Westward Ho! From here onwards, Overton certainly did not look out of place.
Still, there was no clatter of wickets in the darkness, which might suggest that upon this surface the ball is not darting around as much in previous years – we will know more when we see Australia bowling.
Peter Handscomb’s early runs all came behind the wicket and often from the edge of his bat. His innings was not pretty – he gets into some extraordinary positions and he played and missed more often than most – but it was valuable. Like Smith, he does not possess a technique that you will find in any coaching manual but batting in a Test match is not a beauty contest. Shaun Marsh was more orthodox and more convincing as yet another partnership developed. It was not a pulsating day and night but it was Australia’s.
Day 2
Australia 442-8 dec (149 overs): Marsh 126*, Paine 57, Overton 3-105
England 29-1 (9.1 overs): Stoneman 18, Starc 1-13
England face a battle to stay in the second Ashes Test after a Shaun Marsh century put Australia in complete command on day two in Adelaide.
Marsh ended on 126 not out, taking Australia to 442-8 declared with the help of Tim Paine (57) and Pat Cummins (44).
England spent 149 overs in the field after winning the toss and when they came to bat, facing an Australia attack armed with a pink ball under the floodlights, it seemed like a recipe for the top order to be blown away.
The tourists lost Mark Stoneman, lbw to Mitchell Starc for 18, before rain arrived to wipe almost 19 overs off the day.
England closed on 29-1, 413 behind, with Alastair Cook on 11 and James Vince yet to score.
With Australia 1-0 up after a 10-wicket win in Brisbane, it is no exaggeration to say that England's hopes of retaining the Ashes are already under huge threat, especially as the next Test comes in Perth, where England have not won since 1978.
Day 3
Australia 8 for 442 dec and 4 for 53 lead England 227 by 268 runs
First, the good news for England. They still hold the Ashes. And they had the ball hooping and Australia's batsmen hopping in a tense final session on the third day. But lest anyone get carried away with this impressive bowling display, led by James Anderson, it is worth remembering that Australia lead by 268 runs, with six wickets in hand. Unless they can roll Australia for under 117, England will need their all-time highest successful Test chase to win this match.
This was a day on which England clearly won the final session, reducing Australia to 4 for 53 in their second innings. But it was also a day on which their top scorer was the debutant No. 9, Craig Overton, with an unbeaten 41, and a day when they gave Steven Smith the option of enforcing the follow-on. He chose not to do so, preferring to give his bowlers a rest, but it was an interesting decision to make at the start of the tricky twilight batting period.
He must hope that his call will not backfire as Joe Root's choice at the toss had. Root sent Australia in on a good batting surface, and watched as they batted into their sixth session and declared at 8 for 442. It was this hefty platform that gave Smith the confidence to bat again. By stumps, Smith was one of the four men to have lost his wicket, and Australia had Peter Handscomb at the crease on 3 alongside the nightwatchman Nathan Lyon, on 2.
Anderson and Chris Woakes had each picked up two wickets as the ball curled under the Adelaide Oval floodlights. Cameron Bancroft felt at an Anderson outswinger and was caught behind for 4. Usman Khawaja was squared up by an Anderson delivery that nipped away, and was lbw for 20. David Warner edged to slip off Woakes for an uncharacteristically subdued 14 off 60 balls. And Smith was lbw to a Woakes ball that nipped back in for 6.
Such a summary can barely capture the intensity of the session. For the first time in the match, Australia were playing for survival. Anderson in particular seemed to have the ball at his mercy, and was a few centimetres from having three wickets himself when Smith was given lbw to an inswinger from around the wicket, that was shown on review to have pitched a hair's breadth outside the leg stump. But is it too little, too late for England?
Never one to mince his words, former England captain Michael Vaughan had said before play that his country needed to win every session today or the Ashes were lost. Within two hours, the word "whitewash" was beginning to cross his mind. That England fought back in the final session could undo the fact that they had collapsed to be all out for 227. Whatever the final prognosis, that alone affected the health of their campaign.
Four wickets in the opening session were followed by three in the second, and the innings was wrapped up quickly after the dinner break with two more breakthroughs as Lyon had Stuart Broad caught behind and then trapped Anderson lbw. In doing so, Lyon moved, if temporarily, to the top of Test cricket's wicket tally for the 2017 calendar year. Like the chimera of Greek myth, Australia's hybrid GOAT-Lyon creature is in fire-breathing form.
England had started the day at 1 for 29, knowing that a solid day of batting might have dragged them back into the contest. Instead, they lost James Vince from the ninth ball of the day when he tried to force Josh Hazlewood off the back foot and edged behind. That left England at 2 for 31, but it also brought together their two best batsmen as captain Joe Root joined his predecessor Alastair Cook at the crease.
But in trying to play positively, Root fell for 9 when he drove at a fullish delivery from Pat Cummins and edged to third slip, where Bancroft snapped up the opportunity. Cook too succumbed to a needless stroke when he pushed at an offbreak from Lyon and edged to Smith at slip on 37. Dawid Malan made 19 before he failed to negotiate a sharp delivery from Cummins that nipped back in and bounced, taking his inside edge on the way through to the wicketkeeper Tim Paine.
England were 5 for 128 at tea, and although their lower order fought, the damage had been done. Remarkably, all three wickets that came between tea and dinner were caught and bowled, and two of them among the most spectacular examples of the dismissal. Moeen Ali, who had managed 25 off 57 balls, began the trend when he was done by Lyon's dip, driving uppishly away from the bowler, who dived full-length and plucked the chance in his left hand to leave England at 6 for 132.
Not to be outdone, Mitchell Starc threw his right hand out to intercept a well-struck Jonny Bairstow drive, and the ball lobbed up behind Starc, allowing him to complete the catch on the second grab. Near the end of the session, Starc completed the easiest of the trio of return catches when Woakes top-edged an attempted pull and the bowler barely needed to move to collect the skied opportunity.
Woakes and Overton had put together a 66-run eighth-wicket stand. Combined with the fine bowling in the last session, it was enough to keep England in the match. But only barely.
Day 4
Australia 442/8d & 138
England 227 & 176/4 (62 ov, target: 354)
England require another 178 runs with 6 wickets remaining
Momentum is a curious, intangible beast, impossible to measure but easy to see. There are players who claim that it doesn't exist, yet what else but momentum can explain the fact that England are even remotely back in this Test match? England, who were thrashed by 10 wickets in Brisbane. England, who here sent Australia in, saw them bat into six sessions and declare at 8 for 442. England, who batted so poorly that they gave Australia the chance to enforce the follow-on.
And therein lies the crux of this momentum shift. Steven Smith did not make England bat again, preferring to give his bowlers a rest. In doing so, he made his own men bat under lights on the third evening, when England's bowlers hooped the ball around and gained confidence. On the fourth day, Australia were knocked over for 138, and James Anderson claimed the first five-wicket haul he had ever managed in 15 Tests in Australia. The previously anosmic England had the trace of a sniff.
By stumps, England had doggedly worked their way to 4 for 176, with their captain Joe Root the key man, unbeaten on 67, alongside Chris Woakes on 5. The momentum had threatened to swing back to Australia late in the evening when Pat Cummins rattled the top of Dawid Malan's off stump, and might have done so had Woakes not jammed down on a sizzling Cummins yorker from the penultimate ball of the day.
In the end, England went to stumps needing a further 178 runs with six wickets in hand. Yet if Australia's position was much the stronger, England might have felt that they won the day, for they ended it with more chance of victory than when they had started. In the final session it was the Australians who looked nervy, Smith losing both of his side's reviews in the space of three balls as he sought a fourth wicket.
Objectively, this made little sense. To win, England would need to rewrite history. Never before have England chased down a target as high as the 354 they were set here. For nearly 90 years, their record chase has been 332, achieved by a team that boasted Jack Hobbs, Herbert Sutcliffe and Wally Hammond in their top four. To triumph at Adelaide Oval would not only break England's record, it would be one of the top 10 chases in all of Test history.
Australia's mood was not helped by an incident in the fourth over, when Josh Hazlewood rapped Alastair Cook on the pads from around the wicket. The lbw appeal was turned down by umpire Chris Gaffaney, presumably feeling the ball was sliding down leg. Neither Hazlewood nor wicketkeeper Tim Paine seemed desperate to convince Smith to review, and Australia left it alone. Ball-tracking would have given them the wicket, the ball smashing into leg stump.
Perhaps that played a role in Smith's eagerness to review later, first when Pat Cummins thought he had Root caught behind and then when Hazlewood struck Malan on the flap of the pad in the next over. No Snicko, no Hot Spot, no "umpire's call", just lost reviews that would not be refreshed. At least in the meantime, Smith had made one good review, when Nathan Lyon straightened one to trap Cook lbw for 16.
Cook and Mark Stoneman had given England just the solid start they required, but on 53 their partnership was broken by Cook's departure, and Stoneman fell with only one more run added to the score. Having scored at a run a ball for his first 28, he had been stifled for some time when on 36 he tried to glide Mitchell Starc away to the off side and succeeded only in sending a catch to Usman Khawaja at gully.
James Vince did little for his Test reputation by driving breezily at Starc and edging to first slip for 15, which left England wobbling at 3 for 91. But Root and Malan worked hard through the tricky evening period for a 78-run stand. Root in particular was excellent, seeking not just to survive but to score - though he had a nervous moment when given out lbw playing no shot to Lyon, a decision that was overturned on review. If Smith's hundred was the defining innings at the Gabba, Root could yet make the difference here.
The day had started with Australia on 4 for 53, leading by 268 runs with six wickets in hand. It was a powerful position by any standards, yet England had gained confidence on the third evening and they did not let Australia slip away too much on the fourth day.
Anderson finished with 5 for 43 and a torn pair of trousers sustained while diving in vain for a return catch. He began by removing the nightwatchman Lyon, who chipped a catch to mid-off for 14, and followed by having Peter Handscomb caught at third slip for 12. Handscomb is the only Australian who might be considered in danger of losing his place any time soon, and did little in this innings to show his form as anything but scratchy.
Paine made 11 before he was brilliantly caught by Craig Overton, running in from fine leg and diving to collect the top-edged hook off Woakes, who then grabbed his fourth wicket by bowling Shaun Marsh for 19. Starc made 20, the equal top score in the innings (along with Khawaja) before he skied a catch off Anderson to give the fast bowler his fifth wicket.
The innings was wrapped up when Hazlewood sent a catch to gully off Overton, leaving Cummins not out on 11. It meant that Australia's 138 was the highest total in Test history in which no batsman had scored more than 20. That was one record broken. Now England hope that another will follow.
Day 5
Australia 442/8d & 138
England 227 & 233 (84.2 ov, target: 354)
Australia won by 120 runs
England arrived at Adelaide Oval on the fifth day knowing that hope springs eternal, or at least until Joe Root gets out. And so England's hope sprung for only 17 deliveries. By the time the day was three overs old, Josh Hazlewood had dismissed Root and Chris Woakes, and within two hours Australia had won the Test and taken a 2-0 lead in the series. At least the England fans who had awoken in the small hours back home in anticipation of a tense final day could get some sleep.
The day began with England 178 runs from victory with six wickets in hand. They added only 57 to their overnight total for the loss of all six of those wickets. That England even fought back into this match, that they entered the final day with any sort of hope whatsoever, was a surprise in itself. But if Australia officially won the Test on the fifth afternoon, in reality England had lost it on the first two days, when they sent Australia in and saw them make 442.
It left England needing their all-time highest successful chase to win this match, and the final day began badly when Woakes edged behind off Hazlewood from the second ball - Snicko confirming his fate despite a review. In Hazlewood's next over he claimed the key wicket of Root, who did not add a run to his overnight score of 67. On a surface that had been good for batting all match, a ball finally stayed a touch low and kissed the toe of Root's bat on the way through to Tim Paine.
From then on it was only a matter of time, and not even much of that. Moeen Ali was trapped lbw trying to sweep Nathan Lyon on 2, and the rest of the damage arrived with the new ball. Mitchell Starc curled the very first delivery with the new pink Kookaburra in to the pads of Craig Overton, who was lbw for 7; Stuart Broad edged behind off Starc for 8; and the result was confirmed when Jonny Bairstow chopped on against Starc for 36.
Starc had finished with 5 for 88, but it was Hazlewood's two early strikes that set the tone for the final session of this Test. After a day of England fight, normal service had resumed. And if the Gabbatoir is the fortress at which Australia like to open their summer, the Adelaide Oval day-night Test is becoming a strong occasion for them as well - the Australians have now won all three pink-ball Tests played in Adelaide.
Now the teams fly to Perth with Australia just one win away from regaining the Ashes. And if Root wins the toss at the WACA, don't expect him to do anything but bat.
3rd Test
Day 1
England 305/4 (89 ov)
Australia
On a ground that has often been a graveyard for English cricket Dawid Malan kept alive hopes of heading for Melbourne with the destination of the Ashes still undecided. Malan hit his maiden Test century, an innings of great character, a bit of luck and some silky strokeplay. His unbroken partnership of 176 with Jonny Bairstow, belatedly promoted to No6, was easily the highest England have managed in the series. Thus the tourists managed to finish the first day on 305 for four after Joe Root had won his third toss of the series.
Malan did not suggest too much permanence at the start when he was peppered with a stream of short-pitched deliveries. He was determined to do more than duck, sway or fend. There were two top-edges over the keeper’s head, one of which went for six, and there were a few swishes at fresh air as well. But he survived and as his innings progressed it became more assured. There were elegant cover drives, whether the bowler was the deadly Nathan Lyon or Josh Hazlewood, but nothing bettered the pull shot against the second new ball which took him to three figures.
That second new ball should have dismissed Malan, on 92, at the first attempt but Cameron Bancroft at third slip spilled the catch off Mitchell Starc’s bowling. So, alongside Bairstow, Malan was able to negotiate those critical nine overs against the new ball with no losses and just a few alarms at the end of a day that offered some riveting entertainment.
We had been warned that we might witness a pale shadow of the superfast tracks of two or three decades ago but the suggestion that the Perth pitch is now a pudding may have been overstated. This one may be slower than in the golden days but in the final Ashes Test on this famous West Australian strip of turf the ball still flew through faster than it does on any other pitch in this country or around the world – with the possible exception of the Wanderers in Johannesburg. Hence there were some captivating duels, unless you happened to be Mark Stoneman, who was hit full on the helmet from a well‑directed short ball from Hazlewood. It is just as well that Stoneman is not a club cricketer since he would now be penniless; his helmet had to be replaced and he broke his second bat of the tour during another plucky innings.
The right team was bowling to highlight that there is life in the old pitch yet. After Australia had bowled prettily and full for 90 minutes, they changed tack. The opportunities to drive diminished. Since the ball was obstinately declining to swing the trio of tall pacemen pulled their length back and the ball whistled through to the keeper; sometimes it sailed wastefully over Tim Paine’s head but when it was chest height batting became more of a trial, albeit one with compensations. This surface is true; the outfield is like glass so there are plenty of boundaries out there. England’s slower pace bowlers may not be able to exploit the bounce so easily. Three hundred here would have been worth 400 at Brisbane and Adelaide.
The full-length ball, favoured by the Australians at the start, accounted for Cook. A Starc delivery thudded into the pads and Cook knew – even without the statutory glance at his partner – there was no point in seeking a review. Cook has been striving fiendishly hard to recover the magic; it is even possible that he is working too hard but he has always reckoned that hard work brings its rewards in the end. If everything had been functioning smoothly he would have hit that Starc delivery.
Meanwhile Stoneman was racing away, clipping full balls through square leg with aplomb as the pacemen searched in vain for swing. James Vince, you’ve guessed it, settled impressively; there was the odd sweet cover drive. But soon he was tied down by Hazlewood; Steve Smith removed his short extra‑cover to slip, leaving an inviting gap, and then Vince, with one eye on that gap and another on lunch, drove away from his body with no foot movement and was caught behind. Patience is running thin with him, even though he tantalises.
After the break there was a little flurry of boundaries for Joe Root while Stoneman had a torrid time against Hazlewood. He did manage an upper cut boundary to reach his third Test half-century but in the next over against Hazlewood, Stoneman was dropped at first slip by Mitchell Marsh; then he was hit on the helmet and, after an appropriate delay for recovery and inspection, he was almost caught at short point after spooning another bouncer in that direction.
Yet it was Root who departed next, caught down the leg-side off Cummins; the namby-pamby full-length bowling had been abandoned and Australia were looking far more dangerous. Soon after Stoneman fended at another fierce lifter from Starc but was given not out by the umpire Marais Erasmus after the ball had ended up the gloves of a jubilant Paine. The third umpire, Aleem Dar, did not dally long and overturned the decision. It may be that he reached the right conclusion in the wrong way. Initially the replays did little to provide conclusive evidence that Erasmus’s decision should be changed. After Dar had sent his message another replay surfaced, which suggested the ball may have grazed Stoneman’s right glove.
At 131 for four it felt like the same old story but Malan and Bairstow, now batting with a fine mixture of aggression and discretion, stayed together for 51 overs, which must have cheered up English men and women with tickets for Melbourne on Boxing Day.
Day 2
England 403
Australia 203/3 (152 ov)
Australia trail by 200 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Four years ago this week, Steven Smith spontaneously changed his technique while batting against England at the WACA, adding a preliminary movement in an innings that became his second Test century. Back at the same ground, against the same opposition, but now as Australia's captain and the best batsman in the world, Smith looked impenetrable as he sauntered towards what could become his 22nd Test hundred and dragged his team back into the contest on day two in Perth.
England had started the morning in a powerful position at 4 for 305, and an England Ashes record fifth-wicket partnership of 237 between Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow built the perfect platform for a hefty total. Along the way, Bairstow raised his first Test century in 18 months, but when their stand was broken the England lower order collapsed quickly on a WACA pitch offering some of the old pace and bounce, and their last six wickets fell for 35.
England were all out for 403 - still an imposing score, but not one that posed an insurmountable object for the Australians. And despite some fine bowling from Craig Overton, who picked off both of Australia's openers after they made starts, Smith ensured that his side finished the day in a satisfactory position at 3 for 203, trailing by 200 with seven wickets in hand. By the close, Smith was on 92 and Shaun Marsh had 7, having come to the crease after Usman Khawaja was lbw to Chris Woakes for 50.
Khawaja had scratched his way to his half-century from 122 deliveries, but his next ball was angled in from Woakes and struck Khawaja on the back leg. Given out on field, Khawaja reviewed the decision: there was more rocking and rolling in the third umpire's room than at an Elvis concert as Aleem Dar tried to ascertain whether a Snicko spike was ball on bat, but in the end Khawaja was sent on his way. Marsh might have followed him in the closing overs, only for a chance off Moeen Ali, rebounding from the boot of short leg, to somehow evade both Mark Stoneman and Bairstow.
Khawaja's fifty had come about half as quickly as Smith's, which was fitting for Smith looked about twice as good. There were some cracks in the pitch that provided the occasional spot of uneven bounce, but if it wasn't a road, Smith enjoyed driving on it all the same, punishing England's fast bowlers when they overpitched. He also latched on to short deliveries when he could, and dealt prolifically in boundaries on his way to a 58-ball half-century.
England were not helped by the absence of Overton for a period during the final session, as he appeared to struggle with a problem in his rib/chest region. He had clearly been England's most dangerous bowler during the early stages of Australia's innings, drawing an edge behind from David Warner on 22 from a ball that angled in and straightened, and then trapping Cameron Bancroft lbw for 25 with a delivery angled in from wide of the crease.
Overton might have added Khawaja to his wicket tally if he could have held on to a very difficult diving return chance early in the batsman's innings, and Khawaja had another life on 28 when his edge off Woakes was missed by Joe Root at slip. Khawaja went on to compile a 124-run stand with Smith, but it was barely half as big as the partnership between Malan and Bairstow that set up England's innings.
They broke the 79-year-old England Ashes record for a fifth-wicket partnership, which had been held by Denis Compton and Eddie Paynter, who put on 206 at Trent Bridge in 1938, and along the way Bairstow brought up his hundred from his 185th delivery with a single to fine leg. Fittingly, given the drama that followed the Brisbane Test, he celebrated his first Test hundred since the Lord's Test against Sri Lanka in June 2016 with an understated headbutt to his own helmet
The 237-run partnership finally ended when Malan was brilliantly caught by substitute fieldsman Peter Handscomb off the bowling of Nathan Lyon for 140. Malan failed to get to the pitch of the ball and in trying to hit Lyon over the top, succeeded only in spooning an edge up into the off side, where Handscomb ran briskly from backward point and took the catch while diving forward at full stretch, the kind of effort that Australia needed to turn their game around.
Moeen lasted only two deliveries before the extra bounce from Pat Cummins troubled him and the ball lobbed off his glove to Smith at slip. Another fine catch, this time from Cummins at long leg, ended Woakes' innings on 8 off the bowling of Josh Hazlewood, before Mitchell Starc curled one in to rattle the stumps of Bairstow, who was bowled for 119.
A short delivery from Hazlewood accounted for Overton, who on 2 managed only to fend the ball to Bancroft at short leg, and Starc wrapped up the innings by having Stuart Broad caught at short leg awkwardly swinging at a bouncer. Starc had finished with four wickets and Hazlewood three, and Australia's quick despatching of England's tail had kept them in the match. By stumps, England knew they had to find a way through Smith in order to keep their own Ashes campaign alive.
Day 3
England 403
Australia 549/4 (152 ov)
Australia lead by 146 runs with 6 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
It would be hard to imagine a day of greater Australian dominance than this one. It was a day on which Steven Smith made his second Test double-century, Mitchell Marsh scored his maiden Test hundred, England claimed just a single wicket and Australia piled on 346 runs. A day that began with Australia trailing by 200 finished with them 146 runs in front, and with a realistic chance of pushing for victory - and the urn - over the next two days. Remind us why Australia would want to move Ashes Tests away from the WACA?
But a caveat is necessary, for it was not a day that necessarily ended England's campaign. The pitch remains good for batting - that is stating the obvious - and there is rain forecast over the next two days in Perth. It remains very possible that England will escape from this match with a draw, and as the holders of the Ashes, that would keep them alive in the series. Alive, but demoralised. They might have known that Smith could score a mountain of runs, but Mitchell Marsh eyeing off a Test double-century by stumps? They'd have been more likely to expect the Spanish Inquisition.
This was a day that can best be illustrated by the numbers, and at the close of play, the numbers were these: Smith was on 229, Marsh was on 181, and Australia had 4 for 549. Hundreds were also piling up in England's bowling analysis: Craig Overton, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali had all conceded centuries by the close of play, and if James Anderson - currently at 0 for 85 - joins them on the fourth day, it will be just the eighth time in Test history that a team has had five or more bowlers concede 100 in the same innings.
Some more numbers: by stumps, the Smith-Marsh partnership was worth 301 runs, the most prolific partnership Smith has ever been involved in at Test level. And Marsh's score was already the sixth-highest of all time by an Australian No.6. Along the way, Smith passed 1000 runs in a calendar year for the fourth consecutive year, joining Matthew Hayden as the only men to achieve this feat, and Smith has done so averaging 60-plus in every year.
The day had started in vaguely reasonable style for England, when they claimed the wicket of Shaun Marsh, who edged Moeen to slip for 28. It was the only reason England had to celebrate all day. Reasons for optimism were rare: occasionally Smith edged, but his soft hands always ensured the ball dropped short of the slips, and an lbw review from England against Smith found that Anderson had over-stepped, although in any case the umpire's on-field call of not-out would have been upheld by the ball tracking.
No matter what Joe Root tried, it failed. In the morning, Smith brought up the fastest century of his Test career, a 138-ball effort that showed just as much ability to read the circumstances as had his slowest Test hundred, scored at the Gabba earlier in this series. He continued to be strong when cover-driving, when walking across the stumps and whipping to leg, and frankly playing wherever he wanted to.
Marsh was especially powerful driving straight down the ground and through the off side, and also found the gaps when cutting. He let out a roar after bringing up his home-town hundred in the final over before tea, with a pair of boundaries through point off Broad, the milestone coming from his 130th delivery. His efforts had continued a fine summer of selections from the Australian panel, who have found excellent contributions from Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine and now Mitchell Marsh, three selections that sparked much debate.
And still the runs kept piling up. Late in the day, Smith moved past his previous highest Test score of 215, and had been at the crease for nearly 10 hours. He was just the fifth Australia captain to score an Ashes double-century, after Billy Murdoch, Don Bradman, Bob Simpson and Allan Border.
Marsh by the close was eyeing off a double-century, a sentence which on its own tells all that need be told about this day. The result was that England were sunk, if not in the series, then at least in their hopes of winning this Test.
Day 4
England 403 & 132/4 (38.2 ov)
Australia 662/9d
England trail by 127 runs with 6 wickets remaining
A tempestuous Sunday in Perth ended with England on the brink of surrendering the Ashes. A fierce, winter wind blew all day, which had players digging into their cases for sweaters. The candlelight carols down by the river Swan were cancelled in the morning – there was certainly no chance of any candles staying alight and there were more serious concerns that the stage and the lights would be blown away.
To the despair of England fans at the Waca the disruption to the cricket was surprisingly brief. Sometimes there was sun, sometimes showers and always that wind howling across the ground. Amid the gales Australia inexorably tightened their grip, declaring with a lead of 259 and then making clinical incursions into England’s batting like an expert surgeon. At the close the tourists were 132 for four, still 127 runs away from making Australia bat again.
Already England’s experienced men were back in the pavilion with a pair of 14s, no more use to the team than they are in pontoon. Alastair Cook’s tour, despite all the toil – but no sweat – in the nets has yet to take off, while Joe Root’s Australian expedition took another turn for the worst. Of the four batsmen dismissed Root’s departure was the most exasperating.
Perhaps the strain on the captain is telling, with the expedition on the brink of failure. In his eagerness to assert himself at the crease Root chased the first delivery bowled by Nathan Lyon in the innings – the widest he has bowled in the series – and he was caught behind. He may, like Cook four years ago, be appreciating how lonely a job his can be.
Unsurprisingly the pitch looked a little livelier when the Australian bowlers took the field after resting up for the best part of two days. Mark Stoneman fell, caught behind, for his first single-figure score of the series in Hazlewood’s first over. Cook clipped two leg-side boundaries and looked sharp enough until a leading edge went back down the pitch, where an inspired Hazlewood dived to his right before completing a brilliant one-handed catch.
Out came Root, steeling himself to regain the initiative. As ever he began busily, whereupon Steve Smith summoned Lyon on a pitch that has been no more helpful to spinners than an umbrella in a hurricane – incidentally it seems that umbrellas are the latest item to be banned from Australian cricket grounds. Lyon’s first ball was speculative, wide and on a good length, a nice sighter for the batsman, except that Root chose to drive it. The edge clipped the gloves and knee of the wicketkeeper before landing gently in the hands of a jubilant Smith at slip.
That England avoided an immediate subsidence was down to James Vince and then a plucky partnership between the first-innings heroes, Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow. Vince batted in princely fashion with barely an error. Twelve boundaries fizzed from his bat in his 55 but then he was bowled by Starc. On this occasion Vince was blameless since he was the recipient of the ball of the series, which cut from leg to off as if delivered by Derek Underwood in his pomp but 25 mph quicker. There was absolutely no disgrace in this dismissal.
Thereafter Malan and Bairstow dug in impressively with few frills except when Malan took four authentic boundaries off an over from Pat Cummins. Despite the cracks appearing down the middle of the pitch – as is usually the case here – fluent strokeplay was still possible on this surface.
Play was abandoned soon after 5pm when the heaviest shower blew over, with England hoping for more of the same on the fifth day.
Oddly the fourth one began better than England could have hoped given that Australia started it on 549 for four. Mitchell Marsh was lbw to Jimmy Anderson’s second delivery; then Smith, after a cunning review, departed in the same way as England’s premier bowler conjured a little movement from the Prindiville stand end. The titans of Saturday were mortal after all.
Then Starc was stranded mid-pitch and Australia had lost three wickets for 12 runs. They were still 158 runs ahead but the complexion of the game had changed. Perhaps the old ball was reversing a little, which might justify not taking a new ball for an over or two. But it is hard to explain why Root and, more pertinently, his two senior bowlers declined to take it once Tim Paine and Cummins had begun to settle.
So here was a case of England’s two senior new-ball bowlers not wishing to bowl with a new ball. There was a risk attached: the hard and shiny new ball can fly. But there was also a potential reward: the new ball against lower-order batsmen might produce the three quick wickets required to keep Australia’s lead under 200. The old guard was not prepared to take that risk. Sometimes old-pro canniness can give way to negativity; sometimes Root may be required to challenge the wisdom of the seasoned duopoly.
So the Australian pair were able to add 93 as England, with the soft old ball in their hands, settled for damage limitation rather than the pursuit of wickets. The decision to persist with the old ball was a declaration of non-intent.
After lunch Cummins became the third lbw victim for Anderson and then Lyon holed out to his third ball. Anderson remains England’s best bowler but this must have been the least satisfying four-wicket haul of his career. From the depths of 561 for seven Australia were able to declare on 662 for nine.
Day 5
England 403 & 218
Australia 662/9d
Australia won by an innings and 41 runs
If this is Australia's last taste of international cricket at the WACA, it is a sweet one. Steven Smith's men regained the Ashes on the final day of the third Test against England, despite a controversial three-hour delay to the start of play caused by rain seeping into the pitch through the covers. If that was an inauspicious beginning for the WACA's last day as an Ashes venue - and possibly as an international ground full-stop - the Australians cared little by the end of the day, with the urn back in their grasp.
England needed to bat close to 70 overs to have any chance of clinging on to the Ashes. They managed to hold on for less than half of that. It was hardly surprising, for the cracks on the pitch made batting really challenging; one delivery from Josh Hazlewood actually flew from a leg-stump line straight to first slip. So, not only were England struggling to find answers, it wasn't always clear what questions would be asked of them.
Dawid Malan fought hard for 54 to add to his first-innings 140, but an Australian victory seemed only a matter of time. And if England leave the WACA with questions of their own regarding the state of the pitch on which they had to bat, it will not undo the result: an Australian win by an innings and 41 runs, and an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series. Hazlewood completed his first Ashes five-wicket haul, exploiting the conditions effectively, and England were dismissed for 218 before tea. All England can do now is prevent the kind of 5-0 clean sweep they suffered in 2013-14, and in 2006-07. On the basis of current form, it won't be any easy task.
Regardless of what happened on the final day, this match was won by the monstrous triple-century partnership between Smith and Mitchell Marsh on the third day. They propelled Australia to 9 for 662, their highest total in a Test innings since Cardiff in 2009, but there was to be no repeat of Cardiff's last-gasp draw for England. The final wicket fell when Chris Woakes tried to ramp Pat Cummins over the keeper's head but succeeded only in feathering a catch through to Tim Paine. The Australian huddle was instantaneous, and jubilant.
There were times during the morning when they must have wondered if this moment would come. Heavy overnight rain in Perth had found its way through the covers and onto the pitch, leading to the farcical sight of the captains and umpires standing around in fine conditions as they watched the groundstaff use leaf blowers to dry the wet patches on the pitch. It had the potential to be a black swansong for the WACA - perhaps fittingly, for a ground in Western Australia - but play finally got under way at 1pm.
Hazlewood's first delivery and the sixth of the day kept a fraction low and took Jonny Bairstow's off stump. Later in the same over, the Australians thought they had Moeen Ali when he edged to second slip, where Smith scooped the ball up low to the ground. A soft not-out signal from the on-field umpires was enough to save Moeen, with the third umpire Aleem Dar unable to conclusively determine whether Smith had got his fingers under the ball.
Moeen and Malan settled in for a partnership that lasted 15.4 overs, but Moeen's struggles against his fellow offspinner Nathan Lyon continued when he prodded tamely forward and was trapped lbw by a straight ball for 11. Malan was the key for England, the last recognised batsman, and he battled manfully before gloving an attempted pull through to Paine off the bowling of Hazlewood. From there, it was only a matter of time. Less than 10 overs, as it turned out.
Craig Overton, who had bravely played with a cracked rib during this match, was caught low at gully by Usman Khawaja off Hazlewood, who finished with 5 for 48, and Stuart Broad's miserable series continued when he too gloved behind off Cummins. Woakes and James Anderson did their best to get through the extended session to the delayed tea break, but failed narrowly, handing the Ashes back to Australia.
For Smith's men, this was the culmination of a three-Test sequence in which they have dominated England for the most part, and they can now head to Melbourne and Sydney with the aim of stamping their mark on Ashes history with another clean sweep. Whatever happens, they will never forget the WACA's Ashes farewell.
4th Test
Day 1
Australia 244/3 (89 ov)
England
There was a distinct hint of Christmas about Australia's batting on the first day at the MCG this year: one large gift, a hectic morning, a post-lunch doze, and a second wind as the evening approached. On a day when David Warner scored his second consecutive century in Melbourne Tests, Australia went to stumps in a satisfactory position at 3 for 244, with Steven Smith on 65 and Shaun Marsh on 31. And yet, despite the scoreline, it was a day on which England's toil deserved respect.
Whatever presents Smith opened on Christmas Day were nothing compared to the gift of winning the toss - something he had not done in a Test since March - on a hot day at the MCG, where the pitch was so flat it looked like one curated for the BBL, not the Ashes. And during the first session, there was nothing in the pitch for England's bowlers but despair as Warner raced towards 83 at lunch, with Australia at 0 for 102.
But, as if made drowsy by tryptophan, the Australians slowed dramatically after the break. Only 43 runs were added between lunch and tea for the losses of Warner and Cameron Bancroft. If this pitch was a road, England's bowlers had suddenly turned into sleeping policemen. And yet England still faced the challenge of dismissing Smith, which nobody has done in a Boxing Day Test since Umesh Yadav in 2014, and thus Australia accumulated a further 99 in the final session.
The most memorable moment of the day for the 88,000 spectators came when Warner was on 99 and tried his risky short-arm pull against the debutant seamer Tom Curran. As the ball ballooned off the top edge and straight to Stuart Broad at mid-on, Warner's expression was one of disbelief at throwing away his 21st Test century. The disbelief quickly spread throughout the stadium as replays showed Curran had overstepped, and Warner was reprieved by a retrospective no-ball call.
Curran was denied his maiden Test wicket - and by stumps still had not claimed it - and next ball Warner brought up his century from his 130th delivery with a single clipped off his hips. Curran joined Ben Stokes and Mark Wood as England players in recent years to have missed out on their first Test wicket due to a no-ball, but he bowled well throughout the day in unhelpful conditions.
So, for the most part, did all of England's bowlers, with the exception of Moeen Ali, who leaked nearly a run a ball from his six overs. That Joe Root used the part-time legspin of Dawid Malan more on the opening day of this Test than he did Moeen's offbreaks was revealing, and not encouraging for Moeen's hopes of retaining his place in the side.
James Anderson took his 519th Test wicket, drawing level with Courtney Walsh, when Warner edged behind for 103 to a delivery that moved away just enough, and Stuart Broad ended a 69-over wicketless streak when he lured Usman Khawaja into an edge behind on 17 from 65 balls. Chris Woakes had struck the first blow when he trapped Bancroft lbw on 26, ending a difficult stay for the opener.
The opening partnership was worth 122 but Warner accounted for nearly 100 of this himself, and Bancroft never really looked comfortable. In the opening session, he was often seen fending short deliveries awkwardly, as if having trouble picking up the length or pace. It was a stark contrast to the free scoring from Warner, who struck 13 fours and one six - lofted over long-on off Moeen.
Likewise, Khawaja had difficulty in getting going, but by stumps the Australians had a strong 84-run partnership from Smith and Marsh that looked like setting up a good total. Along the way, Smith moved past Cheteshwar Pujara to become the leading run scorer in Test cricket in 2017, although South Africa's Dean Elgar has a Test in hand against Zimbabwe in which he could yet make a push for the top of the table.
Of course, England would also have to find a way to get Smith out, and there was no evidence that in that regard Melbourne would be any different from Brisbane or Perth. If winning the toss on this pitch was the perfect post-Christmas present for Australia's captain, another hundred would be even better.
Day 2
Australia 327
England 192/2 (57 ov)
England trail by 135 runs with 8 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
First, win a session. Then another. Then win the day. And maybe, just maybe you might have a chance of winning the match. England have enjoyed few such small victories during this series, but on a day when they claimed Australia's last seven wickets for 67 runs, and Alastair Cook scored a drought-breaking hundred, and England finished the day comfortably at 2 for 192, it was obvious which team had taken the honours. For once, it wasn't Australia.
Of course, much work remained ahead for England. Australia's strong performance on Boxing Day set the platform for a total of 327, and by stumps England were still 135 runs behind. But their position - albeit with the Ashes already in Australian hands - was much healthier than it had been 24 hours earlier. Cook brought up his hundred in the final over of the day by swivelling a pull for four off Steven Smith's legspin, and finished unbeaten on 104 alongside Joe Root on 49.
Cook's performance was significant, for he entered this match having failed to post a half-century in any of his past 10 Test innings - the longest such drought in a career spanning nearly 12 years. Dead rubber though it may be, his free-scoring innings was highly encouraging for England, as he struck 15 boundaries and punished Australia's bowlers through point, straight back down the ground, through leg, and even with the occasional cover-drive.
By the end of the day he had not only made his 32nd Test hundred, he had also moved past Mahela Jayawardene and into eighth position on the list of all-time Test run scorers. The Australians shook Cook's hand as he walked off at stumps but they must also have rued giving him a life on 66 when he edged Mitchell Marsh and Smith, standing very close at first slip, failed to cling on to a challenging catch.
On a very hot day when the fast bowlers baked and Pat Cummins struggled with an upset stomach, it took a brilliant catch for Australia to claim their first wicket of the innings. For the second time in the series Nathan Lyon plucked a return chance with one hand, this time off the leading edge of Mark Stoneman, who had made 15.
James Vince would not have wanted to see replays of his dismissal when he returned to the rooms after making 17. Adjudged lbw off the bowling of Josh Hazlewood, Vince decided against a review, but Hot Spot showed that the ball had brushed his inside edge on the way through to his pad. His departure left England at 2 for 80, but Root and Cook settled in for a partnership that had reached 112 runs at stumps and solidified England's position.
Root played an important accompanying role and was within touching distance of his third half-century of the series. However, his inability to turn those starts into hundreds in the manner of his Australian counterpart, Smith, has been one of the key factors in the series.
The importance of Smith for Australia was reinforced when his dismissal early in the day sparked the collapse that resulted in the last seven wickets falling for 67. A no-ball from debutant seamer Tom Curran on the opening day had denied him David Warner on 99 as his first Test wicket, but inducing a chop-on from Smith, trying to force a short and wide ball through off on 76, was a fine replacement for Curran.
It was the first time Smith had been out in a Melbourne Test since 2014; he had scored 445 runs between MCG dismissals. Mitchell Marsh also dragged a wide one onto his stumps for 9 off the bowling of Chris Woakes, and Tim Paine later did the same on 24 while trying to pull James Anderson.
In the meantime, Shaun Marsh had passed fifty for the third time in the series, raising his half-century from his 130th delivery, but fell lbw for 61 to Stuart Broad via a well-judged review from Root. Jackson Bird, curiously promoted to No. 9 ahead of Josh Hazlewood and Lyon, was lbw to Broad for 4, leaving Australia at risk of failing to bat out the opening session.
They went to lunch on 8 for 326 and added just a single run after the break for the loss of their final two wickets, as Cummins edged Broad to slip for 4 and Lyon was trapped by Anderson for a duck. Anderson finished with 3 for 61 and Broad collected 4 for 51, his best analysis in a Test innings since November 2016. Throw in a Cook century, and it was the day on which England's old heads finally stood up to be counted.
Day 3
Australia 327; England 491-9
England lead by 164 runs after Alastair Cook hits 244 not out
It was back to business for Alastair Cook on the third day. He batted for another six and a half hours, posting the highest score against Australia at the MCG, a magnificent, unbeaten 244. If the first hundred of this innings was for himself, to recover his self-esteem albeit too late in the tour for his liking, the second was for the team, to ensure Joe Root held the best cards with two days to go.
On Wednesday Cook had sped to his hundred with uncharacteristic freedom, reaching that landmark in 164 balls and although he never bats with any hint of desperation the circumstances at the start of his innings were different. Cook, the Test cricketer, has never been dropped by England and in Melbourne his place was in some jeopardy. Yet it seems he managed to let this peculiar situation liberate him in his approach.
Before resuming his innings on 104 on the third morning he said: “When you’re averaging 13 there is no point in dying wondering. What is the worst that can happen? You can get a low score and get left out, I suppose. But it’s amazing what can then happen; you can get more crisp footwork, more intent and suddenly you get away.”
Not only was Cook’s footwork crisp but also his strokeplay, and he undoubtedly got away. He was unusually free and eager at the crease. Fifteen fours flowed from his bat on the way to that century.
But on the third day it was more of a grind as he sought to give England a meaningful first-innings lead – at least until the final session when Cook embarked on a skittish ninth-wicket union with his fellow-old-timer Stuart Broad. That partnership was worth 100 runs and exasperated a weary Australia side and entertained an increasingly hoarse Barmy Army in equal measure. This pair had batted together only once before in Test cricket. They should try it again sometime.
Cook’s second 100 contained only eight boundaries and took him 196 balls, though he speeded up when beyond 200. For two sessions he had returned to being the ultra-pragmatist and for that his dressing room must have been grateful. Without him England would never have gained a first-innings lead of 164.
The distant rope may well have been protected and difficult to find but Cook seldom missed a ball or a chance to score. The oddity was that no other England batsman, with the possible exception of Root, seemed anywhere near as comfortable on a pitch that has been roundly condemned for a lack of pace, which has neutered the Australian pacemen.
The acting curator, Michael Salvatore, can, however, point to the scorecard. The really good players – David Warner, Steve Smith, Root and Cook – have scored runs without many problems; the rest have struggled. Usually that means the curator – or the greenkeeper – has done a good job. The evidence of our eyes suggests otherwise, though we may yet have a gripping Test on our hands.
Cook shepherded the England innings in a manner that would be appreciated by the farmers of Bedfordshire, earnestly seeking out every run for the cause. Root kept him company for 50 mostly untroubled minutes whereupon a bouncer from Pat Cummins surprised him for pace and the ball sailed gently to Nathan Lyon at deep square leg from his hook shot.
Dawid Malan fell lbw to the second new ball in peculiar fashion without ever displaying the authority of Perth. As with James Vince the previous day it seemed from the replays the ball had taken his inside edge – and there was also the suggestion his pad was struck just outside the line of the off stump. But no review was forthcoming from Malan.
Jonny Bairstow flickered either side of lunch before he was deceived by a quicker ball from Lyon and caught behind. Next there was a cameo from Moeen Ali that was almost frightening in its frenzy. There were leg-byes off his visor and a frantic pull shot. Then he swung at his first ball from Lyon and the ball just cleared the rope and the outstretched hands of Cummins at long-off; a loose and juicy cover drive followed.
Then, in Lyon’s next over, Moeen smashed a long hop to short extra-cover to end a riveting, ridiculous – given that he regards himself as a batsman – innings of 20 in 14 balls.
Chris Woakes batted sensibly enough to add 59 with Cook whereupon another Cummins bouncer accounted for him while Tom Curran nicked his first runs in Test cricket before edging to the keeper. Now came England’s bonus as Cook and Broad combined – in contrasting styles – to great effect. Broad evaded, or swished at, or thumped the inevitable bouncers while Cook was frivolous enough to loft Lyon for a straight-driven boundary.
Soon Broad’s confidence soared on his way to a second half-century – from 61 balls – since 2012 with an array of strokes, some of which are in the manual. Eventually he was the victim of a brilliant, tumbling catch at third man by Usman Khajawa. There was still scope from some beautifully improvised boundaries to third man and through the covers by Cook. Perhaps Root could have declared but he surely wanted to give his predecessor the opportunity to carry his bat. No opener in Test cricket had scored more while doing so. However Jimmy Anderson, who relished defending the off-spin of Lyon, remained firm until the close.
It was a chastening time for Australia. Jackson Bird’s limitations were exposed on an unforgiving surface. The gulf between him and Mitchell Starc is as wide as that between Cook and the rest of the batsmen on show on a day which suggested the old boy is still reasonably interested.
Day 4
Australia 327 & 103/2 (43.5 ov)
England 491
Australia trail by 61 runs with 8 wickets remaining
The weather, it seems, is not England's friend. At the WACA, they needed final-day rain to keep the series alive; despite a lengthy delay due to leaking covers, there was not enough wetness to prevent an Australian victory. And now at the MCG, England's push for a consolation win has been hampered by heavy and persistent rain that washed out half of the fourth day's play. By stumps, Australia still trailed by 61 runs but had eight wickets in hand, with their two best batsmen at the crease.
The day started with Alastair Cook becoming the highest scorer ever to carry his bat in Test cricket, before England further strengthened their position by claiming two wickets before lunch. However, Steven Smith and David Warner then steadied Australia with a patient partnership which, along with the weather, loomed as the key to the match. When play was abandoned, with only 44 overs bowled in the day, they had steered Australia steadily to 2 for 103.
Cook carries his bat
Alastair Cook became the eighth player from England to carry his bat and first since 1997. The last player for England to achieve this was Michael Atherton when he scored 94 against New Zealand. However, Cook's 244 was the highest score ever made by a batsman carrying his bat through a Test innings, beating the 223 scored by New Zealand's Glenn Turner against West Indies in Kingston in 1972. The last player to carry his bat in an Ashes Test was Geoffrey Boycott when he made 99 at Perth in 1979.
Tough task for Australia
When Australia have conceded a lead of over 160 at home , they have managed to not lose only on seven occasions. Incidentally the last time they managed to do it against England was also in Melbourne in 1965. However, they have lost on 21 occasions.
Warner's tempo had been uncharacteristically slow, and his 40 had come from 140 deliveries, while Smith was on 25 from 67 balls. The only two Australian batsmen to have averaged more than 40 in Test cricket in 2017, Smith and Warner knew that the longer they could stay together, the better Australia's chances of emerging from this match with a draw. A clean sweep is off the table, but right now they would be more than happy with 4-0.
England had started the morning on 9 for 491 and it took only one delivery - a short ball from Pat Cummins that James Anderson fended to short leg - to end the innings. That left Cook unbeaten on 244, the highest score ever made by a batsman carrying his bat through a Test innings, beating the 223 scored by New Zealand's Glenn Turner against West Indies in Kingston in 1972.
Cook was also the first England batsman to carry his bat in a Test in 20 years, since Mike Atherton did so against New Zealand in Christchurch in 1996-97. His innings ended in its 634th minute, which made it the fifth-longest innings by time ever played in a Test in Australia - only Sid Barnes in 1946, Bob Cowper in 1966, Graham Yallop in 1983 and Mark Greatbatch in 1989 had stayed at the crease longer in a Test in this country.
It also gave England a 164-run first-innings lead, which meant the Australians faced plenty of work to fight back into the contest. They began their second innings solidly with a 51-run opening stand between Cameron Bancroft and Warner, but that ended when Bancroft, who had just driven a handsome boundary wide of mid-on, chopped on for 27 off the bowling of Chris Woakes.
The loss of Usman Khawaja for 11, when he edged behind off an Anderson delivery that nipped away, left Australia wobbling at 2 for 65. Smith and Warner steadied the Australians, although Warner had a narrow escape on 36 when he only just cleared Anderson at short midwicket off the bowling of Woakes.
By the time the rain arrived, the Smith-Warner partnership was worth 38 off 22.4 overs, hardly earth-shattering figures, but a sufficiently solid stand to give Australia hope of securing a draw on the final day.
Day 5
Australia 327 & 263/4d (124.2 ov)
England 491
Match drawn
There was still no way past Steve Smith. The pitch may have been as docile as a lamb yet it still required wonderful concentration from Australia’s phenomenal captain to bat for almost seven hours to save the Melbourne Test match. In the process he recorded his 23rd Test century. Finding the key to removing Smith from the crease would have taxed the team at Bletchley Park, let alone the one led by Joe Root.
Here Smith played with his usual fidgeting calm, as resolute in saving the game as he was when winning those in Brisbane and Perth. He now revels in self-denial as well as shredding opposition attacks. At the crease he is vaguely reminiscent of Derek Randall, who played his greatest innings here 40 years ago (there has been some footage of the Centenary Test on our screens during the rain breaks). Like Randall there is much pre-delivery movement and a self-taught, idiosyncratic method – though Smith has proven to be a far more prolific and significant batsman. He has the confidence to do it his way.
Randall once told me that his Centenary Test innings of 174 was not his favourite knock. Instead he chose his 150 in Sydney in 1978 when he batted for almost 10 hours to overturn England’s first innings deficit of 142. Randall relished that innings because it was out of character. In this series Smith has demonstrated that he can peel off hundreds of different hues depending on the needs of his team. He can enjoy a 259-ball 100 in Melbourne as much as a fast-flowing 138-ball one in Perth. At the moment Smith is simply and serenely the best whatever the circumstances.
There were brief moments just before lunch on the final day when the prospect of him running out of partners as England forged on to a remarkable victory was not impossible. Australia lost David Warner and Shaun Marsh in the space of six overs and maybe England scented a chance.
For the most of the morning there had been no problems for Australia’s two great batsmen even though they were contained by an England attack that never faltered in its resolve to deny their opponents easy runs. Root shuffled his bowlers and eventually tossed the ball to himself. By now Warner was on 86, eyeing his second hundred of the match and a special landmark. Warner, like Ricky Ponting and Sunil Gavaskar before him, had hit two hundreds in a Test match three times. A record-breaking fourth was on the horizon when he received his first ball from Root. After five hours of rigid self-discipline Warner had a horrible heave, which coincided with the ball gripping on the solitary blemish on the surface, and James Vince calmly caught the ensuing skier.
Stuart Broad was recalled and just before the interval he found the edge of Shaun Marsh’s bat. Jonny Bairstow, standing very close because of the moribund nature of the pitch, dived to his left, holding a fine one-handed catch. So at lunch there must have been some nerves in the home dressing room since Australia were effectively 14 for four.
After the break Mitchell Marsh, yet to get off the mark, sliced a drive inches short of Vince at backward point. Otherwise the younger Marsh, who had battered the England bowlers in Perth, defended stoutly in an innings that will have impressed his coach, captain and selectors as much as his blazing 181 just over a week ago. He crawled along but with Smith still at the other end this suited the Australians fine. Smith himself pottered along happily to his century and then the captains shook hands at the earliest opportunity.
It was a forgettable Test match except for Alastair Cook’s unbeaten 244, which, to his great chagrin, could not change the course of the series though it might change the course of his career. The vultures were circling but they have now been dispersed. He can still bat, but like many players late in their career, a pattern is emerging: there is a tendency to fail more often but once established he knows how to deliver a truly monumental innings. Consistency is harder to find.
The match was ruined by a sub-standard pitch. This was akin to asking the best Australian Rules footballers to play on a ploughed field, something the authorities here would never tolerate. As a result the spectacle of one of the great sporting occasions was sadly diminished. This drop-in surface refused to deteriorate as good cricket pitch should and it was not the first time that the MCG has produced a track that is more likely to alienate cricket fans than attract them. It would have been adequate for a Big Bash match. In the spirit of cooperation I have a suggestion: move the Boxing Day Test to Hobart until a solution is found.
England can, at least, travel to Sydney with their heads held high, which was more than they could do in 2006 or 2013. They strained every sinew in the field at the MCG but they cannot find the magic formula that disposes of Smith. Australia have added Ashton Agar, the left-arm spinner from WA, to their squad for the final Test and there is a good chance that he will play. The SCG does not encourage spinners as it did several decades ago but there is reckoned to be more assistance for the tweakers than when England last played there. That was not their finest hour. Scott Borthwick was England’s solitary spinner in his only Test and England contrived to lose their 20 wickets in 90 overs. The Test specialists had an embarrassing two days to spend in Sydney before their flights home.
This time there is more resolve within the England camp and they won’t be introducing as many debutants in Sydney (in 2014 Borthwick received his first cap along with Gary Ballance and Boyd Rankin when there was barely a wheel left on the wagon). But there is the possibility that they might introduce Mason Crane, who played his one game for New South Wales there last season. Crane would replace Tom Curran or, rather sadly, Moeen Ali, who has never yet been dropped in his career of 48 Test matches.
5th Test
England 233-5 v Australia
Joe Root set out in search of his inner Steve Smith on a sunlit Sydney evening. But he could not quite find him. He was England’s best batsman by a margin but yet again that major innings eluded him. Having batted with more discretion than derring-do for his 83 he was dismissed just before the close in the first over by Mitchell Starc with the second new ball.
It may be that Root had been excited by the advent of a harder ball in a highly eventful over. As he always does Starc pitched full, hunting for swing. To the first ball Root played a sumptuous drive to the long-off boundary; the second took his inside edge and raced to the fine-leg boundary. The third was full and on leg-stump and Root clipped the ball firmly towards square-leg, where Mitchell Marsh took the catch inches from the ground. Root slumped to his haunches, distraught that another golden opportunity to play the major innings had vanished.
Australia, as they have done throughout the series, seized their moment. Curiously England shunned the nightwatchman. Out came a pumped-up Jonny Bairstow with ten minutes to the close. A loose shot against Josh Hazlewood and Tim Paine ecstatically held the edge. All the graft of a 133-run partnership between Root and Dawid Malan had been dissipated. England closed on 233 for five, not the worst score, but the impetus was undoubtedly with Australia.
Root has poured his heart and soul into this tour. It may be that he has tried to do too much, an easy trap for a young captain. There have been the fripperies that he would have been better off ignoring and leaving to others to sort out: in the headbutts and the head-drenching; his agonies in the field as he has attempted to conjure 20 Australian wickets with a monochrome attack on surprisingly bland surfaces have been palpable.
In the harshest of environs he may have learnt – from watching the Australia captain – that if he swapped all these exertions for concentrating on his own batting; if he had been more single-minded, selfish even, then that might have been more beneficial to his side. His runs are more important to this side than his decision-making. Indeed, as Smith has demonstrated, captaincy is a breeze if you are scoring stacks of runs.
Until the second new ball Root had methodically bided his time just as Smith has done throughout the series. He was never dull but seldom dashing. He aimed to guide the ball between the fielders rather belt it to the boundaries – with the exception of the odd out-of-control hook shot.
Perhaps it was his turn to make the bowlers toil and to torment the opposition captain. That late evening aberration banished such thoughts.
In his captaincy role Root had one slightly tricky decision to make earlier in the day. Morning mizzle hung around so that the day was divided into two long sessions. He won the toss again, not a good omen in this series, and batted despite the grey clouds hovering above. Soon those clouds dispersed and his decision seemed the correct one. Though there was more bounce for the seamers than at Melbourne there was little lateral movement for the pacemen and only occasional turn for Nathan Lyon.
Before too long there was familiar exasperation for the England camp. Once again Mark Stoneman settled impressively and clipped anything full to the boundary with the minimum of fuss. Then having hit 24 from 23 balls he sparred unnecessarily at a short ball from Pat Cummins and was caught behind. Stoneman has not looked out of his depth here and will probably survive as Cook’s partner for the New Zealand Tests. But a substantial innings is overdue. In 13 Test innings he has failed to reach double figures only three times but his top score is a modest 56.
James Vince’s record is even worse yet watch him in isolation for 15 minutes in this series and he has looked masterful. The same applied on Thursday. He was seldom troubled; there were a couple of gorgeous cover drives. Then he edged a wide, hittable ball from Cummins to the keeper and no one was surprised. Vince offers a conundrum for the selectors. If he had scored 25 and played and missed a dozen times the decision about his future would be so much easier. Instead he bats like Michael Vaughan in his pomp and then gets out. After 19 Test innings Vince averages just under 23, which is a mystery.
Alastair Cook was less fluent than both Stoneman and Vince yet patently more likely to produce the major innings. But on 39 the Australians asked for a review after an lbw appeal and it transpired that the ball from Hazlewood just pitched in line by a millimetre or two. So Cook had to go.
The Australians offered few free runs and the outfield was relatively sluggish, but the sun shone and the grass seemed to lose its hint of green as the day progressed. It was tough work from both sides but Root found a willing ally in Malan. He enjoyed a couple of escapes. On 29 he found himself at the same end as Root but was able to scramble to safety; on 32 he edged towards slip off Lyon but Smith barely managed to touch the ball.
No matter; it was the Australian side who were smiling at the close.
Day 2
Australia 193-2 v England 346 all out
Australia trail by 153 runs with eight wickets remaining
There was little respite for England’s tourists as the temperature rose in Sydney. There was a time when the Australians seemed to relax when confronted with a dead rubber match. But not any more. The band of coaches behind the scenes would never allow such slackness. Nor would Steve Smith, in the form of his life while clocking up his 6000th Test run – only two players have got there faster, Don Bradman and Gary Sobers – and who was still there at the close. He only has 44 runs to his name but there is no sign that his appetite for runs has diminished.
Alongside Smith was a contented Usman Khawaja. He has had a modest series but here he seized the chance to rectify ugly figures. He was 91 not out at the close, an elegant innings punctuated but the odd frantic moment against the spinners. Australia ended the day on 193-2, which meant that there was the prospect of much more toil for England’s unbalanced attack. Up front they had their record wicket-takers, who yielded runs as grudgingly as ever. Behind them were two novices, Tom Curran and the debutant Mason Crane plus the out-of-sorts Moeen Ali.
All three of these support acts bowled reasonably though there was always the reassurance for the batsmen that there were runs around for the patient. Crane was the most compelling to watch. From him there was a lot of zest and a little zip and he did not appear overawed to be bowling at two of the finest in the world, Smith and David Warner, all of which was impressive. But on Friday night after 17 overs he was still in pursuit of his first Test wicket – and his first maiden.
Life might have been simpler for Crane if he had had the chance to bowl at Cameron Bancroft, who is struggling at the moment. In the second over of Australia’s reply he missed a straight ball from Broad and set off for the pavilion without bothering to look at his splattered stumps. Unlike Khawaja his immediate future as a Test player is looking bleak.
Warner settled easily again but he was becalmed in Anderson’s second spell before being defeated by a skilful off-cutter. Smith received the reception of a returning hero, took a couple of deep breaths and proceeded to carry on where he had left off in Melbourne. There was more respect than aggression when facing Crane with every ball played on its merits.
Khawaja’s approach was a little different against the spinners. There would be passages of dutiful defence and then the odd big shot, usually executed effectively, a lofted drive or a reverse sweep. But for the most part their unbeaten partnership was solid, professional and pragmatic, something of a contrast to the morning play since the second half of the England innings was a comedy of errors preceded by a moment of sublime brilliance by Smith at second slip.
At the start of play Moeen Ali began with a notable absence of melodrama: off the mark first ball with a single to mid-wicket, some cagey leaves and no wild indiscretions against Nathan Lyon, while Dawid Malan was, more predictably, wary and watchful. Then Mitchell Starc found the edge of Malan’s bat and thereby produced the catch of the series. The ball reached the slip cordon on another sluggish surface but it was just within reach of Smith, who stuck out a left-hand where the ball remained even after the fielder had completed his dive, a marvel of relaxed athleticism.
There followed a series of little stands that allowed England to eke out 346 amid some Keystone Kops fielding. Tom Curran was determined to be positive while Moeen battled away though both of them should have been dismissed within the space of four balls.
First Curran, on 21, miscued a drive against Lyon and a straightforward catch was dropped at mid-on by Pat Cummins. In the next over, bowled by the chastened Cummins, Moeen, on 22, top-edged an attempted pull shot and the ball lobbed in the air. Josh Hazlewood ran around from mid-on to take the catch but somehow failed to lay hands on the ball, which bumped into his chest and on to the grass. There was not much Cummins could say. Moeen did not really make the Australians pay for this mistake as he edged a short ball to Tim Paine after scoring a sketchy, though orthodox 30.
In came Broad, elevated to number nine, and as ever this coincided with a barrage of bouncers. The Australians had made their point earlier in the series, showcasing their ruthless determination to bombard the England tail. In this case they displayed their inflexibility and gifted runs. The pitch was slow and Broad has acclimatized to the barrage; he premeditated the line of attack and produced a few blistering shots against Cummins. Two of them sailed for six way over the square-leg boundary.
Curran joined in the fun until he was caught at short-leg off Cummins and then Broad top-edged a heave against Lyon in pursuit of another six. Surprisingly by the end of his innings Broad had become the second highest six-hitter in Tests at the SCG, joining Matthew Hayden on seven, though still six behind Adam Gilchrist. Crane’s first Test innings ended ignominiously when he was run-out after a misunderstanding with Jimmy Anderson.
Day 3
Australia
On a ground that has often been a graveyard for English cricket Dawid Malan kept alive hopes of heading for Melbourne with the destination of the Ashes still undecided. Malan hit his maiden Test century, an innings of great character, a bit of luck and some silky strokeplay. His unbroken partnership of 176 with Jonny Bairstow, belatedly promoted to No6, was easily the highest England have managed in the series. Thus the tourists managed to finish the first day on 305 for four after Joe Root had won his third toss of the series.
Malan did not suggest too much permanence at the start when he was peppered with a stream of short-pitched deliveries. He was determined to do more than duck, sway or fend. There were two top-edges over the keeper’s head, one of which went for six, and there were a few swishes at fresh air as well. But he survived and as his innings progressed it became more assured. There were elegant cover drives, whether the bowler was the deadly Nathan Lyon or Josh Hazlewood, but nothing bettered the pull shot against the second new ball which took him to three figures.
That second new ball should have dismissed Malan, on 92, at the first attempt but Cameron Bancroft at third slip spilled the catch off Mitchell Starc’s bowling. So, alongside Bairstow, Malan was able to negotiate those critical nine overs against the new ball with no losses and just a few alarms at the end of a day that offered some riveting entertainment.
We had been warned that we might witness a pale shadow of the superfast tracks of two or three decades ago but the suggestion that the Perth pitch is now a pudding may have been overstated. This one may be slower than in the golden days but in the final Ashes Test on this famous West Australian strip of turf the ball still flew through faster than it does on any other pitch in this country or around the world – with the possible exception of the Wanderers in Johannesburg. Hence there were some captivating duels, unless you happened to be Mark Stoneman, who was hit full on the helmet from a well‑directed short ball from Hazlewood. It is just as well that Stoneman is not a club cricketer since he would now be penniless; his helmet had to be replaced and he broke his second bat of the tour during another plucky innings.
The right team was bowling to highlight that there is life in the old pitch yet. After Australia had bowled prettily and full for 90 minutes, they changed tack. The opportunities to drive diminished. Since the ball was obstinately declining to swing the trio of tall pacemen pulled their length back and the ball whistled through to the keeper; sometimes it sailed wastefully over Tim Paine’s head but when it was chest height batting became more of a trial, albeit one with compensations. This surface is true; the outfield is like glass so there are plenty of boundaries out there. England’s slower pace bowlers may not be able to exploit the bounce so easily. Three hundred here would have been worth 400 at Brisbane and Adelaide.
The full-length ball, favoured by the Australians at the start, accounted for Cook. A Starc delivery thudded into the pads and Cook knew – even without the statutory glance at his partner – there was no point in seeking a review. Cook has been striving fiendishly hard to recover the magic; it is even possible that he is working too hard but he has always reckoned that hard work brings its rewards in the end. If everything had been functioning smoothly he would have hit that Starc delivery.
Meanwhile Stoneman was racing away, clipping full balls through square leg with aplomb as the pacemen searched in vain for swing. James Vince, you’ve guessed it, settled impressively; there was the odd sweet cover drive. But soon he was tied down by Hazlewood; Steve Smith removed his short extra‑cover to slip, leaving an inviting gap, and then Vince, with one eye on that gap and another on lunch, drove away from his body with no foot movement and was caught behind. Patience is running thin with him, even though he tantalises.
After the break there was a little flurry of boundaries for Joe Root while Stoneman had a torrid time against Hazlewood. He did manage an upper cut boundary to reach his third Test half-century but in the next over against Hazlewood, Stoneman was dropped at first slip by Mitchell Marsh; then he was hit on the helmet and, after an appropriate delay for recovery and inspection, he was almost caught at short point after spooning another bouncer in that direction.
Yet it was Root who departed next, caught down the leg-side off Cummins; the namby-pamby full-length bowling had been abandoned and Australia were looking far more dangerous. Soon after Stoneman fended at another fierce lifter from Starc but was given not out by the umpire Marais Erasmus after the ball had ended up the gloves of a jubilant Paine. The third umpire, Aleem Dar, did not dally long and overturned the decision. It may be that he reached the right conclusion in the wrong way. Initially the replays did little to provide conclusive evidence that Erasmus’s decision should be changed. After Dar had sent his message another replay surfaced, which suggested the ball may have grazed Stoneman’s right glove.
At 131 for four it felt like the same old story but Malan and Bairstow, now batting with a fine mixture of aggression and discretion, stayed together for 51 overs, which must have cheered up English men and women with tickets for Melbourne on Boxing Day.
Day 2
England 403
Australia 203/3 (152 ov)
Australia trail by 200 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Four years ago this week, Steven Smith spontaneously changed his technique while batting against England at the WACA, adding a preliminary movement in an innings that became his second Test century. Back at the same ground, against the same opposition, but now as Australia's captain and the best batsman in the world, Smith looked impenetrable as he sauntered towards what could become his 22nd Test hundred and dragged his team back into the contest on day two in Perth.
England had started the morning in a powerful position at 4 for 305, and an England Ashes record fifth-wicket partnership of 237 between Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow built the perfect platform for a hefty total. Along the way, Bairstow raised his first Test century in 18 months, but when their stand was broken the England lower order collapsed quickly on a WACA pitch offering some of the old pace and bounce, and their last six wickets fell for 35.
England were all out for 403 - still an imposing score, but not one that posed an insurmountable object for the Australians. And despite some fine bowling from Craig Overton, who picked off both of Australia's openers after they made starts, Smith ensured that his side finished the day in a satisfactory position at 3 for 203, trailing by 200 with seven wickets in hand. By the close, Smith was on 92 and Shaun Marsh had 7, having come to the crease after Usman Khawaja was lbw to Chris Woakes for 50.
Khawaja had scratched his way to his half-century from 122 deliveries, but his next ball was angled in from Woakes and struck Khawaja on the back leg. Given out on field, Khawaja reviewed the decision: there was more rocking and rolling in the third umpire's room than at an Elvis concert as Aleem Dar tried to ascertain whether a Snicko spike was ball on bat, but in the end Khawaja was sent on his way. Marsh might have followed him in the closing overs, only for a chance off Moeen Ali, rebounding from the boot of short leg, to somehow evade both Mark Stoneman and Bairstow.
Khawaja's fifty had come about half as quickly as Smith's, which was fitting for Smith looked about twice as good. There were some cracks in the pitch that provided the occasional spot of uneven bounce, but if it wasn't a road, Smith enjoyed driving on it all the same, punishing England's fast bowlers when they overpitched. He also latched on to short deliveries when he could, and dealt prolifically in boundaries on his way to a 58-ball half-century.
England were not helped by the absence of Overton for a period during the final session, as he appeared to struggle with a problem in his rib/chest region. He had clearly been England's most dangerous bowler during the early stages of Australia's innings, drawing an edge behind from David Warner on 22 from a ball that angled in and straightened, and then trapping Cameron Bancroft lbw for 25 with a delivery angled in from wide of the crease.
Overton might have added Khawaja to his wicket tally if he could have held on to a very difficult diving return chance early in the batsman's innings, and Khawaja had another life on 28 when his edge off Woakes was missed by Joe Root at slip. Khawaja went on to compile a 124-run stand with Smith, but it was barely half as big as the partnership between Malan and Bairstow that set up England's innings.
They broke the 79-year-old England Ashes record for a fifth-wicket partnership, which had been held by Denis Compton and Eddie Paynter, who put on 206 at Trent Bridge in 1938, and along the way Bairstow brought up his hundred from his 185th delivery with a single to fine leg. Fittingly, given the drama that followed the Brisbane Test, he celebrated his first Test hundred since the Lord's Test against Sri Lanka in June 2016 with an understated headbutt to his own helmet
The 237-run partnership finally ended when Malan was brilliantly caught by substitute fieldsman Peter Handscomb off the bowling of Nathan Lyon for 140. Malan failed to get to the pitch of the ball and in trying to hit Lyon over the top, succeeded only in spooning an edge up into the off side, where Handscomb ran briskly from backward point and took the catch while diving forward at full stretch, the kind of effort that Australia needed to turn their game around.
Moeen lasted only two deliveries before the extra bounce from Pat Cummins troubled him and the ball lobbed off his glove to Smith at slip. Another fine catch, this time from Cummins at long leg, ended Woakes' innings on 8 off the bowling of Josh Hazlewood, before Mitchell Starc curled one in to rattle the stumps of Bairstow, who was bowled for 119.
A short delivery from Hazlewood accounted for Overton, who on 2 managed only to fend the ball to Bancroft at short leg, and Starc wrapped up the innings by having Stuart Broad caught at short leg awkwardly swinging at a bouncer. Starc had finished with four wickets and Hazlewood three, and Australia's quick despatching of England's tail had kept them in the match. By stumps, England knew they had to find a way through Smith in order to keep their own Ashes campaign alive.
Day 3
England 403
Australia 549/4 (152 ov)
Australia lead by 146 runs with 6 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
It would be hard to imagine a day of greater Australian dominance than this one. It was a day on which Steven Smith made his second Test double-century, Mitchell Marsh scored his maiden Test hundred, England claimed just a single wicket and Australia piled on 346 runs. A day that began with Australia trailing by 200 finished with them 146 runs in front, and with a realistic chance of pushing for victory - and the urn - over the next two days. Remind us why Australia would want to move Ashes Tests away from the WACA?
But a caveat is necessary, for it was not a day that necessarily ended England's campaign. The pitch remains good for batting - that is stating the obvious - and there is rain forecast over the next two days in Perth. It remains very possible that England will escape from this match with a draw, and as the holders of the Ashes, that would keep them alive in the series. Alive, but demoralised. They might have known that Smith could score a mountain of runs, but Mitchell Marsh eyeing off a Test double-century by stumps? They'd have been more likely to expect the Spanish Inquisition.
This was a day that can best be illustrated by the numbers, and at the close of play, the numbers were these: Smith was on 229, Marsh was on 181, and Australia had 4 for 549. Hundreds were also piling up in England's bowling analysis: Craig Overton, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad and Moeen Ali had all conceded centuries by the close of play, and if James Anderson - currently at 0 for 85 - joins them on the fourth day, it will be just the eighth time in Test history that a team has had five or more bowlers concede 100 in the same innings.
Some more numbers: by stumps, the Smith-Marsh partnership was worth 301 runs, the most prolific partnership Smith has ever been involved in at Test level. And Marsh's score was already the sixth-highest of all time by an Australian No.6. Along the way, Smith passed 1000 runs in a calendar year for the fourth consecutive year, joining Matthew Hayden as the only men to achieve this feat, and Smith has done so averaging 60-plus in every year.
The day had started in vaguely reasonable style for England, when they claimed the wicket of Shaun Marsh, who edged Moeen to slip for 28. It was the only reason England had to celebrate all day. Reasons for optimism were rare: occasionally Smith edged, but his soft hands always ensured the ball dropped short of the slips, and an lbw review from England against Smith found that Anderson had over-stepped, although in any case the umpire's on-field call of not-out would have been upheld by the ball tracking.
No matter what Joe Root tried, it failed. In the morning, Smith brought up the fastest century of his Test career, a 138-ball effort that showed just as much ability to read the circumstances as had his slowest Test hundred, scored at the Gabba earlier in this series. He continued to be strong when cover-driving, when walking across the stumps and whipping to leg, and frankly playing wherever he wanted to.
Marsh was especially powerful driving straight down the ground and through the off side, and also found the gaps when cutting. He let out a roar after bringing up his home-town hundred in the final over before tea, with a pair of boundaries through point off Broad, the milestone coming from his 130th delivery. His efforts had continued a fine summer of selections from the Australian panel, who have found excellent contributions from Shaun Marsh, Tim Paine and now Mitchell Marsh, three selections that sparked much debate.
And still the runs kept piling up. Late in the day, Smith moved past his previous highest Test score of 215, and had been at the crease for nearly 10 hours. He was just the fifth Australia captain to score an Ashes double-century, after Billy Murdoch, Don Bradman, Bob Simpson and Allan Border.
Marsh by the close was eyeing off a double-century, a sentence which on its own tells all that need be told about this day. The result was that England were sunk, if not in the series, then at least in their hopes of winning this Test.
Day 4
England 403 & 132/4 (38.2 ov)
Australia 662/9d
England trail by 127 runs with 6 wickets remaining
A tempestuous Sunday in Perth ended with England on the brink of surrendering the Ashes. A fierce, winter wind blew all day, which had players digging into their cases for sweaters. The candlelight carols down by the river Swan were cancelled in the morning – there was certainly no chance of any candles staying alight and there were more serious concerns that the stage and the lights would be blown away.
To the despair of England fans at the Waca the disruption to the cricket was surprisingly brief. Sometimes there was sun, sometimes showers and always that wind howling across the ground. Amid the gales Australia inexorably tightened their grip, declaring with a lead of 259 and then making clinical incursions into England’s batting like an expert surgeon. At the close the tourists were 132 for four, still 127 runs away from making Australia bat again.
Already England’s experienced men were back in the pavilion with a pair of 14s, no more use to the team than they are in pontoon. Alastair Cook’s tour, despite all the toil – but no sweat – in the nets has yet to take off, while Joe Root’s Australian expedition took another turn for the worst. Of the four batsmen dismissed Root’s departure was the most exasperating.
Perhaps the strain on the captain is telling, with the expedition on the brink of failure. In his eagerness to assert himself at the crease Root chased the first delivery bowled by Nathan Lyon in the innings – the widest he has bowled in the series – and he was caught behind. He may, like Cook four years ago, be appreciating how lonely a job his can be.
Unsurprisingly the pitch looked a little livelier when the Australian bowlers took the field after resting up for the best part of two days. Mark Stoneman fell, caught behind, for his first single-figure score of the series in Hazlewood’s first over. Cook clipped two leg-side boundaries and looked sharp enough until a leading edge went back down the pitch, where an inspired Hazlewood dived to his right before completing a brilliant one-handed catch.
Out came Root, steeling himself to regain the initiative. As ever he began busily, whereupon Steve Smith summoned Lyon on a pitch that has been no more helpful to spinners than an umbrella in a hurricane – incidentally it seems that umbrellas are the latest item to be banned from Australian cricket grounds. Lyon’s first ball was speculative, wide and on a good length, a nice sighter for the batsman, except that Root chose to drive it. The edge clipped the gloves and knee of the wicketkeeper before landing gently in the hands of a jubilant Smith at slip.
That England avoided an immediate subsidence was down to James Vince and then a plucky partnership between the first-innings heroes, Dawid Malan and Jonny Bairstow. Vince batted in princely fashion with barely an error. Twelve boundaries fizzed from his bat in his 55 but then he was bowled by Starc. On this occasion Vince was blameless since he was the recipient of the ball of the series, which cut from leg to off as if delivered by Derek Underwood in his pomp but 25 mph quicker. There was absolutely no disgrace in this dismissal.
Thereafter Malan and Bairstow dug in impressively with few frills except when Malan took four authentic boundaries off an over from Pat Cummins. Despite the cracks appearing down the middle of the pitch – as is usually the case here – fluent strokeplay was still possible on this surface.
Play was abandoned soon after 5pm when the heaviest shower blew over, with England hoping for more of the same on the fifth day.
Oddly the fourth one began better than England could have hoped given that Australia started it on 549 for four. Mitchell Marsh was lbw to Jimmy Anderson’s second delivery; then Smith, after a cunning review, departed in the same way as England’s premier bowler conjured a little movement from the Prindiville stand end. The titans of Saturday were mortal after all.
Then Starc was stranded mid-pitch and Australia had lost three wickets for 12 runs. They were still 158 runs ahead but the complexion of the game had changed. Perhaps the old ball was reversing a little, which might justify not taking a new ball for an over or two. But it is hard to explain why Root and, more pertinently, his two senior bowlers declined to take it once Tim Paine and Cummins had begun to settle.
So here was a case of England’s two senior new-ball bowlers not wishing to bowl with a new ball. There was a risk attached: the hard and shiny new ball can fly. But there was also a potential reward: the new ball against lower-order batsmen might produce the three quick wickets required to keep Australia’s lead under 200. The old guard was not prepared to take that risk. Sometimes old-pro canniness can give way to negativity; sometimes Root may be required to challenge the wisdom of the seasoned duopoly.
So the Australian pair were able to add 93 as England, with the soft old ball in their hands, settled for damage limitation rather than the pursuit of wickets. The decision to persist with the old ball was a declaration of non-intent.
After lunch Cummins became the third lbw victim for Anderson and then Lyon holed out to his third ball. Anderson remains England’s best bowler but this must have been the least satisfying four-wicket haul of his career. From the depths of 561 for seven Australia were able to declare on 662 for nine.
Day 5
England 403 & 218
Australia 662/9d
Australia won by an innings and 41 runs
If this is Australia's last taste of international cricket at the WACA, it is a sweet one. Steven Smith's men regained the Ashes on the final day of the third Test against England, despite a controversial three-hour delay to the start of play caused by rain seeping into the pitch through the covers. If that was an inauspicious beginning for the WACA's last day as an Ashes venue - and possibly as an international ground full-stop - the Australians cared little by the end of the day, with the urn back in their grasp.
England needed to bat close to 70 overs to have any chance of clinging on to the Ashes. They managed to hold on for less than half of that. It was hardly surprising, for the cracks on the pitch made batting really challenging; one delivery from Josh Hazlewood actually flew from a leg-stump line straight to first slip. So, not only were England struggling to find answers, it wasn't always clear what questions would be asked of them.
Dawid Malan fought hard for 54 to add to his first-innings 140, but an Australian victory seemed only a matter of time. And if England leave the WACA with questions of their own regarding the state of the pitch on which they had to bat, it will not undo the result: an Australian win by an innings and 41 runs, and an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series. Hazlewood completed his first Ashes five-wicket haul, exploiting the conditions effectively, and England were dismissed for 218 before tea. All England can do now is prevent the kind of 5-0 clean sweep they suffered in 2013-14, and in 2006-07. On the basis of current form, it won't be any easy task.
Regardless of what happened on the final day, this match was won by the monstrous triple-century partnership between Smith and Mitchell Marsh on the third day. They propelled Australia to 9 for 662, their highest total in a Test innings since Cardiff in 2009, but there was to be no repeat of Cardiff's last-gasp draw for England. The final wicket fell when Chris Woakes tried to ramp Pat Cummins over the keeper's head but succeeded only in feathering a catch through to Tim Paine. The Australian huddle was instantaneous, and jubilant.
There were times during the morning when they must have wondered if this moment would come. Heavy overnight rain in Perth had found its way through the covers and onto the pitch, leading to the farcical sight of the captains and umpires standing around in fine conditions as they watched the groundstaff use leaf blowers to dry the wet patches on the pitch. It had the potential to be a black swansong for the WACA - perhaps fittingly, for a ground in Western Australia - but play finally got under way at 1pm.
Hazlewood's first delivery and the sixth of the day kept a fraction low and took Jonny Bairstow's off stump. Later in the same over, the Australians thought they had Moeen Ali when he edged to second slip, where Smith scooped the ball up low to the ground. A soft not-out signal from the on-field umpires was enough to save Moeen, with the third umpire Aleem Dar unable to conclusively determine whether Smith had got his fingers under the ball.
Moeen and Malan settled in for a partnership that lasted 15.4 overs, but Moeen's struggles against his fellow offspinner Nathan Lyon continued when he prodded tamely forward and was trapped lbw by a straight ball for 11. Malan was the key for England, the last recognised batsman, and he battled manfully before gloving an attempted pull through to Paine off the bowling of Hazlewood. From there, it was only a matter of time. Less than 10 overs, as it turned out.
Craig Overton, who had bravely played with a cracked rib during this match, was caught low at gully by Usman Khawaja off Hazlewood, who finished with 5 for 48, and Stuart Broad's miserable series continued when he too gloved behind off Cummins. Woakes and James Anderson did their best to get through the extended session to the delayed tea break, but failed narrowly, handing the Ashes back to Australia.
For Smith's men, this was the culmination of a three-Test sequence in which they have dominated England for the most part, and they can now head to Melbourne and Sydney with the aim of stamping their mark on Ashes history with another clean sweep. Whatever happens, they will never forget the WACA's Ashes farewell.
4th Test
Day 1
Australia 244/3 (89 ov)
England
There was a distinct hint of Christmas about Australia's batting on the first day at the MCG this year: one large gift, a hectic morning, a post-lunch doze, and a second wind as the evening approached. On a day when David Warner scored his second consecutive century in Melbourne Tests, Australia went to stumps in a satisfactory position at 3 for 244, with Steven Smith on 65 and Shaun Marsh on 31. And yet, despite the scoreline, it was a day on which England's toil deserved respect.
Whatever presents Smith opened on Christmas Day were nothing compared to the gift of winning the toss - something he had not done in a Test since March - on a hot day at the MCG, where the pitch was so flat it looked like one curated for the BBL, not the Ashes. And during the first session, there was nothing in the pitch for England's bowlers but despair as Warner raced towards 83 at lunch, with Australia at 0 for 102.
But, as if made drowsy by tryptophan, the Australians slowed dramatically after the break. Only 43 runs were added between lunch and tea for the losses of Warner and Cameron Bancroft. If this pitch was a road, England's bowlers had suddenly turned into sleeping policemen. And yet England still faced the challenge of dismissing Smith, which nobody has done in a Boxing Day Test since Umesh Yadav in 2014, and thus Australia accumulated a further 99 in the final session.
The most memorable moment of the day for the 88,000 spectators came when Warner was on 99 and tried his risky short-arm pull against the debutant seamer Tom Curran. As the ball ballooned off the top edge and straight to Stuart Broad at mid-on, Warner's expression was one of disbelief at throwing away his 21st Test century. The disbelief quickly spread throughout the stadium as replays showed Curran had overstepped, and Warner was reprieved by a retrospective no-ball call.
Curran was denied his maiden Test wicket - and by stumps still had not claimed it - and next ball Warner brought up his century from his 130th delivery with a single clipped off his hips. Curran joined Ben Stokes and Mark Wood as England players in recent years to have missed out on their first Test wicket due to a no-ball, but he bowled well throughout the day in unhelpful conditions.
So, for the most part, did all of England's bowlers, with the exception of Moeen Ali, who leaked nearly a run a ball from his six overs. That Joe Root used the part-time legspin of Dawid Malan more on the opening day of this Test than he did Moeen's offbreaks was revealing, and not encouraging for Moeen's hopes of retaining his place in the side.
James Anderson took his 519th Test wicket, drawing level with Courtney Walsh, when Warner edged behind for 103 to a delivery that moved away just enough, and Stuart Broad ended a 69-over wicketless streak when he lured Usman Khawaja into an edge behind on 17 from 65 balls. Chris Woakes had struck the first blow when he trapped Bancroft lbw on 26, ending a difficult stay for the opener.
The opening partnership was worth 122 but Warner accounted for nearly 100 of this himself, and Bancroft never really looked comfortable. In the opening session, he was often seen fending short deliveries awkwardly, as if having trouble picking up the length or pace. It was a stark contrast to the free scoring from Warner, who struck 13 fours and one six - lofted over long-on off Moeen.
Likewise, Khawaja had difficulty in getting going, but by stumps the Australians had a strong 84-run partnership from Smith and Marsh that looked like setting up a good total. Along the way, Smith moved past Cheteshwar Pujara to become the leading run scorer in Test cricket in 2017, although South Africa's Dean Elgar has a Test in hand against Zimbabwe in which he could yet make a push for the top of the table.
Of course, England would also have to find a way to get Smith out, and there was no evidence that in that regard Melbourne would be any different from Brisbane or Perth. If winning the toss on this pitch was the perfect post-Christmas present for Australia's captain, another hundred would be even better.
Day 2
Australia 327
England 192/2 (57 ov)
England trail by 135 runs with 8 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
First, win a session. Then another. Then win the day. And maybe, just maybe you might have a chance of winning the match. England have enjoyed few such small victories during this series, but on a day when they claimed Australia's last seven wickets for 67 runs, and Alastair Cook scored a drought-breaking hundred, and England finished the day comfortably at 2 for 192, it was obvious which team had taken the honours. For once, it wasn't Australia.
Of course, much work remained ahead for England. Australia's strong performance on Boxing Day set the platform for a total of 327, and by stumps England were still 135 runs behind. But their position - albeit with the Ashes already in Australian hands - was much healthier than it had been 24 hours earlier. Cook brought up his hundred in the final over of the day by swivelling a pull for four off Steven Smith's legspin, and finished unbeaten on 104 alongside Joe Root on 49.
Cook's performance was significant, for he entered this match having failed to post a half-century in any of his past 10 Test innings - the longest such drought in a career spanning nearly 12 years. Dead rubber though it may be, his free-scoring innings was highly encouraging for England, as he struck 15 boundaries and punished Australia's bowlers through point, straight back down the ground, through leg, and even with the occasional cover-drive.
By the end of the day he had not only made his 32nd Test hundred, he had also moved past Mahela Jayawardene and into eighth position on the list of all-time Test run scorers. The Australians shook Cook's hand as he walked off at stumps but they must also have rued giving him a life on 66 when he edged Mitchell Marsh and Smith, standing very close at first slip, failed to cling on to a challenging catch.
On a very hot day when the fast bowlers baked and Pat Cummins struggled with an upset stomach, it took a brilliant catch for Australia to claim their first wicket of the innings. For the second time in the series Nathan Lyon plucked a return chance with one hand, this time off the leading edge of Mark Stoneman, who had made 15.
James Vince would not have wanted to see replays of his dismissal when he returned to the rooms after making 17. Adjudged lbw off the bowling of Josh Hazlewood, Vince decided against a review, but Hot Spot showed that the ball had brushed his inside edge on the way through to his pad. His departure left England at 2 for 80, but Root and Cook settled in for a partnership that had reached 112 runs at stumps and solidified England's position.
Root played an important accompanying role and was within touching distance of his third half-century of the series. However, his inability to turn those starts into hundreds in the manner of his Australian counterpart, Smith, has been one of the key factors in the series.
The importance of Smith for Australia was reinforced when his dismissal early in the day sparked the collapse that resulted in the last seven wickets falling for 67. A no-ball from debutant seamer Tom Curran on the opening day had denied him David Warner on 99 as his first Test wicket, but inducing a chop-on from Smith, trying to force a short and wide ball through off on 76, was a fine replacement for Curran.
It was the first time Smith had been out in a Melbourne Test since 2014; he had scored 445 runs between MCG dismissals. Mitchell Marsh also dragged a wide one onto his stumps for 9 off the bowling of Chris Woakes, and Tim Paine later did the same on 24 while trying to pull James Anderson.
In the meantime, Shaun Marsh had passed fifty for the third time in the series, raising his half-century from his 130th delivery, but fell lbw for 61 to Stuart Broad via a well-judged review from Root. Jackson Bird, curiously promoted to No. 9 ahead of Josh Hazlewood and Lyon, was lbw to Broad for 4, leaving Australia at risk of failing to bat out the opening session.
They went to lunch on 8 for 326 and added just a single run after the break for the loss of their final two wickets, as Cummins edged Broad to slip for 4 and Lyon was trapped by Anderson for a duck. Anderson finished with 3 for 61 and Broad collected 4 for 51, his best analysis in a Test innings since November 2016. Throw in a Cook century, and it was the day on which England's old heads finally stood up to be counted.
Day 3
Australia 327; England 491-9
England lead by 164 runs after Alastair Cook hits 244 not out
It was back to business for Alastair Cook on the third day. He batted for another six and a half hours, posting the highest score against Australia at the MCG, a magnificent, unbeaten 244. If the first hundred of this innings was for himself, to recover his self-esteem albeit too late in the tour for his liking, the second was for the team, to ensure Joe Root held the best cards with two days to go.
On Wednesday Cook had sped to his hundred with uncharacteristic freedom, reaching that landmark in 164 balls and although he never bats with any hint of desperation the circumstances at the start of his innings were different. Cook, the Test cricketer, has never been dropped by England and in Melbourne his place was in some jeopardy. Yet it seems he managed to let this peculiar situation liberate him in his approach.
Before resuming his innings on 104 on the third morning he said: “When you’re averaging 13 there is no point in dying wondering. What is the worst that can happen? You can get a low score and get left out, I suppose. But it’s amazing what can then happen; you can get more crisp footwork, more intent and suddenly you get away.”
Not only was Cook’s footwork crisp but also his strokeplay, and he undoubtedly got away. He was unusually free and eager at the crease. Fifteen fours flowed from his bat on the way to that century.
But on the third day it was more of a grind as he sought to give England a meaningful first-innings lead – at least until the final session when Cook embarked on a skittish ninth-wicket union with his fellow-old-timer Stuart Broad. That partnership was worth 100 runs and exasperated a weary Australia side and entertained an increasingly hoarse Barmy Army in equal measure. This pair had batted together only once before in Test cricket. They should try it again sometime.
Cook’s second 100 contained only eight boundaries and took him 196 balls, though he speeded up when beyond 200. For two sessions he had returned to being the ultra-pragmatist and for that his dressing room must have been grateful. Without him England would never have gained a first-innings lead of 164.
The distant rope may well have been protected and difficult to find but Cook seldom missed a ball or a chance to score. The oddity was that no other England batsman, with the possible exception of Root, seemed anywhere near as comfortable on a pitch that has been roundly condemned for a lack of pace, which has neutered the Australian pacemen.
The acting curator, Michael Salvatore, can, however, point to the scorecard. The really good players – David Warner, Steve Smith, Root and Cook – have scored runs without many problems; the rest have struggled. Usually that means the curator – or the greenkeeper – has done a good job. The evidence of our eyes suggests otherwise, though we may yet have a gripping Test on our hands.
Cook shepherded the England innings in a manner that would be appreciated by the farmers of Bedfordshire, earnestly seeking out every run for the cause. Root kept him company for 50 mostly untroubled minutes whereupon a bouncer from Pat Cummins surprised him for pace and the ball sailed gently to Nathan Lyon at deep square leg from his hook shot.
Dawid Malan fell lbw to the second new ball in peculiar fashion without ever displaying the authority of Perth. As with James Vince the previous day it seemed from the replays the ball had taken his inside edge – and there was also the suggestion his pad was struck just outside the line of the off stump. But no review was forthcoming from Malan.
Jonny Bairstow flickered either side of lunch before he was deceived by a quicker ball from Lyon and caught behind. Next there was a cameo from Moeen Ali that was almost frightening in its frenzy. There were leg-byes off his visor and a frantic pull shot. Then he swung at his first ball from Lyon and the ball just cleared the rope and the outstretched hands of Cummins at long-off; a loose and juicy cover drive followed.
Then, in Lyon’s next over, Moeen smashed a long hop to short extra-cover to end a riveting, ridiculous – given that he regards himself as a batsman – innings of 20 in 14 balls.
Chris Woakes batted sensibly enough to add 59 with Cook whereupon another Cummins bouncer accounted for him while Tom Curran nicked his first runs in Test cricket before edging to the keeper. Now came England’s bonus as Cook and Broad combined – in contrasting styles – to great effect. Broad evaded, or swished at, or thumped the inevitable bouncers while Cook was frivolous enough to loft Lyon for a straight-driven boundary.
Soon Broad’s confidence soared on his way to a second half-century – from 61 balls – since 2012 with an array of strokes, some of which are in the manual. Eventually he was the victim of a brilliant, tumbling catch at third man by Usman Khajawa. There was still scope from some beautifully improvised boundaries to third man and through the covers by Cook. Perhaps Root could have declared but he surely wanted to give his predecessor the opportunity to carry his bat. No opener in Test cricket had scored more while doing so. However Jimmy Anderson, who relished defending the off-spin of Lyon, remained firm until the close.
It was a chastening time for Australia. Jackson Bird’s limitations were exposed on an unforgiving surface. The gulf between him and Mitchell Starc is as wide as that between Cook and the rest of the batsmen on show on a day which suggested the old boy is still reasonably interested.
Day 4
Australia 327 & 103/2 (43.5 ov)
England 491
Australia trail by 61 runs with 8 wickets remaining
The weather, it seems, is not England's friend. At the WACA, they needed final-day rain to keep the series alive; despite a lengthy delay due to leaking covers, there was not enough wetness to prevent an Australian victory. And now at the MCG, England's push for a consolation win has been hampered by heavy and persistent rain that washed out half of the fourth day's play. By stumps, Australia still trailed by 61 runs but had eight wickets in hand, with their two best batsmen at the crease.
The day started with Alastair Cook becoming the highest scorer ever to carry his bat in Test cricket, before England further strengthened their position by claiming two wickets before lunch. However, Steven Smith and David Warner then steadied Australia with a patient partnership which, along with the weather, loomed as the key to the match. When play was abandoned, with only 44 overs bowled in the day, they had steered Australia steadily to 2 for 103.
Cook carries his bat
Alastair Cook became the eighth player from England to carry his bat and first since 1997. The last player for England to achieve this was Michael Atherton when he scored 94 against New Zealand. However, Cook's 244 was the highest score ever made by a batsman carrying his bat through a Test innings, beating the 223 scored by New Zealand's Glenn Turner against West Indies in Kingston in 1972. The last player to carry his bat in an Ashes Test was Geoffrey Boycott when he made 99 at Perth in 1979.
Tough task for Australia
When Australia have conceded a lead of over 160 at home , they have managed to not lose only on seven occasions. Incidentally the last time they managed to do it against England was also in Melbourne in 1965. However, they have lost on 21 occasions.
Warner's tempo had been uncharacteristically slow, and his 40 had come from 140 deliveries, while Smith was on 25 from 67 balls. The only two Australian batsmen to have averaged more than 40 in Test cricket in 2017, Smith and Warner knew that the longer they could stay together, the better Australia's chances of emerging from this match with a draw. A clean sweep is off the table, but right now they would be more than happy with 4-0.
England had started the morning on 9 for 491 and it took only one delivery - a short ball from Pat Cummins that James Anderson fended to short leg - to end the innings. That left Cook unbeaten on 244, the highest score ever made by a batsman carrying his bat through a Test innings, beating the 223 scored by New Zealand's Glenn Turner against West Indies in Kingston in 1972.
Cook was also the first England batsman to carry his bat in a Test in 20 years, since Mike Atherton did so against New Zealand in Christchurch in 1996-97. His innings ended in its 634th minute, which made it the fifth-longest innings by time ever played in a Test in Australia - only Sid Barnes in 1946, Bob Cowper in 1966, Graham Yallop in 1983 and Mark Greatbatch in 1989 had stayed at the crease longer in a Test in this country.
It also gave England a 164-run first-innings lead, which meant the Australians faced plenty of work to fight back into the contest. They began their second innings solidly with a 51-run opening stand between Cameron Bancroft and Warner, but that ended when Bancroft, who had just driven a handsome boundary wide of mid-on, chopped on for 27 off the bowling of Chris Woakes.
The loss of Usman Khawaja for 11, when he edged behind off an Anderson delivery that nipped away, left Australia wobbling at 2 for 65. Smith and Warner steadied the Australians, although Warner had a narrow escape on 36 when he only just cleared Anderson at short midwicket off the bowling of Woakes.
By the time the rain arrived, the Smith-Warner partnership was worth 38 off 22.4 overs, hardly earth-shattering figures, but a sufficiently solid stand to give Australia hope of securing a draw on the final day.
Day 5
Australia 327 & 263/4d (124.2 ov)
England 491
Match drawn
There was still no way past Steve Smith. The pitch may have been as docile as a lamb yet it still required wonderful concentration from Australia’s phenomenal captain to bat for almost seven hours to save the Melbourne Test match. In the process he recorded his 23rd Test century. Finding the key to removing Smith from the crease would have taxed the team at Bletchley Park, let alone the one led by Joe Root.
Here Smith played with his usual fidgeting calm, as resolute in saving the game as he was when winning those in Brisbane and Perth. He now revels in self-denial as well as shredding opposition attacks. At the crease he is vaguely reminiscent of Derek Randall, who played his greatest innings here 40 years ago (there has been some footage of the Centenary Test on our screens during the rain breaks). Like Randall there is much pre-delivery movement and a self-taught, idiosyncratic method – though Smith has proven to be a far more prolific and significant batsman. He has the confidence to do it his way.
Randall once told me that his Centenary Test innings of 174 was not his favourite knock. Instead he chose his 150 in Sydney in 1978 when he batted for almost 10 hours to overturn England’s first innings deficit of 142. Randall relished that innings because it was out of character. In this series Smith has demonstrated that he can peel off hundreds of different hues depending on the needs of his team. He can enjoy a 259-ball 100 in Melbourne as much as a fast-flowing 138-ball one in Perth. At the moment Smith is simply and serenely the best whatever the circumstances.
There were brief moments just before lunch on the final day when the prospect of him running out of partners as England forged on to a remarkable victory was not impossible. Australia lost David Warner and Shaun Marsh in the space of six overs and maybe England scented a chance.
For the most of the morning there had been no problems for Australia’s two great batsmen even though they were contained by an England attack that never faltered in its resolve to deny their opponents easy runs. Root shuffled his bowlers and eventually tossed the ball to himself. By now Warner was on 86, eyeing his second hundred of the match and a special landmark. Warner, like Ricky Ponting and Sunil Gavaskar before him, had hit two hundreds in a Test match three times. A record-breaking fourth was on the horizon when he received his first ball from Root. After five hours of rigid self-discipline Warner had a horrible heave, which coincided with the ball gripping on the solitary blemish on the surface, and James Vince calmly caught the ensuing skier.
Stuart Broad was recalled and just before the interval he found the edge of Shaun Marsh’s bat. Jonny Bairstow, standing very close because of the moribund nature of the pitch, dived to his left, holding a fine one-handed catch. So at lunch there must have been some nerves in the home dressing room since Australia were effectively 14 for four.
After the break Mitchell Marsh, yet to get off the mark, sliced a drive inches short of Vince at backward point. Otherwise the younger Marsh, who had battered the England bowlers in Perth, defended stoutly in an innings that will have impressed his coach, captain and selectors as much as his blazing 181 just over a week ago. He crawled along but with Smith still at the other end this suited the Australians fine. Smith himself pottered along happily to his century and then the captains shook hands at the earliest opportunity.
It was a forgettable Test match except for Alastair Cook’s unbeaten 244, which, to his great chagrin, could not change the course of the series though it might change the course of his career. The vultures were circling but they have now been dispersed. He can still bat, but like many players late in their career, a pattern is emerging: there is a tendency to fail more often but once established he knows how to deliver a truly monumental innings. Consistency is harder to find.
The match was ruined by a sub-standard pitch. This was akin to asking the best Australian Rules footballers to play on a ploughed field, something the authorities here would never tolerate. As a result the spectacle of one of the great sporting occasions was sadly diminished. This drop-in surface refused to deteriorate as good cricket pitch should and it was not the first time that the MCG has produced a track that is more likely to alienate cricket fans than attract them. It would have been adequate for a Big Bash match. In the spirit of cooperation I have a suggestion: move the Boxing Day Test to Hobart until a solution is found.
England can, at least, travel to Sydney with their heads held high, which was more than they could do in 2006 or 2013. They strained every sinew in the field at the MCG but they cannot find the magic formula that disposes of Smith. Australia have added Ashton Agar, the left-arm spinner from WA, to their squad for the final Test and there is a good chance that he will play. The SCG does not encourage spinners as it did several decades ago but there is reckoned to be more assistance for the tweakers than when England last played there. That was not their finest hour. Scott Borthwick was England’s solitary spinner in his only Test and England contrived to lose their 20 wickets in 90 overs. The Test specialists had an embarrassing two days to spend in Sydney before their flights home.
This time there is more resolve within the England camp and they won’t be introducing as many debutants in Sydney (in 2014 Borthwick received his first cap along with Gary Ballance and Boyd Rankin when there was barely a wheel left on the wagon). But there is the possibility that they might introduce Mason Crane, who played his one game for New South Wales there last season. Crane would replace Tom Curran or, rather sadly, Moeen Ali, who has never yet been dropped in his career of 48 Test matches.
5th Test
England 233-5 v Australia
Joe Root set out in search of his inner Steve Smith on a sunlit Sydney evening. But he could not quite find him. He was England’s best batsman by a margin but yet again that major innings eluded him. Having batted with more discretion than derring-do for his 83 he was dismissed just before the close in the first over by Mitchell Starc with the second new ball.
It may be that Root had been excited by the advent of a harder ball in a highly eventful over. As he always does Starc pitched full, hunting for swing. To the first ball Root played a sumptuous drive to the long-off boundary; the second took his inside edge and raced to the fine-leg boundary. The third was full and on leg-stump and Root clipped the ball firmly towards square-leg, where Mitchell Marsh took the catch inches from the ground. Root slumped to his haunches, distraught that another golden opportunity to play the major innings had vanished.
Australia, as they have done throughout the series, seized their moment. Curiously England shunned the nightwatchman. Out came a pumped-up Jonny Bairstow with ten minutes to the close. A loose shot against Josh Hazlewood and Tim Paine ecstatically held the edge. All the graft of a 133-run partnership between Root and Dawid Malan had been dissipated. England closed on 233 for five, not the worst score, but the impetus was undoubtedly with Australia.
Root has poured his heart and soul into this tour. It may be that he has tried to do too much, an easy trap for a young captain. There have been the fripperies that he would have been better off ignoring and leaving to others to sort out: in the headbutts and the head-drenching; his agonies in the field as he has attempted to conjure 20 Australian wickets with a monochrome attack on surprisingly bland surfaces have been palpable.
In the harshest of environs he may have learnt – from watching the Australia captain – that if he swapped all these exertions for concentrating on his own batting; if he had been more single-minded, selfish even, then that might have been more beneficial to his side. His runs are more important to this side than his decision-making. Indeed, as Smith has demonstrated, captaincy is a breeze if you are scoring stacks of runs.
Until the second new ball Root had methodically bided his time just as Smith has done throughout the series. He was never dull but seldom dashing. He aimed to guide the ball between the fielders rather belt it to the boundaries – with the exception of the odd out-of-control hook shot.
Perhaps it was his turn to make the bowlers toil and to torment the opposition captain. That late evening aberration banished such thoughts.
In his captaincy role Root had one slightly tricky decision to make earlier in the day. Morning mizzle hung around so that the day was divided into two long sessions. He won the toss again, not a good omen in this series, and batted despite the grey clouds hovering above. Soon those clouds dispersed and his decision seemed the correct one. Though there was more bounce for the seamers than at Melbourne there was little lateral movement for the pacemen and only occasional turn for Nathan Lyon.
Before too long there was familiar exasperation for the England camp. Once again Mark Stoneman settled impressively and clipped anything full to the boundary with the minimum of fuss. Then having hit 24 from 23 balls he sparred unnecessarily at a short ball from Pat Cummins and was caught behind. Stoneman has not looked out of his depth here and will probably survive as Cook’s partner for the New Zealand Tests. But a substantial innings is overdue. In 13 Test innings he has failed to reach double figures only three times but his top score is a modest 56.
James Vince’s record is even worse yet watch him in isolation for 15 minutes in this series and he has looked masterful. The same applied on Thursday. He was seldom troubled; there were a couple of gorgeous cover drives. Then he edged a wide, hittable ball from Cummins to the keeper and no one was surprised. Vince offers a conundrum for the selectors. If he had scored 25 and played and missed a dozen times the decision about his future would be so much easier. Instead he bats like Michael Vaughan in his pomp and then gets out. After 19 Test innings Vince averages just under 23, which is a mystery.
Alastair Cook was less fluent than both Stoneman and Vince yet patently more likely to produce the major innings. But on 39 the Australians asked for a review after an lbw appeal and it transpired that the ball from Hazlewood just pitched in line by a millimetre or two. So Cook had to go.
The Australians offered few free runs and the outfield was relatively sluggish, but the sun shone and the grass seemed to lose its hint of green as the day progressed. It was tough work from both sides but Root found a willing ally in Malan. He enjoyed a couple of escapes. On 29 he found himself at the same end as Root but was able to scramble to safety; on 32 he edged towards slip off Lyon but Smith barely managed to touch the ball.
No matter; it was the Australian side who were smiling at the close.
Day 2
Australia 193-2 v England 346 all out
Australia trail by 153 runs with eight wickets remaining
There was little respite for England’s tourists as the temperature rose in Sydney. There was a time when the Australians seemed to relax when confronted with a dead rubber match. But not any more. The band of coaches behind the scenes would never allow such slackness. Nor would Steve Smith, in the form of his life while clocking up his 6000th Test run – only two players have got there faster, Don Bradman and Gary Sobers – and who was still there at the close. He only has 44 runs to his name but there is no sign that his appetite for runs has diminished.
Alongside Smith was a contented Usman Khawaja. He has had a modest series but here he seized the chance to rectify ugly figures. He was 91 not out at the close, an elegant innings punctuated but the odd frantic moment against the spinners. Australia ended the day on 193-2, which meant that there was the prospect of much more toil for England’s unbalanced attack. Up front they had their record wicket-takers, who yielded runs as grudgingly as ever. Behind them were two novices, Tom Curran and the debutant Mason Crane plus the out-of-sorts Moeen Ali.
All three of these support acts bowled reasonably though there was always the reassurance for the batsmen that there were runs around for the patient. Crane was the most compelling to watch. From him there was a lot of zest and a little zip and he did not appear overawed to be bowling at two of the finest in the world, Smith and David Warner, all of which was impressive. But on Friday night after 17 overs he was still in pursuit of his first Test wicket – and his first maiden.
Life might have been simpler for Crane if he had had the chance to bowl at Cameron Bancroft, who is struggling at the moment. In the second over of Australia’s reply he missed a straight ball from Broad and set off for the pavilion without bothering to look at his splattered stumps. Unlike Khawaja his immediate future as a Test player is looking bleak.
Warner settled easily again but he was becalmed in Anderson’s second spell before being defeated by a skilful off-cutter. Smith received the reception of a returning hero, took a couple of deep breaths and proceeded to carry on where he had left off in Melbourne. There was more respect than aggression when facing Crane with every ball played on its merits.
Khawaja’s approach was a little different against the spinners. There would be passages of dutiful defence and then the odd big shot, usually executed effectively, a lofted drive or a reverse sweep. But for the most part their unbeaten partnership was solid, professional and pragmatic, something of a contrast to the morning play since the second half of the England innings was a comedy of errors preceded by a moment of sublime brilliance by Smith at second slip.
At the start of play Moeen Ali began with a notable absence of melodrama: off the mark first ball with a single to mid-wicket, some cagey leaves and no wild indiscretions against Nathan Lyon, while Dawid Malan was, more predictably, wary and watchful. Then Mitchell Starc found the edge of Malan’s bat and thereby produced the catch of the series. The ball reached the slip cordon on another sluggish surface but it was just within reach of Smith, who stuck out a left-hand where the ball remained even after the fielder had completed his dive, a marvel of relaxed athleticism.
There followed a series of little stands that allowed England to eke out 346 amid some Keystone Kops fielding. Tom Curran was determined to be positive while Moeen battled away though both of them should have been dismissed within the space of four balls.
First Curran, on 21, miscued a drive against Lyon and a straightforward catch was dropped at mid-on by Pat Cummins. In the next over, bowled by the chastened Cummins, Moeen, on 22, top-edged an attempted pull shot and the ball lobbed in the air. Josh Hazlewood ran around from mid-on to take the catch but somehow failed to lay hands on the ball, which bumped into his chest and on to the grass. There was not much Cummins could say. Moeen did not really make the Australians pay for this mistake as he edged a short ball to Tim Paine after scoring a sketchy, though orthodox 30.
In came Broad, elevated to number nine, and as ever this coincided with a barrage of bouncers. The Australians had made their point earlier in the series, showcasing their ruthless determination to bombard the England tail. In this case they displayed their inflexibility and gifted runs. The pitch was slow and Broad has acclimatized to the barrage; he premeditated the line of attack and produced a few blistering shots against Cummins. Two of them sailed for six way over the square-leg boundary.
Curran joined in the fun until he was caught at short-leg off Cummins and then Broad top-edged a heave against Lyon in pursuit of another six. Surprisingly by the end of his innings Broad had become the second highest six-hitter in Tests at the SCG, joining Matthew Hayden on seven, though still six behind Adam Gilchrist. Crane’s first Test innings ended ignominiously when he was run-out after a misunderstanding with Jimmy Anderson.
Day 3
Aus 479-4
Eng 346
Aus Lead by 133
The pink Test, now it’s tenth year, is firmly embedded into the Sydney calendar. With Glenn McGrath, the universally respected driver of a wonderful charity, they flock to the SCG in their thousands, young and old, male and female, committed fans and those who simply want to enjoy being there. The Saturday, when those not displaying something pink receive a funny look, is an especially memorable occasion.
Whether this Saturday will qualify as memorable for the eleven Englishmen toiling in the field for almost six and a half hours is another matter. Naturally the England players offer their absolute support to the McGrath Foundation but they would also have welcomed a few more wickets under an unrelenting sun against an unrelenting batting line-up.
England dismissed just two Australians in the day. One of them - remarkably - was Steve Smith; it was hard to tell who was more surprised, Smith or the bowler, Moeen Ali. The other was Usman Khawaja, who resuscitated his Test career by scoring 171 on a sleepy surface that is likely to offer increasing assistance to the spinners. Khawaja was eventually stumped to become Mason Crane’s first Test wicket. The young leg-spinner deserved something in his final column.
So a flamingo-coloured crowd looked on at an England side that toiled and spun and who had no Dennis Lillees out there. They did not stint in their efforts. Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad kept pounding in to no avail. On came the spinners and none disgraced themselves. Mark Stoneman dutifully stuck his helmet on and was stationed at forward short-leg for much of the time. He might have wondered why. Here we are in the fifth Test and he has yet to take a catch there.
There would be no gifts from Australia’s middle order: Smith “failed”, having been dismissed for 83. Khawaja looked a Test batsman again, exhibiting patience that was punctuated by the occasional high-risk shot, whereupon he returned to watching the ball plop gently on to the middle of his bat. Then came the Marsh brothers; Shaun was watchful and composed, forever demonstrating his dexterity against spin and ending the day on 98 not out; initially Mitchell was all at sea against Crane, missing his leg-breaks frequently but before long he began middling the ball, which meant that he hit it very hard especially when facing Moeen.
So England kept toiling as Root switched his bowlers always in hope rather than expectation. The series was long gone and now this match was drifting away. There were echoes of the last Test of the Indian tour in Chennai when England scored 477 in their first innings, yet when India declared they had a lead of 282. On that occasion Alastair Cook was the captain. Adil Rashid was the leg-spinner and the embattled Moeen Ali was the off-spinner.
This time one could almost sense Root’s worst fears at the start. In the morning he tried all his five main bowlers inside 40 minutes, by which time Khawaja had reached his sixth Test century and his first against England. None of them offered much of a threat though Anderson was as frugal as ever. Root took the new ball as soon as it was available with Australia on 233-2 (England had been 233-3 when Mitchell Starc was let loose with a shiny new ball on Thursday evening) and once a Stuart Broad bouncer sent Smith on to his backside. But the Australian captain got up smiling rather as Derek Randall used to do as if he had been not in the least inconvenienced.
Then there was the gasp and the brief stunned silence when Smith drove the first ball of a new spell by Moeen back into the bowler’s hands. Just before lunch England sensed another wicket, which would have been Crane’s first. Khawaja on 132 was well down the pitch when he padded up and England reviewed the decision. It transpired that the ball would have hit the stumps but this was only established after the agonizing discovery that no part of Crane’s left foot was behind the line as he delivered the ball. So Crane joined a disturbingly long list of recent England bowlers who have been denied their first Test wicket because of over-stepping: Ben Stokes, Mark Wood and Tom Curran. What would Lady Bracknell say? Maybe the bowling coach should have a word; he probably will when he arrives.
After lunch Crane delivered his first maiden in Test cricket as he continued an impressive spell but the afternoon session was fruitless. Khawaja’s under edge eluded Jonny Bairstow; Shaun Marsh was mistakenly given caught behind against Joe Root, who briefly looked England’s likeliest spinner. Otherwise all was tranquility. A Marsh cover drive took Australia into the lead.
After tea there was the one uplifting moment for England: Crane’s first wicket. He sensed Khawaja advancing down the pitch and bowled the ball wider and shorter; it passed between bat and pad and Bairstow was on hand to whip off the bails. Initially Crane tormented Mitchell Marsh beating him four times with leg-breaks that beat the outside edge. But soon the younger Marsh was acclimatized and thumping the ball harder than any other batsman in the match.
The bowling of Crane had been the solitary source of encouragement for England but his figures do not reflect that – though they also indicate that a young debutant is judged by different standards especially if he flips the ball out of the back of the hand. At the close he had taken 1-135 from 39 overs. Ah well, in Sydney 25 years ago Shane Warne took 1-150 from 45 overs against India in his first Test match. There were no other crumbs of comfort.
Day 4
England 346 & 93-4; Australia 649-7 declared
England trail by 210 runs with six wickets remaining
Joe Root stood on the burning deck, whence all but he had fled. England’s beleaguered captain was defiant and the deck really was close to burning, for this was a day of record-breaking temperatures in Sydney.
The end of an arduous tour was in sight and while Root battled nobly, after doing his best to marshal his men during the 193 overs that they spent in the field he was short of allies. The situation was almost hopeless so perhaps there was less to worry about. Next week Eoin Morgan will be in charge and Root can revert to being the imp in the back of the bus once he has recovered from the exertions of the past two months.
Australia had a first-innings lead of 303 when Steve Smith declared midway through a stifling afternoon. Both the Marsh brothers had registered centuries and the Australian bowlers had relaxed for two days in the dressing room. They were honed for the final assault and until Root bedded in they met with little resistance as Alastair Cook and the three new boys, who had surely never batted after so many hours frazzling in the sun, were sent packing for the last time in this Test series.
Mark Stoneman, who has promised so much in this series – rather like Michael Carberry four years ago – was stuck on the back foot and lbw to the long-striding Mitchell Starc. Then Nathan Lyon was introduced for the sixth over. His first ball fizzed past Cook’s outside edge; his fifth one spun just as viciously and clipped the top of off-stump. So this pitch was turning, after all. As predicted, facing Lyon was a rather more serious proposition than the three spinners used by England (not for the first time the desperate question – “Where’s Malan?” was provoked during Australia’s marathon first innings). Vince settled and departed in time-honoured fashion, edging wearily to first slip off Pat Cummins. With his head bowed he meandered back to the old pavilion wondering when his next knock for England would be.
Dawid Malan, being a left-hander, was also dismissed by Lyon. He was lbw on the back foot and reviewed just in case the ball had hit his bat before his pad. It hadn’t. The next innovation for the modern cricketer – and they like innovating and practising all year round – has to be the ambidextrous batsman. Lyon’s record against left-handers in this series is remarkable; they average under 20 against him. By contrast right-handers average over 80. There being no Ted Dexters, England need ambidexters.
Out came Jonny Bairstow, less pumped up than in the first innings, and the two Yorkshiremen took England to 93 for four at the close. Root was unbeaten on 42 from 124 balls, none of which had been hit for six or four. He has never faced so many deliveries in Test cricket without a boundary. The captain was patient yet never passive. And he was quietly resolute, whatever the state of the series. No doubt he was tired as well, for he had spent the first half of the day in the torture chamber that was the SCG.
No doubt the television pictures revealed another lovely sunny day in Sydney. But, as we know, they can distort. It was reckoned to be 57C (135F) in the middle of the pitch when the players were taking lunch, while in the suburb of Penrith, where Trevor Bayliss played his cricket, it was officially 47C (117F) in the shade, the hottest on record in Sydney and hotter than his current seat.
It was in these conditions after 157 overs in the field that Stuart Broad sought his 400th wicket and Mason Crane his second. Both sweated in vain as the Marsh brothers piled on the agony. Shaun soon posted his second century of the series and in the second hour Mitchell followed suit.
Mitchell’s century required 72 balls fewer than Shaun’s. It was brimful of powerful drives and capped a wonderfully productive summer for the Australian selectors. Three of their four debatable picks – the Marsh brothers and Tim Paine – have prospered and they stuck with Usman Khawaja and were justified. Only Cameron Bancroft has struggled after his hilarious start with the Bairstow ‘headbutt’ furore.
Perhaps the most entertaining element of Mitchell’s innings was when he was on 99 and cover drove the runs to reach his century. Having completed the first one the brothers turned for the second, but were so overcome by emotion that they embraced midwicket before remembering it was a good idea to complete that second before celebrating further. They duly did so but next ball Marsh jnr was bowled by Tom Curran; perhaps the delivery kept a little low, perhaps in his mind he was still celebrating.
Two more wickets fell before Australia declared on 649 for seven. Shaun Marsh was run out by a direct hit from Stoneman and Mitchell Starc holed out to give Moeen Ali his fifth wicket of the tour. There were soon some ugly stats around. Moeen’s bowling average of 115 is the highest in any Test series for a bowler taking five wickets or more. No England debutant has conceded more runs (193) than Mason Crane. And the general consensus was that he did not bowl too badly, which is one of the advantages of making one’s debut as a 20-year-old.
Day 5
England 346 & 180-9; Australia 649-7 declared
Steve Smith awarded Compton-Miller Medal for Player of the Series
Joe Root retired ill for second time on 58 after being taken to hospital
It was all over by 2.15pm – though not quite in the manner anticipated – and the margin of victory reflected Australia’s dominance in the series. Steve Smith’s side won by a monumental innings and 123 runs.
To the disappointment of just about everyone at the SCG, Joe Root was unable to resume his innings at the start of play, which greatly reduced the possibility of a compelling rearguard action. Root had played superbly on Sunday evening and was unbeaten on 42.
But on Monday morning he was taken to hospital suffering from severe dehydration and diarrhoea. It was assumed that this was a consequence of his being in the field for almost all of Sunday when temperatures in the middle soared as high as 57 degrees, initially trying to marshal England’s flagging attack, then defiantly batting for some pride and the draw.
Later, it transpired that Root had a viral gastroenteritis bug and that his illness had noting to do with heat exhaustion, although the temperatures on Sunday could not helped his condition.
As a fragile Root was arriving at the ground, Moeen Ali joined Jonny Bairstow at the crease at 10.30am. For an hour they blunted the Australian attack. Moeen was, at least, clear-headed. He was in defensive mode even against his great tormentor Nathan Lyon. The pitch was offering some turn, as it should on the final day, but not much movement for Australia’s triumvirate of quick bowlers.
This pair battled away for an hour with Bairstow also in self-denial mode. There had been remarkably few alarms. But after drinks Moeen, inevitably, fell to Lyon in the most predictable manner. He pushed forward defensively; the ball did not turn much and it thudded into the middle of Moeen’s front pad, the classic modern dismissal of a left-hander by an off-spin bowler.
Moeen had a quick look at his partner but he knew that a review was pointless and he set off on his forlorn walk back to the pavilion, his last act on a tour where both his batting and bowling has been shredded by the Australians. This was the seventh time in ten innings that Moeen had been dismissed by Lyon in this series. The off-spinner has tormented all of England’s left-handers in this series with the possible exception of Jimmy Anderson. But no-one has been as tormented as Moeen.
He is a touch player rather than a technician, and when his confidence is low he has few buttresses left to lean on. The selectors are picking the squad for the two Tests in New Zealand starting at the end of March – with undue haste. We expect to know the squad by Tuesday night. Moeen may well be in it even though the case for him to be dropped for the first time in 49 Tests has never been stronger. A break now might, in fact, prolong his Test career.
Eyes swivelled to the pavilion as Moeen made his slow departure. The frail figure making his way to the middle was indeed Root, who would do his best to deliver his Eddie Paynter impersonations (in 1932 in Brisbane the indomitable Lancastrian came off his sickbed to hit a vital 83). He received a warm reception from the crowd plus his usual anthem from the Barmy Army to the tune of “Hey Jude”. Apart from when running between the wickets very gingerly Root did not appear to be too hindered. In fact he middled the ball as regularly as on Sunday night.
The two Yorkshiremen made their way sedately to the pavilion for lunch with England hanging on at 144-5 and two of their best players at the crease. But Root would never reappear. The symptoms returned, which meant that Root could not. No-one in the England camp could have battled harder than him throughout the series. But now his body had rebelled.
Root’s absence after the break hastened the end as did the bowling of Pat Cummins. Bairstow was soon lbw; Broad fended his second delivery, a bouncer, and the ball ballooned to the keeper; Mason Crane followed in similar fashion.
With this surge of wickets Cummins became the leading wicket-taker in the series – with 23 – and history was soon made. This was the first time in a five-match series when there have only been four wicket-takers in the side – even though Mitchell Starc missed the Melbourne Test.
As ever, Jimmy Anderson was there at the end. He was given out caught behind against Josh Hazlewood. He would have reviewed the decision by Umpire Dharmasena but England had no reviews left. The local TV coverage did not bother to investigate whether Anderson had hit the ball. In any case, by now only Anderson was in the slightest bit interested.
An exhausted Root, meanwhile, was fast asleep in the dressing room. Not quite the climax to the Ashes series that was planned back in England in September.
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