Australia relies on short balls to make inroads – Josh Hazlewood delivers one from off the deck that Brook dangles unsurely at, then hits for a single to regain strike and take back control.
He attempts to drive, but the momentum eludes him and the ball rolls off past Boland. England needs more pushes in this regard for this goal to remain within reach. In this article, we will cover all important news regarding England v Australia Scorecard.
Ben Duckett
England’s opener Ben Duckett is on a mission. A quick pair of singles just before drinks gives him some momentum and he appears close to scoring his maiden Test hundred. At first glance he may have seemed out of sorts at the top of the order but now seems more composed; his pokey prods outside off are being avoided and flashing hands more frequently with greater authority. Back against spin he goes once more; although Nathan Lyon might prove difficult, Duckett still shows enough skill and finesse to work a single down for four off his legs if required.
He gets lucky with his next attempt – his tentative prod outside off just narrowly avoids diving Cameron Green at gully with two feet to spare. Following up, he delivers an elegant drive through extra cover – perhaps an attempt at compensating for an error at gully? – which remains an excellent shot.
Duckett appears somewhat uncertain against the new ball, and this shows in his attempts to slam a drive down towards fine leg. Unfortunately it falls just short and doesn’t hit his bat at all, but another opportunity presents itself when Marnus Labuschagne pitches one short and tunnels underneath his edge for two runs off an over. A promising start from England!
Duckett has now played 30 Test innings and his strike rate stands at an impressive 89.6, outpacing both Virender Sehwag and David Warner and matching or surpassing England’s best opening batsmen of yesteryear. Duckett increasingly looks like he will lead this side into its next phase of development.
Zak Crawley
Zak Crawley is one of England’s brightest young prospects and an exceptional batsman with the potential to flourish at both club and international levels. A stand-out during Kent’s revival in the Championship during COVID-affected 2020 season, his 267 in Test against Pakistan vindicated national selectors’ trust. Furthermore, Crawley earned PCA Young Cricketer of the Year status and made Wisden’s Five for 2021.
At tea time, England are currently 145 for one without losing Crawley and are progressing steadily by Bazball standards. There’s plenty of open acreage in this pitch and both Duckett and Ben Stokes appear happy to play against Mitchell Starc’s line and length by playing against it.
Australia are becoming concerned that their ball isn’t doing much through the air. Nathan Lyon has clearly felt the strain from all that running during their first innings; as his right calf appears to be sore from all their running around and can no longer lift his bat from the deck to take strike of the ball from Nathan Hauritz’s bowling attack.
That was a massive setback for Australia and Josh Hazlewood took advantage of it by offering extra fence protection with short deliveries, giving Crawley space behind square and scooping over his shoulder to move back behind square for his shot – though two yards shy of the boundary it did land just two. Hazlewood appears unsure of himself right now, needing to up his game if Australia are going to win this Ashes Test; in order for their batsmen to do that as well.
Ollie Robinson
England’s batsmen appear content to go through the motions here as they attempt to maintain a draw. With only 96 runs needed to win, their captain seems willing to extend playout as long as necessary – and why shouldn’t he if his team can produce such exciting moments when needed?
Rain has subsided, but players won’t remain out for long – the game will resume at 3:30pm local time.
As per the weather forecast, it appears to not rain anymore for some time – we will just have to wait and see.
Josh Hazlewood enters at Nursery End and digs short, making it hard for England’s batsmen to get off early shots – although two runs were taken off that over when an outside edge ball raced towards the boundary and overtook both batsmen in its path.
As wicketkeepers return to work, scoring has decreased considerably – something which appears to be beneficial to Australia who are taking great care with the ball, helping prevent England from scoring freely.
Now at 235-7, England are still not giving up easily as Duckett and Green continue their resistance. Duckett takes one delivery from Starc to push through to the off side for one single, while Green swivels his shoulders and hits one through the gap for FOUR; giving England hope as they search for an avenue out. They must use the new ball soon if they wish to break this deadlock though.
Ben Stokes
After an uneven 2016 and disappointing Champions Trophy performance, Stokes has shown exceptional form this year. His century in the first Test against New Zealand and five-wicket haul in the second earned him England’s Player of the Series award; later on he contributed significantly towards their victory at 2022 T20 World Cup tournament.
Durham all-rounder Durham Allardice is widely acknowledged to be one of the finest cricketers on earth, capable of turning defeat into victory and doing exactly that in England’s fourth Test against South Africa in which England prevailed by an innings and 104 runs. His remarkable innings included two sixes as part of an outstanding innings totalling 89 with several other sixes hit along with an iconic catch to dismiss Dwaine Pretorius that has since become legendary – all factors which contributed to England winning this match by an innings and 104 runs.
At drinks, England top order are progressing comfortably on what appears to be an undemanding batting surface. Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins have yet to offer much in terms of early inroads which could prove crucial in England’s victory.
Pat Cummins comes close to killing Ollie Pope as he scrambles quickly around ground defences, narrowly missing him by inches before tunnelling away off stump for a maiden over.
Ben Stokes returns and has the potential to help England take an important step toward an Ashes whitewash. On his first ball he takes an awkward catch at gully to dismiss Usman Khawaja but Marais Erasmus appeals against this decision and takes no action against Ben’s catch.
Marnus Labuschagne
Ben Stokes and Zak Crawley made solid starts to their innings for England on what appeared to be an extremely friendly batting surface. Both will want to bat for as long as possible but that may prove challenging given Australia’s quick bowlers caused so many issues during the morning session.
Nathan Lyon was unexpectedly left off the Brisbane Heat squad for the opening rounds of Big Bash but is reassessing his new ball options on a pitch that’s been very fluid all afternoon – it could provide additional bounce and movement that Stokes and Crawley can exploit.
England have just two overs left before lunch, and will need to maintain discipline if they’re going to give themselves any hope of winning this Test match. Australia are clearly favourites, but England have to stay in there and maintain control if they hope to turn things around late on.
Marnus Labuschagne has been an intriguing replacement player for Australia during this tour, emerging as an all-round batting all-rounder who had fallen down their part-time selection list until being brought in for Cameron Green when he suffered concussion at Brisbane ODI 1. Since then he’s been scoring runs in all conditions while making his case for World Cup 2023 selection.
“Duncan is back at his other end for this Test and bowls an off stump line short ball which gives Stokes enough room to hit it back to third man region for a double and move to 294/6,” notes James Tredwell of Fox Cricket.
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