The fourth Ashes Test is getting interesting after England had the better of Day 2 against Australia at the MCG. Day 3 will see both sides fighting hard to turn the match in their favour. Join The Roar for live scores and coverage from 10:30am (AEDT).
After the runs from David Warner, Shaun Marsh and Steve Smith on the opening day, the home fans would have been expecting their team to put England to the sword and pile on more pain.
But instead, we saw a proper collapse. Smith was out for the first time at the MCG since 2014 and the Aussies then lost their last seven wickets for just 67 runs.
Stuart Broad impressed for the English. He had only taken five wickets in the three preceding Tests, but in this innings he ended up with figures of 4-51.
England really needed their seasoned pros to perform in this series and Broad will have been as disappointed as anyone with his lack of ability to stop the Aussie batsmen so far.
Speaking of seasoned pros, Alastair Cook finally found some form and while it is far too late in terms of the series, it was good to watch a class batsman get a big score. His century was his first in an Ashes series for almost seven years and while it might not stop the discussions about whether he should retire soon, it has given England a great platform for Day 3.
Without Starc, the Australian bowling attack hasn’t looked as scary and the slower MCG wicket has made it easier for batsmen no matter how hard the Aussie quicks are charging in.
The wicket has delivered a few balls that have kept low and this could become critical to whoever ends up batting last.
When play starts on Thursday, England will have Cook and Joe Root at the crease and both will be wanting to go big. They are still 135 behind and the aim will surely be for them to draw level without losing both Root and Cook.
If the team can put on a lead of over 100 then they will give their bowlers a chance to put the Aussies under real pressure in their second innings.
Smith meanwhile will be hoping that the Australians can create another collapse similar to the one we saw from England in Adelaide and Australia here. If they can rip out three wickets in the first session on Thursday then that will really change things.
It’s going to be a really interesting day ahead.
Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the third day’s play from 10:30am (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
Oliver Matthews
Expert
I thought all the short pitched stuff to Woakes and especially Broad was poor captaincy - a few short ones to begin with is fine to push them back and get them a bit anxious but then they needed to pitch it up and I reckon they would have had Broad a lot earlier. Smith should have told his bowlers to quit it with the bouncers and bowl much fuller
Oliver Matthews
Expert
I thought all the short pitched stuff to Woakes and especially Broad was poor captaincy - a few short ones to begin with is fine to push them back and get them a bit anxious but then they needed to pitch it up and I reckon they would have had Broad a lot earlier. Smith should have told his bowlers to quit it with the bouncers and bowl much fuller
JimmyB
Guest
Add it to the list...the umpiring throughout the series has been woeful, as bad as I can remember.
anon
Roar Pro
Cook should have been out 200 runs ago. Smith has let the team down with his usual tactical blunders, dropped catch, letting one go between him and the keeper in the slips. Mitch Marsh has let us down dearly with a non-performance with the bat, no wickets with the ball, dropped catch in the field. Chickens coming home to roost.
Doctor Rotcod
Guest
Not to mention Behrendorff ,who has a FC average of 23.8 and 126 wickets at 4+ a game
Rasty
Guest
He's in the hotel now, is that what you mean?
Pom in Oz
Roar Guru
Another great day for England and it's my birthday too. Thanks, Cooky ;)
Swannies
Guest
Great to see Cooky back where he belongs...
Oliver Matthews
Expert
Day 3 Report Day 3 has finished and England have put themselves in a genuine position to win the 4th test in Melbourne. For the first time in this series the tourists were able to focus on batting for long periods of time and creating partnerships. Combined with one of their senior batsmen going big they were able to go from 2/192 at the start of play to 9/491 at the close and a lead of 164 over the Australians. It wasn’t the most exciting batting performance but what it lacked in swash buckling excitement it more than made up for by demonstrating how the power of concentration and playing to your strengths can lead to success. Cook has never been known as one of the most thrilling players but today he showed the cricketing world that he is definitely not washed up as he amassed 244 not out. He passed three other legends of the game in this innings to climb to 6th position on the all time top test run scorers and has shown that while he might not have all the shots, the ones he has got will do him very nicely. He was ably supported by Root, Woakes and Broad at various times throughout the day. Root will be disappointed in the way that he got out as it was a terrible shot and could have really proved costly if not for other players stepping up. Both Woakes and Broad showed the type of defiance that has been lacking from the English tail in this series. The Australians would have been desperate for the end of play to come – despite twice taking a couple of quick wickets at the start of sessions, they were never able to dominate the English and for long periods of time they looked completely out of ideas, especially when bowling at Cook. Cummins and Hazelwood tried hard and bowled pretty well without really ever threatening to rip the English apart. Lyon bowled his usual tight spells but again without any help from the wicket the English just had to be patient with him. Bird will be disappointed with his performance – he went for just over a hundred runs but didn’t pick up a single wicket. He did however become a new fan favourite with the Barmy Army who sensed a rare opportunity to mess with an underperforming Australian cricketer. It was highlighted again that without Starc, the Aussie attack really does miss a lot of edge and on pitches like the MCG they will struggle to stop teams scoring. Smith had a rough day at the helm. He came down with the same gastro bug that had hit Cummins on day 2 and had to leave the field a few times. Beyond that he dropped a sharp chance off of Cook and saw another sail between him and Paine that either one could have caught if they had gone for it. When Woakes was out and the England lead was just 40 he must have felt that they would wrap things up in the next few overs and then his openers could get them ahead on the scoreboard pretty quickly. Instead the English just kept on surviving and then they went from surviving to scoring and the lead grew and grew. There’s two days left of this match and while England have given themselves a good chance of winning, they really will need their bowlers to perform well. Otherwise this game could easily drift into draw territory. Be sure to join The Roar for live coverage of the fourth day’s play from 10:30am (AEDT) and don’t forget to add a comment in the section below.
Tycoch
Guest
You saw that through his body amazing - the ball was loose when it disappeared under his body. He even looked sheepish when he came up with ball in hand .
Basil
Guest
People forget about Pattinson. He is a huge loss. Not many other nations have 4 top quality proven quicks.
Tycoch
Guest
For the on field umpire to give soft out was a terrible decision. He was 40 metres away, I've watched the slo motion replays are saw no evidence he caught it, evidence that he juggled it and when loose it disappeared under his body. A really terrible decision (guess really) by the ump
David
Guest
Just checked the SS stats (thinking I could find a better option than Bird), however, he is clearly the best choice from the leftovers. In my view, there are three groups - the first group is not good enough, the second group are too injury prone for a 5 day match and the third group are yet to really prove themselves.
Oliver Matthews
Expert
Stumps So that's the close of play at the MCG on the 3rd Day of the 4th Ashes Test. England have stuck to their task well today, led by their opener and former skipper, Alastair Cook who finished on 244 not out. He has been crucial to England reaching 9/491 and a first innings lead of 164 runs. Day report to come shortly Over: 83.0 Score: 9/491
Granter
Guest
So there must always be a Stark in Winterfell, and the last couple of days have made it clear that there must always be a Starc in the Australian test team also...
Oliver Matthews
Expert
No run off the final ball of the day so that's stumps on day 3. England are 9/491 and lead by 164 runs as the MCG stands to applaud a very impressive demonstration of controlled batting from Alastair Cook Over: 84.6 Score: 9/491
Oliver Matthews
Expert
FOUR! Now that is the way to go past Brian Lara - a truly classy off drive which runs away to the boundary and takes him to 244 and the lead to 164 Over: 84.5 Score: 9/491
Oliver Matthews
Expert
Cook is on 240 - couple of big shots and he can bring up the 250! But he defends into the off side and there's no run - two balls left in the over Over: 84.4 Score: 9/487
Oliver Matthews
Expert
A cover drive off the back foot from Cook to Marsh's ball but no run Over: 84.3 Score: 9/487
Oliver Matthews
Expert
This could be the last over if it's slow enough Cook is on strike and is just one run behind Brian Lara on the all time top test run scorers list. Again no run from Cook this early in the over Over: 84.2 Score: 9/487