4th Ashes Test in Melbourne ends in a draw (Aus 327 & 263/4d, Eng 491); Australia lead series 3-0

[Aman]

Making money is such a cop out. What kind of fan would put so much thought into it?

What you should care about is quality, something that without question is not here.

We've wasted the start of our summer on WI, but at least we have Pakistan coming next which should pick things up with a closely contested series between two evenly matched sides.

You sound like the typical WWE shill who boasts about WWE's record revenues when the product is universally acknowledged as mediocre.

[Gilly]

Another shot at NZC? Yes we know it spins a lot of money, but lets not pretend like the cricket isn't usually trash. More series like this and we'll see if those numbers remain.

They have been playing for 130 years and since 2000 the crowd figures in Ashes has been steadily rising.

Australians and Englanders love watching the ashes, why does that upset you so much.

[Gilly]

Making money is such a cop out. What kind of fan would put so much thought into it?

What you should care about is quality, something that without question is not here.

We've wasted the start of our summer on WI, but at least we have Pakistan coming next which should pick things up with a closely contested series between two evenly matched sides.

You sound like the typical WWE shill who boasts about WWE's record revenues when the product is universally acknowledged as mediocre.

You come across as envious of the enjoyment Australian and Englanders get from the ashes.

You get to play Pakistan soon so enjoy that and I hope you have a good series.

[Aman]

They have been playing for 130 years and since 2000 the crowd figures in Ashes has been steadily rising.

Australians and Englanders love watching the ashes, why does that upset you so much.

Because as a neutral, I'd rather see contests rather than one sided series which are only a draw because of history i.e. I want to be entertained, something the Ashes hasn't done in years.

[Rana]

The Curren brothers. The new average cricketers that will eventually become the golden boys of English cricket.

[Gilly]

Because as a neutral, I'd rather see contests rather than one sided series which are only a draw because of history i.e. I want to be entertained, something the Ashes hasn't done in years.

Well just watch teams that have close matches and dont watch the ashes, I cant see what the problem is. Australia dont organise their summer to entertain neutrals they organise them for the 85,000+ Australians that want to watch the ashes.

You can watch NZ v WI and NZ v PAK.

[wrongun]

The Curren brothers. The new average cricketers that will eventually become the golden boys of English cricket.

Overton has looked quite good in this series- threatening with the ball & at least shows guts with the bat. They should be better to focus on the Overton brothers rather than the Currans. I haven't seen the other Curran but this one looks a dime a dozen 130k English seamer.

[Aman]

Well just watch teams that have close matches and dont watch the ashes, I cant see what the problem is. Australia dont organise their summer to entertain neutrals they organise them for the 85,000+ Australians that want to watch the ashes.

You can watch NZ v WI and NZ v PAK.

With scheduling, the only cricket I can really watch is NZ and Aus. They're on at the perfect time and I can usually watch the matches in their entirety.

[Gilly]

With scheduling, the only cricket I can really watch is NZ and Aus. They're on at the perfect time and I can usually watch the matches in their entirety.

So what do you want then, do you want CA to check with you to see who you want to watch and then organise that team for the summer.

[Rana]

Overton has looked quite good in this series- threatening with the ball & at least shows guts with the bat. They should be better to focus on the Overton brothers rather than the Currans. I haven't seen the other Curran but this one looks a dime a dozen 130k English seamer.

All three of the brothers are bang average but massively overhyped in the English circuit. Theyve had special treatment from a very young age. And yes, they wont be bowling any quicker than 130ks

Overton has a long way to go to win some respect with the south asian fans. Personally I think he should do his best to get a PSL contract and make himself available to go to Lahore.The guy is a proven racist and ECB need to make sure that they clean his image up fast

[shaz619]

Ashes in England are always very entertaining and in AUS very boring but a great spectacle for the people over there. Pak / Ind series are thrilling be it in Pak or Ind, and the rivalry is a lot more intense but they don't play each other anymore

[Aman]

So what do you want then, do you want CA to check with you to see who you want to watch and then organise that team for the summer.

Nah, I want them to schedule based on quality, but I know that's never going to happen. Aus could sweep India and England over and over again, but they'll still continue to inviite them.

[Gilly]

Nah, I want them to schedule based on quality, but I know that's never going to happen. Aus could sweep India and England over and over again, but they'll still continue to inviite them.

Tell us the schedule you want Australia to have that will deliver quality cricket.

[Aman]

Tell us the schedule you want Australia to have that will deliver quality cricket.

Is it really that difficult to figure out? Just have a look at recent performances in Aus and invite according to that.

IIRC England have lost the last 8 matches in Australia.

[Gilly]

Is it really that difficult to figure out? Just have a look at recent performances in Aus and invite according to that.

IIRC England have lost the last 8 matches in Australia.

England are the second best performing team in Australia over the last ten years.

Do you want Australia only to play SA every summer.

[Gilly]

Just for your information Aman, England have won more tests in Australia in the last ten years than India, NZ, PAK, WI and SL combined.

[James]

Just for your information Aman, England have won more tests in Australia in the last ten years than India, NZ, PAK, WI and SL combined.

Don’t let facts get in the way of anti-English sentiment.

[Sin Nombre]

Just for your information Aman, England have won more tests in Australia in the last ten years than India, NZ, PAK, WI and SL combined.

England will have lost more tests in Australia than SA, NZ, BD, SL and WI combined by end of this series in the last 12 years.

And this is England's best run in the Ashes in how long?

[wrongun]

All three of the brothers are bang average but massively overhyped in the English circuit. Theyve had special treatment from a very young age. And yes, they wont be bowling any quicker than 130ks

Overton has a long way to go to win some respect with the south asian fans. Personally I think he should do his best to get a PSL contract and make himself available to go to Lahore.The guy is a proven racist and ECB need to make sure that they clean his image up fast

Really? I didn't know that about Overton's background. What was the nature of the incident (s) which earned him this poor reputation?

[Abdullah719]

Really? I didn't know that about Overton's background. What was the nature of the incident (s) which earned him this poor reputation?

http://www.pakpassion.net/ppforum/showthread.php?235916

[KingKhanWC]

Just for your information Aman, England have won more tests in Australia in the last ten years than India, NZ, PAK, WI and SL combined.

Im guessing they have also lost the most? lol

Nice fact mate

[giri26]

To be really frank, as poor as England have been in the series, you can't just play with couple of teams year around. You need a well rounded FTP. If teams stopped inviting other teams based on their performances away, the only team which can be invited in SA. England and Australia have been poor in sub-continent, England have been poor in Australia, The sub continent teams have been poor away from Asia. So that leaves us only with SA who have been competitive in all conditions (Except for that one series in India). So who will SA play against? Or do all teams just prepare FTP's to just play SA year round.

[KingKhanWC]

Good comeback from England this session. 3 wickets for not much more than 80 runs by the looks of it.

Nip another one out before lunch and we could finally see some sort of competitive match in this over hyped series.

[MMHS]

Great come back by Poms, but I guess Aussies have won the Test with toss. Don't see Poms chasing 200+ against Lyon in Day 5. One thing Aussies have done is they have spent longer time in middle allowing this bone dry wicket to rough up. ENG might get a tiny lead after Day 3, but Aussies are still favorite.

[Convict]

Because as a neutral, I'd rather see contests rather than one sided series which are only a draw because of history i.e. I want to be entertained, something the Ashes hasn't done in years.

Yeah but Cricket Australia exists to serve Australian cricket and Australian fans not neutrals.

[giri26]

Good fight back from England and Cook finally looks in great touch. The absence of Starc and the pressure of winning the Ashes has helped him a lot. Now he is playing to keep his place for the home season.

[Big Mac]

Fair play to Steve Smith for deciding that if the English selectors aren't brave enough to drop Cook then he'll do it himself.

[volcyz]

No Star and this Aussie attack looks like a joke.

Hazlebogan shouldn’t have even gotten Vince’s wicket if he had reviewed.

[Ab Fan]

Cook finally scoring runs against Hazlewood and Cummins.

[Ab Fan]

Bird is hardly any effective.

[shariqnoor]

Easily the slowest and dullest pitch in the country. Even Pakistan came close to scoring 500 at the MCG. Australia better not give the Indians this track to bat on. They will pile 700.

[kingusama92]

Great effort from England.

Need to keep it going on Day 3 or this will be another moment they've failed to grab.

[Ab Fan]

Even though dead rubber but what a brilliant comeback from Cook when he looked all done. The guy has got fighting spirits even though he is still far from ATG.

[Robert]

Some fans from outside England and Australia really don’t like the fact that English and Australian fans will always have the Ashes to follow, enjoy and cherish do they? I’ve seen some awfully sour remarks in this thread and elsewhere lately.

Envy is a sad thing to witness.

England and Australia have a strong bond, like brothers who are ferocious rivals but love each other for all that. We’ll be contesting the Ashes long after everyone else stops playing tests. Last, as we we were first.

Well done England today. Don’t shout too loud, but Jimmy is heading for his best every Australian series. Eighteen wickets so far, with three innings left? Broad finally shows up. Great to see Cheffy turn back the clock. Hope he piles it on tomorrow, got to apply scoreboard pressure to win this.

[BaankeJi]

Envy is a sad thing to witness.

England and Australia have a strong bond, like brothers who are ferocious rivals but love each other for all that. We’ll be contesting the Ashes long after everyone else stops playing tests. Last, as we we were first.

Well done England today. Don’t shout too loud, but Jimmy is heading for his best every Australian series. Eighteen wickets so far, with three innings left? Broad finally shows up. Great to see Cheffy turn back the clock. Hope he piles it on tomorrow, got to apply scoreboard pressure to win this.

3-0 scoreline after 3 tests seems anything but ferocious rivalry. Last time, England toured Australia, it was same.

Ashes may have historical importance for sure.
What pleasure is derived from continuously pummelling an opponent is beyond me. But Aussie fans certainly enjoy that and I am not against that. I am just surprised.

[Robert]

Jimmy quietly noses past Walsh on the test wicket table.

Given a decent English summer, he will be closing in on McGrath.

[shaz619]

Jimmy quietly noses past Walsh on the test wicket table.

Given a decent English summer, he will be closing in on McGrath.

Terrific series for Jimmy, all the haters berating him and how he'd get slaughtered down under have been awfully quite recently.

[shaz619]

Cook's forte has always been his mental strength, to play a knock like that when out of nick is special.

[USofA]

Roles reversed. Cook striking at 60 and Root at 45.

Is this Cook's fastest hundred?

[Robert]

Cook’s 17th away century, and fifth in Australia.

[shaz619]

Roles reversed. Cook striking at 60 and Root at 45.

Is this Cook's fastest hundred?

He may have one which is even quicker but can't remember which hubdred it was

[aliasad1998]

He may have one which is even quicker but can't remember which hubdred it was

Think it was against us

[shaz619]

Think it was against us

Yeah think it was the one in Manchester last year

[Napa]

Envy is a sad thing to witness.

England and Australia have a strong bond, like brothers who are ferocious rivals but love each other for all that. We’ll be contesting the Ashes long after everyone else stops playing tests. Last, as we we were first.

England is the mother country for Australia. They will always have a special bond. No need for others to feel envious about that, nor does it preclude good relations between these two and other countries.

[Markhor]

Cook was timing the ball beautifully, he's a stubborn personality and wasn't going to go down without a fight. He didn't produce when the series was live however.

Still, a good knock and England should look to push on to 450+ from here.

[majiz]

cook.jpg

[Big Mac]

Oh Root.

Nobody mention conversion rates...

[giri26]

Root goes again after scoring a fifty. England are under no pressure in this game. They have nothing to lose. They have already lost the Ashes and Root cannot even fill his boots in this game.

[kingusama92]

Oh man.

That shot symbolizes what happens to Root after scoring 50.

[Suleiman]

Root cops out again after taking the square root of 2500.

[Big Mac]

Another inside edge?

[kingusama92]

How did Malan not feel that inside edge?

[Chrish]

If England can't capitalize on this advantage, they DESERVE to loose 5-0!

[Big Mac]

Awful shot from YJB

[Big Mac]

Bloody hell Moeen

[Big Mac]

Bloody hell Moeen

What he said.

[James]

Cook (178*) has been on the field for the whole match so far. Wow

Wonder if he will carry his bat

[Madplayer]

How is the pitch? Its bad to see England lose their way again. Should have scored more than 500 after the position they found themselves in last night.

[volcyz]

Best cooker!

[dauntless]

Well done cook!! Still got it! Only 3000 runs way!

[James]

Jackson Bird 0-106 in the innings so far...

[volcyz]

Aussies without Starc lol

Jokers

[Mobashir]

Surely England have to declare now and have a 10 overs crack at australian batsmen.

That would able Anderson and Broad to bowl 5 overs each tonight and restart tomorrow.

[MenInG]

Supremely fantastic Cook! Double Hundred !

[Suleiman]

Few people think this is meh because series is dead so England coming to life now isn't special.

Fact of the matter is that NZ, India, Pakistan, WI, SA have all toured in recent times and no one other than SA could even land 1 victory against this Aussie side (IIRC)

So even if Eng take these next 2 "dead rubbers" I'd still consider this an ok tour for them considering the humiliation most teams get on these concrete slabs.

[shebimalik]

Well played broad

[shariqnoor]

Australia being taken to the cleaners here and that too by Broad!!!

Stumps coming at the wrong time for England. They would dearly love another 15 overs.

[Suleiman]

Broad doing an Afridi what with that 20 batting average as well. Tonight is a blue moon.

[Usman Chadda]

Anderson's depth comment wasn't too far off I guess. One of the most listless performance from Aussie bowlers in recent years.

[volcyz]

Yet another biased shocker of decision goes for Aus.
These timid umpires always bow down to their overlords

[James]

Very unsporting behaviour from Usman Khawaja, yet another Aussie to add to the long historical list of Australian cricketers who have claimed dodgy catches.

How that was given out in the end I will never know. Clearly touched the floor.

Gilchrist was a gentleman, regardless of the match situation he would have either not claimed the catch at all, or he would have asked for a replay.

[James]

Yet another biased shocker of decision goes for Aus.
These timid umpires always bow down to their overlords

Consider that out of the 9 England wickets in this innings, 2 of them have been inside-edged LBW decisions and 1 has been a catch wherein the ball touched the floor. So that is 3 out of 9 English batsmen, 33.3% of the innings, sawn off by the umpires. England should lodge an official complaint this evening.

[Mobashir]

Consider that out of the 9 England wickets in this innings, 2 of them have been inside-edged LBW decisions and 1 has been a catch wherein the ball touched the floor. So that is 3 out of 9 English batsmen, 33.3% of the innings, sawn off by the umpires. England should lodge an official complaint this evening.

And when you see that England still have two reviews remaining...

England should first tell their batsmen to toughen up and don’t be afraid to review when they have hit the ball.

[MeanAndGreen]

Very unsporting behaviour from Usman Khawaja, yet another Aussie to add to the long historical list of Australian cricketers who have claimed dodgy catches.

How that was given out in the end I will never know. Clearly touched the floor.

Gilchrist was a gentleman, regardless of the match situation he would have either not claimed the catch at all, or he would have asked for a replay.

The decision being given out was more due to the umpires on-field call rather than Khawaja. Unsporting behaviour would be Khawaja celebrating as if nothing happened after taking the catch however in this case he was quick to signal to the umpire he was unsure and on that alone, his integrity shouldn't be questioned.

[MenInG]

A day of domination by England batsmen, headlined by 244* by Alastair Cook comes to an end with England on 491/9 at Stumps on Day 3 of the 4th Test; England lead by 164 runs and the pressure is surely on Australia now #Ashes #AusvEng #Cricket

[MenInG]

Cook, who was dropped on 66 and 153 by Australia captain Steve Smith, brought up his double-ton in the final session with a sweetly-timed straight drive off Jackson Bird.

The former England skipper ticked off another milestone soon after, surpassing Viv Richards’s score of 208 at the MCG in 1984.

Richards, Azhar Ali, Aubrey Faulkner and Wally Hammond are the only foreigners to celebrate a double-century in a Melbourne Test.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/...c0f7ec87ffcd8d

[Robert]

Marvellous by Chef and scored at a fast clip which gives England a chance to win. I hope he can get to 250 and carry his bat.

Batted Draco too, he’s having a good match.

It won’t be 0-5 at least.

[kingusama92]

Brilliant stuff from Cook!

They've put themselves into a great spot. Just need to bowl well from ball one unlike the 1st innings where it took them time.

[Robert]

So much for my theory about his eyes going. His bat looked a mile wide.

He seems to have become hit and miss this past year, though. I still think they should drop him to #3, to get the maximum runs out his last two years.

[Square Drive]

Yes!

Finally Engurland. Keep at it lads.

Hats off to Cook!