England reach 258/7 at close of Day 3 after a counterattacking century by Jonny Bairstow at the SCG

[MenInG]

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[Amjid Javed]

England to be bowled out for less than 250. Usual Root 50 and out, failures from rest of TTFs. Aussies then extending lead late in the day.

[Firebat]

Wouldn't bet against Warner and Harris at the crease by Stumps today.

[wrongun]

Where's that bloke who insisted Boland was a mediocre cricketer?

[kingusama92]

Boland is amazing.

[sam_ahm]

Atm Boland has taken 8 wickets in the Ashes and has given away 7 runs.

What a legendary team England is. Others are minnows who should be stripped off test status.

[kingusama92]

England has given up. What a terrible batting effort.

[Gilly]

Bowling figures so far in this series.

Boland 9/55
Green 8/77

[boomboomcheema]

Lol people still bothering about this boring one sided series. Wait 4 years for this series and hype it only for it to be non contest in the end.

[GenericBrand]

Lol, England has no business playing a 5 test match series in Australia

[Majestic_Inzi]

Heads will roll

[dildilpak]

Havent seen a more pathetic series between two Big 3 teams than this one. All Ashes should henceforth be played only in England where atleast its a competitive series - its pointless for England to tour Australia.

[Robert]

I have never seen England play this badly. They are mentally gone. It’s sad to see. I don’t see how Giles and Silvwood can continue in their jobs.

[wrongun]

If it was boxing, they'd stop the fight.

[Robert]

Good Lord, a 99 run partnership. Stokes is injured but batting through pain.

[James]

One of England’s few good sessions in the series. 99 runs for no wickets, with an impish looking Bairstow and the injured Stokes building an entertaining partnership in an attempt to avoid the follow-on.

Feels like going through the motions towards 5-nil.

[James]

50s up for Bairstow and Stokes.

[James]

Lyon 7 overs for 42, no maidens.

[dildilpak]

Valiant effort from Stokes, but he aint gonna play next match.

[Bull]

It's ben stokes once in a blue moon performance with bat.

[Gilly]

Lyon 7 overs for 42, no maidens.

And 1 wicket

[James]

Fierce one from Cummins, injured thumb for Bairstow.

[Robert]

Looks like Jonny has a busted thumb.

England are having no luck at all.

[Last Monetarist]

Buttler gone for a duck.

[Robert]

Buttler gone for a duck.

Surely his test career is over.

[Varun]

England need 43 more to avoid the follow-on.

[Smudger]

Butler never fails to fail

[Last Monetarist]

Surely his test career is over.

It should have been over after the dropped catches at Adelaide, I just hope the selectors don't go back to Bairstow as keeper after this innings.

[Nikhil_cric]

Australia had the tougher batting conditions. Pitch is easier and the outfield has quickened today. Just shows that there is a humungous gulf in quality between these two sides.

[Robert]

Bairstow has no faith in the tail and is smashing it to try to pass the follow on target. Smart cricket, and brave with his injured thumb.

[James]

It should have been over after the dropped catches at Adelaide, I just hope the selectors don't go back to Bairstow as keeper after this innings.

Should be Foakes as keeper.

Bairstow meanwhile seems to be playing a career saver here. (as batsman only)

[Bull]

LOL Jos most overrated cricket has gone for a duck on top of that he regularly drops catches.
He is an awful test cricketer.He should have been dumped a long time ago.

[James]

Bairstow has no faith in the tail and is smashing it to try to pass the follow on target. Smart cricket, and brave with his injured thumb.

Best innings that Jonny has played in the whites for years and years. Trying to dodge the post-series veterans cull.

[Robert]

Four byes. This is actually exciting. Come on Son of Bluey!

[Bull]

Ben foakes is a much much better keeper and he is a gritty as a batsman he should have played a lot of test matches by now.

[James]

I’ve always enjoyed Woody’s batting. He’s not very good but he always has a go.

[James]

Australia haven’t actually been at their best today, but they are still well on top in the match which demonstrates how poorly England have played in these conditions.

[Robert]

Australia haven’t actually been at their best today, but they are still well on top in the match which demonstrates how poorly England have played in these conditions.

They won’t enforce the follow on as they are a bowler down probably. Load the scoreboard pressure on instead.

[Robert]

Bairstow showing major ticker here. Great to see!

[imshally81]

At last.... Some fight from England

[James]

A very useful cameo with the bat there from Woody.

Come on Jon boy, get your hundred up before stumps. You deserve it.

[imshally81]

Century for Bairstow... Great innings..

[James]

Jonny Bairstow What a knock!

[Amjid Javed]

bairstow saves his place for another few series. look forward to usual clean bowled dismissals for a duck in non test rubbers in next 12 months.

[Manunited18]

Bairstow shown outstanding guts and his shot selection been door on. Also full credit Mark wood, a whole hearted competitor.

[Robert]

It was very interesting to see Cummins go defensive so fast. When Bairstow and Woody were swinging for the stands, he put men back, even though he had a big lead.

I think these Aussies are bottlers under pressure. But England have been unable to generate pressure for long.

Had the England top three not been made of jelly, the visitors could have exploited this.

[MenInG]

[Manunited18]

It was very interesting to see Cummins go defensive so fast. When Bairstow and Woody were swinging for the stands, he put men back, even though he had a big lead.

I think these Aussies are bottlers under pressure. But England have been unable to generate pressure for long.

Had the England top three not been made of jelly, the visitors could have exploited this.

Agree, England have just not put them under constant pressure to exploit any issues they have.

[MenInG]

In another rain-affected day of play at the SCG, the hosts strengthened their advantage with the ball in the fourth Test of the Ashes series, despite the best efforts of Jonny Bairstow.

Bairstow brought up England's first century of the series, though will have work to do tomorrow, batting with the tail to close the 158-run first innings deficit. The tourists will resume on 258/7.

Despite a delayed start, Australia came out firing with Mitchell Starc bowling Haseeb Hameed (6) in just the fifth over of the first session.

Zak Crawley and Dawid Malan survived the rest of opening spell shared between Pat Cummins and Starc, but they couldn't deal with what came next.

In his second over of the innings, fan favourite Scott Boland gave the Sydney crowd plenty to cheer about when he pegged Zak Crawley's off stump, dismissing the England opener for 18.

Three overs later, the Australian quick continued his remarkable form in his debut Ashes series, removing Joe Root for a duck.

The England skipper failed to manage Boland's delivery outside off stump, edging the ball to second slip for an impressive catch from Steve Smith.

With the lunch break in sight, things went from bad to worse for the visitors.

Australia all-rounder Cameron Green got in on the action next, claiming the scalp of Dawid Malan (3), who flicked the ball off his hip to Usman Khawaja at leg slip.

Green's delivery would be the last of the first session as England headed into lunch 36/4 with all the work to do.

After succumbing to more than 10 overs without scoring a run, including the loss of three wickets, England began their fightback with Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow at the crease.

It seemed to be Stokes' lucky day as Cummins dropped the English all-rounder on nine runs and he was very fortunate not to walk three overs later. Green steamed in to Stokes, clipping his off stump but only for the bails to remain intact.

Australia's misfortune proved costly as the England duo brought up a 50-run partnership before Stokes notched up his 25th Test half-century off 70 balls.


Stokes would fall to Nathan Lyon lbw on 66 with the off-spinner firing into the stumps from around the wicket, and Jos Buttler was given a cold welcome to the crease, hit on the glove by Pat Cummins. Nursing a blow to his thumb, Buttler would fall two overs later to the Australian captain for a duck.

Bairstow countered with the tail, finding a valuable partner in Mark Wood, who hit three sixes and two fours in an entertaining evening knock.

Those three sixes were hit off the bowling of Cummins, though it was the home captain who had the last laugh, with Wood edging onto his helmet and into the hands of Nathan Lyon.

Bairstow moved into the nineties, and was accompanied by the resolute Jack Leach (4*).

Sat on 99* on the final over of the day, Bairstow became the first English player to reach triple figures in the series, slashing over the top of the slip cordon for a boundary. He'll resume tomorrow on 103*

https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2441452?sf158064961=1

[James]

Agree, England have just not put them under constant pressure to exploit any issues they have.

Yep.

Oh for what could have been.

A couple of days in the series (including this one) have been acceptable, but aside from this England have played such deeply disappointing cricket on the tour.

[Gilly]

It was very interesting to see Cummins go defensive so fast. When Bairstow and Woody were swinging for the stands, he put men back, even though he had a big lead.

I think these Aussies are bottlers under pressure. But England have been unable to generate pressure for long.

Had the England top three not been made of jelly, the visitors could have exploited this.

Strawman arguments, if England top three were not made of jelly and the Australians didn't bottle it under pressure then Aussies would still easily beat England.

[Robert]

bairstow saves his place for another few series. look forward to usual clean bowled dismissals for a duck in non test rubbers in next 12 months.

If there was anybody more reliable I might agree, but for now he is worthy of his place, but Blume several.

[James]

If there was anybody more reliable I might agree, but for now he is worthy of his place, but Blume several.

Pretty straightforward as I see it — Jonny scores a ton, which is very rare for an England batsman at the moment, and he keeps his place for the rest of this series & the next series as well. In spite of what we know of Jonny’s shortcomings, which are plenty.

[Robert]

Blume several.

Eh? Darned autocorrect

[Robert]

Pretty straightforward as I see it — Jonny scores a ton, which is very rare for an England batsman at the moment, and he keeps his place for the rest of this series & the next series as well. In spite of what we know of Jonny’s shortcomings, which are plenty.

Sure, it’s not as though Pope is setting the scoreboard on fire, and Lawrence has no back foot game.

[James]

Sure, it’s not as though Pope is setting the scoreboard on fire, and Lawrence has no back foot game.

Some of the England batters are just poor, but in Bairstow’s case he is good enough to play Test cricket on a talent level — a lot of his issues are mental and emotional imo.

[Amjid Javed]

england should persist with buttler aswell then, just forgot the 99 failures am sure he will score a 100 aswell. just use no decent replacements as an excuse to recycle more rubbish. no wonder why englands batting line up is worse then bangladesh or zimbabwes.

[Mesozoic]

Lol Bairstow does another Rahane on England.

Will play regularly for another 2 years while Ben Foakes toils in county cricket and useless Lions tours.

[Robert]

england should persist with buttler aswell then, just forgot the 99 failures am sure he will score a 100 aswell. just use no decent replacements as an excuse to recycle more rubbish. no wonder why englands batting line up is worse then bangladesh or zimbabwes.

But Buttler is also dropping catches.

[Robert]

Some of the England batters are just poor, but in Bairstow’s case he is good enough to play Test cricket on a talent level — a lot of his issues are mental and emotional imo.

Agreed, in terms of raw ability he has it all. He’s an emotional guy. Remember him roaring at the commbox when he hit the century in SL?

[James]

Lol Bairstow does another Rahane on England.

Will play regularly for another 2 years while Ben Foakes toils in county cricket and useless Lions tours.

Remove Buttler and there is room for both Bairstow and Foakes in the same XI.

[James]

Agreed, in terms of raw ability he has it all. He’s an emotional guy. Remember him roaring at the commbox when he hit the century in SL?

Yes, Bairstow is an outstanding player in LOIs but he has often struggled in Test cricket which is a psychologically tougher form of the game, which would suggest that most/all of his issues are mental. If he is to have a late bloom in his Test career (as opposed to this being his last century) then he needs to find a way of controlling himself.

[Robert]

Yes, Bairstow is an outstanding player in LOIs but he has often struggled in Test cricket which is a psychologically tougher form of the game, which would suggest that most/all of his issues are mental. If he is to have a late bloom in his Test career (as opposed to this being his last century) then he needs to find a way of controlling himself.

Mmm. He had the security of keeping wicket, but he went two years averaging just 25 and lost the gloves to Droppler. The latter has to go now, so I would keep Bairstow at #6 and bring in Foakes with the gloves.