Guerilla Cricket Live Blog
This page will update live with the latest relevant news, no need to refresh the page!
It was a maniac start to the Boxing Day Test at the MCG as wickets dominated the highlights reel. By Stumps, Australia had already commenced their second innings and have an overall lead of 46 runs. As many as 20 wickets tumbled on the first day as Australia were bundled out for 152, followed by England’s 110. The pitch has come under the microscope with several experts calling out the conditions as ‘extreme’ and ‘unfair’. Will it be kinder to the batters today, or are we heading towards another early finish?
If there’s one thing this England side has aced in the reign of Stokes and McCullum, it’s chasing. The openers, Duckett and Crawley, blazed off the blocks, putting together a brisk 50-plus stand. There was a brief wobble as Root and Stokes departed in quick succession, yet the tourists held their nerve and finished the job.
England’s last Test win in Australia was at the SCG in January 2011. This is the first Test triumph for Joe Root in 18 Tests in Australia, and the first for Ben Stokes in 13 games.
Still England’s game to lose but Australia are not going to go down without a fight. Stokes attempts a lusty blow and perishes in the process. Carey leaps across and takes it over his head. Excellent catch by Australia’s stumper. Poor shot with just 10 needed.
Root has been adjudged leg-before-wicket but he immediately challenges umpire Kumar Dharmasena’s verdict. Did not even have a chat with his partner Brook. Did he get an inside edge? No wood. Ball-tracking shows umpire’s call on hitting.
Overpitched and Brook needs no second invitations, there was width to boot and he pumps it over mid-off. Minimal follow-through of the bat and the ball clears the fielder comfortably. England within sniffing distance of victory now.
Drinks are on the park now with England needing another 34 runs. You’d think they have this fixture in their bag now, but can Australia cause a flutter or two because things have had a tendency to unravel quickly on these two days.
Richardson was the fielder and he leapt with his right arm outstretched, but the ball was always going away from him – Bethell stepped out and then drilled the drive, didn’t bother to keep it down and collects an audacious boundary.
That looks stone-dead and Boland has broken through, but Crawley has reviewed, to no avail. Was a full ball that decked back and trapped him on the shuffle. Crawley falls after a useful hand, 37 to be precise.
We’re back for the sixth – perhaps the last or second last session – of the MCG Test. Jacob Bethell resumes proceedings with an elegant cover drive.
That was a thrill-a-minute session and England produced exactly the kind of entertainment we’ve come to expect from them in the BazBall era. They began the session needing 4 wickets and took little time to wrap things up before Duckett and Crawley fired on all cylinders to stitch together their first 50+ stand of the series. A couple of wickets later, England are still decently poised to turn a corner in this lopsided rubber.
The floater experiment does not work, however England won’t really mind that. Carse has given them 6 runs and added 14 with Crawley, which has helped them move them closer to the target. Short of length delivery, Carse remains on the backfoot and throws the kitchen sink on the pull, gets a top-edge and the ball shoots towards third man.
Interesting! England have sent dasher Brydon Carse up the order after Ben Duckett fell prey to Mitchell Starc, bowled by a brute of a ball. He has the license to go after the bowling and hoard some quick runs. They won’t mind losing his wicket.
Fabulous shot! Carey had come up to the stumps. So Neser had to be accurate at the stumps, he instead serves it it full and around off, no swing or movement whatsoever, Crawley lofts clean through the line and sends the ball sailing in front of the sightscreen. The target is down to 150 as he follows up the maximum with a cracking drive in front of square.
A rare freebie from Starc and he’s gone the distance. Half volley on the pads, easy pickings for Duckett, who whips it backward of square and sends the ball racing across the turf.
A top-edge, Crawley settles underneath it at cover and Australia have been restricted to 132. England need 175 runs to pull one Test back. Banged in short and it rose more than Richardson expected, he wasn’t in a great position to execute the pull, tried to drag it towards mid-wicket and only managed a miscue. The target isn’t too big but can be daunting given how this game has unfolded so far. Batting last won’t be easy on a pitch chockfull with demons.
England are close to wrapping up Australia and the lead isn’t something that is impossible to overhaul, even by the standards of this contest where runs have come at a premium. Mitchell Starc and Michael Neser have departed in the same over and the tourists would want to topple the final domino soon. Then, it’s about trusting the batters to come good in the final innings.
Oh dear! Regulation catch for second slip and Australia continue to wobble. An absolute blunder from Green. He was looking technically compact until now, but he’s suddenly gone chasing a wide one and edges it straight into Brook’s hands. Wasn’t a great delivery from Stokes, back of a length and well wide of off, could’ve let it pass, but Green looks to dab with an open face and pays the price for seeking adventure.
England have bossed the first session with a late burst of wickets after Australia had kicked off the day with aspirations of stretching their lead. The hosts still have a lead of 140 but they are now only one wicket away from breaking into the bowlers. Can England finish things off promptly, or will Steve Smith – who has looked in great nick so far – hold the innings together?
Khawaja goes for a duck after Head was knocked over by a peach. The departure of the left-handers in quick succession has left Australia five down with a lead of around 130. If the lower order can chip in reasonably, they can post a defendable total on what has been a surface not at all conducive to steady stroke-play.
Second time in the Test Labuschagne has been removed by Tongue. Both times he was caught at first slip. In the first innings he perished while driving and on this occasion he falls trying to block. This is a good nut! Good length ball, probing the right-hander in the channel and straightens a tad. Labuschagne is not fully forward as he looks to defend, he pokes half-heartedly and the outside edge goes low to Root, who crouches low and scoops it up.
They’ve taken drinks with Australia having furthered their lead to 93 runs. They’ve lost two wickets this morning and could have been three but dangerman Head profited from a drop. Gus Atkinson went off holding his hamstring and that could mean more problems for the visiting nation.
Bowled! The England skipper strikes and Australia have lost their second wicket of the morning – an error in judgement from Weatherald and he pays the price – knew that the inswinger was coming, but this was just too close to the body to leave. He did cover the off-stump, watched the ball keenly and then shouldered arms, only to find to his utter shock the stumps in disarray.
Edged and caught, but Boland has done his night-watching job for Australia – on a good length and a tad bit extra bounce for Atkinson, draws Boland forward into an iffy block, catches the shoulder of the bat and Smith gobbles it up by diving to his right, Boland walks off to a good round of applause for his efforts.
Width on offer and Head’s eyes lit up like a firefly. He doesn’t miss out, climbs into the cut and hammers it over point for a stylish boundary.
On the pads, short and directed at the hips, Boland gets inside the line on the clip and missed, the ball brushed the thigh-pad and eludes the diving fielder at long leg for four leg byes. Two slips, a gully and a leg gully in place as Atkinson chimes in from the other end.
