Australian speedster Mitchell Starc continued his golden summer with another first-over wicket before England mounted a fightback of sorts and Cameron Green dropped a sitter on day four of the New Year’s Ashes Test at the SCG.
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The tourists were 1-80 at lunch, still trailing Australia by 103 runs, with opener Ben Duckett (40*) and young all-rounder Jacob Bethell (28*) unbeaten in the middle.
Starc removed Zak Crawley LBW for 1, with the England opener leaving alone an in-swinger that would have cannoned into the top of off stump.
But Duckett and Bethell revived England’s innings after Crawley’s early departure, forming an unbeaten fifty-run partnership for the second wicket. Bethell initially struggled to tame seamer Scott Boland, with a couple of edges dropping short of the slips cordon, while the deck started to show signs of variable bounce when a length delivery from Starc sailed past Duckett’s head.
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Another vicious riser from all-rounder Cameron Green struck Bethell flush on the helmet, with the left-hander needing to undergo a concussion test.
“Oh that’s a brute of a delivery!” Fox Cricket’s Adam Gilchrist said on Kayo Sports’ Ashes coverage.
“That was vicious.”
Brett Lee added: “That was like a spinning cobra.
“It’s taken the grill. Thank god for helmets.
“A nasty cherry.”’
On the penultimate over before lunch, Green grassed a chance in the cordon to gift Duckett a massive reprieve on 38, lunging in front of the ready Smith at first slip, who hasn’t dropped a catch all summer.
“He (Green) saw it early. ‘Smithy’ was right behind him. He’s got big buckets, he moved fast and he was in great opposition. But I think it came a bit slower than he thought,” Fox Cricket’s David Warner told Kayo Sports’ Ashes coverage.
“Sometimes you just can’t see who’s behind you. In the split moment, you’ve just got to go with it, he went with his gut.
“The hard thing for Cameron Green is he’s just bowled back-to-back overs as well – and then he gets a sharp chance like this. As it’s moving it’s hit the palm of his hand and he just hasn’t been able to close his fingers.”
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Earlier on Wednesday, Australia was bowled out for 567 after England quick Josh Tongue ripped through the lower order, including the prized scalp of centurion Steve Smith for 138 — his 13th Ashes century to move past England legend Jack Hobbs. Only Sir Donald Bradman (19) has more.
Resuming at 7-518 on Wednesday morning, all-rounder Beau Webster reached his half-century in 64 deliveries before Smith feathered a channel delivery from Tongue through to the wicketkeeper, shaking his head the entire way off the ground.
The Nottinghamshire seamer then bowled Starc with a peach before all-rounder Will Jacks removed tailender Scott Boland, wrapping up the innings. Webster, making his first appearance in the series, finished unbeaten on 71, with Australia sealing a 183-run first-innings lead.
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But while England might’ve bowled Australia out, its Ashes nightmare worsened when talismanic captain Ben Stokes limped off with an injury concern as the tourists prepared for tricky conditions with the bat
He then limped off the field for assessment on a suspected right abductor strain, leaving Jacob Bethell to complete the over.
“We wondered whether this would happen at some point – and the disappointment on the face tells you,” Fox Cricket’s Adam Gilchrist told Kayo Sports’ Ashes coverage.
“It’s been a big effort from this man to get through all five Test matches.”
Ex-England player Isa Guha added: “I think he might be cooked.
“He’s a warrior cricketer, he worked so hard to get himself fit for this series. It hasn’t gone his way, he’s had to really put in with bat, with ball, as captain – and it’s finally tolled in the end. On Day 4 of the Sydney test, Ben Stokes is having to head off.”
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Australia had built a 134-run lead over England to seize control on day three of the fifth and final Ashes Test, which could prove crucial in deciding the future of Brendon McCullum.
But according to a report from The Telegraph UK, McCullum’s future as England coach could instead largely hinge on whether he is prepared to accept an ultimatum.
Specifically, the publication reported he will be required to make major changes to the team’s environment and culture.
It comes as England and Wales Cricket Board officials conduct a review into a failed Ashes series which saw Australia retain the urn in just 11 days.
The Telegraph reported that it is understood the ECB does not want to make major leadership changes, which indicates McCullum, captain Ben Stokes and director of cricket Rob Key could all be safe.
Stokes in particular appears to be in a strong position to retain his leadership role.
However, it seems that McCullum and Key will need to make some concessions in order to keep their jobs.
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The Telegraph reported that while the exact changes the ECB would be after are unclear, they “could look to beef up the backroom staff and crack down on off-field behaviour” following accusations of a drinking culture.
There could also be a spotlight on the team’s preparations moving forward.
“But it is unclear whether McCullum would accept being told that the approach of the team must change, which leaves open the possibility that he could leave in the coming months,” The Telegraph reported.
“McCullum is more of a man-manager and tactical guide than a hands-on technical coach, and has run the England team in a very specific way over the past four years. The backroom staff has been heavily stripped back, players have been trusted to make their own decisions, and the warm-up match schedule before tours has been slimmed down.”
Meanwhile, legendary Ashes-winning England captain Michael Vaughan has thoroughly — and brutally — dissected where it’s all gone wrong for the tourists this summer, urging English cricket administrators to not be “stubborn”.
“For Australia to have had so many great players missing – and it looks to me are going to win the series 4-1 – tells you that English cricket have got a few home truths to answer about playing cricket in Australia. Because in four years’ time, if they don’t do something about it – that’s the structure back home and the realisation of what is required to play down here in Australia – the same story will happen once again,” Vaughan said on Fox Sports News’ Ashes Daily.
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“There’s a frustration, not just with ex-England players, but I think a lot of the ex-Aussie players. We generally all felt this England side, with the talent that they have led by Ben and Baz, had a great opportunity here in Australia. I’ve mentioned all the Aussie greats that haven’t played, this was a chance for England and haven’t taken it.
“Their preparation was very poor. Their stubbornness in the way that they play has been very poor for a while now. They haven’t accepted that you need to go up and down the gears in Test match cricket. Obviously, their bowling has been found wanting.
“And the one thing I thought I’d never say, Ben Stokes’ tactics haven’t been quite right on this trip either.
“This England group have got a lot of thinking to do, a lot of accepting that things haven’t been right. We know at the end of Ashes tours – particularly when you’ve had two goes at trying to win the Ashes – generally personnel does change. But if this management carries on, they clearly have to carry on and change.
“They have to change the culture around the group. They seem to have created a cult around the way this team play and talk. A lot of it is nonsense and that has to change. For English cricket to get back to winning test series and five-match series- you have to remember they haven’t won a five-match series since 2017 … they’ve had some flamboyant times and exciting times in recent years, but they haven’t won a big, big series – and that’s what English cricket has been known for for 20-odd years.”
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Australia lead the series 3-1 and have already retained the Ashes, with England desperate for another morale-boosting win after victory at the previous Test in Melbourne.
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