Stumps
Australia 1 for 61 (Warner 38, Harris 20*, Anderson 1-14) trail England 185 (Root 50, Cummins 3-36, Lyon 3-36) by 124 runs
It was a case of the more things change the more they stay the same for England as Australia took a stranglehold on the Ashes, bowling out the tourists for 185 on the opening day of the third Test at the MCG before reaching the close one wicket down and just 124 runs adrift.
It was a case of the more things change the more they stay the same for England as Australia took a stranglehold on the Ashes, bowling out the tourists for 185 on the opening day of the third Test at the MCG before reaching the close one wicket down and just 124 runs adrift.
The tourists had made four changes to their side that lost by 275 runs in Adelaide to concede a 2-0 lead in the contest, but again their batters struggled as Pat Cummins ripped through the top order by lunch and Nathan Lyon matched his captain's haul of 3 for 36 as England succumbed for under 200 runs for the 12th time this year.
In between, Cameron Green reaped rewards for a suffocating spell and Scott Boland claimed a wicket on Test debut while taking two catches to have a further hand in England's demise.
The Australians reached 57 without loss before James Anderson had David Warner sharply caught by Zak Crawley at gully. The hosts closed on 1 for 61 with Marcus Harris unbeaten on 20 and nightwatchman Lyon yet to score.
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Breakthrough!
Anderson removes Warner, England finally have something to smile about. Good length angling across and Warner has been keen to get bat on ball, sends a low edge into the gully - well taken by Crawley. Nathan Lyon is out at nightwatchman for Australia.
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Fifty opening stand
David Warner and Marcus Harris have continued Australia's dominant start to the Boxing Day Test, bringing up their fifty partnership in the 13th over of the reply. Warner has been the busier, going along at almost a run a ball, while Harris looks to bed in on what is a familiar MCG track for him. First half-century opening stand in an Ashes Test for Australia since Melbourne 2017-18.
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Boland 'could inspire a generation'
AAP
Scott Boland's Boxing Day Test debut could pave the way for the next generation of Indigenous cricketers. He entered rare company at the MCG on Sunday when he was presented with his Baggy Green by injured star Josh Hazlewood. Boland is only the second Indigenous man to play Test cricket for Australia, after decorated paceman Jason Gillespie. The 32-year-old was recognised as Australia's 463rd Test cricketer before play in a special Welcome To Country.
An Aboriginal XI famously toured England in 1868 but in the 153 years since, First Nations Australians have not always had a natural pathway into cricket. Even though Gillespie became a genuine star to finish his decade-long international career with 259 Test wickets, it has taken another 25 years for an Indigenous man to debut. But Boland, who hails from the Gulidjan tribe in the Colac area of Victoria, is set to become an inspiration after reaching the pinnacle in Australian cricket.
Ashleigh Gardner has become a staple of Australia's women's team, while Faith Thomas played one Test in 1958.
"Aboriginal people, where they've excelled, they've gone to sports where they feel there's an opportunity like AFL, rugby league, boxing," Cricket Australia's Indigenous advisory chair Justin Mohamed said. "For some reason, that hasn't been seen as a genuine opportunity in cricket and that's what we're hoping to change.
"You hear of cricketers that have come through that came to the MCG and watched Dennis Lillee or Jeff Thompson who inspired them. You hear of athletes who said they saw Cathy Freeman in 2000 (at the Sydney Olympics) and that's inspired them to be the next Olympian. Hopefully there will be the six, eight or 10-year-old watching something like this and saying, 'that's what I want to do'."
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Joe Root: Easy On Me
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Two hundred too far away
If you're wondering how England's batting record this year stacks up, Sampath has this:
Most times bowled out under 200 in a calendar year in Tests:
14 times - West Indies in 2000 (26 inns)
13 times - Bangladesh in 2002 (16 inns)
12 times - England in 2021 (28 inns)
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Sub-par
12 The number of times England have been bowled out for under 200 this year
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England all out for 185
Nathan Lyon has the last laugh after conceding 11 runs off one over to Jack Leach. Lyon has his fellow spinner out, caught simply by Steve Smith at slip for 13 off 18 balls... with one six, to put England at 9 for 176.
Lyon then has Ollie Robinson caught in the deep by Scott Boland for 22, and England are all out for 185.
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A six, yes, that's right
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Leach has a go
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Starc gets Bairstow
Mitchell Starc has dismissed Jonny Bairstow in slightly bizarre fashion, cramping the batsman with a short ball as Bairstow topples over backwards, gloving a catch to gully, where Cameron Green does well diving forwards to take the ball just above the ground. Bairstow reaches 35 and England are 8 for 159.
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Boland's maiden Test wicket
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Boland strikes!
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Green - how good?!
By Alex Malcolm
Cameron Green just bowled arguably the best spell of his Test career. Four overs, three maidens, 1 for 1. He was superb in getting Joe Root in both Brisbane and Adelaide with an old ball, but today’s spell was 24 deliveries of sustained high pace, above 140kph throughout and immaculate lengths.
Ben Stokes was given nothing to work with. Stokes survived a 144kph, fuller ball that jagged sharply past the edge but then succumbed trying to force something off the back foot. Green also nearly clean bowled Jos Buttler with one that seamed and bounced over middle and off.
Green spoke on Christmas eve about trying to get comfortable at Test level and avoid feeling overwhelmed as a 22-year-old kid. He’s comfortable with the ball it seems. The next challenge is getting comfortable with the bat.
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Under Green's spell
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Dire - and 'dismal'
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England in dire - but familiar - straits at tea
England 6 for 128 (Root 50, Bairstow 21*, Cummins 3-31) vs Australia
Crucial wickets to Australia kept the hosts well on top on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
After Pat Cummins had taken three wickets in the morning session, Mitchell Starc, Cameron Green and Nathan Lyon all chimed in after lunch to send England to tea six wickets down.
Joe Root was left needing to score his maiden Test century in Australia in England's second innings if he is to overhaul Mohammad Yousuf as the leading run-scorer in Tests in a calendar year, after a ton eluded him yet again.
Root brought up his ninth fifty in the middle session, equalling Bruce Laird's record of nine Test half-centuries without scoring a ton in Australia. He fell a short time later when Starc - used sparingly in the morning - had him caught behind chasing a ball outside off stump. Root now needs 109 runs in England's second innings if he is to pass Yousuf's 1788 runs scored in 2006.
More importantly, however, England needed their skipper to convert to dig them out of a hole, having gone to lunch in trouble at 3 for 61 after Dawid Malan fell on the last ball before the long break.
Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow - the latter returning to the side in place of Ollie Pope - set about trying to salvage the innings but Green was rewarded for an excellent spell when he Stokes tried to lift him over the slips cordon, but picked out Lyon at point for 25. Green threatened to claim another two balls later with a pearl of a delivery that zipped back between Jos Buttler's bat and pad as the scoreless batsman lunged forward.
Lyon had Buttler out, advancing down the pitch and skying the ball straight to Scott Boland at deep midwicket for 3 to close out the session.
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Green breaks through
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Boland vs Cummins
An excellent piece of analysis from our very own Shiva Jayaraman here:
Scott Boland has made his Test debut at the MCG owing to his expertise bowling on this ground. In his last ten first-class matches at the ground, Boland has taken 53 wickets at an average of 19.15 and a strike rate of 43.50. However, he’s bowled seemingly without much luck on his first Test outing so far.
He’s has had the England batters in as much trouble as Pat Cummins. While Cummins has had batters playing false shots to 14 balls in his ten overs, Boland has not been far behind, inducing false shots to 13 in the same number of balls. But the difference between the two bowlers has been in their lengths off which they have had the batters in trouble: while ten of the 14 false shots played against Cummins have been off balls pitching on good length (three of them producing wickets), Boland has had batters in trouble off that length only twice.
The false shots against Boland have largely come off back-of-a-length deliveries. Perhaps that has given the batters that extra fraction of a second to adjust, or has resulted in the ball deviating half a centimetre more than it’s needed.
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Can Root reach milestone?
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Elusive tons
9 Most fifties without a century in Tests in Australia: Bruce Laird, Joe Root
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Starc strikes!
That's fifty and out for Joe Root. Having just brought up his half-century off 76 balls with a single off Scott Boland, the England captain fell at the end of the next over, slashing at a Mitchell Starc delivery outside off stump with Alex Carey snaffling the catch behind the stumps. Just prior to his dismissal, Alex Malcolm had made some interesting observations on Root's innings (call it a jinx, if you will):
Joe Root’s fastest half-century of the series has been a curious one to watch live. He talked at length both in the aftermath of Adelaide and the build-up to Boxing Day about how Australian conditions can make you “feel like you can play at balls more frequently and you end up getting sucked into a shot you don’t need to.” Yet here it has appeared as if he has left the fewest balls of any innings this series and has been determined to put pressure back on the bowlers after England were sent in to bat. He has been beaten a few times and nicked a ball along the ground between second slip and gully.
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Fifty up for Root
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Starc returns
Mitchell Starc re-enters for Australia. He only bowled three overs at the start of the day before being taken out of the attack, sparking concerns he might be injured, especially after appearing to tweak his back while batting in Adelaide. He seems to be moving ok at the moment.
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Cummins puts England in strife
England 3 for 61 (Root 33*, Cummins 3-27) vs Australia
Three wickets to returning Australian captain Pat Cummins put England in peril on the stroke of lunch during the opening day of the third Ashes Test.
The tourists were looking to Joe Root and Dawid Malan to steady them after another troubling start saw them slump to 2-13 inside the first eight overs of the match. And they did, to some extent, with a 48-run partnership from 115 balls. But England needed so much more than even the 162-run stand put on by Root and Malan to give them some hope in the first Test in Brisbane. When Cummins claimed his third wicket, however, on the last ball before the interval - Malan caught at slip by David Warner for 14 - they were again in strife at 3 for 61.
The start was delayed by rain but with Australia winning the toss and opting to bowl first on a pitch boasting "some good grass coverage" according to Cummins, they capitalised immediately via their skipper.
Cummins, back after missing the second Test as a close contact of a Covid case, had Haseeb Hameed out with his fifth ball, the 11th of the contest, caught behind by Alex Carey for a second consecutive duck. Cummins then had Zak Crawley - replacing Rory Burns as one of four changes by England - caught by Cameron Green at gully for 12.
Root again shoulders a heavy burden to resurrect the innings. He is not out 33 and due to be joined by Ben Stokes when play resumes.
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Root moves up
From the desk of statistician Sampath Bandarupalli: Joe Root now has the most runs in a calendar year as a captain in Tests, going past Graeme Smith's 1656 in 2008.
Root has the third-highest tally in a calendar year overall, behind Viv Richards (1,710 in 1976) and Mohammad Yousuf (1,788 in 2006).
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Root vs Green
Joe Root spoke on Christmas Eve about facing Cameron Green: "I’ve played two poor shots to him. The one thing he brings to the table is that extra bit of bounce. The danger you get sucked into in these conditions is it doesn’t do as much as England so you feel like you can play at balls more frequently and you end up getting sucked into a shot you don’t need to. That’s the most frustrating thing on my part, an experienced batter shouldn’t be making that mistake twice. Hence why I’ve been doing the work and I expect better from myself."
Green spoke on Christmas Eve as well on getting Root twice: "It's a bit of fun a moment, isn't it? I've just got very simple plans to him. Basically, just keep it tight, hold it from one end, and the other guys do their job. I've just got lucky a couple of times. But he's a world-class player. And even the scores he's got so far, he obviously hasn't got a hundred but he's batting beautifully out in the middle. So we've got to be on our game again."
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Here we go again
By Alex Malcolm
An all too familiar tale in the first hour for England. Both openers fell cheaply with a refreshed Pat Cummins not skipping a beat after missing the Adelaide Test. Haseeb Hameed copped a beauty. Zak Crawley did play positively on his return but arguably misjudged the length, playing forward to a ball he needed to stay back to.
One of the interesting things to watch from the ground has been the contrasting styles of Dawid Malan and Joe Root. Malan has been incredibly disciplined in terms of leaving on length. The Australians have barely made him play. Scott Boland did catch his outside edge once but it was well controlled from Malan with soft hands. Joe Root has wanted to play at everything. He wants to score and has shown no signs of making any adjustments after nicking four times in the channel in this series so far.
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Melbourne masters
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Openers gone!
Both of England's openers have fallen cheaply, thanks to Pat Cummins. The Australia captain had already dismissed Haseeb Hameed for a duck in the second over. He then had Zak Crawley, who came into the side to replace Rory Burns, caught by Cameron Green at gully for 12. The latest wicket made it 2 for 13 for England, who now look to skipper Joe Root (yet again) and Dawid Malan to steady their innings.
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Boland on debut
By Alex Malcolm
Rarely has a team made such a specific horse-for-course selection than Australia has with Victoria’s Scott Boland. The MCG was a graveyard for fast bowlers in the first half of his decade-long first-class career and he learned his craft bashing hard lengths on a lifeless pitch for years.
In 2017-18, when Alastair Cook made 244 not out at the MCG, Victoria did not achieve a single result in any Sheffield Shield match that season and Boland played in all five draws for Victoria. But over his career, he has taken 96 first-class wickets at the MCG at 25.56 with a strike-rate of 57.1 and four five-wicket hauls.
Since the start of the 2018-19 season, he has 42 wickets at the MCG at just 14.35 striking at 35. He took 8 for 89 in the only Shield game at the MCG this season, terrorising New South Wales’ top order on a very spicy track.
He bowls well to left-handers particularly, coming around the wicket and targeting their off stump relentlessly, hitting the seam on a good length consistently with decent pace. He is extremely fit and has bowled 40 plus overs in four of his last six games at the MCG including 47.3 in the game against New South Wales.
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Cummins on song
Here's a gem from our resident stats legend, Sampath Bandarupalli: Pat Cummins' bowling average in Australia is the best of the 20 bowlers to have picked up 100 or more Test wickets in Australia, while his strike-rate is second best. (Hameed was his 100th Test wicket at home.
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Like a duck to... an unwanted record
50 Test ducks for England in 2021. They're 5 away from breaking their own record for most Test ducks by a team in a calendar year (54 in 1998).
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Cummins is back - and how!
Pat Cummins strikes in the second over of the match, enticing an edge from Haseeb Hameed with one that moved away ever so slightly, and Alex Carey finishes the job with a regulation take behind the stumps. That's a second consecutive duck for Hameed, who also got one in the second innings at the Adelaide Oval.
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Let's go!
Alex Malcolm reports: "Massive roar for the Australian national anthem at the MCG. Not quite the huge MCG crowd that we would normally see for an Ashes Boxing Day Test. The crowd may build though. It is a process to get inside the ground due to Covid protocols. Melbourne Cricket Club CEO Stuart Fox was anticipating 70,000."
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Boland's wait
79 Most first-class matches played by a bowler before Test debut for Australia: Scott Boland
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Ashes team news - a reminder
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Australia win toss, bowl first
Pat Cummins has won the toss and opted to bowl first. The Australia captain reckons "there's some good grass coverage" on the pitch. Joe Root admits he probably would have done the same but is looking forward to putting some runs on the board: "We're more than capable of doing it."
On Scott Boland's debut, Cummins says: "He's been a seasoned performer here for Victoria at the MCG." Boland, 32, becomes the fourth Indigenous Test cricketer after Faith Thomas, Jason Gillespie and Ashleigh Gardner.
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Bairstow's plan
Jonny Bairstow is back as England shake things up in a bid to keep some kind of grip on this series. He's told BT Sport what he sees as the key for a batting unit that has been struggling so far: "I think people playing in the way that's got them here, trusting their own game to bat for a long period of time, taking the scoring options when they become available and being clinical in the decision making that's being asked of them."
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Toss delayed by rain
Alex Malcolm reports that the full covers are on with rain falling in Melbourne. "Both teams have retreated to the dressing rooms."
That means the toss will be delayed somewhat. Earlier, Scott Boland was handed his Baggy Green Cap by Josh Hazlewood.
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MCG season's greetings
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the third Ashes Test in Melbourne. Australia will be feeling plenty of cheer with a 2-0 series lead, while England have it all to do to cling on.
Our man at the ground, Alex Malcolm, has this to share from a cool, overcast MCG: "Shades of 2006 with the weather when Shane Warne took his 700th Test wicket here but the series is still alive on this occasion. The crowd is building up. There are up to 70,000 expected although the Covid protocols may keep a few away. The pitch has a distinct tinge of green. Curator Matt Page has left a lot of grass on the pitches here over recent years and the last Sheffield Shield game in November was especially spicy. Australia debutant Scott Boland took 8 for 89 for Victoria in that match and five batters were hit in the head."
He points out that the toss will be "intriguing". We'll bring you news of that in a short while.
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