Day 1:
The English players had no answers about how to play this fierce and lethal Australian bowling unit. England looked completely clueless against the mighty Aussie bowlers on Day 1 of the third Ashes Test. Australia had a complete hold on the game, as they knocked England down for just 185 runs.
The tourists, who were 0-2 down in the series, made four changes to their side, hoping for a different result. The English fans were disappointed again as their batters struggled ‘again’ to a formidable Australian bowling unit led by their skipper, Pat Cummins. Australian bowlers were on song, and with a 57-run partnership by Warner and Harris, with only one wicket down, Australia already looked comfortable on Day 1 and aimed at taking a big lead in the first innings.
England batters crumbled again
Even though England changed their opening combination, nothing changed for them. Crawley replaced Burns for the third Ashes Test, but he couldn’t convert the opportunity into something big. His opening partner, Hameed, scored another duck in the series, his second consecutive duck. Only four runs were scored by the openers as a string of wickets followed.
A total of 11 wickets fell on Day 1, of which 10 were English batters’. England batters now have 52 ducks in Tests in 2021. Despite Root’s fine half-century, he was unable to control the game as he was caught by Carey off Starc’s bowling.
The middle-order perished cheaply yet again. Malan tried to steady the innings along with the skipper, but he couldn’t continue for long before getting out for 14 off 66 balls. England hoped for more from him, as he was in good knick, and they wished for yet another big partnership from Root and Malan, but the latter got out early on the first day itself.
None of the middle-order batters managed to rescue the sinking ship of the English batting inning. For his 35 off 77 balls, Bairstow played pretty well in his return to the Test side, but England needed much bigger innings from the veteran. England’s big guns couldn’t deliver in a crucial match as Buttler and Stokes got out cheaply. England were in great trouble due to a poor batting display.
The fatal Australian bowling unit
The Australian skipper, on his return, led the charge of the bowling department as he got the openers cheaply. For Australia, Cummins was their best bowler of the day with three big wickets. Cummins has the best average and strike rate of 18.71 and 40.3 respectively at the MCG among the current set of pace bowlers for Australia. Cummins now also has 100 Test wickets in Australia.
Cummins was well supported by all the bowlers as each of them took wickets and managed to restrict the England batting unit to just 185 on the first day. After Cummins, Lyon and Starc were the pick of the bowlers, picking up the bulk of wickets.
Boland, on his debut, bowled beautifully, and he got the reward with a maiden wicket of Mark Wood. Chris Green kept things tight as he bowled at an economy rate of 0.87, which included four maidens. The bowling performance of Australia was impressive. Now it was up to the batters to take control of the match, which would have helped Australia win the match and also the prestigious Ashes.
Day 2:
The story of Australia’s 1st Innings
It was a comprehensive effort by the Aussies with the bat, and they continued their dominance over the English bowlers on Day 2 of the third Ashes Test. But it was Jimmy Anderson’s class that rattled the solid Australian middle order of Labuschagne and Smith. Anderson was the only star for England in the whole of this Test match, with four wickets from his 23 overs.
Marcus Harris fought his way on Day 2 after a good start at the end of Day 1. Harris was the star with the bat for Australia. He steadied the innings from one end, even though wickets were falling from the other. Harris was just three runs shy of his highest Test score but lost his wicket at 76 off 189 balls. To achieve his third Test fifty, Harris had to work hard, and Australia were in desperate need of it.
The Australian tail-enders showcased their batting skills once again. Their cameos helped the team to take a comprehensive lead of 82 runs. It was the partnership of Cummins and Starc which frustrated the English bowling unit. The duo managed to put up valuable 34 runs off just 53 balls. It ensured a firm hold on the match for Australia, as they managed to take a lead even though things were not going the way they would have wanted to.
Destructive duo of Starc and Boland
It was an exhilarating final hour at the MCG at the end of day 2. England would have felt confident after a Jimmy Anderson brilliance with the ball. They were 82 runs behind, but still, there was some hope for them in the contest as it wasn’t a big lead. England openers came out to bat and they were bamboozled by some fierce and premium quality of pace bowling.
Mitchell Starc set things on fire and set the stage with some lethal and top-quality pace bowling. Starc attacked the batters with sheer pace and unplayable deliveries. England were in chaos in the fifth over as Starc ran in with great intent and picked up two consecutive wickets. First, he got the wicket of Zak Crawley with a beauty outside off stump. The ball took the outside edge which was caught by Carey. Then came in the in-form batter, Malan, who was knocked down by a Starc in-swinger, which hit his pad, and was given out LBW.
The second star for Australia late in the hour was the debutant, Boland. He showcased his class in the first innings but was unfortunate to get just a single wicket. In the second innings, he was given a fairly new ball, and with three balls remaining in the penultimate over, Boland trapped Haseeb Hameed behind with his third ball before removing nightwatchman Jack Leach with a gorgeous delivery that clattered into the top of off stump. The match returned to its usual rhythm as England are now on the verge of another defeat in the series.