Ashes: England's batting crumbles again as Australia dominate day one of Boxing Day Test
By Matthew Henry BBC SportLast updated on . From the section Cricket
| Third Ashes Test, Melbourne (day one of five) |
| England 185 Root 50, Bairstow 35; Cummins 3-36, Lyon 3-36 |
| Australia 61-1 Warner 38, Harris 20*; Anderson 1-14 |
| Trail by 124 runs |
England's batting capitulated again as Australia's dominance of the Ashes series continued on day one of the crucial third Test in Melbourne.
Trailing 2-0 and needing to win to keep their Ashes hopes alive, England were dismissed for a pitiful 185 after being put into bat in the iconic Boxing Day Test.
The tourists were 19-2 after another top-order failure - Haseeb Hameed out for a 10-ball duck and fellow opener Zak Crawley, one of four England changes from defeat in Adelaide, making just 12 on his return.
Captain Joe Root reached 50 before he was caught behind playing a careless waft off the bowling of Mitchell Starc.
That was the first of three dire dismissals in the afternoon session with Ben Stokes cutting Cameron Green to point for 25 and Jos Buttler holing out off Nathan Lyon for three on the stroke of tea.
Only 35 from the recalled Jonny Bairstow and 22 from Ollie Robinson, who was last man out after some slogging, prevented an even more humiliating score.
David Warner thrashed an energetic 38 from 42 balls and Australia closed on 61-1, trailing by 124, despite the opener being caught in the gully off James Anderson with just 10 minutes left to play.
Australia will seal a series victory with two Tests to spare by winning in Melbourne and are guaranteed to retain the urn if they draw.
In a must-win game, England have shown little evidence they will turn around a series in which they have been outclassed during almost every day's play.
England sink further
England's efforts in Brisbane and Adelaide were dismal. At Melbourne, after talk of "brutally honest" team meetings in the build-up, they managed to sink further towards disarray.
The day was delayed by morning drizzle and when captain Pat Cummins asked England to bat on an green pitch, unsurprisingly there were worries for England's chances.
In truth, however, some bounce and early seam movement aside, conditions were not as difficult as anticipated. England only offered a meek surrender.
Cummins was exceptional in the morning session, removing Hameed, Crawley and Dawid Malan, but otherwise Mitchell Starc was wayward, 32-year-old seamer Scott Boland steady but unthreatening on debut and spinner Nathan Lyon played a holding role on a day one pitch.
What followed, from Root, Stokes and Buttler - England's three most senior batters, was inexcusable. As partnerships threatened to build, they gifted their wickets with bad shots.
England are already attempting to do something they have never managed before - come from 2-0 down to win an Ashes series.
On a pitch where a score of 350 looked par, they have handed Australia the upper hand at the earliest opportunity.
Different England, same problems
Hameed's 10-ball duck was England's 50th this year - four short of the all-time Test record - and the right-hander's second in succession. He came forward on the front foot in defence and nicked Cummins to Alex Carey.
Crawley was recalled in place of Rory Burns despite averaging 11.14 in 2021 but it made little difference. He lasted 25 balls, playing a couple of good strokes, before being squared up by Cummins and edging to the gully.
Malan threatened to calm proceedings, again alongside Root, but the left-hander edged a ball pushed across him by Cummins in the final over before lunch, a crucial blow.
In another familiar trend, Root again failed to record his maiden Test hundred in Australia despite looking close to his busy best.
The England captain, who has been out between 50 and 90 eight times in his past eight Tests in Australia, was furious after e left the field following his dismissal.
When Buttler followed Stokes, having skied a catch to deep square leg, there were stunned faces around the 57,000-strong crowd.
Warner added more misery late on before falling to Anderson, he and fellow opener Marcus Harris able to cut and pull as again England erred short rather than full.
More to follow.
from Via PakapNews