Cricket

The Ashes 2021-22

For England team management and skipper Joe Root undoubtedly there are multiple reasons to worry about but unfortunately, the on field results are not the only issues that feature in that list. Injury management and fitness issue will surely be an area of major concern and English team management would want to solve those as soon as possible if they want to avoid a little bit of humiliation.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Leaving field immediatelyOn Day 2 of the fourth Ashes Test, being played at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), England cricketer Ben Stokes had an injury and the seriousness of the injury was so much that the all-rounder had to leave the field straightaway. If the reports are to be believed, then the 30-year-old might not be able to bowl again in the SCG Test.&nbsp;While bowling the fifth delivery of his 14th over Stoke felt a niggle and did not waste any time to head for “left side tightness.”&nbsp;When asked about the update on the injury, England fast bowler Stuart Braod said that Stokes might need a rest tomorrow.&nbsp;‘No information’“He’s one of the toughest blokes I’ve ever met, the toughest cricketer I’ve ever met. For him to go off and not bowl… it’s obviously sore. But he’s icing it at the moment. We’ve no information on what’s happened in his side,” Broad was quoted while taking to ESPNCricinfo.&nbsp;“Hopefully we give him a lot of rest tomorrow. Twelve-24 hours in cricket is quite a long time. It gives the body a lot of time to heal. We’ll wait and see. He stayed on the field so he could bat in his usual position. He’s a tough character. He’ll be out there if it’s not torn to shreds. We as England fans and teammates hope it’s not as bad as him not bowling again on this trip,” he added.&nbsp;Stokes has picked up four wickets in the Ashes Test series, till now. He bowled 13.5 overs in the first innings at the SCG but failed to dismiss a single Aussie batsman. In Tests, he has 167 wickets under his belt at an economy rate of 3.36.&nbsp;

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England all-rounder suffers injury; will not be able to bowl again in the SCG Test

When the situation is down, nothing goes your way and this is what England experienced on Day 3 of the fourth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) as they went with an astonishing 70 balls without scoring. The mini drought occurred at the end of the first session and the start of the second session as England found themselves in a vulnerable position at 36/4. With pride at stake, England knew another collapse would all but end their hopes of salvaging something from the Test. At the back end of the first session, England found themselves at 36/1 in exact 13 overs. Zak Crawley (18) and Dawid Malan (3) were at the center as the horrendous run began. Australia's pace attack went with relentless aggression as they culminated England to 36/4 in the next 70 deliveries. Crawley was dismissed on the last ball of the 17th over by the impressive Scott Boland. The Melbourne-born bowler wasn't done there as he managed to send off England captain Joe Root back to the pavilion on the first ball of the 21st over. In the very next over Cameron Green dismissed Malan as lunch was served on Day 3. England at this moment were 36/4 and were in a need of a desperate partnership. The bad patch didn't stop until the 25th over when Ben Stokes scored a run off Boland's bowling. The first moment on the scoreboard was met with huge cheers from the crowd. With 36/4 England somehow managed to get to a respectable total of 258/7 by stumps on Day 3. Jonny Bairstow (103 not out) and Stokes were the saviors for the English contingent. Both Bairstow and Stokes put a 128-run stand for the fifth wicket. England currently trails the Ashes 0-3 and are poised to avoid another whitewash Down Under. Batting has been a concern for Root’s team as they have hardly performed in the series so far. Australia on the flip side are doing well as their bench strength is also contributing significantly to their success. Both Boland and Khawaja were initially part of the ‘Plan B’ but have helped their teams' cause in the ongoing Ashes.

70 balls, 11 maidens, 5 batters and zero runs sum up England's nightmare Ashes on Day 3 of Sydney Test

The incident took place when Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow were heading back to the dressing room after a hard-fought second session on Day 3 of the fourth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground. &nbsp;Fans were heard calling the duo ‘fat’.&nbsp;“Stokes, you’re fat,” a fan said.&nbsp;“Take your jumper off, Bairstow, lose some weight Bairstow,” the England player was told.&nbsp;Stokes ignored the abuse hurled at him but decided to react when his teammate was targeted. The all-rounder stopped at the stairs and the anger on his face was evident.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Pal, That’s right. Just turn around and walk away. Weak as piss,” said Bairstow to end the spat.&nbsp;Speaking after Day's play, Bairstow said, “It was just a bit of bad-mouthing from the crowd, it's not the greatest and it's not needed".&nbsp;&nbsp;"We're out there trying to do our jobs, people are out there enjoying the day's cricket. Unfortunately, sometimes you have people who overstep the mark,” he added.&nbsp;"I think it's important to stand up for ourselves because if we're not standing up for ourselves as well &nbsp; then we can cop it, especially when people overstep the mark they need to be told," he further added.&nbsp;This isn’t the first time that something like this has happened at the SCG. Last year a group of people were accused of racially abusing India’s Mohammad Siraj.&nbsp;Bairstow joined Stokes when England were dwindling at 36/4. The duo added 128 runs for the fifth wicket. Stokes fell prey to Nathan Lyon shortly after the tea break. The southpaw scored 66, his highest score in this series. On the other hand, Bairstow, who didn’t feature in the first two games, slammed England’s first century in this series. At stumps on Day 3, the Three Lions were 258/7, trailing by 158 runs.&nbsp;Australia are ahead in the contest at the moment, Bairstow is still unbeaten on 103 and would like to take his side close to Australia’s first innings total of 416/8. On the other hand, Aussie bowlers would want to take the remaining wickets as quickly as possible.

Fans at SCG body shame Stokes and Bairstow during 4th Test

All is not well in England cricket. After the on-field humiliation in the ongoing Ashes Test series against Australia, the off-field brawls seemed to have been a major talking point in country’s cricket. Former England captain Alastair Cook and Moeen Ali exchanged heated conversations on British television.&nbsp;&nbsp;The two were involved in the guest panel of BT Sports, the official broadcaster of Ashes in England. During the show, Ali was seen taking a dig at Cook's captaincy methods. The heated conversation took place during the coverage of the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney, played between Australia and South Africa.&nbsp;Captaincy impacting in a negative wayDuring the show, Ali compared Cook's captaincy with current captain Joe Root’s style of leadership and how it has impacted the team in a negative way.&nbsp;“Rooty has more of an emotional attachment with the players, he spends more time with the players,” the right-arm spinner said.&nbsp;Cook did not waste much time in replying, “Are you just criticising my captaincy?”&nbsp;Ali followed that with a brief response, “I am a little bit, yeah.&nbsp;“They're both very different, I did do better with the bat under Cooky but with the ball, I was better with Rooty,” Ali said.The conversation turned into a heated one when Cook fired back, “So you might criticise me but I’ve never dropped you, how many times did Rooty drop you?”&nbsp;The verbal exchanges went on to continue when Ali came up with his next response, “That’s true but you also batted me from 1 to 9 in my first year of international cricket.”&nbsp;Speaking about batting mindsetThe heated debate then appeared to have taken a toll on Cook as he spoke about Ali's batting mentality,“I was giving you a chance, I couldn’t work whether you were a tail-ender or an opening batsman so I just to find the perfect role,” Cook opined.&nbsp;The 34-year-old Ali then went back to Root and spoke about him and the first time he had a heated debate with the former skipper, “Just to go back to my point, Rooty was a little bit more involved with the players, in my opinion.“Not that Cooky doesn’t care but I think Rooty is a bit more ‘arm over the shoulder’ kind of guy.”&nbsp;Cook who led England to their last Ashes triumph in 2015 wasn’t impressed with the spinner’s comments and replied, “I’m not sure I will take this anymore, I've just come back from a nice holiday and I’ve walked straight into Moeen Ali off his long run.”&nbsp;Australia are in a commanding position in the fourth Test at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) as they try to whitewash England for the third time in 15 years. Aussies led by Pat Cummins have already secured the Ashes by taking a 3-0 lead in the series.

Former England captain Cook and Moeen Ali involved in a heated debate on British television

Not everyone can have the courage to tell Shane Warne to shut up but former Australia cricketer Chadd Sayers did exactly that. The former Aussie pacer slammed Warne for being critical of Australia batsman Usman Khawaja and pacer Mitchell Starc.&nbsp;Khawaja, playing his first Test since the 2019 Ashes, scored a terrific century against England in the fourth Ashes Test. The southpaw played a superb knock of 137 off 260 deliveries to help his side in reaching a commendable total of 416 losing 8 wickets. Khawaja’s innings was comprised of 13 boundaries.&nbsp;&nbsp;Sayers, slamming Warne wrote on Twitter, “Shane Warne keeps bagging his own Aussie players. Went hard at Starc - Wrong and now Uzzie - wrong #shutup".&nbsp;Starc needs to find rhythmWarne had earlier opined that Starc needs to find rhythm and some form and he is going to opt for another pacer Jhye Richardson.&nbsp;“He needs to find a bit of rhythm and some form. He had a really poor [T20] World Cup. He’s just not bowling well enough. It’s too important at the Gabba. So I’m all for Jhye Richardson," Warne had previously commented.&nbsp;And regarding Khawaja, Warne felt that bowling the southpaw would have been an easier task than facing Mitchell Marsh.&nbsp;“Australia has been waiting a long time for Mitchell Marsh to come good and right at the moment he’s in the form of his life. For me, I just think as a bowler who would I rather bowl to, Khawaja or Mitchell Marsh? I’d much rather bowl to Khawaja," the 52-year-old legendary spinner said.&nbsp;Solid partnership with SmithKhawaja played a solid partnership of 115 runs with former Aussie skipper Steve Smith. The left-handed batsman did get a lifeline previously when he was dropped by England skipper Joe Root while batting at 28.&nbsp;&nbsp;Mitchell Starc, on the other hand, is currently the highest wicket-taker in the ongoing Ashes Test series. Starc has till now claimed 24 wickets in the series at average of 19.64.&nbsp;In reply to Australia’s 416/8, England openers looked solid enough after they managed to end the day’s play without losing a wicket and scoring 13 runs for their team.&nbsp;

Former Australia pacer condemns Shane Warne; tells him to 'shut up'

For the England Test team this is surely not a good time after they were outrightly demolished by Australia in the ongoing Ashes Test series. The Ashes was expected to be a thrilling clash but sadly it turned out to be a pretty one-sided affair as Australia dominated the first three Test matches after winning all of those three.&nbsp;The Joe Root-led side had to face a lot of criticism and backlash because of their poor show but now they seemed to have got some respite after former England coach Trevor Bayliss opined that England skipper Root and head coach Chris Silverwood are not the only ones to be blamed for the humiliating Ashes show.&nbsp;&nbsp;“Proud men”“Joe Root and Chris Silverwood will be devastated by what has happened in Australia. They are proud men and good cricket people and I have every sympathy for them. They will be doing everything in their capabilities to put this right,” Trevor Bayliss wrote in his column.&nbsp;“I would like to see England rally around them now because things are not going to improve overnight. It is the system above those in the firing line that needs to be looked at and it will take time to put processes in place to change things. It’s a collective rather than blaming one or two people,” Bayliss added.&nbsp;The 59-year-old went on to compare the Australian system with the England system and expressed that contrary to the English methods, Aussies are preparing their players for Test cricket.&nbsp;&nbsp;Lack of top-order playersHe moreover, pointed out the lack of dependable top-order players. Bayliss feels that England Cricket Board (ECB) might need to answer some tough questions.&nbsp;“The Australian system is clearly preparing players for Test cricket and England’s is not. And that leaves the ECB with hard questions to answer. I worked closely with Paul Farbrace and I saw what he wrote here about the same things being said now that we were saying when we were beaten in Australia four years ago. He is right,” he explained.&nbsp;England team are scheduled to play the penultimate Test against Australia on January 5 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) while the final Test will start on January 14.

Former England coach defends English skipper and coach after Ashes debacle

England debutant Sam Billings has revealed that the current Australia skipper Pat Cummins sent him a funny message on the morning of Day 1 of the Hobart Test of the Ashes Test series. The message involved a scorecard in which Billings was dismissed for a duck and Cummins scored a hundred. The two players were teammates at Penrith and played together in the Sydney Premier Cricket as well.&nbsp;Billings reacts “One of the best things I ever did was play over here in club cricket, for Penrith with Pat Cummins,” debutant Billings said. “He gave me a bit of s***, he sent me a message this morning with a scorecard from a game at Sutherland CC. “I got a duck, he got a hundred. He reminded me of that this morning,” the wicketkeeper added. A betting specialist, Billings was dismissed for a five-ball duck, batting at number four. On the other hand, Cummins, Australia's current Test team skipper, came at number six to score a superb 110 off 145 deliveries as Penrith defeated Sutherland by 214 runs. Cummins was the highest scorer in that game as Penrith had scored 388 runs in their innings.&nbsp;Taking part in the Ashes Test series The two have now taken the same field for the fifth Test match but in two opposing dugouts. Billings was only drafted into the England team after finger injuries to Jos Butler and Jonny Bairstow forced them to sit out of the final Test. Butler has already returned back to England, while Billings, named as the replacement was already in Australia playing for the Sydney Thunders in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL). 30-year-old Billings could spell the end of the rough patch for the English team as they are in at 68 for 1 at the time of writing this report. With a 271-run target and two days in hand, Joe Root's side can salvage some pride having already trailed the Aussies 0-3 in the Ashes.&nbsp;&nbsp;The English side will also add some valuable points to their tally in the World Test Championship (WTC) if they can manage to win the Pink-ball encounter.

‘I got a duck, he got a hundred,' Sam Billings shares funny Pat Cummins message on Test debut

It was an Ashes series to forget for England and their players as they were embarrassed 4-0 down under by the mighty Australian side. But one player from England who will carry happy memories from the tour is Sam Billings. Initially, not in the squad, the wicketkeeper batter was drafted into the team after Jos Butler and Jonny Bairstow's injury. After making his Test debut in Hobart Test, Billings feels his dream has come true after playing in the Ashes. "Just want to acknowledge the incredible amount of messages and support I've received over the last few days. Thank you to everyone,” the 30-year-old tweeted. “Truly fulfilled a childhood dream to play a Test match for England in the Ashes," the wicketkeeper batter further added in his tweet. &nbsp;Billings’ 29-run knock was the third-highest for England in the first innings. Only captain Joe Root (34) and Chris Woakes (36) managed to score more. During the innings, he also imitated Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith's on-field antics. In the second innings, he was unimpressive and contributed to the batting collapse with a single-digit score.&nbsp;Billings' experience playing in Australia had a big part to play in him getting into the Ashes team. Before playing for Sydney Thunders in the Big Bash League (BBL), he also played in local clubs of Sydney, where he shared the dressing room with current Australia skipper Par Cummins. The England batting lineup was no match to Australia's pace attack as the trio of Cummins, Scott Boland and Cameron Green managed to scalp three wickets each in the second innings. After getting dominating for first three Tests, England did manage a draw in Sydney on the final day to avoid the embarrassment of whitewash. The 30-year-old batter had to wait patiently for his turn to be in the side. Before the injuries to Butler and Bairstow, the right-handed batter was playing in the ongoing BBL 2021-22 for Thunders. The &nbsp;30-year-old's Ashes dream did have a harsh side as England suffered a massive collapse on Day 3 of the Hobart Test after a solid opening partnership. England lost by 146 runs in the pink-ball Test to lose the series comprehensively.

‘Truly fulfilled a childhood dream,’ says Sam Billings despite embarrassing collapse in Hobart Test

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has launched an investigation after an early-morning drinking session at England's team hotel in Hobart ended with the police being called in to send the cricketers to bed.&nbsp;The gathering took place in a public area in Hobart's Crowne Plaza Hotel, which went on till 6 AM when the police were brought in following a noise complaint from fellow guests. All the players left the area immediately.&nbsp;ECB's statement&nbsp;"During the early hours of Monday morning, members of the England and Australia men's teams shared a drink in the team areas of the hotel in Hobart.”&nbsp;“The hotel management received a noise complaint by a hotel guest, and as is commonplace in Australia, the local police attended the scene. When asked to leave by hotel management and the Tasmanian police, the players and management in question left and returned to their respective hotel rooms. The England party have apologised for any inconvenience caused.”&nbsp;"The ECB will investigate further. Until such times, we will make no further comment."&nbsp;Viral videoA mobile phone footage published by the Sydney Morning Herald where Joe Root and James Anderson were seen alongside three Australia players – Nathan Lyon, Travis Head and Alex Carey – still dressed in their whites following the late-night conclusion of the fifth Test in Hobart in the previous evening.&nbsp;The viral video appears to have been filmed by England's assistant coach, Graham Thorpe in which a female police officer can be heard saying to the group: "Too loud. You have obviously been asked to pack up, so we've been asked to come. Time for bed, thank you. They just want to pack up."&nbsp;On the other hand, Thorpe can be heard saying, "We've got Nathan Lyon, Root, there's Carey and Anderson. I'll just video this for the lawyers. See you in the morning, everyone."&nbsp;Ashley Giles, the ECB director of men's cricket, is due to file a report into the circumstances of the tour, including recommendations for the future direction of the Test team. The incident has turned out to be further embarrassment for the England team in the wake of their humiliating 4-0 Ashes loss.

Root and Anderson in trouble over late night drinking session with Aussies, ECB to launch an investigation

England have secured the draw and avoided the humiliation. Considering the context of the series this draw might not help the visitors a lot but the way they managed to draw the Test is something cricket fans would love to remember for a long time.&nbsp;Down by 3-0 already, another defeat seemed inevitable in the fourth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) for the Joe Root-led side after the Aussies set a formidable target of 358 runs. However, England’s brittle batting order hung on well enough to stage a great escape at the SCG.&nbsp;Stuart Broad and Jack Leach faced 69 balls between them for the ninth wicket as England survived defeat with one wicket remaining. In the final over, James Anderson stood strong against Steve Smith.&nbsp;A solid startEarly on in the day Zack Crawley, Ben stokes and Jonny Bairstow anchored the ship for the three lions as the trio managed to face more than 100 balls each. Opener Crawley scored 77, Stokes scored 60 off 123 deliveries and Bairstow scored 41 off 105 deliveries.&nbsp;Usman Khawaja stole the show as he scored centuries in both the innings of the match. For England, Bairstow led the fightback with a century (113) in the first innings. &nbsp;All-rounder Stokes on the other hand, struggling with an injury managed to score two half-centuries in the match.&nbsp;Australia pacer Scott Boland’s extraordinary impact continued as he managed to pick up the big wicket of Joe Root. Boland removed Root with an out-swinger for 24 and break up his stubborn 60-run partnership with Stokes.&nbsp;&nbsp;Second time in two yearsFor the second time in two years a visiting team have managed to pull off an extraordinary draw at the SCG.&nbsp;Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari helped India in securing a draw in the Sydney Test last year. For England, memories of 2009 Ashes Test at Cardiff were revived. That time, the last-wicket pair of Monty Panesar and Anderson saw off 69 deliveries in tandem to earn an unlikely draw for England to leave Australia one scalp shy of victory.&nbsp;Australia have already won the Ashes 2021-22 series after crushing their opposition England in the first three Test matches. Moreover, the hosts have also got a joyful start to their journey in ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-22. Winning the first three Tests, Australia have moved to the top spot in WTC 2021-23.&nbsp;The final Ashes test will be played on January 14.

Real England show up to draw SCG Test and shatter Australia's dream to repeat Ashes 2006-07

England might have saved themselves from blushes by playing a draw in the exciting fourth Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Sunday (January 9). Australia, who are already leading the five match Test series 3-0, dominated the match but Stuart Broad and James Anderson remained resilient and didn't lose the last wicket in the last 12 balls when the scoreboard read 270/9. As a result, the match ended in a draw and Pat Cummins' men remained just one wicket away from tasting victory.&nbsp;Now with the draw, where England's spirit is lauded by everyone, Australia's vice-captain Steve Smith has surpassed the legendary Sir Don Bradman and claimed a feat against his name. On the other hand, among the Fab 4 of the cricket world in current times, Joe Root, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Steve Smith, Root has added an embarrassing record to his name following which he has overtaken New Zealand's captain Kane Williamson.&nbsp;Talking about the Steve Smith, during the fourth Test he produced an all-round performance with both batting and bowling. In the first innings, he scored a sedate 67 runs and followed it up with a 23-run knock in the second. He also scalped an important wicket of Jack Leach in a thrilling turn. In a spell of four overs, he conceded 10 runs and bagged a wicket. While, in terms of batting, he left behind the great Bradman.&nbsp;In the history of Test cricket, if we talk about the batters who have scored most runs at an average of 60 or more, Smith has etched his name on the top. Smith has played 81 Test matches for Australia so far and has scored 7757 runs at an average of 60.60, which is the most runs scored by any batter.&nbsp;Most Test runs among batters with an average&nbsp;60+&nbsp; 7757: Steve Smith* 6996: Don Bradman 4555: Herbert Sutcliffe 2256: Graeme Pollock 2190: George Headley 1485: Adam Voges 1072: Sid Barnes 723: Stewie Dempster 613: Devon Conway*&nbsp;Root becomes the player with the most draws Meanwhile, with England's drawn Test at SCG, skipper Joe Root topped the list of playing the most draw matches in career, leaving behind his contemporaries Kane Williamson, Virat Kohli and Steve Smith.&nbsp;Most number of drawn Tests in career22: Joe Root* 21: Kane Williamson 19: Virat Kohli 11: Steve Smith*

Steve Smith surpasses Don Bradman's record; Root tops unwanted list

Zak Crawley's crucial 77 off 100 in the second innings of the fourth Test against Australia, played an instrumental role in helping England eke out a draw in a thrilling contest on Sunday (January 9).&nbsp;And with this resilient innings, Crawley, at the age of 23 years and 340 days, has become the third-youngest England opener to score 50+ runs in Ashes Test in Australia, following the footsteps of former captains Alastair Cook (21years 354days in Perth, December 2006) and Michael Atherton (22years 287days in Sydney, Jan 1991 &amp; 22years 308days in Adelaide, January 1991).&nbsp;The resistance shown by him in the face of adversity was commendable which actually earned him a lot of praise ranging from the England's captain Joe Root to the likes of Nasser Hussain, Michael Atherton and Ricky Ponting.&nbsp;"He's got a very good game, a very simple technique, something that should stand up well if he can string a couple of games and good scores together, he's got the qualities to survive at this level," Root said of Crawley after the match.&nbsp;Crawley amassed 13 boundaries in his fifth Test half-century. It was the first by an England opener in this Ashes series.The Kent star, 23, averaged a lowly 10.81 from eight Test matches in 2021 - looking a shadow of the player who had scored 267 against Pakistan in Southampton in August 2020. But Crawley said before the fourth Test at the SCG that he "knew full well" he could score a hundred and fell just 23 runs short during an authoritative knock.&nbsp;The former England captain Nasser Hussain said: “I think Crawley has been the highlight of the Test match for me.”&nbsp;"To watch him play with such fluency and a simple technique, put away the bad ball and put the pressure back on the Australia bowlers [was fantastic]. It's something that has not been there at the top of the order.&nbsp;"Dom Sibley, Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed look to defend and occasionally they miss out on the balls they can score off, so England end up going nowhere.&nbsp;“Crawley looks like he is in a position to attack first and I think that puts you in a better position technically and mentally to put away the bad ball,” Nasser added.&nbsp;Hussain's fellow pundit and former England skipper Michael Atherton said on the Sky Sports Cricket Podcast: "Crawley has presence at the crease".&nbsp;"He is obviously a tall lad, physically imposing, but if the bowlers err he also has some ammunition in his locker and he can put the pressure back on," he added. Meanwhile, Ricky Ponting has identified Zak Crawley as a lynchpin of the England team for years to come after he ended England's barren run of opening contributions and helped the visitors avoid a dreaded Vodafone Ashes series whitewash. "One innings like that for a struggling English team that are devoid of what looks to be a lot of batting talent, he probably locks himself in for another couple of years of Test cricket on the back of one innings," Ponting told cricket.com.au"He showed the mettle, he showed the fight, he showed the intent," Ponting added.&nbsp;Australia had looked set to win the day-long battle and pull off a thrilling victory when they claimed the ninth wicket of Jack Leach, caught in the slips by David Warner off Smith for 26 to mass team celebrations.&nbsp;But James Anderson and long-time pace partner Stuart Broad played out the remaining two nail-bitingly tense overs to give the beleaguered tourists a morale-boosting fighting draw after losing the Ashes series 3-0 inside 12 days.

Crawley's counter-attacking 77 at SCG earns him spot in list of English greats

Former England cricketers Steve Harmison and Mark Butcher are not happy with the way England Captain Joe Root handled Mark Wood in the fourth Test at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Wood continued to bowl late in Australia’s second innings when Usman Khawaja and Cameron were pushing towards a declaration on Day 4. Root’s tactic was called crazy by Butcher as Wood has been injury prone throughout his career. Wood bowled a total of 15 overs, more than both James Anderson and Stuart Broad.&nbsp;“I think this is crazy, Mark Wood hurtling in here, I really do. He’s not exactly been less expensive than Jack Leach was, and the risk of damaging him before the final Test match at Hobart, bowling futile overs at the back-end of this innings is just madness to me,” Butcher said while commentating on BT Sport.&nbsp;“We’ve talked about Joe’s captaincy and fielding positions and things that have been labelled at Joe, and I’ve stuck up for him a little bit,” added Harmison.&nbsp;&nbsp;“You talk about fielding positions for Leach, it’s about how the bowler bowls. But some decisions are baffling, and to have your strike bowler bowling overs when they’re setting up a declaration, when they’ve got a bit of an injury track record and background anyway, I just think it’s madness,” said Harmison further.&nbsp;The former England pacer also stated out that with England potentially set to miss Ben Stokes through injury for the final Test, losing Wood would “cap the tour off” for England. To add to the injury list, Jos Buttler is already ruled out of the final Test.&nbsp;&nbsp;Meanwhile, the game ended in a draw and hence, the series remains 3-0 in favour of Australia. The final Test will get underway next week in Hobart. Australia have already won the Ashes 2021-22 Moreover, the hosts have given themselves a great start to their journey in ICC World Test Championship 2021-22.&nbsp;

Former England cricketers slam Root for putting Wood in danger in 4th Test 

From being a formidable opposition coach to getting headlines for his newly implemented tactics in the Indian Premier League (IPL), John Buchanan is not a new name in Indian cricket.&nbsp;&nbsp;The former Australia team head coach has very often turned out to be an intelligent tactician off the field and managed to change the outcomes of multiple games in favour of the teams he has been coaching.&nbsp;&nbsp;‘Dented egos’While talking to The Telegraph, the 68-year-old Australian expressed that the defeat the Aussies had to suffer against India in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy had “dented egos” of the Australia team. According to him, that defeat was so impactful that it had threatened positions of several players and other people belonging to the team management.&nbsp;“There’s little doubt that the loss to India at home hurt the team, dented egos and threatened positions of players and support staff. But turning a team around takes time, and it takes some painful lessons as well. Talking with Justin (Langer) after the T20 World Cup, he was almost more thrilled about the planning and preparation that went into the tournament than winning the tournament itself. He also felt that they were really well prepared for the Ashes, which is on show now,” Buchanan opined.&nbsp;‘Woeful’ England teamWhile talking about the ongoing five-match Ashes Test series, Buchanan felt that the joe Root-led side have been “woeful” in the Test series. According to the former coach of the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the English team rely too much on skipper Root, all-rounder Ben Stokes and the bowling duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.&nbsp;&nbsp;“England have been woeful, although a quick look at their results in the longest format over the past two-three years will reveal that they are not a good side. They rely heavily on Joe Root, Ben Stokes, James Anderson and Stuart Broad. They have no opening combination with a fragile middle order, and so choose Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow rather than Ben Foakes who is the best wicketkeeper,” he explained.&nbsp; &nbsp;The Joe Root-led side have been utterly humiliated in the current Ashes Test series after losing the first three Test matches against the hosts Aussies.&nbsp;

'Loss to India at home hurt the team,' former Australia coach recalls Test series defeat against India

Usman Khawaja continued his fairytale return to Test cricket when the latter smashed his 10th test century and second 100 of the match on the fourth day of the fourth Ashes Test at the Sydney Cricket ground. The southpaw replaced Travis Head in the ongoing Test and is likely to dropped for the fifth and final Test at Hobart.&nbsp;“I came in here for Travis Head, he's had a great series and I know the selectors have made a lot of tough decisions in this series and I don't really expect it to be any different because I scored back-to-back tons,” stated Khawaja after the Day's play.&nbsp;"It's just the way it is. All I've done is I've had an opportunity for Australia, scored some runs which I am grateful for,” he added.&nbsp;“At the moment I'm not really expecting to play the next test match, but I'll always be ready for whatever happens," he further added.&nbsp;For the second time in three days the SCG rose to applaud Khawaja as his return to Test cricket reached a new crescendo. As the Queenslander sprinted back for the second run he joined a special group of Australian players like Warren Bardsley, Arthur Morris, Steve Waugh, Matthew Hayden and Steven Smith - to have score two centuries in an Ashes Test. He is only the ninth Australian to score twin tons in Tests and also only the third to do it at the SCG.&nbsp;&nbsp;The southpaw on his return has certainly made a statement with his bat and surely has given the Aussie management a selection-headache going into the final Test at Hobart.

'I'm not really expecting to play the next Test match,' Khawaja after twin tons

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting feels Ben Stokes is the only player who could spark a resurgence within the England setup as a captain. The two-time World cup winning captain says Stokes is the only player who can take over the mantle from Joe Root.&nbsp;"I think Stokes would actually grow as a player if he was the captain of that side," Ponting told cricket.com.au.&nbsp;"The only person that can take over is Ben Stokes,” he said.&nbsp;"I think with a bit of extra responsibility, he might become an even better player and that might have a good impact on the rest of the team" he added.&nbsp;"I don't know Ben Stokes that well, but if I was trying to change the face of English cricket and trying to give a bit more of a heartbeat and a bit more soul, then I think he'd be the one that I'd be looking at to lead the team. He further added.”&nbsp;Ben Stokes is already considered as one of England’s greatest all-rounders ever along with Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff. No one could blame the Three Lions if they were not to give the captaincy to him, considering how his predecessors have performed.&nbsp;Andrew Flintoff had defined the 2005 Ashes both with the bat and ball. When he led the side in the next Ashes in Australia, Ponting’s side handed England a 5-0 thrashing. Even Ian Botham single-handedly won an Ashes in 1981 after he gave up captaincy mid series.&nbsp;Root, on the other hand, may soon be axed as England’s captain in the longest format. Trailing 1-2 to India at home and a possible 0-5 whitewash against Australia on cards, the Yorkshire batsman could soon be made the scapegoat for England’s horrific time in red ball cricket.

I think Stokes would actually grow as a player if he was the captain of that side: Ponting

Australia's Marnus Labuschagne has hailed of Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin as the best batter and bowler from India respectively. The South African-born cricketer has been instrumental in Australia's current run in the Ashes as his side lead the series by 3-0 against Joe Root-led side. The feisty right-handed batter was recently involved in social media conversation where he applauded both Kohli and Ashwin. “Best Indian Batter and Best Indian bowler you faced?” a fan questioned to which Labuschagne replied “Virat &amp; Ashwin”. The 27-year-old is too hot to handle for English bowlers at the moment as he leads the scorers' chart in the ongoing Ashes with 286 runs from seven innings. The no.3 batter has an average of 47.66 in the four Test &nbsp;so far with a hundred to his name as well.&nbsp; While Ashwin has been in top form making comebacks in white-ball cricket too, Kohli has had a tough time in the last two years. The 33-year-old hasn't scored an international hundred since November 2019 and was recently sacked as the captain of the Indian ODI team. During this period, Kohli has remained on 70 international hundreds and is one short of former Australian captain Ricky Ponting's tally of 71 international hundreds. The conversation wasn't done there as he was also asked about his favourite football club to which he replied with Manchester United. The 20-time Premier League champions have endured a tough time in recent years, but that hasn't stopped the batter from supporting the Red Devils. He also picked Babar Azam and Yasir Shah as the best batter and bowler from Pakistan. &nbsp;Labuschagne will like to end the Ashes series in high as they will try to win the final Test in Hobart. England were successful in keeping Pat Cummins-led side at bay in the fourth Test as the affair ended in a nail-biting draw. The final Ashes Test will commence on January 14 in Hobart.

Marnus Labuschagne picks his best Indian batter and bowler he has faced

Australia are forced to make at least one change for the upcoming fourth Ashes Test in Sydney. Aussie batsman Travis Head had earlier tested positive for Covid-19 after the third Test in Melbourne and he is currently isolating in the same city.&nbsp;Considering the precautionary measurements, Cricket Australia (CA) had to call three players- Mitchell Marsh, Nic Maddinson and Josh Inglis, into the squad as cover.&nbsp;Australia captain Pat Cummins had earlier missed the second Test in Adelaide after being a close contact of a confirmed Covid-19 case.&nbsp;Head becomes the first player to miss a Test in the Ashes series due to testing positive as Covid-19 closes in on the series.&nbsp;Khawaja set to make a comebackUsman Khawaja is at this stage almost certain to make a comeback into the national team and play in the longest format of the game for the first time since the Leeds Test against England in August 2019.&nbsp;“It’s always nicer when you’re coming off games – I haven’t played for a month now – but it shouldn’t take too long hopefully, if I play and get out there, bat for half an hour and get into it, I should find that sync again,” Khawaja was quote while talking to cricket.com.au.&nbsp;Although, Khawaja is aware of the fact that he could be left out after Sydney Test irrespective of how he performs at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).&nbsp;&nbsp;Head available for the Hobart TestHead is expected to be available for the Pink ball Test in Hobart.&nbsp;&nbsp;“It’s one of those things where even if I do play, it’ll only be for one game … I understand that situation … hopefully I can go out there and score a hundred and do well for the team in the absence of ‘Heady’,” Khawaja added.&nbsp;Khawaja made his Test debut for Australia against England at Sydney on January 3, in 2011.&nbsp;&nbsp;The southpaw has scored 8 centuries and 14 half centuries in Test cricket. Khawaja scored 2887 runs in 44 Test matches at an average of 40.66.&nbsp;&nbsp;The Aussies are scheduled to play the penultimate Test against England on January 5 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) while the final Test will start on January 14.

Usman Khawaja set to replace Travis Head in Sydney Test

England head coach Chris Silverwood has tested positive for Covid-19 while isolating with family in Melbourne.&nbsp;Silverwood was due to miss the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney after entering quarantine as one of his family was caught up in the initial coronavirus outbreak.&nbsp;The head coach has been replaced by Assistant coach Graham Thorpe.&nbsp;"England men's head coach Chris Silverwood has tested positive for Covid-19," a statement from the England and Wales Cricket Board read.&nbsp;"Silverwood has been isolating in Melbourne since December 30 following a positive test from one of his family members. He will remain in isolation until January 8. Silverwood is asymptomatic and is fully vaccinated," the statement added.&nbsp;Silverwood is expected to return to the England team ahead of the fifth Ashes Test.&nbsp;The Aussies have already retained the Ashes after securing a 3-0 lead in the five-match Test series. The fourth Test will begin on January 5.

England coach Chris Silverwood tests positive for Covid-19

England’s star all-rounder Ben Stokes has distanced himself from the side’s captaincy role while skipper Joe Root and coach Chris Silverwood have been under fire after three consecutive losses in Ashes 2021-22. While several former cricketers from England and Australia have questioned Root’s on-the-field and off-the-field decisions, Stokes has put his weight behind the 31-year-old.&nbsp;&nbsp;"I've never really had an ambition to be a captain," England’s vice-captain Stokes told the reporters ahead of the fourth Test in Sydney starting January 5.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Captaincy is more than about setting fields, picking the team, making decisions out there in the middle. A captain is someone you want to go out and play for. Joe Root is someone I always want to play for," Stokes backed Root ahead of Sydney Test starting January 5.&nbsp;&nbsp;Root will surpass former England skipper Alastair Cook to become the longest-serving captain in the Test format when he takes the field at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Ahead of the milestone Test, Stokes also said that the decision to continue or leave Test captaincy should be his.&nbsp;&nbsp;"It's totally Joe's decision. He shouldn't be forced into doing it. I'm sure Cooky (Alastair Cook) felt the same way. He did it for so long and when he knew his time was up, his time was up.&nbsp;"Those discussions haven't entered anywhere near Joe yet. I don't sense that at all with Joe. He's brought this team a long way. He's done some great things. "Obviously this series hasn't gone too well, not from a captaincy point of view, but from a team and results point of view," the 30-year-old said.&nbsp;Stokes has captained England in just one Test while Root was away for paternity leave during West Indies series. He also captained the limited-overs side against Pakistan on his return when the main squad was isolated after few players tested positive for Covid-19.&nbsp;&nbsp;So far, Stokes has not been in the best of forms with the bat scoring just 101 runs from six appearances. He has not been effective with the ball too with just four wickets from three Tests. After defeat at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), England will look to register their first win on English soil since 2011.&nbsp;&nbsp;Stokes also defended coach Silverwood who recently tested positive for Covid-19.&nbsp;&nbsp;"Unfortunately, the captain and coach bear the scrutiny, but there are 10 other guys out there in the field," said the New Zealand-born all-rounder.&nbsp;"Chris Silverwood is a real players' coach. He stands up for you as individuals and players as well.&nbsp;"All the hype in the media recently about their futures, it's your job to write that, but they know full well they have the support of everyone in there and that's all that matters," the all-rounder explained.

Root is someone I always want to play for: Stokes doesn't want to become England skipper

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