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.
