The Ashes: 5th Test, Sydney

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5th Test Sydney, January 4-8, 2017 (23:30 GMT Jan 3)

Australia:
Bancroft, Warner, Khawaja, Smith *, S Marsh, M Marsh, Paine †, Starc, Cummins, Lyon, Hazelwood

England:
Cook, Stoneman, Vince, Root *, Malan, Bairstow †, Ali, Curran, Broad, Crane, Anderson

Fifty for M Marsh ....19 balls to get off the mark ...fifty in 45 from then on.

He's enjoying himself now. All the hard work put in by Crane and the two quicks now being made to count for nothing as the batsmen cash in at the end of the day...it's a tough old game at times.

I do hope the England batsmen are taking this all in . This is why you never waste your wicket on these flat pitches once you are set...

I can't believe that drs ! Correct in the end because the ball is missing leg , so no injustice done to the bowler : but the fourth umpire is calling it an inside edge and there is no way he hit that ! The snicko is clearly a frame too early as he clips his pad .
Really not happy with some of the TV umpire assessments this series : very inconsistent in the level of scrutiny they are using in some of these cases.

Marsh brothers have their hundred stand...

Can Shaun get his century tonight ? On 97 as the last over starts...ah. Takes a single.

Ah well a great day for Australia ...just the two wickets falling for the day and they are set up nicely to turn the knife tomorrow.

Has had its moments for the watcher...and I've quite enjoyed talking to myself the last three hours

Will discuss players when there is someone to discuss with...

Appears we may have been a few short huh

I have just finished reading alfie's quality commentary.  That's given me an intense dose of cricket to keep me going for now.

Sorry I couldn't join you alfie but I have been working. A somewhat demoralising and energy sapping day for England. Now it is all about whether they can salvage a draw.

The way people talk about hin Crane just delivered one of the greatest debut bowling performances of all time.
But only got the wicket of a guy famed for not being able to play spin when he decided to go at him.
Sure is one unlucky bowler.

We are over Curran now though right?

England have now shipped 400 runs in an innings in each of their last 10 overseas tests. Can we please accept that they have a problem with their bowlers, and it goes beyond the injuries and moeens form.

Glad this series is nearly over. Two more days of disappointment to go. Quite tired of reading how well England have bowled whilst taking 1-150 and letting the likes of Khawaja and Mitchell Marsh add ten to their Test averages.

Can't see England drawing this, they made an abject attempt to draw the final Test in the similarly catastrophic tour of India last year

We can give Broad a bit if a pass for being knackered but even at his best hes rarely much of a threat without helpful conditions.
Andersons been tough to score off and has bowled like a trooper...its a miracle hes lasted the series.

121 overs of spin for 3 wickets in the match. Its not pretty.

guildfordbat wrote:

Duty281 wrote:Barring something astonishing, Australia will be batting all day. And eventually winning by an innings. England look utterly defeated.

Wouldn't be surprised if this is the only test Mason Crane ever plays, like Borthwick and Kerrigan before him.

I'm more optimistic than Duty for Crane's Test future but am increasingly fearful for England's chances in this match.

The comparisons with Crane don't really fit imo. Kerrigan was destroyed in about 10 overs of Test cricket which certainly hasn't happened to Crane. After his solitary Test, Borthwick never got much opportunity to bowl more leg spin at Durham and was no better than ''work in progress'' (per Stewart) as a bowler when he signed for Surrey at the start of 2017.

Currently Australia are 263/2, trailing by 83. As I get ready to retire to bed, I can see them still batting and around 480 at the end of the day, leading by 130+.

I've made a lot worse calls but I was still expecting them to be 6, 7 or 8 down. Not a good day.

This game and the series is over from me
and I think secretly Eng captain and some of the players might be wishing the misery is over quickly
We will see Eng go down quite fast in the 2nd inning.....an inning defeat beckons them

Gooseberry wrote:The way people talk about hin Crane just delivered one of the greatest debut bowling performances of all time.
But only got the wicket of a guy famed for not being able to play spin when he decided to go at him.
Sure is one unlucky bowler.

We are over Curran now though right?

England have now shipped 400 runs in an innings in each of their last 10 overseas tests. Can we please accept that they have a problem with their bowlers, and it goes beyond the injuries and moeens form.

Steady on , Goose

I think everyone acknowledges they have a bowling problem : apart from the two aging warhorses there is a serious dearth of true Test quality bowlers around at present. At home , the excellence of the main pair , particularly in their favorite conditions , generally enables them to do the job with the aid of one or other hopeful third seamer - and of course the unfortunately off limits Stokes ! Also seems that the effectiveness of the seam attack somehow assists Moeen into appearing a totally different bowler from the pie thrower we've seen the last few weeks. But on flat wickets like these - or those in India last year - that isn't enough.
Question is : what do want to do about it ? Please don't say just pick faster bowlers : they have to be good enough . I'm sure you don't believe they'd have done better by picking Garton and Footit...

Crane is at the start of what we can only hope will be a successful career ; as he is very much the right type of bowler to play a serious part in overseas conditions. Forget the figures today : he bowled a lot better than it looks on paper ...and if you don't believe me ask Warne ...or Border ...or Geoff Lawson : all saying the same thing on local TV.

This is probably the weakest attack England have fielded in a Test Match for many years , when you look at form , experience - and allow for the fact that the the two main men are almost certainly knackered after their exertions a few days ago in Melbourne. I am disappointed but not surprised they have been batted out of the game in this one.
But I am encouraged by the fact that the young man hasn't been destroyed like Kerrigan. And that he actually spins the ball , unlike Salisbury. He may succeed ...he may not. But if you're worried about bowling options he's the most promising I've seen for a while and I trust the selectors can see past unflattering figures and make sure he gets every chance to build on what he has started.

Curran is what he is ; an honest trier . Probably better suited to the white ball game ; ninth choice or whatever for Tests ? No one has suggested he's the next Jimmy Anderson ; but he may be a handy squad member if they keep getting injured at the rate they have been doing the last few months. Might still be needed in NZ ?

Incidentally : Australia have done wonderfully well to bowl England out consistently on these same dead pitches ; they've had fine contributions from each of their four bowlers , who have kept up a degree of pressure that England cannot hope to match with their current resources. But on the one occasion where just one of those key bowlers was missing England ran up 500... Is it surprising England haven't been able to bowl the locals out ?

KP_fan wrote:This game and the series is over from me
and I think secretly Eng captain and some of the players might be wishing the misery is over quickly
We will see Eng go down quite fast in the 2nd inning.....an inning defeat beckons them

I think you're probably right , KP_fan

Love to see them bat out whatever overs they're given but its asking a lot : pretty hard not to feel mentally down after being battered 3-0 and facing a last couple of days with no prospect of a win left...

I doubt they'd wish - even secretly - to lose quickly. But if they find themselves two or three down early they're going to find it hard to summon the energy to fight it out.

Sometimes you just have to say the other team has been too good for you. Australia have been ruthless today ; and I don't think they'll be easing up over the next couple of days.

alfie wrote:

KP_fan wrote:This game and the series is over from me
and I think secretly Eng captain and some of the players might be wishing the misery is over quickly
We will see Eng go down quite fast in the 2nd inning.....an inning defeat beckons them

I think you're probably right , KP_fan

Love to see them bat out whatever overs they're given but its asking a lot : pretty hard not to feel mentally down after being battered 3-0 and facing a last couple of days with no prospect of a win left...

I doubt they'd wish - even secretly - to lose quickly. But if they find themselves two or three down early they're going to find it hard to summon the energy to fight it out.  

Sometimes you just have to say the other team has been too good for you. Australia have been ruthless today ; and I don't think they'll be easing up over the next couple of days.  

You would like to think that a few of the players will be seeing it as an opportunity to book their place on the tour to NZ. Surely, the likes of Stoneman, Vince and Curran will be sweating a little on whether they make that tour. They should be thinking about scoring big (or getting wickets) and seal a place on the next tour.

The thing that has annoyed me the most is pretty much at the end of each day either a player or management have come out and said that they have played well. Who the hell are they kidding! Let's be honest for once and say we have been utter p1sh!

What number in the line are Curran, Overton and Ball in the list of England’s preferred seaming options?

Well we've let the Aussies get away from us again. Great knock from Kawajha (6 weeks in and i still can't spell his name properly).

Thought Crane looked good, on another day he would have had 4/5 wickets by now. Shame about the no ball, maybe a bit of nerves. I see most of the pundits were quite impressed by him. Hopefully he can get a couple more wickets to his name.

jimbohammers wrote:

Thought Crane looked good, on another day he would have had 4/5 wickets by now. Shame about the no ball, maybe a bit of nerves. I see most of the pundits were quite impressed by him. Hopefully he can get a couple more wickets to his name.

Indeed. If the great Shane Warne likes the look of him that is a far better indictment than anything else. He has looked more likely to get wickets than Ali (who has bowled better here) and remember he is 20-years-old and making his debut. Worth persevering with certainly when you consider how deperately England need a frontline spinner.

I had my first Pink day yesterday... actually more crimson than pink. Great vibe at the ground.
It was nice to see Khawaja bat on yesterday for his maiden Ashes ton. Not surprised that he saved his best for his former home turf.

Young Mason Crane can certainly hold his head up high. Apart from the false run ups he was unlucky to bag a couple of wickets which would have given him more decent (and deserved) figures. Great body language compared to some others... he does exude a lot of confidence for a 20 y.o.

Moeen seemed to have his best day for a long while too but looked as though he wanted to be somewhere else after that MM onslaught. Who wouldn't?

Anderson deserves some credit too. alfie... I take some of it back.  He looked the true pro he is; toiling away under very, very tough conditions.
You have to hand it to him - he doesn't have the level of support the Australian bowlers have here. He will be missed when he hangs up his boots.

I can't stress how difficult it must have been to perform in that heat. And it's going to be even worse today. Energy sapping conditions.
The pitch will surely start to deteriorate more quickly today... it simply has to.

Think they will bat up until just before lunch... or maybe a bit after. Going to be 43° here so probably 39° at the ground at around 2pm.
I'm spending the day at home recovering from some mild dehydration/sunstroke despite taking precautions. There's no escape unfortunately.

This is an excellent spell from Jimmy that has been unrewarded so far! Just a shame they are 500-4...

Anderson has bowled heroically this series. Average of 28. Little support from his fellow bowlers.

If I were Smith, I'd keep batting until mid-way through the afternoon. Keep England toiling. Get the lead up to 300.

Hi LD - before play started, I was thinking Smith might time the declaration to give Cook and Stoneman an uncomfortable 25 minutes before lunch. However, given how hot it is as per your post, he'll probably want to protect his bowlers a bit more and make us suffer for longer in the field. Maybe decare 20 minutes after lunch.

I'm assuming there's no chance whatsoever of bowling you all out before that.

Duty281 wrote:Anderson has bowled heroically this series. Average of 28. Little support from his fellow bowlers.

If I were Smith, I'd keep batting until mid-way through the afternoon. Keep England toiling. Get the lead up to 300.

Indeed.

This match has now become (you feel) more about how England's under scrutiny batsmen perform in their second innings. Stoneman and Vince need big runs without silly dismissals (especially Vince) to convince the selectors they are worthy of a trip to NZ.

Australia hold all the cards. They should look to bat until just before tea and have a 300 lead and leaves them plenty of time to complete the coup de gras. It looks set for 4-0 to leave England winless in Tests in Australia for two series.

The torture goes on...

Great spell with the new ball from Anderson but no reward ...felt for him with the close lbw calls - even Warne did

Young Crane seemed to find it hard to come up this morning. This has 650 written all over it - and quite quickly. But I think the main aim for Australia is to cook the tourists in the heat for as long as they can afford.

Fancy M Marsh has a wonderful chance to join his brother with a second century in the series . Shades of the Waugh twins...

Glad to hear you had a good Pink Day , LD : recover well today , now - drink plenty of fluids

CaledonianCraig wrote:

Duty281 wrote:Anderson has bowled heroically this series. Average of 28. Little support from his fellow bowlers.

If I were Smith, I'd keep batting until mid-way through the afternoon. Keep England toiling. Get the lead up to 300.

Indeed.

This match has now become (you feel) more about how England's under scrutiny batsmen perform in their second innings. Stoneman and Vince need big runs without silly dismissals (especially Vince) to convince the selectors they are worthy of a trip to NZ.

Australia hold all the cards. They should look to bat until just before tea and have a 300 lead and leaves them plenty of time to complete the coup de gras. It looks set for 4-0 to leave England winless in Tests in Australia for two series.

Be hard to replace Stoneman at short notice as opener given the shortage of candidates for that position - I'd be surprised if he misses the trip. Though he needs to nail a score or two soonish.
Vince I'm less sure about. Given his problems seem to be mental rather than technical , and don't seem to have changed at all from his first stint in Test Cricket , I wonder if they might not conclude that he is unlikely to
fix them in the future. If you want pretty thirties , OK : but for a Test number three that will never win you matches. They might want to look elsewhere.

Hundred for Mitch Marsh Great double for the brothers

...and he's gone !

Curran brings one back and bowls him...no overstep , I trust

Eventful over.

Well done Mr Curran. He’s showed some bottle, shame a lot of others haven’t

Pitch seems to have a bit more in it today ...apart from that one from Curran Jimmy was making the ball do plenty earlier on.

Which of course is great news for the England batsmen

They knew Lyon was likely to be a handful in the last innings ; on the evidence of this morning the pace trio will be fancying their chances too...

Curran putting in gamely in the heat. Have to like his attitude even if the class isn't quite there...I doubt he will play a lot of Tests but the spirit he's shown here won't hurt his stocks for the white ball game which I suspect will be his natural home.

No suggestion Australia are interested in any early declaration. Reckon they're intending to get that lead as big as they can and give England just a short session to bat before tea . Makes sense : if the tourists do resist when they bat , why would you want to bowl a lot of overs on a day like this ? Plenty of time to bowl them out tomorrow.

So a 300 lead it is...sounds about right .

Chances of England batting this out are approximately zero. If Cook goes early it might well finish today.

Aussies have done done an outstanding job in this Test : sure England came in with an undermanned attack and understandably low on morale but the relentless concentration of all the batsmen (with the the exception of the unfortunate Bancroft) has completed a thoroughly professional exhibition of finishing off a struggling opponent. Just remains for the bowlers to complete the job...

12000 Test runs for Cook

I'm sure he'd far rather have brought them up in different circumstances ; and preferably earlier in the tour : but it remains an achievement that shouldn't be disregarded in the midst of what will no doubt be a lot of doom and gloom after this heavy defeat ending an unsuccessful tour. Hope he he continues and gets back a bit of consistency at home later this year...they'll need him for a while.

Stoneman gone already... A duck not helping his case for a future beyond this trip.
As I said earlier I think he'll get NZ : but he might not have much longer unless he scores heavily there.

Cook nearly follows as S Marsh can't hang on to a low catch at slip...

I wouldn't be making plans to go and watch tomorrow

Warne says he thinks England should persist with Vince. Hmm. I respect the man's opinion but I wonder if he's not being seduced by the elegance of Vince's stroke play and overlooking his almost complete failure to influence a match favorably in his career so far...

Don't get me wrong : I would be absolutely delighted to see Vince make 150 here and set himself up for a future ...he'd be a sheer pleasure to watch bat - a latter day Gower. Just don't see it happening. And I don't think this England side can afford a maker of frisky thirties at number three.

Lyon gets Cook !

Game over. Reckon this wont see stumps tonight.

That was an excellent piece of bowling from Lyon , by the way. Thought he might have fun in this innings ...think they all might !

Wonder what is going through Joe Root's mind ? He must be feeling a bit crushed - he's only human : but he needs for his own sake to forget about his team's disappointments and just bat as long as he can. His captaincy will come under immense pressure from the unforgiving media in the wake of this tour ; and a captain's innings - even in defeat - would maybe help him face it down. Not that I'd expect him to be sacked ; but it won't be easy for him to bounce back as a leader , especially as his personal form has clearly suffered from the extra responsibility over these five games. The next twelve months might well make or break him as a skipper.

So in a way both of these batsmen are playing for their futures.

Dreadfully hot outside here right now. Officially 44 but it "feels like" 45.4.
It's 47.1 in Penrith (53 km / 33 miles west) which is the hottest temperature ever recorded in the Sydney basin.

Can't imagine how draining it must have been out in the field! This is torture.

That is hot !

Roasting here yesterday but didn't get quite that high...though I think they were close in Mildura.

Rather be in here watching than out on the field in this...

Cummins does for Vince as he forces an outside edge...gone for fifteen despite some patient defensive work. Wonder if that will be it for him ?

Knowing the selectors then Stoneman and Vince will go to NZ. Why? Well what are the options as the English season ended so long ago so who is in form? Who is in good health and fit that never played in this tour?

CaledonianCraig wrote:Knowing the selectors then Stoneman and Vince will go to NZ. Why? Well what are the options as the English season ended so long ago so who is in form? Who is in good health and fit that never played in this tour?

Well it's true it is easier to drop players than replace them. But Bayliss was hinting about trying other candidates from the Lions squad , was he not ? And you couldn't say players who have averaged under thirty on these rather flat pitches have exactly demonstrated their Test credentials...

Not that NZ will necessarily be a walk in the park - they have some good seamers ; if no Lyon to back them up. But you'd think runs might come a bit easier there : is it better to let players who have arguably already proved they haven't really got it at the top level score them and earn a longer trial ; or give someone else a chance to stake a claim ?
No automatically right answer. But it would be odd if the batting unit remains unchanged into the next English summer despite fairly consistent failure to assert itself throughout a full Ashes Series. I'll be amazed if we don't see at least one new face in March.

With 4-0 looking assured now and thinking back the key reason behind it is:-

1 Australia have batted far better. Forvtheir batsmen to be got out it has generally had to be to very good balls. England's battsmen have givenbaway too many of their wickets too cheaply.

2. Australia have bowled as a unit firing on all cylinders with their pace and spin all chipping in with a healthy amount of wickets. The only England bowler to be able to match their standards - Jimmy Anderson.

3. Before the series it was being billed as a shoot-out between both sides best batsman - Warner and Smith and Cook and Root. Well that has been a no contest.

4. The cornerstone to England's recent success has been the all-rounders contribution of Stokes and Ali. Well Stokes was ruled out and Ali has gone AWOL and it has proven a big blow to England.

5. Australia have been ruthless when they have got on top whereas on rare occasions England have been on top they have surrendered their initiative.

alfie wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:Knowing the selectors then Stoneman and Vince will go to NZ. Why? Well what are the options as the English season ended so long ago so who is in form? Who is in good health and fit that never played in this tour?

Well it's true it is easier to drop players than replace them.  But Bayliss was hinting about trying other candidates from the Lions squad , was he not ?  And you couldn't say players who have averaged under thirty on these rather flat pitches have exactly demonstrated their Test credentials...

Not that NZ will necessarily be a walk in the park  - they have some good seamers ; if no Lyon to back them up.  But you'd think runs might come a bit easier there : is it better to let players who have arguably already proved they haven't really got it at the top level score them and earn a longer trial ; or give someone else a chance to stake a claim ?
No automatically right answer. But it would be odd if the batting unit remains unchanged into the next English summer despite fairly consistent failure to assert itself throughout a full Ashes Series.  I'll be amazed if we don't see at least one new face in March.

I am certainly not saying they should be selected. I think other options should be looked at but am summising what the selectors will do.

England sliding to an innings defeat on 68 for 4. It is now just a question of it will be over in four days.

Craig I agree totally with everything you have written there. In fact I think you've saved me from a lot of typing because it's pretty much exactly how I'd sum up the series.

As Malan goes lbw to Lyon ...the review in vain as it ends up "umpires call" . One might reflect that all the "umpires call" margins seem to have gone Australia's way lately...as it always seems to happen once one team gets on top.
Same with the no ball - wicket cancellations . Recall in 2010/11 when England were rampaging to victory both Prior - in Melbourne - and Cook in Sydney were reprieved by Johnson and Beer overstepping : cost Australia serious runs...

Tame end for Malan after a good series. He at least has improved his status and looks good for a run in the side. Will be interested to watch him in NZ

Yes Malan has been one of the rare bright spots for England. He has probably been their most consistent batsman.

CaledonianCraig wrote:

alfie wrote:

CaledonianCraig wrote:Knowing the selectors then Stoneman and Vince will go to NZ. Why? Well what are the options as the English season ended so long ago so who is in form? Who is in good health and fit that never played in this tour?

Well it's true it is easier to drop players than replace them.  But Bayliss was hinting about trying other candidates from the Lions squad , was he not ?  And you couldn't say players who have averaged under thirty on these rather flat pitches have exactly demonstrated their Test credentials...

Not that NZ will necessarily be a walk in the park  - they have some good seamers ; if no Lyon to back them up.  But you'd think runs might come a bit easier there : is it better to let players who have arguably already proved they haven't really got it at the top level score them and earn a longer trial ; or give someone else a chance to stake a claim ?
No automatically right answer. But it would be odd if the batting unit remains unchanged into the next English summer despite fairly consistent failure to assert itself throughout a full Ashes Series.  I'll be amazed if we don't see at least one new face in March.

I am certainly not saying they should be selected. I think other options should be looked at but am summising what the selectors will do.

You don't think they'll make a change , then , Craig ? I wouldn't claim to have a outstanding candidate lined up to come in ; but I think they will almost feel they have to take some action after this continuation of England's batting woes.
As to the bowling we know there will be changes - even if it is largely a question of who is fit and available !

I wouldn't be against leaving Moeen out : his confidence must be at rock bottom and I'd like to see Crane get some more matches. Must be some question on Broad too as he looks like a man who is running on fumes at the moment...would it be better to rest him for the home summer ? Would put a lot on Jimmy ; but if Woakes and perhaps even TRJ were fit to go ?

Plenty of time to wrangle over that , I guess. Meanwhile , Root and YJB strive to take this into day five...

I can't see there being sweeping changes. By all accounts there is no batsmen in the Young Lions squad in form that is screaming out for them to be selected. If that is the case then you risk selected a player who has not played cricket for a few months so theit form is an unknown.

Ali I think will make the tour. Just an odd sign or two of a scrap of form coming back in Sydney. Hit 30 runs and picked up a couple of wickets plus where else do they pull an all-rounder from?

Another little point springs to mind : the influence of Lyon. I understand he has now bowled overwhelmingly the most overs of any owlet in the series...without which you'd wonder if Australia's three seamers would have survived the five matches ?
Plus he has been all over England's left handers...of whom they've probably had too many for their own good....much less so against the right handers.

Of course there is a certain ginger haired left hander I wouldn't have minded seeing out here just the same

Stokes has been a huge loss. It really has.

CaledonianCraig wrote:I can't see there being sweeping changes. By all accounts there is no batsmen in the Young Lions squad in form that is screaming out for them to be selected. If that is the case then you risk selected a player who has not played cricket for a few months so theit form is an unknown.

Ali I think will make the tour. Just an odd sign or two of a scrap of form coming back in Sydney. Hit 30 runs and picked up a couple of wickets plus where else do they pull an all-rounder from?

Yeah that is a big problem . I think you'd almost have to pick an extra bat and go with three seamers , Crane and extra overs from Root , Malan - and perhaps Livingstone if he were brought in to bat ?

I'm not binning Moeen , understand. Just wondering if he wouldn't be better with time out.