Ashes 2021-22 third test, day one: Australia v England – live! | sport | Today Headlines

England entered the Melbourne Test 2-0 on the Ashes 1998-99 tour and managed to secure one of the most satisfying victories in Mark Ramprakash career.

What England need at this point is for some players to find that inner steel. I believe they have it in them. The team contains strong personalities – Ben Stokes, Root, Dawid Malan – who are perfectly capable of asserting themselves as Stewart did in 1998. On paper the gap between the parties is not that big, but if England cannot find the internal strength to come out and compete, the Australians will continue to crush them.

On England recovering from 2-0 with three to go, the senior players made the right noise ahead of the test.

“Festive greetings, Jonathan,” and to you Andrew Benton.

“As Elton John once sang, ‘It’s a sad, sad situation, and it’s getting more and more absurd.’ It would be a real miracle if England returned to the ballot box, the change in attitude and of aptitude to achieve three straight victories surely exceeds them. If miracles are to happen, there are many far more valid causes to which they should be applied. Field errors and wicket donations should have been corrected in the past. over the summer, and it will be interesting to see if the pressure from management over the past few days pays off. At least some of the learning could then be legitimately seen to be happening. “

All relevant points. However, I think the most important thing is simple: this cohort of Australians are better at cricket than their English rivals. This is magnified under Australian conditions. Further exacerbated by injuries and unprepared tourists. I feel like a big part of the ‘Root must to do this ”, and heated discussions about application or focus are mostly performative and largely empty. What really the problem is to know why this English team is so ill-equipped for this challenge; Many times. Until then, the accidental reproaches around the commissioning and the harbor master’s office will be little more than a mess in the wind.

Pass the time as the drizzle drags with Simon Burton’s take on Boxing Day testing.

Boxing Day testing has become, in the words of Mark Butcher, “an important part of cricket folklore,” but it was a surprisingly recent addition to the calendar. England and Australia first met on this date in 1950, when the second test resumed on December 26 after two days off. The following year, the West Indies played try-out cricket on Christmas Day itself, which a tourist called “sacrilege” and was not much more popular with locals. “I’ve never played on Christmas Day in my life and I don’t like having to do it now,” said an unnamed Australian.

Good luck to Dave. In the middle of the afternoon session, being outside the G isn’t always the most relaxing place for an Englishman. (I speak from personal experience.)

As for the throw. Yes, you think it’s a first bowl, but a wet outfield can force a second guess. I’m not sure it means a lot to Cummins, but Root really needs to attack, and with such a weak hitting order around him, making early forays with the new ball may be his only path to victory.

There’s been a lot of talk about the pitch here at MCG, but – Melbourne being Melbourne – the start of the game is threatened by drizzle. Just ten minutes from the draw, the pitch is sheltered as rain hits the arena. It has been sunny midsummer in Victoria for about a week, but conditions are chilly today, there is a blanket of clouds swaddling the CBD, and some of it is heavy enough to reach ground level .

Some sad news to begin with following the news of the death of former England all-rounder, captain, coach, manager and self-proclaimed supremo Ray Illingworth.