Mitchell Starc continued to rule over the Gabba during the pink-ball Test against England with a well-compiled 77 that frustrated the visitors on Day 3 of the match. Mitchell Starc broke Stuart Broad’s record for the most runs by a No.9 batter in Tests with his knock. Mitchell Starc had become the left-arm pacer with the most wickets in Test cricket.
Mitchell Starc hit 77 off 141 balls, and his innings consisted of 13 boundaries as the England bowlers had no clue how to end the resistance from the Australian tail. Mitchell Starc, who picked up six wickets with the ball in the first innings, came into bat when Australia had lost Michael Neser early in the day and put on a 33-run stand with Carey before the wicketkeeper was dismissed.
Mitchell Starc then took the onus on himself to remain steady, while adding runs to the board as well. He added 75 runs off 164 balls with Scott Boland to push the lead beyond the 150-run mark. Mitchell Starc got his fifty in the 100th over and showed more defiance with some big shots. His innings finally came to an end in the 111th over as he fell to Brydon Carse.
The Australian innings finally came to an end at 511, but not before Scott Boland and Brendan Doggett added 20 runs for the final wicket.Mitchell Starc went on to become the first Australian since Mitchell Johnson in 2013 at the Gabba to score a fifty and a five-wicket haul.
Day 2 : Wayward spells and five drops swing Gabba Test Australia’s way
The story of the second day at the Gabba was written less by brilliance than by error. Marnus Labuschagne and Will Jacks each produced a highlight-reel catch, but it was England’s five dropped chances that defined the proceedings. Only once has a team spilled more in a single day’s play in Australia. And as expected, the hosts made full use of the reprieves, piling on 378 runs, the highest total ever in a single day of a D/N Test.
The day began with Brendan Doggett wrapping up England’s innings on 334, the hosts adding just nine to the overnight tally before Jofra Archer miscued a pull behind square and Marnus Labuschagne plucked it out while air-borne. England, though, would have returned to the dressing room satisfied, buoyed by a record tenth-wicket stand that carried them well past the 260 they would have gladly accepted a day earlier, as Zak Crawley noted.
Travis Head opened in the absence of Usman Khawaja and was kept quiet early, edging an unplayable delivery from Jofra Archer, only for Jamie Smith to spill it behind the stumps.
Whether that moment drained the England bowlers is hard to say, but what followed was startling. Encouraged by the Gabba bounce, they kept alternating between too short and too full, and Jake Weatherald kept cashing in en route to a maiden Test fifty. The pair added 77 in just 13 overs, setting the tone for the partnerships that followed in conditions that had indeed flattened out for batting.
Brydon Carse removed Head with a catch at mid-on, but Marnus Labuschagne, who crossed 1,000 runs in day-night Tests, settled quickly against the pink ball, adding 69 off 76 for the second wicket. Australia raced to 125/1 by the 20-over mark, the second-highest score by a team at that stage in a first innings of a Test in Australia. And for the second time in two innings, England’s bowlers were left searching for answers.
Archer sent down 20 overs, his second-heaviest workload in a day, with only Weatherald’s wicket achieved with a searing yorker, to show for his efforts. He troubled Steve Smith, striking him on the thumb and elbow, but couldn’t find another breakthrough. He should have had Michael Neser, but Carse put down the chance at cover.
Labuschagne and Smith, both going on to get their half-centuries, added another 50 for the third wicket before Ben Stokes had Labuschagne fishing outside off in the twilight. That ill-timed dismissal triggered a burst of aggression: Cameron Green lost his stumps trying to make room against Carse while Smith fell to a largely controlled pull that Will Jacks intercepted mid-air.
Josh Inglis and Alex Carey steadied the innings until Stokes beat Inglis’s outside edge and bowled him, but England’s catching under lights let their captain down. Ben Duckett shelled both Carey and Inglis at gully, while Carey received another reprieve at slip from Joe Root. Labuschagne admitted in a sideline interview that catching under lights can be “tricky,” but even that hardly explains England putting down four chances in the session.
By stumps, Australia had raced along at over five runs per over and more than 60 percent of their runs had come behind the wicket, a clear reflection of the lengths and lines England persisted with and how, once again, they allowed the advantage they had built to slip away. Australia finished the day with a 44-run lead with four wickets in hand and a well-set Carey at the crease, and even though they will bat last, they will feel they have already compensated for any cracks in the Gabba pitch that might play a role later in the Test.
Day 3 : Mitchell Starc’s half century and his stellar bowling performance keeps Australia on the brink of victory on Day 3
A dominant display from Australia on Day 3 saw them inch closer to a series-defining win at The Gabba. Resuming the day on 378/6, Australia added 133 runs to their overnight tally to secure a 177-run first innings lead. A gritty 75-run stand between Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland left England frustrated through the afternoon before they lost six second-innings wickets under lights to end up on 134/6 and 43 runs in deficit.
After a dismal bowling and fielding performance on Day 2, England started the third afternoon on a positive note. Ben Stokes managed to get one to lift off the deck and had Michael Neser out caught behind in the third over of the day. Alex Carey, who showed a lot of promise and brought up fifty, became Gus Atkinson’s first victim of the series after edging behind attempting a cut.
England’s hopes of bundling out the rest of Australia’s tail cheaply, however, did not materialise. As Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland began their steady resistance, the English bowlers reverted to the same patterns that plagued them the previous evening. They continued to bowl short to no avail and Mitchell Starc ensured that the occasional delivery that erred too full was promptly dispatched.
Ben Stokes went redder with every over he bowled – not just because of the scorching Brisbane afternoon heat but also because of the growing frustration at Australia’s dogged defiance. The ball went past the edge on several occasions and when it did catch the edge, it didn’t carry.While initially hesitant to hand the strike to Boland, Mitchell Starc grew increasingly confident of not just his partner but of his own strokeplay as the partnership blossomed to fifty and beyond. Australia went into Tea on 450/8 and 116 runs ahead.
Mitchell Starc notched up his fifty in the first over after the break and England continued to leak boundaries. The breakthrough finally came in the 111th over after Mitchell Starc miscued a Carse delivery towards mid-off with captain Stokes holding on despite a collision with Ben Duckett. The partnership, worth 75, lasted 27.2 overs – the longest stand of the series – while Mitchell Starc ended up being Australia’s top scorer with his 77. The final pair added another 20 useful runs, taking Australia’s score past 500 and their lead to a daunting 177.
England’s second dig started with promise, in that they didn’t lose a wicket in the very first over for the first time in the series. Zak Crawley got underway with a couple of boundaries after being offered freebies on the pads while Duckett, who arrived at the crease on a king pair, struggled to get going. He got an early reprieve after Neser put down a sharp return catch in the fourth over and England made it through to the Dinner break without sustaining any damage.
Duckett didn’t enjoy much luck after the break though as he was bowled by a Scott Boland delivery that scooted low. Ollie Pope, who arrived next, never managed to look settled at the crease either.
He struggled for timing and pushed forward feeling for the ball while attempting several wild drives. He rode his luck too after skewing one just over Josh Inglis at cover and another over the slips off a thick outside edge but eventually, his fidgety desire to reach out to the ball rather than waiting for it proved to be his downfall as he was out chipping one back tamely to Neser.
Crawley, who had played compactly for his 44, fell in the exact same fashion four overs later to leave England in a spot of bother at 97/3. Australia continued their spirited attack, buoyed by false shots and ball going past bat. England suffered another punch to the gut when Starc nicked Joe Root off for 15 in the 27th over. The wicket came following a brilliant set-up sequence from Mitchell Starc where he pushed Root back with a series of short deliveries round the wicket before pitching one up to induce the edge.
Harry Brook was troubled by Boland from the outset and he survived an appeal and review for LBW early. An eventful over saw Brook survive a caught-behind decision on review, only for Australia and Boland to overturn their own review for caught-behind the very next delivery to send him packing
The slide continued as Starc had Jamie Smith out caught behind even as Stokes remained resolute in defence at the other end. Australia reviewed another appeal for caught-behind against Will Jacks, with RTS revealing it to be coming off the thigh pad. England got through a probing little spell to end on 134/6 at Stumps. Australia will resume Day 4 eyeing an innings win, while England cling to the hope of another Stokes miracle to avoid a crushing defeat
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