Alastair Cook yesterday reeled off a record-breaking double-century to put England in full command of the fourth Ashes Test with a formidable 164-run innings lead in Melbourne.
The stoic opener emphatically bounced back after a lean run of scores to finish the day unbeaten on 244 off 409 balls. At the close, England were 491-9.
Along the way, Cook surpassed the highest score by a visiting batsman in a Test match at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground, bettering the 208 by West Indies great Viv Richards in 1984. He earlier bettered Wally Hammond’s 200 set back in 1928 as the highest Test score at the MCG by an Englishman.
Cook’s fifth double-century in 151 Test matches also catapulted him past the West Indies’ Brian Lara to become the sixth-highest run-getter in Test cricket with 11,956.
Australia, who have already won back the Ashes with an unassailable 3-0 series lead, looked unable to stop the flow of runs in the final session as Stuart Broad supported Cook to take the game away from the hosts.
Broad, who survived a series of hair-raising short-pitched balls, thrived in his partnership with Cook, pushing the tourists beyond 450 on a lifeless pitch.
It required multiple replays before Broad was finally given out for 56 off 63 balls to a diving outfield catch by Usman Khawaja off Pat Cummins, ending a demoralizing 100-run stand off 110 balls with Cook.
Cook cashed in on two dropped catches by Australia skipper Steve Smith along the way to continue the misery for the hosts.
Smith, who dropped Cook on 66 in the slips on Wednesday, put down the former England skipper for the second time on 153 in a sharp right-handed chance at square-leg.
England lost seven wickets for 299 on the third day, with captain Joe Root again failing to convert a half-century into three figures when he top-edged a hook shot off Cummins to Lyon at deep square-leg.
Root reached his third fifty of the series, but was clearly furious with himself when he holed out on 61 in the morning session.
Dawid Malan, a century-maker in the third Test in Perth, was out LBW with Josh Hazlewood’s second delivery of the second new ball for 14.
Malan conferred with Cook before deciding not to review, yet replays showed a distinct hot spot nick on his bat that would have kept him at the crease if he had challenged the decision.
It follows James Vince’s similar dismissal on Wednesday to Hazlewood for 17, when he also did not seek a review despite hot spot showing a mark on his bat.
England lost two wickets in the middle session with Jonny Bairstow caught behind off Lyon for 22 and Moeen Ali lashing out for 20 off 14 balls.
It was the sixth time in seven innings in the series that Ali had been dismissed by fellow off-spinner Lyon.
Chris Woakes gloved a Cummins bouncer to wicketkeeper Tim Paine for 26 shortly after tea, and debutant Tom Curran was caught behind off Hazlewood following a hot spot review.
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was
RALLY: It was only the second time the Taiwanese has partnered with Kudermetova, and the match seemed tight until they won seven points in a row to take the last set 10-2 Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Russia’s Veronika Kudermetova on Sunday won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix women’s doubles final in Stuttgart, Germany. The pair defeated Norway’s Ulrikke Eikeri and Estonia’s Ingrid Neel 4-6, 6-3, 10-2 in a tightly contested match at the WTA 500 tournament. Chan and Kudermetova fell 4-6 in the first set after having their serve broken three times, although they played increasingly well. They fought back in the second set and managed to break their opponents’ serve in the eighth game to triumph 6-3. In the tiebreaker, Chan and Kudermetova took a 3-0 lead before their opponents clawed back two points, but