The first day-night Ashes Test looked like turning into the tale of two captain’s decisions at the end of a third day when England finally put their hosts on the back foot at the Adelaide Oval.
Australia will still be strong favorites to win the match with a 268-run lead going into the fourth day, but they could have been even more firmly in charge had captain Steve Smith enforced the follow-on after dismissing England for 227.
Smith instead sent his openers out in the late afternoon sun and four wickets, including that of Smith, fell before the end of the night as England’s seamers got the pink ball nipping around under the lights.
Photo: AFP
“It’s purely up to Smithy [whether to follow on],” said paceman Mitchell Starc, who earlier took 3-49 to help bowl out the tourists. “That’s why he’s the captain. There are pros and cons to both decisions. We were looking to build on our lead and freshen up for the second innings, and hopefully bowl them over.”
“There are two full night sessions to go if England really want to win this game,” he said. “There’s no reason why we can’t build a really big lead and then have England on the ropes in the night session.”
The other captain’s decision which had a major bearing on the match was that of England’s Joe Root to put Australia in to bat after winning toss.
England, 1-0 down in the series, failed to build sufficient pressure on Australia in either the day or night sessions and Shaun Marsh’s unbeaten 126 was the backbone of an imposing 442-8 declared.
Seamer Chris Woakes, who dismissed both Smith and opener David Warner cheaply in the second innings, said the England bowlers had learned an important lesson from their labors on Saturday.
“We knew we had to bowl a slightly fuller length,” Woakes said. “We were a little short in the first innings. I felt that we got that right tonight, got it moving around and got our rewards, got the nicks. We had to stay patient, consistently put the ball in the right areas, and that was it really.”
Woakes, who scored 36 and shared England’s highest partnership of 66 for the eighth wicket with fellow seamer Craig Overton, admitted England’s failure to thrive with the bat had been frustrating and that Australia were “ahead in the game.”
“The positive thing for us as a side is to believe we can go forward and put Australia under pressure,” he said. “We felt we did that tonight and it’s important we continue to do that into tomorrow as well. We need to make sure we fight back and make sure this lead doesn’t get to anything too big.”
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
VALUABLE POINT: Relegation-threatened Valencia snatched a thrilling 3-3 draw at CA Osasuna thanks to a remarkable backheel volley by Umar Sadiq Barcelona on Sunday secured a comfortable 4-0 win over Real Sociedad to move back top of La Liga. Aritz Elustondo’s early red card gave Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable afternoon, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski on the score sheet. Atletico Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday to temporarily knock the Catalans from their perch, while Real Madrid, third, lost at Real Betis Balompie. Flick was able to rotate his side a little ahead of the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 visit to face SL Benfica tomorrow and still move one point above Atletico. “There were a lot of things that
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
RSS