Joe Root continues to re-write the record books with his stellar 2021, passing 1,500 runs for the calendar year on Day 2 at the Gabba. Image: cricket.com.au
Joe Root re-wrote the English Cricket record books as he and Dawid Malan led England’s fightback on Day 3 after Travis Head continued to power Australia to a commanding position in the Gabba in the First Ashes Test.
Root and Malan remain unbeaten with a 159 run partnership which has brought England right back into the game with both batters having centuries in sight heading into Day 4.
Meanwhile, injuries, technical failures, and near misses were the big moments on Day 3 as the match, appeared destined for a certain Australian victory has come to life with England 2/220, only 58 runs behind Australia.
Here are the moments that mattered from Day 3 at the Gabba.
Travis continues onslaught Head on
After his blistering century in a session at the conclusion of Day 2, Head and Australia’s intentions were clear the following morning as the Australians looked to continue to pile on the pain for England and their hobbled bowling attack.
Head continued to dispatch the England bowlers to all corners of the Gabba before he was eventually dismissed by Mark Wood, bowled for 152 off 148 deliveries.
Australia swung their way to a first-innings lead of 278 runs with Head partnering with Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon for some crucial lower-order runs before England’s opening pair Burns and Hameed survived a nasty 8 over spell before the lunch break.
Embed from Getty ImagesRoot sets new batting benchmark
England skipper Joe Root has continued his prolific year with the bat in Test cricket, breaking the record for the most Test runs in a calendar year by an Englishman, passing fellow Yorkshireman Michael Vaughan’s mark of 1,481 during the evening session of play.
In his 25th innings for the year, Root brought up the milestone with a textbook cover drive that went to the boundary for 4.
Not long after, Root ticked over the 1,500 run mark for the calendar year.
After scoring 6 centuries previously in 2021, Root started this Ashes series with a nine-ball duck, Root settled into his groove on the third afternoon at the Gabba, partnering with Dawid Malan to start clawing England back into the game.
Embed from Getty ImagesHe finished the day 86* and will resume tomorrow chasing his 7th century of the year, 24th overall, and most notably, his first Test hundred in Australia.
More Ashes News
‘I want to contribute’: Head makes the most of his return to test cricket on day two
Ashes: First Test Day 2: The moments that mattered
‘It will define my captaincy’: Root eyeing Ashes victory as captain
Technological malfunctions raise more farcical questions
We learned yesterday that the technology for the 3rd umpire to call no-balls, as has been in the playing conditions for the last two years was not in use for this Test match. It was revealed when Channel 7’s Trent Copeland revealed that in the preceding deliveries before Ben Stokes was called for a no-ball after bowling David Warner.
It was revealed later in the day that Ben Stokes bowled 14 no balls across his first spell on day 2, his return to the bowling crease after a layoff. It was later revealed and confirmed by Cricket Australia that the technology used in recent years is not working for this test match and had reverted back to the old playing conditions for this test match where the on-field umpires call no-balls when identified and the third umpire can check no balls at the fall of a wicket or player review.
The technological issues continued to surface in England’s second innings when Australia called for a review thinking they had Dawid Malan caught behind. Following the process, of checking the front foot, spin vision, and then hotspot, they went without checking ‘snicko’, with the technology also not being available due to technical issues earlier in the match.
Cricket Australia confirmed that due to border restrictions, the required tech support wasn’t able to be immediately attained to fix the issue immediately. Match referee David Boon decided to keep the DRS process consistent for the whole match with RTS not involved.
Cricket Australia is confident all the technical issues will be solved by next week’s test in Adelaide.
Warner bruised as weather takes injury toll
Australia emerged for their 2nd bowling innings without David Warner joining them on the field. The 35-year-old was off the field nursing a bruised rib he suffered while batting yesterday, facing up to Ben Stokes.
The opening batter was taken for scans and was cleared of a fracture but remained off the field for the entirety of the second and third sessions.
Warner adds to the casualty ward from this Test match as a lack of conditioning from both sides due to a lack of match practice in the leadup due to weather. After a day in the dirt yesterday saw both Ben Stokes and Ollie Robinson pick up niggles heading into day 3.
Both Robinson and Stokes were cleared to take the field and bowl if required. But, just like it did on day 1 and in the leadup, the Queensland weather has made an impact on the players in a different way.
Injury intrigue also surrounds the Australian camp with Josh Hazlewood not bowling since the 29th over and in the entire last session of play.
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