Ashes: Joe Root, Dawid Malan fight doggedly to revive England hopes at Gabba on Day 3

At
the
Stumps,
England’s
score
read
220/2–
trailing
by
58
runs.
Malan
and
Root
have
played
unbeaten
knocks
of
80
and
86
runs
respectively.

Resuming
the
third
session
at
107/2
and
trailing
by
171
runs,
the
innings
acted
as
a
comeback
show
for
the
Three
Lions
as
they
kept
the
scoreboard
moving.

1

51143

The
duo
of
Malan
and
Root
came
to
bat
during
the
second
session
and
remained
unbeaten
since.

Earlier,
Rory
Burns
and
Haseeb
Hameed
provided
England
with
a
stable
innings
but
they
faced
a
body
blow
straight
away
as
Australia
skipper
Pat
Cummins
removed
Burns
(13)
in
the
9th
over
of
the
innings.

Malan
then
joined
Hameed
in
the
middle
and
the
duo
put
on
38
runs
for
the
second
wicket.

However,
as
soon
as
both
batters
started
to
look
comfortable
in
the
middle,
Mitchell
Starc
got
the
better
of
Hameed
(27)
and
England
was
reduced
to
61/2
in
the
21st
over,
still
trailing
by
217
runs.

In
the
morning,
Australia
managed
to
add
82
more
runs
to
the
total,
extending
the
lead
to
278.
In
the
end,
Australia
was
bundled
out
for
425
in
the
first
innings.
Travis
Head
was
the
last
wicket
to
fall,
but
it
was
not
before
he
managed
to
score
152.

Mitchell
Starc
also
chipped
in
with
35
runs
while
Nathan
Lyon
scored
15.

Brief
Scores:
England
147
and
220/2
(Dawid
Malan
80
not
out,
Joe
Root
86
not
out;
Pat
Cummins
1-43)

vs
Australia
425.

CA
confirms
NCL
schedule
change

Cricket
Australia
on
Friday
(December
10)
confirmed
an
adjustment
to
the
2021-22
Women’s
National
Cricket
League
(NCL)
schedule.

Two
fixtures
between
Western
Australia
and
South
Australia
scheduled
for
the
WACA
Ground
on
December
17
and
December
19
have
been
postponed
due
to
border
restrictions
between
the
two
states.

The
matches
will
now
be
played
on
March
1
and
March
3
at
the
WACA
Ground.

“The
safety
and
wellbeing
of
players,
match
officials,
staff
and
fans
remains
our
top
priority
as
we
endeavour
to
deliver
the
entire
29-game
WNCL
season,”
Peter
Roach,
Cricket
Australia’s
Head
of
Cricket
Operations
and
Scheduling,
said
in
a
statement.

“The
safety
and
wellbeing
of
players,
match
officials,
staff
and
fans
remains
our
top
priority
as
we
endeavour
to
deliver
the
entire
29-game
WNCL
season,”
he
said.

“We
look
forward
to
the
WNCL
getting
underway
safely
next
week
and
thank
the
States
and
Territories
for
their
flexibility
and
understanding
as
we
navigate
scheduling
challenges,”
he
added.

Several
matches
between
the
Australian
Capital
Territory
(ACT),
Victoria
and
New
South
Wales
have
been
rescheduled
after
a
player
in
an
ACT
high
performance
program
tested
positive
to
COVID-19.

A
number
of
ACT
players
and
staff,
including
Meteors

players,
have
been
tested
and
are
undergoing
a
7-day
quarantine
as
per
ACT
Government
directives.

All
tests
have
come
back
negative.
Cricket
Australia
said
the
fixtures
have
been
moved
to
allow
the
ACT
Meteors
sufficient
time
to
prepare
for
their
matches.