All posts tagged: AUS vs ENG

STATS: Joe Root narrows gap with Sachin Tendulkar to under 2000 runs, equals Ricky Ponting with 41st Test century in Sydney | Cricket News

STATS: Joe Root narrows gap with Sachin Tendulkar to under 2000 runs, equals Ricky Ponting with 41st Test century in Sydney | Cricket News

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Joe Root has finally notched up a red-ball hundred in Australia, ending over a decade-long wait for a century in Test cricket’s oldest version during the fifth Ashes 2025-26 Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Monday. Resuming from his overnight score of 72, Root nonchalantly cantered to his 41st Test century in only 146 deliveries on day two morning, marking his second century of the tour Down Under after having notched up his maiden Test ton in the country in the Pink-Ball Test at the Gabba last month. The 34-year-old had never reached the three-figure mark in 14 Test matches held in Australia before the current series. Root equals Ponting Joe Root brings up his second Test century in Australia 👏#Ashes | #PlayoftheDay | @nrmainsurance pic.twitter.com/bXwBXY7nw0 — cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 5, 2026 The Englishman marked the first international Test ton of 2026, a milestone that saw him draw level with Australia legend Ricky Ponting at 41 Test centuries, the third-most in the format, only behind Sachin Tendulkar (51) and Jacques Kallis (45). Root also …

Michael Atherton on Harry Brook’s innings in Sydney Ashes Test on Day 1: ‘Lost the plot… was so lucky’

Michael Atherton on Harry Brook’s innings in Sydney Ashes Test on Day 1: ‘Lost the plot… was so lucky’

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Michael Atherton on Harry Brook’s innings in Sydney Ashes Test on Day 1: ‘Lost the plot… was so lucky’ Disclaimer: We do not own any of the content, ideas, images, or text presented here. All rights belong to their respective owners. For more information and to view the original source, please visit the following link: Source link

‘Unacceptable batting’: Matthew Hayden blasts Australia’s batting coach after Ashes 4th Test | Cricket News

‘Unacceptable batting’: Matthew Hayden blasts Australia’s batting coach after Ashes 4th Test | Cricket News

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Australia’s batting great Matthew Hayden has caustically criticised batting coach and former Australia cricketer Michael di Venuto for the implosions in both innings of the MCG Test Australia lost to England. “That’s an unacceptable scorecard. I don’t care if it was 50 millimetres of grass. You need to be better than that,” Hayden fumed on the All Over Bar The Cricket podcast. “Head, Weatherald, Labuschagne, Khawaja, Carey, Green; they’re all at sea with their basic techniques. The only technical thing I see is coming from our bowlers, who look more technically sound than our batters. Why is that?” Di Venuto has stellar experience, with 25,200 first class runs. The Baggy Green eluded him only because his career coincided with one of Australia’s finest generation of batsmen and he had to be satisfied with nine ODI capa. Hayden emphasised that it was not a personal attack. “I’m not a fan of him. It’s not a personal thing,” Hayden said of Di Venuto. “I just think for too long there has been an influence in this group …

‘Short Tests are bad for business’: Cricket Australia chief executive ‘didn’t sleep well’ after 20-wicket Day 1 of Boxing Day Test | Cricket News

‘Short Tests are bad for business’: Cricket Australia chief executive ‘didn’t sleep well’ after 20-wicket Day 1 of Boxing Day Test | Cricket News

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The fourth Test of the Ashes is racing to what looks like a two-day finish and while it left fans at the ground thrilled, it hasn’t impressed those with an interest in seeing a full fledged match. Cricket Australia has now said that the latter is also the case for the powers that be, with chief executive Todd Greenberg saying he had a sleepless night after Day 1, in which 20 wickets fell, thinking of the losses that they will incur. “As mesmerising and fascinating and enjoyable as it was to watch as a fan, we want Test cricket clearly to go for longer,” Greenberg is quoted as saying by SEN Radio. “A simple phrase I’d use is short Tests are bad for business. I can’t be much more blunt than that. So I would like to see a slightly broader balance between the bat and the ball. I thought yesterday slightly favoured the ball. The batters have some ownership in some of that, it’s not all around the pitch, but we’ve got some challenges.” …

Michael Vaughan slams Melbourne pitch after 20 wickets fall on Day 1 of Boxing Day Test match

Michael Vaughan slams Melbourne pitch after 20 wickets fall on Day 1 of Boxing Day Test match

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Former England captain Michael Vaughan has criticised the pitch used for the Boxing Day Ashes Test match against Australia at Melbourne, stating that it favoured the bowlers a bit too much. The 51-year-old said that the strip used for the match was “unfair” for the batters. 20 wickets fell on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test match, with Australia ending proceedings 4/0 and a lead of 46 runs. “We’re always looking for a fair balance between bat and ball. I thought that was unfair for the batters. The pitch has done plenty. There’s been plenty of movement out there. It’s not been easy for both sides, but I don’t like seeing a pitch do so much,” Vaughan told the BBC. 20 wickets fall in a day in #TheAshes for the first time in 75 years since the Gabba Test of 1950. 11 of 38 Test instances of 20 or more wkts falling in a day are shared by England and Australia. — Lalith Kalidas (@lal__kal) December 26, 2025 The 2005 Ashes-winning captain said that …

‘They drew India who then got thumped by South Africa’: Alastair Cook slams McCullum and Stokes for ‘massive disconnect’ with County cricket | Cricket News

‘They drew India who then got thumped by South Africa’: Alastair Cook slams McCullum and Stokes for ‘massive disconnect’ with County cricket | Cricket News

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Former England captain Alastair Cook has said that the team management has to address what he calls a “massive disconnect” between the side and the country’s domestic County circuit. Cook, speaking on TNT Sports at Lunch on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test in the Ashes, said that England under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum have stopped rewarding good performances in County cricket, which needs to be addressed. “They started off with a bang, Key (England team managing director Rob Key), McCullum and Stokes but since then it has gone downhill,” said Cook about the start that the current management had in which they didn’t lose all seven of their first seven Test series, winning five of them. England’s first series loss in the Stokes-McCullum regime was a 4-1 defeat away to India. In fact, the current management have only lost one more series apart from that, which was away from home to Pakistan earlier this year. That defeat was then followed by a remarkable 2-1 series win in New Zealand, followed …

Nasser Hussain on England team after losing Ashes 3-0: ‘Is it really that different from any other England side?’ | Cricket News

Nasser Hussain on England team after losing Ashes 3-0: ‘Is it really that different from any other England side?’ | Cricket News

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England, with their Bazball approach, promised a lot ahead of the Ashes Down Under. However, after three Tests it has been Deja Vu. More or less the same emotions and results that the English players, fans and pundits have been used to. With a series scoreline reading 3-0, former England cricketer Nasser Hussain altough said there have been changes since the last time the English toured the Aussie shores, but in this series it has been the same mistakes they have committed in the previous visits to Australia. “I quite like the fact they have done things differently over the last four years since the last Ashes drubbing. I do like the fact they have thought differently; they have planned ahead. If you carry on doing what you have always done, you will get the same results, so they saw we need to do something different. I quite like that, they’ve thought ahead,” said Hussain on Sky Sports. “But actually, if you’ve come here and looked at them in the last three-four weeks you’d have …

Geoffrey Boycott slams McCullum-Stokes regime: ‘Hubris has taken over from common sense, and that cannot be allowed to carry on’ | Cricket News

Geoffrey Boycott slams McCullum-Stokes regime: ‘Hubris has taken over from common sense, and that cannot be allowed to carry on’ | Cricket News

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Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes took over the reins of the England Test side when the team was at a crossroads in the summer of 2023. Post the takeover, they have adapted attacking cricket as their method and given the players freedom to express themselves. In the span of over three years, the side did manage to pull off some remarkable wins but also suffered some humbling experiences. The tours in which any leadership group of the big three (England, Australia and India) is judged when they play against the other two, Stokes-McCullum duo with their Bazball approach could not alter the results as much. When the England side came to India in early 2024, they took a 4-1 drubbing, and in the ongoing Ashes series, they have lost the series after the first three Tests. And at home, they drew both against Australia and England in 2023 and 2025, respectively. Former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott reckoned Hubris has taken over from common sense in the England side. However, he also acknowledged that the Bazball …

Australia win Ashes in 11 days: ‘They’ve outdone us on a much higher level…,’ says Ben Stokes | Cricket News

Australia win Ashes in 11 days: ‘They’ve outdone us on a much higher level…,’ says Ben Stokes | Cricket News

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Australia beat England by 82 runs at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide on Saturday to win the Ashes 2025/2026 in 11 days. The hosts winning the toss and opting to bat first have posted 371 runs. In response, England managed to get to 286 runs and ended up conceding a first-innings lead. In the 2nd essay, Travis Head, in his home ground, blitzed, scoring 170 runs. England were given a 435-run target in the final innings. Although they did manage to put up a fight back, they were bundled out for 352 runs, with Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Nathan Lyon picking up three wickets each in the innings. After winning in 2010/2011, this was England’s third series defeat in Down Under. With the new Bazball approach, there was a bit of cautious optimism among the English supporters if they could win the Ashes this time in Australia, but their fortunes have been the same this time around. “The dream that we came here with is now over, which is obviously incredibly disappointing. Everyone’s hurting …

If they are coached and managed correctly, they are going to be fine, says Michael Vaughan on England | Cricket News

If they are coached and managed correctly, they are going to be fine, says Michael Vaughan on England | Cricket News

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Despite England staring at another Ashes series loss Down Under which will mean they won’t be able to get hold of the Urn which they let go off in 2021, former captain Michael Vaughan has warned against wholesale changes to the team. Australia, thanks to a fine unbeaten century from Travis Head on Day 3 of the third Test at Adelaide Oval, have a firm grip on the match with their lead currently standing at 356 runs and six wickets in hand. The Bazball approach which England embraced with an eye on the ongoing series has failed to deliver with their batting approach coming under intense scrutiny right through the series. A defeat in Adelaide would mean fourth successive Test series loss in Australia, where England are without a win in 17 straight Tests. Each of England’s previous Ashes defeats on Australian soil has brought out plenty of changes. However, Vaughan said the England and Wales Cricket Board shouldn’t take a similar route this time despite the series loss. “English cricket often works in four-year …