Marcus Harris said "it's about trusting what I do" after going some way to silencing his doubters on day two of the third Ashes Test against England.

The opening batsman went into the contest at the MCG with a best effort of 23 from four innings, but top scored with 76 – the only Australian to make more than 40 in the first innings.

It proved a particularly good knock in the context of a day that saw Australia restricted to 267 having bowled England out for 185 on day one, before dominating the final hour to have the tourists 31-4 and still 51 runs in arrears.

Harris was thrilled to play his part on his home ground and prove a few people wrong in the process.

"It was good to spend a bit of time in the middle today. I had a bit of a battle in the first couple of Tests but it was good to be home and play on a familiar wicket," he told ABC Radio.

"There's a lot of media around but the support I've had from within and my close circle of people has been unbelievable. It's about trusting what I do."

James Anderson had starred with the ball for England, taking 4-33 to give the visitors an opportunity to get back into the game.

But Mitchell Starc (2-11) and Scott Boland (2-1) combined to have Zak Crawley (5), Dawid Malan (0), Haseeb Hameed (7) and nightwatchman Jack Leach (0) dismissed in a devastating final hour, much to the delight of the Melbourne crowd.

Harris added: "The way the wicket is, the amount of grass, there's always something in it for the bowlers.

"Jimmy Anderson bowled unbelievably, as did our bowlers in the end."

James Anderson rued England's disappointing final hour after the tourists had worked hard to fight their way back into the third Ashes Test against Australia on day two.

Having been bowled on for 185, England's star paceman Anderson led the way with 4-33 to restrict Australia to 267 all out and a first-innings lead of 82 at the MCG.

But a woeful last hour amid familiar failings with the bat saw England close on 31-4, still trailing by 51 runs as Australia moved ever closer to sealing the series.

"It's obviously a disappointing finish to the day, I thought we bowled well through the day to keep the pressure on Australia," England's all-time leading wicket taker Anderson told BT Sport.

"It wasn't easy to bowl them out for less than 300 on that wicket but it was a good effort to do so.

"It was a difficult 12 overs, good spell from Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, they're world-class bowlers so you expect that. It was disappointing to lose four wickets in those 12 overs."

England looked set to enjoy their best day of a poor series so far until Starc (2-11) and home favourite Scott Boland (2-1) combined to have Zak Crawley (5), Dawid Malan (0), Haseeb Hameed (7) and nightwatchman Jack Leach (0) dismissed, much to the delight of the Melbourne crowd.

Anderson, though, insists there is plenty of unity within England's camp.

"It's been a frustrating tour so far full stop. We are working hard and trying to put things right and trying to put in better performances," he added.

"I thought we did that with the ball, we hit our areas with the ball but it was a frustrating end to the day.

"We are together as a group. We have a really good group of guys. We know how hard the batters are working and as bowlers we are doing the same. 

"The cohesion is definitely there it's just frustrating we are not putting the two things together at the same time."

Australia took four late wickets amid a devastating spell with the ball to grab a stronghold on their way to sealing the Ashes after England had fought back on day two of the third Test at the MCG.

Mitchell Starc claimed the scalps of Zak Crawley and Dawid Malan in successive balls before Victorian debutant Scott Boland had Haseeb Hameed caught behind and bowled Jack Leach to leave the visitors reeling.

England were 31-4 at stumps, trailing by 51 runs as Australia, who lead the series 2-0, look to clinch the Ashes in Melbourne. Joe Root (12*) and Ben Stokes (2*) will resume at the crease on day three.

The visitors had rallied to keep the Boxing Day Test alive, having dismissed Australia for 267 led by veteran James Anderson with 4-33.

All this after drama forced the resumption of play to be delayed after a coronavirus scare within the England camp, before all the players were cleared for an 11am local start.

Australia had resumed at 61-1 after England were all out for 185 on the first day. Marcus Harris resumed at the crease and top scored with 76 on his home deck.

England had made good inroads into the Australia batting order at 110-4, dismissing number one Test batsman Marnus Labuschagne for 1 and vice-captain Steve Smith for 16 from Chris Wood (71-2) and Anderson respectively.

Harris was the only Australian to score more than 40, with Travis Head (27) getting a start before falling to Ollie Robinson (64-2), who had a hamstring scare but played on.

England appeared set for a nominal first-innings deficit before a late cameo from Starc (24*) and captain Pat Cummins (21) opened up an 82-run lead.

However, Australia turned the game in a stunning final 45 minutes with Cummins almost having Crawley caught behind for a duck when Alex Carey botched a chance, before the English opener went in the next over to Starc (11-2).

Starc trapped Malan lbw next ball despite a review, before Boland was introduced to the attack, having Hameed caught by Carey before clean bowling Leach two balls later.

Starc misses rare Boxing Day hat-trick

Starc almost claimed the first Boxing Day Test Ashes hat-trick since Shane Warne in 1994 when he dismissed Crawley and Malan in successive deliveries. England skipper Root survived a close call on the hat-trick ball which had the MCG crowd on their feet as it whizzed past the bat.

Local hero fires up crowd

Local debutant Boland only managed one wicket in the first innings but received great support from his home crowd during his brief batting innings before a double strike with his only over after being thrown the ball late in the day.

England suffered a coronavirus scare ahead of day two of the third Ashes Test against Australia at the MCG.

The players and management were forced to remain at their hotel after a positive COVID-19 test was recorded within the team's family group.

Players and staff had to await the results of their own coronavirus tests before eventually being given the all-clear to head to the stadium.

England, who trail the series 2-0, were bowled out for 185 on day one after Australia won the toss and put the tourists in.

Australia will resume on 61-1 after James Anderson accounted for David Warner (38) before the close of play on day one.

Pat Cummins need only to avoid defeat in Melbourne to retain the Ashes after one-sided victories in Brisbane and Adelaide.

A century from KL Rahul helped India take charge of the first Test in South Africa as the tourists closed day one on 272-3 at SuperSport Park.

After Virat Kohli won the toss and chose to bat, Rahul led the way with a classy innings as Lungi Ngidi (3-45) was the only man to take any wickets.

Rahul spent 12 overs in the 90s before finally reaching three figures and the opener was still there on 122 at stumps.

The stand-in vice-captain and Mayank Agarwal (60) saw India through to lunch on 83-0 as the hosts struggled to get anything out of a flat track in Centurion, ultimately putting on an opening partnership of 117, India's first century opening stand in South Africa since 2010.

However, after waiting over 40 overs for the first wicket, Ngidi claimed two in as many balls by trapping Agarwal lbw after a successful review, before Cheteshwar Pujara was caught by Keegan Petersen at short leg off the next delivery after he got thick inside edge onto his thigh pad.

It was not a sign of things to come though as Kohli came to the crease and added another 82 with Rahul before edging Ngidi to Wiaan Mulder at first slip for 35.

Taking that key wicket also failed to spark South Africa into life, though, as Ajinkya Rahane carried on where Agarwal and Kohli had left off, upping the tempo as India added 115 for the loss of just one wicket in the final session.

Rahul and Rahane (40 not out) ended day one on an unbroken partnership of 73 to put India in a strong position.

Proteas toil in the field

It was an admittedly bad toss to lose for Dean Elgar, but he will still have surely been expecting more than one of his bowlers to get their name in the wicket column on the opening day of the series.

Ngidi worked hard for his three wickets, but Kagiso Rabada (0-51), debutant Marco Jansen (0-61), Mulder (0-49) and Keshav Maharaj (0-58) rarely troubled the India batters.

Patience rewarded for Rahul

To go unbeaten through the first day of a Test match is always an impressive feat, but it was the way Rahul built his innings that was particularly noteworthy.

The 29-year-old took few risks, especially when closing in on three figures, and has now registered a Test hundred against every team he has played at least two games against (Australia, England, Sri Lanka, West Indies and South Africa).

He has faced 248 balls, and might will look to make more hay while the sun shines in Centurion on day two.

Jonny Bairstow said England would face a "huge morning session" on day two of the third Test after Australia got off to a flying start in Melbourne.

Armed with a 2-0 series lead and needing only a draw at the MCG to retain the Ashes, Australia bowled out England for 185 and then raced to 61-1 at stumps.

The game could yet turn, but England cannot afford to allow Australia to build a big lead, after the one-sided nature of the previous contests in Brisbane and Adelaide.

Captain Joe Root top-scored with 50 for England on Boxing Day, with Bairstow weighing in with 35, but the openers failed and tenacity was widely lacking as Australia picked up cheap wickets. Dawid Malan showed some grit but made just 14 runs, sharing in a stand of 48 with Root before becoming the third of Pat Cummins' three victims.

Root's innings gave him a ninth Test half-century in Australia, the most by a touring player in the country without having gone on to make a hundred.

Bairstow told the BBC's Test Match Special: "To lose the toss and get put in on a pitch that was doing plenty, I thought we grafted pretty well first up. Dawid and Joe put on another good partnership. We were really unfortunate to lose Dawid before lunch, otherwise that would have been a good session for us.

"We've seen there's a little more inconsistent bounce this evening. Marcus Harris got one on the glove and the following ball didn't carry through to the keeper. We'll be looking to exploit those areas in the morning; the morning session will be a huge session and let's see how we go."

Harris was left with a bleeding finger after being hit by a ball from Ben Stokes that bounced sharply. The Australia opener will resume alongside nightwatchman Nathan Lyon in the morning after James Anderson had David Warner caught for 38 by Zak Crawley shortly before the close.

Warner had been typically aggressive as he looked to compound England's misery, but a thick edge to Crawley at gully ended his assault.

"He was always looking to put pressure back on our bowlers. That's how he plays," Bairstow said. "He's scored runs in this series and previously, so it was a big boost to pick him up just before the end, and we'll come back in the morning, all guns blazing and ready to go."

Australia did not let Warner's wicket dampen their enjoyment of the day.

Captain Cummins and spinner Lyon both returned figures of 3-36, while Cameron Green and debutant Scott Boland chipped in with a wicket apiece.

Mitchell Starc removed Root and Bairstow as he took 2-54, and the paceman said on BT Sport: "It was quite a bit tacky underfoot and the spikes didn't really grab until that last session, so there was maybe not the air speed from us all today, but I thought we still bowled really well.

"We probably bowled a fraction fuller than England in that first session for them, and Pat was fantastic to get those first wickets and get us under way.

"Collectively, [bowling England out for] 185 is a pretty good day for us today."

Boland said it had been "a very special day", as the 32-year-old Melburnian made his Test bow and had a wicket – dismissing Mark Wood lbw – and two catches to show for it.

Starc was full of praise, saying: "It was awesome, the big Victorian here at his home ground to get his cap. He said he was quite nervous under a couple of those catches, but to get his first wicket at his home ground on the day of his debut was fantastic to see, and I think that might just calm him down for the second innings."

Australia tightened their grip on the Ashes as another abject performance from England meant it was a brutal Boxing Day for the tourists in Melbourne.

On day one of the third Test, a must-win match for England, Joe Root's men were dismissed for 185 and saw Australia race to 61-1 at stumps.

Australia are seeking to secure a third consecutive men's Ashes series win on home soil, while England's mission is to somehow make the contest competitive.

After bruising defeats in Brisbane and Adelaide, the evidence of day one pointed to more incoming misery for Root and co.

Having made six and a duck in Adelaide, Haseeb Hameed again fell without scoring at the top of the England order as the opener perished to returning Australia captain Pat Cummins.

His edge through to Alex Carey in the second over gave Cummins a 100th Test wicket on home soil, and a 101st was not long in arriving as the skipper prised out England's second opener, with a gully catch accounting for the recalled Zak Crawley.

Crawley made 12, and his exit meant that, at 13-2, England were again looking for Dawid Malan and captain Root to perform a rescue act. They enjoyed a century alliance in Adelaide but here could only put on 48 for the third wicket, with Malan edging through to David Warner at slip to fall for 14 and give Cummins a third victim.

Root reached 50 but went no further, a promising innings ending in disappointing fashion as he tickled Mitchell Starc through to Carey. And although Ben Stokes made 25 and Jonny Bairstow 35, England needed more from their middle order due to the openers' failings.

Poor shot selection accounted for most of the England wickets, and the theme continued as Jos Buttler fell for three before tea, lobbing spinner Nathan Lyon to debutant Scott Boland at deep mid wicket.

Australia wrapped up the innings when Lyon had both Jack Leach (13) and Ollie Robinson (22) caught in the deep to secure figures of 3-36.

Paceman Cummins posted the same numbers as Lyon, and the Australia skipper, who missed the Adelaide tussle after being deemed a close contact of a COVID-19 case, would have relished the sight of his batsmen piling on the runs in their reply.

Blood drawn, but Aussies fight on

Australian only require a draw at the MCG to retain the Ashes, but their instinct will always be to go flat out for victory against the old enemy. Boland, a 32-year-old Melbourne native, made two catches and snagged a popular first Test wicket when he pinned Mark Wood lbw, and the day ended in English despair when an edge from Marcus Harris through the slip cordon ran away for four. Harris had treatment for a bloodied finger moments earlier after being hit on the glove by Stokes, but battled on.

Banishing MCG blues

Australia have lost two of their last three men's Tests on Boxing Day (W1), being beaten twice by India after having been undefeated in their seven Tests prior starting on December 26 (W5, D2). They have won only one of their last three Boxing Day Tests played against England (D1, L1). James Anderson gave England brief hope when he had Warner (38) caught low down by Zak Crawley before the close – the 10th time he has dismissed Warner in Tests – but this was emphatically Australia's day.

Former England captain Ray Illingworth has died at the age of 89.

The all-rounder played in 61 Tests between 1958 and 1973, taking 122 wickets and scoring two centuries.

Illingworth was captain on 31 occasions and won 12 of the Test matches he oversaw, including an away Ashes series against Australia in 1971-72.

A short statement from Yorkshire County Cricket Club, who he guided to three successive County titles form 1966, read: "We are deeply saddened to learn that Ray Illingworth has passed away.

"Our thoughts are with Ray’s family and the wider Yorkshire family who held Ray so dear to their hearts #OneRose."

Illingworth had been undergoing radiotherapy for esophageal cancer and earlier this year spoke of his support for assisted dying after his wife passed away from cancer.

"I don't want to have the last 12 months that my wife had," he said, in quotes reported by BBC Sport. "She had a terrible time going from hospital to hospital and in pain.

"I believe in assisted dying. The way my wife was, there was no pleasure in life in the last 12 months, and I don't see the point of living like that.

"But we don't have assisted dying in England yet, so you don't have the option do you? They are debating it and I think it will come eventually.

"A lot of doctors are against it, but if they had to live like my wife did in her last 12 months they might change their minds."

England have made sweeping changes ahead of the Ashes Boxing Day Test with Rory Burns, Ollie Pope, Stuart Broad and Chris Woakes all omitted.

Batsmen Zac Crawley and Jonny Bairstow earn their first opportunities during this Ashes series while paceman Mark Wood and spinner Jack Leach have been recalled.

England trail 2-0 in the Ashes after heavy defeats in Brisbane and Adelaide and will look to keep the series alive at the MCG starting on Sunday.

Opening batsman Burns has been left out after managing only 51 runs at 12.75 along with Ollie Pope with 48 runs at 12 in the first two Tests.

Broad and Woakes make way as England look to add variety to their attack which has allowed Australia to score more than 400 runs in the first innings of both Test matches.

England vice-captain Jos Buttler told reporters on Saturday: "I'd say the reaction is just an honest one from the group. We've had some honest conversations.

"When you come and play Australia we need to be at your best. We're honest with ourselves that we haven’t been there yet. We have to find that very quickly."

Victorian fast bowler Scott Boland has been confirmed for a shock debut in the Ashes Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

Australia captain Pat Cummins, who also returns to the XI after his COVID-19 scare in Adelaide, confirmed the decision on Christmas Day, with Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser dropping out due to soreness.

Boland, who plays his state cricket for Victoria at the MCG, took 8-89 in a match last month against New South Wales. The 32-year-old right-arm fast bowler has played 14 ODIs and three T20Is for Australia and has taken 91 wickets at 25.71 in 26 first-class games at the MCG.

"Really excited for Scott debuting here on his home ground," Cummins told reporters. "Jhye and Ness pulled up a little bit sore after Adelaide, so we made the decision to bring in Scotty. It's a luxury to have someone like him ready to go. He's fresh.

"We earmarked him as a chance for here and the SCG. We think he's really well suited. His record speaks for itself here in domestic cricket. Home ground and having someone fresh and ready to go were big factors."

Cummins explained that Richardson, who took a second-innings five-wicket haul to earn Australia victory in the second Ashes Test and a 2-0 series lead, was carrying a minor leg injury.

"He's pretty sore," he said. "We were umming and ahing. He had a bit of bowl-out yesterday.

"We felt seven days off, give him enough rest. He's got a small leg injury which is nothing major but we felt rather than risk a longer term injury, give him a week off."

Josh Hazlewood remains unavailable due to a side injury but is in the mix to return for the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney starting January 5.

KL Rahul says India face a "very, very difficult decision" over who bats at number five in the first Test against South Africa at SuperSport Park.

Rahul, vice-captain in the absence of the injured Rohit Sharma, gave a strong indication that the tourists will persist with playing five bowlers in the Boxing Day Test behind closed doors in Centurion.

He said: "I think more teams have started playing [five bowlers], because, you know, every team wants to pick up 20 wickets, and that's the only way you can win a Test match.

"We've definitely used that tactic, and it's helped us in every Test match that we've played away from India. I think the workload also becomes slightly easier to manage with five bowlers, and when you have that kind of quality, you might as well use it."

Joe Root says the England captaincy is "not a dictatorship" as the tourists prepare to try and keep the Ashes series alive in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.

Root called on his attack to be "braver" by bowling fuller lengths after Australia went 2-0 up with a resounding 275-run victory at the Adelaide Oval.

England start the third Test in Melbourne knowing they must win to have any chance of regaining the urn and captain Root does not see a problem with himself and the bowlers having a difference of opinion.

"I like to give our bowlers, especially the senior ones, that responsibility," Root said. "They [James Anderson and Stuart Broad] have more than 300 Tests between them and over 1,000 wickets, and they know what they are doing.

"It's working alongside them, it's not a dictatorship. Every now and again, you don't always agree on everything and that's fine.

"Ultimately, it's about coming to a point where you get the results we want. Unfortunately, in the last game, we didn't quite get there."

Root will break former Pakistan batter Mohammad Yousuf's record of 1,788 Test runs in a calendar year if he scores 159 or more in England's last match of 2021.

England must raise their game in the field, having dropped at least five catches in four of their past five Tests. They put seven chances down in Adelaide.

Australia have lost two of the previous three Boxing Day Tests, both of those defeats coming at the hands of India.

 

England set to ring the changes

The tourists are set to wield the axe after two heavy defeats, with Zak Crawley, Jonny Bairstow, Jack Leach and Mark Wood potentially getting the nod.

Rory Burns is reportedly in danger of being dropped and fellow opener Haseeb Hameed is also under pressure, while Chris Woakes looks likely to miss out after he went for 149 runs and took only one wicket in the second Test.

Ollie Pope has also been out of sorts early in the series, failing to reach double figures in his past three innings after starting with 35 at the Gabba.

Crawley has not played for England since a drawn Test against India at Trent Bridge in August.

 

Cummins returns, Labuschagne on top of the world

Pat Cummins returns to skipper Australia after missing the last Test due to coming into close contact with a positive coronavirus case at a restaurant in Adelaide.

Australia now have the number one Test bowler in the world in Cummins and the best batter on the planet, with Marnus Labuschagne taking that mantle from Root.

Labuschagne is the leading run-scorer in the series with 228 at an average of 76 following his maiden Ashes century in the second Test.

Josh Hazlewood is set to miss out again due to a side injury, so Jhye Richardson should get another opportunity after claiming a maiden five-wicket Test haul on his Ashes debut last week.

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh has announced his retirement from all formats of cricket at the age of 41.

Harbhajan will go down as one of India's greatest spinners, having taken 417 Test wickets in 103 matches.

He sits fourth on the list of his country's leading Test wicket-takers and is India's fifth-highest ODI wicket-taker with 269 tom 236 games.

Harbhajan also played in 28 Twenty20 Internationals, picking up 25 scalps, and also featured for his country in 2016.

The tweaker on Friday revealed that his long, illustrious career has come to an end.

He tweeted: "All good things come to an end and today as I bid adieu to the game that has given me everything in life.

"I would like to thank everyone who made this 23-year-long journey beautiful and memorable. My heartfelt thank you. Grateful."

Harbhajan last played for Kolkata Knight Riders in April.

 

Australia are set to be without Josh Hazlewood for the Boxing Day Test at the MCG after sitting out of training on Friday as he continues to recover from a side strain.

The 30-year-old fast bowler, who has taken 215 wickets in 56 Test matches, missed the second Ashes Test after sustaining the injury during the series opener in Brisbane.

Hazlewood did not partake in Australia's nets session on Friday, instead watching on as Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser jousted for his spot for the third Test.

Australian allrounder Cameron Green said that Hazlewood would likely be ready for the fourth Ashes Test in Sydney starting on January 5.

“He's going really well,” Green told reporters about Hazlewood. “He was doing his run-throughs today and he’s looking really good. I haven't spoken to the guys for this game, but definitely lock him in for Sydney.”

Neser looms as the bowler likely to drop out for returning captain Pat Cummins after taking one wicket in each innings in Adelaide, with Richardson likely to hold his spot after a second-innings five-wicket haul.

"I spoke to him today and he is good to go," Green said about his state teammate Richardson. "He was so pumped after how he went in that second innings, as you would be, and he’s ready to go again."

Joe Root has backed himself to score a maiden Test century in Australia as England search for a response in the Ashes after a dismal start.

England have been comfortably dispatched by Australia in the opening two Tests, succumbing to a 275-run defeat in Adelaide after a nine-wicket beating in Brisbane.

The tourists are without a win in 12 Test matches in Australia – their joint-longest such run (also 12 between January 1937 to February 1951) – and must defeat Justin Langer's side in Melbourne to stop them from retaining the urn.

Root has been in fine form, scoring 175 runs at an average of 43.75, but the England captain has yet to convert to three figures despite registering eight half-centuries in Australia - only Bruce Laird (nine times) has reached fifty more times in Tests Down Under without ever managing to a ton.

Indeed, Root has already surpassed Michael Vaughan (1,481 in 2002) for the most Test runs in a calendar year by an England player and sits fourth on the all-time list with 1,630 runs in 2021.

Root will eye the Boxing Day Test as a chance to further his record haul and the 30-year-old remains confident he can manage a maiden ton on Australian soil sooner rather than later.

"I expect a response from our players and I would like to bring a nice Christmas present home for everyone who stays up," Root told reporters.

"I feel in a really good place with my batting. I feel confident I can, in these next three games, bang out a hundred in these conditions.

"I know that's a brave thing to say but my conversion rate, this year, it's not been an issue at all.

"I feel like I have managed that well and have an understanding of how I want to score my runs. There's clarity there, I just need to keep putting myself in those positions, just have the bit between my teeth, [make it] 'over my dead body'".

 

Australia number three Marnus Labuschagne, who leads the Ashes scoring charts with 228 runs, overtook Root as the ICC's top-ranked men's Test batter and England's skipper admitted he wants his title back.

"I've never been one for that but it would be nice to have it back for Christmas," he responded when asked about being displaced at the top of the rankings.

Root will also be expecting a response from his bowling attack after he provided a scathing summary post-match in the second Test, in which he slammed his bowlers for repeating mistakes from four years ago and needing to be braver with their lengths.

He hopes his outburst, which was followed up by a "brutally honest" Chris Silverwood debrief with the England players, will act as a catalyst for change on Saturday.

"I did [get angry] at the end of the last game because of the situation we're in and the manner in which we lost," he continued.

"I'll always try to look at things with a level, pragmatic approach but I don't think you could after the way we've played those last two games. I expect a response from everyone this week.

"Twice now we've got ourselves into a position, second innings in Brisbane, first innings in Adelaide, with decent partnerships between me and Mala [Dawid Malan], we needed to go on and we didn't.

"Sometimes that can happen, but the first 20 balls, starting your innings, you've got to be disciplined, you've got to know how you're going to get yourself in the game and we can't afford to be losing eight wickets for 70 or 80 runs.

"It is not good enough, it is not the level that an England Test team should be playing at. The guys know that and they're very aware of that. Their work ethic is very good and you'll have seen how guys practiced and how long they bat for in the nets, but sometimes I think we can be smarter about what we are practicing and how we are practicing.

"And understanding that batting, in my opinion, it's about making good decisions for long periods of time."

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