Things are going from bad to worse for Joe Root and his teammates, with England dropping catches and suffering injury blows.
England finished a rain-shortened day one at the SCG with its brightest start to a match of this Ashes series, with their quicks taking a wicket each on Wednesday.
Only 46.5 overs were possible as the nagging rain hung over the ground, cutting the play short and finishing the day at an intriguing 3/126 to kick off day two.
Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja, who both boast an impressive records at the SCG, survived the entire morning session and were unbeaten at lunch on day two.
Whether the rain will again be a factor remains to be seen.
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England skipper drops a sitter
Oh dear, England’s put down another chance in the field.
Dropped catches have plagued the tourists throughout this Ashes series, and now skipper Joe Root has added to their woes in the field.
Spinner Jack Leach caught the outside edge of Usman Khawaja’s bat, with the ball ricocheting off Jos Buttler’s thigh towards Root at first slip.
But Root wasn’t able to hold onto the chance, gifting Khawaja an extra life on 28.
“That is a big chance,” former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist said on Fox Cricket.
Former Test spinner Kerry O’Keeffe added: “It should have been taken. Unlucky for Leach.”
Soon after, England all-rounder Ben Stokes left the field partway through an over with a suspected side strain.
The England camp later confirmed that Stokes was being treated for left side tightness, and will be assessed over the coming 60 minutes.
“It goes from bad to worse for Joe Root and the England team,” Gilchrist said.
Smith brought up his half-century just before the lunch interval, reaching the minor milestone in 116 deliveries.
It was his tenth 50+ score in 13 Test knocks at the NSW capital, breaking the record for fewest innings required to achieve the feat at a venue.
And they’re off again
This must be so frustrating for fans at the SCG. By my count, this is the seventh rain delay in less than four sessions of play.
It feels as though the spectators have spent more time looking at the groundstaff fiddle around with the covers than watching the actual cricket.
After returning to the field, the players and umpires had to patiently wait as a tractor holding the covers reversed into its parking spot near the boundary rope.
Cricket reporter Will Macpherson tweeted: “This is genuinely pathetic.”
Steve Smith has looked particularly keen to get off the field whenever the rain stars falling, presumably to protect his bat from the rain.
When the rain became a bit heavier in Sydney, the Australian vice-captain started waltzing towards the changerooms before the umpires had even made a decision.
At one stage, Smith had to sheepishly walk back to his mark when the officials decided to play on. The 32-year-old was seen awkwardly protecting his bat from the rain by placing it between his legs.
Some pundits accused Smith of attempting to pressure the umpires into calling play to a halt. Cricket reporter Chris Stocks posted: “Is Steve Smith allergic to rain water?”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan said on Fox Cricket: “I don’t think that’s right that a player should be walking off until the umpires say.
“If it’s looking really gloomy over the back, of course you go off. But when it’s like this and you know it’s going to be a couple of minutes and now the players go into the dressing room, the umpires will have to go back out to check and then they’ll have to go into the dressing room to tell the captains, it’s just time taken out of the game that doesn’t need to happen.
“Test cricket must learn that there’s people spending a lot of money to come and watch and I just don’t think they’re getting value for money for what they pay.”
Steve Smith up to his usual antics
Less than half an hour into day two of the New Year’s Test, we’ve already witnessed some vintage Steve Smith leaves at the SCG.
In the 53rd over of Australia’s innings, England seamer Stuart Broad bowled a loose delivery down the leg side.
But instead of attempting a leg glance, Smith bent down on one leg and threw his arms in the air, exaggerating a leave through to the keeper.
Broad was amused by the Australian vice-captain’s antics, giggling all the way back to the top of his mark.
Soon after, the rain returned to halt play at the SCG as covers were rushed onto the ground.
But a 15-minute delay didn’t bother Smith, who smacked the first delivery after the break past the bowler for a boundary.
Damning Sydney Test stats just get worse
Isa Guha said on Fox Cricket’s Ashes Daily that it was looking a lot brighter and less cloudy to start day two but the Barmy Army pointed out that the weather gods may not be on the side of the cricket fans at the SCG.
The Bureau of Meteorology said there is a strong chance of rain coming back into play on day two and across the remaining days of the Test.
The forecast for the rest of Thursday at 9am was: “Cloudy. High (80%) chance of showers, becoming less likely late this afternoon and evening. The chance of a thunderstorm. Winds north-easterly 25 to 40 km/h.”
It didn’t escape the Barmy Army.
At lunch on day one, Fox Cricket commentator Mark Howard revealed how wet it traditionally is in Sydney.
“Since 2014-15, this is the number of sessions lost due to weather in Australia. The Gabba, 3.5 sessions. Adelaide Oval, 4.5 sessions. The MCG, 6.5 sessions. The SCG … 16.5 sessions. 10 sessions more than anyone else in the country.”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan said: “You may as well play this Test match in Derby.”
But Howard added that the SCG had lost more in the last eight years than Manchester has.
Cricket statistician Ric Finlay also revealed Sydney had a complete day washed out every 4.36 Tests.
Shane Warne also called for a less wet location to get the New Year’s Test.
“Imagine England arriving in Australia, beautiful Sydney coming here, have the 10 days lead up and make Sydney the first Test,” Warne said.
“It’s better weather then than it is in the first week of January. It just seems to always rain in the Test match. It’s such a beautiful venue, such a beautiful city that imagine if the tourists, and any opposition team, came here to Sydney and had 10 days on the harbour and loosening up, getting ready and then play the first Test in Sydney rather than the fourth Test always in the New Year, maybe it’s time for a change.”
Originally published as Fourth Ashes Test, day 2: England’s cricketers capitulating once again
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