England look to arrest Ashes slide in Melbourne

England have by no means come again from a 2-0 deficit to win an Ashes collection however that’s the process that faces Joe Root’s group after they stroll out in entrance of a Boxing Day crowd on the Melbourne Cricket Ground for the third Test on Sunday.
Cricket lovers all over the world would in all probability be glad with one thing resembling a contest after the newest version of the sport’s most iconic collection opened with thumping victories for Australia in Brisbane and Adelaide.
Controversial picks, brittle batting and toothless bowling from the vacationers have all contributed to 9 days of cricket which have been aggressive solely in very brief patches.
Root has made it clear he expects an unlimited enchancment from his entire group on the MCG as England look to win an Ashes Test in Australia for the primary time in practically 11 years.
“It has to be (better), simple as that,” he stated on Friday. “The two performances we’ve put out have not been good enough, there’ve been basic mistakes. We’ve addressed it, spoken about it and I expect us to be a lot better.”
England is not going to identify a remaining line-up till the toss however modifications are anticipated, with Zak Crawley being closely backed to come back into the facet rather than one of many struggling openers, Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed.
“The most important thing is we pick a team that we think is going to win it,” Root added. “We have to win this game to make sure the series stays alive.”
While every thing has turned to mud for the vacationers over the previous few weeks, Australia have negotiated each obvious banana pores and skin with alacrity.
They misplaced skipper Tim Paine to a sexting scandal earlier than the collection and his alternative, Pat Cummins, to COVID-19 protocols on the eve of the second Test.
Cummins will return for the Melbourne check after serving a interval of isolation, whereas coach Justin Langer expects Mitchell Starc to be match regardless of struggling a rib damage in Adelaide, the place the left-armer fast took 6-80.
Paceman Josh Hazlewood seems set to sit down out a second consecutive check with a facet pressure however Jhye Richardson and Michael Neser proved greater than sufficient replacements in Adelaide, the place the previous took 5-42 within the remaining innings.

On the batting entrance, Australia might hardly be in higher form with Marnus Labuschagne having simply overtaken Root on the high of the world check rankings.
England averted a 5-0 sweep on their final tour of Australia in 2017-18 courtesy of a draw on the MCG on the again of an unbeaten 244 from Alastair Cook.
“That’s exactly what’s required, somebody has to stand up and put in that kind of performance,” Root added.
“But that’s a great example that it can be done on this ground by an English player. It would be great to see that this time.”