24
GUYANA CHRONICLE, Tuesday January 9, 2018
Cummins leads Australia’s 4-0 rout of England AN unwavering Australia wrapped up a decisive fifth Test victory at the SCG and 4-0 series triumph on an Ashes finale overshadowed by an illness to stricken England captain Joe Root. In a dramatic ending to a somewhat underwhelming series, Root struggled with a viral gastroenteritis bug forcing him to be able to bat only for an hour yesterday. He added 16 runs to his overnight score of 42 but was unable to resume batting after lunch. Without their ailing captain, England crumbled after lunch against a withering spell from dynamic Australian quick Pat Cummins, who claimed three quick wickets as Australia completed a dominant series with an innings and 123-run victory. England finished on 180 for 9 with Root retiring on 58 not out. In a fitting grim end to a nightmare Ashes tour for the hapless England, there was a dramatic start to the Ashes
Pat Cummins claimed three quick wickets after lunch to wrap up an innings and 123-run victory. (Getty)
finale with Root not resuming his innings of 42 not out after being hospitalised with the bug. There were initial fears that Root had suffered from severe dehydration after being in the thick of oppressive conditions for much of Sunday with temperatures hitting 57.6 degrees in the middle of the
SCG at one point. Amid stifling humidity, Root bravely came to the crease an hour into the day at the fall of Moeen Ali’s wicket and quickly notched his fifth half-century of the series. He battled hard alongside Jonny Bairstow to reach lunch 58 not out as England’s hopes
of salvaging an unlikely draw increased slightly. However, an ill Root was unable to resume his innings after lunch and England’s chances quickly nosedived with Cummins, arguably Australia’s best quick of the series, ending Bairstow’s (38 from 143 balls) resistance
with a piercing delivery that trapped the wicketkeeper lbw. Moments later, Cummins (4 for 39) bounced out Stuart Broad as England quickly plummeted to 148 for 7. Cummins, the team’s enforcer and emerging into Australia’s best quick, then repeated the dose by dismissing Mason Crane with a brute of a short ball as Australia stormed to their ninth victory from their past two home Ashes series. England started in a perilous position at 93 for 4 still trailing by 210 runs and without their captain at the crease. With Root ailed, struggling all-rounder Moeen came out to bat with Bairstow and the pair shed their attacking instincts to defend gamely against probing Australian bowling. With Root stricken, the prevailing belief was that the embattled tourists would roll over but Bairstow and Moeen offered dogged fight on a pitch showing little wear although off-spinner Nathan Lyon relished extracting men-
Calf injury rules Chris Lynn out of ODI series SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) - Aggressive batsman Chris Lynn’s terrible run of luck with injury struck again yesterday with the 27-year-old ruled out of Australia’s squad for their one-day series against En-
gland. Lynn, who was brought back into the team after shoulder surgery ruled him out of the squad a year ago, suffered a calf injury in a domestic Twenty20 match last week.
“Chris initially left the field ... complaining of tightness in his calf,” said Cricket Australia’s Sports Science and Sports Medicine Manager Alex Kountouris. ”He reported increasing discomfort over the 24 hours
that followed and ... medical staff made the decision to send him for a scan. “That scan confirmed the injury, which is expected to prevent him from playing for three to four weeks.” Lynn returned to cricket only last month and while he is batting well he has been hidden in the field by his Brisbane Heat captain Brendon McCullum due to concerns over whether he can dive safely or throw the ball with any velocity. McCullum said he felt the triangular Twenty20 series in February with New Zealand and England would have been better timed for Lynn’s return to the international arena. Kountouris, however, hinted that could be the case anyway. “When Chris recovers, the expectation is that he will need to prove his fitness in match action before being considered again for international selection,” Kountouris said. Lynn’s absence has possibly opened the door for dumped all-rounder Glenn Maxwell to return to the team, with the selectors still
acing turn. There were no chances for almost an hour until Moeen (13) was trapped by his tormentor Lyon on the stroke of the drinks break. It was the seventh time in the series Lyon dismissed Moeen, who finished a horrendous series with a miserable average of 20. Despite every Test going into the fifth day for the first time in the Ashes since 199495, it was a lopsided series with none of the matches going down to the wire in thrilling fashion. Quite fittingly for a lack-lustre contest, the Ashes finale at the SCG inevitably fizzled out to finish a one-sided Test and series. After a convincing Ashes triumph, Australia will be celebrating long into the night having stunningly regained the urn. Conversely, an embattled England are set to feel the heat after a highly disappointing campaign ended in another embarrassment Down Under. (Cricbuzz.com)
SCOREBOARD ENGLAND 1st innings (346) Australia 1st innings 649 for 7 declared England 2nd innings (overnight) 93-4 A. Cook b Lyon
10
M. Stoneman lbw b Starc
0
J. Vince c Smith b Cummins 18 J. Root (c) retired hurt
58
D. Malan lbw b Lyon
5
J. Bairstow † lbw b Cummins 38
Chris Lynn
mulling their options. Maxwell, who has played 80 ODIs for his country and can be one of the most destructive and entertaining batsmen in world cricket on his day, was surprisingly left out of the squad when it was named last week. Captain Steve Smith and chairman of selectors Trevor Hohns said at the time he needed to show he could be more consistent at the international level to get back into the team. The opening match of the five-game series takes place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Sunday.
M. Ali lbw b Lyon
13
T. Curran not out
23
S. Broad c †Paine b Cummins 4 M. Crane c †Paine b Cummins 2 J. Anderson c †Paine b Hazlewood
2
Extras: (lb 2, pen 5)
7
Total: (88.1 overs) 180 all out Fall of wickets: 1-5, 2-15, 3-43, 4-68, 4-93, 5-121, 5-144, 6-144, 7-148, 8-156, 9-180 Bowling: M. Starc 16-4-38-1, J. Hazlewood 17.1-6-36-1, N. Lyon 35-12-54-3, P. Cummins 174-39-4, S. Smith 2-0-6-0, M. Marsh 1-1-0-0