Usman Khawaja scores a century in the comeback test as Australia declares 416-8 on day two at SCG .; Stuart Broad takes the 19th round of five wickets and eighth in the ashes; England close 13-0 after a difficult 20 minute period before the stumps. with Zak Crawley pardoned by Mitchell Starc no-ball on nught
Usman Khawaja scored a ton on his comeback test when Australia made 416-8 declared in Sydney
Usman Khawaja completed his ninth Test Hundred after falling on 28 when Australia had England scrambling on the second day of the fourth Ash Test in Sydney despite Stuart Broad claiming a five-course course.
Khawaja, who played his first test since 2019 as a replacement for the Covid-struck Travis Head, hit three figures of 201 balls and was eventually thrown by Broad (5-101) for 137 shortly before Australia declared 416-8.
That left England a tricky 20-minute stretch before stumps that starters Zak Crawley (2nd) and Haseeb Hameed (2nd) managed to survive, with Crawley pardoned for a no-ball after outscoring Mitchell Starc with nothing.
The day belonged to two 35-year-old players, Khawaja completed his first Test Hundred in nearly three years and Broad posted his 19th five-course round in Test cricket and eighth against Australia.
Khawaja received a reprieve early in his innings with Joe Root unable to hold onto a slide catch, via a glove and thigh deflection from Jos Buttler, once Jack Leach found the edge of the southpaw, but went on to play with more class. of blows upon his return to the Australian side.
It was another punishing day for England on a tumultuous tour, compounded by off-roader Ben Stokes injuring his side while launching a barrage of gorillas.
Mark Wood bowled well without rewards, but Broad was the main plus, becoming England’s second most prolific bowler in Ashes Tests with 125 scalps, ahead of the late Bob Willis (123) and behind only Sir Ian Botham (128), as added. Steve Smith (67), Cameron Green (5), Australia captain Pat Cummins (24) and Khawaja until their dismissal on the first day of David Warner (30).
Broad hit twice with the second new ball, and Smith caught Buttler to break a 115 position in the fourth wicket with Khawaja and then forced Green to slip past Crawley four overs later, at which point Australia was 242. -5 and England. they were optimistic.
However, Khawaja led the rebuild alongside Alex Carey (13), Cummins (24) and Mitchell Starc (34th), achieving his first test ton in nearly three years shortly before tea break when he cut Leach off his pads during three, as his wife and son watched from the stands at SCG.
Australia’s total is 119 more than England’s high score in the series so far (tourists peaked at 297 in the second inning in Brisbane) and the hosts will now be sure to push for a fourth straight win in this series through despite the possibility of more bad weather in the coming days.
Only 46.5 overs were possible on the first day due to wet weather and there were three rain breaks on the morning of the second day once Australia resumed 126-3 – Khawaja starting at four and Smith six.
Smith went from fifty for the sixth straight test inning at SCG, but couldn’t turn that into a fourth hundred at the spot when he threw a wide pitch that bowed and then got close to Buttler.
Broad then equaled Willis’s Ashes wicket total when Green cut, while he topped that count early in the final session when he had Cummins caught in review – third referee Paul Wilson decided that a puff of a short ball had grazed the handle of Cummins’ bat.
Broad thought he had ruled Cummins twice before, but lbw’s decision was overturned on review with the seamer nip-backer from the width of the crease set to avoid the leg stump.
Khawaja added 43 with Carey, who was caught in the middle after facing Root, for the sixth wicket, 46 with Cummins for the seventh and then 67 with Starc before he finished his graceful tackle when he made a wide leg cut. on their stumps.
Number 10 Nathan Lyon then crushed Mark Wood by four and Broad by four and six, with his maximum of Broad prompting Australia’s declaration.
Stuart Broad, speaking with BT sport: “I still feel like I have a lot to offer this team. Whether playing week after week like I did when I was 26, 27, maybe not. But I’m older and have enough experience to know how to bowl. Different pitches and how to prepare for when the opportunity comes.
“I think when you haven’t played, especially at 35, you realize how special he is. I’ve had points in my career where I’ve always felt like I’ve always played. That didn’t happen in 2021. and it’s my job. make that happen in 2022.
“I think all the closers kept running as hard as they could throughout the day. I look at Mark Wood’s latest spell, he deserved two or three wickets on that spell alone – he played fantastic all day.
“The cricket test most of the time has to do with character and it was a day where we had to keep working on trucks. It was Australia Day – there’s a chance we would have knocked them out by 350, but it didn’t work out. at all. For us and 400 it is always a psychological question on the scoreboard. “
Michael Atherton from Sky Sports: “The final straw for England was Broad, 19th in test cricket. He threw very well and showed all his class and competitiveness. As always, when he feels he has a point to prove, he produces.
“Wood has thrown with real aggression throughout. He pitched fast, James Anderson was fine and then there was a knockdown, in part because Jack Leach offers neither control nor threat.
“After everything that happened at The Gabba when Australia brought him down, Root has decided to set up very defensive fields with four or five men out and now Australia is really milking him, particularly the lefties.”
