Australia retained the Ashes after winning the match at Melbourne and taking an unassailable 3-0 lead in the 5 match series against England. As they meet again for the 4th Test match at Sydney, England team captain Joe Root is hoping for a turnaround of events. Although he shared similar sentiments when they faced Australia in the previous test and things did not go well. Meanwhile, there is also a possibility that this Australia vs England series might not be completed due to rising cases of Covid-19. The already defeated English side is facing more difficulties day by day. With most of the coaching staff already in isolation already, the England team’s preparations got hampered as most of the net bowlers were also missing. It will be interesting to see if England can win a Test in Australia on their 14th attempt since they last won in 2011.
Pitch and Conditions
Date and Time: 5-January-2022, 5.00 a.m. IST
Venue: Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney
Pitch condition: Balanced track, will help the spinners as the match progresses
Weather Forecast: Temperature will be hovering between 22 to 25 degrees Celcius However, Patches of showers are predicted for the next five days.
Mostly the pitch at Sydney has quite a balanced track with a little bit of help to fast bowlers early on with the new ball. However, as the match progresses to days 4 and 5, spinners will come on into the act.
Average Score in each innings at SCG
| Innings no. | Average score |
| 1 | 317 |
| 2 | 313 |
| 3 | 252 |
| 4 | 170 |
When, Where, and How to Watch
When: 5th – 9th January, 2022
Time: 5.00 a.m. I.S.T
Where: Sony Sports Network and Sony Liv app
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Australia vs England Head to Head Record
| Total Matches | 354 |
| Australia Won | 149 |
| England Won | 110 |
| Draw | 95 |
| Tied | 0 |
Top 3 highest runs scorer in Australia vs England battle
| Rank | Player | Match | Runs | Average | Best |
| 1 | Steve Smith | 30 | 2927 | 62.27 | 239 |
| 2 | Joe Root | 27 | 1947 | 40.56 | 180 |
| 3 | David Warner | 26 | 1855 | 41.22 | 124 |
Top 3 highest wicket-takers in Australia vs England battle
| Rank | Player | Match | Wickets | Average | Best |
| 1 | James Anderson | 34 | 111 | 33.27 | 6-for 47 |
| 2 | Nathan Lyon | 26 | 97 | 29.44 | 6-for 49 |
| 3 | Mitchell Starc | 16 | 69 | 26.44 | 6-for 111 |
Previous performances of both teams:
Team Australia’s performance in the last three test matches
| Against | Date | Venue | Result | Team Score | Opponent Score | Highest Runs | Highest Wickets |
| England | 26-Dec-2021 | Melbourne | Win | 267/10 | 185/10 & 68/10 | Joe Root- 50 & 28 | Scott Boland- 1/48 & 6/7 |
| England | 16-Dec-2021 | Adelaide | Win | 473/9 dec & 230/9 dec | 236/10 & 192/10 | Marnus Labuschagne- 103 & 51 | Mitchell Starc- 4/37 & 2/43 |
| England | 08-Dec-2021 | Brisbane | Win | 425/10 & 20/1 | 147/10 & 297/10 | Travis Head- 152 | Pat Cummins- 5/38 & 2/51 |
Team England’s performance in the last three test matches
| Against | Date | Venue | Result | Team Score | Opponent Score | Highest Runs | Highest Wickets |
| Australia | 26-Dec-2021 | Melbourne | Lose | 185/10 & 68/10 | 267/10 | Joe Root- 50 & 28 | Scott Boland- 1/48 & 6/7 |
| Australia | 16-Dec-2021 | Adelaide | Lose | 236/10 & 192/10 | 473/9 dec & 230/9 dec | Marnus Labuschagne- 103 & 51 | Mitchell Starc- 4/37 & 2/43 |
| Australia | 08-Dec-2021 | Brisbane | Lose | 147/10 & 297/10 | 425/10 & 20/1 | Travis Head- 152 | Pat Cummins- 5/38 & 2/51 |
Also Read: 5 best innings of Sourav Ganguly
Previous Meeting Of Australia vs England at Sydney
In the previous meeting here at Sydney, Australia were the winners of the match as they defeated England by an innings and 123 runs. This was the last match of the 2017-18 Ashes series, which Australia won 4-0.
Summary
England 1st innings– 346/10 (Joe Root 83, Dawid Malan 62, Pat Cummins 4/80)
Australia 1st innings- 649/7 (Usman Khwaja 171, Shaun Marsh 156, Moeen Ali 2/170)
England 2nd innings- 180/9 (Joe Root 58, Pat Cummins 4/39, Nathan Lyon 3/54)
Probable Playing XI
Australia Probable XI- David Warner, Marcus Harris, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Scott Boland, Nathan Lyon.
England Probable XI- Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dawid Malan, Joe Root (c), Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wk), Stuart Broad, Mark Wood/Ollie Robinson, Jack Leach, James Anderson.
Fantasy Dream XI Picks
Wicket-keeper: Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow
Batters: Marnus Labuschagne, David Warner, and Steve Smith,
All-rounders: Joe Root and Cameron Green
Bowlers: Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Ollie Robinson, And Nathan Lyon
Captain: Joe Root
Vice-captain: Pat Cummins
Also Read: Top 10 greatest leg spinners of all time
Players to watch out for
- Steve Smith has a knock pending in his belly. With only one 50+ score in the three tests, it has been a slow start for the modern day great. Therefore Australian fans will be hoping to some runs coming out of his bat.
- Another player that we need to watch out for is Usman Khwaja, who is making a comeback after a strong run in the Sheffield Series. In addition to this, all eyes would be again on the English batting unit, which has been a flop throughout the series.
Additional Information
Broadcast Details: Starting on 5th January 2022, From 1.30 p.m. on Live on Sony Sports Network and Sony Liv app
Umpires: Paul Reiffel and Rod Tucker
TV Umpire: Paul Wilson
Reserve Umpire: Shawn Craig
Match Referee: Steve Bernard
Some interesting stats
- Australia has not lost at Sydney since 2011. Since then they have played a total of 10 Test matches, winning 6 of them and rest 4 of them being a draw.
- The favorite batting pair of Australia- Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne enjoy a terrific record at this ground. In 8 test matches here, Smith has scored 823 runs at an average of 74.81 with the help of 3 centuries and 6 half-centuries. Similarly, Labuschagne has scored 476 runs in just 3 matches at an average of 95.20 with 1 century and 3 half-centuries.
- Chris Woakes is the third-highest run-getter behind Dawid Malan and Joe Root for England in this series with 105 runs in 4 innings.
- England have lost 13 tests in Australia since they last won in 2011.
Records that can be broken in this match
1. Joe Root can become the batsman with second most test centuries for England. He is currently tied with Kevin Pietersen at 23 test centuries.
2.Steve Smith just need 30 runs to cross Justin Langer as the 7th highest scorer for Australia in test matches. He is also just one century away from to tie with Michael Clarke on 28. Currently, he is tied with Virat Kohli, Graeme Smith, and Allan Border on 27.
3.Nathan Lyon just needs 4 wickets to cross Wasim Akram and become 15th Highest test wicket taker of all time.
Conclusion- Writer’s Opinion
The relentless Australian bowling attack have been too hot to handle. England batsmen could not cope with the depth of resources Australia have, especially with Green chipping in and Lyon back to his best. However, the SCG wicket might be better than the one at Melbourne. But Australia will have the edge in that case too. Warner, Labuschagne and Smith provide the Aussie batting line-up a good platform. Maybe, the English side can have some inspiration from the Bangladeshi side that are showing superb character against New Zealand, and try to get something out of the remaining two games.
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