HomeCricketAustralia vs England- 4th Ashes Test, Match preview, Fantasy XI, Head-to-Head, Broadcast...

Australia vs England- 4th Ashes Test, Match preview, Fantasy XI, Head-to-Head, Broadcast details & Other stats

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
1317
2313
3252
4170

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

Also Read: what is “doosra ball” in cricket?

Australia vs England Head to Head Record

Australia vs England Ashes
Total Matches354
Australia Won149
England Won110
Draw95
Tied0

Top 3 highest runs scorer in Australia vs England battle

RankPlayerMatchRunsAverageBest
1Steve Smith30292762.27239
2Joe Root27194740.56180
3David Warner26185541.22124

Top 3 highest wicket-takers in Australia vs England battle

RankPlayerMatchWicketsAverageBest
1James Anderson3411133.276-for 47
2Nathan Lyon269729.446-for 49
3Mitchell Starc166926.446-for 111

Previous performances of both teams:

Cummins and Joe Root

Team Australia’s performance in the last three test matches

AgainstDateVenueResultTeam ScoreOpponent ScoreHighest RunsHighest Wickets
England26-Dec-2021MelbourneWin267/10185/10 & 68/10Joe Root- 50 & 28Scott Boland- 1/48 & 6/7
England16-Dec-2021AdelaideWin473/9 dec & 230/9 dec236/10 & 192/10Marnus Labuschagne- 103 & 51Mitchell Starc- 4/37 & 2/43
England08-Dec-2021BrisbaneWin425/10 & 20/1147/10 & 297/10Travis Head- 152Pat Cummins- 5/38 & 2/51

Team England’s performance in the last three test matches

AgainstDateVenueResultTeam 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 BrisbaneLose 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

Australia vs England Fantasy XI

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

Players to watch out for
  1. 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.
  2. 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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. England have lost 13 tests in Australia since they last won in 2011.

Records that can be broken in this match

Records that might 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.

Also Read: what is “googly ball” in cricket?

karan pathak
karan pathakhttp://thesportslite.com
Cricket Aficionado and Aspiring sports management professional
RELATED ARTICLES

Read More