Fifth Test, day four, Sydney
England close on 302-8, leading by 119, thanks to Bethell's majestic 142 not out
Smith, Stokes and Carse dismissals late on damage England chances of remarkable comeback
Stokes hampered by adductor injury picked up when bowling
Bethell hits sublime maiden Test century but Webster removes Brook (42) and Jacks (duck) in three balls; Crawley (one), Duckett (42) and Root (six) fall earlier
Tongue removes Smith (138) and Starc, Jacks dismisses Boland as Aussies all out for 567 - a first-innings lead of 183
Hosts have unassailable 3-1 series lead
Watch highlights on iPlayer from 17:00 GMT
Day five will start at 23:00 GMT (10:00 local time, Thursday)
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Still hoping for a surprising twist in a disappointing series. It just hasn’t been competitive and so most days it has been rather predictable and boring. One final Bazball blaze of glory innings? Come on England!
Gareth, Kent
England four down by lunch incoming…
Adam in Peterborough
Of course England have given us false hope tonight.
Jamie in Bolton
Jonathan Agnew
BBC Chief Cricket Commentator on Test Match Special
You can bet your life if that had carried, Steve Smith would have caught it. He has been terrific in that position.
Scott Boland arguably looking more of a threat than Mitchell Starc here.
Jacob Bethell edges the final ball of a maiden over from the gnarled Aussie seamer, but it falls just short of a diving Steve Smith at second in the cordon.
Was Smith a little too deep? Perhaps.
A testing little spell for England's number three.
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Josh Tongue has been one of the very few pluses for England across the series. He is at least able to bowl a consistent line & length.
Paul in Northwich
Steve Smith is now officially Josh’s bunny.
Colin, East Grinstead
Joe Root's centuries aside, Tongue is the biggest success story of this tour. This summer I would love to see him and Archer leading the bowling alongside Gus Atkinson, Ollie Robinson and Rehan Ahmed. Now that's an intimidating attack.
Sam M, Nottingham
England made pretty light work of Australia's last three wickets this morning. Here's how they got them.
Crisp striking from Ben Duckett, who drives Mitchell Starc's final ball of the over powerfully through the covers for four. Beautiful timing.
Glenn McGrath
Ex-Australia bowler on BBC Test Match Special
Image source, Getty ImagesThe only thing left for the England team is some pride for the batters. Show that they have learnt from Joe Root and Steve Smith. There is still something for them to take away.
Ben Duckett with a uppercut for four off Mitchell Starc. A confident stroke, although quite a low-risk one as he watches it all the way on to the bat before guiding it over the cordon.
Simon Mann
BBC Test Match Special commentator
If you are England's number three in this series, you are basically opening the batting.
Scott Boland is in the right channels from the off. Ben Duckett manages to scramble a single to get off strike.
Jacob Bethell edges the final ball of Boland's opening over but it does not carry through to Alex Carey having kept low.
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Suspect it will all be over by tea.
Vince in Melbourne
First over. Glenn McGrath on TMS, "just bat normally". Immediately, Crawley doesn't play a shot and is given out on field and after review LBW. "Normally" for this England
Spence, Edinburgh
Well there we are… night night everyone.
Ben, Battersea
The anointed one - aka Jacob Bethell - strolls out to the middle.
Today would be a fine one to make your maiden first-class hundred young man.
Bethell survives his first ball.
Glenn McGrath
Ex-Australia bowler on BBC Test Match Special
Image source, Getty ImagesWe have not seen the pitch play too much of a part in this Test but when that ball pitched, it really seamed back into Zak Crawley.
The right umpire decision.
Crawley lbw b Starc 1 (Eng 4-1)
No Qwerty sanchwiches today.
As expected, Zak Crawley is on his way after a pretty terrible leave.
The ball-tracking technology determines it's umpires call so perhaps Crawley was within his rights to review it even though it looked so very out.
Simon Mann
BBC Test Match Special commentator
Up goes the finger. Zak Crawley has reviewed but you are always in danger when you do not hit a shot.
Oh Zak.
The England opener shoulder arms to an in-ducker that tails back in to hit him high on the pad.
Given out on field.
Crawley has sent this upstairs but I'll eat my keyboard if this overturned.
Phil Tufnell
Former England spinner on BBC Test Match Special
I hope the captain Ben Stokes is in the dressing room now saying 'Come on boys, we have got to show a bit of fight here'.
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Suspect the Aussies will actually be quite disappointed by their morning! They surely thought they’d have 220, 230 as a lead at a minimum
JC, Warks
The SCG clap and cheer as Mitchell Starc bounds in but Zak Crawley is able to fend his first ball to the leg side to get off the mark with a single.
England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley have made their way out into the middle. Mitchell Starc has the new ball in hand.
Here we go.
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Crawley,leg before wicket, bowled Neser Crawley, leg before wicket, bowled Neser | 16 | 29 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 59 | 55.17 |
Duckett,caught Carey, bowled Starc Duckett, caught Carey, bowled Starc | 27 | 24 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 34 | 112.50 |
Bethell,caught Carey, bowled Boland Bethell, caught Carey, bowled Boland | 10 | 23 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 43.48 |
Root,caught and bowled Neser Root, caught and bowled Neser | 160 | 242 | 144 | 15 | 0 | 398 | 66.12 |
Brook,caught Smith, bowled Boland Brook, caught Smith, bowled Boland | 84 | 97 | 46 | 6 | 1 | 164 | 86.60 |
Stokes,caught Carey, bowled Starc Stokes, caught Carey, bowled Starc | 0 | 11 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 0.00 |
Smith,caught Boland, bowled Labuschagne Smith, caught Boland, bowled Labuschagne | 46 | 76 | 55 | 6 | 1 | 104 | 60.53 |
Jacks,caught Green, bowled Neser Jacks, caught Green, bowled Neser | 27 | 62 | 48 | 2 | 1 | 76 | 43.55 |
Carse,caught Carey, bowled Green Carse, caught Carey, bowled Green | 1 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 16.67 |
Potts,not out Potts, not out | 1 | 16 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 6.25 |
Tongue,bowled Neser Tongue, bowled Neser | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.00 |
Extras, no balls 3, wides 2, byes 1, leg byes 6, total 12 Extras, no balls 3, wides 2, byes 1, leg byes 6, total 12 | |||||||
Total,384 all out 97.3 overs Total,384 all out 97.3 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starc | 23.0 | 2 | 93 | 2 | 90 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 4.04 |
Neser | 18.3 | 2 | 60 | 4 | 82 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 3.24 |
Boland | 26.0 | 2 | 85 | 2 | 107 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 3.26 |
Green | 18.0 | 0 | 85 | 1 | 63 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 4.72 |
Webster | 5.0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4.00 |
Head | 4.0 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5.00 |
Labuschagne | 3.0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4.66 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
35 for 1 (6.5 overs) | Duckett |
51 for 2 (11.4 overs) | Crawley |
57 for 3 (12.6 overs) | Bethell |
226 for 4 (47.4 overs) | Brook |
229 for 5 (50.5 overs) | Stokes |
323 for 6 (74.4 overs) | Smith |
375 for 7 (91.6 overs) | Jacks |
382 for 8 (94.1 overs) | Carse |
384 for 9 (97.1 overs) | Root |
384 for 10 (97.3 overs) | Tongue |
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Head,leg before wicket, bowled Bethell Head, leg before wicket, bowled Bethell | 163 | 166 | 91 | 24 | 1 | 324 | 98.19 |
Weatherald,leg before wicket, bowled Stokes Weatherald, leg before wicket, bowled Stokes | 21 | 36 | 27 | 4 | 0 | 57 | 58.33 |
Labuschagne,caught Bethell, bowled Stokes Labuschagne, caught Bethell, bowled Stokes | 48 | 68 | 48 | 7 | 0 | 91 | 70.59 |
Neser,caught Smith, bowled Carse Neser, caught Smith, bowled Carse | 24 | 90 | 79 | 4 | 0 | 115 | 26.67 |
Smith,caught Smith, bowled Tongue Smith, caught Smith, bowled Tongue | 138 | 220 | 143 | 16 | 1 | 332 | 62.73 |
Khawaja,leg before wicket, bowled Carse Khawaja, leg before wicket, bowled Carse | 17 | 49 | 39 | 2 | 0 | 66 | 34.69 |
Carey,caught Bethell, bowled Tongue Carey, caught Bethell, bowled Tongue | 16 | 13 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 123.08 |
Green,caught Duckett, bowled Carse Green, caught Duckett, bowled Carse | 37 | 64 | 45 | 3 | 1 | 84 | 57.81 |
Webster,not out Webster, not out | 71 | 87 | 48 | 7 | 0 | 123 | 81.61 |
Starc,bowled Tongue Starc, bowled Tongue | 5 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 35.71 |
Boland,caught Brook, bowled Jacks Boland, caught Brook, bowled Jacks | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0.00 |
Extras, no balls 5, wides 4, byes 4, leg byes 14, total 27 Extras, no balls 5, wides 4, byes 4, leg byes 14, total 27 | |||||||
Total,567 all out 133.5 overs Total,567 all out 133.5 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Carse | 27.0 | 2 | 130 | 3 | 107 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 0 | 4.81 |
Potts | 25.0 | 1 | 141 | 0 | 93 | 0 | 2 | 23 | 1 | 5.64 |
Tongue | 30.0 | 0 | 97 | 3 | 123 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 3.23 |
Stokes | 27.4 | 6 | 95 | 2 | 122 | 5 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 3.43 |
Jacks | 8.5 | 0 | 34 | 1 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3.84 |
Bethell | 15.2 | 1 | 52 | 1 | 61 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3.39 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
57 for 1 (12.2 overs) | Weatherald |
162 for 2 (30.6 overs) | Labuschagne |
234 for 3 (54.4 overs) | Neser |
288 for 4 (67.1 overs) | Head |
339 for 5 (83.4 overs) | Khawaja |
366 for 6 (88.1 overs) | Carey |
437 for 7 (106.3 overs) | Green |
544 for 8 (128.5 overs) | Smith |
564 for 9 (132.6 overs) | Starc |
567 for 10 (133.5 overs) | Boland |
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Crawley,leg before wicket, bowled Starc Crawley, leg before wicket, bowled Starc | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 50.00 |
Duckett,bowled Neser Duckett, bowled Neser | 42 | 55 | 34 | 6 | 0 | 96 | 76.36 |
Bethell,caught Carey, bowled Starc Bethell, caught Carey, bowled Starc | 154 | 265 | 170 | 15 | 0 | 384 | 58.11 |
Root,leg before wicket, bowled Boland Root, leg before wicket, bowled Boland | 6 | 37 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 64 | 16.22 |
Brook,leg before wicket, bowled Webster Brook, leg before wicket, bowled Webster | 42 | 48 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 89 | 87.50 |
Jacks,caught Green, bowled Webster Jacks, caught Green, bowled Webster | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
Smith,run out Weatherald Smith, run out Weatherald | 26 | 41 | 26 | 3 | 0 | 47 | 63.41 |
Stokes,caught Smith, bowled Webster Stokes, caught Smith, bowled Webster | 1 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 20.00 |
Carse,caught Smith, bowled Boland Carse, caught Smith, bowled Boland | 16 | 20 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 18 | 80.00 |
Potts,not out Potts, not out | 18 | 43 | 35 | 3 | 0 | 80 | 41.86 |
Tongue,caught Labuschagne, bowled Starc Tongue, caught Labuschagne, bowled Starc | 6 | 14 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 42.86 |
Extras, no balls 2, wides 3, byes 9, leg byes 11, penalties 5, total 30 Extras, no balls 2, wides 3, byes 9, leg byes 11, penalties 5, total 30 | |||||||
Total,342 all out 88.2 overs Total,342 all out 88.2 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Starc | 18.2 | 2 | 72 | 3 | 74 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 3.92 |
Boland | 25.0 | 6 | 46 | 2 | 119 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1.84 |
Neser | 16.0 | 0 | 55 | 1 | 66 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3.43 |
Green | 6.0 | 0 | 40 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6.66 |
Webster | 16.0 | 1 | 64 | 3 | 57 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 4.00 |
Head | 4.0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6.25 |
Labuschagne | 3.0 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5.00 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
4 for 1 (0.5 overs) | Crawley |
85 for 2 (19.1 overs) | Duckett |
117 for 3 (31.6 overs) | Root |
219 for 4 (51.1 overs) | Brook |
219 for 5 (51.3 overs) | Jacks |
264 for 6 (64.1 overs) | Smith |
267 for 7 (65.2 overs) | Stokes |
297 for 8 (70.3 overs) | Carse |
328 for 9 (84.2 overs) | Bethell |
342 for 10 (88.2 overs) | Tongue |
| Batter | Runs | Balls | Dots | 4s | 6s | Minutes | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Head,caught Carse, bowled Tongue Head, caught Carse, bowled Tongue | 29 | 35 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 53 | 82.86 |
Weatherald,caught Potts, bowled Tongue Weatherald, caught Potts, bowled Tongue | 34 | 40 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 71 | 85.00 |
Labuschagne,run out Potts Labuschagne, run out Potts | 37 | 40 | 24 | 4 | 1 | 60 | 92.50 |
Smith,bowled Jacks Smith, bowled Jacks | 12 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 100.00 |
Khawaja,bowled Tongue Khawaja, bowled Tongue | 6 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 19 | 85.71 |
Carey,not out Carey, not out | 16 | 27 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 59.26 |
Green,not out Green, not out | 22 | 27 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 34 | 81.48 |
Extras, no balls 0, wides 1, byes 3, leg byes 1, total 5 Extras, no balls 0, wides 1, byes 3, leg byes 1, total 5 | |||||||
Total,161 for 5 31.2 overs Total,161 for 5 31.2 overs |
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Dots | No balls | Wides | 4s | 6s | Economy rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Carse | 8.0 | 0 | 51 | 0 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 6.37 |
Tongue | 11.0 | 0 | 42 | 3 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3.81 |
Bethell | 3.0 | 0 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5.33 |
Jacks | 6.2 | 1 | 42 | 1 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 6.63 |
Root | 3.0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.00 |
| Fall of wicket | Batter |
|---|---|
62 for 1 (10.3 overs) | Head |
71 for 2 (14.4 overs) | Weatherald |
92 for 3 (17.5 overs) | Smith |
119 for 4 (22.1 overs) | Khawaja |
121 for 5 (23.1 overs) | Labuschagne |