Cook just short of 12,000 runs target

Alastair Cook fell just short of becoming only the sixth player to tally 12,000 test runs and England stumbled late to be 233-5 at stumps on a rain-affected first day of the fifth Ashes test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground yesterday.

Australia struck late to capture the wickets of captain Joe Root (83) and Jonny Bairstow for just five shortly before stumps after Root had won the toss and elected to bat after showers delayed the start of the match by more than two hours.

Cook, who scored an unbeaten 244 in the drawn fourth test in Melbourne last week, continued his good form in Sydney, scoring 39 of the 44 runs he needed to join an elite group of five batsmen with more than 12,000 runs before being trapped lbw by Josh Hazlewood.

Paceman Pat Cummins claimed the first two wickets for Australia, having Mark Stoneman and James Vince caught behind.

Stoneman made 24 off as many balls before edging through to wicketkeeper Tim Paine with the total at 28.

Vince (25) stroked five boundaries in his 60-run partnership with Cook before attempting a cut shot against Cummins and getting a slight top edge through to Paine.

It was the prize wicket of Cook, however, which turned the session in Australia’s favour after Hazlewood pinned the veteran opener on his front pad and had the initial not-out decision overturned by the TV umpire on review to leave England at 95-3.

Only Sachin Tendulkar (15,921 runs), Ricky Ponting (13,378), Jacques Kallis (13,289), Rahul Dravid (13,288) and Kumar Sangakkara (12,400) have more test runs than the 33-year-old English batsman, who will likely get another opportunity to reach the milestone in the second innings.

Each team made one change from the fourth test, with England handing leg-spinner Mason Crane his debut for the injured Chris Woakes, and leftarm paceman Mitchell Starc returned from a heel injury to replace Jackson Bird for Australia.

Australia have already regained the Ashes after winning the first three tests in the five-match series. The fourth test ended in a draw on a flat and lifeless pitch in Melbourne.

Meanwhile, Steve Smith may need to spend time out of the nets and not training if he is to prolong his international career and prevent injuries, according to his predecessor Michael Clarke.

The Australian captain sat out Australia’s training session on Tuesday, nursing a sore back after a marathon stint with the bat on the final day in Melbourne.

Clarke experienced back problems late in his career after he reached his prime, and is concerned 28-year-old Smith may experience similar issues if he maintains his batting prowess.

Smith has topped 1000 test runs in each of the past four calendar years, but the runs haul has come at a cost with the captain facing more balls than any other player in test cricket since 2014.

In total, he has faced more than 12,000 balls across all three international formats in that time.

“The key for him is going to be to sacrifice some training sessions so he can make sure he is still on the park as Australian captain,” Clarke told the Nine Network.

“Because he loves hitting so many balls in the nets, he feels like that gives him the confidence to be able to walk out into the middle and play his natural game and play with that technique he has.

“I just feel over the next 12 months, he is going to have that down pat if he hasn’t already.”

Smith has previously expressed his desire to play across all three formats of the game for as long as possible, as opposed to Clarke who quit Twenty20 cricket on taking up the test captaincy in 2010.

Smith is also understood to be keen to play in this summer’s T20 triseries against England and New Zealand, while a number of other longform players are likely to be in South Africa preparing for the four-test series which begins in March.

Despite his dominance in the longer form, Smith is still one of the best T20 players in the world.