Some fight left in England after all
Dawid Malan said it was time for England to pile the pressure on Australia after his maiden Test century helped the besieged visitors fight back on the opening day of the vital third Ashes Test in Perth yesterday.
After Joe Root won the toss and elected to bat, Malan’s unbeaten 110 helped the tourists to breathe life back into their Ashes defence by countering hostile Australian bowling on a bouncy wicket at the Waca Ground, which is hosting an Ashes Test for the last time.
At stumps, the visitors were 305/4 after their best day of the series, and Malan said the challenge for England was to grasp their chance.
“We’ve just not capitalised on the crucial moments,” Malan said of the series thus far.
He admitted it was tough when he came to the crease against the rampaging pacemen, but said he enjoyed the challenge.
Already down 2-0 in the fivematch series, the visitors were wavering at 131/4 against some fiery pace bowling after lunch, but Malan (110*) steadied the innings with an unbroken 174-run stand for the fifth wicket alongside Jonny Bairstow (75*), England’s highest partnership of the series.
England overcame the controversial dismissal of opener Mark Stoneman for 56 on a third-umpire decision, and their cause was helped by some generosity from the Australian fielders, who dropped three catches and missed a run out.
But former skipper Alastair Cook’s form woes continued when he was trapped leg before wicket by Starc for just seven, on his landmark 150th Test appearance.
Cook has more than 11 000 Test runs, but the former skipper has scored just 69 in this series at 13.80. – AFP