Ashes Extra

Warner curbs his attacking instinct

David Warner played with real caution on day four as Australia made a conscious decision to go for the draw rather than risk defeat by trying to set England a target. He ended the day with 40 runs from 140 deliveries, scoring at just 1.72 runs per over, his slowest Test innings of more than 100 balls. By taking this approach, the opener showed admirable self-restraint, playing an attacking stroke to just 20 per cent of the deliveries he faced, well down on his career average of 31 per cent. He treated James Anderson with particular care, as shown in the graphic, which illustrates that Warner played just one attacking shot to him – the blue dot on the beehive. Warner is not usually associated with such a defensive approach, but it was exactly what the home team required.

Warner plays defensively against Anderson

Australian's attacking shot % Career 31% At Melbourne 20%

Batsman against rival in fourth Test Slow pitch hampers bowlers

The pitch has been the subject of discussion, and no wonder. Neither side have been able to extract any pace or bounce from it, with wickets harder to come by as a result. The graphic shows that, in the first three Tests, balls bowled by seamers were passing the stumps at an

MCG pitch lacks bounce

average height of almost a metre. At the MCG, the ball is passing the stumps 14cm lower. The knock-on effect is that the main danger is dragging on after overestimating the bounce, as four Australians have done. Indeed crossbatted shots – cuts, pulls and hooks – average 27 in this Test, compared to 61.7 in the first three.