2m agoSun 7 Dec 2025 at 3:22am
Day three’s quick hits
Between Jofra’s nap time, Mitch’s batting heroics and some truly bizarre umpiring, there’s plenty to sink your teeth into from day three.
12m agoSun 7 Dec 2025 at 3:12am
Batting coach thrown to the wolves
Opener Zak Crawley is one of the prime examples of the approach of throwing everything at every ball and seeing what sticks. (Getty)
After a pretty poor day for England on both sides of the ball, the tourists decided to put assistant coach Marcus Trescothick up for media availability, which is rarely a good sign.
His press conference, where the English media in particular asked some very pointed questions about the team’s approach, really illustrated how hard it is to coach and talk about a team when playing your ‘natural game’ seems to be sacrosanct.
So, if flashing away at everything outside off or trying to crush drives on the up is your go, how can you learn and get better without saying that’s wrong?
Just take a look at some of this word salad that this philosophy has created:
“We’re trying to play the way that we want to play and we want to try and utilise that in the best possible fashion.”
“You’ve got to have a style of play you stick to, don’t you? Of course you want to adapt and you want to be conditions dependent on what that is, of course it is, but we’ve built the way that we want to build the team and trust in the guys that we have that to do in the team that we are good enough to do that.”
Loading19m agoSun 7 Dec 2025 at 3:05am
Vaughan predicts 5-0 without ‘huge’ improvement
Former England captain Michael Vaughan, like the rest of the country, was lamenting after yesterday’s play.
Australia played it almost perfectly, keeping the English bowling in the heat for three-and-a-half hours (for just 4-133) before a disastrous six-wicket final session under lights left the tourists 6-134, still 43 runs away from avoiding an innings loss.
(Getty)
And Vaughan, who started the day sharing a pint with the Stormtroopers in the Gabba stands, ended it forecasting disaster unless a miracle turnaround occurs.
“If England aren’t careful — and they’re going to have to improve hugely — this could be 5-0,” he told the BBC.
“I haven’t seen enough from England in the first two games to suggest they can win a game.
“They’re a good set of players and it is possible, but if they don’t improve quickly this is going to get a lot worse before it gets better.”
24m agoSun 7 Dec 2025 at 3:00am
Welcome to the fourth (and final?) day at the Gabba
Hello and welcome to what could be a series-defining fourth day at the Gabba.
The equations are really quite simple, with England started the day 6-134, needing to score at least 43 runs to avoid an innings loss, and you’d think at least 200 more to at least make a game of this.
It appears the tourists are relying on another Ben Stokes miracle (or maybe the selection of Will Jacks will prove a masterstroke) because going 2-0 down will almost certainly consign them to a fourth straight series defeat on these shores.
Let’s get into it!
