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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| England facing Melbourne struggle | England facing Melbourne struggle |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| England faced a battle to avoid another heavy defeat in the fourth Ashes Test after reaching lunch on day three on 28-0, still 232 behind in Melbourne. | England faced a battle to avoid another heavy defeat in the fourth Ashes Test after reaching lunch on day three on 28-0, still 232 behind in Melbourne. |
| Sajid Mahmood finished with 4-100 and Steve harmison dismissed Andrew Symonds (156) as Australia were out for 419. | Sajid Mahmood finished with 4-100 and Steve harmison dismissed Andrew Symonds (156) as Australia were out for 419. |
| Shane Warne made an entertaining 40 not out and England were lucky early on when Alastair Cook survived a confident leg-before appeal from Glenn McGrath. | Shane Warne made an entertaining 40 not out and England were lucky early on when Alastair Cook survived a confident leg-before appeal from Glenn McGrath. |
| McGrath was impressive and Australia remain firm favourites to go 4-0 up. | McGrath was impressive and Australia remain firm favourites to go 4-0 up. |
| They resumed on 372-7, with England desperate for quick wickets. | They resumed on 372-7, with England desperate for quick wickets. |
| It went to plan for them when Symonds got a thick edge trying to play an expansive drive off Harmison and was caught behind. | It went to plan for them when Symonds got a thick edge trying to play an expansive drive off Harmison and was caught behind. |
| Warne was determined to enjoy himself in his last Test in his home town and the seamers obliged with plenty of poor fare for him to gobble up. | Warne was determined to enjoy himself in his last Test in his home town and the seamers obliged with plenty of poor fare for him to gobble up. |
| Mahmood was square-cut and pulled before a half-volley and long-hop from the Lancastrian were carved away through the covers and mid-wicket. | Mahmood was square-cut and pulled before a half-volley and long-hop from the Lancastrian were carved away through the covers and mid-wicket. |
| The inconsistent Mahmood finished with decent figures | |
| Mis-hit shots dropped just short and wide of fielders to add to England's frustration before Mahmood enticed Stuart Clark and Glenn McGrath into nibbling away outside off-stump. | Mis-hit shots dropped just short and wide of fielders to add to England's frustration before Mahmood enticed Stuart Clark and Glenn McGrath into nibbling away outside off-stump. |
| Chris Read finished with six catches and Mahmood with decent figures but it needed the visiting batsmen to pull out something special. | Chris Read finished with six catches and Mahmood with decent figures but it needed the visiting batsmen to pull out something special. |
| Brett Lee immediately found some swing, while McGrath consistently made the ball move away off the seam to make life tricky for them. | Brett Lee immediately found some swing, while McGrath consistently made the ball move away off the seam to make life tricky for them. |
| Cook played the first aggressive shot in the fifth over to pull Lee for three before caressing him away through the covers for three more to achieve 1,000 runs in his first calendar year of Test cricket. | Cook played the first aggressive shot in the fifth over to pull Lee for three before caressing him away through the covers for three more to achieve 1,000 runs in his first calendar year of Test cricket. |
| Andrew Strauss clipped McGrath through mid-wicket for three and cracked Lee through the covers too to confirm batting was far from impossible on this MCG track. | Andrew Strauss clipped McGrath through mid-wicket for three and cracked Lee through the covers too to confirm batting was far from impossible on this MCG track. |
| But Cook should have been given out lbw when McGrath rapped him on the pad with a straight delivery that held its line. | But Cook should have been given out lbw when McGrath rapped him on the pad with a straight delivery that held its line. |
| South African umpire Rudi Koertzen, not for the first time in the game, mistakenly ruled in favour of the batsman and the openers went off relieved. | South African umpire Rudi Koertzen, not for the first time in the game, mistakenly ruled in favour of the batsman and the openers went off relieved. |