At Stumps on the third day of the fourth Test at the SCG, Jonny Bairstow saved England’s blushes with a counter-attacking century on the third day of the Ashes between Australia and England. Bairstow hit his seventh century in 80 Tests, as England ended the day on 258/7, still trailing by 158 runs. Despite losing quick wickets, Bairstow and Stokes rescued their team with a gutsy half-century. Earlier, wicket-keeper Jos Buttler was dismissed for a duck as his poor form continued. Joe Root and Dawid Malan followed quickly after openers Haseeb Hameed and Zak Crawley.
The third day began with England at 13/0. On Thursday, Usman Khawaja returned to haunt England with a century at the same ground four years after plundering a big Ashes century at the same ground four years ago. In replacing Travis Head in Australia’s first Test since the 2019 Ashes series in England, Pakistan-born Khawaja scored 137 off 260 balls to put Australia in charge following a declaration of 416 for eight.
