As it happened - Australia vs England 4th Test Sydney 2nd day

Usman Khawaja produced a comeback century of the highest class to put Australia in another commanding position at stumps on day two of the fourth Test against England at the SCG.

Khawaja’s silky 137 from 260 balls underpinned Australia’s 8 declared for 416, but it would have been more without a magnificent lone hand with the ball from Stuart Broad. After writing publicly about his frustrations at being left out in two of the first three Tests Broad backed up his words with his 19th Test five-wicket haul including the crucial wickets of Khawaja and Steven Smith for 67, having knocked over David Warner on day one.

England had to face a frightful five overs before stumps and Zak Crawley got a major reprieve. He nicked Mitchell Starc to first slip with Warner taking the catch head high. As Crawley walked off for what would have been a 12-ball duck, replays showed Starc had overstepped. Extras were the major contributor as the ball nipped and bounced prodigiously but Haseeb Hameed and Crawley survived another brutal examination from Starc and Pat Cummins.

A reprieve for Zak Crawley, but how crucial will it be? His 12th ball is pushed across his bows by Mitchell Starc, and takes a flying edge to David Warner, who clings on well to send England's opener on his way for a duck... or does he? For replays show that Starc has overstepped, and one ball later, Crawley flicks off his pads to get off the mark for 2022. So far, however, extras are England's top-scorer for the year, after finishing third in the charts in 2021. Haseeb Hameed survives to the close on 2 not out from 16, after five torrid overs from Starc and Pat Cummins.

Stuart Broad bags a richly-deserved five-wicket haul after getting Usman Khawaja via a chop on. It was a good delivery. A good length, leg cutter that nipped back a touch, caught the inside edge and hit leg stump. Broad claims England's first five-wicket haul of the series. Khawaja received a standing ovation on his way off for magnificent 137. But Broad deserves an ovation himself for this superb display of seam bowling. Sampath Bandarupalli notes Broad is the oldest visiting pacer to take a Test five-for in Australia since Sir Richard Hadlee in 1987.

Stuart Broad has been magnificent today and it beggars belief that this is just his second Test of the series. His fourth scalp, via a brutish short ball to Pat Cummins, was his 124th in Ashes Test matches. He moves past the great Bob Willis into second all-time for England in Ashes Tests behind Sir Ian Botham. He sits in 6th overall on the list that is led by Shane Warne with 195.

Usman Khawaja received a standing ovation as he left the SCG at tea after scoring a comeback century to savour. Not since Allan Border has a Queensland captain received so much love in Sydney, yet like Border, he was raised in New South Wales and began his career there. His 9th Test century was one of his very best on an up and down surface. He has held the innings together with supreme class. He made his debut at the SCG in the Ashes in 2011. In the next Test in Sri Lanka, Nathan Lyon made his debut. Lyon is playing his 104th Test and Khawaja just his 45th. It's hard to believe given how well he has played.

Alex Carey's demise to a loose attempted slog-sweep has handed Joe Root his 7th wicket in Australia across the last three Ashes tours down under. Matt Roller notes that Root has been England's most successful spinner across all three tours.

Andrew McGlashan: It happened a little while ago, but let’s just go back to Cameron Green for a moment. While his bowling has come on leaps and bounds in the series, it’s been more of a struggling with the bat. England have challenged him consistently around off stump and there has been a pattern to his dismissals…

Gabba
Bowled not playing a shot! Robinson has two in two! Precisely calibrated nip-backer, kisses the top of off stump as Green plants the front foot! A hopeful leave, I think, but it came back a fair way. Eerie silence around the Gabba. Can England wrest back the momentum?

Adelaide
Bowled him! Cracking delivery. It was angled in, towards middle and off, just nipped away a touch, Green didn't cover the line, playing inside it, it brushed his back leg and hit the top of off.

Sydney
Pouched at third slip! Broad gets another with the new ball and Green's lean series continues. Fullish, wide enough outside off stump that Green could have left it alone, but he prodded forward to drive. A thick outside edge flew into the cordon, and Crawley took a sharp low chance.

It's no need to panic. He’s a young player finding his way in the game. As a young allrounder, too, you will often see ebbs and flows between the two main disciplines as a player leans to balance the time needed to excel at both. But, England’s bowlers have found a technical issue or two, not least a planted front foot which can then force Green to play out at the ball. He has been working very hard at it in the nets and is clearly aware of where the issues lie. He may well have another innings in this match and then there’s Hobart next week, but England will be hoping to keep on top of him with an eye on the 2023 battle. Mitchell Marsh’s white-ball form has started some chatter – and he was added to this Test squad as cover – but Green is a long-term project for Australia. In the shorter term for Green, it would be helpful if he could play some Shield cricket before the Pakistan tour, but that remains to be seen given the Covid situation. That tour, where his pace bowling will be vital in balancing the side, will then be another part of his evolution. He’ll be a fascinating player to watch develop in the years to come.

Andrew McGlashan: On the ground where Usman Khawaja made his Test debut 11 years ago in the Ashes the biggest applause of the match so far came for his half-century. It must be a curious position to be in knowing that whatever you do in this match you won’t play the next (unless an injury or Covid case appears) because Travis Head has been assured he will return straightaway. It has served Australia well today to have him in against the second new ball which England have used pretty well, especially Stuart Broad. Khawaja is a superbly versatile batter, which is why he’s the reserve in this squad, and could easily play in any position in the top order. He will surely tour Pakistan in March – what a story that will be – and there is a strong case to be made that he remains in Australia’s best five or six batters.

Stuart Broad was described as a caged lion prior to this Test match he vented his frustration in his Mail on Sunday column about missing out on selection in Brisbane and Melbourne where the surfaces might have suited him. He has let his bowling back up his words in Sydney with three crucial wickets. This spell with the second new ball has been exceptional. He really worked over Steven Smith after Australia's batting savant had toyed with England for three hours. Cameron Green was then caught in the headlights as Broad nicked him off with a superb leg-cutter. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but England will lament their use of Broad in this series.

Andrew McGlashan: It’s not often you can say it, but Stuart Broad gave Steven Smith a bit of a working over there. The over started with Smith driving a full delivery through the covers. Then he padded up to a delivery which brought a review for lbw but was sliding down – much to England’s surprise although it didn’t look out live – then Broad produced a pearler to beat the outside edge. Smith got a boundary down to fine leg when he hooked a short delivery, but Broad responded with another delivery in the channel which Smith – so often an excellent judge of the leave – had a nibble out to send the edge to Jos Buttler. At least he won't have to worry about his bat getting wet if the rain returns.

England team management have confirmed Ben Stokes will return to the field shortly but is unlikely to bowl again today.

The ominous clouds have parted but England's woes remain. Steven Smith and Usman Khawaja batted through the extended opening session adding 83 without loss. Smith has looked in excellent touch. He looks completely unflappable save for the rain getting on his favourite bat. He reached his 6th consecutive half-century at the SCG just before lunch and looks hungry for more. Khawaja has played nicely but did have one huge slice of luck on 28, dropped by Joe Root at slip-off Jack Leach. The ball did take a deflection off Jos Buttler's thigh but it looked very catchable still. To add salt in the wound, Ben Stokes walked off the field in the next over having hurt his side bowling a bouncer at Smith. Most of his 23-ball spell had been short balls and that effort ended in pain. He is being assessed by medical staff at the moment. England will hope lunch and a new ball will bring a change of fortunes as Smith and Khawaja hope to fill their boots in the afternoon.

England's nightmare tour continues. Joe Root dropped Usman Khawaja on 28 at slip off Jack Leach. The left-arm orthodox had wheeled away at leg stump but finally pitched one outside off from around the wicket, induced an edge from Khawaja's defensive prod, the thin edge bounced off Jos Buttler's leg and went to slip, Root couldn't hang on to his right. No doubt the deflection off Buttler was an issue. In the following over Ben Stokes hurt his left side after delivering a barrage of short balls over a period of nearly four overs. He clutched his side after the 5th delivery in the fourth over of his spell and walked straight off to the rooms in obvious pain. Mark Wood had to finish the over. The England team have sent out a statement: "Currently being treated for left side tightness. Will be assessed over the course of the next hour."

Steven Smith has nudged past his head coach Justin Langer in the list of Australia's leading run-scorers in men's Tests. Former Australia batter Simon Katich, who played with both men and is close with Langer, mentioned on Channel Seven that Langer had a special memento for Smith when he surpassed him.

Meanwhile, Andrew McGlashan has made this observation about Smith from the ground today: It's no secret how much Steven Smith loves batting - more than once he has been captured shadow batting in his hotel room. But he also appears to love his bat. At the merest hint of drizzle he has been trying to cover it with his shirt. He then races off into the dressing room to keep it dry. On one occasion he was halfway off the field when the umpires decided to try to stay on. When he’s actually needed his bat this morning it looks pretty broad. On resumption from one of the many breaks, he pinged a perfect on-drive against James Anderson – maybe because he’d kept his bat dry. Such has been the annoyance of these breaks for drizzle that the official updates sent to us about restarts have now stopped including times. Just get on with it as soon as they can.

No overs were lost and Steven Smith can get back to his work. He looks locked in after an extravagant leave prior to the delay and then a sumptuous on-drive off James Anderson to resume his innings after the short delay.

Usman Khawaja hasn't played Test cricket for two-and-a-half years but he couldn't have asked for a more comfortable setting to return to. Four years ago on this ground, Khawaja and Steve Smith put on 188 against England with Khawaja going on to score 171. The pair have shared six century stands in Tests, including two in that 2017-18 series. The pair average 60.08 as a partnership in 25 innings together. Khawaja has scored more runs with Smith than anyone else in Test cricket.

Steve Smith was interviewed on Channel Seven earlier about yesterday's stop-start day and what lies ahead this morning: “I felt pretty good for the 20 balls that I was out there. Still a bit in the wicket. When they changed the ball the boys said there was a bit more bounce with that newer ball. Again, this morning it’s about getting through those first 20 balls and things will get easier like they always do.”